The Times-Picayune 06-16-2025 by The Advocate

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Tilapiaresurge in Louisianawaters

Despiteeradication effort,scientists find invasive fish

BY ALEX LUBBEN |Staff writer

PORT SULPHUR Alongthe leveesin

this former company town near the end of the Mississippi River, adestructive ﬁsh is making an unexpected comeback.

Tilapia,a commonlyfarmed fish that’subiquitous at grocery store seafood counters, can pose adire ecological threat whenreleased into the wild. That’sexactly what happened in this Plaquemines Parish community about 20 years ago, when the ﬁsh escaped from abasspond on aproperty owned by one of the largest mining companies in the world

Chris Schieble, adeputyassistant secretary with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said he believes the ﬁsh broke free when Hurricane Katrina flooded much of the parish. The LDWF thenled an effortto kill the tilapia in 2009. At the time,it appeared that the eradication hadsucceeded.

Bad news: The fish are back. While there is no way to definitively prove that the new tilapia arerelated to those that escaped from the pond two decades ago, Schieble believes that is likely the case. Anew study also suggests someofthe fish from then survived.

Either way,another eradication or monitoring effort may benecessary

“If this thing kept going in 2009, the tilapia would eventually have gotten through to theestuary.They’d be getting into other habitats and they would be displacing our native ﬁshes,” said Martin O’Connell,aconservation biologist and director of theNekton Research Laboratory at the University of NewOrleans, whorecently foundthe ﬁsh near Port Sulphur. “All theshrimp andall the baby crabs, they’d be sucking them down like popcorn.”

Loyola dropsplans

University says historic property has‘better uses’

BYSTEPHANIE

RIEGEL |Staff writer

Loyola Universityhas scrapped plans to turn several historic buildings on its Broadway campus along St. CharlesAvenue into aboutique hotelwithupto100 rooms, aconference center andarestaurant and bar In aletter to neighbors dated June 11, Loyola Vice President and General Counsel Sharonda Williams said the

Private schools dismayed afterfunding limited

Legislatureprovidesset amount forLAGATOR program

BY PATRICK WALL |Staff writer

At Gardere CommunityChristian School in Baton Rouge, hopes were high forLAGATOR. Many thoughtLouisiana’snew program, which gives families state-funded grants for private school tuition or homeschool expenses, could be life changing. Teachers and administrators showed up at the school on the Saturday in Marchwhenapplications opened to help parents apply.And in May,students and parents pleaded forfunding forthe program during astate Senate hearing. “Allow my sister and brother and everyone else in my neighborhood to have such an amazing learning journey,”saidRadianceBailey, a ﬁfth grader with ﬁvesiblings at theschooland twomore hoping to enroll. On Thursday,manypeople at Gardere andprivate schoolsacrossthe state were bitterlydisappointedwhenthe Louisiana Legislature passed astate budget that included farless funding for LA GATOR than its backers sought. The families of nearly 40,000 students had signed up for LA GATOR, but now only 1in7applicants are expected to receive grants.

ä See FUNDING, page 4A

Audit: La. DCFS vacancies remain high

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD |Staff writer

O’Connell was involved in monitoring the success of the effort to kill the ﬁsh. He recently conducted the study that suggests some survived.

“Wecame really close to theholy grail of invasive species management, which is eradication,” said Michael Massimi, theinvasive species

ä See TILAPIA, page 5A

forSt. CharlesAvenuehotel

university “has ofﬁcially ended considerationofthe developer’sproposaland will not move forward with this plan.”

The letter did not explain why university leaders decided not to pursue the project, saying only that “we will communicate any future constructionplans thatmay be slated for our Broadway Campus to you.” In aprepared statement Thursday,Loyolasaidthat“theuniversity hasdetermined thereare better uses of theproperty that support theUniversity’smission.”

The decision comes just twomonths afterdevelopersworking on thepro-

posal for the4.2-acreBroadway campus met with nearby residents to update them on the project, which was still in theconceptual stages. In 2019, theuniversityselected WoodwardIntereststocomeupwitha preliminary proposalfor thecampus, which was originally the site of St. Mary’s Dominican College and has been owned by Loyola since the1980s.

At the April meeting, Woodward CEO Bill Hoffman and land useattorney Mike Shermansaidthe ideawas to convert the

ä See LOYOLA, page 4A

An audit showsthat Louisiana’schild welfare stafﬁng needs remain high despite years of criticism of the agency over employee shortages.

The audit of the Louisiana Department of Children and Families Services’ Child Welfare Division said vacant staff positions have increased from 118 in ﬁscal year 2023 to 140 in February

Thearea seeing themostvacancies wasfrontline child welfare workers.

The report said DCFS “hasstruggled to recruit and retain qualiﬁed Child Welfare staff due to the nature and difﬁculty of the job, along with alow salary.”

The audit said unmet staffing needs of at least 129 workers existed across the nine child welfareregions forﬁscal year 2024. The Alexandria and Covington regions had the highest

‘Highturnover,highburnout,’ former employeesays ä See VACANCIES, page 4A STAFFFILE PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Department of Children and Family Services

SecretaryDavid Matlockhands out an information pamphlet on April 8. Arecent audit shows that Louisiana’schild welfare staffing needs remainhigh despite years of criticismof the agency overemployeeshortages.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Joel Caldwell holds juvenile tilapia collected from acanal in Port Sulphur on June 4.

STAFF PHOTOSByBRETT DUKE

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Joel Caldwell throws acast net in acanal in Port Sulphur on June 4. It’sbelieved that tilapia fish escaped fromacorporate retreat near Port Sulphur nearly 20 yearsago and despite amassiveeradication effortin2009 they’vebeen found recentlyinLouisiana waters.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

At least 8 killed near aid sites in Gaza

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded Sunday in a shooting near Israeliand U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials

Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment.

Witnesses said Israeli forces opened ﬁre around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah.

Experts and aid workers say Israel’s monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza’s capacity to produce food.

The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on Friday

The shooting on Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles.

There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month.

Police: Protester killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ rally

A demonstrator was shot and killed at Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” protest when a man believed to be part of the event’s peacekeeping team fired at another man allegedly aiming a rifle at protesters, authorities said Sunday Police took the alleged rifleman, Arturo Gamboa, 24, into custody Saturday evening on a murder charge, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said at a Sunday news conference. The bystander, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, died at the hospital Detectives don’t yet know why Gamboa pulled out a rifle or ran from the peacekeepers, but they accused him of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death. The Associated Press did not immediately find an attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records Redd said a man dressed in a brightly colored vest fired three shots from a handgun at Gamboa, inflicting a relatively minor injury but fatally shooting Ah Loo. The gunshots sent hundreds of protesters running, some hiding behind barriers and fleeing into parking garages and nearby businesses, police said in a statement. “That’s a gun. Come on, come on, get out,” someone can be heard saying in a video posted to social media that appears to show the events.

“No Kings” protests swept across the country Saturday, and organizers said millions rallied against what they described as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian excesses Confrontations were largely isolated.

Relatives get remains of Air India crash victims

AHMEDABAD, India Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, ofﬁcials said Sunday.

The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.

Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives.

Israel, Iran trade strikes for 3rd day

More than 200 reported dead

BY JON GAMBRELL, NATALIE MELZER and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Israel claimed to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran during a third day of airstrikes Sunday and killed more high-ranking security ﬁgures, while some Iranian missiles slipped through Israel’s air defenses. Both sides threatened to launch more attacks.

In an indication of how far Israel was prepared to go amid fears of all-out war, a U.S. official told The Associated Press that President Donald Trump in recent days vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian Health Ministry said late Sunday that 224 people have been killed since Israel’s attack began Friday Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized. He asserted that more than 90% of the casualties were civilians.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, said intelligence chief Gen. Mohammad Kazemi and two other generals were the latest killed, Iran’s state TV reported Sunday night Israel’s attacks have killed several top generals and nuclear scientists.

Iran also said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect

global markets Israel’s military warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Iran’s military, on state TV, warned Israelis to stay away from “occupied” areas.

Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has said it launched the attack — its most powerful ever against Iran to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. The latest U.S.-Iran talks on its nuclear program were canceled.

Explosions shook the Iranian capital of Tehran. Sirens went off in Israel.

The Israeli military noted “several hit sites” Sunday night, including in Haifa in the north, and the Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated nine injured people.

Israel said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 wounded. Iran has ﬁred over 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country’s sophisticated multitiered air defenses, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s main international airport and airspace was closed for a third day

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israel’s strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop.” Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, criticized the United States for supporting Israel and said “the responses will be more decisive and severe” if Israel keeps attacking, state TV reported.

Trump said the U.S. “had nothing to do with the attack” and that Iran can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new

nuclear deal.

Photos shared by Iran’s ISNA News Agency showed bloodied people being helped from the scene of Israeli strikes in downtown Tehran. One man carried a blood-spattered girl.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Israel hit a Foreign Ministry building in the north of Tehran, with several civilians injured “including a number of my colleagues,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Israeli strikes also targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program On Sunday night, Israel said it struck “numerous” sites across Iran that produce missile and air defense components.

Israel also claimed it attacked an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad in the northeast, calling it the farthest strike the military had carried out. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. Video obtained and veriﬁed by the AP showed smoke rising from the city.

Iran’s foreign minister said Israel targeted an oil reﬁnery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf.

State television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night

Earlier Sunday in Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing.

Official: Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader

BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. ofﬁcial familiar with the matter.

The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.

After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.

Asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan.

“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei “fake.”

Search continues for suspect in shooting of Minn. lawmakers

Officials say one of his vehicles found

BY OBED LAMY, STEVE KARNOWSKI, MIKE BALSAMO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

BELLE PLAINE, Minn. — The man suspected of shooting two influential Minnesota lawmakers, killing one, continued to elude investigators for a second day even after the discovery of a car they believe he was driving, authorities said Sunday Vance Boelter was not in custody and was still believed to be alive, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference Sunday evening. A nationwide warrant is out for his arrest.

Evans said authorities found a car very early Sunday they believed Boelter was using, a few miles from his home in Green Isle, in the farm country about an hour west of Minneapolis. He also said they found evidence in the car that was relevant to the investigation, but did not provide details.

Former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 9 miles away On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.

“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He took 9 bullet hits I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a

place for this kind of political hate.” Authorities named Boelter, 57, as a suspect, saying he wore a mask as he posed as a police ofﬁcer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car Evens conﬁrmed that investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and believe it belonged to Boelter The superintendent also said authorities interviewed Boelter’s wife and other family members in connection with Saturday’s shootings. He said they were cooperative and were not in custody Evans provided the update as a state on edge struggled to make sense of the brazen political violence.

The FBI has issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings. More than 100 law enforcement officers including SWAT teams were searching the area, including nearby homes, Evans said. He also said they had received more than 400 tips from the public. The search was happening in rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, where Boelter had a home with his wife and five children. Residents in the area received an emergency alert about the located vehicle that warned them to lock their doors and cars. A crowd of officers were seen congregated on a dirt road near the abandoned dark sedan. Some officers broke off and walked into a wooded area off the road. The car was later towed away “We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Klobuchar said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone’s on edge here, because we know that this man will kill at a second.” Authorities have not yet given details on a motive.

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The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program

Netanyahu in the Fox interview also said regime change “could certainly be the result” of the conﬂict

“because the Iranian regime is very weak.”

Trump’s rejection of the proposal was ﬁrst reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conﬂict.

Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S. which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry responsible for its backing of Israel.

“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LEO CORREA

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles Sunday over Tel Aviv, Israel.

G7 leadersgatherinCanadafor summit

Meeting overshadowed by Israel-Iran crisis, tradewars

BY ROBGILLIES and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

KANANASKIS,Alberta Leaders of some of the world’sbiggest economic are arriving in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday for aGroup of Seven summit, overshadowed by an escalating conﬂict between Israel and Iran and President Donald Trump’sunresolved trade war Israel’sstrikes on Iran and Tehran’sretaliation, which appeared to catchmany world leaders unawares,is the latest sign of amore volatile world.

Trump in recent days vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’sSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, aU.S. ofﬁcial told TheAssociated Press,inanindication of how farIsrael was prepared to go

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had discussed efforts to de-escalate the crisis with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as other world leaders and said

he expected “intense discussions” would continue at the summit

As summithost, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to abandonthe annual practice of issuinga joint statement,orcommunique,atthe end of themeeting.

With other leaders wanting to talk to Trump in an effort to talk him out of imposing tariffs, thesummitrisks being aseries of bilateral conversations ratherthana show of unity

Trumpisthe summitwild card.Looming over the meeting are his inflammatory threats to make Canada the 51st stateand take over Greenland. French President EmmanuelMacron visited Greenland on Sunday for ahighly symbolic stop on hisway to Canada. Macron warnedthatGreenlandis “not to be sold”nor “to be taken.”

“EverybodyinFrance, the European Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, notto be taken,” he said during anews conference, applaudedbythe local crowd.

“The situation in Greenland is clearly awake-upcall for all Europeans.Let metell youverydirectly that you’re notalone,” Macronadded.

Trump was scheduled to ar-

Spaniardsprotest mass tourism

BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain— Protesters used water pistols against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Sundayasdemonstrators marched to demand arethink of an economic model they believe is fueling ahousing crunch and erasing the character of their hometowns. Themarches were part of the ﬁrst coordinated effortbyactivistsconcerned with theillsofovertourism across southern Europe’s topdestinations.While severalthousands rallied in Mallorca in the biggest gathering of the day,hundreds more gathered in other Spanish cities, as well as in Venice, Italy,and Portugal’scapital, Lisbon.

“The squirt guns are to bother the tourists abit,” Andreu Martínez said in Barcelona with achuckle afterspritzing acouple seatedatanoutdoor cafe. “Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This isa ﬁght to give Barcelona back to its residents.”

Martínez, a42-year-old administrative assistant, is one of agrowing number of residentswho are convinced that tourism has gone toofar in thecityof 1.7 million people. Barcelona hosted15.5million visitors last year eager to see Antoni Gaudí’sLaSagrada Familia basilica and the Las

Ramblas promenade.

Martínez says hisrent hasrisenover30% as more apartmentsinhis neighborhood are rented to tourists for short-term stays. He saidthereisaknock-on effect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering to tourists like souvenir shops, burger joints and“bubbletea” spots.

“Our lives, as lifelong residents of Barcelona, are coming to anend,” he said.

“Weare being pushed out systematically.”

Around 5,000 peoplegathered in Palma, thecapital of Mallorca, withsome toting water guns as well and chanting “Everywhere youlook, allyou seeare tourists.”The tourists who were targeted by water blastslaughed it off. The Balearic island is afavorite for British and German sunseekers. It has seen housing costsskyrocket as homes are diverted to the shortterm rental market.

Hundreds moremarched in Granada, in southern Spain, and in the northern cityofSan Sebastián, as well as theisland of Ibiza In Venice, acoupleof dozen protestersunfurled a banner calling fora halt to newhotel beds inthe lagoon city in frontoftwo recently completed structures, one in the popular tourist destination’s historic center where activists say the last resident,anelderly woman, waskickedout last year

rive late Sunday in Kananaskis, Alberta.Hewill have abilateral meetingwithCarney on Monday morningbefore the summit program begins.

Leaders whoare not part of the G7 but have been invited to the summit by Carney include the heads of state of India, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Mexico and theUAE. Avoiding tariffs will continue to be topofmind.

“Leaders, andthere are some new ones coming, will wanttomeet Donald Trump,” said Peter Boehm, Canada’scounseloratthe 2018 G7 summit in Quebec

and aveteran of six G7 summits. “Trumpdoesn’tlike the big round table as much he likes the one-on-one.”

Bilateral meetings with the American president can be fraughtasTrumphas used them to try to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine andSouth Africa.

Former Canadian Prime MinisterJean Chrétientold a panel thisweek that if Trump does act out, leaders should ignorehim and remaincalm like Carney didinhis recent OvalOfﬁce meeting.

“He tends to be abully,” Chrétien said. “If Trump has decided to make ashow to be

in the news, he will do something crazy.Let him do it and keep talking normally.”

Last month Britain and the U.S. announced they had struck atrade deal that will slash American tariffs on U.K. autos, steel andaluminum. It has yet to take effect, however,though British ofﬁcials say they are not concerned the Trump administration might go back on its word.

Starmer’sattempts to wooTrumphave lefthim in an awkward positionwith Canada, theU.K.’sformer colony, closeally andfellowCommonwealth mem-

ber. Starmer hasalso drawn criticism—especially from Canadians —for failing to address Trump’sstated desire to make Canada the 51st state.

Asked if he has told Trump to stop the 51st state threats, Starmer told The Associated Press: “I’m not going to get intothe precise conversations I’ve had, but let me be absolutely clear:Canadais an independent, sovereign country and amuch-valued memberofthe Commonwealth.”

The war in Ukrainewill be on the agenda.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to attendthe summit and is expected to meet with Trump,areunion coming just months after their bruising Oval Office encounter which laid bare the risks of having ameeting with the U.S. president.

Starmer met withCarney in Ottawa before the summit for talks focused on security and trade,inthe ﬁrst visit to Canada by aBritish prime ministerfor eight years. German officials were keen to counter the suggestion thatthe summit would be a“sixagainst one” event, noting that the G7 countries have plenty of differences of emphasis among themselves on various issues.

BY NICOLE WINFIELD, JUSTIN KAMBUMBA and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press

ROME The Vatican on Sunday beatified aCongolese customs worker whowas killed for resisting abribe, giving young people in a place with endemiccorruptionanew model of holiness: Someone who refused to allow spoiled rice to be distributed to poor people.

Thehead of the Vatican’s saint-making ofﬁce, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro,presided over thebeatification ceremony of Floribèrt Bwana

Chui Bin Kositi on Sunday at one of the pontiﬁcal basilicas in Rome, St.Paul Outside the Walls.

The event attracted a cheering crowd of Congolese pilgrims andmuchofRome’s CongoleseCatholic community, who will be treated to aspecial audience Monday withPope Leo XIV

Faithful woreT-shirts and vestswithKositi’sportrait anderuptedinchantsand applause as soon as the beatification ceremony was concluded, waving Congolese ﬂags.

Kositi was kidnappedand killed in 2007 afterherefused to allow rancid rice from Rwanda to be transportedacross the borderto the easternCongocity of Goma.

As an official with the Congolesegovernment’s custom’s quality control office, the26-year-old knew

therisks of resisting bribes offered to public officials. But he alsoknew therisks of allowingspoiled food to be distributedtothe most desperate.

“Onthat day,those maﬁosi found themselves in front of ayoung man who, in the name of the Gospel, said‘No.’ He opposed,” his friend Aline Minani said. “And Floribèrt, I think thatfor me personally, Iwould say forall youngpeople, is arole model.” Pope Francis recognized

Kositi as amartyr of the faith late last year,setting him on thepath to beatification and to possibly become Congo’s first saint. The move fit into the pope’s broader understanding of martyr as asocial justice concept, allowing those deemed to have been killedfor doing God’swork and following the Gospel to be considered for sainthood.

“Our country almost holds the gold medal for corruption amongthe countriesofthe world,” Goma Bishop Willy

Ngumbi toldreporterslast week. “Here,corruption is truly endemic. So,ifwecould at least learn from this boy’s life that we must all ﬁght corruption …Ithink that would be very important.” Transparency International last year gave Congo one of the poorest marks on itscorruptionperception index, ranking it 163 out of 180 countries surveyed and20 on the organization’s0-100 scale, with0highly corrupt and 100 very clean.

CANADIAN PRESS PHOTOByADRIAN WyLD

Aman walks Sunday past aG7signoutsidethe media center for the Group of Seven summit in Banff, Alberta.

Gov.Jeff Landry,who has championed the program, and conservative advocacy groups had waged an intense pressure campaign featuring television attack ads, automated text messages and alarge rallyto convince lawmakers to put nearly $94 million into LA GATOR. But those tactics failed to move the Senate, which allocated less than half the amount Landry requested. The state House of Representatives ultimately agreed to the $43.5 million for LA GATOR proposed by the Senate, along with about$2million to run the program.

families who were counting on LA GATOR to cover their children’s tuition.Ifthe fundraising efforts fall short, some already-admitted new studentsmight not be able to attend, theschool leaders said.

“Wehad thousands of families allacross the state thinking they were going to have a choice this year,” said Cheryl Lott, Gardere’sdirectorofdevelopment and marketing. “And now they’renot.”

Funding fight Landry,aRepublican who shepherded the LA GATOR bill through the Legislature last year,had fought alongside aformidable coalition of advocates to secure funding.

Hundreds of private schoolchildrenimplored lawmakersfor funding last month at arally organized by Louisiana Kids Matter,an education advocacy group withties to Louisiana businessmanand Republican megadonor Eddie Rispone, andAmericansfor Prosperity,anational group affiliated with the conservative billionaire Koch family

But the campaignfailed to persuade state Senate PresidentCameron Henry, R-Metairie, who said Louisianacannotaffordtovastly expand fundingfor private education. He insisted that lawmakers who voted for theLAGATOR bill last year only agreed to funditatthe same level as school vouchers, about $44 million annually

sands of Louisiana students whose families applied for grants.

“Because theLegislature refused to fund LA GATOR, these children willcontinue to wait,” CEO Daniel Erspamer saidina statement. “Wewill not give up on them, even if thelegislature failed themtoday.”

Landry,for his part, has been noticeably quiet.He spoke at theLAGATOR rally in May, butafter theSenate this monthdeclined to allocatethe full amount Landry wanted, he has saidlittlepublicly.His spokesperson did not respond to arequestfor comment Thursday.

