The Advocate 06-14-2025

CO LL EG EW OR LD SE RIE S

TIGERTIME

fan ValBrown ofNew Orleans takes aselfiewith ‘MardiGras Mike’

at the University of Nebraska Omaha in Omaha, Neb., on Friday

LSUloves Omaha, andOmaha lovesLSU rightback

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLEO CORREA

Israel intensifies strikesamid Iranian retaliation

Topgenerals, scientists killed in Iran andnuclear siteshit,officialsconfirm

BY JON GAMBRELL, JOSEF FEDERMAN and JULIA FRANKEL |Associated Press

Scott Rabalais

ä LSU’sJay Johnson is in his happy place in Omaha at CWS PAGE 1C

OMAHA, Neb.— Fora long time it was an unrealized romance,this thing that’sbeen goingonfor four decades now between LSU baseball, this cityand its crown jewel event: the College World Series. Legendary LSUcoach Skip Bertman often has spunthe tale of how he had to educate his first players aboutOmahaand whygoingthere was important. Foraprogramthat had made all of oneNCAA Tournament trip before his arrival in 1984, it was amuch-needed teaching moment. Now? Now the team andthis place seem wedded together,a perfect match like hot crawfish and cold beer, Bogart and Bacall, infield dirt and outfield grass. Though theTigers don’tplay until Saturdaynight —atitanic tussle against Southeastern Conference rival Arkansas (6 p.m., ESPN) —LSU fans were out in forceatthe ballpark Friday checkingthings out.They

Neb., on Friday

were sizing up potential opponents for theTigers in case they make it to the CWS championship series for ashot atthe program’s eighth national championship. There is no “in case” for LSU fans,

of course. The back of one supporter’spurple T-shirt spoke for the LSUbaseball faithful everywhere: “Expect to win!”

ä See OMAHA, page 7A

Legislature couldget powerovercivil service

Voters to decide on constitutional amendment

BY ALYSE PFEIL |Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislaturecouldgain authority over which state employees get civil service protections afterlawmakers approved aproposedconstitutional amendment this week —but voters will have the final say during an Aprilelection. Louisiana’scivil service systemismeant to limit political patronageand retaliation

and gives public-sector employees protectionagainst being fired. Butsome argue those safeguards have created asluggish, unresponsive bureaucracy that doesn’tdoagood enough job serving the public. One of those is Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, whothis year prevailed in passing SenateBill8.Lastyear, he sponsored a similarmeasure thatfell short by just two votes People deserveanefficient government, andthe amendment would give lawmakers the flexibility they need to achieve that,

An explosion caused by aprojectile strike illuminates the skyline in TelAviv, Israel, early Saturday.Iran retaliated against Israel’s blistering attacks on the heartofIran’s nuclearand militarystructure on Friday. Morris

Morris said this week. “Other states have figured out thatcivil service reform helps the government function better,” he said. “Wecan’t do anycivil service reform unless the constitution allows us to.” Morris said therearen’tspecific departments or positions he wants to change, but rather,it’samatter of having the powerto“pickand choose” moving forward.

Senate President CameronHenry,RMetairie, saidLouisiana’scivil system

ä See CIVIL SERVICE, page 7A

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’snuclear andmilitarystructure Friday,deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists —abarrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon. Iran retaliated late Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and TelAviv and shook the buildings below In asecond round of attacks, sirens andexplosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard booming in the sky over Jerusalem early Saturday.The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by the earlier wave of missiles, to head to shelter The Iranian outlet Nour News, whichhas close links with the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said awave was being launched. Associated Press journalistsinTel Aviv

ä See ISRAEL, page 8A

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD |Staff writer

An audit shows that Louisiana’schild welfarestaffing needsremainhighdespite years of criticism of theagency over employee shortages. The audit of the Louisiana Department of Children andFamiliesServices’Child Welfare Division said vacant staffpositions have increasedfrom118 in fiscal year 2023 to 140 in February.The area seeing the mostvacancies wasfrontline child welfare workers. The report said DCFS “has struggled to recruit and retain qualified Child Welfare staff due to the nature and difficulty of the job, along with alow salary.” The audit saidunmetstaffingneedsofat least 129workers existed across the nine child welfare regions forfiscal year 2024. The Alexandria and Covington regions had

ä See VACANCIES, page 7A

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK Tigers

during Men’sCollegeWorld Series practice

LSU players arriveatthe ballpark forMen’s CollegeWorld Series practice at theUniversity of Nebraska OmahainOmaha,

Officials: 4escape ICE

detention center in N.J

Four detainees brokethrough awall and escaped from afederalimmigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey amid reports of disorder breakingout there, according to aU.S. senatorand the Department of Homeland Security Sen. Andy Kim, aDemocrat from New Jersey,spokeFriday outside the Delaney Halldetention center.Hesaid he was told detainees managed to break through an interior wall that ledtoanexteriorone andfrom therewereable to escape to a parking lot

More “law enforcement partners” have been brought in to find the detainees missing from DelaneyHall,accordingtoan emailed statement attributed to asenior DHS official whom the department did not identify.The statement also didn’tspecify which lawenforcement agenciesare involved.

The development comes amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and aday ahead of major protests against his policies planned across the country DHS identified the escapees as two Colombian menwho were arrested on burglaryand other counts and two Hondurans, Franklin Norberto BautistaReyesand Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, who were arrested on aggravated assault and other charges. Acourt records search did not turn up attorney information for them.

Golden toilet thieves sentenced in U.K LONDON— Twoburglarswho plotted the heist of a$6.4 million golden toilet,afully-functional 18-karat piece of contemporary art that was ripped from the plumbing of an English mansion, were sentenced Friday to more than two years in aBritish prison.

The satiricalcommentary on consumer culture, titled “America,” by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had only been on display fora couple days when five burglars swipeditfrom Blenheim Palace —the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born —inSeptember 2019.The purloined potty was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold.

“This bold and brazenheist took no more than 51/2 minutes to complete,” Judge Ian Pringlesaid in Oxford Crown Court. “‘America’ has never been seen again.” James Sheen, 40, aroofer who pleadedguiltytoburglary, conspiracy and transferringcriminalproperty,was sentencedto four yearsinprison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced totwo yearsand three months.

The toilet weighed just over 215pounds and was worthmore than its weight in gold. The value of the bullion at the time was $3.5 million, but it was insured formore than $6 million

Officials: San Antonio stormdeathsrise to 11

SAN ANTONIO The numberof deaths from drenching rains in San Antonio rose to 11 people on Friday and crews searched for others stillmissing aday after fast-rising floodwaters tossed and swept away more than a dozen cars into acreek. Search teams combed low-water crossingsaday after Thursday’sdownpour that dumped more than 7inches of rain in a span of hours in partsof thenation’s seventh-largestcity.Some people climbeduptrees to escaperapidly rising watersand authorities said firefighters made more than 70 rescues across San Antonio.

Many of the rescues involved pulling people from stalled cars

At least 10 people were rescued from bushes and trees about a mile away from where their vehicles sunk, the San Antonio Fire Department said in astatement. Rescue crews were still searching formissing peopleas the flooding subsided, San Antonio Fire Departmentspokesperson Joe Arrington said. It was unclear how many were missing Friday evening.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

U.S. Marines walk Fridayoutsideofafederal building in Los Angeles.

Marinestakeover some security in L.A.

BY AMY TAXIN, LOLITA C. BALDOR and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press

LOSANGELES— After aweek of protests over federal immigrationraids, about 200 Marines moved into LosAngeles on Fridaytoguard afederal building in thecity while communities acrossthe country preppedfor what’s anticipated to be anationwide wave of large-scaledemonstrationsagainstPresident DonaldTrump’s policesthis weekend.

The Marine troops wearing combat gear and carrying rifles took over some posts from NationalGuardmemberswho weredeployed to the city after theprotests erupted last week. Those protests sparked dozens more over several days aroundthe country, withsome leading to clashes with policeand hundreds of arrests.

On Friday,Marines startedtoreplace Guard members protecting the federal building west of downtown, so theGuard soldiers can be assigned to protect law enforcement officersonraids, the commander in charge of 4,700 troops deployedtothe LA protestssaid.

The MarinesmovedintoLos Angeles before Saturday’splanned “No Kings” demonstrations nationally against Trump’spolicies, which will also happen the same day as amilitaryparadein Washington, D.C.

The Marines’arrival also came aday afterthe 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked afederal judge’s order that had directed Trumptoreturn controlofGuard troops to California. The judge had ruledthe Guarddeployment wasillegal, violated the Tenth Amendment, whichdefinesthe power between state and federal governments, and exceeded Trump’sstatutory authority.The judge did not rule on the presenceofthe Marines

Some 2,000 National Guardtroops were deployed to Los Angeles thisweek.Hundreds have providedprotection to immigration agents making arrests.Another 2,000 Guard members werenotified of deployment earlier this week.

Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, thecommand-

AirIndia black boxrecovered

BYSHONAL GANGULY,RAJESH ROY and AIJAZ HUSSAIN

Associated Press

AHMEDABAD,India The flight data recorder from thecrashed Air India flight was recovered Friday inwhat likely will lead to clues about the cause of theaccident that killed 241 peopleonthe plane and a numberofothersonthe ground.

The London-bound Boeing 787 struck amedical college hostel when the plane came down shortlyafter takeoff on Thursday in aresidential area of the northwesterncity of Ahmedabad.

The plane’sdigital flight data recorder, or blackbox, wasrecovered from arooftop nearthe crash site andIndia’sAircraft AccidentInvestigationBureau said thatit hadbegun its work with “full force.” The black box recovery marks an important step forward in the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister RamMohan Naidu said in asocialmediapost

The device will reveal information aboutthe engine andcontrol settings,in addition to what the voice recorder will show aboutthe cockpit conversations, Paul Fromme, amechanicalengineerwith the U.K.-basedInstitution of Mechanical Engineerssaidina statement.

“This should show quickly if there was alossofengine power or lift after takeoff and allowapreliminarydetermination of thelikelycausefor thecrash,” said Fromme, who heads the professional association’sAerospace Division.

Separately, the country’scivil aviation regulator ordered Air Indiatoconduct additional inspections of its Boeing 7878and 787-9Dreamliners equippedwith

er of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 combinedtroops,said none of the military troops will be detaining anyone, though the Marines temporarily detained aman Fridayafternoon whohad walked onto the property and did not immediately hear their commandstostop.Hewas later released without charges

Roughly 500 National Guard members have been used to provide security on immigration raids after undergoing expandedinstruction, legaltraining and rehearsals with theagentsdoing the enforcement before they go on thosemissions.

When askedaboutworking together with the Marines, Los Angeles police Chief Jim McDonnell saidhe“wouldn’t call it coordination” but said he and the county sheriff were on acall with militarysenior leadership Thursday to open linesofcommunication in case situations arise where collaboration is needed.

Underfederal law, active-duty forces are prohibited by lawfromconducting law enforcement By midafternoon Friday,morethan a dozen Marines were stationed outside the 17-story Wilshire FederalBuilding. They mostlyappeared to be checking tickets frommembers of the public whowere there to renew theirpassports.

The federal building is the same place Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security SecretaryKristi Noem’snews conference and handcuffed by officers as he triedtospeak up about the immigration raids.

Therewere no protesters around the building. Occasionally,apassing driver shouted from their window,registering a mix of anger and support for the military presence.

California Gov.Gavin Newsom has calledthe troopdeployment a“serious breach of state sovereignty” and apower grabbyTrump, andhehas gone to court to stop it.The president hascited alegal provision thatallows him to mobilize federal servicememberswhen thereis“a rebellionordanger of arebellion against the authorityofthe Government of the United States.”

By

ASSOCIATED

Kalpeshbhai Patni, whose 14-year-old brother waskilled when an Air India plane crashed into aneighborhood,wails Fridayoutsidethe autopsy room at a hospitalinAhmedabad, India.

General Electric’sGEnxengines. That includeschecksofthe fuel parameters, cabin air compressor, engine control system, hydraulic system and takeoff parameters, the order said.

InvestigatorsonFridaycontinued searching the site of oneofIndia’s worst aviation disasters and Prime Minister NarendraModi met with the lone surviving passenger aday after the crash.

Aviation safetyconsultant Jeff Guzzetti, aformer crashinvestigator for boththe U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what causedthe crashassoonasnext week as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape. Investigators likelyare looking at whether wingflapswereset correctly, whether the engine lost power,whether alarms were going offinside the cockpit and whether the plane’screw correctlyinputted information about thehot temperature outside andthe weight of thefueland passengers, Guzzetti said. Mistakes in thedata could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly,hesaid.

Judgeblocks Trump’selection executiveorder

BY CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press

ATLANTA— Afederal judge on Friday blocked President DonaldTrump’sattempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with agroup of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.

The Republican president’sMarch 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proofofcitizenship for everyone registering to vote forfederal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Dayand condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to thenew ballotdeadline.

The attorneys general hadarguedthe directive “usurps theStates’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.”

TheWhite House had defended the order as “standing up forfree, fair and honest elections” andcalled proof of citizenship a“commonsense” requirement.

Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. DistrictCourt in Massachusetts said in Friday’sorder that thestates had alikelihood of success as to their legal challenges.

“The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” Casper wrote.

Casper also noted that, when it comes to citizenship, “there is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship.”

Casper also cited arguments made by the states that the requirements would “burden the States with significant efforts and substantial costs” to update procedures. Messages seekingaresponse from the White House andthe Department of Justice were not immediatelyreturned. Theattorneys general for California and NewYorkpraised the ruling in statements, calling Trump’sorder unconstitutional.

“Free and fair elections are thefoundation of this nation,and no president has the power to steal that right fromthe American people,” NewYork Attorney General Letitia James said. The ruling is the second legalsetback forTrump’s electionorder. Afederal judge in Washington, D.C., previously blocked parts of the directive, including the proof-of-citizenship requirement forthe federal voter registration form. The order is the culmination of Trump’slong-standing complaints about elections. After his first win in 2016, Trumpfalselyclaimed his popular vote total would have been much higher if notfor “millions of people who votedillegally.” Since 2020, Trump has made false claimsofwidespread voter fraud and manipulation of voting machines to explain his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He hassaidhis executive order secures elections against illegal voting by noncitizens, though multiple studies and investigationsinthe states have shownthatit’srare and typically amistake.Casting aballot as anoncitizen is alreadyagainst the law and can result in fines and deportation if convicted. Also blocked in Friday’s ruling was part of the order thatsought to require states to excludeany mail-in or absentee ballotsreceivedafter Election Day.Currently,18 states andPuertoRico accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they are postmarked on or before that date, according to theNational Conference of State Legislatures. Oregon and Washington, which conduct their elections almost entirely by mail, fileda separate lawsuit over the ballot deadline, saying the executive order could disenfranchise voters in their states. When the lawsuitwas filed, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs noted that morethan 300,000 ballots in the state arrived after Election Day in 2024.

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Ukrainerepatriates more bodies of fallen soldiers

By The Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Ukraine has repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Ukrainian officials said Friday Ukraine’sCoordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in astatement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies, and “accordingtothe Russian side, the bodiesbelong to Ukrainian citizens,inparticular military personnel.”

The agreement to exchange prisonersofwar and thebodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul that took place June 2.

The repatriation of the bodies wascarriedout with the help of Ukraine’sArmed Forces,the country’sSecurity Service, the Interior Ministry and other government agencies.Forensic experts will now workto identify the remains,the statement said. The repatriationof the bodiesmarks oneofthe largest returns of remains since Russia launcheda full-scale invasionofUkraine more than three years ago. Earlier this week, Russia returned 1,212 bodies of Ukrainiansoldiers and received 27 bodies of its own killed troops

Russiaand Ukraine conducted aPOW swap on Thursdaythatincluded severely wounded andgravely ill captives, although the sidesdid notreport thenumbers.

In addition to agreeing to exchange POWsand bodies of fallen soldiers, the two sidestradedmemorandums at the talks that set out conditions foraceasefire. However,the inclusion of clauses thatbothsides see as nonstarters make any quick deal unlikely

Despite discussions of a potential truce in the war, Moscow’sforces in recent days have launched waves of dronesand missiles at Ukraine,witha record

bombardment of almost 500 dronesonMondayand awave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnighton Tuesday Ukraine’sair force said Friday that Russiafired 55 Shahedand decoy drones and four ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight. The air force said air defenses neutralized 43 drones. There werenoimmediate reports of casualties or damage from the attack.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday thatits air defenses downed 125 Ukrainiandrones over several Russian regions andthe annexed Crimea late Thursday and early Friday

BY PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

NEW YORK Afederal judge who barred the Trump administrationfrom deporting Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil declined Friday to order his release from an immigration detention center,saying the former Columbia University student hadn’tyet proven he was being held illegally

The ruling is a setbackfor Khalil, who was detained in March. He had appeared to be close to winning his freedom after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz heldthat the government’s initial effort to deport him on foreign policy grounds was likely unconstitutional. The judge had given the Trump administration until Friday morningtoappeal an order that could have ledto Khalil’srelease.

lieved it could continue detaining Khalil based on its secondaryrationale forexpelling him from the U.S. an allegationthat he liedon his green cardapplication.

Farbiarz,who sits in New Jersey, wrote in his Friday ruling that Khalil’slawyers hadn’tpresented enoughevidence thatdetention on those grounds was unlawful and suggested that Khalil’s next stepcould beto ask for bailfrom an immigration judge in Louisiana

just, it is shocking, and it is disgraceful.”

Khalil has previously disputedthe notion that he omitted informationonhis application.

In afiling lastweek, he maintained he was never employed by or served as an “officer” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agencyfor Palestine Refugees, as the administration claims, but completed an internship approved by the university as part of his graduate studies.

Consultant sent callsmimicking Biden’svoice

BY HOLLYRAMER Associated Press

Apolitical consultant who sent artificial intelligencegenerated robocalls mimicking former President Joe BidentoNew Hampshire Democrats last year was acquitted Friday of voter suppression and impersonating acandidate.

adifference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Kramer,who wouldhave faced decades in prisonif convicted,testifiedthathe wantedtosend awake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording. He was getting frequent calls from people using AI in campaigns, and, worried about the lack of regulations, made it his New Year’sresolution to take action.

campaign there, but wonas awrite-in.

But the governmentfiled court papers sayingitbe-

One of Khalil’slawyers, Amy Greer,criticized the Trump administration’slegalmaneuveringas“cruel, transparentdelay tactics” meant to keep herclient away from his wife and newborn sonahead of their first Father’sDay as afamily “Instead of celebratingtogether,heis languishing in ICEdetentionaspunishment for hisadvocacy on behalf of hisfellow Palestinians,” she said in astatement. “Itisun-

Khalil said he also stopped working for theBritish Embassy in Beirut in December 2022, when he moved to the U.S., despite the administration’s claims thathehad worked in the embassy’s Syria office longer

Earlier Friday,Khalil’s lawyersasked the judge to order his release, saying he had satisfied all of the court’srequirements and that thegovernment’s lawyers had misseda morning deadline to challenge the judge’s Wednesday ruling.

Steven Kramer,56, of New Orleans, admitted orchestratinga messagesentto thousands of voters two days before thestate’s Jan. 23, 2024, presidentialprimary Recipientsheard an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president’s that used his catchphrase “What abunch of malarkey” and, as prosecutors alleged, suggested thatvoting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballotsinNovember “It’simportant thatyou save your vote for the November election,” voters weretold. “Your votes make

“Thisisgoing to be my one good deed this year,” he recalled while testifying in Belknap County Superior Court.

Prosecutors arguedthe calls amounted to an attack on the integrity of the primary,whileKramer’s defense tried to direct outrage at the DemocraticNational Committeeinstead.

At Biden’srequest, the DNC dislodged NewHampshire from itstraditional early spotinthe 2024 nominating calendar,but later dropped its threat not to seat the state’snational convention delegates. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or

Kramer,who owns afirm specializing in get-out-thevote projects, argued that the primary wasa meaningless strawpollunsanctionedby theDNC, andtherefore the state’svoter suppression law didn’t apply. Thedefense also said he didn’timpersonatea candidate because the message didn’tinclude Biden’s name, and Biden wasn’ta declared candidate in the primary Jurors apparently agreed, acquitting himof11felony voter suppression charges, each punishable by up to seven years in prison. The 11 candidate impersonation charges each carried amaximum sentence of ayear in jail.

“Our commitment to enforcing election laws remains steadfast,” New Hampshire AttorneyGeneral JohnM.Formella said in astatement. “Wewill continue to work diligently to address the challenges posed by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to protect the integrity of our elections.”

Khalil

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByEVGENIy MALOLETKA

An honor guard carries the coffinofDmytro Shapovalov, a Ukrainian soldier,onFridayduring hisfuneral ceremony in yosypivkavillage,Vinnytsiaregion, Ukraine.

Abrego Garcia pleads notguiltytohuman smuggling

Manwas

BY TRAVIS LOLLER, JONATHAN MATTISE andBEN FINLEY Associated Press

NASHVILLE,Tenn. Kilmar

Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation has become aflashpoint in President Donald Trump’simmigration crackdown, pleaded not guilty Friday to human smugglingcharges in afederal court in Tennessee.

The hearing was the first chance the Maryland construction worker has hadin aU.S. courtroom to answer the Trump administration’s allegations since he was mistakenly deported in Marchto anotorious prison in El Salvador

Abrego Garcia’sattorneys have characterized the smuggling case as adesperate attempt to justify the mistaken deportation. The investigation was launched weeks after the U.S. government deported Abrego Garcia and following aSupreme Court order and mounting pressure to return him.

