The Advocate 06-22-2025 by The Advocate

St.George’s legal birthdate remains unsettled

Answer mightcost millions for BatonRouge

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

It has been more thanayear sincethe highestcourt in Louisiana

ﬁnally answered the question: Yes, St. George should become a city Yetone question stillremains unanswered,aquestionsomeleaders view as pivotal, while others dismiss as minor —when did St. George ofﬁcially incorporate?

The debate is not new.It has disrupted negotiations for nearly a year,and is at the center of threatened lawsuits with $200 million or more at stake.

But now,asthe city-parish government tries to mend amajor deﬁcit, some ofﬁcials say it’stime to end thedebateand leta judge decide.

“Avoiding all of those legal procedures and vessels is not the answer, because then we just continue to have people bickering back and forth, this tug of war among folksthatare in power,” East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member Jennifer Racca said. “Let the judges decide. Let them look at the facts of the case and hopethey make the right decision.”

St. George leaders like Mayor Dustin Yates and City Council member Andrew Murrellhave long held thatSt. George incorporated in 2019, when voters approved the new city.But both former East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome andcurrent Mayor-President Sid Edwards have said April 2024, when the SupremeCourt ruled, should be the accepted date.

ä See ST.GEORGE, page 6A

U.S. STRIKES IRANIANSITES

3nuclear facilities hitasU.S.joins Israeliair campaign

Make

peaceorfacefutureattacks,Trump

threatens

Vance, SecretaryofState Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary

BY SAM MEDNICK, AAMER MADHANI and DAVID RISING

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The U.S.military struck three sitesinIran early Sunday,directly joining Israel’swar aimed at decapitating the country’snuclear program in arisky gambit toweaken alongtime foe amidTehran’sthreatofreprisals that could spark a wider regional conﬂict.

Addressing the nation fromthe White House, PresidentDonald Trump said Iran’skey nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated.” He also warned Tehran against carrying outretaliatory attacksagainst the U.S., saying Iran has a

choice between “peace or tragedy.” Iran’snuclear agency confirmed that attacks hitits Fordo,Isfahanand Natanz atomic sites, but insisted that its work will not be stopped. The decision to directly involve the U.S. in the war comes after more than aweek of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed to systematically eradicate the country’sair defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging itsnuclear enrichment facilities. But U.S.and Israeliofﬁcials have said thatAmerican stealthbombers and the 30,000-pound bunker-busterbombthey alone can carry offered thebest chance of destroying heavily fortiﬁed sites connected to theIranian nuclear program buried deep underground.

ä Republicans in Congress praise Trump after strikes in Iran. PAGE 4A

“Wehave completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trumpsaidinapostonsocialmedia.“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS wasdropped on the primarysite, Fordow.All planesare safely on their way home.”

Trump added in alater post: “This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED

ä See STRIKES, page 4A

Yates Murrell

REUTERS PHOTO By CARLOS BARRIA

President Donald Trumpspeaks from the East Room of the White House on Saturday in Washington after the U.S. militarystruck three Iranian nuclear and military sites, joining Israel’sefforttodecapitate the country’s nuclear program, as, from left, Vice President JD

Pete Hegseth listen.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Sunken superyacht

lifted from waters

PORTICELLO Italy A British-

ﬂagged luxury superyacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch and six others, was lifted from the water Saturday as salvage recovery crews completed the complex operation to bring it ashore for further investigation.

The white top and blue hull of the 184-foot Bayesian, covered with algae and mud, was visibly clear of the sea in a holding area of a yellow ﬂoating crane barge off the Sicilian port of Porticello.

“The hull of the superyacht Bayesian has today been successfully and safely recovered from the sea off the coast of northern Sicily,” said TMC Maritime, the company conducting the recovery “This follows a delicate lifting procedure that began early today.”