Findingtuition money

families not to get excited, saidLisaHarvey,president of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge.

“When they got an email that says you’re eligible, Ithink it sparked alot of hope,” she said.

More than 150 families withcurrent or would-be students at Catholic High signed up for LA GATOR, Harvey said. She saidsome students who went through the school’s admissions process and wereaccepted are unlikelytoenrollifthey don’treceive agrant.

“That’sjust the reality for alot of families,”she said. “They can’tafford private education.”

The money will cover about 5,900 students, according to the state Education Department.Most of thetax dollarswillgoto roughly 5,200 students who currently receive school vouchers,astate program to help low-income families affordprivatetuitionthat LA GATOR is replacing. Now,private school leaders say they are racing to secure private money to help

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stafﬁng needs, with Alexandria needing 31 workers and Covington having ashortfall of 27.

DCFS Secretary David Matlock, who was tapped to lead the department by Gov JeffLandryin2023, wrote to the auditor agreeing with the 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

LOYOLA

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buildingsinto something that would serve the university community while also generating revenue for the school.

In astatement Thursday, Hoffman said, “Wewere proud to be selected by Loyola to build ahotel on its Broadway campus that would provide much needed revenue for theuniversity and an amenity to serve both the university and neighborhood communities.” He added, “Much has changed since thisprocess startedpre-COVID. We respect Loyola’sdecision to pursue alternative educational uses on its Broadway campusand thankthe com-

National groups that promote school vouchers ran TV ads this year sayingthat lawmakers whoopposed givingLAGATOR $93.5 million wantedto“gut” children’s futures. Theyalso sent mass text messages saying that giving LA GATOR any less would be a“betrayal” of President Donald Trump, who has said he wantsto help families pay forprivate school.

serving 4,400 children in foster care per month and conducting nearly22,000 child protection investigations in ﬁscal year 2024, according to theaudit.Asof February,the staff total had decreased to 1,446.

TheChildWelfareDivisionincludes programs such as childprotective services, foster care, adoptionsand family support services.

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

Staffing needs

Staff vacancies aremainly for frontline child welfare employees, speciﬁcally theentry-level positionsfor caseworkers. Thiscomes after 2018, when DCFS implemented starting salaries for child welfare jobs above

munity fortheir engagement throughout the planning process.

Rich history

Loyola’sBroadway campus is located five blocks up St. Charles from the university’smain campus It encompasses two square blocks boundedbySt. Charles Avenue and Broadway,Dominican and Lowerline streets. Pine Street runs through the middle of it Greenville Hall, an Italianate structure and the oldest building on the campus, datestothe 1860sand was built by theDominican nuns as St.Mary’s Academyfor Girls. It later became St. Mary’s Dominican College and gradually expanded over thenext75years to include adorm and additional educational buildings.

“Wemade it crystal clear last year how muchmoney theywere going to getand we stuck to that,” Henry told reporters last week,adding that if “outside groups” promised families additional funding, “there’s nothing I can do about that.”

The head of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, aconservative advocacy group thatstrongly promotes LA GATOR, said Thursdaythathewas “heartbroken”for thethou-

the normal rate in order to attractworkers. Three years later,those rates were expanded to other child welfare positions, including childwelfare services assistant and child welfare supervisor

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

Employees who workin theBaton Rouge and Orleansregions, two areas withhigh caseloads and backlogs, are eligible for 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 Louisiana Children

When the collegeclosed in 1984, Loyolabought the property andmovedits law schooland law library to twoofthe newer buildings on the campus. It used the dormfor graduate student housing.

Some of theolder structures on the campus have been underutilized or even vacant since coming into

Current voucher students are ﬁrst in line for LA GATOR, which leaves funding for about 700 additional students. That means thousands of familieswho signed up won’tget grants.

Nearly 35,000 applicants met the programrequirements, includingthatthey had received school vouchers, attended apublic school, were entering kindergarten or were at or below 250% of the federal povertylevel

While the online application madeclear that eligible families werenot guaranteed grants, it was hard for

in Need, whopreviously workedonDCFSchild abuse and neglect investigations, said the audit is on par with historical staff numbers.

“High turnover,high burnout …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.”

Changesincases

Thenumberofchild welfare employees who received new investigations over the standard of 10 new cases permonth decreased by nearly 5% in the recent ﬁscal year

TheLakeCharlesregion had the mostemployees working above thatstan-

the university’spossession. In 2019, former Loyola President Tania Tetlow’s administration asked developerstosubmit plans for theproperties. Woodward was selected, but thedevelopment process was delayed becauseofthe pandemic. In themeantime, Tetlow left to become president of Fordham University Hersuccessor,Xavier Cole, declined to discuss the university’sbroader vision for theBroadway campus.

Neighborhood concerns Woodward’splansfor the project were ambitious and likely would have been costly.Theycalledfor turning Greenville Hall into aconference center with some hotel roomsonthe upper ﬂoors.

Twohistoricmansions in

At the Good Shepherd School in NewOrleans, which serves economically disadvantaged students, most families received school vouchers and will now get LA GATOR grants. But it’sunclear what will happen to incoming kindergarten students who weren’t in the voucher program and aren’t guaranteed grants, said Thomas MoranJr.,the school’spresident and CEO.

Many families also applied for scholarships through a state program that provides tax credits to donors. But the average scholarship is about $4,200, which is less

dard. This region has less turnover and more experienced staff, meaning they are assigned more cases.

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

But the overall workload per stafffor existing child protective services cases hasincreased,according to the audit. This could be due to anumber of factors, such as working more on backlogged cases, staff vacancies andnew hires who areunable to carrya full caseload.

Rick Wheat, president of Louisiana UnitedMethodist Children andFamily Services, said the audit continues along history of DCFS needing additional help, mainly in the form of additional state funds.

“Itdoescontain measures

the 7300 block of St. Charles would have housedadditional roomsand been connected by anew,six-story building, where mostofthe hotel would have been located.

than the vouchers or LA GATOR grants, which will give about$7,600 to low-income families and moretostudents with disabilities. The school will have to quickly raise private funds to cover the remaining cost to educate students who don’tget grants, Moran said. “How do Iinthe middle of summer ﬁndthosesources?” he asked. “That’snot easy.” He predicted that families across the state who had hoped to use LA GATOR grants to send their children to private schools now will be “scrambling for seats in public and charter schools.” At the Gardere school, wherenearly everyfamily is low-income and receives tuitionassistance, Cheryl Lott said about 20 incoming kindergarten students who in the past would have received state vouchers now might not get LA GATOR grants. The school is “searching every avenue” for more private funding, she added, butit’sunclear whether that will ﬁll thegap “We’re just very sad,” Lott said. “Inevitably we’re probably going to lose some families.”

Email Patrick Wall at patrick.wall@theadvocate. com.

of progress,” Wheat wrote in an email. “I also believe there is moreunreported progress, even qualitative progress, an accumulating energy and direction.” Wheat said that while there is progress, data pointing outincreased work forcaseloadscounterbalances it. DCFS is weighing options to improve staffretention, Matlock wrote to the auditor

“Despite ongoing challenges, DCFSremains committed to strengthening its frontline workforce. The department continues to explore strategiesfor effectively managingchild welfare caseloads and workloads,” he said.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com

Neighbors had raised concerns about parking, crowds and, especially,about the size of the new structure proposed forthe site, which would have been tallerthan any other building on the campus. The university did not provide an update on whatnew uses forthe property it is exploring.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

coordinator for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. “I feel like we really almost did it.”

Tilapia are hardy and indiscriminate eaters,which makes them ideal for aquaculture and anightmare in the wild. Released into anew environment, the fish canrun amok. It made its way into waterways in Tanzania, where it is outcompeting native fish. Tilapia were introduced intentionally in lakesused to cool both fossil-fuel-fired andnuclear generatingplants in Texas in the 1960s; they got loose into rivers and streams. Native to subtropicalAfrica and the Middle East,the fish are now found in at least 10 U.S. states, where it has been “implicated in the declines of native fish and mollusks,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

They’re currently conﬁned to the freshwatercanals along Port Sulphur’slevees, but should they break into the estuary of theBarataria Basin, Massimi believes that they could do serious damage. They’lleat anything, they can tolerate low-salinity waters, and they spawn proliﬁcally,which, Massimi said, is “a perfect stormfor an invasive species.” Tilapia were brought to Port Sulphurtofeed largemouth bass in apond owned by thevery company that founded the town in the 1930s, Freeport Sulphur The company,later renamed Freeport-McMoRan Inc., mined sulfur nearby in Grand Ecaille. As the corporation grew throughthe end of the 20th century, it became synonymous, particularly in New Orleans, with the late Jim Bob Moffett, the swaggering geologist who led the company in its heyday during the 1980s and 1990s.

The company confirmed the fish from two decades ago came from its property, which hasnot been previouslyreported, though The Times-Picayune wrote about the eradication program. Plaquemines Parish residents recall the effort impacting some fishing areas, and some have long known where the fish came from Freeport said athird-party pond management company was responsible for stocking tilapia in the fishing pond Having tilapia in Louisiana requires apermit, and it is illegal to release them into the wild. The department has no record that Freeport or its contractor obtainedsuch a permit.

‘Morethana fishingcamp’ Freeport’sproperty in Port Sulphur,knownin PlaqueminesParishas the Freeport lodge, was acorporateretreat,aplace to host bigwigs in business and politics.

“They used the lodge for entertaining,for dignitaries. Congressmen and state representatives and all our local sheriffs, tax assessors —anybody that wanted to use it,” said Jimmy Capi-

and while O’Connell warns that they could adapt to survive in brackish estuaries, as theyhaveinBrazil, he found them only in thelow-salinity levee canals. He did not ﬁnd them in thesaltier marsh

O’Connell believes another eradication effort is necessary,and soon.But it remains unclear whowillpay forit. Freeport said it had not previously been made awarethat thefish hadreturned. In anycase, Schieble,the deputyassistant secretary of fisheries at LDWF, opposes using rotenone again. He thinks thefish O’Connell found survived the first rotenone treatment, anddoing a secondwould involve “carpet bombing” thecanalsagain andkillingall fish. Instead,he believes LDWF should up its monitoring for tilapia in the marsh outside thelevees.

“If we’re picking up tilapia out in the marsh, that’sa problem,”hesaid. “I would rather see money invested in monitoring thesituation than trying to rotenone the canals unsuccessfully.”

ello,who cookedatthe lodge for 16 years, until Katrina. “Freeportfootedthe bill.”

A1986 article described it as “something morethan a fishing camp,” with “super hotel roomswith private baths, everything tastefully decorated in thesportsman theme.” The main structure of the lodge was lost in Katrina. But asmaller version of what it oncewas remains, andFreeportstill owns it.

Afterthe tilapiawerediscovered in local waterways, Freeport covered thecosts of killing them and paid for the monitoring that took place in the years that followed.

That effort “involved the use of approved eradication treatments in 2009 of the ponds and nearbywaterbodies, and as we understand, monitoring through 2012,” said LindaHayes,vice president for communications at Freeport.

They usedrotenone, apotent fish-killing chemical, dispersed throughoutthe waterwaysaround Port Sulphur.Itkilled the tilapia and allofthe native ﬁsh.

It’sunclear exactlyhow much Freeport paid, but they did so by making alarge donation to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ nonproﬁt foundation, whichsupports the government agency’swork.Kell McInnis, who was theexecutive directorofthe foundationatthe time, estimated

that Freeport likely donated between $500,000 and $1 million,but saidrecords from more thanadecade ago were not readily accessible.

Schieble estimated thecost at over $1 million.Freeport could notlocate records to conﬁrmhow much it paid.

‘The wholemegillah’

O’Connell described the previous eradication effort as having taken a“bazooka” to the waterways.

“When we went down there in 2009, we had the whole megillah,” O’Connell said. “We hadanelectroshocking boat. We had thecast nets. We had beach seines thatwepulled through thecanals. We set minnowtraps. We were going down with afull crew.”

After the rotenone treatment, scientists monitoring the canals found that the ﬁsh had largely been wiped out. Researchers withNicholls State University helped to restock those canalswithnative ﬁsh, O’Connell said.

But O’Connell wonderedin theyears afterwardwhether the ﬁsh had indeed been eliminated forgood.Solast year, he got asmall grant from the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program to examine the area again. He wouldn’thavethe resources he had when Freeportwas funding the effort,but he had ahunch the tilapia might still be there

“Insteadofhaving awhole

platoon with armor andhowitzers, it was going to be more like Vietnam. Guerrilla warfare. Someold, hardened ﬁsh biologists,” he said. “Instead of having abazooka, we have carbines and M16s.”

With those limitations in mind, O’Connell went down to thecanals and droppedin anet. He knew he wouldn’t be able to deﬁnitively count the number of tilapia in the canals. The turbid water is murky,full of silt andimpossible to see through.

“The first timeI’m down there, I’m pulling up acast net and Isee ﬁve juvenile tilapia,”hesaid. It was obvious

theﬁsh were still there. “I’m just like, ‘Oh, we weren’teven freaking trying.’”

After it was clear tilapia were there, he shifted his focus to trytoﬁgureout howfar they had spread. And spread theyhad.O’Connell found them as farasSt. Jude Road, about6milesnorth of the Freeport lodge. And, oddly,his team found no adult tilapia, only juveniles. It’snot clear why.It suggeststhat the fish have reproduced —not agood sign. But it mayalso mean that they’re not surviving to full adulthood.

Tilapia are freshwater ﬁsh,

Earlierthis month, LDWF biologist Joel Caldwell prepared to throw a4-foot cast netinto thecanal thatruns along the levee north of the Freeport lodge. Caldwell regularly monitors fish populations in the BaratariaBasin, just over the levee, andhas neverfound tilapia.Hehadn’tsurveyed this canal, but was skeptical of finding the fish.Itwould be “likewinning thelottery”to catch one, he said. He threw in his net, which expanded like aspider web before dropping into the murky water.Hepulleditin. Suspended in thenet, among crawfish and grass shrimp, was an inch-and-ahalf-long fish that Caldwell didn’trecognize.Adarkeye Blueish-gray alongits spine witha whiter belly.Vertical stripesalong itsbody Caldwell had never seen the fish before. He brought it back to thelab.

“Afterconferring with three other biologists,” Caldwell’scolleague Claire Walker wrote in an email, “we are all in agreementthat it is atilapia.”

Britain’sMI6 spyagencygetsits

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

OTTAWA, Ontario Britain’s real-lifespies have finally caught up with James Bond MI6 has appointed its ﬁrst female chief.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Sunday that Blaise Metreweliwillbe the next head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency, and the ﬁrst woman to hold the post sinceits founding in 1909. She is currentlythe MI6 director of technology and innovation —the realworld equivalent of Bond gadget-master Q. Acareer intelligence officer,Metreweli, 47, steps from the shadows into the light as the only MI6 employeewhosename is made public. She said “I am proud and honored to be asked to

lead my Service.”

Starmer said the “historic appointment” comesata time “when thework of our intelligence services has never been more vital.

“The United Kingdomis facingthreats onanunprecedented scale —beitaggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackerswhose sophisticatedcyberplots seek to disrupt our public services,” hesaid.

Starmermadethe announcementashearrived in the Canadianprovince of Alberta for aGroup of Seven leaders’ summit.

Metreweli takes over at MI6asthe agency faces growing challenges from states including China and Russia, whose use of cyber tools, espionage, and inﬂuence operationsthreatens global stability and British

interests, even as it remains on alertagainst terrorist threats.

Metreweliisthe ﬁrst woman to getthe topjob,known as C—rather than M, the fictional MI6 chief of the 007 thrillers. Mwas played on-screen by Judi Dench in seven Bond movies starting in the 1990s. She will take up her post in the fall, replacing Richard Moore, who has held thejob for ﬁve years. Britain’s twoother main intelligenceagencieshave already shattered the spy world’sglass ceiling. MI5, thedomestic security service, was led by Stella Rimingtonfrom 1992 to 1996 and Eliza ManninghamBuller between 2002 and 2007. Anne Keast-Butler became head of electronic and cyberintelligenceagency

GCHQ in 2023.

Moore, an Oxford-educated former diplomat, ﬁt the 007 mold like aSavile Row suit.But in recent years MI6has workedtoincrease diversity, broadening its recruitment process from thetraditional “taponthe shoulder” at an elite university.The agency’swebsite stresses itsfamily-friendly flexible working policy and goal of recruiting “talented people from all backgrounds.”

Moore suggested he would like his successor to be a woman. He wrote on Xin 2023thathewould “help forge women’sequalityby working to ensure I’mthe last Cselected from an allmale shortlist.”

Like manythingsabout MI6, also known as theSecret Intelligence Service,

didates. The job was open to applicants from otherintelligenceagencies,the civil service, the diplomatic service, the armed forces or the police.

In the end, MI6 opted for an internal candidate with a 25-year career in espionage, adegreeinanthropology fromCambridge University —where she wasonthe women’srowing team —and expertise in cutting-edge technology

theprocess of choosing a newchieftook place outof public view.Itbegan with the country’stop civil servant writing to government departments in March askingthem to put forward can-

“At atime of global instabilityand emerging security threats, where technology is powerand ouradversaries are working ever closer together,Blaise will ensure the U.K. can tackle these challengeshead on to keep Britain safe and secure at homeand abroad,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy,who oversees MI6.

Politicalviolencethreadedthrough recent U.S. history

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

Theassassination of a DemocraticMinnesota state lawmaker and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife at their homes are just the latest addition to along and unsettling roll call of political violence in the United States.

The list, in the past two months alone: thekilling of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, the firebombing of aColorado march callingfor thereleaseofIsraeli hostages, andthe firebombing of the officialresidence of Pennsylvania’sgovernor —onaJewish holiday while he and his family were inside.

And here’sjust asampling of some other attacks before that —the killing of ahealth care executive on the streets of New York late last year, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in smalltown Pennsylvania during his presidential campaign last year,the 2022 attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by abeliever in right-wing conspiracy theories, and the 2017 shooting by aliberal gunman at aGOP practice for the congressional softball game.

“We’ve entered into this especially scary time in the country whereitfeels the sort of norms and rhetoric and rules that would tamp down on violence have been lifted,” said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at George Washington University who studies extremism. “A lot of people are receiving signals from the culture.”

Politics have also driven large-scale massacres. Gunmenwho killed11worshippers at asynagogueinPittsburgh in 2018,23shoppers at aheavily LatinoWalmart in El Paso in 2019 and10Black people at aBuffalo grocery store in 2022 each cited the conspiracytheorythatasecret cabal of Jews were trying to replace White people with peopleofcolor.That hasbecome astaple on parts of theright who support Trump’spush to limit immigration.

The Anti-Defamation League found that from 2022 through 2024, all of the 61 political killingsinthe United States were committedby right-wingextremists. That changed on the ﬁrst day of 2025, when aTexas man ﬂying the flag of theIslamic Stategroup killed 14 people by driving his truckthrough acrowded New Orleans street before being fatally shot by police.

“You’re seeing actsofviolence from all different ideologies,” saidJacob Ware, afellowatthe Councilon Foreign Relations who researches terrorism. “It feels more random and chaotic andmorefrequent.”

The United States has a long and grim historyof political violence, from presidentialassassinations dating back to thekilling of PresidentAbraham Lincoln, lynching and violenceaimed at Black people in the South, the1954 shooting inside Congressbyfour Puerto Rican nationalists.Experts say the past few years,however, have most likely reached a level not seen since thetumultuous days of the 1960s

French leader visits Greenlandtoshow European support

BY KWIYEON HA and SLYVIE CORBET Associated Press

NUUK, Greenland— French

President Emmanuel Macron warned that Greenland is “not to be sold” nor “to be taken” in akey visit Sunday to the strategic Arctic territory coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he’sconveying amessage of French and European solidarity Macron expressed strong criticism of Trump’sintention to take control of the territory “In afew words: everybody in France, the European Unionthinksthat Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” he said during anews conference, applauded by the local crowd.

“The situationinGreenland is clearly awake-up call for all Europeans. Let me tell you very directly that you’re not alone,” Macron added.

Sunday’ssymbolic stop

to Greenland comes as the French leader isonhis way to asummit ofthe Group of Seven leading industrialized nationsinCanada that will be also attended by Trump. Macron wasgreetedin Nuuk, the territory’scapital, by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.

AskedwhetherFrance wouldbeready to militarily supportGreenland if Trump was to decideto invade, Macron declined to discuss the hypothesis.

“I won’tstart elaborating on ‘what if’scenarios publicly,” he said. “Because Idon’t believe that in the end,the U.S., which is an ally and afriend, would ever do something aggressive against another ally.” Macron in recentmonths has sought to reinvigorate France’srole as the diplomatic and economic heavyweight of the27-nationEuropean Union.

and 1970s, when icons like Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy,Malcolm Xand Robert F. Kennedy wereassassinated.

Ware noted that themost recent surge comes after the new Trump administration hasshuttered unitsthat focus on investigating White supremacistextremism and pushed federal lawenforcement to spend lesstime on anti-terrorism and more on detainingpeoplewho arein the country illegally “We’reatthe point, after these six weeks, where we have to askabout how effectively the Trump administration is combating terrorism,” Ware said.

Of course, one of Trump’s first acts in office was to pardon thoseinvolved in the largest act of domestic political violencethis century —the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on theU.S. Capitol, intended to prevent Congressfrom cer-

tifying Trump’s2020 election loss.