Abrego Garcia’slawyers told ajudge Friday that some government witnesses cooperated to get favors regarding their immigration status or criminal chargesthey were facing.A federal agent acknowledgedduring his testimony that one witness was living in the U.S. illegally with acriminal record and is now getting preferred status.

“He sounds like the exact type of person thisgovern-

CIVIL SERVICE

Continued from page1A

“doesn’tnecessarilywork for every department.”

Henry said he doesn’twant state government to return to an era when elected officials took office only to fire employees and hire their friends. At the same time, he said, it shouldn’ttake so long to let some employees go. But not everyoneseesit that way. On the House floor,some Republican lawmakers warned against reopening the government workforce to politicalinfluence in a state with an infamous history of government corruption.

Rep. Joseph Stagni, RKenner,calledSenateBill 8“harmful” and“unnecessary”and argued the creation of merit-based civil service hasbeenamong Louisiana’sgreatest reforms.

“This, instead of being a step forward, will bring us back75years,where jobs will be given to people not based on their merit, but based on whothey know or how much they gave,” he argued. “Weshouldn’tbeturningback the clock to those times.”

Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Alexandria, saidstate employees who do regulatory or law

ment should be trying to deport,” Federal Public Defender Dumaka Shabazz said.“They’re goingtogive alltheseother people deals to stay in the country just to getthis one other person.”

Most of Friday’s hearingfocused on whether Abrego Garciashould be released as he awaits trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes said she will write her decision “sooner rather than later.”

The smugglingcharges stem from a2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee during whichAbrego Garciawas driving avehicle with nine passengers. While officers suspected possible smuggling, Abrego Garcia wasallowed to go on his way with only awarning

Body camera footage shows acalmexchange between officers and Abrego Garcia. The officers then discussed amongthemselves their suspicionsofsmuggling before letting him go. One of the officers says,“He’s hauling these people for money.”

Another saysAbrego Garcia had$1,400 in an envelope.

The federalindictment accuses Abrego Garcia of smugglingthroughout the U.S. hundreds of people livinginthe countryillegally, including children andmembers of the violent MS-13 gang.

In briefings before Friday’s hearing, U.S. attorneys described Abrego Garcia as adangertothe community and aflight risk. They also accused him of trafficking

enforcement work need protection from political pressure —something he said happens more than people realize

In an interviewafter the vote, DeWitt said he worked at theDepartmentofEnvironmental Quality for threedecades,and in the1990s, his job wasthreatened over finesheimposed on industry

drugs andfirearms and of abusing thewomen he transported, amongother claims, although he is not charged with such crimes. Rob McGuire, Acting U.S.Attorney for theMiddle District of Tennessee, told the judge Friday that “migrant transportation is inherently dangerous.”

Theprosecutor also presentedtwo orders of protection that Abrego Garcia’s wife sought in 2020 and2021 against him for domestic violence. Jennifer Vasquez Surasaid this spring that the couple hadworkedthings out “privately as afamily,including by going to counseling.”

Abrego Garcia’sattorneys rejected the prosecution’sassertions that he was adanger, while arguing thecharges aren’t seriousenough for detention.

“If Mr.Abrego Garciais so dangerous, this violent MS-13 guy,why did they wait almost threeyears to indict him on this?”Shabazzasked the judge. “Why waituntil literally after the Supreme Courttold them they denied him due process and theyhad to bring him back before they investigate him?”

Friday’sproceeding included testimony from aDepartment of Homeland Security agent who quoted three unnamed witnesses who spoke to agrand jury about Abrego Garcia’salleged actions.

Special agentPeter Joseph saidthatthe witnesses saw AbregoGarcia trafficking people, guns or drugs and that Abrego Garcia earned upwardof$100,000 ayear

protections.

DeWittvoted in favor of thebill, but said he asked to bepart of futurediscussions to ensure that state employees who do regulatory work will have protection fromthatkind of pressure

The measure garnered the bare minimum number of votes needed to pass the House —and only after two Democrats joined with Republicans to achieve the70vote threshold and anumber of Republicans broke ranks to oppose the bill.

TheSenateapproved the measure on aparty-linevote Howcivil serviceworks

The Louisiana Constitution sets up astate government workforce that’sdivided between “classified”and “unclassified”employees. Unless specifically designated as unclassified, state employees areconsidered classified public servants with civil service

Classifiedemployees thosemeant to be shielded from political pressure —can only be disciplined or fired forcause, with proper documentation andafter achance to respond or take corrective action. They’realso barred from supporting political candidates or parties. Unclassifiedemployees areconsidered at-will and can be hiredorfired at anytime, and they face no restrictions on political activity.

The constitution lists more than adozen categories of state employees and officials thatare unclassified. Among them: elected officials, members of boards andcommissions,and staffinthe Legislature, Governor’sOffice and AttorneyGeneral’sOffice.

The State Civil Service Commission, which setspolicyfor thestate workforce and adjudicates employment disputes, can also approve state agency requests for unclassified positions.

Should voters approvethe constitutional amendment, the Legislature would be authorized to pass laws to add other employees to the unclassified service.

Email AlysePfeilatalyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.

One man said Abrego Garcia was sexually inappropriate towards underagegirls, Joseph testified, whileawoman said Abrego Garcia had solicitednude photos of herwhen she was 15 andshe believed he wasinthe MS-13 gang. During cross-examination, Abrego Garcia’sattorneys raisedquestions about possible conflictsofinterest. One manhad beenconvicted of afelony and was previously deported. He also was serving a30-month sentence when investigators contacted him, Joseph acknowledged. That witness is now living in ahalfway houseand on his way to getting work authorization.

Thesecondman is avery close relative of the first witness and “said he would help in return for hisrelease from jail,” said Richard Tennent, an assistant federal public defender. Athird witness

hadpreviouslybeencompensatedfor herworkwith law enforcement.

Tennent said one of the witnesses told investigators that AbregoGarciawould drive roundtrip between Maryland andHouston —nearly 24 hours each way —two or three times per week. The witness said Abrego Garcia usuallyhad twoofhis children and his wife with him.

Tennent pointedout that Abrego Garcia has three children, twoofwhom are autistic.

Abrego Garcia is acitizen of El Salvador whohad been living in the UnitedStates for morethan adecade before he was deported. The expulsion violateda 2019 U.S. immigration judge’sorder that shielded him from deportation to his native country because he likelyfaced gangpersecution there.

Before Friday’shearing

began in Nashville,Abrego Garcia’swife told acrowd outside achurch that Thursday marked three months since the Trump administration“abductedand disappeared my husband and separated him from our family.” Her voice choked with emotion,VasquezSurasaid she sawher husband forthe first time Thursday.She said, “Kilmarwants you to have faith.”

Thedecision to charge Abrego Garcia criminally prompted theresignation of Ben Schrader,who was chief of the criminaldivisionat the U.S. Attorney’sOffice for the Middle DistrictofTennessee. He declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press last week. However,aperson familiar with the matter who spoke on the conditionofanonymity to discuss apersonnelmatter confirmed the connection.

DeWitt

Abrego Garcia

VACANCIES

Continued from page 1A

thehighest staffing needs, with Alexandria needing31 workers and Covington having ashortfall of 27.

DCFS Secretary David Matlock, who was tappedto lead the department by Gov JeffLandryin2023, wrote to the auditor agreeing withthe analysis but said it doesn’trepresent the true staffing need.

Matlock said the numbers don’taccount for new hires who are unable to carry a full caseload or forthe cases that have to be transferred due to caseworkers going on extended leave, making it take longer to complete the work.

The Child WelfareDivision had1,541employees serving 4,400 children in foster care per month and conducting nearly 22,000 childprotection investigations in fiscal year 2024, according to theaudit.Asof February,the staff total had decreased to 1,446.

The Child WelfareDivisionincludes programs

such as child protective services,foster care, adoptions and family support services.

DCFS has been dealing with dwindlingbudgetsfor years, contributing to the staffingissues.

Staffing needs

Staff vacanciesare mainly for frontline child welfare employees, specifically the entry-level positions for caseworkers. This comes after 2018, when DCFS implementedstartingsalaries for child welfare jobsabove thenormal rate in order to attract workers. Three years later,those rateswere expanded to otherchild welfare positions, including child welfare services assistant and childwelfare supervisor

Child welfare staff turnover rates have declined slightly by 0.6% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Afew years ago, DCFS implemented pay incentives to address retention.

Employees who work in theBaton Rouge and Orleans regions, two areas with high caseloads and backlogs, areeligible for

JAVIER GALLEGOS

Changesincases

The number of child welfare employees who received new investigations over the standard of 10 new cases permonth decreased by nearly 5% in therecent

fiscal year

The Lake Charles region hadthe most employees working above that standard. This region has less turnover and more experienced staff, meaning they are assigned more cases.

es, said the audit continues a long history of DCFS needing additional help, mainly in the form of additional state funds.

“It does containmeasures of progress,” Wheat wrote in an email. “I also believe there is moreunreported progress, even qualitative progress, an accumulating energy and direction.”

Charles Bond and his brother Brian werehere with their 90-year-oldfather,Charles II, attending the College World Series for the first time. They said the reception LSU fans got was gratifying.

“The hospitality is over the top,” Charles Bond III said. “From the airportto the Uber to the hotel to the restaurants, they all say LSU fans come whether the Tigers are here or not. It gives you goose bumps.” Charles Bond II graduated from LSU in 1960 after astint in the military

He met his wife there on a blind date outside of Tiger Stadium, where he lived in the long-shuttered dorms. Friday he was alittle tuckered out but all smiles as he and his sons looked for some shaded seats for the CWS opener between Arizona and Coastal Carolina. They’d already secured tickets for the LSU-Arkansas game. Those were going for more than $200 apiece Friday on the secondary market, more than six times the asking price for tickets to Saturday’sother game between UCLA and Murray State.

“It’sabucketlist thing for him,” Brian Bond said of his dad. “He’salways wanted to go.”

This year they’re celebrating the 75th anniversary of the College World Series’ arrival in Omaha. Like someone who moved here and found steady work as an agent for the Union Pacific Railroad or aclaims adjuster for Mutual of Omaha, the CWS never left. In the name of the few right things about this crazy world, hopefully it never will. It only seems like LSU

has been coming here since 1950 as well, butthe Tigers first played here in 1986. This year marks their 20th appearance. LSU’sreputation,and its legions, have grown over the years. Youdon’thave to seeone ofthe banners naming the eightparticipants in the CWS blanketing the ballpark here to knowthe Tigers are in the field again. LSU announces its presence with authority. Murray State,thisyear’s Cinderella and just the fourth No. 4seed to survive an NCAA regional and super regional allthe wayto Omaha, is aspecial story for this year’sevent. But do the Racers have agiant fiberglass versionoftheir mascotparked acouple of blocks away from thestadium on aflatbed trailer? That would be ano.

LSUloves Omaha. Omaha loves LSU and its legions of brash,big-spendingfans right back. To the local folks, the best version of the CWS —especially since it moved to Charles Schwab Fieldfromnow demolished Rosenblatt Stadium —is when the Tigers are in the mix.

“A couple of years ago whenLSU won, it finally felt like the (College) World Serieshad arrived downtown,” saidTom Shatel, a longtimesportscolumnist for theOmahaWorldHerald. “It took awhile to get this placefigured out There were goodseries, but without theLSU chants andthe purple andgold beadsand jerseys, it never seemed like the World Series.

“When they finally wonit was like, ‘OK, everything seems right here.’

Back in theearly 2000s, theNCAA prodded Omaha for improvements to Rosenblatt Stadium.The unspokenimplication was that if that didn’thappen theCWS

DepartmentofChildren and Family

Services Secretary

David Matlock handsout an info pamphlet during the Foster Care CommunityCollaborativeevent at Family youth Service Center on April 8.

premium pay. Those who relocate to the Baton Rouge region areeligible for an additional incentive of up to $2,500 amonth.

Wendi LeMoine,director of the nonprofit Brave Heart LouisianaChildren in Need, whopreviouslyworkedfor DCFS’child abuse andneglectinvestigations, saidthe audit is on par with historical staff numbers.

“High turnover,high burn-

might move, or at least rotate around the country, like the basketball Final Fours.

That drove Omahato build thecurrent ballpark in 2011. The state-of-the-art, if sterile, 24,500-seat venue replaced the quaint and beloved, but aging, Rosenblatt and cemented acontract between the city and the NCAA that runs through 2035. Despite that,Omaha is still always looking over its shoulder. The question even came up Wednesday at an NCAA news conference.

“I thinkitwould be hardpressed for another city to makethis type of commitment,” said Anthony Holman,NCAA vice president for championships. “To build afacility.The College World Series is our secondhighest grossing (event), in terms of revenue, in attendance, of all our championships. Andthat doesn’t happen without it being in Omaha.”

In “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’scharacter is asked whether his cornfield turned ball field is heaven.

“No,” he replies. “It’s Iowa.”

Is this heaven?

No, it’sOmaha.

For LSU, andthe other teams here, it’s pretty much thesame thing.

out …makes it very hard to keep afull staff,” LeMoine said.

LeMoine said she remembers only one time during her tenure in the early 2000s when the DCFS investigationsteam was fully staffed, and “it didn’tlast long.”

Across the state, the overall number of child protection servicecases decreased in recent years.

Butthe overallworkload perstafffor existing child protective services cases has increased, according to the audit.This couldbedue to a number of factors, such as working more on backlogged cases,staffvacancies and newhires who are unable to carry afull caseload.

Rick Wheat, president of LouisianaUnitedMethodist Children and Family Servic-

Wheatsaidthatwhile there is progress,data pointing out increased work for caseloadscounterbalances it. DCFSisweighing options to improve staff retention, Matlockwrote to the auditor

“Despite ongoing challenges, DCFS remains committed to strengthening its frontline workforce. The department continues to explore strategies foreffectively managing child welfare caseloads and workloads,” he said.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.

couldsee at least two Iranian missiles hit the ground, butthere wasnoimmediate word of casualties

“Wewill not allow them to escape safely from this great crime theycommitted,” Iran’sSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in arecorded message Friday in which he vowed revenge.

Iran’sU.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Israeli attacks.

Israel’sparamedic services said 34 people werewounded in the barrage on the TelAviv area, including awoman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble.

In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv,anAssociated Press journalist sawburned-out cars and at least three damaged houses,including one where the frontwas nearly entirely torn away

U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region werehelpingtoshoot down Iranian missiles,saida U.S. official who spoke on conditionofanonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel’songoing airstrikes and intelligence operation andIran’sretaliation raised concerns aboutall-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Israel had long threatened such astrike, and successive American administrations sought to preventit, fearing it would ignite awider conflict across theMiddle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran’sdispersed and hardened nuclear program.

But aconfluence of developments triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack —plus the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump —createdthe conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said theU.S. was informed in advance of the attack.

On Thursday,Iran had been censured by the U.N.’s atomic

watchdog for not complying with obligations meantto preventitfrom developinga nuclear weapon.

Countriescondemn attack

Countriesinthe region condemned Israel’sattack, while leadersaround the globe called for immediate deescalationfrom both sides

The U.N. Security Councilscheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran’srequest. In aletter to the council, Iran’sForeign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killingofits officialsand scientists “state terrorism” and affirmed his country’sright to self-defense.

Israel’smilitary said about 200aircraftwereinvolved in the initial attack on about 100targets.Its Mossadspy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses andmissile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officialswho spoke on condition of anonymity It was notpossible toindependently confirmthe officials’ claims.

Amongthe keysites Israel attacked wasIran’smainnuclearenrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air.Italso appeared to strike

asecond, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about60miles southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government thatreported hearing explosions nearby Israel said it struck anuclear research facility in Isfahan, too, and said it destroyed dozens of radarinstallations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran Iranconfirmedthe strike at Isfahan.

Israel militaryspokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said theNatanz facility was “significantly damaged” and that the operation was “still in the beginning.”

Natanz facility destroyed

U.N. nuclearchief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council thatthe aboveground section of theNatanz facility was destroyed. He saidall theelectrical infrastructure andemergency power generators were destroyed,aswell as asection of thefacility whereuranium was enriched up to 60%.

Themaincentrifugefacility underground didnot appear to have been hit, but theloss of power could have damagedthe infrastructure there, he said.

The first waveofstrikes had given Israel “significant freedomofmovement” in Iran’sskies, clearing the

way for furtherattacks, according to an Israeli military officialwho spokeon condition of anonymitybecause he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with themedia.

The official saidIsrael is prepared foranoperation thatcould last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline.

Amongthosekilled were threeofIran’stop military leaders: onewho oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; onewho ledthe paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of theGuard’sballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicateefforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other topmilitary officialsand scientists were also killed.

Netanyahu said theattack had been months in the making. In avideostatement senttojournalistsFriday, he said he ordered plans for the attack last November soon afterthe killingofHassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon,one of Iran’sstrongest proxies. Netanyahu said the attack was planned for April but was postponed. In itsfirst response Fri-

day,Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel.Israel saidthe drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israel’smilitary said it called up reservists and began stationing troops throughout the country as it braced for further retaliation from Iran or Iranian proxy groups.

Trump urged Iran on Fridaytoreach adeal withthe U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel’sattacks “will only get worse.” “Iran must makeadeal, before there is nothing left, andsave what was once known as theIranian Empire,” he wrote.

On Wednesday,the U.S. pulledsome American diplomatsfrom Iraq’s capital and offeredvoluntary evacuations forthe families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East. On Friday,the U.S. beganshifting military resources in theregion, including ships, as Israel prepared formoreretaliation,two U.S. officialssaid, speaking on conditionof anonymity

Officials in Washington had cautioned Israel against an attack earlier in the week, so as nottodisrupt U.S. negotiationswithIranover itsnuclear enrichment program. Theystressed Friday that the U.S. had not been involved in the attack, and warned against any retaliationtargeting U.S. interests or personnel.

Preemptive strikes

Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat thatIran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving thatorwhether Iran had actually been planning astrike.Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilianpurposes only

“This is aclear andpresent danger to Israel’sverysurvival,”Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue theattack foraslong as necessary to “removethis threat.”

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in theMiddle East but hasnever acknowledgedhaving such weapons. Overthe past year,Israel has been targeting Iran’sair defenses, hitting aradar system foraRussian-made air defense battery in April2024 and surface-to-air missile sites andmissile manufacturing facilitiesinOctober On Friday,Israelis rushed to supermarkets in TelAviv, Jerusalemand elsewhere to buy bottledwater andother supplies. But, otherwise, streets andparkswere mostly deserted.

Residentialareas hit

For Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel’s ongoing andincreasingly devastating warin Gaza,which is nowover20 months old. There is abroadconsensus in the Israeli public that Iran is amajor threat, and Israel’s opposition leader,YairLapid, astaunch critic of Netanyahu, offered his“full support” for the missionagainst Iran. ButifIranianreprisals cause heavy Israeli casualties or major disruptions to daily life, public opinion could shift quickly

TheIran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollahissued astatement that offered condolencesand condemned theattack, but did notthreaten to joinIran in itsretaliation. Hezbollah’slatest war with Israel —whichkilled muchofthe group’ssenior leadership— endedwitha U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November Khamenei, theIraniansupreme leader,said in astatement that Israel “opened its wicked and bloodstained hand to acrimeinour belovedcountry,revealing its malicious nature morethan ever by striking residential centers.”

Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran’stheocracy, sayinghis messagetothe Iranianpeople wasthatthe fight wasnot with them,but with the “brutal dictatorship that hasoppressed youfor 46 years.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHIDSALEMI

Firefighters and other people clean up the scene of an explosion at aresidentialcompound after Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on Friday

DOTD overhaul overwhelmingly passes

Bills would allow for quicker fixes of roads, bridges

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

For the last year, Gov Jeff Landry and state lawmakers have been calling for fundamental change at the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, demanding quicker fixes to the state’s road and bridge problems. This week, legislators from both parties overwhelmingly approved a package of bills intended to institute their demands. Proponents call it a major step toward reforming an agency they’ve accused of being historically unresponsive and underperforming. DOTD will soon be slated to un-

BR area mourns late Rev. Greg Daigle

Pastor served at St. John the Evangelist in Plaquemine

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Shortly after the Rev. Gregory

Daigle arrived at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Plaquemine more than 10 years ago, one of the families in his parish suffered an unimaginable tragedy Parishioner Jane Boudreaux’s son, Kye, was murdered in 2014 at their family camp. The family was uncomprehending and inconsolable

While organizing the funeral, Boudreaux said, she could hardly think straight. Daigle helped make the arrangements, even selecting a song he would sing for Kye in his famous operatic voice.

Days since learning that Daigle died unexpectedly following last Sunday’s 9 a.m Mass, Boudreaux said she finds comfort knowing that the pastor is with her son

“I keep thinking now, today, that Father finally gets to meet Kye,” she said. “I know they’re just making all kinds of music together.”

In the aftermath of Daigle’s death, his parish and the city of Plaquemine are striving to make sense of the sudden loss while celebrating the merciful nature, humor and musicianship that made the pastor so beloved in his community

“It wasn’t for show his compassion and support of people, his pastoral care of people,” said Cherie Schlatre, parishioner and principal of St. John School. “Just because he didn’t sing it from the rooftops or tell everybody about what he did, I think a lot of people don’t know many people’s lives he impacted just by simple gestures.”