Those pardons broadcast asignal to would-be extremists on either side of the political debate, Dallek said: “They sent averystrong message that violence, as long as you’re aTrump supporter,will be permitted and may be rewarded.”

Often, those who engage in political violence don’t have clearlydeﬁned ideologies that easily map onto the country’spartisan divides. A man whodied after he detonated acar bomb outside a Palm Springs fertilityclinic last month left writings urging people nottoprocreate and expressed what theFBI called “nihilistic ideations.”

But, like clockwork,each political attack seems to inspire partisans to find evidencethe attacker is on theother side. Little was known about the man police identiﬁed as asuspect in the

Minnesota attacks, 57-yearoldVance Boelter. Authorities say they found alistof otherapparenttargets that included other Democratic ofﬁcials, abortionclinicsand abortion rights advocates, as well as ﬂyers forthe day’s anti-Trumpparades.

Conservatives online seized on the ﬂyers —and the fact thatBoetlerhad apparently once been appointed to astate workforce development boardbyDemocratic Gov. TimWalz—toclaim the suspect must be aliberal.

“The far left is murderously violent,”billionaire Elon Muskposted on hissocial media site, X.

It was reminiscent of thefallout from theattack on Paul Pelosi, the former House speaker’sthen-82year-old husband, who was seriously injuredbya man wielding ahammer. Rightwing figures theorized the assailant wasasecret lover rather than what authorities said he was: abeliever in proTrump conspiracy theories who broke into the Pelosi home echoing Jan.6rioters who broke intothe Capitol by saying: “Where is Nancy?!” On Saturday,Nancy Pelosi posted astatementonX decrying the Minnesota attack. “All of us must remember that it’snot only the act of violence, but also the reactiontoit, that cannormalize it,” she wrote.

Trump had mocked the Pelosisafter the2022 attack, but on Saturday he joined in theofficialbipartisan condemnation of the Minnesota shootings,calling them “horrific violence.”The president has, however,consistently broken new ground with his bellicose rhetoric towards his political opponents, whom he routinely calls “sick” and “evil,” and has talked repeatedly about howviolenceisneeded to quell protests. The Minnesota attack occurred after Trumptook the extraordinarystepofmobilizingthe military to tryto control protestsagainst his administration’simmigration operations in Los Angeles during the past week, whenhepledged to “HIT” disrespectful protesters and warned of a“migrant invasion” of the city Dallek said Trumphas been “both avictimand an accelerant” of the charged, dehumanizing political rhetoric thatisﬂooding the country “It feels as if the extremists areinthe saddle,” he said, “and the extremists are the ones driving our rhetoric and politics.”

Flashfloodingkills at least5inWestVirginia

BY DAVE COLLINS Associated Press

Flash flooding caused by torrential rains killed five people in northern West Virginia andrescuecrews were searching forthree otherpeoplewho were missing Sunday as authorities assessed damage to roads, bridges, natural gas lines and other infrastructure.

Ofﬁcials said 2.5 to 4inches of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within abouta half-houron Saturday night “Wealmost immediately startedgetting 911 calls for rescue of people being trapped,” LouVargo, Ohio County’semergency management director,said at a news conference Sunday “During this time, we had major infrastructure damagetoroads, bridges, and highways where we couldn’t respond to alot of incidents. So we were delayedingetting there because there was just so much damage.”

Vargo added: “It happened so quickly andsofast. …I’ve been doing this for 35 years.

I’veseen major ﬂoodshere in thecityand thecounty. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Authorities said vehicles wereswept intoswollen

creeks,some people sought safety in trees and amobile homecaught ﬁre. Similarly,swift flash ﬂooding arrivedinMarion County, south of Wheel-

ing and Ohio County,early Sundayafternoon,causing extensive damage to bridges, roads and somehomes, thecounty’sDepartment of HomelandSecurity &

Emergency Management said in aFacebook post. The county’s911 line has already processed at least 165 calls forservice since the storms began.

STAR TRIBUNEPHOTO By ALEX KORMANN

An officer sets up aperimeter Saturday withpolice tapeinBrooklyn Park, Minn.,after the shootings of twoMinnesota lawmakers.

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New highway opening in segments

Last section will link long-awaited La. 3241 to Interstate 12 ST. TAMMANY PARISH

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

It can take a long time to build a highway in Louisiana.

More than three decades after it was proposed and put into a state road program to fund its construction through a special gasoline tax, the brand-new La. 3241 continues to open in segments running through east-central St. Tammany Parish

JEFFERSON PARISH

Grand ball celebrates parish’s 200th birthday

Chenoweth headlines event at Lakeside mall

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish rolled out the red carpet at Lakeside Shopping Center

— literally — for its Bicentennial Ball celebration Saturday night an event featuring mini golf, endless open bars and a dazzling performance from Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth Thousands of attendees, from public officials to local residents, gathered to celebrate the parish’s 200th birthday with a ball hosted by the Jefferson Community Foundation. The event raised over $1 million in corporate sponsorships and ticket sales, and net proceeds will go toward the Jefferson Ready Start Network for early childhood education and other foundation initiatives. Among those in attendance were U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise and Troy Carter and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy Gov. Jeff Landry was expected to attend but did not make an appearance.

“You all represent what we’re all about,” Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told the crowd. “We’re not just government; we can’t do it alone. We’re a community.”

In a matter of days, the mall’s inner hallways were converted into a ballroom space with four stages, eight open bars, over 50 food booths and other entertainment scattered throughout the space — “a little bit Epcot-like,” as media consultant and organizer Greg Buisson put it before the event. The mall had closed early at 4 p.m. on Saturday to make way for ﬁnal preparations.

Women donning Marie Antoinettestyle wigs and extravagant redwhite-and-blue ballgowns — some of which also acted as tables carrying petit fours — waved to attendees as they traversed the shopping grounds. Step and repeats were set up every few feet, including one in Arhaus sponsored by Lee Michaels where guests were allowed to try on $1 million worth of jewelry for photos. In one spot, Lakeside owner The Feil Organization sponsored a onehole mini golf course.

Some guests stayed glued to a television for the night, as a popup sports lounge showed the LSU Tigers’ 4-1 victory in the College World Series opener against Arkansas. Then, at the center of the mall, about 600 VIP attendees sat to watch headlining act Chenoweth perform alongside a 22-piece orchestra.

Foundation board member and event organizer Lynda Nugent Smith gave opening remarks and

The latest segment of the $220 million highway was unveiled this week, an 8-mile stretch that runs from La. 36 north to La. 435 near Talisheek, where it connects to the first leg that opened a year ago. Still to come: the last segment that will finally link the highway to Interstate 12 in the Lacombe area. Officials say that final section is scheduled to go out for bid in December The state Department of Transpor-

tation and Development has not offered a completion date.

“The opening of this segment of Highway 3241 is aligned with the commitment we’ve made to our citizens: new roads to ease trafﬁc,”

St Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper said in the news release. “I am thankful for our partnership with the state, which has put the needs of our citizens ﬁrst.” The new state highway, first pushed in the 1980s as a quicker way to link southern St. Tammany Parish to Bogalusa and the rest of Washington Parish, will cut a 20mile path northsouth through the pines starting at I-12. At Bush, the new highway links with the existing four-lane La. 21, which runs into Washington Parish.

When it was conceived in the 1980s, boosters — including the legendary state Sen. B.B. “Sixty” Rayburn — said it would improve the fortunes of cities like Bogalusa while also opening a huge swath of St Tammany Now, supporters say it will make travel safer for drivers navigating the region’s network of crowded, winding, two-lane highways. “It also provides another hurricane evacuation route,”

Conservation district announces winner

Election had far greater turnout than expected

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

Following a first come, first served election with paper ballots that ran out long before polls were to close, the Crescent Soil and Water Conservation District announced on Sunday that incumbent Erica Johnson won reelection to a board seat that few knew existed until a couple of weeks ago The district, a public body dating back to the Dust Bowl that conducts its own elections on the rare occasions they are necessary, was overwhelmed by unexpectedly high turnout for the Saturday election, having printed just 2,400

ballots at eight polling locations in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish and St. Charles Parish. Confusion and suspicion spread when ballots ran out in New Orleans within a couple of hours of polls opening at 8 a.m. They had been scheduled to stay open until 6 p.m. The furor caught the attention of New Orleans City Council Vice President Helena Moreno, who called for a redo in a statement by 8 p.m. Moreno said the do-over election should “better align with regular voting methods the public is used to.”

“We must ensure that there are adequate ballots and stafﬁng in place to guarantee a trustworthy outcome that truly reflects the will of the voters,” Moreno said. The district, which marshals resources for local conservation ef-

DADS’ DAy

Tax reassessment in St. Tammany sparks fight

Argument rages between assessor, fire district

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

A Slidell-based ﬁre department has ratcheted up its criticism of St. Tammany Parish Assessor Louis Fitzmorris’ 2024 tax reassessment and is urging the Parish Council to open an investigation. But Fitzmorris says the criticism is politically motivated and says his ofﬁce is already looking ahead to the 2025 tax year “We are moving on, which I think the vast majority of the public has done too,” Fitzmorris said in a recent interview Fitzmorris’ office reevaluated properties in St. Tammany in 2024, which he said is required by state law every four years. In St.

Tammany, the reassessment has resulted in some substantial increases in property values, drawing the ire of some residents.

During the Parish Council’s meeting June 5, a lawyer for St. Tammany Fire District No. 1, Chad Danenhower asked the council to investigate Fitzmorris’ 2024 reassessment. The ﬁre district has already requested the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Ofﬁce to investigate, though Danenhower said the legislative auditor declined, deferring to local law enforcement.

“Investigate what?” asked Fitzmorris in a phone interview, arguing it was ultimately up to tax districts like Fire District No. 1 to set their tax rates, noting they can roll back the mills they collect to lower residents’ tax bills. He said he was unable to attend the council’s June meeting because he

Traion Lyons hoists his son Traion-te, 3, during the Perfect Gentlemen Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the local Nation of Islam Father’s Day parade in New Orleans on Sunday with the theme ‘Prayers For Peace.’ Organizers also used the outing to bring awareness to men about the dangers of prostate cancer and to encourage them to have regular prostate exams.

STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN McCUSKER

ABOVE: Da Truth Brass Band plays during the parade. RIGHT: Nation of Islam members stand for a photo.

OfficialsdetailMarrero murder

Womanaccused of recruiting gunmen to visitex

BY MICHELLEHUNTER Staff writer

AHarvey woman and three men are charged withmurder,accused of helping her kill herex-boyfriend after he broke things off, according to authorities.

Subrina Honore, 32; Arthur Thomas, 31; Jatary Joseph, 32; and Jjaun Jasmin, 34, were charged withsecond-degree murder and obstructionof justice in asuperseding indictment handed up on June 5, according to Jefferson Parish court records. All four have pleaded not guilty They are accusedinthe Jan. 27 death of Jonathan Brookin, afather andtruck driver from Avondale.

At the time of his death, Honore hada1-month-old child that she said belonged to Brookin, according to his sister,Kayla Brookin. The couple dated for less than a year,but Brookin hadrecently ended things because of uncertainty about thechild’s parentage and other issues in the relationship, his relatives said.

Honore was incensed and, in the days leading up to the shooting, she began threatening Brookin in phone calls, text messages and on social media, according to family members and investigators with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

In asocial media post made the day of the shooting, Honore wrote “I got time today,(expletive). I’m coming to your house,” Sheriff’s OfﬁceHomicide Detective Ryan Vaught testiﬁed during aFebruary hearing in the case. AuthoritiesallegeHonore did just that.

On that day of the shooting, Brookin was at the home of afemale friend on Sayres

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gathered six previous parish presidents together fora photo: TimCoulon, John Young, Mike Yenni, Jose Gonzales, B.K. Sneed and LeeSheng, the current president.

“I don’tthink Lakeside has ever had anythingquite like this,” Nugent Smith said.

DriveinMarrero, according to authorities.

Thewoman told investigators he was sitting in her garage with the dooropen just before 6p.m. when sheoverheardthe sounds of an argument, Vaught said.

Thewoman walkedout to find Brookin arguingwith Honore abouta birth certiﬁcate for the infant, according to Vaught, who told thecourt he wasn’t sure if Brookineven had the document.

Thewoman andBrookin repeatedly askedHonore to leave. But Honore told the pairshe wasn’t goinganywherewithout the birthcertiﬁcate, Vaught said. That’s when the woman told investigators she spotted two armed men getting out of Honore’svehicle, which was parked across the street.

Thewoman immediately ran into the house, grabbed her children, ages 5and 6, and hid them under abed as the sound of gunﬁre began to ring out,according to authorities. When the shooting stopped, thewoman peeked out of the bedroom and saw Brookin bleedingand lyingonthe ﬂoor just inside the door,Vaught said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Honore and thegunmen had left thescene by the time deputies arrived. Investigatorsdiscovered spent shell casings that indicated three people opened ﬁre, according to Vaught.

One setofcasingswas found on the ground across thestreet from theresidence wherethe witnesssaid Honore’svehicle had been parked.

In thatgrouping was a mix of 13 casings from a 5.56 rifle and eight casings from a.45-caliberweapon, according to authorities. That indicated twodifferent types of guns wereﬁred from that spot, according to Vaught.

The second set, eight 5.56 casings, were found closer to the house where Brookin

wasshot, indicating that he too, opened ﬁre, Vaught said. Investigators suspect Brookin armed himself witha rifle once he saw the two gunmen get out of Honore’svehicle.

Thebelieve Brookin fired eight times. Butthen he abandonedhis gun inside the garage and tried run into the residence but wasshotinthe head, according to Vaught.

Honore told investigators shewas upset that she couldn’tget her child’sbirth certificate and had enlisted Thomas’ help to secure it,according to Vaught.

She admitted being aware that Thomas gotintoher vehiclearmedwith ariﬂeand admitted contacting “a second gunman who also enters the car armed,”Vaught testiﬁed.

Honore told investigators she was arguing with Brookin when he saw Thomas and the second gunman get out of her car,Vaught said. Honore told detectives she believes Brookinfired first after grabbing his rifle.

After the shootout, Honore got back intoher car and ﬂed with Thomas. She almost left thesecondgunman at the scene, but he wasable to get intothe vehicle, according to Vaught.

Honore then dropped Thomas off at aresidence in Marrero

Honoreand Thomas were arrested one day after the shooting and booked with second-degree murder.Joseph was arrestedFeb. 18 while Jasmin was taken into custody April 28.

Sheriff’s Office officials have not disclosed which suspect they believe acted with Thomas as the second gunman or therole the fourth suspect allegedly played in the homicide.

In addition to murder,Joseph, Thomas and Jasmin werecharged withbeing convicted felons in possession of ﬁrearms, according to court records. Thomas is also charged with marijuana possession.

Chenoweth offered about 45 minutes of music, from classic songs like “Moon River” to Broadway hitslike “Popular” from “Wicked.” She performed aduet of “For Good” with 16-year-old Ella Grace Francis, of Destrehan aparticipant in Chenoweth’s Broadway Bootcamp,and ended her concert with Whitney Houston’s“IWill Always Love You. FollowingChenoweth’sperformance, R&B group Sister Sledge closed outthe night

host the Bicentennial Ball at Lakeside ShoppingCenter in Metairie on Saturday. The suburban mall hosted the gala which featured music by Deacon

with adanceparty outside the Apple Store anda performanceofits hitsong, “We Are Family.”

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forts and historically works with private landowners, apologized in an Instagram post on Saturdaynight, saying past elections haven’t garnered more than 200 votes.

“Apologetically, we thought we were prepared for the turnout,” the post said. The election on Saturday drew an outpouring of interest in New Orleans fueled by support within the city for Johnson, aCentral Citybased urban farmer and the board’sfirst Black representativein87years of existence.Johnson joined the board in 2022 and is nowits treasurer St. Charles-based commercialfishing captain Lloyd Landry IV ran against Johnson in an unusual challenge Despite the admittedly flawed election that saw droves of people turned away at the polls, the district announced in another Instagram post on Sundayafternoon that Johnson had won. No tally was given. The result still must be certiﬁed by the Louisiana Soil and Water Conservation Commission, which is within the Department of Agriculture and For-

estry,according to the post Obscureboard

TheLouisiana Legislature created conservationdistricts in 1938 to helpfarmers combat soilerosion, partofa nationalconservation movement. There are now44 conservation districts across the state, each withﬁve-member boards that include two state appointees and threeelected from local jurisdictions. The CrescentSoiland Water Conservation District covers St. John, Jefferson, St.Charles, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes.

Thedistricts are technically public bodies that receive state funding and are subject to openmeetingslaws, but theywere purposefully set up to be independent of government to gaintrust of private landowners.

“This citizen board was created so that land conservationcould continue to happen,evenwhenmistrust in the government was high,” saidMarguerite Green, statewide director for the Louisiana Food Policy Action Council.

Thesedays,the conservation districts work closely with stateand federalauthorities onnumerous issues related to agriculture, conservationand environmental protection, with each district

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recently broke his rib. “You’ve already got an issue of trust in this parish. This does nothelp,” Fitzmorris said.

Terry King, the head of theinvestigative committeeofConcerned Citizens of St. Tammany,a community group that hascriticized the2024 reassessment on social media, said he had metwith northshore District Attorney Collin Sims to discuss the reassessment. In response to complaints, Simssaid he was conducting an “inquiry” and had requested documents from the Assessor’sOffice that he plans to go over with Fitzmorris.

Estimate

In recent years, echoing anational trend, property valueshave risenacross the parish, which, coupled with therecent reassessment, have caused property taxes to go up. When there arelarge changes to property values,taxing bodies can adjust theirtax rate in order to remain revenue neutral. For instance, if property values go up, taxingbodies can decrease themills they collect.

At issue for Fire District No. 1isanearlyestimate of the property values that Fitzmorris’ office sentin

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addedDanielGitlin, aDOTD spokesperson.

Butwhile La. 3241 had solid political backing across the northshore —some even call it “I-60”inreferenceto Rayburn’ssupport —the path from concept to asphalt wasfraught with obstacles. There were problems with the various routes, as well as environmental issues. And, of course,money waslacking even though La. 3241 was one of 16 projects in a 1989 state program called TIMED that promised nearly 600miles of newhighways across the state by 2004. The program was funded by a 4-cents-per-gallon gasoline taxapprovedbythe state’s voters.

Construction costs rose as the timedragged on and the highway was broken into segments.

The ﬁrst segment to open, from La.435 to Bush, cost around $46 million and opened in June 2024. The second, which opened last week, was around $63 million. DOTD projects the final segment at between $110 millionand $120 million.

Even though it’scoming decades later than anticipated, area elected ofﬁcials

the board’s history

setting priorities that reﬂect local needs, Green said. But self-run elections, with no involvement from the Secretary of State’sOffice or local election ofﬁcials,are a holdoverfrom the past.

There have only been a handful of conservation districtelections throughout the years, andthey’ve never been in urbancenters, Green said. “There’snever been an occasion to change them or reform them,” she said. Thereislittle readily available information about theCrescentSoil and Water Conservation District,which doesn’t have awebsite or post meeting agendas. Its Instagram account shows 11 posts dating back two years. It received about $40,000 in state and federal funding last year,accordingto sworn ﬁnancial statements available on the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOfﬁce’s website.

The chair of the board as of July 2024,ElizabethLivaudais, did not respond to an emailonSunday.

Though few outside agricultureand conservation circles hadheard of thedistrict until recently, interest in the election quickly spread as Johnson’ssupporters questioned why shehad drawn one of the few challenges in

May2024 to theLouisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice that the auditor then used to calculate an adjusted tax rate for the ﬁre district.

In his letter to the legislative auditor,Danenhower said the property valuation Fitzmorris’ officesentto theLouisianaLegislative Auditor’sOffice wassignificantly toolow.Heclaimed thatwhenthe fire district adopted the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice’s suggestion and reduced its tax rate from 35 mills to 32.41 mills, the district expected to be revenueneutral, but instead still wound up raising taxes on its constituents.

For Fire District No. 1, this comes at an inopportune time,asitplans to go to the voters in October to askthemtorenew aparcel feeitalso has, Danenhower said. The district has had theparcel feesince 2006, when it decided to diversify its revenue source after someofits district stopped paying property taxes fora few yearsafter Hurricane Katrina,according to Fire District No. 1ChiefChris Kaufman.

Fitzmorris, meanwhile, said the May 2024 numbers werejust an estimate. Some data aboutthe taxable property are not yet available to the assessor when it sends the estimate, Fitzmorris said. “You’remaking acall in the dark,” said Assistant Assessor Troy

Dugas. As the assessor updated its valuation after May,the ﬁre district could have decided to reduce its tax rate by the Oct. 1, 2024, deadline, Fitzmorris argued. “Ultimately,it’supto these taxing bodies to decide what their budget is and how muchmoney they make,” Fitzmorris said. Parish Councilresolution In response to the contentious 2024 reassessment, the Parish Council adopted aresolution at the June meeting encouraging alltaxingbodiestoreduce their tax rates if they are able to.

“We’ve heard outthere that someagenciesfeel like they’ve gotten more money than they thought theywere going to get,but we want to makeyou aware and ask —there’samechanisminplace,please roll your taxesback andgive people abreak on their property taxes,” said ParishCouncil memberJoe Impastato. At the same meeting, the council also announced the parish governmenthad reduced its overall tax rate from 18.67 mills in 2024 to 14.68 mills in 2025.That is due to the expiration of the tax that funds the St. Tammany Coroner’sOfﬁce, as well as the reduction in some individual tax rates, like the 1-mill reduction in the tax that funds the library

“Curiously, after decades of uncontested appointments before hers and minimal public scrutiny,her board seat is now facing itsﬁrst-ever competitive election,raising eyebrows among theagriculture community,” read an email blast from River QueenGreens, avegetable farm in Algiers. “Why now? Why this seat? And why this board member?”

Acandidate forum hosted by the New Orleans Food Policy andActionCommitteewas friendly,withcandidates often agreeing with one another,according to a Gambit report. Landry said he’d like to work with Johnson. In atext message on Sundayafternoon,Landry congratulated Johnsonbut said alot of his supporters had been prevented from voting “due to thepoor planning of the organizers.

“Hopefully projectsand issuesofALL 5PARISHES get recognized from nowon,” Landry said. Attempts to reach Johnson on Sunday were unsuccessful.

Chaoticelection

Hollygrove resident Jesse Manley said he initially tried to vote at twopolling locationsinNew Orleansbefore

have said it will be awelcome addition theyhopewill drive theregion’s economy “The opening of Segment 2ofLa. 3241 puts us one step closer to long-awaited 4-laneaccess to I-12 anddifferent connections to major commercial hubs across theGulfSouth,” Washington Parish President Ryan Seal said.“This efficient route strengthens our in-

10:30 a.m., but ballots had alreadyrun out. He ﬁnally madeittoJefferson Feed in Metairie just in time: there wasaline of 20 people waiting to vote, and election volunteers told him there were only 35 ballots remaining.

“I go to that Jefferson Feed allthe time for lawn and plant stuff, but there were no signs outside. The parking lot was really full; we could see that there was alineinside thestore

So they’re either running a good sale on dog food or this is where the election is,” Manley said.

Manley said avolunteer checked identificationand verified through public online records that voters were properly registered He was given aballot printed on regular copy paper with aplace to markeither candidate’sname. Voters marked their choices at a small table, without privacy, folded ballots in half and dropped them in aplastic box, Manley said.

Manley initially tried to vote at New Harmony High School in Bayou St. John around 10 a.m., but ballots had already run out. He then rushed to anotherpolling locationatPress Street Station, where aconfusing scene wasunfolding. Dozens of would-be vot-

frastructure, improves mobilityand opensthe door to new economic opportunities for Washington Parish.”

ers were turned away before 10 a.m., and aTimesPicayune reporter saw a conservation district board member, Daniel Milojevic, directing people to line up andsign theirnames on loose-leaf rulerpaper to show they had tried to vote.

“We’re all volunteering our timetotry to help landowners and preserve the state. We do alot of conservation work. And right now we are out of ballots,” Milojevic said on Saturday morning. “It’sanelection that we’ve never had to deal with.”

Staff writer Sophie Kasakove contributed to this report. Email BenMyers at bmyers@theadvocate.com.

In aNovemberinterview, Seal hadvoiced asentiment feltbymanyacross the region “I wondered if it wasever going to happen in my lifetime,” he said. “There’sbeen alot of frustrating years.” LOTTERY SATURDAY,JUNE 14, 2025

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER Jefferson Parish and the Jefferson Community Foundation

John and others.

Faia,Gregory

Ransone,Margaret

Scott, Uthrelle

Wallace Jr.,Alex NewOrleans

Charbonnet

Scott, Uthrelle

Lake Lawn Metairie

Faia,Gregory

Ransone,Margaret West Bank

DavisMortuary

Wallace Jr.,Alex Obituaries

Faia, Gregory Gerard

Gregory G. Faia, 61 years old, passed away at his home on Thursday, May8 2025, following acourageous battle with Glioblastoma brain cancer

Anative New Orleanian, he was alongtime resident of Metairie, Louisiana

Mr. Faia earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in 1990. Since 1999, Mr. Faia was active in both the title and real estate industries where he was the ownerof Security Title of Louisiana, LLC. His law practice Faia and Associates, LLC was dedicated to intellectual property as well as corporate law including formerly working as general counsel to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. In 2008, he was named President of Strive Incorporated, anonprofit organization committed to assisting disabled adults with employment challenges, arole he was most proud of and continued until his death. In 2010, Mr. Faia was appointed Trustee of the Jefferson Parish Finance Authority and in 2016 was appointed Chairman of the Board and served untilhis death. He was an owner of Ads Squared, LLC. which led him to become aYahoo Relationship Partner with the Yahoo Search Partner Advisory Council. Greg was aleader in the search optimization industry and internet advertising. He was amember of the American Land and Title Association, the Louisiana Bar Association, NewOrleans Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Greg was also amember of the Southern Yacht Club. He is preceded in death by his parents, Ronald Lawrence Faia and Jane Durning Faia. He is survived by his loving wife, Michelle A. Faia, hisson, Philip G. Faia and those he called his own, Theodore J. Picou, III (Geneva), Taylor Picou and her son, Parker, his stepsons, Tyler Molero (Isabella), Hunter Molero, and Brennan Molero, his sister, Jane F. Mentzand brother, RonaldL.Faia,Jr. (Tracy)aswell as ahost of nieces and nephews Greg's employees were like family, especially his assistant, Jewel Davis, and his paralegal, Gina B. Grob. He was hard-working, had agenerous spirit, and was undeniably the life of the party. He enjoyed boating, fine art, traveling, and spending time with his beloved dogs, Sadie and Coco. The legacy he leaves behind in both his family and professional endeavors will forever be cherished and celebrated by those who knew and loved him. The family willholda private cremation service through Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider acontributionin Greg's memory to Strive Incorporated. An online guestbookis available at www.LakeLaw nMetairie.com

Margaret Adair McCarthy Wood Ransone peacefully passedawayin the embraceofher loving familyonThursday,June 12, 2025.Margaret was 97 ½years young. She was born in New Orleans on December 9, 1927,toJohn McCarthy and Veronica Hennessey McCarthy.As she always told her family, she was born into aloving family and foreversurroundedbylove. She was predeceased by her siblings: Jack, Dennis, Gail, Ann Louise,Catherine and Justin.

Margaret married her brother'sbestfriend, the lateDavid J. Wood, who was the love of her life. Their friendship grewout of many letters back and forth between themMargareta student at Loyola Universityand Davida Navy AirNavigator in the Pacific during WWII Davidwas later awarded the Navy's highest honor, The DistinguishedFlying Cross.They married once the war endedand went on to have alively, bustling happy family of sixchildren- each one an individual:the late David, Jr.; the late Carolyn Wood Kinabrew(John); StephanieWood Jumonville (Robert);the late Greg (Kathy); Rob (Tonette); and Mary Beth Wood Wooten(Bob). Margaretwas the consummate great mother-she loved her childrenenormouslyand enjoyed all of their escapades. She especially loved the fact that her childrenloved each other and were kind to each other. Margaret and Davidmarveledatthe magnificence of theirlives. Both from humble beginnings, they rose to attain degrees from Tulane University and enjoyed professional success. They both workedhardaseducators, and Davidhad a second jobwithDelta Airlines in order to support his largefamily. They loved watching their six childrengrow upand pursuetheir own interests and dreams. Margaret lost Davidtocancerwhen she was 58, after 35 yearsof marriage.Mostofher childrenweremarried, and some beginning their own families. Aftermourning the lossofDavid,Margaret claimedGod blessed her withanother goodmanshe metand marriedthe late John E.B. Ransonewho had losthis loving wife to cancer. They had 20 good yearstogether."Poppie" becamethe grandfather to Margaret'sgrandchildrento the ones alreadyborn and to those who followed: David(predeceased), John, Christopher, Suzi, Robert Cooper, Richard, Jenny, Conor, Ashley,Stephen, Robertand Amanda. Margaret became Nonnie" and reveled in her grandchildren's lives and accomplishments. Thereafter, her joy continued when hergreat grandchildrenwereborn -24in all: Maggie,Jonas, Kira, Lulu, Josephine, David, Robert, Juliette,Brennan, Caroline,Benny, Duke, Charly, Robbie, Richard Hudson, Peyton, Isabelle Matty, Connor, Marie, Emilia, Charles and Jacques. Margaret' slonglifewas asuccessful one. First, as a lovingmother, then amagnificent teacher, and finally, as aconsequential volunteer, changing the world forgood Margaretloved being 'Irish'.She was amember of the Irish Cultural Society, and she and her husband hostedreceptions forwriters,singers and diplomats from Ireland Oneofthe members in the group suggested they give

tributetothethousandsof

Irish immigrantswho lost theirlives digging theNew Basin Canal. Margaret agreed and started theball rolling -she was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. Today, youcan enjoy thepark with thelarge Celtic Cross, nownamed Hibernian Memorial Park located on WestEnd Blvd in New Orleans.

Her volunteer interests branch out fromthere. She became amember of Woman fora Better Louisiana (WBL). As chairman of theChild Advocacy CommitteeofWBL, Margaret and fellowmember, Nancy Simoneaux wanted better protection for children, includinghaving anyone who worked with childrentobefingerprinted and background checks performed.So, these twoforces of nature traveled to and from Baton Rouge to theState Capitol to meetwith many legislators forthemtoenact and pass fingerprintlegislation. Thiswas successfully accomplished, and the ladies were pleased. Until .theydiscovered thelegislature failed to fund the law. Back to Baton Rouge and theStateCapitol they went,once again meeting with legislators. Finally, fundingwas providedfor thenew fingerprint law. Childrenwere safer.

Margaret was also a CriminalCourt Watch Volunteer. She and other WBL members followed cases involving children, particularlychildabuse cases.They wanted to ensure thesystem was working for and protecting children. Again, childrenwere safer. Always thewarrior forchildren.

Thereafter, Margaret was invitedtobea memberofthe Metropolitan Crime Commission. She served admirably formany years and was never afraid to offercommonsense,insightful commentsand suggestions.She worked closely with Rafael Goyeneche, President of theMetropolitanCrime Commission, who she respectedand admired deeply.

Next, Margaret was appointed to theAmerican Judicature Society(AJS) board in Washington, DC. Again, she represented Louisiana admirably offering smart,honest input She chuckled,recalling her first AJSBoard meeting Boardmembers were asked to give shortbios of themselves as introductions. Most of theboard members were IvyLeague grads, very successful businessmen and jurists. They had numerous degreesand shared them. Whenitwas Margaret's turn, she spokeofher children,her degrees from Tulane University, butthen she added allofher children's degrees(including medicine and law), which she claimedashers too, since she encouraged and supported her children in their many academic pursuits. The AJSboard members smiled, clapped and fell in love with this no nonsense force, agrandmother, from Louisiana.

In recognition for her amazing volunteer work, she was honored with a number of awards, including theAngel Award, as wellasthe St.Elizabeth's Guild Volunteer Activist Award.

If youcan believeit, Margaret also had time for hobbies: gardening and sewing.And so it was, when she sloweddown her volunteer work, she sewed for family and friendsmostly sewing aprons. Everyone lovedreceiving an apronfrom Nonnie.

Sewing keptMargaret busy up until abouta week before passing.She remainedindependent and engaged in her condo throughout this time. Her wonderful housekeeper, Flor, helped her remain in her condo, and Margaret always appreciated her helpand kindness. Then after amildstrokein December 2024, Margaret reluctantly accepteda littlemorehelpfromtwo compassionate caregivers who helped her each

morning -namely, Erica and Debra. She fellinlove with both of them and appreciated their help. Margaret'sfamily especiallythanks these three wonderfulwomen, as they madeitpossible fortheir mother to remain independent. Margaret's many friends at her condocomplex also providedher friendship,loveand support. She enjoyed sitting outwith them and having aglass of wine as oftenas she could.Margaret's familythanks these neighbors fortheir ongoing love and support of their mother.

In closing, theresounding theme in Margaret's life was LOVE. She received much love,soshe had much love to share. Always. Evenatthe end of her beautiful life,about one weekbeforeshe passed, she underwent emergency surgery, and thesurgeondiscovered an aggressive cancer in her peritoneal cavity.When told, Margaret calmlyand lovinglyaccepted the news. She gently and kindly helpedher children throughtheir shock and grief. She explained that she was readytogo, to embrace her husband, David, her threepredeceasedchildren, her parents, etc. Her serenity, courageand acceptance was contagious. She was graceful and grace-filled. Always themother loving her children. Areal class act

In lieu of flowers, friends are welcomed to send donations in Margaret'smemory to:

Hibernian Memorial Park c/o 209 SpencerAve.,New Orleans, Louisiana 70124; Women for aBetter Louisiana c/o 20 Fontainebleau Dr. New Orleans, LA 70125; Metropolitan Crime Commissionc/o 1615 Poydras St. Ste. 1060, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 or go to www.metrocrime.org

Relatives and friends are invited to attend services for Margaret on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 held at LakeLawn Metairie Funeral Home,5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA.Visitation will be from 12:00 noon until theMass begins at 2:00pm. Receptionwillfollow.

Uthrelle DoyleScott, age 58, peacefully enteredinto eternal rest on Thursday June 5, 2025 surrounded by his family. Uthrelle wasa nativeNew Orleanian. Son ofthe late BennyCharles Buckley andMargaret Scott-Simmons(Emmett Simmons). Father of Uriane and Jordan Scott. Bonus fa‐therofAlton Roman. Brother of ShaniSimmons Grandsonofthe late Doyle and JosephineScott Grandfather of six, Telmus Cevyn,Jordyn, J'uri, Jac'quor, andBran’dyn. Alsosurvivedbya host of aunts, uncles,cousins and friends.All areinvited to attend aCelebration ser‐vicehonoringthe life and legacyofthe late Uthrelle Doyle Scottinthe Chapel ofCharbonnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St.PhilipStreet,New Orleans,LA70116 on Wednesday,June 18, 2025 at1 p.m. IntermentPrivate Visitation12noon in the chapel. Please sign online guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion Directors (504) 581-4411.

Alex Wallace, Jr.de‐partedthislifeonMonday, June 2, 2025, at theage of 88. He wasa native of New Orleans,LAand aresident ofMenomonee Falls, WI Alexwas agraduatefrom WalterL.Cohen Senior High School in NewOr‐

leans. He served hiscoun‐try in theUnitedStatesAir Force from 1954 to 1958. He earnedmultipledegrees in ElectronicEngineeringand workedinproduct devel‐opmentfor severalmajor companies.Thereafter, Alexservedasthe Assis‐tantDirectorofUpward Bound andthe Director of ContinuingEducation at the University of Milwau‐kee, WI,until hisretire‐mentin2001. Alex loved sports, traveling, and music,especiallyjazz. He attended theNew Orleans Jazzand Heritage Festival annually. Devotedhusband of49years to Emma Shaw Beloved father of Randall A.(Pam) andRyanA Whiteside. Stepfather of KaraBaity.Grandfather of ReiaA.and Rachel A. Whitesideand 7bonus grandchildren.Son of the lateAlexWallace,Sr. and Corinne ColemanWallace Grandsonofthe late Earl and MattieColeman,John Henry andJulia Wallace Brother of Jacqueline Minor,MurielSimon (Joseph), Earl Harden, BrendaBrownlee(Donald), James Chapman, Sylvia Ellis (Andre), Claire Brown (Albert), and ﬁrstcousin, Kathy C. Patterson (Greg) Nephewofthe late Aunt MaryWallace Soninlaw of the late Rev. Gabrieland MaryShaw. Brother-in-law ofthe late Dennis Minor, and Donna Harden,also survivedbya host of nieces, nephews, andnu‐merousother familyand friends.Relatives and friends areinvited to at‐tendthe CelebrationofLife atDavis Mortuary Services, 6820 Westbank Express‐way,Marrero,LAonTues‐day,June 17, 2025, at 10:00am.Visitationwill begin at 8:30a.m. untilser‐vicetime. Interment: Southeast LouisianaVeter‐ans Cemetery-Slidell, LA onFriday, June 20, 2025, at 12:30p.m.To view andsign the guestbook,pleasego towww.davismortuaryse rvice.com.FaceMasks Are Recommended

Ransone,Margaret McCarthy Wood

Scott, Uthrelle Doyle

Wallace Jr., Alex

Working toward bringing top-notch cancer care to Louisiana

Recently,ateam from theLSU LCMC Health Cancer Center joined colleagues from across the country for HillDay in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of cancer research with members of Congress. We are deeply grateful to those who took the time to hear us because the stakes for Louisiana have never been higher The LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center is working to become the ﬁrst NationalCancer Institutedesignated cancer center in Louisiana. This prestigiousdesignation recognizes cancer centers that meet the highest standards for cutting-edge cancer research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Currently,the closest NCIdesignated cancer centers are in Texas and Alabama, leaving a large gap in access for Louisiana families.

Why does this matter? Securing an NCI designation would be agame-changer for Louisiana, transforming cancer carebyexpanding access to clinical trials, attracting world-class medical talent and unlocking transformative research funding. Beyond lifesaving healthimpacts, the economic return is undeniable. Every NCI dollar invested generates anearly threefold return fueling job creation, spurring local spending and drawingmajor biotech investment. Adesignated cancer center would not just elevate health care, it would positionLouisiana as apowerhouse of medical innovation andignite athriving biotech economy for years to come. However,weneed state funding andsustained, stablefederal funding for the National Institutes of Health and the NCI to reach this aspirational goal.

Achieving NCI designation isn’tsomething we can dobehind closed doors. It takes all of us —state lawmakers,health care leaders, philanthropic partners, researchers, patients, partner institutions and communitymembers working together to make cancer researchanational and state priority

When we are successful, ourefforts will beneﬁt all of Louisiana and theregion, north and south, east and west, urban and rural. DR. STEVENELSON chancellor,LSU Health NewOrleans DR. LUCIO MIELE director,LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center

FEMA is notperfect, butit’snecessary

Emergency managementinthe United

Statesisrarely at theforefront of policymakers’ minds. It is often sidelined in favor of other,albeit pressing, issues. However, waiting until after adisaster has struck to consider how the nation responds to the unimaginable leaves the nation in aperpetual state of careening from one mistake to the next Natural disasters are acrisis across the country,and policymakers need to start thinking abouthow thegovernment can better respondtothem FEMAisnot aperfect agency.Ithas failed to meet themoment on several occasions. However,reforms to FEMA must be focused on streamlining and eliminating redundancies, not on eliminating critical mission capabilities. There are some things that the federal government will always be better able to dothan stateand local governments. Thefederal government can marshal the resources of the wealthiest nation on earth and that means that highly specialized and

extremely expensive resources can be made available to the whole country.Italso means that subject matter experts canbeavailable for anyone to take advantage of when needed. AFEMA that embraces its role as a supporting element that provides state and local jurisdictions with the tools and support to carry out their missions is aFEMA that serves thecountry best. Eliminating FEMA outright will only harm all of us. FEMA can andshould be criticized forits failures.But to declare theorganization an unﬁxable failure ignores that successive presidential administrations and Congresses have been able tooversee transformative changes to the organization. Instead of reducing itsfunding and installing leadership who are not familiar with emergency management, we should promote those whohave madeemergency management their career to lead this organization and give it the support it needs.

ANDREWGARY NewOrleans

Blackouts should prompt Louisiana to take controlofits energy future

Therecentload-shedding event ordered withoutadvanced notice by MISO is aclear signal that Louisiana’senergy system is vulnerable. As astate, we are anet importer of electricity,relying heavily on power generated in other states just to meet our needs.

It doesn’thave to be this way.Louisiana has thenatural resources, skilledworkforce and infrastructure to generatemore of our own power and reduce our dependence on out-ofstate energy.What we need is leadership and commitment to an “all of the above” strategy that includes not just traditional generation, butalso solar,wind, advanced nuclear,geothermal, battery storage and other emerging technologies. Energyindependence isn’tatalking point,

it’saneconomic and security imperative. By investing in amore resilient and diverse energy mix,wecan create jobs, strengthen our grid and ensure that Louisiana homes and businesses aren’tleft in thedark when it mattersmost.

At America First Energy Project Louisiana, we believe energy should be developed theright way,with afocus on reliability, community beneﬁt and long-term sustainability

Let’stake this moment not just as awarning, but as acall to action to secure our energy future right here at home.

JEFF

ARNOLD executivedirector,America First EnergyProject Louisiana

‘Hogsfor theCause’ spotlights pediatric cancer

In response to Kevin J. Fitzpatrick’sletter on April 29, Ibelieve Fitzpatrick has aright to his opinion about eating meat at the expense of the Earth, but his words, “precious hogs foravague cause,” angered me to the core.

In 2024, pediatric brain cancer wasthe leading cause of cancer death in children. Approximately 5,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.Acancer diagnosis at any age is devastating, but when it is a child or ayoung adult, especially your own, it is even moredifficult. Iknow because our daughter was diagnosed with aGrade 3brain tumor at the age of 19, in the summer following her first year at LSU. What would have been her second year at LSU began with an awake craniotomy,followed by radiation therapy,and last, but not least, six rounds of oral chemotherapy.Road trips to MD Anderson, MRIsand the waitfor results weredraining to put it mildly After the last round of chemotherapy,she was given the clearance to return to LSU.She did finish and received her degree. Her story farexceeds the word limits here, but she will be 18 years out this August, and remains stable. The word “cured” has never been said. She will have an MRI every six months as wellasanin-person or virtual visit with her doctors in Houston forthe rest of her life. Ihope Fitzpatrick never has to endure what I and countless numbers of parents and families go through when a child is diagnosed with cancer of any sort. It is not forthe faint of heart.

MARGARET

SIMON Destrehan

Column misses whyoil andgas is importantto La.economy

Iusually agree with columnist Bob Marshall and enjoy the wayhe expresses himself But the column, “What is Louisiana really getting forits love of oil and gas?” misses an important distinction.