Daigle’s impact was visible Thursday as hundreds of families streamed in and out of the visitation, with a line wrapping around the pews to sign the memorial book He served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Plaquemine, home to 1,800 families, according to the church’s website, as well as resident pastor of St. John School.

St. John Church business manager and director of music Medric Smith Jr said Daigle showed care “beyond measure” when Smith lost his hearing a few months ago. He had worked with Daigle since the pastor was assigned to the parish in July 2013, he said.

“He was a very colorful and jovial priest, pastor, and boss who never missed an opportunity to tell a good joke,” Smith wrote in a message to The Advocate. “I will miss him.”

Schlatre said Daigle played an active role in resurrecting the St. John music program. When he heard that

dergo a significant reorganization through a plan laid out in House Bills 528, 556 and 640, all sponsored by Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville.

A spokesperson for Landry on Tuesday confirmed the governor intends to sign the measures into law Legislative leaders and Landry

this spring had listed overhauling DOTD as a top priority for the legislative session. But major change at the department has been more than a year in the making after Landry, just months into his administration, ordered his transportation chief to figure out how to reform the department.

Now, under the reform package, a new division within the department called the Office of Transformation will be in charge making the agency operate more

An analysis of DOTD by consulting firm BCG stemming from that order found last year that the agency would need more than $1 billion annually to achieve major infrastructure goals and faces major challenges related to timely project delivery and talent retention.

TRICKy PERSPECTIVE

Higgins seeks to drug test Congress

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins wants to screen his colleagues in the House and Senate for illegal drugs. A Lafayette Republican, Higgins filed a bill that would subject members of Congress to a random drug test once per term.

Higgins

“Elected officials in Washington, D.C., should be subject to the same kind of random drug screenings that every bluecollar, working-class American endures,” Higgins said June 6 in a statement.

If a member tests positive for an illegal substance, they would be reported to the Committee on Ethics, where subsequent action would be taken

The bill hasn’t received a House committee hearing, the first step toward a vote by the full House.

Higgins hasn’t reached out to Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions committee, which would most likely consider the legislation should it clear the House.

“I understand that this has been introduced,” Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said Tuesday “It’s something to be debated. I’d be open to seeing statistics. If they say that 10% of the congressional population is impaired, then that would be something that could sway my mind.”

A pugnacious conservative, Higgins has been critical of Cassidy, including a social media taunt that MAGA Republicans would note if Louisiana’s senior senator didn’t confirm the nomination of controversial Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr

Gonzales ordered to pay excluded business

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

A judge recently upheld a federal jury’s verdict finding the city of Gonzales violated a business’s First Amendment rights through the way the city’s police department handles towing. The May 19 ruling by Chief Judge Shelly Dick in the U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana upheld the jury’s verdict, which found the Gonzales Police Department excluded Gonzales Towing and Repair LLC from its tow rotation list because it didn’t support Police Chief Sherman Jackson’s reelection bid. Authorized by state law, law enforcement agencies can create towing rotation lists for use when a vehicle owner can’t or won’t select their own company to tow a vehicle. The law states that the next available company on the list

is then called. The jury

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Sithi Rubin, bottom right, appears three times smaller than relative Gnei Rubin as they walk around the senate chamber of Louisiana’s Old State Capitol while visiting from Lake Charles on Tuesday.

Daigle

Lawsuitmay benefit property developmentgroup

tive forthe Northwest LouisianaAssociation of Realtors, says if the plaintiffs win, it likelywill lead toevenmore lawsuits

Esponge said there was little consideration that property owners still had expenses.

BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer

Alawsuit moving through the court system could provide relief to aproperty development group that claims they were impacted in 2020 by aCOVID aid package. A representative of Northwest LouisianaAssociation of Realtors said if plaintiffs win, it could lead to more lawsuits.

In March 2020, the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act wasrolledout.Itincludeda variety of economicstimuli for individuals, smalland large businesses, hospitals, and state and local governments. Included in the coronavirus aid bill was afourmonth moratorium on tenant evictions from rental housing. The four months turned into 16.

On June 6, alawsuit filed in 2021 arguing that the moratorium allowedthe government to take private property for public use without just compensation won the right to proceed.Darby Development Company Inc. et al v. United States, could be worth billions to property owners

The National Association of Realtors is a“Friend of the Court” in the lawsuit. Scott Hughes,association execu-

DOTD

Continued from page1B

efficiently

And abrand-new agency —completely separate from and independent of DOTD —willbecreated andcalledthe Officeof Louisiana Highway Construction.

That office will be required to plan, construct, maintain and fix any state roads that don’tqualify for federal funding.

There are about4,800 miles of thosesmaller state routes, which include three categories of roadways: rural local, urban localand rural minor collector roads.

“Minor collectors” gather traffic from local roads and direct it to major thoroughfares.Local roads primarily provide direct access to homes and businesses.

The new highway office will be run by an executive director appointed by the governor and will be housed in the Division of Administration, an agency that serves as the operatingarm of state government. It’sunclear what thehighway office’sbudget will be or how many employees will work there.

The transportation department is currently responsible for more than

“Oncethe attorneys effectively win the case, then they go out, becauseit’sa classaction,they go out and they seek people whocould have been damaged,” Hughessaid.

“The real thingmight be, thenyou’ve established under law that this was awrongful takingofproperty.”

Tammy Esponge, association executive forthe Apartment Associationof Louisiana and GreaterNew Orleans, said Louisianaproperty ownerssufferedduring themoratorium.

“I surveyed members statewide during that period, and Ican tell youwewere in the millions of dollars ofrent loss, and Iwould be willing to bet thatwent even higher,” Esponge said. “Owners werenot abletocollect rent. They couldn’tevict,and people werejust living there, rent free. And we had no recourse.”

During COVID, Tiffany Hyde hadtenants in about 150 rental units in Shreveport, Bossier and Stonewall. She says roughly50% of her tenants stopped payingrent.

Hyde says she andher husband are stilltrying to pick up thepieces

“It’snot that you’re putting all of theserentsinto your pocket. Itell you, redoing one air-conditioningunit on ahouse, it may take two yearsbeforeIget that money back,” shesaid

17,000 miles of roads. At DOTD, theagency’s organizational chart will change.

Anew Office of Project Deliverywilloverseeboth engineering and project delivery,functions that are currentlyhoused in separate divisions.

Thatoffice will nowbe required by law to “maximize to thefullest extent possible the privatization of services.

The Office of Transformation willalso be a new division at thedepartment,with an official directive to “implement strategies and initiatives designed to enhance operational efficiency.”

Whileitdoesn’tcarry theweight of law,the Legislaturealso passed a resolution that formalizes several priorities related to plans for DOTD moving forward UnderHCR45,the OfficeofTransformation will have to recommend improvements to project delivery,the DOTDdistrict offices andbridge maintenance, among other things,and report those recommendations to the Legislature bynext spring.

“Many of theitems highlighted as priorities in the HCR will be the basisfor agendas and discussions of the Transportation committeeinthe coming months,” Bourriaque said

“Ifyou take $1 of rent and you break down that $1,an owner makes about 6cents on thedollar,”Esponge said. “Ifthey’re lucky,6 centson the dollar by the timethey paymortgages, insurance, maintenance costs, payroll, all those things. Some may make less than that.”

Hyde agreed:“We were kind of puttingour needs on the back burner because we had to cover the maintenance and stuff of everybody else.”

Realtor Hayden Wallace owned ahandful of rental unitswhenCOVID hit. He is thankful that hisproperty manager had agood screening process in place, which meant relativelyfew issues.

“You know,wehad some folksthat we hadtowork with,” Wallace said. “They gottheir hourscut,theygot let go, whatever.And so we went ahead and worked with them, because theones that communicated it, the ones that communicated to us, we triedtoshow as much grace as we could.”

He said though he made it through relatively unscathed, it was “devastating” to others. He said he has also learned somethings to prevent fallout from any future rent moratoriums.

He has beefed up his rental agreement nuisance clause, which allowsevictions on grounds other than nonpayment of rent. He also doesn’tdolonger-term leases anymore. He currently has

last week. He alsosaidthe Office of Transformation will work to determine which DOTD functions should be shifted to the private sector

The law will nowrequireDOTDto“maximize third-party contracts” for its maintenance of the state highway system, andthere willbenolimitations on the agency’s ability to contract with outside consultantsfor services.

While the plan passed by theLegislature appearsto be morebroad framework thandetailed instruction manual, bothBourriaque, who chairs the House transportation committee, andSenate transportation committee chairPatrick Connick, R-Marrero, have signaledthatmore concrete plans areinthe works. Connick both lastweek and again on the Senate floor this week called the legislative package “just the first step in ensuring taxpayer dollarsare spent wisely and that every levelofDOTD is performing in amanner that is responsive to thepeople of Louisiana.”

Bourriaque said his committee “looks forward to the continued collaboration with the department and key stakeholders to improve the way we address our infrastructure.”

90-day leasesand month-tomonth leases, which means people aren’tevicted, their lease is simply up.

“If someone’sa problem, we’ve got people on avery shortwindow of time,” Wallace said.

Rhalanda Jackson of Options Realty LA LLC is areal estate broker and property manager in northwest Louisiana who was representing close to 50 properties during COVID. She says when her owners didn’tget rent, she didn’tget paid.

“It’smore incentive to make sure that we try to try to helpasmuch as we can, to either resolve the arrears or, unfortunately,findways to initiate the eviction, or take back control of the property,” she said.

Jackson worked with her tenants to try to findassistance.

“Wefound help with Providence House, the Catholic Charities,and then, of course, there was theemergency rental assistance program that was initiated by Caddo Parish,” Jackson said.

Larger parishes received some government rent assistance funds, but property owners say many tenants couldnot or wouldnot qualify, and even for those whodid, it rarely equaled 100% of the rent owed.

Wallace credits local banks and relationships that came through for property owners in the lurch.

“Our local banks really stood in the gap and they showed quite abit of grace,

DAIGLE

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the program had gone dormant due to budget cuts, he promised to “bring music back to St. John,” she said.

He helped with the hiring of a music teacher and launched an annual Epiphany concert with Bill Grimes and the Epiphany Orchestra to raise money and sustain music programming long-term. He performed a rangeofsongsfor the concert, Schlatre said, from “O Holy Night” to selections from the Carpenters.

“Itwas atrainedmusic voice,” Schlatre said. “It was amazing.Itraised the hair on

GONZALES

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comment because aspects of the case are still pending.

Dick ruled the jury’sdecision could “serve as great motivation” for the city to not make similar violations in the future, and it could face lawsuits if it continued its past behavior

In rejecting the motion to rule the list unconstitutional, she foundthatthe jury wasnever asked to make such adecision during the trial.

“Plaintiff wants …the Court to declare the City’s towing rotation listillegal and unconstitutional not just based on the

becausethat law was genuinely terrible, becauseit wasalaw that acted like you just wavedyour wand and stopped time,”Wallace said Esponge says though the COVIDmoratorium has ended, changes that impact rental propertyowners have not.

“We’re still dealing with it because nowI’ve gottowait 30 days if Ihavea federally-

your arms.”

In addition to his love for music, those whoknew him rememberDaigle for hisrelatability and humor.Schlatre recalled himdressing in “regular”clothes on campus,completewith aset of tennisshoes.

“He didn’tmakepeople feel like he wassuperior,” she said. “He wouldtalk abouthis shortcomings.”

Boudreaux had asimilar impression of Daigle’sunpretentiousnessand,incertain ways, unconventionality,though she doesn’t think he would advertise himself thatway

After Kyedied, shefelt called to see aspiritual medium. She never had the chance to say goodbye to her son, she said, and neededsome kind of reso-

jury’sverdict but specifically on the grounds that the City has violated Louisiana law and regulations,” she wrote. “… Defendant is correct that thejury wasneither asked nor found any such violations of state law.”

Additionally,she wrote that state law gives law enforcement“ahigh level of discretion” in implementing andregulatingtowingrotation lists.

Jill Craft, the company’sattorney,wrote via email thatwhile her client “certainly hoped for a better result,theyare grateful thejury saw through theCity’s attempts to makeexcusesfor what happened, anditwas held accountable.”

“Unfortunately,the City con-

backed mortgageorany type of subsidy programbefore I can even fileaneviction,and thenbythe time that gets done and the eviction takes place, you’re looking at 6090 days thatthey’re staying therestill andnot paying me rent.Soit’samess. It is a mess,” Esponge said.

Email Liz Swaine at liz. swaine@theadvocate.com.

lution When she told Daigle, he didn’tjudge or shame her,she said. He understood why she felt this wassomething she needed to do.

“He saidaslongasyou don’t do tarot cards or bad stuff when they drum up bad spirits.” Boudreaux said. “He goes, ‘if you need to do it,doit.’” She said shehas to believe Daigle is happy right now,and thatall the books she reads about the afterlife better be true.

“He was always giving me books to read,” Boudreaux said.“If some of those books are right, he’s having agrand old time. He’shaving his own grand old opera right now in heaven.”

tinues to exclude my clients and, as the Court recentlyexplained,thatmay be fodder for more litigation,” she added. “The unfortunaterealityisthe cost andburdenthe actionsof others imposedand will likely imposeonthe City’staxpayers andresources.”

N.O. Fair Groundsseeks to

administration andLouisiana racing industryofficials to proceed with theupcoming Fair Grounds season,accordingto an official withdirect knowledge of the talks, but who isn’tauthorizedtobe quoted.

The bill alsostipulatedthat

thefirst $22 million from the additional poker slots would be used to boost purses for horse racing at Fair Grounds and the state’sother three race tracks.

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

The owner of the Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots is in “active discussions” with stateofficials to ensure that the upcoming horse racing season willproceed on schedule, acompany spokesperson said Friday

Churchill Downs Inc., whichhas ownedthe historic racetrack for the past two decades, had asked the Louisiana State Racing Commission earlier this week to call an emergency meeting so that it could relinquish its operator’slicense after the companyfailed to secure a publicsubsidyfromstate legislators.

The Louisville, Kentuckybased company operatesits Fair Grounds slots business and 12 other off-track betting outletsunderalicense linked to its commitmentto run ahorse racing season annually from late November through the following March

The threat to pull out of the state had put this year’sseason in peril and left hundreds of Fair Grounds and other horse industry workers worried about their jobs.

Churchill now appears to have backed off that threat, at least in terms of ensuringthe forthcoming racing season, according to industry sources familiar with the situation

“Weare engaged in active discussions in the hopes of a favorable resolution for all stakeholders,” Tonya Abeln, a Churchill spokesperson, said via text on Friday Churchill’s chief executive, William Carstanjen, has reached atentative agreement with Gov.Jeff Landry’s

The person couldn’t say whatconcessionChurchill mightstill be trying to secure but addedthat“it wasdecided it was in everyone’sbestinterestnot to (jeopardize) the racingseason thisyear.”

Churchillisstilldetermining whichracing daysit mightapplyfor The 2024-25 Thoroughbred seasonspanned 76 live racing days from Nov.22to March 23. Fair Groundstypically runsa separate Quarter Horse meet in late summer Gov. Landry’s office didn’t immediatelyrespond to arequest for comment Commission officials declined to comment.

At issue in the dispute has been millions of dollars in revenue that Churchill Downs said it wouldloseafter theLouisianaSupreme Court ruledinMarch that anew typeofslot machine —called Historic Horse Racing, or HHR —was illegal under the state’sconstitution. The court said the slots could only be reinstated if the company won voterapproval in each parish where they operate.

Therulingstemmed from a lawsuit brought by Louisiana truck stop operators whohad seentheirvideo poker business sufferbecauseofthe popularityofthe HHRslots, which arebased on real past horse races but anonymized. TheHHR machines canpay jackpots as high as $100,000, while thecap on video poker is $1,000.

In the legislative session that endedThursday,lawmakersalsopassed abill that increases the number of video poker machines allowed at truck stops from 50 to 60 and at bars fromthree to four

Churchill CEO Carstanjen wrote in his letter to the commission this week that the new legislation wouldfurther hurt Fair Groundsbusiness as the truck stoppoker slots would“cannibalize” its revenues. Churchill Downs has argued that it has invested $200 million in its Louisiana operations since it bought Fair Grounds in 2004 and has paidthe lion’sshare of purses, taxes and wages to support the horse industry over the years.

However,legislators pointed to the company’srecord revenue and profit last year and declined to give apublic subsidy at atime when Louisiana is strugglingtofind money for teachers and other public services.

Theagreement between Churchill and the state, if finalized, will comeasarelief to the 311workers directly employed by Fair Grounds Race Courseand Churchill’s other bettingoperations It will alsobewelcomed by hundreds working in stables, as trainers andin other support areas for horse racing, industry officials said.

“It does look like things are better than they were earlier in the week and we’re hopeful,” said asenior Fair Grounds official who wasn’t authorizedtospeak forthe company “Thereare 300-plus people that obtain their livelihoods at Fair Grounds, many of whom have not worked anywhere else in theirlives,” the official added.“Everybody that works there wants to see Fair Grounds,alegendary institution, continue wellinto lives of our children and grandchildren.”

Freeman,Carolyn Southern Memorial Gardensat11

a.m.

Hogg, Mae

JeffersonBaptistChurch,9135 JeffersonHighway,at11a.m

Jackson, Joyce

SunriseBaptistChurch, 966 MarylandAvenueinPortAllen, at 11 a.m.

Johnson, Kelly Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, 7738 FloridaBoulevardin DenhamSprings,atnoon.

Lovincy, Odessa Virginia BaptistChurch in Belle Rose at 10 a.m.

Milam, Dorothy CharletFuneralHomeinZacharyat 11am Nelson, Vincent

BaptistChurch 9067 La-1 in Lettsworth,at11a.m

Taylor,Fred

HopefulTriumph BaptistChurch, 38584LA-22 in Darrow, at 11 a.m.

Villarrubia, Jeannette JacobSchoen& SonFuneralHome in NewOrleansatnoon.

Watkins-Triggs,Angela

Williams &Southall FuneralHome, 1204Cleveland Street in Thibodaux, at 11 a.m.

Williams,Demetrice

NewLight Missionary Baptist Church,650 Blount Road,at10a.m

Williams,James Israelite Missionary BaptistChurch, 644 SouthRiver Road in Brusly,at11 a.m.

Obituaries

Cropper, LanceB

LanceB.Cropper,born February8,1942 in Plaque‐mine, passed away on Wednesday,June 11, 2025, atthe ageof83atWest Towne.Hewas aresident ofBrusly. Lanceretired fromDow Chemical as a MaterialControllerafter 31 years.VisitingwillbeatSt. Johnthe BaptistCatholic ChurchinBrusly, on Mon‐day,June 16, from 10:30 a.m.until Rite of Christian Burialat12p.m., con‐ductedbyDeaconBob Mc‐Donner. Entombment will followinthe church mau‐soleum. Lanceissurvived byhis wife of 37 years, MargaretTuminello Crop‐per;children, BrianCrop‐per,Devin Cropperand wifeKelli,Terri T. Gauthe and husbandTod,Amanda T.Pitre,William “Billy”Tul‐lierIIand wife Michelle; grandchildren,DanielCrop‐per,Devyn Cropper, Bri‐annaDugas (Clayton), Kar‐lie Gauthe (Christian), Tod GautheII(Casey),Tyler Tul‐lier, TrentTullier (Maddie) TateTullier,and Macie Pitre;great-grandchildren, NathanDugas,Claire Dugas,ColtonGautheand Wrenley Tullier; sister Maureen C. Perry andhus‐bandCleve;sister-in-law SylviaMelancon. Lance was preceded in deathby his father,ClarenceCrop‐per;mother, MaudeCecil Falcon; brothers,Lawrence Melanconand Clarence J. Cropper. Lancewas afor‐mer member of theSt. JohnFather’sClub. He loved Cruisin’ on theCoast and hisantique cars.The familywould like to extend a specialthank youto Bridgeway Hospicenurse, Haley andall thestaff at WestTowne.Memorialdo‐nations maybemadeto Bridgeway Healthcare and Hospice.Pleaseshare memoriesatwww.wilbert services.com.