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

Iread yourarticle, “Poll shows support for LA GATOR program,” with great interest because Iwas contacted by pollsters during that polling period asking questions that matchwhat you relay to your readers here as what thevoters want. Better journalism would include the questions and answer choices so thereaders can decide for themselves if the poll was an objective search for the truth

Ithink it was not.

Iamaconservative, private school-educated voter who should be pleased withwhat

you have reported, but Iamnot because I heard thequestions and found several of them leading me with little choice but to agree or sound like Idon’tcare about my children (I refused to answer on some). And because thepollster could not tell me who was paying for thecall. Please consider a follow-up piece with alisting of the questions highlighted in your article andthe corresponding answer choices. We should all want thetruth.

ANDRE COMEAUX Lafayette

While oil and gas industry employment may rank below other sectors of our region’stotal employment, we need to divide employment into twosegments. One segment brings dollars into the economy from other places outside of it. The other sector largely recirculates that money once it has entered the economy.The oil and gas industry brings outside money into Louisiana and Acadiana. Retail sales and restaurant spending bring little new money into the economy and simply recirculate dollars already here.

Our medical industry does bring in dollars in the form of Medicare and Medicaid payments, and that is important. But acloser look at just this segment of jobs that bring money into our community from other places will show that oil and gas remain among the highest contributors.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

ALouisiana state flag flies in front of ahomelocated just south of Houmawith amissing roof andablue tarp on

DAVID REID Lafayette

COMMENTARY

INTELLIGENT LIFE

Experts predict artificial intelligence will soon be abig partofeverydaylifeonEarth. If there’sintelligent life on other planets, what would theysay about all this? youtell me. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —justtry to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.

Thewinning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runMonday, June 23 in ourprint editions and online. In addition, the winnerwill receiveasigned print of thecartoon along witha cool winner’sT-shirt!Somehonorable mentions will also be listed

To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com

DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline for all entries is midnightonThursday, June 19.

Can’t wait to see your outta-this-worldpunchlines!! —Walt

InvestigativejournalistStanley Nelson was‘thebestofus’

N.O. feeling better about police,public safety

When it comes to police protection and crime, NewOrleans is turning the corner from extreme pessimism to budding optimism.

The latest New Orleans Crime Coalition survey provides fresh evidence of this reality.It was conducted by my ﬁrm from May 27 to June 4, and was based on live telephone interviews with arepresentative sample of 800 city residents.

Ron Faucheux

Citizen satisfaction with the NewOrleans Police Department went up sevenpoints since last year,increasing from 40% to 47%. While that maynot be dramatic improvement, it’sclear progress. Even better,62% of NewOrleanians express satisfaction with the department’swork in their own neighborhoods.

Noteworthy are the demographics. NOPD satisfaction among Black residents is 12 points higher than among White residents. The divide widens whenitcomes to generation: Satisfaction among residents 45 and older is 21 points higher than among residents 18 to 44.

Acritical ﬁnding goes to the city’ssense of safety.A54% majority now believe New Orleans is safe —an11-point improvement from last year.Fifty-six percent of Black residents, up six points, and 49% of White residents, up 17 points, agree the city is “very” or “fairly” safe. Moreover,ahuge 84% majority say their own neighborhoods are safe. While it’snothing new for people to believe that where they live is safer than the city as awhole, the big 30-point difference (84% vs. 54%) is notable.Itindicates that many residents have picked neighborhoods based on safety and that high-crime areas, often in the news, are frequently distant from where most people reside.

America lostagentle giant in journalism when StanleyNelson, who investigated some of the nation’smost notorious racially motivated slayingsin Mississippi and Louisiana, died unexpectedly earlier this month. He was 69. CBC reporter DavidRidgen, an award-winningdocumentary ﬁlmmaker andpodcast host, worked with the reporter for years. “Stanley Nelson is the best of us,” he said. “A doer.Not areminiscer.Ateller.Not someone to leave anyone behind. Abrotherly guy who you’d trust anything to.”

notmotivatedbyhope for proﬁt or fame. Stanley eventually gained awide reputationfor excellence,but not because he sought it. Because he earned it. And God knowsthe world is abetterplace because helived and worked in it.”

Firstcase: FrankMorris

In 2008, Ridgen and I joined forces with Nelson andfellow journalists John Fleming,Ben Greenberg,Pete Nicks, Robert Rosenthal, Hank Klibanoff, Ronnie Agnew,Melvin Claxton, Peter Klein and others to form the Civil Rights Cold Cases Project. Our dream was to create adocumentary that would capture our continuing work on these cases.

The big picture documentary never happened, but many other projects emerged for radio, print and ﬁlm.

Nelson never missed abeat, writing hundreds of stories for the 5,000-circulation Concordia Sentinel, where he served as editor In 2012, he became aPulitzerPrize ﬁnalist for his stories on the1964 killing of Frank Morris in Ferriday byKlansmen who belongedto theviolentwing the “Silver Dollar Group.”

Best-selling authorGregIles depicted the journalist as the character Henry Sexton in his novel, “Natchez Burning.” Nelson chuckled to me aboutthe portrayal, saying his alter egoliveda much more adventurous life: “He is amusician, has agirlfriend and is tech savvy —that’ssomething Idon’tknowa damn thing about.”

Iles said the most important writing he’sever done “would notexist were it not for the inspiration and selﬂess collaboration of Stanley Nelson. Inever knew another man whoalways did the right thing regardless of fearorfavor,

On the last day of February in 2007, Nelson heard the name of Frank Morris for the ﬁrst time. He learned that the Justice Department would be takinga second look at the1964 killing of Morris. That surprised Nelson because he thought he knew almosteverything aboutthis small town and had never heard the name.

He reached out to the Southern Poverty Law Center,which shared about 150 pages of redacted FBI reports on theMorris case, and he wrote his ﬁrst article.

He didn’tsee how he could advance the story anymore until he received a call from Morris’ granddaughter,Rosa Williams, and began to learn more aboutthe man and the killing.

On acold December morning in 1964, the 51-year-old Morris was asleep in theback of his shoe repair store when he heard glassbreaking. He bolted to the front of the store and saw one man pouringgasolineand another holding a shotgun,who yelled, “Get back in there, n*****!

By thetime Morris escaped, his feet were bleeding, and nearly all his clothing had been burned from his body.Hesurvived long enough to tell FBI agentsthat he didn’tknow his attackers, but friends wondered if he had been afraid to say.

‘His curiositynever waned’

In 2011, Nelson reported that family members ofArthur LeonardSpencer said he hadconfessed to them years earlier,but Spencer denied that claim to Nelson. Afederal grand jury met on the matter,but no onewas ever arrested.

Klibanoff, who works with Emory University students on civil rights cold cases andhosts the Peabody-winning podcast “Buried Truths,”helped Nelson edit those stories. “Wewere going over them till 9, 10 or 11 at night, because we bothhad full-time jobs,” he recalled. “Stanley was busy covering police juries, the city council and other things

during theday.”

Nelson remained rock solid in his reporting, Klibanoff said. “I admired him immensely,and his curiositynever waned.”

In 2009, theLouisiana State UniversityCold Case Project began helping Nelson with his research, and adecade later,Nelson began sharing tipsand techniques withstudentsonhow he worked on these civil rights cases.

Christopher Drew leads LSU’sManship School’sexperiential journalism curriculum, which includes the project. Under Nelson’stutelage, “our students proved that Robert Fuller,abusinessman wholater became atop Klan leader,killed four of his Black workers in 1960, not in self-defense, as the local authorities had allowed him to claim, but in an ambush following adispute over back pay,” Drew said.

In 2022, aseries by LSUstudents on the 1972 killings of two students at Southern UniversityinBaton Rouge won anational award from InvestigativeReporters and Editors as the best investigative series by students at a large university.

“Stanley was always low-key,humble and determined to hear people out themodel of what areporter should be,”Drewsaid. “But thestudentswere always leaning forward in their seats when he talked about how he got old Klan leaders to talk. ‘Most of them (Klansmen) lived on dirt roads at dead ends,’ he’dsay,‘with barbed wire fences and signs on the gate saying, ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘Trespassers Will Be Shot.’ Sometimes he’dsend them letters saying he’d be coming at acertain date and time to mitigatethose odds.

“But his heroism did not just come at those moments. It was his courage, the studentscould see, to dig up thedark facts in these communities for the sake of justice —and to takepersonal risks to hear what the suspectsand perpetratorshad to say —that makehim such an exceptional journalist.”

Jerry Mitchellisa longtime Mississippi-based reporter whose stories helped put four Klansmen and aserial killer behind bars. He is the founder of the Mississippi Center for InvestigativeReporting. This piece ﬁrst appeared at MississippiToday.org.

Keepinmind that these survey results come after two well-publicized law enforcement crises, the New Year’sDay terrorist attack andthe recent Orleans Justice Center prison escape. Even though citizens rate avariety of tasks performed by the NOPD higherthan theydid last year,ratings remain troublingly low. The police department does best on “working with neighborhood and community groups,” which went up nine points, and worst on “recruitment of new police ofﬁcers,” down ﬁve points. Handling carjackings and break-ins went up nine points and solving drug crimes went up eight points, but there is still apressing need for improvement.

The NOPD’sratings have gotten betterthis year on its perceived competence and effectiveness, internal culture, ethics and professionalism, honesty and integrity and use of appropriate force. But negative scores continue to be too high.

How about solutions? Big majorities of city residents favor eight proposals aimed at reducing crimethat include improved investigations, manpower,social and counseling programs, police pay,tracking of crimesuspects, use of computer analytics and legal camera technology Facial recognition technology,currently ahot issue, has broad-based public backing; 68% of city residents, including 78% of Blacks and 57% of Whites, support it.

The poll also looked at the recent Orleans Parish jailbreak —and 65% said its cause was poor management. Only 19% said inadequate funding of the sheriff’s ofﬁce wasthe cause On other matters, 59% think handling of certain city policing duties by the Louisiana State Police is working well; more Blacks than Whites agree. Only 27% think it’snot working well. Astrong 83% of New Orleanians say they’d call Crimestoppers to anonymously share information with law enforcement. The more the better

When public ofﬁcials who have jobs involving law enforcement are rated, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick does best, with 53%approval and 26% disapproval. In 2023,the year she took ofﬁce, the NOPD’ssatisfactionrating was adismal 31%. Since then, it’sincreased 16 points.

DistrictAttorney Jason Williams also has majority support: 51% approve of the jobhe’s doing, while 29% disapprove. MayorLaToya Cantrell’srating is now 27% approve,62% disapprove. Sheriff Susan Hutson has the worst numbers: 18% approve and 62% disapprove. Her approval dropped 14 points since last year For elected bodies, the City Council does best, with 47% approval and 36% disapproval. Orleans Parish Criminal Court judgesare approved by 31% and disapproved by 38%, and Juvenile Court judges are approved by 21%and disapproved by 43%.

Gains in public perceptions of police and public safety are hard-won. They must continue, and they must be an issue in this year’scity elections.

RonFaucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster andwriter based in Louisiana.

Nelson

LL EG EW OR LD SE RIE S

Locked &loaded

LSU center fielder Chris Stanfield bats in aCollege WorldSeries game against Arkansas on SaturdayatCharles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.LSU defeated Arkansas 4-1.

LSUbaseballisthrivingwiththe basesloaded. Here’s how importantithas been to theteam’splayoff success.

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

OMAHA,Neb.— On thebiggest stage in college baseball, Chris Stanfield needed ahit LSUhad thebases loaded withone out in the second inning on Saturday against Arkansas at the College WorldSeries. Abasehit from the junior centerfielder would go alongway toward the Tigers winning their first game in the CWS and placing them in the driver’sseatofwinning their side of the bracket.

Stanﬁeldhad seen Arkansasleft-handed starterZach

Root back in the regular season. LSU scored two runs in six innings against Root on May 9atAlex BoxStadium

in amatchupthe Tigers eventuallywon 5-4in10innings

Stanﬁeld took that experience against Root —hewent 1for 2witha double facinghim back in May—and applied it to his at-bat on Saturday night. He looked for an outside fastball and that’swhat he got.

“I faced him prior,back at LSU, andthatwas the same pitch,” Stanﬁeld said, “so I’d already gottenthat look,and Iwas just putting agood swing on it.

Stanﬁeld blooped asingle to left ﬁeld to drive in arun, handing the Tigers a1-0 lead to kickoff athree-run inning. LSU went on to winthe game 4-1, riding alights-out performance from sophomoreleft-handed starter Kade Anderson to victory

ä See LSU, page 5C

TheseTigers have what it takestowin in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb.— In the NCAA regional against Little Rock, LSU’s pitching looked like it might be aliability in that shocking 10-4 loss to the Trojans. In the NCAA super regional against West Virginia, LSU’s pitching looked like aquestion markafter the Tigers’ dynamic duo of starting pitchers —Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson —combined to allow 10 earned runs in twostarts while LSU’s offense scored 28. Saturday night in LSU’s College World Series opener against Arkansas, one of the very best offensive teamsin the country,the Tigers put on display the full power of their pitching potential.

The rest of the CWS ﬁeld had to take notice. After the winover Arkansas, LSU’s team earned run average stood at 3.77. Of all eight teams in this year’sCWS, including Arizona which is already heading homeafter losing Sunday to Louisville, only Coastal Carolina (3.24) wasonabetter number going into its gameSunday night against Oregon State (I don’twant to bring up the fact that Coastal plays in the Sun Belt and LSU plays in the SEC, but, just did). The Tigers, however,are the only team with twodouble-digit gamewinners: Anderson (11-1) and Eyanson (11-2).

It wasAnderson whomystiﬁed one of the very best offenses in college baseball Saturday night in the winover Arkansas, allowing one run on three hits while walking

ä See RABALAIS, page 5C

unleashes athrow in the CollegeWorld Series against Arkansas on Saturday at CharlesSchwab Field in Omaha, Neb.LSU defeated Arkansas 4-1.

Pacers,Thunder setfor pivotalGame5 in ‘high-level’ series

BYTIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY The ratings are down for these NBA Finals, as was expected.Oklahoma City vs. Indiana is asmall-marketseries andthe numbers reﬂect that, with viewership down about 20% from last season and on pace for the poorest TV turnout since the pandemic “bubble” ﬁnals in 2020.

Don’tblametheThunderandPacersforthat

“I do not care, to be honestwithyou,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said when asked what he’dsay to thosewho, for whatever reason, haven’ttuned into the series.“This is high-level basketball andI’m excited to be apart of it.”

Game1 hada franticIndianacomeback and aHaliburton buzzer-beater.Game 2 saw Oklahoma City do what it hasdone in

It’sbeen aback-and-forth over theﬁrst four games —and now,a best-of-three will decide the NBA title. Game 5isinOklahoma City on Mondaynight, with theThundertryingtotake their ﬁrst lead of theseries and thePacerstryingtoheadbackhomeone win away from achampionship.

themajority of games allseason: take full controlearlyand roll to awin. Game 3in Indianahad the Pacers’ benchfueling awin AndGame 4saw the MVP do MVP things, with ShaiGilgeous-Alexander scoring 15 points in the ﬁnal ﬁve minutes to carry the Thunder to acomeback win. Add it up, andit’sThunder2,Pacers 2. The Thunder are outscoring thePacersby3.3

points per game; the Pacers are outshooting the Thunder by 1.4%. It’s only the third timeinthe last 15 years that the ﬁnals have had all that through four games —2-2 tie, 3.3-point differentialorless, shooting within 1.4% of each other.GoldenState-Boston had it in 2022, and Dallas-Miamihad it in 2011. It all seemspretty even, and the looks aren’tdeceiving.

“It’sgoodfor y’all,” Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. “Good for me, we’d be getting

ä See NBA, page 3C

Scott Rabalais

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

From mess to storybook finish

Spaun struggles early then takes control at U.S. Open; Burns fades to seventh

BY DOUG FERGUSON

AP golf writer

OAKMONT, Pa J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his ﬁrst major championship.

IN BRIEF FROM

Ohtani’s return to mound could be in next 2 weeks

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani could return to a major league mound in the next two weeks but Los Angeles Dodgers rookie righthander Roki Sasaki has paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani will throw to hitters for a fourth time this week and “potentially” it could be the twoway star’s final batting practice session before his ﬁrst big league pitching appearance since Aug. 23, 2023, for the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani a three-time MVP entered Sunday’s game with a .290 average, an NL-leading 1.023 OPS and 25 homers. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

First came his driver on the 314yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.

That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.

And it made Spaun, the 36-yearold Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second U.S. Open.

“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who ﬁnished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.” It was calamity for so many others.

Former LSU standout Sam Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey from a divot in the ﬁrst cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78 and ﬁnishedin a tied for seventh.

Adam Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway He played them in 5 over and shot 79

J.J. Spaun celebrates after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the

round

on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.

“I missed the fairway I hadn’t done that all week really Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.

Carlos Ortiz and Tyrrell Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day

The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun.

One shot behind at the start of the day he opened with ﬁve bogeys in six holes with some horriﬁc breaks, none worse than hitting the pin on the second hole and seeing it spin back to the fairway And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.

“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the day,” Spaun said.

Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way

But oh, that ﬁnish.

MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JONAS EKSTRÖMER

Mondo Duplantis celebrates after setting a world record in the men’s pole vault during the Diamond League Bauhaus Athletics Gala at Stockholm Stadium in Sweden on Sunday.

Pole vaulter Duplantis breaks world record

By The Associated Press

fans. Before the Stockholm meet, Duplantis said setting a world record at

was one of his dreams. Duplantis competes for his mother’s native Sweden. “It’s a magical feeling,” Duplantis said. “I wanted it so bad,” he said. “I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing. Now, I’m done. I can just chill.” After clearing 19-7, Duplantis didn’t target his own meet record of 20-2 but went straight for the world record He celebrating by ripping off his shirt and pumping his ﬁst to the delight of roaring fans in the sellout crowd

Scottish game of Shinty became the new target. He also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead.

Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup.

And then the ﬁnal putt — no one made a longer one all week. He was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same line and going ﬁrst. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf, walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted. He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens.

The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.

MacIntyre, so close to becom-

ing Scotland’s ﬁrst major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, sat in scoring in front of a TV and applauded.

Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th that ended his chances of winning He watched the Spaun’s putt and it brightened his mood.

“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said. “I’m sad about how I ﬁnished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major in that fashion is amazing.”

Hovland, who shot 73 to ﬁnish third, saw it all — the putt at the end, the bogeys at the start.

“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,” Hovland said. “Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting that really I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”

MacIntyre made Spaun earn the U.S. Open title

BY NOAH TRISTER AP sportswriter

OAKMONT, Pa Robert MacIntyre nearly matched the biggest final-round comeback in U.S. Open history

Instead, he had to settle for sole possession of second place, but on a day when so many contenders — including the winner — had their problems, MacIntyre handled both Oakmont and the weather with aplomb.

MacIntyre shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to ﬁnish the tournament at 1 over — two strokes behind J.J. Spaun. MacIntyre was seven strokes back of leader Sam Burns at the beginning of the day He actually made up 10 shots on Burns but couldn’t outlast Spaun.

“I think when I was walking up 14 or 12, and I seen a leaderboard that the leader was at even par I kind of knew where I was at, I was at 3-over, I think, at the time,” MacIntyre said “The whole week, I’ve said level par in my head. I’m just looking for four even pars. Almost got there, but not quite.”

As MacIntyre spoke, Spaun was still out on the course. A playoff or even an outright victory for MacIntyre — was still possible. When Spaun rolled in his majestic birdie putt on 18 to ﬁnish at 1 under, camera footage showed MacIntyre clapping.

Arnold Palmer is still the only U.S. Open winner to come from seven strokes behind in the ﬁ-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S Open on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.

nal round. He did it in 1960 at Cherry Hills. Palmer birdied six of his ﬁrst seven holes that day MacIntyre’s rally was more about staying afloat and waiting for the leaders to fall back. The lefthander from Scotland actually bogeyed two of his ﬁrst three holes to drop to 5 over, but a 58foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth started him in the right direction.

“That kind of settled me down,” he said. “That got me into somewhat of a groove and back in the golf tournament. Then the back nine was just all about ﬁghting.”

Ciganda ends title drought with win at Meijer Classic

BELMONT, Mich. — Carlota Ciganda birdied the ﬁnal two holes to win the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday for her ﬁrst LPGA Tour victory in more than 81/2 years, while Lexi Thompson had two late bogeys to dash her bid to end a long drought of her own.

Ciganda hit to a foot of the hole to set up her birdie on the par-4 17th, then made a 4-foot comebacker on the par-5 18th to avoid a playoff with playing partner Hye-Jin Choi.

Ciganda shot a 5-under 67 to ﬁnish at 16-under 272. She won for the ﬁrst time since the 2016 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Thompson had a 70 to tie for fourth.

Former LSU golfer Madalene Sagstrom , who went into the final round tied for the lead, finished 14th. She shot a final-round 73 and finished in a tie for 14th.

Memphis trades Bain to Magic in megadeal

The Orlando Magic have acquired Desmond Bane from Memphis in a deal that sends Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and draft capital to the Grizzlies. Memphis gets four first-round picks one this year, another in 2026, then others in 2028 and 2030. The deal also included the option for a pick swap in 2029.

Bane averaged 19.2 points this season for the Grizzlies. He would ﬁgure to be an upgrade for a Magic team that has made the playoffs the past two seasons but has sought more shooting to pair with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner

Bane scored 30 points in 29 regular-season games, topping the 40-point mark twice.

Padres put OF Merrill on seven-day injured list

PHOENIX — The San Diego Padres have placed All-Star outfielder Jackson Merrill on the seven-day injured list on Sunday, a day after he suffered a concussion during Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Merrill was injured in the seventh inning when he attempted a stolen base, but was tagged out by Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte. The tag came on Merrill’s helmet as he slid head first and he was down for several minutes before walking off the field. He was replaced in the field by Brandon Lockridge.

Merrill, 22, is batting .304 with five homers. He finished second in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year

‘Queen of Queen’s’ is 37-year-old qualifier

LONDON — German qualiﬁer Tatjana Maria proclaimed herself “Queen of Queen’s” after winning the Wimbledon warm-up tournament at the Queen’s Club for the biggest title of her career

The 37-year-old mother of two claimed her first WTA 500 title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over eighthseeded Amanda Anisimova in the grass-court ﬁnal in London.

The 86th-ranked Maria won in front of her young daughters Charlotte and Cecilia, and her husband and coach Charles-Edouard Maria. On the way to her fourth WTA title, she eliminated four top 20 players — Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys. She became the oldest singles champion on the WTA Tour since 2020, when Serena Williams won the Auckland Classic at age 38

Spaun

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR

final

of the U.S Open

Williams’ resilience bigplus forThunder

BY CLIFF BRUNT AP sportswriter

OKLAHOMA CITY Jalen Williams keeps bouncing back. The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has sufferedthrough poor shooting stretches in the past three playoff series. And each time, he’srecovered to helpthe Thunder win critical games. After two rough shootingnights to start the Finals series against the Indiana Pacers, the 24-yearold forward found his stride. In Game 4, Williams handled the ball more and was aggressive. He scored 27 points andmade8 of 18 ﬁeldgoalsand 11 of 11 free throws. His success helped league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explodefor 35 points as the Thunder won 111-104 to even the series at 2-2 and regain homecourt advantage. He had similar moments in the WesternConferencesemifinals against Denver and the conference Finals against Minnesota. Williams said he doesn’tworry about whether shots goinbecause his conﬁdencecomes from

hiscomplete game. He’s awilling passer and asecond-team All-Defense selection

“I work really hardonmy game,” he said. “Sothere won’tbe agame where Idon’t shoot well and it affectsmyconﬁdencetonot shoot those shots my teammates needmetoshoot. That’s theconﬁdenceI have going intoit, and wherever the shots fall, theyfall.”

Indiana has been good at adjustingthroughout the season and the series under coach Rick Carlisle.

The Pacers, as usual, will be conﬁdent in their preparation heading into Game 5onMonday

“Being now at this stage, Ijust think that we’vehad thosegames under our belts where the guys have come through when we haven’tdone thingswell, andwe’ll be able to correctit,”Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “I think that experienceisthere.”

Williamshas no issue with correcting things, either Against Denver,hewent into a three-game slump during which he made 10of43ﬁeld goalsand averaged 11.3 points. He followed by scoring 24pointson10-for-17

shooting in ablowout victory in Game 7. In the conference ﬁnals,hehad 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting in a 143-101loss to Minnesota. He responded with 34 pointson13-for24 shooting in the next game, a 128-126 win.

The pattern hascontinuedin theFinals. In the ﬁrst two games, he shot acombined 11 for 33. The next two, he shot 17 for 26 and averaged 26.5 points per game.

Williams changedthe trajectory of Game 4, andperhapsthe series, withhis performance. The next step in his development is to maintain that high shooting level. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said anything is possible with Williams.

“I thought in Game3,his ﬁrst stint was one of his worst stintsof the series,”Daigneault said. “He catches his breath and reﬂects on that. He hada much better stint later in that game and then came out and was really big time for us in Game 4, not only his creation but just some of thesimple plays he madetoput his teammates in advantages.”

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY Indiana coach Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defenseofreferee ScottFoster on Sunday, evidently awareofthe mountains of online criticism that came after Game 4ofthe NBAFinals.

Foster was one of the three oncourt referees assignedtoGame 4, which had morefouls called and morefree throws awarded than any of the three previous games in theseries. Foster —who has long been alightning rodfor critics —did notworkany of those ﬁrst three games.

ä Indiana at Oklahoma City, 7:30 P.M. MONDAy,ABC

happens around 8a.m.ongame days.

The league does not reveal its ranking system forreferees, but Foster having worked 18 finals makes clear that he’straditionally one of the highest-rated in the league.

And it should be noted that Carlisle was the losing coach in Game 4 —yet still felt compelledtodefend Foster’swork.

ready for aparade right now.”

Parades in Indianapolis or Oklahoma City are going to have to wait at least until this coming weekend. This series seems like it could have debunked some of the tired complaints about the game in recent years: the nobody-plays-defense, too-muchisolation, too-many-3sarguments that have been out there

“I think from an outside perspective it’sgreat forthe league,” Caruso said. “It’sgreatfor basketball. Ithink these twoteams play stylistically the best versions of basketball right now as faras pressure and being inﬂuencing and aggressiveondefense —causing turnovers, making stuff hard and then offensively free-ﬂowing, shot making, passing the ball. Agreat brand of basketball.”

And that means it could end up as agreat ﬁnals, whether morepeople start watching or not.

“Weappreciate the opportunity to play this deep into the season,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “If you’re playing this deep into the season, your opponent is going to be really good. They have won 12 games to get to this point just like we have. Youjust know it’sgoing to be an unbelievable level. There are deﬁnitely times in it where (you’re saying), ‘Man, this is ahigh, high level.’”

This marks the 32nd time that aﬁnals has been2-2 going into Game 5. The winner of Game 5 has gone on to ultimately prevail in 23 of the 31 previous occasions.

“Weare both twogames away,” Haliburton said. “Anything can happen here.”

Shai’s climb

Gilgeous-Alexander is up to 3,091 points this season —including the regular season and playoffs. That’s the 18th most in NBA history and the reigning MVP could climbseveral more spots on that list before this series ends.

He’s72pointsshy of matching

Michael Jordan’s3,163 in 1991-92 for the 10th most in aseason. “I think above all,it’sbeen very fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of his first finals.“It’s been everything Idreamtittobegrowing up. There’snoother placeinthe world I’d rather be, and I’m grateful to be here.Thankful for the experience, for sure.”

Pacers afterlosses

Indiana’s resilience is about to be tested again.

ThePacers haven’tlost back-toback gamessince mid-March, going10-0inthatspaninthe game

immediately following adefeat.

“Weplay better withour backs againstthe wall,” forward Myles Turnersaid. “Adversity is something that’sgoing to bring out the best in you. Ithink that’sreally what it is, is just aresponse.

When your back is againstthe wall, that’stypically where we get our best basketball.”

Walkerupdate

Withoutdeﬁnitively ruling him out,Pacers coach RickCarlisle indicated that reserveforward Jarace Walker’sseason is over Walker sprained his ankle late in the series-clinching Game6victory over New York in the Eastern Conference ﬁnals. He’soff crutches but still walking with alimp.

“It’sveryunlikelythathe’ll be able to play in this series. But he is doing better,” Carlisle said. “It would be great if he was available because Idothink he would help us.

“I think it’sawful, some of the things I’ve seen about the officiating and Scott Foster in particular,” Carlisle said. “I’ve knownScottFoster for 30 years. He’sa great ofﬁcial. He’s done agreat job in these playoffs We’ve had him alot of times.”

“The ridiculous scrutiny that’s beingthrownout thereisterrible and unfair and unjust and stupid,” Carlisle said.

Carlisle got to the Foster-related comments after being asked a question Sunday about how the Pacers let a10-point second-half lead slip away,got outscored 3117 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 and what role he thought ofﬁciating played in that outcome.

Fostercalled23personal fouls in the game —12onOklahoma City, 11 on Indiana, with one ﬂagrant on each as well. He also issued double technical fouls, one going to Indiana’sObi Toppin, the other to OklahomaCity’sIsaiah Hartenstein.

“Wehave to do abetter job not fouling,” Pacersguard Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged after Game 4. Friday was Foster’s26thfinals game worked, more than any other active referee. He has also worked 262 playoff games, again the most amongactive refs. But whenever Foster does agame,online critics tend to weigh in —almost from the moment that the league announces the crews fora givennight,which

“Tough losses are apart of a playoff series,” Carlisle said. “It’s just if this was easy, theywould be pullingpeople offthe street to play in the NBA Finalsand coach and do what you guys are doing. Youguys are the best in the world. Everybody else here is perceived to be thebestinthe worldatthis moment. So, it’sdifﬁcult. Youlook at it, youtakeitfor what it is, and it becomes pretty clear the things that you need to do to be better.” Foster is one of the 12 referees assignedtothe ﬁnals. Each works oneofthe first four games, and then the NBA selects again to see who will work Games 5, 6and if necessary,Game 7aswell. If Fosterdoesn’t work Game 6, it would seem likelythat he would be apick to workGame 7ifthe series goes that far.

By The Associated Press

UNCASVILLE, Conn. Former LSU

standout Angel Reese had her ﬁrst triple double,Hailey VanLith led adominant performance by the Chicago bench witha career-high 16 points andthe Sky pulled away from theConnecticut Sun fora7866 win on Sunday Reese, 23, is the second-youngest WNBAplayer with atriple double. Only CaitlinClark had atriple double at ayoungerage andshe had two while she was22. Fueled by Reese’s11assists morethan double her previous career high —Chicago put five players in double ﬁgures. The Sky benchoutscored theSun reserves 36-2 in the Commissioner’sCup game. Reese also had11points and 13 reboundsfor Chicago (3-7).

KiaNurse had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with three 3-pointers, and Kamilla Cardoso andArielAtkins both had10points. Reserve Rachel Banham made her 300thcareer 3-pointer Marina Mabrey scored 22 points with five 3s forthe Sun (2-8). Tina Charles added 19 points and Jacy Sheldon had 12. Both teams shot40% and made six 3-pointers in the first half but the Sky were perfect on eight free throwstotakea38-36 lead Mabrey was theonly playerin double figures with 16. Mabrey’s 3and twofreethrows by Charles gave Connecticut a4744 lead early in the second half but Michaela Onyenwere and Reese converted three-point plays to makeit51-48. The Sky led 59-54 entering the fourth

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABBIEPARR OklahomaCityThunder guard Alex Carusogoes for the ball from Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin during the ﬁrst half of their game on FridayinIndianapolis.

quarter

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Oklahoma City Thunder forwardJalen Williams triestodrivepast Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith during the second half of Game4ofthe NBAFinals onFridayinIndianapolis.

Carlisle

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By AARON GASH Referee Scott Foster gestures during agame between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia76ers on Jan. 19 in Milwaukee.

FRANKFRANKLIN II

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

Boston designated hitter Rafael Devers hits atwo-run home runduring the seventh inning of agame againstthe New york yankees on June 6 in Newyork.Devers was traded to the SanFranciscoGiantsonSunday.

RedSox trade Devers to Giants in stunning deal

BY JIMMY GOLEN Associated Press

BOSTON The Boston Red Sox

traded slugger Rafael Deversto the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in adeal that could shake up pennant races on both coasts.

The Giants sent right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospectJames Tibbs III and minor league righty Jose Bello to the Red Sox for the 28-year-olddesignated hitter, who had bristledathis demotion from third base this year

TheGiantswere onegamebehind the ﬁrst-place Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Sunday night’smatchup between the NL West rivals. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames saidonthe ESPNbroadcast that the team found out about 15 minutes before the game.

“Everybody’ssoexcited,” he said in an on-ﬁeld interview while playing the ﬁeld in the secondinning. “Me, personally,I’m like thrilled to have him on the team. He’sone of the best hitters in the game, and to have himonthe team, Ithink is going to help us do alot of damage in the division Obviously we need abat like him in this lineup.”

Athree-time All-Star who signed a10-year,$313.5 million contract with the RedSox in 2023, Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games, including asolo shot in Boston’s 2-0 victory over the New York

Yankees onSunday that completed athree-gamesweep.

Buthis relationship withthe team began to deteriorate when theteam signed Gold Glove third baseman AlexBregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When ﬁrst baseman Triston Casas suffered aseason-endingkneeinjury,the Red Soxapproached Devers aboutplaying the fieldand he declined, saying the front ofﬁce “should do their jobs” andlook foranotherplayer

Aday after Devers’ comments to the media about playing ﬁrst, Red Sox owner JohnHenry, team presidentSam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow ﬂew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.

Thesituation became moredifficultwhen Bregman suffered what theteam called asignificant right quadricepsinjury on May23.

TheRed Sox have won ﬁve out of sixagainst therivalYankees over thelast two weekends to improve to 37-36, but they are still fourth in the AL East, 61/2 games behind division-leading New York.

Devers was 20 whenhemade hismajor league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. Hehelped the RedSox win the 2018 WorldSeries and ledthe team in RBIsfor five consecutive seasons from2020-24. He hasfinished in thetop 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

Rocker gets outof pickle thanks to juice

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas Texas Rangers rookie Kumar Rocker kept ascoreless start intact by working through an eventfulﬁfth inning that includeddowning three small bottles of pickle juice, the last of which resulted in amound visit charged to aball boy

The 25-year-old right-hander apparently cramped up after striking out White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor for the first out of the fifth Sunday,prompting a visit from the trainer alongwith manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Mike Maddux. During the roughly five minutes the staff and the infielders were atthe mound, firstbaseman Jake Burger went to thedugout, grabbed two small bottles of pickle juice and jogged back to the mound.

Rocker quickly downed both bottles, then stretchedhis legs and threw severalwarmuppitches, with another break in between for another chat with the trainer Rocker stayed in the game and gave up asingle to Josh Rojas. With Mike Tauchman at the plate, aball boy jogged to themound with athird bottle of pickle juice, which Rocker promptly drank and gave back to him.

Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, the crew chief, huddled with theother three umpires, and they ruled the Rangers should be charged with amoundvisit for the ball boy’strip. Rocker retired Tauchman on agrounder to Burger,and after another trip to the mound from the trainer,Rocker got outofthe inning with agroundout from Chase Meidroth.

Rocker started in place of righthander Tyler Mahle on the same

AP PHOTO By NICK WASS

Bruce, the bat dog,carries a bat beforeagamebetween the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins on Saturdayin Washington.

theday that Mahle was placed on theinjured list with right shoulderfatigue. Rocker allowedfoursingles andawalk in five innings. He struck out six.

Washington Nationals

WASHINGTON’S BAT-RETRIEVING DOG

BRUCE MAKES MLBDEBUT: The dog days ofsummerarrived SaturdayatNationals Park. Bruce, a21-month-old golden retriever,fetched abat during a ceremony Saturday before the Washington Nationals’ 4-3lossto theMiami Marlins as part of a Pups in the Parkpromotion. He retrieved bats the last two seasons withthe Rochester RedWings, Washington’sTriple-A afﬁliate. Bruce, wearinga bandana with an “MLBdebut” patchhe received when he arrived at the stadium, was presented acommemorative bat. He then took a circuitousroute from the dugout toward ﬁrst base afterNationals reliever Zach Brzykcy dropped the bat in foul territory before the batdog collected his quarry to thedelight of acrowd wowed by hiswork and enthusiasm.

COLLEGE WORLDSERIES

Louisville eliminates ArizonafromCWS

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

OMAHA, Neb.— Zion Rose’stwo-run single gave Louisville its ﬁrst lead during asix-run eighth inning and theCardinals knocked Arizona out of theCollege WorldSeries with an 8-3 win Sunday Louisville’s19th come-frombehind winofthe seasonmoved theCardinals (41-23) to another elimination game Tuesday against theloser of Sunday night’sCoastal Carolina-Oregon State matchup. Arizona (44-21) has lost six straight CWSgamesoverthree appearances since 2016.

The Cardinals trailed 3-1 early and cameupempty after having runners in scoringpositioninthe third,fourth and ﬁfth innings.

By then,coachDan McDonnell hadseenenough, andhegave his players astern talking to in the dugout withthe hope of sparking abreakthrough.

“When I’m not happy,”hesaid, “they’re going to know.”

McDonnell added, “I had alot of frustration in me just from when Iwas watching. Iwas waiting for theadjustmenttohappen. It wasn’t happening.”

Whenthe runs came, they came in bunches.

Lucas Moore’ssacriﬁce ﬂy in the seventh made it aone-run game

RABALAIS

Continuedfrom page1C

two and striking out seven.

Butitwasn’tjust Anderson whose pitching put thegris gris on the Hogs’ bats. Chase Shores came out of the bullpen and threw one 100 mph pitch after another at Arkansas, keeping theRazorbacks off the board in theeight. Then Casan Evans, thefreshman pitching like ajunior,threw a scoreless ninthtolock down the oh-so-crucial 4-1 victory

It is Eyanson, aSouthern California kid who grew up 45 minutes from the UCLA campus in suburban Lakewood,California, who takes up theLSU banner against the Bruins on Monday night (6 p.m., ESPN). The stakes are not much less massive for this one than they were Saturday.The winner takes command of bracket two in the CWS and will have to be beaten twice tobekept out of thechampionship series.

Anything can happen and the Bruins are aﬁne team. They’re led by abig stick who everyone says is thetop position player in college ball: thecolorfully named Roch Cholowsky (.362, 23 home runs, 74 RBIs), asophomore shortstop.

“It should be an awesome night,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Like (Saturday) night.

LSU

Continuedfrom page1C

LSU’swin means it will face UCLA back at Charles-Schwab Field on Monday in the winner’s bracket (6 p.m., ESPN).

“They’re agreat team,” LSU coach Jay Johnson saidonSunday,“(they’ve) been one of the most consistent teams in the country thisyear.”

The difference between victory anddefeatonSaturday was ultimately that first inning, and LSU’sabilitytotakeadvantage of abases loaded situation.Following Stanfield’shit,senior Michael Braswell got hit by apitch to score asecondrun beforesenior Josh Pearson groundedinto afielder’s choice that stretched thelead to three.

“Wework on it alot in practice...,” Johnson said. “And Ithink the guys have done agood job.”

LSU’sworkinthatinningwas thecontinuationofthe recent success its found in basesloaded situations.

During the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers had a.417batting average withthe basesloaded headingintoSaturday, according to ESPN.They’re theonly team with two grand slams and are 5 for 6with two walksand ahit by pitch in basesloadedopportunities sincethe startofthe super regional against West Virginia.

TheMountaineers’ porous defense andlacklusterpitching

against Garrett Hicks (5-2), and then Arizona hadanimprobable meltdown withNational Stopper of theYear Tony Pluta on the mound after theCardinals’ ﬁrst two battersreached in the eighth.

Tague Davis’sblooper loaded the bases, andthenRosepunched atwo-runsingle down the rightﬁeld line to put Louisville up 4-3. No. 9batter Kamau Neighbors singled in another run to cap his 4-for-4 day.

Garrett Pike got caught in arundown between third and homeand scored when Pluta dropped the ball trying to tag him at the plate.

Neighbors came homeonAlexAlicea’ssqueeze bunt, and Matt Klein singled to leftfor the ﬁnal run.

“Obviously,it’snot the way you wantittoend,”Arizona coach Chip Hale said. “Really the only way you want it to end is to be the champion. Unfortunate.Weplayed as hard as we could. We just didn’t play fundamentally soundbaseball today

“That’s the frustrating thing as a coach and as an instructor of baseball. It got really ugly at the end there. Itakethe blame for that. I have to have the team better prepared.”

Tucker Biven (4-0) pitched the last four innings for the Cardinals, workingaround two singlestohold Arizona scoreless in the ninth. Lou-

Will LSU’spitching give the Tigers the edge once again? Paul Skenesisreportedly going to be in attendance at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, but we kind of doubt that he’sstill eligible. Still, if he’slooking for ateam to give him some run support that the Pittsburgh Pirates obviously can’tprovide, maybe he should look into it. No, the Tigers should be in ﬁne form with Eyanson. Everyone else but Anderson should be available, including Shores (he threw 10 pitches against Arkansas) and Evans (hethrew 13). Shores went so far as to say “I’m 100% ready” for Monday if the big right-hander is called upon.

Then there’sahost of other Tigers whocan throw: Cooper Williams, (0-1, 1.83 ERA), DJ Primeaux(0-0, 3.86), William Schmidt (7-0, 4.73), Mavrick Rizy (0-0, 4.74), Jaden Noot (2-1, 4.26), LSU’sother 100 mpharm Jacob Mayers (1-0, 5.02) and Zac Cowan (3-3, 3.09).

Ah yes, Cowan. He was so good theﬁrst two-thirds of the season for LSU but has been such a question marksince the calendar turned to May.Heleft April with a1.12 ERA but has becomeless and less relied upon as LSU’scloser.Infact, he hasn’tpitched since going 11/3 innings against Little Rock in the regional ﬁnal. Someone, somewhere along the way will have to start a

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (49-15) vs. UCLA (48-16)

WHEN: 6p.m., Monday

WHERE: Charles-Schwab Field

ONLINE/TV: ESPN

RADIO: WDGL-FM,98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (NewOrleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 6overallseed; UCLA is No. 15

PROBABLESTARTERS: LSU —RHP

AnthonyEyanson (11-2, 2.74 ERA); UCLA —RHP Landon Stump (6-1,4.54 ERA)

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate.com/ lsu ON X(FORMERLYTWITTER): @KokiRiley

WHATTOWATCH FOR: LSU will start Eyanson on Mondayagainst the Bruins.

As anativeofSouthernCalifornia, Eyanson allowedfour earned runs in ﬁve inningslast week againstWestVirginia in the Baton Rougesuper regional. UCLA will turntoStump on Monday. Stump tossed four shutout inningsa week agoagainst UTSA.