Clarence "CJ" Joseph Savoie Daigle,82, anative of New Orleans, LA and resident of Belle Rose,LA, passedawayonTuesday, June 10, 2025.CJwas adevoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather,brother,uncle, cousin, and friend. Aproud graduate of Louisiana State University, he earned his degree in Engineering and went on to serveas ChiefEngineer and later Plant ManageratSavoie IndustriesSugar Factory foranimpressive fortythreeyears. CJ was deeply involvedinhis community and professional field. He was amember of the American SugarCane League, aThirdDegree Knight in the Knights of Columbus, and an active participant in the Donaldsonville Elks Club. He served as aBoard Director of Savoie Industries,which later becameLula-Westfield, for thirty-seven years, and was also adedicated board member of Foti Finance forover four decades.A faithfulparishioner of St. Jules Catholic Church, CJ gave generously of his time and talents. He servedasa Eucharistic Minister, achoirmember, was involved in the maintenance committee anda volunteerfor the Allons Manger festival.For fifty plus years, he attended Manresa House of Retreats. In his free time, CJ loved being surrounded by his family. He alsoenjoyed golfing, hunting, and fishing.Known forhis caring nature,heconsistently put the needs of othersbefore his own. Ifsomething was broken, everyone knew CJ was the one to fix it. CJ's life was atestamentto service,love, and dedication.His legacy liveson through the many lives he touchedand the strong foundationhehelped build in both his familyand his community.Heleavesbehind to cherishhis memory his loving wifeofsixty-two years, Patsy Grisaffe Daigle;three sons,Tim Daigle (Dawn), Dr. Bryan Daigle (Dodi) and John Daigle (Jennifer);nine grandchildren; Dr. Seth Daigle (Carley), SeraDaigle (fiancé Hayden), Sophie Daigle,Hayes Daigle, ChaseDaigle, Landon Daigle,John Robert Daigle and AubreeDaigle; two great grandchildren, Addison and MadelineDaigle; six siblings, WilfredDaigle (Glenda), DickieDaigle (Kate), Raymond Daigle (Wing), Barbara Batulis (Bryan), Michael Daigle (Celeste) and Dr. Robert Daigle (Julie). He is preceded in deathbyhis parents,Dr. Juliusand Mildred Daigle. Avisitation willbe held at St. Jules Catholic ChurchinBelleRose, LA, on Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 9am until Rosary at 11:30am then Mass of ChristianBurialat12pm. Conducting the service will be Fr. Thomi Thomas. Interment to follow in the church mausoleum. The family wouldliketoextend their thanks to CJ's loving caretakers, TiffanieOllis and EthelAnderson and his special nurse, KristieLeJeune for their careand support throughout histime of need. The pallbearerswill b h i l

beDr. Seth Daigle, Hayes Daigle, ChaseDaigle, LandonDaigle, John Robert Daigle, WilfredDaigle, Paul Grisaffe and Hayden Richard. HonorarypallbearerswillbeMichael Daigle, Dr. Robert Daigle, Dickie Daigle, Raymond Daigleand Bryan Batulis.

McGee, Andrew 'Jay'

Andrew "Jay" McGee, 63, of BatonRouge, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 9, 2025, aftera courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He wasat home, surrounded by loved ones.

BornonApril 20, 1962, in Utica, New York, Jaywas thebeloved sonofthe late Robert Andrew McGeeand Joyce Anne Bishop. He was adevotedbrother to the lateAmy Kirbyand hisloving sisters, Sally Barlow and PaulaTate, and his cherished partner, Lita Henderson. Jaywas a proud and lovinguncleto Michelle Norton(Eddie), Renee Neilsen (Josh), BridgetBroussard (Chris Grigson), Brittany Henderson (Nathan), Will Cuny (Lona), Jonathan Kirby, Damien Tate(Kayla),and Derek Tate(Rebecca Butler), and agreat-uncletoninegreat -nieces and nephews. His deep bond with hisfamily wasa source of joyand strength—he wasnot only abrother anduncle, but also amentor, confidant, and friend to many.

Jayearned aBachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana andanMBA from Louisiana State University.In1987, he founded On HoldSystems,a business he led with vision, integrity, and entrepreneurial spirit fornearly 40 years

Adedicated Freemason, Jaywas honored to serve as Feliciana Lodge #31's Worshipful Master this year. In arare tribute, Jay received hisPast Master apronearlyinApril 2025,a testament to thedeep admirationofhis Masonic brothers. Jaywas an active and respected member of Feliciana Lodge#31 F&AM; in St.Francisville, chartered in 1817 andNew York's St. George#6, char-

tered in 1774.

Jay'slovefor Louisiana and its traditionswas boundless. In 2019, he was honored to reign as King Mystique XLIII, theoldest paradingMardi Gras krewe in Baton Rouge. Jayserved as BallCaptainfor Krewe Mystique de la Capitale and sat on theBoard of Directors. He wasa proud member of the Pete Fountain Half-Fast Walking Club, parading in New Orleans on Mardi Gras and St.Patrick'sDay forover a decade. In 2022, he was celebrated as King of the Fifolet Halloween Festival Jaywas adedicated member of theBaton Rouge Jaycees where he heldnumerous leadership roles andhelpedorganizefestivals, parades, and charitable events. Jayembraced these roles eagerly with commitment and enthusiasm.Hemade countless friends wholoved him dearly.

Jaywill be remembered forhis quickwit,generous heart, and unwavering commitment to service. He had agift forhospitality, oftenopening hishometo thoseinneed and working to improvethe lives of his tenants. Hiswarmth, laughter, and legacy of kindness will liveoninthe hearts of allwho knew and loved him.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend aFuneral Service at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 15, 2025, at Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson HighwayinBaton Rouge. A Visitationwill be heldat thefuneral homebeginning at 1:00 p.m. Areceptionwill followinthe Legacy Room

In lieu of flowers, the family kindlyrequests memorials be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network(PanCAN),inhonor of Jay'slifelong dedicationtocommunity and service.

Family and friends may signthe onlineguestbook or leave apersonal noteto thefamily at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com

Celebratethe Extraordinary Life of Patricia Thomas Ragusa. Born 8/ 18/1944 in Baton RougeDied peacefullyinher home,6/6/2025 Patti attended Dufroc ES in Baton Rouge andGraduated from Baton Rouge High School. Patti wasthe First in her Familytoearn aCollege Degree andGraduated LSU in 4yearswith abachelor's in education Patti Worked throughout Collegetopay for books, supplies and tuition. Herparents, Elias andLucilleThomas,helped with tuition,aswell.When herfather had adebilitatingstroke, Patti andher mothersold Avon makeup,door-to-door, to help support the familyof7 Patti went on aBlind-Date with Ben PRagusa, Jr,arrangedbymutual friends. Sheeventually married Ben on July 30, 1966 at St AgnesCatholic Church,by hercousin, Fr. Nick Martrain.Patti enjoyedTeaching4th GradeatWyandot Elementaryinthe East Baton Rouge Parish School System.Ben and Patti boughta Yellow 1966 Mustang witha 289 and 4speed for hertotravelto andfromwork. Ben had to gether aseat cushion so she could reachthe clutch After Jeffrey was born,Patti Foundher TrueCallingas aFull-Time Mother. Her passion for Education continued as shehelped her childrenexcel in scholastics, leading themboth to CollegeDegrees. She also wasactive in theirschools andeven wasthe CCD Director at St.Thomas More School in Baton Rouge duringthe 1970's. Patti also tutoredstudents who needed help andwas instrumental in many children achieving High School Diplomas andGED's. After more than 20-years in Atlanta, Patti andBen returned to Baton Rouge to starta newbusinessand take care of Patti'sailing mother. For almost 30 years, old friendshipswere re-kindled andnew ones forged whileher family grew around herinBaton Rouge.The past 3decades haveseenthe birth of five grandchildrenwith two marriages and aflourishingbusiness family, as well.Patti is preceded in death by herparents Elias Thomas,Lucille Martrain Thomas,and herBrother KennethWayne Thomas TheJoy of HerLife was Family! Husband: Ben, of almost 59 years. Children: Jeffrey (56) and Stephanie (54) Grandchildren: Made-

Alberta T. Shannon, affectionately known as Diann, peacefully passed away on Friday, June 6,

Shannon, AlbertaDiann

Ragusa, Patricia Thomas 'Patti'

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Meta invests in AI firm, recruits its CEO

Meta is making a $14.3 billion investment in artificial intelligence company Scale and recruiting its CEO Alexandr Wang to join a team developing “superintelligence” at the tech giant. The deal announced Thursday reflects a push by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to revive AI efforts at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram as it faces tough competition from rivals such as Google and OpenAI.

Meta announced what it called a “strategic partnership and investment” with Scale late Thursday Scale said the $14.3 billion investment puts its market value at over $29 billion Scale said it will remain an independent company but the agreement will “substantially expand Scale and Meta’s commercial relationship.” Meta will hold a 49% stake in the startup Shaq to pay $1.8M to settle FTX suit

Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal will pay $1.8 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the demise of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

O’Neal and other celebrities like Tom Brady and Stephen Curry were named in the lawsuit in 2022. They had been accused of touting FTX as a reputable and trustworthy investment option via paid endorsements The proposed settlement only pertains to O’Neal.

Three years ago FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, but it ended up with billions of dollars worth of losses and had to seek bankruptcy protection. The Bahamas-based company and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, came under investigation by state and federal authorities for allegedly investing depositors’ funds in ventures without their approval. Before its failure, FTX was known to use high-profile Hollywood and sports celebrities to promote its products It had the naming rights to a Formula One racing team as well as a sports arena in Miami. Its commercials featured “Seinfeld” creator Larry David, as well as Brady the former quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots, basketball players O’Neal and Curry, and tennis star Naomi Osaka.

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024. A little more than a month after that, FTX said in a court filing that nearly all of its customers would receive the money back that they were owed.

While the proposed settlement with O’Neal had been agreed to in April, the payment amount and other terms were disclosed in a filing with the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, earlier this week.

Shares of JBS fall in debut on NYSE

Shares of Brazilian meat giant JBS fell 3.9% in as they made their debut Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Trading in New York has been a long-held goal for JBS, which was founded 72 years ago and is now one of the world’s largest meat companies. Half of its annual revenue comes from the U.S., where it has more than 72,000 employees JBS is America’s top beef producer and its second-largest producer of poultry and pork.

Minority shareholders of JBS voted last month to approve the company’s plan to list its shares both in Sao Paulo and New York, casting aside opposition from environmental groups, U.S lawmakers and others who say JBS has a record of corruption, monopolistic behavior and environmental destruction JBS said a dual listing would give it broader access to investors and more competitive interest rates, which would help it finance its growth. It has also said a U.S listing would subject it to more oversight from regulators.

Consumer sentiment rises for the year

Inflation tame amid China tariff truce

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Consumer sentiment increased in June for the first time in six months, the latest sign that Americans’ views of the economy have improved as inflation has stayed tame and the Trump administration has reached a truce in its trade fight with China.

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index, released Friday, jumped 16% from 52.2 to 60.5 The large increase followed steady drops that left the preliminary number last month at the second-lowest level in the nearly 75-year history of the survey Consumer sentiment is still down 20% compared with December 2024.

“Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy

volatility seen in the weeks that followed,” Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a written statement. “However, consumers still perceive wide-ranging downside risks to the economy.” Americans have largely taken a darker view of the economy’s future after President Donald Trump unleashed a wide-ranging trade war, imposing steep tariffs on China, the European Union, and dozens of other countries. Yet in April, Trump postponed a set of sweeping tariffs on about 60 nations and last month reached a temporary

truce with China, after both sides had sharply ratcheted up tariffs on each other The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, released in late May also increased after five straight declines that were linked to anxiety over tariffs. U.S. duties remain elevated compared with historical levels, but so far they have not worsened overall inflation. Prices rose just 2.4% in May compared with a year ago, up slightly from 2.3% in April. Still, most economists expect tariffs to hit harder in the coming months.

‘This impacts every American who eats’

BY AMY TAXIN and DORANY PINEDA Associated Press

VENTURA, Calif

Large-scale immigration raids at packinghouses and fields in California are threatening businesses that supply much of the country’s food, farm bureaus say Dozens of farmworkers have been arrested recently after uniformed federal agents fanned out on farms northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, which is known for growing strawberries, lemons and avocados. Others are skipping work as fear in immigrant communities has deepened as President Donald Trump steps up his immigration crackdown, vowing to dramatically increase arrests and sending federal agents to detain people at Home Depot parking lots and workplaces including car washes and a garment factory It also comes as Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles following protests over his immigration enforcement operations. Demonstrations have since spread to other U.S. cities.

Maureen McGuire, chief executive of Ventura County’s farm bureau, said between 25% and 45% of farmworkers have stopped showing up for work since the large-scale raids began this month.

“When our workforce is afraid, fields go unharvested, packinghouses fall behind, and market supply chains, from local grocery stores to national retailers, are affected,” she said Thursday “This impacts every American who eats.”

California’s farms produce more than a third of the country’s vegetables and more than three-quarters of its fruits and nuts. While the state’s government is dominated by Democrats, there are large Republican areas that run through farm country, and many growers throughout the state have been counting on Trump to help with key agricultural issues ranging from water to trade.

Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, estimates at least 43 people were detained in farm fields in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since Monday The number is from both the Mexican consulate and the group’s own estimates from talking with family members of people detained, she said.

Elizabeth Strater, the United Farm Workers’ director of strategic campaigns, said her group received reports of immigration arrests on farms as far north as California’s Central Valley Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, said farmworker members reported that agents went to at least nine farms but were turned away by supervisors because they lacked a warrant.

“This is just a mass assault on a workingclass immigrant community and essentially profiling,” Zucker said. “They are not going after specific people who are really targeted. They’re just fishing.”

In response to questions about the farm arrests, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement

that the agency will follow the president’s direction and continue to seek to remove immigrants who have committed crimes.

On Thursday, Trump acknowledged growers’ concerns that his stepped-up immigration enforcement could leave them without workers they rely on to grow the country’s food. He said something would be done to address the situation, but he did not provide specifics.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” he said on his social media account, adding: “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

The California Farm Bureau said it has not received reports of a widespread disruption to its workforce, but there are concerns among community members. Bryan Little, the bureau’s senior director of policy advocacy, said the group has long pressed for immigration reform to deal with long-running labor shortages.

“We recognize that some workers may feel uncertain right now, and we want to be very clear: California agriculture depends on and values its workforce,” Little said in a statement. “If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves.”

BY STAN CHOE, DAVID MCHUGH and JIANG JUNZHE Associated

NEW YORK Oil prices leaped, and stocks slumped Friday on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy The S&P 500 sank 1.1% and wiped out what had been a modest gain for the week The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 769 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.3%. The strongest action was in the oil market where the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude

jumped 7.3% to $72.98. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 7% to $74.23 for a barrel. Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil, though sanctions by Western countries have limited its sales. If a wider war erupts, it could slow the flow of Iran’s oil to its customers and keep the price of crude and gasoline higher for everyone worldwide.

Beyond the oil coming from Iran, analysts also pointed to the potential for disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a relatively narrow waterway off Iran’s coast. Much of the world’s oil that’s been pulled from the ground moves through it on ships. Past attacks involving Iran and

Israel have seen prices for oil spike initially, only to fall later “once it became clear that the situation was not escalating and there was no impact on oil supply,” according to Richard Joswick, head of nearterm oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights. That has Wall Street waiting to see what will come next. U.S. stock prices dropped to their lowest points for the day after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward Israel. For now, the price of oil has jumped, but it’s still lower than it was earlier this year “This is an economic shock that nobody really needs, but it is one that seems more like a shock to sentiment

than to the fundamentals of the economy,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. That in turn sent U.S. stocks to a loss that was notable in

but outside their top 15 for the

so

Companies that use a lot of fuel as part of their business and need their customers to feel confident

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

fruits

nuts.

OPINION

Afond farewell, fornow

In my early years, my grandmother demanded that Ibeonthe front porch when shesaw the first lightning bug. Thatwas tough because it was impossible to know when the first one would flash. Besides, everyone else said,“When the streetlights come on.” But in shortorder,I understood when it wastime to quit what Iwas doing. Over the past fewmonths,Ihave seen asymbolic lightning bug at my writing table telling me it’stime to stop whatI’m doing. So, this will be my last regular column.

For 20 years or so, Ihave written about people, places and events, many of them involving my life in old South Baton Rouge. I’ve writtenabout race, children and people in need, my family and matters that few columnists evenbother with I’ve written about unfairnessinsociety,people who played worthy roles in my life and interesting things in my daily travels.Many people have poured out their souls to me, believing Iwould tell the truth. Idid my best not to let them down.

Admittedly,noone will eversay Iwas apolished writer who could spin beautiful phrases,sowell done that readers could hear aviolin in the background. My skills would not challenge intellectuals Naw,that’snot me.Iamthe personwho used words like rocks to break awindow.Mywords are like the guy yelling to get your attention on the sidewalk.

My writing was intentionally irritating, like the little sharp rocks you feel while walking barefoot in the driveway.Orsometimes it was soothing and cool, like the otherside of the pillow

Many times, Iknew columns that delved into race relations and my feelingsabout the unfairness of the government would make someuncomfortable. Years ago, the responses wereawful. They are worse now

Sometimes words came with aprice, like angry letters and emails hoping harmtome. One telephone caller announced, “I’m going to kill you” in response to my column. Sadly,the person whoansweredthe phone that day was my 12-year-old son. There were deadanimals thrown on my front porchorinmydriveway early someSaturday mornings. There were acouple of dings on my mailbox. Through it all, Iloved writing columns about my loving “grandmother” who sacrificed everything for alittle boy she had no blood relations with.I enjoyed writing about my first neighborhood and the neighbors who saw me as their son.

Admittedly,itmakes me feel good to get stopped at the grocery store,atsporting events or at church by friends and strangers who say, “I loved your columnlast week.” Or “Pleasekeep writing. We need what you have to say.” Even the people who say,“Hey,Iread your column, but Idon’tagreewith you mostofthe time” —those folks understandthat we should be able to disagree respectfully. Thank you.

Ihave felt greatincluding my grade school and college teachers who have played such apivotal role in providing me the building blocks that developed me into something no one sawcoming.

Special kudos to the Carver Branchlibrarian who offered the first and second grade me cookies and milk because Iwould come in so often in the summer and fall asleep reading on thefloor Ihaveabit of sadnessthat there will be groups of people and events that will never be writtenabout because Iwon’tbearound to find them.

My wife, children and grandchildren will no longersee some of our loving moments memorialized in the newspaper. And that goes for my friends, too. Iknow my heart and my mind are still married and can stillproducesentences that make people wrestle with their thoughts,get angry, sador feel like celebrating. Maybe I’ll write acolumn once in a blue moon to get something off my chest. Maybe. But, for now,I’m focused on aflicker,like broken glass tossed in the air,at my desk.

Yep, that’sthose darn lightning bugs telling me it’stime to stop and go home. Love y’all and see ya later!

Email Edward Pratt, aformer newspaperman,at epratt1972@yahoo.com

Little notice has been given to a provision of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” pending before Congress which would further place theTrump administration beyond the reach of the law

The bill already passed by the House contains aprovisionthat would limit the federal judiciary’s power to enforce contempt orders for violations of itsorders enjoining the administration from activity found to be unconstitutional or otherwise illegal. The provision, as written, is to be applied retroactively so all existing federal court orders already enjoining illegal activities

Recently,this was published in Letterstothe Editor: “Tort reform has never worked to lower insurance rates: The socialist arm of the Republican Party is hard at work, attempting to take away the rights of Louisiana residents with one of their devious practices —tort reform.”

Whenever someone uses theterm “socialist,” Iamalways skeptical because it’s often used to frighten conservatives. Idisagree with the premise that tort reform will not work. Why? Well, it has never been tried as away to limit costs. It is always proposed, lots of talk, but rarely enacted in away that we could see results, if enacted at all.

Is a$100 million settlement a

of the administration would also become unenforceable if this bill is passed. This is afull-blown effort to put theTrumpadministration beyond the reach of the lawand the courts. It’s one thing for Congress itself to overlook illegalactivities of this administration,but it’squite another thing entirely for it to actively attempt to kneecap another branch of government and prevent it from doing its job. Hopefully,our senators will insistonthe removal of this provision of the bill if it is passed in any form.

BLAKE BENNETT Metairie

Budget bill aims to limitjudicial powers to rein in Trumpofficials Denouncing ‘socialism’obscuresrealissue

better solution than $5 million? Is this what drives insurance rates so high, thepotential forsettlements that can bankruptcompanies? Do frivolous lawsuits cost so much that companies must prepare to cover potential losses?

Or,are thelegal costs and payments to thosethat drive settlements higher the answer? If Iam guaranteed 50% of thesettlement, of course $100 million is abetter solution than $5 million, right?

When apersonal injury attorney writes aletter to the editor saying thesocialists are trying to push tort reform that does not work, Ibelieve we all need to be skeptical.

JOHN SFIRE

NewOrleans

Voters will remember Johnson, Scalisemotives

Someone tell mewhy we elected Reps. Steve Scalise and Mike Johnson, because it couldn’tbeto promoteLouisiana and protect Louisiana families.

Scalise did nothing and said nothingwhile President Donald Trump and Elon Musk gutted thefederal civil service and took hundreds of millionsofdollars in grant funds from Louisiana colleges,savaged farmers by takingfunds from food banks and cut staffing at critical federal agencies like NOAA and

FEMA, which Louisiana relies on for disaster relief. Johnson acts like Trump’spuppet while working to cut Medicaid and increase the national debt, while magically saying the bill will help thepoorest Americans by eliminating the nonexistent fraud in the federal government. Silent Steve andMagic Mike have forgotten who they were elected to represent.Throw them out in 2026.

ROBERT W. BECKER NewOrleans

I’ve lived in southeast Louisiana my whole life, andone thing is certain: Our summers are getting hotter—and more dangerous. That’swhy the Low-IncomeHome Energy AssistanceProgramhas been alifeline for my family and tens of thousands of others. It helps struggling households keep the lights on andthe A/C running when budgets arestretchedtothe limit.

That’swhy I’m alarmed by President Donald Trump’sproposaltoeliminate LIHEAP in his 2026 budgetbeing considered by Congress right now.His administrationhas already cut the staff responsible for managing emergencyutility assistance. If the programdisappears entirely, families like mine will suffer My husband is aveteran who servedproudly.Wenow live on his fixedVeteransAffairs and Social Security benefits. Our two sons rely on internetaccess for school,and losing power means more thanjust inconvenience it’slostfood,lostlearning and increased hardship. In winter,we can lowerthe heat.But in aLouisiana summer, airconditioning isn’toptional. It saves lives.

Here in Louisiana,over 97,000 families depend on LIHEAP They’re doing their best —keeping medical devices running, keeping childrenand elders safe andtrying to avoidthe downward spiralofshut-offs and penalty fees.

There’s nothing “efficient” aboutgutting aprogram that keepsworking families safe and stable just to hand tax breaks to billionaires. LIHEAP hasmade a real difference for my family.I urge ourleaders—and our neighbors —tostand up and fight for this essentialsupport before it’s toolate.

RHONDASCHAFFER

Edward Pratt

CO LL EG EW OR LD SE RIE S

Curiel family’s home structurehelpedLSU freshman become hitter he is today

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

OMAHA,Neb.— Still plotted in the backyardofthe Curiel houseinWest Covina, California, is a batting cage.

The apparatus is impossible to miss. The 55-foot-long structure sits over 75 feet of turf.

Twelve feet of netting separates the roof from its floor,and thewidth of thecage —18feet —providesplenty of room for hitters to swing away without slashing into themesh.

Eight poles drilled 31/2 feet intothe ground keep theenclosure standing.

“Thenet was super,super heavy,” LSU freshman outfielder Derek Curiel said, recalling theconstruction of the cage, “and my brother and mydad mainly did all the work becausethey wereolder.”

With hisbrother Donovyn already off playingjunior-college baseball —eight years before Derek’s collegiate career wouldbegininBaton Rouge —the Curiel cage was constructed mainly to hone the skills of abaseball-obsessed Derek.

ä See LSU, page 4C

J. PUSKAR

AP PHOTO By GENE

Sam Burns linesupa putt on the 14thhole during the secondround of theU.S.Open on FridayinOakmont, Pa

Burnssizzles

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

OAKMONT,Pa. Sam Burns avoided ameltdown that ruined hisopening round at the U.S Open andwound up withabig par save on his last holefor a5-under 65 and the 36-hole lead. Bestofall, the former LSUstandoutwas long gonebefore the real calamityarrived late Friday afternoon at Oakmont.

Rory McIlroy threw aclub in disgust and smashed atee marker.For punishment,he gets to come back for two more rounds be-

Good Luck in Omaha!

cause he birdied the18th to makethe cut. Shane Lowryabsent-mindedly picked up his golf ball on the 14thgreen withoutmarking it Thriston Lawrence became the only player to reach 6-under par.Hepromptly made six bogeys and adouble bogey over his next nine holes. Thomas Detry can appreciate the suffering. He waschallenging forthe lead until threedouble bogeys in athreehole stretch.

Omahais Johnson’s happy place

OMAHA, Neb.— Jay Johnson walked across the field on agorgeous Friday morning at UNO’s baseball field that’sUNO (Nebraska-Omaha), not UNO (New Orleans) —ashis LSU Tigers prepared fortheir final preCollege World Series practice. We said hello. He was smiling. I wished him agood day

“It’salways agood day in Omaha,” Johnson said. He smiled somemore. If LSU wins the CWS this year,itmay take a chisel to take that smile off of Johnson’sface. When legendary San Francisco coach Bill Walsh, like Johnson anative Californian, wentback to coach at Stanford after retiring from the 49ers, he described it as “mybliss.”

This is Johnson’sbliss. Coaching baseball. Coaching in the College World Series. Taking in every delicious momentinthis Nebraska burg. He hasn’tbeen here that manytimes, really.Hehasn’tallowed himself casual tripstoOmaha, instead motivating himself to gethis teamstothe College World Series before allowing himself the pleasure of enjoying college baseball’sultimate destination. He brought Arizona here in 2016 the Wildcats fell to Coastal Carolina in the final after Coastal beat LSU in the super regional —and again in 2021. He wonthe title with the Tigers in 2023 and is back this year.The only other timeJohnson has been here wasin

And thenthere was Phil Mickelson,inwhat likely is his34th andfinal U.S. Open. He was just outside the top 20 until two double bogeys in his last four holes fora74tomissthe cut. The cutmight notbeofficial until Saturdaymorning. If thesecond round wasn’t brutal enough, playwas halted by bad weatherjust as Lawrencehad a4-foot putt on the last hole to finish awild round that was approaching six hours. The day ended with rain pounding the course. Scottie Scheffler,coming off three wins in his last four starts, had his sixth straight round over parinthe U.S. Open withagame

ä See OPEN, page 3C

Scott Rabalais

JOHNSON

LSUcoach JayJohnson STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

ä See RABALAIS, page 4C

Fowles to enter women’s Hall of Fame on Saturday

Former LSU great Sylvia Fowles will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday

The enshrinement ceremony, set to begin at 5:45 p.m. in Knoxville, Tennessee, will be the first of two such events to honor Fowles this year In September, Fowles will enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside alltime greats such as Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Dwight Howard and Maya Moore.

NCAA SETTLEMENT

Road ahead comes with risk, reward and warnings

BY MAURA CAREY AP sportswriter

ORLANDO, Fla. — Two days after the approval of a groundbreaking $2.8 billion antitrust settlement, thousands of athletic directors and department personnel traveled to Orlando, Florida, for the annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention

The hot topic, of course, was the influx of changes both threatening and beneficial for schools across the country According to NCAA president Charlie Baker, approval of the settlement may be the biggest change in college sports history On July 1, schools that opt in to the settlement will embark on a new era of revenue sharing, changing the game both on and off the field.

Rewards

A handful of convention attendees breathed a sigh of relief on June 6 when U.S District Judge Claudia Wilken announced her decision. It’s a quick turnaround and a period of trial and error is anticipated, but Division I athletic directors welcomed the news

“The best thing is clarity,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said The best thing about July 1 is we now have clarity on the rules of engagement, what we’re allowed to do, how we can move forward. Does it solve everything? No, it doesn’t But when you have clarity, you can operate more efficiently and effectively.” Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart said he was relieved to get the agreement in hand.

“We’ve been trying for so long to be part of this,” Barnhart said. “Maybe, just maybe, on July 1, we’ll sort of all know where we are on this one.”

Risks

In a settlement where high-revenue sport athletes have the most to gain, Title IX has emerged as a topic to watch.

The 75-15-5-5 formula has emerged as a popular revenue-sharing formula, meaning that schools are likely to allocate 75% of revenue-share funds to football, 15% to men’s basketball, 5% to women’s basketball and the remaining 5% dispersed to other programs. If a school spent the full $20.5 million allowed this coming year that would mean a breakdown of $15.4 million for football, $3.1 million for men’s hoops and about $1 million each for women’s basketball and everyone else. Montoya Ho-Song, an attorney for Ackerman LLP who specializes in higher education issues, expects Title IX lawsuits to come, just like one filed this week by eight female athletes. The area has shifted again under President Donald Trump, with guidance suggesting the federal government won’t hold schools to rigid requirements to distribute proceeds equitably between men and women.

Warnings

Attorney Mit Winter, a college sports law specialist with Kennyhertz Perry, said it is paramount that athletic departments present an organized, united front.

Since the launch of name, image and likeness compensation four years ago, Winter said, he has encountered several instances where athletic departments are giving conflicting statements and numbers to current and prospective athletes. That can lead to legal headaches, too.

“You need to have a plan that everyone is on board with and that everyone knows,” Winter said. “As a school, you don’t want to have a situation where five different people are talking to an athlete about how much they’re going to pay him or her I think that needs to be much more formalized The coach, assistant coaches, GM, everybody needs to be on the same page.”

St. Bonaventure men’s basketball general manager Adrian Wojnarowski and coach Mark Schmidt know exactly what their roles are — and aren’t.

“I will never talk to a player or a parent or an agent about playing time, their role,” Wojnarowski said. “During the season, if someone is disappointed in playing time and they call, the only conversation I’m having with a family member is supporting the head coach, supporting the coaching staff.”

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm,

and Florida Panthers

Tkachuk go after the puck during the second period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday in Sunrise, Fla.The Oilers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Panthers 5-4 in overtime

Slipped away

Panthers build, then squander, three-goal lead vs. Oilers

BY ALANIS THAMES AP sportswriter

SUNRISE, Fla The Florida Panthers led 3-0 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers and then watched it all go down the drain.

Matthew Tkachuk and the stars of the reigning champion Panthers smothered the Oilers in the first period, raising the prospect of a Game 3 effort that ended with a 6-1 Panthers win. Not this time.

Edmonton responded by scoring four straight goals to take a 4-3 lead only to have the Panthers score in the final seconds of the third period to force overtime. That set the stage for Oilers star

Leon Draisaitl’s goal 11:18 into OT to give Edmonton a 5-4, series-tying victory Thursday night.

What initially looked like an easy victory that would put Florida one win away from clinching a second straight Stanley Cup championship turned into a huge collapse that has the series tied 2-2 heading back to Edmonton.

“We carried play in the first, they carried it in the second,” Tkachuk said. “Special teams were good for us in the first, special teams were good for them in the second. I think it was tighter than a 3-0 period at the start for us. And they clearly took control of play in the second. After two (periods) it’s even, and it probably should have been. So, it doesn’t matter how you how you start, you’ve got to treat it as zeros at the start of a period.” It has been that kind of series so far — an evenly matched, back and forth heavyweight fight between two experienced, resilient teams.

The final has been so tight that three of four games have gone to overtime, marking just the eighth Stanley Cup Final — and fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68) — to have three or more games require overtime.

Despite the loss, Florida coach Paul Maurice said he could appreciate the competitiveness.

“I think we focus on some-

“Everything is dangerous all the time So there’s a mental intensity, a mental toughness I think both teams show that the game’s not going to be over until it is.”

MAURICE, Panthers coach

PAUL

times the mistakes that get made by good players at times,” Maurice said, “and you miss some of the heart and soul and the intensity of it. It’s so fast. Every board battle, everything can turn into something. Everything is dangerous all the time So there’s a mental intensity, a mental toughness I think both teams show that the game’s not going to be over until it is.”

Sam Reinhart nearly saved the collapse when he scored a tying goal in the waning seconds of regulation. His score with 19.5 seconds left was the second-latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history

The record was set earlier in the series by Edmonton’s Corey Perry in Game 2. Florida, which got a pair of early power-play goals from Tkachuk and an evenstrength score from Anton Lundell, had never squandered a 3-0 lead in the postseason. Entering Thursday night, teams were 37-0 when leading a Stanley Cup Final game by three or more goals in the first period.

After building the threegoal lead, Tkachuk said he felt the Panthers weren’t connected. Reinhart felt they

were playing too passively

“I think we were watching the play develop,” Reinhart said, “as opposed to playing on our toes, and that’s obviously how they got back in the game.” Edmonton, boosted by second period goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin, became the seventh team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit in the Stanley Cup Final to win.

The Oilers also seemed to get a boost of momentum after coach Kris Knoblauch decided to pull starting goaltender Stuart Skinner after he allowed three goals in the first period.

The good news for the Panthers is they’ve responded well this postseason following letdowns and seem to relish the moments when the pressure is the highest. That’s what the experience of playing in their third straight Stanley Cup Final has taught the Panthers.

“The more times you go through it, the better,” Reinhart said. “It’s never going to be perfect. This time of year, we’ve been here before We’ve been through it. So it’s about recovering for Game 5.”

Fowles, a first-ballot inductee in both halls of fame, led LSU to the Final Four in all four seasons of her collegiate career She then won two titles and an MVP award across the 14 years she played in the WNBA, while also collecting four Olympic gold medals on the international stage.

Fever star Clark expected to return Saturday vs. NY

INDIANAPOLIS Caitlin Clark ended practice Friday by making a halfcourt shot and winning a little bit of lunch money in the process. And with that, the Indiana Fever star is ready to play again. Clark — barring any unforeseen setbacks is expected to be in the lineup when the Fever play host to the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty on Saturday afternoon. She missed the last five Indiana games with a quadriceps injury Clark returned to practice this week, and her comeback game just happens to be a nationally televised one against the Liberty the reigning champs and, at 9-0, the last unbeaten team left in the league this season. New York is winning its games by an average of 19 points.

Ex-NFL star Brown facing attempted murder charge

Former NFL player Antonio Brown is facing an attempted murder charge stemming from a shooting that took place during an altercation outside an amateur boxing event in Miami, according to an arrest warrant. Brown, 36, is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators one of the bullets grazed his neck. The warrant does not list an attorney for Brown, an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in the NFL in 2021 for Tampa Bay but spent most of his 12-year career with Pittsburgh. Brown did not respond to messages sent to his social media accounts.

Saints opt to sign RB Akers after minicamp tryout

Cam Akers received a tryout with the Saints this week. Now, he’s landed a job.

The Saints announced Friday they signed the veteran running back to a one-year contract Akers, 25, is coming off a season in which he spent time with the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings. He also began his career with the Los Angeles Rams, where he spent three-plus seasons.

Akers, after participating in the team’s mandatory minicamp, will compete for a roster spot and a role to back up starter Alvin Kamara. The 2020 second-round pick, who is from Clinton, Mississippi, has overcome several serious injuries throughout his carer — notably tearing his right Achilles in 2021 and his left Achilles in 2023.

Brewers trade RHP Civale to White Sox for Vaughn MILWAUKEE The Milwaukee Brewers traded right-hander Aaron Civale and cash to the Chicago White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn. The Brewers moved quickly after they announced they were removing Civale from their rotation. The veteran right-hander said Thursday he wanted to remain a starter even if it meant leaving Milwaukee. He was traded one day later Civale is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA this season Vaughn was hitting .189 with a .218 on-base percentage, five homers and 19 RBIs in 48 games with Chicago before being optioned to Triple-A on May 23. The Brewers also are sending $807,000 to the White Sox as part of the deal.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NATHAN DENETTE Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl celebrates after his winning goal with Evan Bouchard, right, during the first overtime period.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LyNNE SLADKy

left,

left wing Matthew

Reigning champ done early

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

OAKMONT, Pa Bryson DeChambeau was the only player hitting balls in the rain on the driving range as sundown approached Friday at Oakmont.

Those were the last shots he’ll hit at this year’s U.S. Open.

DeChambeau became the first reigning champion to miss the cut at the national championship since Gary Woodland in 2020 his round wrecked by errant drives, knucklers out of the rough and putts that would not drop.

DeChambeau shot 7-over 77 to finish the two days at 10 over — three shots off the cutline.

Where his signature shot last year at Pinehurst was that 55-yard blast from the bunker that set up the win on the 18th hole Sunday, the moment that told the story this year was the wild lash he took into the rough — also on No. 18 then the TV cameras picking him up saying “What was that?” as he regained his balance and headed toward the green He saved par there and looked in line to make the cut with nine holes to go It was a stretch of double bogey (bad drive), bogey (missed 6-footer), bogey (missed 7-footer) on 5, 6 and 7 that did in DeChambeau. And so, the fan favorite who also tamed Winged Foot for a title in 2020, and who has starred in four of

the past five majors winning last year’s U.S. Open, paying with Rory McIlroy at the Masters and finishing second to Scottie Scheffler at this year’s PGA and Xander Schauffele the year before — won’t have a role on the weekend at Oakmont. Schauffele made the cut to extend his streak to 66 tournaments, the most since Tiger Woods made 142 straight, ending in 2005. Schauffele hasn’t missed a cut at the majors since the Masters in 2022 that’s 14 straight. Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 champion, made one of only five birdies on the uphill, par-4 ninth hole to make the cut on the number Some other former champions didn’t fare as well.

Among them are Dustin Johnson (10 over), the winner at Oakmont in 2016, Woodland (10 over), Lucas Glover (8 over) and Wyndham Clark, whose 25-footer for par just missed and left him one off the cut line. Also missing was Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who teed off into a ditch on 18, had to take a penalty shot and finished with a double bogey to move to 8 over

And Phil Mickelson’s days at the U.S. Open could be coming to an end. Playing in the last Open from his five-year exemption from his PGA win in 2021, Mickelson teed off into the greenside rough on 17 and needed five shots to get down. His double bogey left him at 8 over

Thompson in contention at LPGA Classic

By The Associated Press

BELMONT, Mich. — Lexi Thompson was back in contention going into the weekend in her beloved Meijer LPGA Classic, a year after a playoff loss at Blythefield County Club.

Making her sixth start of the season in a part-time tour schedule, Thompson birdied three of the last four holes in breezy afternoon conditions for a 3-under 69 and a 7-under total The 2015 winner at Blythefield was a stroke behind leaders Karis Davidson, Carlota Ciganda, Hye-Jin Choi and Celine Boutier

“The golf course is one thing. It’s always in great shape for us, which we always look forward to,” Thompson said after the bogey-free round on the tree-lined layout.

“But the amount of support that the tournament gets and also how Meijer gives back to the community as well. It’s not just a tournament. It’s much bigger than that.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Lexi Thompson shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 7 under on Friday at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Mich.

The 30-year-old from Florida won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in 2019.

“Some days are harder than others and we get frustrated, but at the end of the day it is just golf,” said Thompson, also set to play next week in the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.

Davidson, playing in the second-to-

par holes over 36 holes, the most in three U.S. Opens at Oakmont since it switched to a par 70 in 2007. Hovland is two shots behind

that didn’t look familiar He still scratched out a 71 and was seven shots behind.

“Today was, I think with the way I was hitting it, easily a day I could have been going home,” Scheffler said. “And battled pretty hard to stay in there. I’m 4 over We’ll see what the lead is after today, but around this golf course I don’t think by any means I’m out of the tournament.” Burns was a regular birdie machine — at Oakmont, no less playing in the morning under cloud cover and little wind, and flushing his irons so well that all six of his birdies were inside 10 feet.

He was at 3-under 137, one shot ahead of J.J. Spaun, who fell out of a share of the lead with a bogey on the 18th, his sixth in his round of 72. Burns and Viktor Hovland (68) each have 11 sub-

Onlythreeplayersremained under par, the fewest in seven years at the U.S. Open. Burns can only imagine where he would be if not for a shocker of a finish Thursday, when he was one shot out of the lead and then played his last four holes in 5-over par

“I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes. So I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together,” Burns said. “It was unfortunate, but there was too much good to focus on the little bit of bad.”

Hovland twice holed 50foot shots from off the green — a putter from the collar on No. 10 when he started his round, and chipping in for eagle on the reachable par-4 17th. He also chopped up the second

last group off the first tee, birdied the par-4 16th and par-5 18th for a 70.

“We just really hung in there today,” Davidson said. “Was a bit of a grind, and nice to get the couple birdies at the end.”

Ciganda and Choi each shot 67, and Boutier had a 68, all playing the morning session.

“Coming here the week before a major obviously gives you confidence for playing next week,” Ciganda said. “The course is one that I like. I enjoy coming here, and it’s always fun playing in Grand Rapids.”

Thompson was joined at 7 under by Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Amanda Doherty (69), Bronte Law (69), Minjee Lee (70) and Sofia Garcia (71). Grace Kim, also part of the playoff last year that Lilia Vu won, was 6 under after a 73. She bogeyed two of her last three holes to fall out of a tie for the lead.

Mi Hyang Lee, the first-round leader after a 64, had a 75 to drop to 5 under

very pleased, but also, ‘Man, that could have been a little bit lower.’ But we’re in a really nice spot after two days, so I’m just kind of happy.”

Adam Scott, playing in his 96th consecutive major, had another 70 and joined Ben Griffin (71) at even-par 140.

Burns is among the top putters on the PGA Tour, though he did miss a 5-foot putt to win a playoff in the Canadian Open last week and threeputted the fourth playoff hole to lose. This was more about staying in position and eliminating as much stress as possible on a course that can be relentless.

Miss Softball winner Anderson excelled in circle and at the plate

BY ROY LANG III Staff writer

Kynzee Anderson was

a dominant force in the circle for Calvary Baptist of Shreveport during the 2025 season. Anderson posted a 24-1 record, 1.26 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 145 innings, and capped the season in the Division III select state championship game with an abbreviated no-hitter

That résumé alone would make the Georgia commitment, who can hit 68 mph on the radar gun, worthy of any postseason honor But there was more to make the junior the LSWA Miss Softball recipient for 2025 special.

For the first time, Calvary Baptist coach Tiffany Wood allowed her ace to serve as a full-time hitter. Consequently, Anderson described this season as “a lot more fun.”

Opponents would disagree. Anderson posted a .466 batting average with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs.

“She’s proven she can do both,” Wood said.

Anderson is the first Calvary Baptist athlete to capture the award.

“The confidence at the plate works into my pitching, and the confidence from my pitching works into the confidence at the plate,” said the 5-foot-6 Anderson, who had a 1.034 slugging percentage.

hole for a double bogey But he was happy to be done.

“Definitely tired, exhausted because you’re just focusing so much on every single shot,” he said. “I’m very pleased with 2-under par, but also I know that I was 4 under at some point So it’s like

No putt was more important than his 20-foot par putt up the ridge on No. 9 to finish off a great round the right way He tugged his drive to the left on the tough par-4 ninth into a ditch, took a penalty drop, hit safely on the green and made the putt. “That putt was, I don’t know, 6 feet of break,” he said. “Yeah, it was a nice one to make, for sure.”

“I was overwhelmed. I never thought it was going to happen (in the state title game),” Anderson said. Said Wood: “She’s been a fighter all season long.”

Motivated by a title push for late teammate Elana Franks, who died just days before the season began, Anderson not only pitched but she also didn’t allow a hit to D’Arbonne Woods.

“We did it for her,” Anderson said of Franks. “I know she’s looking down at us and she’s happy and smiling.

“I was trying to do anything I could to help the team.” Anderson did not let her team down.

Anderson also won the Louisiana Gatorade Softball Player of the Year award and the Outstanding Player designation on the Class 2A all-state softball team. Just 10 minutes before the state championship game, Wood and her staff said they thought Anderson would be a late scratch after her ailing back flared up.