Koki Riley

played abig part in those numbers.

But as LSU fans saw in the Baton Rouge regional, the fortunes of a seasoncan swing dramatically on ateam’sability to drive in runs with runner’sinscoring position. From its second gameagainst LittleRock in the regional until thethird inning of its third matchup with the Trojans, LSU had the bases loaded withtwo outs on

isville is 26-0 when leading after eight innings and 203-5-1 since the start of 2019.

Adonys Guzman, who singled in the Wildcats’ ﬁrst run in the ﬁrst inning, hit his second homer of the NCAA Tournament and ninth of the season to give his team atworun lead in the third.

Freshman SmithBaileygave Arizona another strong start. He wentsix innings for the ﬁfth time in six starts, including three straight in the NCAA Tournament. He allowed ﬁve earned runs over 18 postseason innings (2.50 ERA).

“I’m just going to take from this experience to be aleader for our team next year and try to bring us back and hopefully get alittle bitofa differentresult,”Bailey said.

This was the teams’ second meeting of the season. In February,Louisville won 13-1 in Arlington, Texas, in agame shortened to eight innings by the run rule.

“Congratulate Arizona on agreat year,” McDonnell said. “I know it hurts. It’stough on them,but really one bad inning forthem.They deserved to be here. They played theirtailoff in thepostseason They went on the road. Tough on the road, and played really good here. These games, they’re one inning, sometimes one pitch, one-out type of games.”

crucial third game to try to get LSU to the championship series. Evans would seem to be the ﬁrst candidate, but what if the Tigers’ need some crucial outs in aone-run game against the Bruins? Johnson naturally wouldn’ttip his hand as he spoke to reporters after practice Sunday,but the options with Evans are multiple Will he be the NateAckenhausen of LSU’s2023 championship run? Someone will probably have to be.

“That’sthe lore of this tournament,” Johnson said, “not just with LSU but every championship team.Twenty-four months ago Nate Ackenhausen, whoI just viewed as super-important to that team,wehad him go six innings at one time. Grifﬁn Herring going 41/3,he’d pitched alot but hadn’t gone 41/3

“A lot of guys are very capable of doing that. I’m sure the rest of the coaches here feel the same way,but Ideﬁnitely feel good about our pitching staff and somebody being able to do that if needed. It wouldn’tsurprise us if it’sneeded at some point.”

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if LSUgets whatitneedsfrom its pitching staffatjustthe right time. For more LSUsports updates, signupfor ournewsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

three occasions and couldn’tscore arun. But the Tigers ﬁnally broke through on their fourth try JuniorEthanFrey’sbases-clearing double with two outs in the fourth inning cut LSU’sdeﬁcit to one in agame that sent LSU to the super regionals.

“There’ssome things that we’ll look forand trytomakesure that we hone in on and are good with,” Johnson said when asked about howLSU practices basesloaded situations. “The pitcherobviously has less margin forerror at that circumstance, they’re trying to inducesomething that we want to stay away from.”

The second inning on Saturday wasn’tterribly explosive but it got the job done in alow-scoring environment. With the wind blowing in from center ﬁeld, the amount of talent on the mound forboth sides and the grand dimensions of the park, tallying runs would be difﬁcult to come by Taking advantageofthose opportunities will be even more crucialfor theTigers moving forwardasthey inch closer to potentially winning an eighth national championship.

“I thought we did agood job of that tonight,” Johnson said Saturday.“Again, whenyou’re facing thosecaliber arms,you’renot going to get aton, maybe like you wouldplaying in SECballparks where thehome runsarealthing with every pitch of the game.”

Email Koki Rileyat

Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

Panthers goalie is pillar of consistency

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockey writer

When the Edmonton Oilers face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers, either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will lead them on to the ice as their starting goaltender

The reigning champion Panthers have no such debate. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky has started 63 consecutive playoff games going back to early in the playoffs in 2023, and he is a big reason they are on the cusp of winning a second consecutive title.

“He puts so much time into his focus and his ability and then the experience that he has, so there’s a calmness that comes with Sergei that’s spread throughout the team,” coach Paul Maurice said Sunday “He’s the incredible, elite player that gets totally underappreciated: taken for granted, I guess, by us because he’s so consistent with his game.”

Bobrovsky has stopped 165 of the 181 shots on net during the ﬁnal, allowing 16 goals with a save percentage of .912. Skinner and Pickard have combined to stop 141

of 163, allowing 22 with respective save percentages of .860 and .878.

Many of those goals scored by Florida and allowed by Edmonton had more to do with the skaters in front of whoever is in the crease, hence a rotating door at hockey’s most important position in the ﬁnal. Skinner started the ﬁrst four, Pickard entered Game 4 and won in relief, then lost Game 5.

Skinner will probably get the nod in Game 6, but coach Kris Knoblauch is not saying which way he’s leaning.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Knoblauch said. “We’ve got two goalies that have shown that they can play extremely well, win hockey games and we feel that no matter who we choose, they can win the game.”

That confidence is even stronger around the Panthers, given how steady Bobrovsky has been.

Even though Game 5 turned into a rout, Maurice credited the goalie known as “Bob” for a handful of important early saves to make it possible.

It is something Bobrovsky has done all series, all playoffs and all season for a long time.

“He keeps us in the game so many times at key moments and is making huge saves,” top defen-

seman Gustav Forsling said. “He always gives us a chance to win every night. He’s been amazing for us.”

Bobrovsky at 36 is adored by teammates. Aaron Ekblad, who has played with him for six seasons, called him simply the best.

“We love him,” Ekblad said.

“There’s no doubt about it.”

That admiration has been earned. Bobrovsky has developed a reputation for his tireless work on dry land and the practice habits

Russell holds off Verstappen for F1 Canadian GP victory

By The Associated Press

MONTREAL George Russell won

his ﬁrst race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off defending race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday

It was the fourth victory of Russell’s career, and the race ended under yellow when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall.

“It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said. “I felt last year was a victory lost, so to get the victory and see (teammate) Kimi (Antonelli) on the podium, too, is an amazing day for the team. I think it shows the strength of our cars in the cooler conditions, so let’s see in the coming races.” Russell started on pole for the second consecutive year in Montreal and held the advantage for most of the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The British driver became the fourth race winner this year, joining points leader leader Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion. Verstappen, who has one more race to go before points drop off

his license and eliminate the possibility of a one-race suspension, was satisﬁed with his second-place ﬁnish.

“Was quite a good race, even though in the ﬁrst two stints we were struggling with the tires,” the Dutchman said. “We hung in there in the ﬁnal stint. That was the maximum we could have achieved today.”

Mercedes rookie Antonelli ﬁnished third behind Verstappen for his ﬁrst F1 podium.

“A really good day It was absolutely victory on merit,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. “We controlled the race all the way George drove brilliantly and Kimi didn’t crack under pressure even with the McLaren right behind him.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had two cars on the podium with a win and that’s why everyone is delighted.”

The two McLarens came together when Norris, then in ﬁfth, attempted to pass Piastri multiple times on the 67th lap out of 70. Norris ultimately ran into Piastri and bounced into the wall, drawing a safety car for the ﬁnal laps.

“I was defending the inside, then I felt a small touch,” Piastri

said. “That’s all I’ve got to go on at the moment. It’s a shame for the team.”

Norris took responsibility.

“I just went for it I thought Oscar would move a bit more to the right, not leave a gap,” Norris said. “I wasn’t expecting anything easy from him. But in the end, it was all my mistake. I take full blame and I want to apologize to my whole team and to Oscar for attempting something like that.”

Piastri finished fourth, ending an eight-race podium streak dating back to the second race of the season. McLaren as a team failed to reach the top three for the ﬁrst time this year

“We never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident and deﬁnitely not contact between our two cars,” team principal Andrea Stella said. “This is a situation we know is not acceptable. At the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it

“He raised his hand, as you should, and apologized to the team. For us, that sort of resets the situation. I’m sure there’s an important learning point for him from this race. He’s paid a price the championship and we value the way he handled it.”

on the ice that have translated into results: a lot of winning.

It’s no coincidence the Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Bobrovsky took over for Alex Lyon three games into the ﬁrst round in 2023.

“He just sticks kind of to the same routine, and his preparation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen while being in this league,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “It almost becomes routine some of the incredible saves he makes.”

There is nothing routine about how the Oilers’ goaltending has developed over the course of the ﬁnal. Skinner and Pickard have each been hung out to dry by turnovers, mistakes and missed coverages. They have also made some unexpected stops along the way to keep this series going.

“They’ve both been amazing,” veteran winger Corey Perry said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the net or who’s back there. We have trust in both of them.”

Maurice, who has coached more games in the NHL than anyone but nine-time Stanley Cup champion Scotty Bowman, has made it clear he knows nothing about goaltending and has no interest in learning about it. But he has defended all the goaltenders in this final between “two really powerful offensive teams” with plenty of star power

Still, Bobrovsky has the ability to swing it in Florida’s direction with another of the performances his team has come to expect from him.

“His ability to focus is trained — maybe it’s a talent,” Maurice said. “If one gets by him that he doesn’t like, it has nothing to do with what’s going to happen next.”

Van Gisbergen earns NASCAR playoff spot with emotional win

BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer

MEXICO CITY Shane Van Gisber-

gen once again mastered a new track — this one the iconic Mexico City road course to win NASCAR’s ﬁrst Cup Series points-paying race outside the United States of the modern era.

The New Zealander led 60 of 100 laps Sunday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to earn his ﬁrst Cup victory since he won in his NASCAR debut at the inaugural 2023 street course race in Chicago. That victory changed his career trajectory and Van Gisbergen left Australia V8 Supercars, where he was a multiple champion, for a fulltime move to NASCAR.

“Man, that was epic,” he said. Although he had success in the Xfinity Series — he won three races last year as Trackhouse Racing developed him for a Cup Series ride — Van Gisbergen has struggled this year at NASCAR’s top level.

He started the race ranked 33rd in the Cup standings with only one top-10 ﬁnish through the ﬁrst 15 races of the season But his victory in Mexico City earned him an automatic berth into NASCAR’s playoffs with a shot to race for the Cup Series championship.

Van Gisbergen beneﬁtted from an early pop-up rain shower on the ﬁrst lap of the race because he’s an exceptionally skilled driver on a wet surface. His win at Chicago was in monsoon-like conditions.

He won the pole in Mexico City and started the race as the BetMGM betting favorite, particularly since rain was in the forecast. He had to contend with several challengers, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing among them, but took the lead for good with 31 laps remaining. And, he won feeling under the weather He was ill before the start of the race in what was a bizarre weekend for him He was one of the drivers stranded in North Carolina on Thursday when his chartered plane suffered a mechanical issue on takeoff and the team was stranded until Friday morning.

Van Gisbergen arrived in Mexico City early Friday morning but was still awaiting many crew members.

Then he got sick late Saturday and was sleeping on the floor of his hauler before Sunday’s race.

“I felt pretty rubbish today, leaking out both holes, that wasn’t fun,” Van Gisbergen said “Our car was amazing. That last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror Unreal.”

He admitted after the race he’d texted with four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen about the intricacies of the Mexico City circuit.

“A little bit in the wet — just what lines to take and how to approach it,” he said. “What a guy.”

Van Gisbergen then did his traditional rugby-style celebration by drop-kicking a signed football into the grandstands.

Trackhouse now has two of its drivers — Ross Chastain and Van Gisbergen locked into the playoffs. But it was a bit of a disappointment for Daniel Suarez, the Monterrey native who thrilled the hometown crowd with a win in the Xﬁnity Series race on Saturday as he failed to challenge his teammate for the win and ﬁnished 19th.

“I wish I was in the mix ﬁghting for it a little more, but it just wasn’t in the cards,” Suarez said. Suarez, who appeared to be blinking back tears as he sang along with the Mexican national anthem in pre-race ceremonies, desperately wanted the home win in this contract year with Trackhouse. He was the face of this event as NASCAR ventured outside the U.S. with its top series for the ﬁrst time since 1958.

Bell ﬁnished second in a Toyota for JGR — 16.567 seconds behind the winner He was followed by Chase Elliott in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Alex Bowman, who hurt his back in a crash last week at Michigan, withstood the pain for a fourth-place ﬁnish in his Hendrick Chevrolet.

Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports was ﬁfth and followed by John Hunter Nemechek in a Toyota for Legacy Motor Club. Chase Briscoe of JGR was seventh and followed by Cole Custer for Haas Factory as the highest-finishing Ford driver William Byron of Hendrick was ninth and Chris Buescher of RFK Racing rounded out the top 10.

U.S. routs Trinidad 5-0 in Gold Cup opener as Tillman scores twice

By The Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Malik Tillman scored twice as the United States built a three-goal, ﬁrst-half lead and ended a four-game losing streak by routing Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Sunday in a CONCACAF God Cup opener Tillman scored in the 16th and 41st minutes for his ﬁrst two international goals, both following giveaways by Alvin Jones, and Patrick Agyemang scored his fourth international goal in the 44th.

Brenden Aaronson added his ninth goal in the 82nd and Haji Wright his ﬁfth just 1 minute, 13 seconds later as the 16th-ranked Americans overwhelmed the No. 100 Soca Warriors and ended their longest losing streak since 2007. Victory in the Group D opener came after days of controversy over Christian Pulisic’s desire to rest during the Gold Cup and coach Mauricio Pochettino not including the star in a pair of pre-tournament friendlies the attacker offered to play in.

The U.S. had 70.5% possession and a 21-3 advantage in shots against the Soca Warriors, whose 2-1 home win against the Americans in 2017 ended a streak of seven straight World Cup appearances by the U.S. The Americans have won their group in 16 of 17 Gold Cups, along with a second-place finish behind Panama in 2011, and improved their group stage record to 41 wins, one loss and ﬁve draws. They play invited guest Saudi Arabia on Thursday at Austin, Texas, then close group

play on June 22 against Haiti at Arlington, Texas. Matt Freese was in goal in place Matt Turner, who had started 14 consecutive competitive matches for the U.S. and 23 of 24 dating to the 2022 World Cup. The lone exception was a Gold Cup group stage game against St. Kitts and Nevis in 2023. Missing Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, the U.S. starting lineup averaged 14.8 interna-

tional appearances. That was the second-fewest for the Americans in a Gold Cup opener behind 9.8 against Bermuda in 2009, according to Opta. Adams (turf toe), Johnny Cardoso and Damion Downs (both illness) didn’t dress. Defender Tim Ream started, extending his Gold Cup span for the U.S. to 14 years and surpassing DaMarcus Beasley (2002-15) for the American high. Trinidad, coached by former star Dwight Yorke, has lost four of its last ﬁve games.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LyNNE SLADKy

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stands on the ice before the start of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers on June 9 in Sunrise, Fla

CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO By GRAHAM HUGHES

Mercedes driver, Britain’s George Russell is sprayed by teammate Kimi Antonelli, right, of Italy, after winning the F1 Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday in Montreal.

BERRY GOOD

What questions should be askedto the physician after an Alzheimer’sdiagnosis?

Adiagnosis of Alzheimer’s diseasemay be suspected or may come as acomplete surprise. Either way,the news is difficult to absorb, and the individual may be at aloss at first to process the information. Once the diagnosis sinks in, it is helpful for the individual to prepare alist of questions or concernsand make an appointment with his or her doctor.Getting the right medical information can help the individual make future financial decisions and pursue aplanof care. The University of California at Los Angeles Alzheimer’sand Dementia Care Program has compiled asamplingofquestions the individual should ask after adiagnosis:

n What type of dementiado Ihave?

n What’sthe difference between Alzheimer’sdisease and dementia?

n What caused my dementia?

n What is the likely course of decline? How long do Ihave?

n What symptoms, other than memory loss, can Iexpect, and what will the pace of decline be?

n What can Idotoslow the decline?(What medicines are effective and what resultscan Iexpect from them? What lifestyle changes will be helpful?)

n What about advertised supplements and programs that claim to cure Alzheimer’s disease?

n Where can Igotolearn more about dementia?

n What help is available to guide me through my illness?

n If Ihave aproblem that might be related to my dementia, whom should Icall?

n What plans should Imake now to prepare for atime when Ican be less engaged in making decisions?

n How should Iselect afamily or friend caregiver?

n What are reasonable goals for me now and in the future?

n How can Ipreserve what matters to me?

n As the disease progresses, will Isuffer?

n I’m afraid of becomingdependent and aburden. Will that

ä See ALZHEIMER'S, page 2D

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

On awarm June afternoon ideal for berry picking, cars andtrucks turnedintoagrassy lotoff Abby James Road in Prairieville.Young volunteers directed carswhere to park. It was 5:45 p.m., and avariety of people appro a c he dt he gates to Waughsome Farm. Chairity and Mik eWaugh, both librarians by trade, started planting during the COVID-19 pandem ic in 2020. They live on Chairity’s family land that hasbeen inher family for four generations, and they turned it into afruit orchard. After ﬁve years ofplantingand farming, the Waughs nowhave10acres of planted fruits.

At 6p.m., Mike Waugh, who is the Board of Regents library services platform manager by day, commanded the attention of the eager crowd and gave directions to the blackberry and blueberry rows as well as

howthe pricinggoes. Then, he opened the gatestothe eager pickers withtheir white plastic bucketsintow ChairityWaugh, thespecial collectionscataloger at LSU’sHill Memorial Library, ran thecheckout operations as her husband walked through the orchard, ready to answer questions and help any pickers. Wa ughso me Farmopened to thepublic in 2023, andthe Waughs are learning as they go when it comes to the orchardbusiness. Theytried opening for aday at a time theﬁrst summer andthen begansetting up reservations for 50 people at atime last summer.This year,theyare opening for two hours four times a week:Tuesdayand Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and evenings.

“This year,we’rejust lucky that it grew enough to pretty much —knock on wood —supply thedemand that we’ve seen thus far,” Chairity Waugh said. “It’sgrown sort of exponentially.”

In addition to 10 300-foot rows of blackberries and10 400-foot rows of blueberries, the Waughs alsoplanted ﬁgs, peaches andplums. When those are in season,theywill hold pick-your-own fruitdays as well.

Currently,the stars of the orchard are the blackberries. Once blackberries start to ripen,theymust be picked often —every couple of days. On the big days, there can be 400 peopleatWaughsomeFarm,and they sell more than 100 gallons of fruit.

“Wehave just as much plant in blueberries, but they’re really small trees,” Mike Waugh said. “But the blackberries are just off the hook right now.And that’swhathappenedwhenwe ﬁrst opened three years ago.” Afterplantingtheir blueberry bushes, they picked enough during the first harvest for themselves and family members. The blackberries fruited the second year,and their harvest was so big that they had to open up theorchardsothe fruit wouldn’tspoil.

ä See BERRY, page 2D

BY HUNTER BOYCE

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

Palms sweaty,knees weak these symptoms are morethan just Eminem’spopular “8 Mile” lyrics. It’sanxiety, and people whoare shy tendtofeel plenty of it in the dating game.

Luckily,psychologists who specialize in anxiety,shyness and dating have come to the rescue with some quick tips on breaking the ice.

It’s OK to be shy Indiana University Southeast’s Bernardo Carducci,Ph.D., leadsthe

college’s Shyness Research Institute andhas penneda book on how to overcome shyness. Speaking to the American Psychological Association, the psychologist explained acrucial factor in living with the emotion.

“It’snot anegative personality trait,” he said. “It’snot acharacter ﬂaw.It’snot adisease. It’s simply a descriptionofthe individual. How they respond —how they behave.” For many,the sense of self could be old newsbythe timethey’re out the door for work. Coffee cup in one hand and car keys in the other, they’re off to take on the day’schallenges. Those of us whoare shy, however, face more-or-less constant self-observation.

“Wesay,think about being in

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

Owner Chairity Waugh chats with aguest whilereadying their freshly picked blueberries and blackberries to go home.

Eloise Fussell, 4, shows off her pail of fresh picked blackberries.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday,June 16, the 167th day of 2025. There are 198 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On June 16, 1963, the world’sfirst female space traveler,Valentina Tereshkova, 26, was launchedinto orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6. Tereshkova spent 71 hours in ﬂight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely

Also on this date:

In 1858, accepting theIllinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the issue of slavery in the United States had to be resolved, declaring,“ahouse divided against itself cannot stand.”

In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan.

In 1976,thousands of Black students in Johannesburg’sSoweto township demonstrated against the imposition of the Dutchbased Afrikaans language in schools; policeopened ﬁre on the students, killing at least 176 and as many as 700.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed the instruments of ratiﬁcation for the Panama Canal treaties during aceremony in Panama City In 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign for thepresidency of the United States with aspeech at Trump Tower in Manhattan In 2016, Walt Disney Co. opened Shanghai Disneyland, its ﬁrst theme parkin mainland China.

In 2022, witnessestestiﬁed to the Jan. 6committee that Donald Trump’sclosest advisers viewed his last-ditch efforts to pressureVice President Mike Penceto reject the tally of state electors and overturn the 2020 election as “nuts,” “crazy” and even likely to incite riots.

Today’sBirthdays: Author Joyce Carol Oates is 87. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 86. R&B singer Eddie Levert is 83. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Durán is 74. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 73. ActorLaurieMetcalf is 70 Rapper MC Ren is 56. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 55.Actor John Cho is 53. Actor Daniel Brühl is 47. Actor Missy Peregrym is 43.Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV:“AmericanIdol”) is 38. NFLwide receiver Justin Jefferson is 26. Tennis player Bianca Andreescu is 25.