LSU’s Watkins third in 100 at NCAA meet

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

The last 50-meter surge is Jelani Watkins’ superpower on the track. His dogged mindset is the intangible that allowed the LSU freshman to reach the men’s 100-meter final on the third day of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field on Friday in Eugene, Oregon. The 20-year-old sprinter came to Eugene not just to enjoy the scenery but to speed down the rubber in search of a gold medal to match his uniform and blond dreadlocks. Watkins settled for a bronze medal as he finished the race in 10.092 seconds only 0.001 difference from silver LSU sophomore Jaiden Reid finished sixth with a time of 10.17.

The bronze medal Watkins earned should numb some of the letdown from the 4x100-meter relay final.

The LSU relay team was disqualified for having crossed its lane line during the race. Had it not been for that error the Tigers would’ve finished third with a time of 38.56.

The team consists of junior Jordan Turner, Reid, junior Myles Thomas and Watkins In the 110 hurdles final,

junior Jahiem Stern finished seventh with a time of 13.57 seconds. The last event to conclude with an LSU athlete was the final for the high jump. Senior Kuda Chadenga jumped 7 feet and a halfinch, tying him for eighth place. The LSU men’s track and field team, at press time, was in 25th place overall after accumulating 11.33 points.

AP PHOTO By CAROLyN KASTER

Viktor Hovland tees off on the 16th hole during the second round of the U.S Open on Friday in Oakmont, Pa.

DeChambeau misses cut at U.S. Open, then looks for answers in the rain

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the 13th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. DeChambeau shot a 7-over 77 to finish the

days at 10 over — three shots off the cutline.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

Jones’ time is now

LSU counting on steady bat from junior first baseman

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Ask coach Jay Johnson, and he’ll say that no moment excited him more this season than the one in which Jared Jones quashed his hitting slump. On June 2, a Little Rock pitcher served him a fastball over the middle, and Jones unleashed one cathartic swing, driving a line drive over the wall in left-center field. The blast added two runs to the Tigers’ one-run, ninth-inning lead. It also propelled LSU past the Trojans and into the super regionals, where two wins over West Virginia set up a College World Series opener against Arkansas on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).

“With Jared, he made a decision to come back this season for this,” Johnson said Sunday, “and this opportunity ahead of us next week and to be at the front of it.”

Only one Southeastern Conference hitter has driven in more runs this season than Jones, who’s hitting .328 with 20 home runs, 70 RBIs and 15 doubles. The junior

LSU

Continued from page 1C

At least five days a week, for no less than two hours each day Derek’s father, Rick, would throw batting practice to his youngest son. Their work was so frequent that they tore up the grass in the cage, prompting Rick, with the help of a friend, to implement a turf base.

“The first two months, it was just our regular grass,” Rick said. “And it got torn up. It honestly became dirt because it had a nice yard. It was like an eyesore.”

All of those hours in the cage have led to Saturday night when LSU faces Arkansas to kick off its run at the 2025 College World Series (6 p.m., ESPN).

“We’re just so happy and blessed that he’s at LSU,” Rick said, “and I just can’t believe my son’s going to the College World Series.” Derek is a fixture in the LSU lineup. He’s spent the majority of this season as the leadoff hitter, entering Omaha with a team-best .473 on-base percentage, a 1.004 on-base plus slugging percentage and 19 doubles.

As the team leader in walks, his patience at the plate has earned LSU coach Jay Johnson’s full trust.

“He’s the engine of this offense,” Johnson said, “and how he plays inspires the team.”

Fine-tuning that engine required hours of practice and a routine Derek developed with his father in the cage. Before Rick would start throwing, Derek would begin each hitting session by taking swings off of a tee. Once Derek had practiced hitting the ball to the opposite field and up the middle off of the tee, they’d progress to Rick soft tossing balls to him.

“Initially, when he was younger, I would do side flips from the side, like soft toss,” Rick said. “But as he started getting a little bit older I started doing the front flips in

gave LSU big swings from his usual spot near the top of the order all season, but he started slumping once the Tigers began postseason play.

Across LSU’s two SEC Tournament games and its first three NCAA regional contests, Jones was 2 of 22 and struck out 10 times.

Even with the two-hit, two-RBI outing he pieced together in the regional clincher, the junior still had gone only 4 of 27 (.148) in the postseason entering the super regional against West Virginia.

Something clicked for Jones ahead of those two games. Including the last game of the regional, he’s recorded a hit in six of his last 13 at-bats, a stretch in which he notched a home run, a double and three RBIs.

It’s an important development for LSU. The center-field wall at Charles Schwab Field, a pitcher’s ballpark, in Omaha, Nebraska, is 408 feet from home plate. Few hitters have enough power to clear that fence, especially when the wind is blowing in Jones is one of the exceptions.

“The biggest thing is plate discipline, obviously,” Jones said Thursday

After LSU swept West Virginia, Jones acknowledged he didn’t exercise enough patience in his plate appearances during the Baton

the front with the L screen right in front of me.”

Rick would move back to 32 feet and start throwing batting practice once Derek properly had warmed up. Derek would choke up on the bat and perform one-handed swings with each hand before taking two-handed swings with a weighted bat.

“I put that 55-ounce bat in his hand,” Rick said. “We’d swing that quite a bit because once he got his game bat in his hand, I wanted it to feel super light and generate some bat speed.”

Once Derek could use his regular bat, he’d take cuts for as long as he liked. Rick put up lights for the cage by the time Derek was in high school, allowing him to come home from practice and take more swings after dinner

“I would throw hundreds of pitches every night, for sure,”

Rick said

Derek’s pitcher was always his father because of his disdain for pitching machines. He’s since gotten used to hitting off the robots, but Derek always preferred seeing the ball coming out of an actual hand.

But reading spin and recognizing pitches out of the hand wasn’t something he developed overnight. Rick would throw Derek curveballs, sliders, changeups, cutters, and two-seam and fourseam fastballs to keep his son on his toes.

Rick’s best pitch was his cutter

“I had pretty good movement on it,” Rick said “So it was actually good for him to see that because, obviously in game situations at any level, the pitcher is not trying to just throw it straight.”

Rick also would have Derek call out each pitch he’d see come out of his hands. He’d also number some of the baseballs to have

Derek tell him whether a one, a two, a three or a four had just zipped his way. “Obviously you’ve got to see the baseball,” Derek said. “So just

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

2015 when he was coaching at Nevada, bringing the Wolfpack here for a May regular-season series with Creighton.

Even when future big-leaguer

Kris Bryant, one of his players when Johnson was an assistant at the University of San Diego, came here when he won the Dick Howser Award (a player of the year prize LSU’s Paul Skenes won in 2023) in 2013, Johnson declined the trip.

The “Earn Omaha” covenant is one that he has faithfully kept.

Why?

“It’s just a special place,” Johnson said. Johnson has special reverence for the game, for Omaha and for LSU, where he’s been the coach since 2022. It is not lost on him that he is the keeper of a highly beloved flame when it comes to LSU baseball. A place with the highest standards. A place where people say, “Thanks for leading the Tigers to their seventh CWS title, Jay

“Now go get No. 8.”

Rouge regional. He was striking out too often, chasing too many pitches and searching for the big swing too early in his at-bats.

“The strike zone will be the same no matter the weather conditions,” Jones said. “For me, I’m going to have to do a good job controlling the zone And then just based off how the wind is playing, hard, low line drives are going to do best for me.”

Last summer, Jones could have left his name in the MLB draft He was an eligible sophomore, fresh off a year in which he hit .301, slugged .747 and cranked 28 home runs. He even hit 14 homers across the 55 games he played as a freshman on the 2023 national title team

But for Jones, something was missing. Like a return trip to Omaha. Or the chance to anchor an LSU lineup on college baseball’s largest stage. In 2023, the then-freshman took three at-bats in the College World Series.

Jones has a much larger role now, and he’s already shaken off a hitting slump just in time for the chance to star in it.

“That’s what he’s been,” Johnson said. “Three years, a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the bucket. Couldn’t be prouder of the person that he is, the leader he is. Obviously, he’s a great player

“Just very thankful that he made that decision.”

LSU left fielder Derek Curiel runs during a practice ahead of the College World Series on Thursday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

little things like that to help you focus a little bit more have helped me.”

Taking advantage of a hanging curverball or a cutter over the plate still requires a certain level of hand-eye coordination. For Derek, it was Donovyn who played a major role in developing that skill. With a broomstick or a plastic bat Donovyn would have Derek swing at small, flying discs and bottle caps. They’d also play lots of pingpong, and Donovyn — despite being 8 years older — never let up on his younger brother

“I treated him like a teammate. I want the best for him, so I’ve always made him earn his win,” Donovyn said. “So there was a streak where he was younger and I would beat him constantly.” Derek’s pingpong skills have translated into the LSU clubhouse. He and senior catcher Luis Her-

Johnson gets it. He’s been trying to go get it relentlessly for two years now He once told a story about catching a flight to visit a recruit not long after LSU won here in 2023.

“What are you doing?” someone asked Johnson at the gate.

“I’m trying to do it again,” he replied. He said getting the LSU job — the job where Skip Bertman built a dynasty with five CWS trophies and Paul Mainieri won one and came close to another — was a life-changing event. His life is devoted to baseball, to his players, to keeping LSU at a championship level.

“I know what I’m entrusted with,” he said after LSU beat West Virginia in the Baton Rouge super regional last weekend. “I give it my entire life. And I give it to these guys, and they give it back to me. It’s so fun and exciting and rewarding to see all those people so passionate and thankful for the effort that everybody in this program that everybody cares so much about be appreciated.”

Johnson’s work ethic makes an impression on the LSU players, center fielder Chris Stanfield said “The way he goes about it every day, seeing how much he cares, bleeds onto us,” Stanfield said Friday “We do it for him as well as the program.”

One coach in the Baton Rouge regional said no one in college

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (48-15) vs Arkansas (48-13)

WHEN: 6 p.m., Saturday

WHERE: Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, Neb

TV: ESPN

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans); KLWBFM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 6 overall seed; Arkansas is No. 3

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — LHP Kade

Anderson (10-1,3.58 ERA);Arkansas — LHP Zach Root (8-5,3.59 ERA)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: LSU announced Friday night that it will start Anderson in its College World Series opener Anderson had his weakest start of the year last Saturday in Game 1 of the super regional against West Virginia, allowing six earned runs in seven innings. Root allowed just one hit in seven innings last week against Tennessee in the super regionals.

Koki Riley

nandez are the two best players on the team. LSU held a tournament during the middle of the season, and they met in the final.

“Those two are playing every single day against each other for hours,” LSU sophomore outfielder Jake Brown said. “It gets annoying because no one else can play They’re just taking up the table the whole time.” Donovyn, who played two years of Independent League Baseball in the United Shore Professional Baseball League, offered many lessons to Derek about hitting and the game.

He told him to be patient at the plate, emphasizing how difficult it is for pitchers to throw the ball over the dish consistently He taught him the importance of re-

baseball outworks Johnson. It’s a quality that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward naturally admires about Johnson, but also something that worries him a bit, too.

“He’s kind of a workaholic,” Woodward said. “I worry about him taking enough time off and not wearing himself out.”

True to his South Louisiana roots, Woodward is an avid hunter and fisherman. Once, he coaxed Johnson to come duck hunting at his camp.

Once. Johnson supposedly got three ducks. He’d rather see Derek Curiel get three hits, especially Saturday against Arkansas in LSU’s CWS opener (6 p.m., ESPN). Woodward, accustomed to making big-name hires, said he knew Johnson was the guy for LSU from the start. He said Johnson was the best candidate he’s ever interviewed.

“He was prepared,” Woodward said. “He knew what he was doing. It was a mic drop interview My whole staff was there and everyone was like, ‘That’s the guy.’ It was kind of a nobrainer.”

Some LSU fans have a problem with Johnson: He’s not Bertman. LSU probably never will get another Bertman But it should want to hold onto Johnson for as long as it possibly can. There are more titles in his and LSU’s future. Talk about a no-brainer

laying the pitches he sees to his teammates in the dugout, a lesson Derek has taken to another level.

After every pitch, Derek takes one step out of the batter’s box and motions to the dugout with his hand what pitch he just saw It’s a routine that he started.

“We can kind of tell when it’s a slider from the side, but Derek likes to do it, and sometimes it does help us,” LSU senior outfielder Josh Pearson said. “It’s kind of funny to watch him tell us the pitch.”

Donovyn and Rick also would relay mechanical advice to Derek, making sure that the knob of his bat was facing toward his back hip in his stance and that his swing starts from the ground up.

Rick tends to watch video of Derek’s swing.

“I like Derek to be videotaped from the front and the back. We go over video a lot,” Rick said. “We slow it down so Derek and I watch it, just because sometimes when you get in a bad habit, you don’t realize you have a bad habit.

“So I’d have to show him on the video, just so he could see what’s going on. I would have Donovyn — and or my wife, whoever was out there — videotape him.”

Rick still works with Derek on his swing. They don’t come together as often as they did when Derek was in high school, but they have worked a few times during the season.

Rick threw to Derek on the field at Alex Box Stadium earlier this season. When LSU was on the road at Oklahoma and Auburn, Rick found a cage to work with Derek.

“We did our work just to try to get him locked in again and get him right, Rick said, “just so he can feel comfortable with the swing.”

But it all started in that big batting cage in West Covina. The turf grass twisting underneath their feet and the persistent pinging of Derek’s bat connecting with another one of Rick’s pitches.

“We built that cage with our hands,” Derek said.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Fans react as LSU first baseman Jared Jones celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the Baton Rouge regional championship game against Little Rock on June 2 at Alex Box Stadium.

CoastalCarolina, Ore. St.win at CWS

By The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb.— Coastal Carolina broke open atied game with three runs in the eighth inning, Dominick Carbone shut down athreat by Arizona in the ninth andthe Chanticleers opened the College World Series with a7-4 victory Friday The Chanticleers (54-11) extended theirwinning streak to 24 games in their first appearanceinOmaha since they beat Arizona in the 2016 finals. They will play Sunday against No. 8national seed Oregon State “We’vegot adugoutfullof hungry and humble dogs,” CoastalCarolina coach Kevin Schnall said. Arizona (44-20), in the CWS for the first time since 2021, will play Louisville on Sunday Coastal Carolina scored singleruns in the fifth and sixth innings to forge a4-all tie with the Wildcats and took theleadinthe eighthafter relieverGarrettHicks (5-1) retired the first two batters. Wells Skyes sliced an 0-2 pitch just inside the rightfield line for adouble and Caden Bodine was intentionally walked before Sebastian Alexander,who struck out in his previous three at-bats, singled in the go-ahead run. Arizona closer Tony Pluta came on and gave up Blake Barthol’stwo-run double.

“This is my last year of college eligibility and I’m giving it everything I’ve got for this team,” Sykes said. “I’ve gota ton of respectfor my teammates and my coaches, and I think the big crowds and the loud environments are help-

ing. We’re locked in.” Schnall said Sykes, was the right manatthe right time in the eighth inning.

“He’sgot guts,” Schnall said.“He’sgreat under tension and stress. Helives forthose moments. He’s had some massive hitsthis postseason starting (with) the conference tournament. ButI’m reallyproud of him because he’s really worked hard and he really bought into the Coastal way Day1.”

The Wildcats had runners on thecorners with no outs in the ninth. Carbone struck out pinch-hitter DomRodriguez and then got Brendan Summerhill to hit into agameending doubleplay

“It came down to some great two-strikehitting by them,” Wildcats coachChip Hale said. “Great pitch almost on theground. Guy dunks it into right for adouble. Then they getjammed, hit aball into center for a base hit.”

TheChanticleers of the Sun Belt Conferencearrived with the most wins and on the longestwinning streak ever enteringaCWS.

Chanticleers reliever Cameron Flukey (8-1)pitched four innings in reliefofRiley Eikhoff and allowed two runs andtwo hitswith awalk Coastal Carolina finished with 14hits against four pitchers. Blagen Pado,who entered theNCAA Tournament batting .225, continued his postseason tear.He went 2for 4and is now 10 of 21 (.476)with three homers and eight RBIs over six tournament games.

OREGON STATE4,LOUISVILLE3: Aiva Arquette scored from

first base on Gavin Turley’s drive intothe left-field corner in the bottom of theninth inning to give Oregon Statea victory

TheCardinals (40-22) had tiedthe game with two runs in the tophalf beforeOregon State (48-14-1)recorded its fourth walk-offwin of the season andsecondinfour games.

Arquette, aprojected first-roundpickinthe MLB amateur draft nextmonth, had arough night in thefield before delivering his third base hit of the game withone outinthe ninth. Turley then sent the first pitch from Jake Schweitzer (4-2) on alineinto thecorner.Left fielder Zion Rose tried to cutthe ball off but couldn’tcome up with it, allowing Arquette to be waved home.

Oregon State’sdugout emptied, and Turleywas drenched withabucket of sports drink in theon-field celebration. In the Beavers’ super regional opener last week, Turleyscored the winning run on AJ Singer’swalkoff single in a5-4, 10-inning win over Florida State.

The Cardinals,who trailed 3-1, strandedrunners at third base in the sixthand seventh innings.

They broke through to tie it in theninthagainstKellan Oakes(5-0).Rosetripled to left when the ball got past Turley androlledtothe wall and TagueDavisfollowed with an RBI single. Alex Alicea reached on shortstop Arquette’sthrowing error and ended up on thirdwhen catcher Wilson Weberlost his grip on theballashetried to get Alicea at second.

Bigoffense,big hearts fuel Murray State’srun

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

OMAHA, Neb.— Like Fresno State, Stony Brook and Oral Roberts before them, the Murray StateRacers are about to be embraced as the College World Series’ lovable underdogsbylocal fans looking to adopt ateam for the week.

Murray Statemerchandise already is selling fast among folks who aremuch morelikely to identify the southwestern Kentucky school with basketballalums Ja Morant or Popeye Jones thanthe upstart ballclub making its CWS debut. As aNo. 4regional seed, theRacers (44-15) beat No 10 nationalseedOle Miss of the Southeastern Conferenel two out of three times on itshomefield and also took down theACC’sGeorgia Tech. Then they wontwo of three at Duke in the super regionals.Upnext is their CWS opener against No. 15 UCLA (47-16) on Saturday “A lotofpeople arecheeringfor us,but how many people actually believe in us that we can getitdone?” saidDustinMercer,the team’sleading hitter There’splentyofbelief in the clubhouse. Coach Dan Skirka andhis players say their bond is special fora team madeupofeight transfers from four-year schools, 14 from juniorcollegesand 14 other players whostarted theircareers with the Racers. The way theysee it,their small-budget program has thingsmoney can’tbuy players’ trust in each other love for each other and grittiness.

“Wedon’thave all the bells and whistles,” Skirka said. No, theydon’t. Murray Statedoled out $858,107 on baseball in the 2024 fiscal year.That’s about one-tenth

of the $9 millionbaseball budgets for the SEC’sArkansas and LSU, the biggest spenders in theCWS. The Racers were just under the 11.7 scholarship limit for this season.

Skirka’smost recent salarywas listedat$91,000 on the state of Kentucky’s transparency website, about 10 times less than the man who will be in theopposite dugout Saturday,UCLA’s John Savage. TheRacers rankedinthe bottom halfofDivision I home attendancethisseason, averaging 375 fans per game at 800-seat Johnny Reagan Field. Contrary to severalpublishedreports, Skirka said he does not mow the grass, though his players do shovelsnowoff the field if necessary before early-season practices and games. The 40-year-old Skirka is straight out of central casting as the Racers’ seventhyear head coach.Hegrew up in Coldwater,Michigan, population 14,000, and played college ball about 90 minutesaway at Division II Grand Valley State. Before he took over at Murray State, where he had been an assistantfrom2009-

14, he had been an assistant and head coachatjunior colleges and an assistant at DivisionIIOuachita Baptist in Arkansas.

“Humble beginnings,” Skirka said. Skirka’s mantra is to squeeze everything he can out of his limited resources and then add apersonal touch. Skirka said it’sabout recruiting theright people more than the right players. Alot of his team’ssuccess is the result of whathas happenedoff thefield.There were theteam dinners at Skirka’s house, bowling outings, creative conditioning drills andpresentations players give in thefallabout their lives outside baseball.

“The culture, Iknow it’s cliché, but that’sthe number one thing on my mind 24/7,” Skirka said. “That’swhat these guys want. That’s whatIpromised them in the recruiting process.” The Racersswept the Missouri Valleyregular-season andtournamentchampionships and have kept rolling. Mercer,inhis third season with the Racers since transferring fromVirginia Tech is batting .360 for the season and .552 with seven doubles in the NCAA Tournament.

By The Associated Press

CHICAGO Isiah Kiner-

Falefa hit asacrifice fly in the 10th inning to help the Pittsburgh Piratesbeatthe Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Friday

ThePirates loaded the bases in the 10th on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ infield single and awalk to Henry Davis. Kiner-Falefa then drove in Adam Frazier with aflyball to left off Drew Pomeranz (2-1).

Kiner-Falefa also threw out Ian Happ whenheattempted to score from first on Kyle Tucker’stwo-out double in the fifth inning Dennis Santana (2-1) got five outs for the win, and David Bednar worked aperfect 10th for his 10th save. Pirates ace Paul Skenes struck out five in five scoreless

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByVASHAHUNT

MurrayState pitcher Graham Kelham, left,celebrates with catcher Will Vierlingafter a9-6 win over OleMiss on May30inOxford,Miss.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By CORy EADS

Coastal Carolinaoutfielder Sebastian Alexander celebrates adouble in the Chanticleers’ 7-4 win overArizona at theCollegeWorld Series on Friday in Omaha, Neb

Observethe Juneteenth holidayatlocal events

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE

Staff writer

Juneteenth commemorates the official emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay and acrossTexas —where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, theywere declared free —under the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

Juneteenth is celebrated every June 19.

This year,Baton Rouge-area Juneteenth eventsbegin during the weekend leading up to theholiday and continue through June 22. If we missed one, let us know by emailingthe details to lauren. cheramie@theadvocate.com.

June 14

30th Juneteenth MusicFestival

n Louisiana Square,300 Railroad Ave., Donaldsonville TheCity of Donaldsonville, Parish of Ascension and CF In-

dustries will hostthe annual Juneteenth Music Festival 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.The lineup includes the Michael Foster Project, Casa Samba, EscoSoulMusic andmore. Aceremony will take place at noon to honor the oldest African American businesses in Donaldsonville.

KidFestScotlandville n 2799 BadleyRoad, Baton Rouge Join The Walls Project 11 a.m.

The Michael Foster Project performs during the 2024 Unity Fest, Baton Rouge’s free Juneteenth celebration at the MainLibraryat Goodwood.

BETTER THAN EVER

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

In1995, Elektra Records

rolledout New Orleans

alternativerock band BetterThan Ezra’s“Deluxe.”

It sold more than amillion copies, making it one of the most successfulalbums ever by a Louisiana rock band Over the ensuing 30 years, the members of Better Than Ezra endured all mannerofrock ’n’roll drama, spanningdrugs,divorce, multiple drummers, lawsuits andlost record deals. The band notonlysurvivedbut is thriving.

“We’re having more fun playing musicnow than we’veeverhad,” guitarist/vocalistKevin Griffin saidrecently.“The crowds andthe guarantees are better than we’ve ever had.”

During the2025 New Orleans Jazz &HeritageFestival, Better Than Ezra sold out the 2,200-capacity Fillmore for acelebration of the 30thanniversary of “Deluxe.”Days later,the band played to thousands of fans at the Fair Grounds’ Gentilly Stage.

Come January,Ezra will sail aboard The 90s Cruise. Departing fromTampa, Florida, they’llridethe waves of ’90s nostalgia alongside TLC, Sugar Ray, En Vogue, Tonic, Smash Mouth and other MTV-era favorites.

“Better Than Ezra is agreat example of perseverance,” said Griffin, 56.

“It took us seven years to get signed (to arecord deal). Nothing ever fell into our laps. We were the quintessential‘getinthe van, playfor $50 and pizza, sleep on floors.’ We worked hard, but we never quit.

“You’ll have moments where maybe you’re not as hot, or people aren’tcoming to the shows like they were. You stick around andsuddenlyit’sback We’re in this era now of ’90s love.

“So many of ourfansare in their 40s,ormaybe they’reempty nesters, and they’re coming to the shows and ä See EZRA, page 2D

Aconnection to the community has been acornerstone of Elm Grove BaptistChurch in Baton Rouge for over 100 years.

“We’ve done somethings in thelast 25 years, but certainly we didn’tset any precedent,” said theRev.Errol K. Domingue, thechurch’spastor since 2000.

“This church has been known to connect with the people who live around here.”

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

St. Joseph Cathedral to observe Solemnity

St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main St., Baton Rouge,will observe the Solemnity of the Most Holy TrinityduringHolyMassesat

4p.m.Saturday and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday

This central doctrine of the Catholic faith celebrates thebelief in one Godinthree coequal persons: the Father,the Son and theHoly Spirit. The 10:30 a.m. Mass will be broadcastlive on Catholiclife TV via Cox Channel 15, Facebook, Roku, FireTV and YouTube.

All are invited to attendand live out the message of hope during the Jubilee Year of Hope. For more information, contact Cathedral Pastoral Services at (225) 387-5928 or office@cathedralbr org.

St. Alma Baptistbreaks groundonnew facility

St. Alma Baptist Church, 3736 Rougon Road, Port Allen, will host the official groundbreaking ceremonyfor the St. Alma Baptist Multipurpose Centerat2 p.m.

Saturday For more information, contact Dr.Mary W. Moss at (225) 7720307.

Second Baptist Church to install newpastor

SecondBaptist Church, 914 N. Acadian Thruway W.,Baton Rouge, will host the pastoral installation service for the Rev Samuel C. Lofton Jr.at3 p.m.

Sunday,June 22.

Theguest speakerwillbethe Rev.Ricky E. Carter of Good Hope Baptist Church in Lafay-

JUNETEENTH

Continued from page1D

to 3p.m. Saturday at Scotlandville Parkway for hands-onexperiences, communitystorytelling and interactive play.There will be fun for the whole family Reserve aspot at www.thewallsproject.org/events-1/kidfestscotlandville.

June 19

Campuswide celebrationat

Southern University

n 801 Harding Blvd., Baton Rouge

The John B. Cade Libraryat Southern University,in collaboration with theSouthernUniversityMuseum of Artand the Leon R. Tarver II Cultural and Heritage Center,willhost acampus-wide Juneteenth celebration. The day kicksoff at 9a.m. in the Leon R. Tarver II Cultural and Heritage Center with an opening ceremony and keynote address. Other events include panel discussions, cultural performances, workshops and more. See thefull schedule at www.subr.edu/news/ southern-universitys-john-bcade-library-to-host-juneteenthcelebration.

Free admissionat

LSUMuseumofArt

n 100 LafayetteSt., Baton Rouge

The LSU Museum of Art will offer free admission on June 19

Hours are 10 a.m. to 8p.m.Currently,the museum is hosting three exhibitions:

n “In Focus: Artwork by LSU Faculty” showcases work inareas like digital technology,painting, sculpture, photography,ceramics and printmaking.

n “Art in Louisiana: Viewsinto theCollection” featuresceram-

ette. All are welcome to attend.

Mission Program at FairviewBaptistChurch

Fairview Baptist Church, 1636 Braddock St., Baton Rouge, will host its mission program at 11 a.m. Sunday,June29.

The guest speaker will be Louisiana Supreme Court Justice JohnM.Guidry.All are welcome to attend

Pentecostal Experience

Revival2025

APentecostal Experience

Revival 2025 with speaker evangelist T. Ron Weegar will be heldat5100 Osborne Ave., Baton Rouge.

Therevival begins at 7p.m. Friday,June 20, and continues nightly at 7p.m. through Friday, June 27. Opening night will feature musical guestensemble NHarmonyofNew Orleans.

The revival will conclude with aclosing service at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 28. All are welcome to attend

Vacation Bible School at Freeman Baptist Church Freeman Baptist Church, 4628 La.955, Ethel, is holding Vacation Bible Schoolbeginning each day at 6:30 p.m. from June 24-26.

Age-appropriate classes will be available for all participants. The youth class will explore “God’s Laboratory,” while adults can attend workshops such as “Examining Your Walk with God” and “Understanding theHoly Spirit,” led by Dr.Manuel Scott Jr.ofLos Angeles.

Allare welcome to join this learning experience.

ics, works onpaper, decorative arts, portraits and modern/contemporary art

n “Pennington Family FoundationEducationGallery” is a year-round gallery that offers an interactive space for visitors to participate in hands-on activities andeducational exhibits.

n “Carved &Crafted: The Art of Letterpress” is thenewest exhibit that explores the centuriesoldletterpress printing process through the workofartist Jim Sherraden, artist and musician JonLangfordand Hatch Show Print, arenowned Nashvillebasedletterpress atelier

June 21

Juneteenth DiscoveryDay at CapitolParkMuseum

n 660 N. FourthSt., Baton Rouge

From10 a.m.to2 p.m.,thefamilyfriendly event will feature acommunity puzzle mural, Juneteenth scavengerhuntand storycorner explaining Black excellence and the meaning of Juneteenth. Enjoy discounted admission.

BellaNoche’The Reunionat

Raising Cane’s RiverCenter

n 275 S. River Road,Baton Rouge

Enjoy musicfrom Mia X, Ghetto Twinz, Level, BBE AJ, Max Minelli, Da Jiggalators, RudeJude andmore, startingat7 p.m. Tickets are available at arena.raisingcanesrivercenter.com.

June 22

Johmel’s HouseofCuts n 4303 Airline Highway,Baton Rouge

Join the crew at Johmel’sHouse of Cuts from 4p.m. to 7p.m. for aJuneteenth celebration thatincludesmusic, foodand activities for the wholefamily.Register at eventbrite.com

bringing theirkids. Istillhaven’t seen threegenerations yet. But it’s coming.”

Born at LSU

Better Than Ezra formed on the LSU campus in March 1988. The band slogged it out in college bars and self-released acassette called “Surprise.”

Following the1990suicide of guitarist Joel Rundell, the remaining trio —Griffin, bassist TomDrummond anddrummerCaryBonnecaze —wroteafresh batch of songs.

The lyrics are “a tourofmyeducation, of being an English major at Louisiana State University,” Griffin said. “The Killer Inside,” for example, was inspired by Jim Thompson’s 1952 novel “The Killer Inside Me.”

They recorded what became “Deluxe” in theLos Angeles apartmentofproducer/engineer Dan Rothchild, whose father,Paul Rothchild, produced albums for The Doors and Janis Joplin. They used half-inchanalog tape and only 16 individual audio tracks.

“That’salmost hobbyist-level quality,” Griffinsaid. “But (Rothchild) was so gifted that it just has avibe.”

They bought red velvet fabric in the garment district of East L.A. for the album’scover art, hoping it looked “deluxe.”

The total cost to create “Deluxe” and print 2,000 CDs?Approximately $8,200.

They initially released “Deluxe” in 1993 viatheir own Swell Records. After it started selling, majorlabel Elektra Records signed thebandand rereleased “Deluxe” in 1995.

The first single, “Good,” was built on four guitar chords: G-major,Dmajor,E-minor and, at theend of thechord progression, Cmajor seventh, which, says Griffin, “was how you madeita ’90s rock song.”

Theformula worked.“Good exploded at modern rock radio, propelling “Deluxe”toplatinum status.

“There’salot of love for those songs,” Griffin said of the album’s enduringappeal. “There’ssomethingabout that collection of songs that’sspecial.

Taylor Swiftafan

Followingthe “Deluxe” tour, Bonnecaze departed acrimoniously and sued his former bandmates. The case was settled on the eve of trial.

With new drummer Travis McNabb,Better Than Erza recorded its secondalbum at DanielLanois’ famed French Quarter studio, Kingsway.They spent $500,000 making “Friction, Baby. It sold barely half as many copies as “Deluxe.”

“It just goes to show,” Griffin said, that “it’snot themoney you put into it. It’sabout the spirit of the songs, the performance, the moment.”

After McNabb left to join country-pop hitmakers Sugarland, Ezra enlisted Michael Jerome Moore, a powerhouse drummer known for his work withJames Hall’sPleasure Club.

No subsequent album soldlike “Deluxe,”but Ezra songsstill turned up in popular culture. “Juicy”was used in commercials for thesecond season of the hit TV series “DesperateHousewives.”

Taylor Swift covered two songs from the band’s2005 album “Before theRobots,” “Our LastNight” and “Breathless.” She showcased “Breathless” during Hope For HaitiNow,aJanuary 2010 charity telethon for earthquake victims.

“When you’re aband, youwant people to like your later albums, notjustthe biggest album,” Griffin said. “The fact that she knew (‘Beforethe Robots’) was super flattering

“‘Breathless’ is track 12 —it’s the last song. It was the newest song thatwerecorded for that album. Often, when asongmakes it under the wire, it gets put at the end(of the album)because you just don’tknowhow good it is.It getsburied.She found it.”

In February 2010, Better Than Ezra performed at the Saints’ postgame Super Bowl party in Miami, theresult of the musicians’ longstanding friendship withgeneral manager Mickey Loomis and nowformer coach Sean Payton.

“Wegot to ride on the team bus from the hotel to thestadium,” Griffin recalled. “In that bus was James Carville,the archbishop of New Orleans and KimKardashian andher mom, because Kim was dating (Saints running back) Reggie Bush.

“Now,itsounds like ajoke.”

ANashvillePilgrimage

Griffin sold his NewOrleans house after Hurricane Katrina and settled in Los Angeles. He now lives in Franklin, Tennessee, just outsideNashville.

He excels at creating his ownopportunities.One reason he moved to theNashville area wastodevelop his lucrative sideline as asongwriter for other artists.

His credits include Howie Day’s 2004 hit “Collide.” “Collide” first took shapeatBTE’sformer Lower Garden Districtrecording studio, which is now owned by Trombone Shorty.

Griffin also co-wrote Sugarland’s 2010 smash“StuckLikeGlue,” among the mostdownloaded countrysongs of all time.

The day after Thanksgiving 2013, he went jogging in The Park at Harlinsdale in Franklin. Gazing around, he thought, “This is the mostbeautiful site for afestival I’ve ever seen.”

In 2015,heand two associates co-founded the Pilgrimage Music &Cultural Festival. The 2025 Pilgrimage FestisSept. 27-28 and featuresJohn Mayer,Kings of Leon, Turnpike Troubadours, Young the Giant, Father John Misty and Sam Fender

“What Jazz Fest taught us is you can have something that’sfamilyfriendlyand super-cool, relevant and authentic musically,” Griffin said. “That was the DNA.Wewere unabashed in saying, ‘Wegot that idea from Jazz Fest.’”

Initially,hedidn’t book Better Than Ezra at Pilgrimage.

“I didn’twant to give anybody anyammunition like,‘Thatguy from Better Than Ezra started a festival, and guess who’splaying?’

“After year one, Ihad musicians and other people say,‘Why aren’t you playing your own festival? That’sstupid.’ So now it is shame-

less self-promotion.”

‘Well, that happened’

Griffin went throughamessy divorce from his first wife; substanceabusewas afactor.Sober for morethan 10 years now,he married Gibson Guitar Brands executive Erica Krusen in 2022. People magazine covered the couple’s dualceremonies. The first was in Positano, atown on Italy’sscenic Amalfi Coast; actor Jonathan Silverman officiated. Twoweeks later,Griffin andKrusenexchanged vows again at alegally binding ceremony in Seaside, Florida.

Other relationships have also stabilized. James Arthur Payne Jr., whohad contributed guitars, keyboards and backing vocals to Better Than Ezra as an auxiliary musiciansince 1996, is nowanofficial band member

Taking apage from the Taylor Swift playbook, the band rerecorded manyofits old songs so thatthe musicians, rather than arecord company,own the master recordings.Thatpays off every timeaBTE song is licensed for a movie, TV show or commercial; Griffin says he fields suchinquiries at least once aweek.

“The master, the actualphysicalrecording,isthe most lucrative thing forbands,”hesaid. “Rerecording is asmart endeavor.” They’re still making new music too. In 2024, BTE released “Super Magjck,” the band’sfirst album of newmaterialinmorethana decade.

The path to the present was sometimesdifficult,but Drummond, Moore, Payne andGriffin are in agood place.

As Griffin putsit, “You start in life saying, ‘That’ll never happen to me.’ And then something happens and you’re like, ‘Well, that happened.’

“Hopefully,over those years, youget some self-awareness and wanttobetter yourself.Better ThanEzra hasbeen this vehicle with agroup of friends that I’ve gottentoexperiencesomanyof life’sups and downs and twists and turns” with.

He doesn’ttake his current good fortune forgranted.

“When I’m on that stage, Ialways have amomentlike,‘Iget to do this thing that Ifirst wanted to do when Iheard Elton John and Kiss so many years ago and picked up my dad’sclassical guitarand learned how to play it.

“I’m 56 years old and I(still) get to do that and sell out the Fillmore? It’sa blessing, man.It’sthe best job ever.And we show no signs of stopping.”

Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

Places of Worship Directory

PHOTO By MADDIE SPINNER/GAMBIT

Lead vocalistKevin Griffin, of NewOrleans-basedBetter Than Ezra, performs on JazzFest’sGentilly Stagein2025.

E-cardsstill can’treplace handwritten

Dear Miss Manners: Afterseveral decades of typingonkeyboards, I have lost my ability to writenicely by hand. My solution is tosend electronic notes —for expressing appreciation, recognizing significant events, etc. There are severallovely e-card forms available. Using them results in more timely responses, as well as significant savings over printed cards and postage. Ifeel it would be nice if Miss Manners would acknowledge that electronic thankyous are as valid as handwritten in today’scommunication environment. Any thank-youisbetter than no thank-you at all Gentle reader: Sorry,but you will

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

have to snatch thefountain pen outofMiss Manners’ cold, lifeless hand before sheagrees that electronic messages are as meaningful as handwritten ones. She will concede, however,that any response is better than no response (has it really come to this?) as longasthe sentiment itself is not computergenerated. “Thank you for the (insert present) that you gave me. It was very special and/or significant” is notfooling anyone. As for your argument about saving money? Miss Manners highlydoubts that thedozen or so letters you write annually is anywhere near theequivalent cost of thecomputer that younodoubt

replace every few years.

Dear Miss Manners: Iaminarough spot financially.Ireally can’tafford to attend concerts, grab coffee, dine at restaurants, etc.

Every time afriend makes a request to spend time together,I have to turn them down because Ican’tafford theouting. Every time someoneasks me to contributetoafundraiser for their children, or toacause they represent, Imust leave therequest hanging. Can you provide agraceful way to decline that hints as to why? Iknow Iamunder no obligation to give areason for declining, but when I’msaying “no” every single time someoneinvites meto socialize, they are naturally going to begin to speculatewhy.Iwould hatefor them to conclude that

Iamsimply miserly or uninterested in the friendship. Ihave an advanced education and work in afield that people often assume pays well; Isuspect that makes people quick to jump to conclusions other than alack of money

Gentlereader: What you are likely referencingisMiss Manners’ advice that onenot provide excuses when declining invitations. Doing so usually requires lying —or sharing too much truth. But as yousay,ifyou keep telling your friends “no” with zero follow-up, they are going to assume you are rejecting the friendship, not the events to whichyou are invited. Aminimal explanation, such as, “Thank you, I’m watching my budget,but Iwould love to see you

Keycapsmakekeyslookdistinct

for awalk/picnic/free museum” should suffice without exposing your entire financial situation. But forthose seeking contributions forfundraisers, ignoring or rejecting the request is fine. If you feel compelled to give abrief explanation, “Thank you, but my discretionary funds are allocated elsewhere” is plenty.That they are being allocated toward your own bills and groceries need not be disclosed.

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

By The Associated Press

Dear Heloise: Inoted arecent hint to use different colored keys to reduce confusion when looking for aspecific key.Iwould like to add that Ihave used what are called “key caps,” which come in awide variety of colors. Someare made to just surroundthe

ELM GROVE

Continued from page1D

community by offering a Saturday worship and complimentary breakfast.

“We’re veryproud of the fact that on Saturdaymornings we offeraworship service for our friends who wouldn’totherwise come to church on Sundays,” he said. Elm Grove isn’talone in regularly feeding the community,Domingue said, noting that nearby True Light and St. Mary Baptist churches offer similar outreachservices.

“I often say nobody in this community should go hungry,” he said.

Other Elm Grove programs center around revitalizing thecommunity by fighting blight and the development of 13 acres into a mixed-use neighborhood off Greenwell Springs Road.

Another area of concentration is on the young people, Domingue emphasized “We’re still focused on our young people, given the climate that politics have set by erasing Black people’shistory and so forth,” he said. “We’re stillfocusing on trying to provide that well-roundededucation for people —not just our children.” For about 20 years,

keyhead, while otherscover the entire (or most of) key head. Thanks forall yourefforts on ourbehalf. —John D. Mitchell, in Richardson,Texas Lightshowercurtains

Dear Heloise: After taking showers in other peoples’ homesand realizing how dark it can beinthere, I would liketosuggest using alight-colored lacy shower curtain andaclear liner I’vebeen usingbothfor

Domingue saidElm Grove has offered asix-week summer internshipprogram, providing 20 to 35 teenagers the opportunity to gainvaluable experience working with local businesses.

“The good thing is the church paysfor it.These peopledecided that’s what they wanted to do,” he said Elm Grove has longencouraged people to beinvolvedinevery aspect of its community and advocate for justice, Dominguesaid.

“This church has been known forstanding up for what’sright. We’re just trying to continue that legacy now,” he said Domingue said his predecessor —the late Rev.Joseph Roberts Williams,who pastored the church for 48 years —was known for his bold stands during the height of the civil rights movement.

Williams once provided amodel voting machine to help people better understand the voting process.

“He brought in tutors that would help people with those damnable (literacy) tests they sued to make (Black people)take in order to vote,” Domingue said.

Domingue stands on the shoulders of Williams and builds on the longstanding traditions of taking on issues of justice.

“This pulpit was basically maintained by agenius,”

years. —P.Genschow,via email Fire antbites

Dear Heloise: If fire ants bite you, do this:Immediately dip theend of acotton swab in itching cream and apply it to the bite. Instant relief! —Gloria Gauntt, via email

Dealingwithcockroaches

Dear Heloise: Years ago, I rented an apartment in a very old house in Denver (where the climateisvery

Domingue said of Williams.

“Sometimes, it can be a heavy weight to carry,but thank God thatwehave people who see what we’re trying to accomplish and trying to build on that. That fairly sums up what we do here.”