ALZHEIMER’S

Continued from page1D

happen?

n When will Ineed to get help in the home or go to a facility?

n Should Itell people about my diagnosis?

n Should Icontinue to interactwith people even though they might notice that something about me is different?

n What are the chances that my children will getdementia? Is there anything they can do to prevent getting dementia?

In addition to obtaining clear answers from the doctor,getting educated about Alzheimer’sdisease is imperative in navigating the journey

Educational and support resources are available through various Alzheimer’sorganizations, to name afew: Alzheimer’sAssociation, (800) 272-3900, alz.org; Alzheimer’sFoundation of America, (866) 232-8484, alzfdn.org; or Alzheimer’s Servicesofthe Capital Area, (225) 334-7494; alzbr. org.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email herat thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

What is post-concussionsyndrome?

Universal Uclick

Dear Doctors: Iwas in apretty bad car accident. Ithought Iwas lucky Igot away with just aconcussion, but now Ihave headaches and see an aura when Ilook at lights at night. I’m told it may be post-concussion syndrome. Canyou please talk about what that is and whether it can be cured?

Dear Reader: We should begin by talking about concussion, aform of traumatic brain injury.Itoccurs when ablow to thehead or body results in ajoltsostrong, it causes the brain to shift or twist rapidly within the skull. Theforce of this movement can bruisethe delicate tissues of thebrain, rupture blood vesselsthatdeliver oxygen and nutrients, and can cause damage to the neurons, sometimes at acellular level. Becausethesetypes of brain injuries are usually notlifethreatening, concussionshave been characterized as mild. However,in recent years, theserious consequences have becomeclearer

BERRY

Continued from page 1D

Chairity paintedasign, and Mike made the Facebook page and website. That’s how the Waughsome Farmbegan

Before thepicking begins

Here are afew tips to know before picking berries at WaughsomeFarm:

n Wear comfortable clothes thatcan get dirty and/or stained. Wear closed-toe shoes or boots and socks. The ground may be muddy.Red ant piles can beanywhere. n Wear sunscreen and/ or wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves. There is no shade in the orchard n It’san800-foot walk from the parking areato

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier

ASK THE DOCTORS

Aconcussion causes an immediate and temporarydisruption in the normal functioning of the brain The symptoms can be physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Symptoms maydevelop immediately or can take several days or even several weekstoappear Common physical symptoms include headache, neck pain, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, slurred or garbled speech and sensitivitytolight or sound. Some people experienceconfusion, have problems withlong- and short-term memory,become easily irritated, have extremeswings in emotion

theorchard. The back of the orchard is even further

n Thefarm hosts awide varietyofwildlife, including stinging insects such as waspsand bees. If youare allergic, please be advised.

n Bringyour own water n Refrigerate berries within an hour of picking. Bring acooler with ice to maintain peak freshness.

The picking rate at WaughsomeFarm is $10 a pint. After picking to their hearts’ desires, customers can bring theirbucketsof berriestothe check-out table, where the berries will be divided into pint containers. Customers can pay withcash or Venmo. Formore information, visit waughsomefarm.com

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate. com.

or become anxious or depressed. It is notunusual for someone with a concussion to experience changes to their normal sleep patterns. People typically recover from aconcussion within twotofour weeks. When someone reaches the three-month mark and symptoms have not begun to resolve, it is known as post-concussionsyndrome, or PCS. We don’tfully understand thereasons forthisdelay in recovery yet. One theory suggests PCS arises from changes in brain chemistry driven by the initial injuries. Another suggests neuron damage as atrigger. The data showthatpeople whohavesuffered oneormoreprevious brain injuries areatincreased risk of developing PCS.

Thereisnospeciﬁctest for postconcussion syndrome. Diagnosis is basedonthe person’smedical history,the details of their initial injury andthe subsequent symptoms, and atimeline of thepersistentsymptoms.Getting adiagnosis caninvolve aneurological exam and, in

some cases, scans to visualize the brain. These tools help rule out possiblecomplications,suchasa neck or skull fracture, or an intracranial hemorrhage. As with concussion, PCScannot be cured. Treatment focuses on managing each person’sspecific symptoms. This can include medications to address pain, nausea, anxiety or depression; devices to manage light andsound sensitivity; andcognitive,behavioralor psychological therapy.Although in the past, exercise was discouraged, newer research showsgentle physical activity to be beneﬁcial. Although recovery timefor PCS varies, manypeoplesee significant improvement in three or four months.

Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 WilshireBlvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles,CA, 90024.

Keep lampshades dust-freewithhandvacuum

Dear Heloise: Not too long ago, you suggestedusing asmall paintbrush to dust lampshades. The best thing to use to dusta smoothlampshade is nota lint roller but rather ahand vacuum. Apaintbrush will make thedust ﬂy into the air,and it will eventually land on the ﬂoor.A lint rollerdoes an OK job, but hand vacuums suck up the dirt and can be takentoatrash bin andemptiedout.

Ioccasionally liketotake the attachmentonmyrug shampooer to (very lightly)give my smooth lampshades aonce-over,and it’s made such adifference in keeping my shadesclean! —Tammy,inAlabama

Groceryorganization

Dear Heloise: In order to make food shopping trips faster and less frequent,Imadea list of all the aisles in order in ourlocal food store,

SHYNESS

Continued from page1D

front of amirror,” Carducci said. “When you look in front of amirror —Idon’tcare whoyou are —most people don’tsay,‘Oh my God, how beautiful Iam.’The ﬁrst thingthey do when they look intoa mirror is they primp. They focus on thehair They adjust their tie and collar. They focusontheirfaultsbecause amirror makes youself-conscious, and if you’reself-conscious, you focus on your negative characteristics. So we say, think about shy people as havinga mirrorheld in front of them all day long, particularly in social situations.”

Embracingyour shyness is the ﬁrst steptoa better date life. The next stop? Empowerment.

Keepingyourpower

Psychology Today’sAttraction

Doctor,Jeremy Nicholson,Ph.D., is adoctor of social and personalitypsychology and has some quick tips for shypeoplewhen it comes to breaking theice. According to the expert, initiating conversation— particularly for thepurpose of asking someoneona

leaving spaces in between the aisles for me to write in the items I need for our weekly shopping trip Imake 15-20 copies of the list, then post one list on my fridge. As theweek goes by and Inotice items that we’re low on, Iwrite them down under theappropriate aisle. The day before we go shopping, Icheck thefridge and cabinetsfor any other items we might be low on. Ialso select one of my lunch salad recipes and add the ingredientsIneed to the food list. My husband cooks dinner every night,sohewrites down what he’ll be cooking each night on the back of the food list and writes what he’ll need for his recipes that week. Then we go to thestoreand go up and down theaisles, knowing that everything we need is written down under thecorrect aisle on our list. No more running back andforth across the store or lastminutetrips to thestorefor items we need for arecipe!

Ipost thelist of dinners for the

date—can build up alot of anxiety because youare openingyourself up to be evaluated by theother person. It’s avulnerable moment. To avoid that sensation,Nicholson suggests approaching conversations in away that allows you to keep your power

“Rather than‘putting yourself outthere,’ getthe other personto investa little first,” he wrote in Psychology Today.“Askthem to do somethingfor you. Make arequest. This could even be something small like, ‘Could you grab me astraw?’ Or,‘Couldyou watch my stufffor aminute while Iget acoffee?’ Any small request will do thetrick.” Nicholson calleditthe BenFranklineffect—a phenomenon where aperson likessomeonemore after they’vehelpedtheminsome small way So the ice hasbeenbroken. With anyluck, numbershavebeenexchanged and eventually adateset Butwhatcan someone whoisshy do once the datestarts? Calm thosenerves. There’shope yet

Once you’re on thedate Don’t open with awow-worthy one-liner.Instead, open with aquestion

week on the fridge in case my husband forgets what he wasgoing to cook, along with anew blank shopping list sheet forthe coming week. Ialso have the shopping list saved on my computer,soif thestoreever rearranges their shelves, Ican easily makethe changes and print out new lists. JanS., in Pennsylvania Jan, wow! Youreally are organized withyour shopping. Do any of my other readers use amethod like this that reminds you of what you need to buy? —Heloise College-bound

Dear Heloise: Your column is the ﬁrst thingI read with anticipation in my newspaper Ineed your expertise and advice. My grandson will graduate high school in May and movetoa universitytwo hours away.Which practical items does he need the most? —Seda, in Glendale,California Seda, here is alist that might help you:

“Most approaches go wrong because the person is trying to impress,” he said. “They are trying to ‘earn’ the other individual’sinterest, attraction or affection. Essentially,they are opening themselves up to ‘being judged’…rather than evaluating, qualifying or screening theother person.

“So, rather than letting them evaluateyou, begin by evaluating them instead!Ask them aquestion. Be curious. Suspend your attraction to them and make them jump through ahoop or two to provethemselves to you.Ask them something that will qualify them as apartner and see whetherthey pass.”

If you do wanttoopen with a statement, don’tmake it cheesy Simply make an observation.

In acoffee shop? Comment on the quality of the coffee. Outside? It’s wonderful weather we’rehaving. Cheesyopeners might getalaugh, but simple observations are better invitations for further conversation.

“If the other personisatall interested,heorshe will continue theconversation,” Nicholson explained.“If theyare notinterested andsay nothing, thenyou have not riskedanything. Youhave simply madeastatement.” Manhattan Center for Cognitive

n Shower caddy

n Over-the-door organizer

n Shower shoes

n Laundry bag

n Clip-on dorm room lamp

n Desk lamp

n Lint roller with afew extrarolls

n Alarm clock

n Backpack n Drawer organizer

n Small ﬁrst aid kit. Do any of my readers have any moreitemstoadd that their kids needed forcollege? Let us know at Heloise@Heloise.com! —Heloise Avoiding smashed fingers

Dear Heloise: Whenever Iwould hammer in anail to hang up a picture, Iwould invariably hammer my finger once or twice. I finally found that if Ihold the nail with apair of pliers instead of my fingers, there wasalot less pain! RogerR.,Tempe,Arizona

Send ahinttoheloise@heloise com.

Behavioral Therapy’sAmohaBajajMahajan, Ph.D., isn’tjust apsychologist; she’sananxiety expert. According to thepro, there are some quick hacks shy people can use to their advantage once the date has begun.

“Shift your focus to the other person,” she wrote on the clinic’s website. “Often, shyness anddiscomfort increase when our focus is on ourselves —our own thoughts, insecurities, appearance. Shifting your focus to your date andthe conversation canhelpyou feel more present and engaged.” Secondly,she advised ditching any mind reading. Bajaj-Mahajan explained that trying to anticipate whataperson is thinking on adate canbedistracting andisalsousually inaccurate. There’snoneed to guess what they’re thinking. “Practice an easy manner with somesense of humor,”she wrote, breaking down herﬁnaltip. “Dating while feeling shy can feel intimidatingand demanding! Trytobreak the tension (with yourself)bysmiling, walking leisurely,sitting laidback and comfortably and cracking ajoke or two.”

Hints from Heloise

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Alicia Vidrinepicks some fresh blueberries at Waughsome Farm in Prairieville on June 5.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Build an environment around youthat enables you to flourish and meetpeople who share your dreams, and you'll discover the path that makesyourgoals easier to achieve.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Do things for yourself, and youwon't be disappointed. An offer will leave youwith mixed emotions. Do your homework, ask questions andconsider the longterm effects.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Follow your passion. Gather information and consider how to put your fingerprint on something that interests you. Play defense and prepare to make acountermove.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Force may be necessary to get things done. If you connect with someone who shares your concerns, an unexpected alternative will comeyour way.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Be carefulwhat you share with whom. Whenuncertainty sets in,step back andtakeawaitand-see attitude. It's better to be safe than sorry.Inthe meantime, focuson gathering information.

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Gatherinformation, add toyour skills and qualifications, and do whatever it takesto raise your profile. Explore and expand your options to include cheaper ways to live.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stabilize and secure your position,reputation and lifestyle. Spend timerearranging your space to accommodateyour

needs. The betterthe flow,the more you'll achieve.

CAPRICoRn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Setboundaries anddistance yourself from people most likely to getinyour way. Join groups thatconnect youtothe latest trends andcan help youmaster your skills.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Dedicate moretime to how you earnand invest your money. You can't buy love or pay forsomeone else's mistake. Success comes from doing what's best for you. PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Temptation will be challenging to resist. Distance yourself from anyone who is abad influenceorlikelytotakeadvantage of you. The best way to maintain stability is to isolate yourself while the pressure's on. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Get the lowdown, figureout what you need and deal only withreputable individuals. Take careofdomestic, traveloreducational issues before they canspinout of control. Trust your instincts.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Keep your thoughts to yourself. Refuse to let the changes or decisions others make lead you astray.A gracious attitude will draw favors; eagerness will make people uncomfortable.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy'sCLuE: WEQuALs F

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Saturday’sPuzzleAnswer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

When beginners learn bridge, they are usually taught two bidding conventions: Blackwood and Stayman. They might also learn transfers into the majors, a complement of Stayman. This week,let’s look at Staymaninits simplest form and in its extensions.

Interestingly,Stayman wasnot inventedbySam Stayman, butbyhis thenbridge partner, George Rapee.But Staymanwrotethefirstarticlepublished on the convention, andhis name stuck (It was independently devised by Jack Marx from England.)

Thebasicuse of Stayman is to find a 4-4fit in amajor suit. Remember, in notrump, a4-4 fitwill produce at most four tricks. But if thatsuit is trumps, you will often generateanextra winner by ruffing aloser. (And on acloudless day, you will gain eight tricks from the suit.)

Openerbids one no-trump, and responder repliestwo clubs. If the opener has one four-card major, he bids two of that suit. If he has two four-card majors,herebids twohearts. Andifhe hasnofour-card major, he answers two diamonds.Thenthe responder judges what to do next.

In today’s example, North uses Stayman despite his poor suit to try to find a 4-4spade fit. When successful, he raises to game. West leads the heart king.

wuzzles

This deal is easy if thetrumps are 3-2. Winthe first trick, cash the two top trumps, anddriveout theclubace. Here, South loses only three tricks: one spade, one heart and one club. Finally, observe that three no-trump should be defeated after the heart-king lead.

EachWuzzle is awordriddle whichcreates adisguised word, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. For example:nOOngOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuCtIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,”are not allowed. 3. additional

toDAy’sWoRD oBVIousLy: OB-vee-us-lee: As is plainly evident.

Averagemark 13 words

to me, allyou thatlaborand are heavy laden, andI will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from the letters in each row.add points of each word, using scoring directionsat right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value. allthe words arein the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition. For moreinformation on tournaments and clubs, email

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanTliTTlEgamEthat

thenumberofletters

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy muttS

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

Allmembers of

Sewer‐

WaterBoard of

plywith allethical re‐quirements of Louisiana law, includingbut not limitedtothe ﬁlingof ﬁ‐nancialstatementspur‐suanttoLa. R.S. 42, et seq. APPLICATIONPROCESS Formoreinformation and to beginthe application process, please visitour websiteat: https://www swbno.org/Notices/Vac ancyDistrictE. Thedead‐line to applyis5:00p.m on June 30, 2025. Contact 504-585-2190 or Prospec‐tiveBoardMemberAppli‐cations@swbno.orgwith anyquestions 144308-JUN9-16-2T $116.74

PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE ---NO‐TICE OF AUTHORIZATION OF DISSOLUTIONOF DREAMCOARABIANS, LLC. NOTICE IS HEREBY giventhatDreamco Ara‐biansLLC (the "Com‐pany"),a Louisianalim‐ited liabilitycompany,is to be liquidated outof court, pursuant to the UnanimousWritten Con‐sent of theMembers Anypersonbelieving to have aclaim againstthe Companyshouldpresent such claimindetailand in writing to thefollow‐ingaddressonorbefore December 26, 2025: DreamcoArabians, LLC, 1209 Distributors Row, NewOrleans,LA70123. 145247-jun17-24-2t $96.88

TorrieM.Jakes hasbeen namedasthe LocalEqual OpportunityOfﬁcerfor theCityofNew Orleans –Ofﬁce of WorkforceDe‐velopment, whichadmin‐isters theTitle I-Bfund‐ingofthe WorkforceIn‐novation andOpportu‐nity Act(WIOA)inaccor‐dancewithWIOAsec.188 and29CFR Part 38 re‐gardingEqual Employ‐ment andNon-Discrimi‐

PUBLIC NOTICE

SUMMONSByPublication

TO:REBECCA LYNNE MITCHELL

Youhavebeensuedby Wade Robert Mitchell thePetitioner, in theDis‐trictCourt in andfor Bonneville County, Idaho, Case No.CV10-25-1648. Thenatureofthe claim againstyou is forDi‐vorce. Anytimeafter 21 days followingthe last publicationofthisSum‐mons,the Courtmay entera judgment against youwithout furtherno‐tice,unlessprior to that time youhave filed a writtenresponseinthe proper form,including thecasenumber, and paid anyrequired filing feetothe Clerkofthe Courtat605 N. Capital Ave.,Idaho Falls,Idaho 83402, (208) 529-1350, and served acopyofyourre‐sponse to Petitioner’s at‐torney at:Tracy W. Gor‐man, 4040 Crestwood Lane,Idaho Falls, Idaho 83404, (208) 528-7666. Acopyofthe Summons andVerified Petition for DivorcewithMinor Chil‐dren canbeobtainedby contacting either the Clerkofthe CourtorPeti‐tioner’s attorney.Ifyou wish legalassistance, youshouldimmediately retain an attorney to ad‐vise youinthismatter. DATED: 05/12/2025 BonnevilleCounty District Court By /s/jk Deputy Clerk 143215-jun2-9-16-23-4t $639.12 PUBLIC NOTICE TO THEDEFENDANT ABOVENAMED:LESLIE EFFS YOUARE HEREBY SUM‐MONEDand required to Answer theComplaint in this action andtoserve a copy of your Answer to said Complaintonthe Plaintiff’sattorneyat his/heroffice,South Car‐olinaLegal Services,701 S. Main St Greenville, SC 29607, within THIRTY (30) after theservice thereof, exclusiveofthe date of such service. If you failto Answer theComplaint within thetimeafore‐said,the Plaintiffwill applytothe Courtfor the relief demanded in said Complaint. YOUWILLPLEASETAKE NOTICE that theoriginal complaintwas filedin theOffice of theClerk of Courtfor Greenville County, SouthCarolina, on February 13, 2025. Attorney:Melissa Arnold Attorney forPlaintiff SouthCarolinaLegal Ser‐vices. 137873-jun16-23-30-3t $340.18 PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE TREATMENT SOLICITATIONS

TheUnitedStatesProba‐tion Ofﬁce forthe East‐ernDistrictofLouisiana (LAEP) is currentlyac‐cepting Request forPro‐l ( ) f

participateinsubcon‐tracting opportunities pursuant to this solicita‐tion Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS

nancingfromNORUto supportthe redevelop‐ment of thoselots. An informationalmeet‐ingwillbeheldonlinevia Zoom,on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. (CDT). Respondentsare encour‐aged to attend this meet‐ing, during

@4:00P.M PRE-BIDCONFERENCE: JUNE 25, 2025 @11:00 A.M. https://nola.webex.com/ weblink/register/r016770 722f7f97645e1cab4ea2fb0 a28

Datesare subjectto changesvia an adden‐dumpostedbythe Bu‐reau of Purchasing on theCity’ssupplierportal.

If this solicitation is fed‐erally funded,prospec‐tive bidder/respondent must payparticularat‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana.

TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodiﬁcationsvia addendum. Note that you wouldreceive thosenoti‐ﬁcationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITY CODE(s): 911-40

TheCityofNew Orleans strongly encourages mi‐nority-owned and women-ownedbusi‐nesses, socially andeco‐nomicallydisadvantaged businessesand small businessestorespond to this solicitation,orto

p.m. (CDT). Copies of

andApplication”,

ingdetailedinstructions andinformational

ingdetails,may be ac‐cessedat https:// noraworks.orgorbycon‐tactingAudreyPlessy, ProcurementManager viatelephone at (504) 658-4400 or emailatAu‐drey.Plessy@nola.gov ImportantNote: Please read andcompletethe entire application, in‐cludingall Exhibits and Attachments. Allapplica‐tionsmustbecomplete upon submission to be considered.Missing itemsmay disqualify you from consideration. Brenda M. Breaux ExecutiveDirector 145387-jun16-25-30-3t $73.89

I, ISAACMCCLUREaka MC CLUREMCCLURE akaIKE MCCLUREaka ISAACMCCLUREJR. akaISSAC MCCLURE akaZEKOMCCLURE akaZEKOZEKOaka ISAACMCCLUVER, have been convictedof 14:45 -Simple Kidnapping.Date Convicted: 1/8/2003. 15:542 -Failure to Register/Notifyasa SexOffender.Date Convicted: 7/28/2022. My Addressis: 7609 4THST, ROOM 17, MARRERO,LA70072

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Race:Black Sex: MALE Date of Birth: 03/01/1969 Height:5'9 Weight:205 Hair Color: BLACK EyeColor:BROWN Scars/Tattoos: Louisiana 145199, June 15-16 $250.00

Date Convicted: 7/30/2001, 14:80Carnal knowledgeofa juvenile.Date Convicted: 7/30/2001. 14:81 -Indecent Behavior with Juveniles. Date Convicted: 10/21/1996. My Addressis: 2556 SANDPIPERCIRCLE MARRERO,LA70072

Race:WHITE Sex: MALE Date of Birth: 09/15/1975 Height:6'1