Agoal is to give people theknowledge and power to stand for what’s right

“This is what we’re up against when we talk about principalities and power and rulers of the darkness,”Domingue said. “We encourage people to participate civically and go to public meetings. We tryour best to takecare of people’s needs. It’s not just about the preaching. It’s about puttingitintoaction.”

dry) thathad cockroaches. I was able to keep themunder control by sprinkling scouring powder around the faucetsand drains. My understanding was thatthey would track through the powder; thenwhen theyreturned to their homeinside the walls of my old house, theywould lick their little feet and, well, die. —Sally Lansdale,via email Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Elm Grove was founded in 1925 in the home of George and Carrie Walks at 645 N. 38th St. (then known as Orange Street). Thegroup was led by the Rev.I.H. Lusk, of Mississippi. Other pastors led Elm Grove over the years, including H. O’Dell (1928-34), Lusk (1935), J. Cyrus (1935-36), Joe White (1936-38), A. L. Pitcher (1938-41 and 1944-52) and AlphonsePatterson. Williams took over in 1952 and guided the church for 48 years until his death in 2000. For more information, visit www.elmgrovebr.org

ContactTerry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail. com

Today is Saturday June 14, the 165th day of 2025. There are 200 days leftinthe year.This is Flag Day

Todayinhistory:

On June 14, 1940, German troops entered Paris during World WarII; the sameday,the Nazis transported their first prisoners to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Germanoccupied Poland.

Also on this date:

In 1775, the Continental Army, forerunner of the United States Army, was created by the Second Continental Congress.

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the design of the first “stars and stripes” American flag.

In 1846, agroup of U.S. settlers in Sonomaproclaimed the breakaway state of the California Republic, declaring independence from Mexico.

In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court, in West Virginia State BoardofEducation v. Barnette,ruled6-3 that public school students could notbeforced to salute the flagofthe United Statesorrecite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1954, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower signed abill adding the phrase “under God”tothe Pledge of Allegiance. In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered aban on domestic use of the pesticide DDT to take effect at year’send. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his nomination of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2005, Michelle Wie, 15, becamethe first female player to qualifyfor an adult maleU.S. Golf Association championship, tying forfirst place in a36hole U.S. Amateur Public Links sectional qualifying tournament. In 2017,

Hints from Heloise

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Get your facts straight and study the possibilities. Aligning yourselfwith people who share your beliefs will help you build the momentum you require to achieve your goal

cAncER (June 21-July22) Look in the mirror and ask yourself tough questions. You may not please everyone and have to pay the price, but peace of mind will be worth its weight in gold if youdo what's best for you.

LEo(July23-Aug.22) Mixed emotions will lead to questions. Review your dreams and consider howequipped youare to fulfill them. Don't quit before you give your desires achance to grow into something substantial VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) You may relish change, but impulsive action is notthe answer. Gather information and cozy up to those who can help you broaden your knowledge and credentials.

LIBRA (sept.23-oct. 23) Take alittle "me time" and enjoy your space and loved ones. Conversations will be heated, but honesty can illuminate thebestway to move forward. Alifestyle change will tempt you.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set offona learning expedition,and you'll discover something you can develop and make useful. It's time to let go of what you cannot change and make room for people and pastimes that enhance your life.

sAGIttARIus (nov.23-Dec. 21) You're in a betterpositionthan you realize. Stick to the truth. Enforce discipline and inge-

nuity at home and when dealing with outside influences.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Know what and who you are dealing with before engaging in conversations. Expect to hear exaggerated versionsofwhat's happening. Pour your timeand energy into what matters most.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You can follow your heart, but you must be ready to deal with the consequences. Achange you make will be advantageous if executed correctly.Don't give in to anger or impulse. Choose peace over discord. PIscEs (Feb.20-March 20) Choose aplace, group or activity that offers freedom and peace of mind while you take a break from stressful interactions and an exhaustinglifestyle. Kick back and enjoy yourself.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Listening to others will help you see your life and current situations more clearly. Take amoment to collect your feelings. Be realistic regarding what you want and expect.

tAuRus(April 20-May 20) Start heading in adirection that offers promise and positive change. Connect with people from your past who can help you reflect on where you come from. Sometimes, looking back can clear the passage forward.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is notbasedonscientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.ByAndrews McMeel Syndication

beetLe bAILeY Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Josh Billings, the pen name of Henry Wheeler Shaw, was ahumorist who died in 1885. He said, “One half of the troubles in this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”

Perhaps one half of the mistakes at the bridge tablecan be traced to playing too quickly andnot taking enough time to think things through.

That wouldbethe casefor many players in today’s deal. Defending against four hearts, East winsthe first trick with hisclubjack.Howwouldmanycontinue?

What shouldEast do?

South’s two-heart response, in asuit higher ranking than his partner’s,guaranteesatleastafive-cardsuit.(Withonly fourhearts, South would usually make a negative double.)

Many defenders would win with the clubjack,cashthe club king, andcontinue with the club ace. What would happen? If South ruffs low, Westoverruffs and shiftstoadiamond fordown one.If South ruffs high, he eventually loses a heartand adiamond to fall to defeat. But aSouth who paused for afew moments at trickthreewould see the advantage in discarding his unavoidable diamond loser.Then the contract would make

East should cash his diamond ace at trick three (or two) before continuing clubs.This defeats the contract.The defenders get twoclubs, onediamond and one heart. Do not try for atrump promotion until, if possible, you have taken all of your side-suit tricks. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase, name, place,saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

Yesterday’s

today’s thought “you will showmethe pathoflife: in yourpresence is fullness of joy; at your right handthere are pleasuresfor ever more.” Psalms 16:11

Puzzle Answer

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls BeforeswiNe

garfield

B.C.

Jury Type: Petit Judge: AlvinBatiste Jr.Date: Monday,July14, 2025

ADAMS, STEPHANIED 59655 HWY 1148 #87PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5335

ADAMS, WENDOLYN DENISE 77525 ANGELLOZ AVEMARINGOUIN, LA 70757

ALLEMAN, TREVOR A60225 HWY 1148 PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5345

ALNAJJAR, ALIAH A230 FIELD HOUSE AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-4444

ANDERSON JR, ALBERT77340 COMSTOCK ST MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

ANDERSON, LARRYTHOMAS 58240 NICHOLAS ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2239

ANDREWS, LAVEAR DERMON5555 ANDREWS LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5439

BAHRY, CLEO J20290 CHARLESORY DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5313

BALLINGER, COLTALAN 55895 MEDINE RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4432

BANKS, MARGIEREA 58566 JETSONAVE PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4234

BARRILLEAUX, MARIA DEKEYZER 4695 POINT CLAIR RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4108

BATES, KYRA MONAE 63000 BAYOUJACOB RD PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5603

BATTISTE, MARIETTA25150 DUBLIEUX ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-6008

BERTHELOT,JACOB ADAM 36309 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

BEST,EMILYCAILLET 77280 CORA DR GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

BIRD III, LEVERTH 950 ETTADRST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5621

BLANCHARD JR, KENNETH LOUIS 58545 VILLAGE DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-7421

BLANCHARD, NICOLE HIDALGO 58545 VILLAGE DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-7421

BLANK, RONDA BOEHRINGER 62850 BAYOUJACOB RD PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5601

BLUE, LANE MICHAEL 2220 MEADOWOAK DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5224

BOSSIER, MICHELLE H59215 RIVER WEST DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-6552

BOUTWELL, MARYMARGARET 58944 LILLIAN AVEPLAQUEMINE,LA70764

BRAUD, ANNETTE M58245 ROBERTSON ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3643

BREAUX, CONNIE MARIE 62115 BAYOURDPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6040

BROCATO, EMILYC 24520 KIRTLEY DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5508

BROOKS, CORDEALIA MARIE 32565 BOWIE ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2503

BROUILLETTE, DEBORAH B5575 ROSE DOWN AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-5211

BROUSSARD, DAVID PAUL 610 PECAN DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5505

BROWN, BRITTNEY NICOLE 25140 FOLSE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6003

BRUMFIELD, TRAVIS JAMAR 530 BAYOUPAUL LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5404

BUTLER, CAMRYN H24640 HEBERTSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

CAMPBELL, WESLEY J1305 MIGUELAVE ST GABRIEL,LA70776-5346

CANELLA, BRANDONJOSEPH 28350 HWY 405 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7901

CARLIN, TONI 63490 OLD HWY 77 PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5617

CARTER, JARED RAYNARD 530-ABAYOU PAUL LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5404

CARUSO, KIM MARCUM 27330 INTRACOASTAL RD PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5716

CAVALIER, TERRI DAIGLE 6033-A HWY 75 CARVILLE, LA 70721-2300

CEDOTAL, MADISON 23310 IBERVILLE ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2511

CEDOTAL, SHERI HAHN 35181 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7601

CHAMBERS, MATHEW PAUL 1840 OAK WOOD DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5349

COLEMAN, LAURA ANN 31880 DORCY RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-3617

COLLINS, ERNEISHA IRRIYAWYN DESTINY58115 OZONE LN PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2264

COMEAUX, ANNIEMARGARET22715 HWY 1PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2104

COMEAUX, MATTHEW LEONARD 24655 BELLEMOORDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3823

COTTON, DENNIS WAYNE 64630 BELLEVIEWRDPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-6211

COURTADE, CHRISTOPHERSHELDON64305 L&LRDPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-7823

COX, TARNISH LYNETTE 77225 JACKSON AVEMARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3221

DAIGLE, BELINDA ALLEMAN 36340 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7704

DAIGLE, MEGANNICOLE 20015 DANIEL LN PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5302

DALEY, BRETTANY SELLERS 25360 STASSI RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5909

DAVID, BRAYDEN NICHOLAS 27035 BRADY LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5949

DAVIS, GEORGEE 57991 CENTER ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4311

DAVIS, JAMAL RASHAD 58667 CAPTAIN THARRISSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 707643001

DEAN, RYAN PATRICK 24739 KELLERDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5948

DEGGS, WALTER R58446 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2852

DELATTE, JOSEPH ELMO 76875 SALARIE LN GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

DEMPSEY,TYSON JAVON 23905 JACKSONSTPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3029

DESHOTEL, TORYMICHAEL 21835 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5211

DIENER, MEGAN NICOLE 57810 NEW ERWIN DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2326

DORSEY,CLIFTON JERMAINE 77245 IBERVILLE DR MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3702

DOTSON,JADA RENEKA 77680 WHEELOCK LN MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3625

DRINKWATER, JUDE PASSANTINO 25456 HWY 1PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

DUHE, JASON MICHAEL 57935 RANDOMOAKS DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-7004

DUNN, BRITTANY ALEXIS57835 NEW ERWIN DR PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2325

DUPRE, DARRIN JAMES 35955 RICHLAND RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4243

DUPRE, JOSHUA MICHAEL 37335 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7714

ELLIS, GREGORY63490-BOLD HWY 77 PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5617

FAVORITE, GAIL 57200-ACPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA,LA 70788-3121

FAVORITE, IRVIN JOSEPH 32065 HWY 405 WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2045

FLEMING,LORRAINE JOHNSON835 BAYOUPAUL LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5412

FOREST,CHRISTOPHER TERRELL 57945 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3345

GARVIN, ALEXIS ELIZABETH 24305 TECHE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4606

GAUTHREAUX, JAMES 935 RIVER RD SUNSHINE,LA70780-3101

GAY, PAUL VINCENT 7575 BAYOUPAULRDSTGABRIEL, LA 70776-5726

GEORGE, BRADY DOUGLAS 24915 HWY 386 GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

GORE, MADELINE MARIE 32566 MAYORMAURICE BROWN ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2510

GOVERNOR, JACQUELYN ANDERSON58150 BAYOUJACOB RD PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5236

GRACE JR, RONALD W4815 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR PKWY ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4215

GRAY, KEVIN LEE 57951 CASTRO ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4305

GUNNER, BRITTANY BREONA 1895 PINEGLEN DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776

HAGGER, LADORA RENEE 58224 WW HARLEAUX ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3112

HAMILTON, JACE JABARI 59405 SEXTONDRPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-6576

HAWKINS, KYESHA R77380 COLEMAN DR MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

HAYDEL, LYDIA LEBLANC 9054 MANCHAC RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5812

HOWARD, DOMINICA DCOLE 58121 WASHINGTONSTPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4057

HUDSON, JEFFERYPAUL 63650 OLD HWY 77 PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-5619

HURDLE,TAYLOR WHITNEY77090 HURDLE RD ROSEDALE, LA 70772

HUTCHINSON, THERESA LYNN 76780 ROSEDALE RD ROSEDALE, LA 70772

ISHMAEL, PATRICK THOMAS 27660 HWY 405 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6910

JACK, MYRON MARKEZ 24845 JOE DAVIS ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4239

JACKSON, BIRDEN WOOLFOLK 18175 OAK ST GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

JACKSON, LA COYAWYNETTE 58612 JETSON AVEPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4236

JAMES, CASSANDRA FAYE 24500 EARLE DR #7 PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3901

JAMES, MELBA 24825 JOE DAVIS ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4239

JAMES, TANESHA RENAE 23920 PUNCHY WILSON ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3408

JARRETT,TONYAJEANNINE 58755 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2945

JEFFERSON, LAKEISHA EVETTE 58380 PLAQUEMINE ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-2636

JOHNSON, COURTNEY DETTE 24211 BOURGEOIS ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3748

JOHNSON III, EDWARD 32295 DOC DEAN ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2038

JONES, COREY 11225 HWY 77 MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-0531

JONES, MYLA R57775 ELI CRAIG ST PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-4543

JORDAN JR, GREGORYANTHONY 52780 CANNONBURG RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4913

JORDON, INEZ NICOLE 32250 HWY 405 WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2048

JOSEPH, MARY LEE ANTHONY23911 TAYLOR ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3040

JUMONVILLE,SUNDAY LYNN 27070 HWY 405 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6904

KEYS SR, CLARENCE 77325 LANDRY DR MARINGOUIN,LA70757

KING, JESSICA FRANCES 77305 LANDRY DR MARINGOUIN,LA70757-3208

LAMOTHE, PATSY Z22435 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5217

LANDRY, MELODY KAY39093 BAYOU PIGEON RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7745

LANG, KELLY6610 HWY 74 ST GABRIEL,LA70776

LANG, TYRIEM 33285 ADAMS DR WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-2618

LATCHIE, JASON 5455 SPRING LN #D CARVILLE,LA70721-2149

LEE JR, ROBERT23963 BAYTOWN ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3007

LEWIS, DERYL NELSON 32840 LEESTWHITE CASTLE,LA70788-2312

LEWIS III, TRACY24045 CHARLESDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3519

LITTLE JR, LOUIS JAMES 32250 SONNY BARBIER ST WHITE CASTLE,LA707882410

LITTLE, MADELYN ELIZABETH 23720 KIRTLEY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5538

LOWRANCE, AUSTINCHANDLER 58115 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2718

LUKE, CHRISTOR L22720-C WEST ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2202

MADISON,APRILJ 1905 ROLLINGWOOD DR ST GABRIEL,LA70776-5358

MAGGIO,GINA A34985 HWY 69 WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-4439

MARTIN JR,ELLIOT 59875 SEXTON DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6563

MARTIN, SHEILA K23645 JASE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5544

MCDANIEL, SHANNON ANN37435 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7715

MCMORRIS, WILLIAMR 23925 HWY 386 GROSSE TETE, LA 70740-3708

MCNELL, JOHN DAVID57737 CANAL ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3760

MELLIEON,JASMINE DSHAY 22730 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5220

MILITELLO, RANDAL S305 FACULTY DR ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4447

MINARIK, ROBERTW 900 LAURIE LN ST GABRIEL,LA70776-5009

MITCHELL, MICHAEL RAY58478 WW HARLEAUX ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3136

MORALES, HUNTER MCCREA 23935 DORIS DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3405

MORGAN,RONALD DEWAYNE 59077 NATHAN GEORGETOWN ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3035

MOSLEY,VICKYALLEN 29305 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6103

NELSON,CHADJOSEPH 24001 BAIST ST #2PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3200

NICKENS, PATRICIA ANN56110 HWY 404 WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-4315

OLIVER, ANNA MAE10640 3RDSTMARINGOUIN ,LA70757

OURSO, GUNNAR MITCHELL 24006 BAIST ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3247

OURSO, TRISTEN 23985 KIRTLEY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5540

PACK,BRENT EDWIN24810 BUTLER ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4212

PAUL, ENOLA ANN77225 LANDRY DR #7MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3236

PERSILVER, DEBORAH BLIZARD-PAGE 57970 TROSCLAIR ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

PIERCE, JARED DANDRE 58095 CAPTAIN THARRIS ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 707643239

PIERRE, ANTOINETTE E57958 CENTERSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4362

PISTORIUS JR, RANDOLPH JOSEPH 58110 RANDOLPHS DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7430

PLANT, HAYLEIGH ANNABELLA 58205 BAYOU JACOB RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5237

POOLE, CARLA STERLING 10920 CHURCH ST MARINGOUIN,LA70757

POWERS, QUINCY DEROD 58531 NATS ALYPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2888

PUGH JR,DONALD RAY58715 JETSON AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4237

PUGH,JANICE LEE57815 HAASE ST #E PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3322

QUEBEDEAUX, CAREY ANTHONY57873 ORANGE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2117

REDDITT,HOZA C5075 MARTIN LUTHERKING JR PKWY ST GABRIEL,LA 70776

REDDITT,MARLINDEMOND4825 MARYLAND ST ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4250

RICHARDSON, HARRIETT C58475 COURTSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

RIVET,ANITADUFOUR55585 GRAND RD WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-4621

RODRIGUEZ, STEVEN JOSEPH 33045 GRACIE LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7116

ROMERO, VALERIE RADELAT20830 CHARLESORY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5319

SAUCIER, CLAIREKAY 36595 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7706

SCALISE, FRANK GERALD 57952 HOMESTEAD DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2015

SCHLATRE, CHERIEBLANCHARD 24235 CHARLESDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3564

SCOTT,APRILKENYETTA58330 BARROW ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4268

SCOTT,MANUELJOHN77380 COLEMAN DR MARINGOUIN,LA70757

SERIO, DENISEMABILE 58445 HWY 404 WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-4239

SHAW,CHRISTOPHER RHODES 57686 ELICRAIG ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4542

SHIELDS, CAMERON 22755 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5220

SHREVE, PATRICK 225 SOUTH CLUB AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-4439

SIMONEAUX, JULIE DUPRE 36725 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7708

SMITH,CARYANTHONY 78030 WHEELOCK LN MARINGOUIN,LA70757-3629

SMITH, DONNIEDWAYNE59650 THOMAS ROSS DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5270

SMITH, HEATHERNEYREY 5534 MAGNOLIA SPRINGS PKWY #ACARVILLE,LA70721

SMITH,STEPHEN WILLIAM1575 ST FRANCIS LN ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4921

SMITH JR, WILLIAM BENJAMIN 3625 EVERGREEN DR ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4647

SNELL, BEATRICE M57777 TRUE HOPE LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4500

SNELL, CLEVELAND J58250 WW HARLEAUX ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3112

SPENCER, GINNIPHER NIKOL 11451 HWY 77 MARINGOUIN,LA70757-3712

STEVENS, SHAWANDA M25165 PATUREAU LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5904

THEIS, JEREMY ALLEN 7330 BAYOU PAUL RD ST GABRIEL,LA70776-5719

THOMPSON,CHARMAINE MARIE5430-B SMITH ST ST GABRIEL,LA70776

TILLMAN,DARYLNIECE SHANTE 58815 ANNEXSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3043

TRAHAN,LUKE JOSEPH 58815 PARK CT PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

TROXCLAIR, ERROL GERARD 58650 DELACROIX AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3528

USSIN, JESSE WILLIE 18050 OAK ST GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

WADE, JAYDEN DEVONTE 1835 BAYOU PAUL LN ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4929

WALDROUP,RODNEY LOUIS1143A RIVER RD SUNSHINE ,LA70780-3103

WARNER, TIMOTHY DWAYNE 57944 BARROW ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4164

WASHINGTON, BRYANCARDELL 76155 ROSEDALERDROSEDALE, LA 70772

WASHINGTON, DARQUELLE R76825 GARNER LN GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

WEARYJR, MICHAEL PERNELL 5725 OAK TRACE DR ST GABRIEL,LA70776-4715

WESLEY,IRMA GOVERNOR 32585 WILLOW ST WHITE CASTLE,LA70788-2219

WHITE, KATHERINE DAVIS1505 SIDNEYSTSUNSHINE,LA70780-3216

WILLIAMS, ASHLEY MARIE600 BAYOU PAUL LN ST GABRIEL,LA70776-5403

WILLIAMS, CLARENCE F1545 BESSON LN SUNSHINE,LA70780-3524

WILLIAMS JR, JOHNNY57505 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3124

WILLIAMS JR, KENNETH WAYNE58424 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2850

WILLIAMS, KYLIEELYSE 27430 INTRACOASTAL RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

WILSON JR, LIONEL 23073 JACOB ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2318

WILSON, SHONDA LAGAYLE 58320 BARROW ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4268

WORLEY,SUSAN GREEN 23000 JADE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5232

WRIGHT,BRANDON JERMONE 1905 BESSON LN SUNSHINE,LA70780-3528

YOUNG,MASON 24560 KIRTLEY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5508

ZERINGUE, LISA MARIE25358 CLEMENTSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4406

Juror Count: 200

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