TMC added that the hull will continue to be held “in an elevated position to allow expert salvage personnel to complete checks and preparations” ahead of its transportation into the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese on Sunday The floating crane platform will move the Bayesian to the port where a special steel cradle is waiting for it. The vessel will be then made available for investigators to help determine the cause of the sinking.

Man arrested after Utah rally shooting released

A man who brought a riﬂe to a “No Kings” rally in Utah prompting an armed safety volunteer to open ﬁre and accidentally kill a protester has been released from jail while the investigation continues.

Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill’s ofﬁce said Friday that it was unable to make a decision on charges against Arturo Gamboa, 24, who had been jailed on suspicion of murder following the June 14 shooting.

Salt Lake City police had said Gamboa brought an assault-style rifle to the rally and was allegedly moving toward the crowd with the weapon raised when a safety volunteer for the event fired three shots, wounding Gamboa and killing a nearby demonstrator Arthur Folasa Ah Loo Gamboa did not fire his rifle and it is unclear what he intended to do with it. His lawyer, Greg Skordas, said Gamboa was lawfully in possession of the rifle at the rally and was walking with it unloaded pointed at the ground before he was shot in the back by the volunteer Skordas said he does not believe that Gamboa heard anyone tell him to drop the weapon.

“There was never any raising of the gun, any brandishing of the gun, any pointing it toward anyone at all,” Skordas said.

Gamboa had been attending the rally as a supporter, Skordas said, adding that he was not entirely sure why Gamboa brought the riﬂe.

Indians stretch for yoga celebration

NEW DELHI Tens of thousands of people across India stretched in public parks and on sandy beaches Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga

The mass yoga sessions were held in many Indian states, where crowds attempted various poses and practiced breathing exercises. Indian military personnel also performed yoga in the icy heights of Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas and on naval ships anchored in the Bay of Bengal. Similar sessions were also held in countries including Malaysia and Indonesia.

“I feel that yoga keeps us spiritually fit, mentally fit and helps us manage stress. That’s why I feel that people should take out at least 30 minutes every day for yoga to keep themselves fit,” said Rajiv Ranjan, who participated in an event in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Yoga is one of India’s most successful cultural exports after Bollywood. It has also been enlisted for diplomacy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has harnessed it for cultural soft power as the country takes on a larger role in world affairs

Modi persuaded the U.N. to designate the annual International Day of Yoga in 2014. The theme this year was “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.”

At least 3 killed in N.D. tornado

By The Associated Press

ENDERLIN,N.D Powerful winds including a tornado — that swept across parts of the upper Midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the U.S.

A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center

Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations around the town of Enderlin, about 40 miles southwest of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power

Hours earlier the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said on the social platform X that two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home.

Tornado confirmed

Timothy Lynch, lead forecaster with the NWS ofﬁce in Grand Forks, said the storm was confirmed as a tornado but crews were still working to determine its strength and highest wind speeds. He said the storm impacted the neighboring counties of Cass and Ransom.

“We still have people out investigating and gathering information on what happened It was a pretty major event,”

Lynch told The Associated Press.

Gov Kelly Armstrong said in a statement that the NWS conﬁrmed a second tornado touched down near Spiritwood, which is about 80 miles west of Fargo.

Armstrong issued a statewide disaster declaration to respond to the damage

Heavy winds also swept across localized areas of Minnesota, and the NWS reported wind gusts of up to 106 mph at Bemidji Regional Airport overnight.

“I cannot ever recall hearing a rushing wind like that!” Bemidji Mayor Jorge

Prince posted on Facebook in the early hours Saturday “Emerged from our basement to ﬁnd our neighborhood with lots

of trees down and several homes with severe damage.”

Prince also said ofﬁcials were responding to many knocked down power lines and several gas line leaks. Localized torrential rain ﬂooded the city’s downtown and stalled vehicles, Beltrami County Emergency Management Director Christopher Muller said.

Many Bemidji-area businesses posted on social media to say they were without power and closed for the day Muller warned people to prepare for “long-term power outages” because of damage to infrastructure.

Hurley said that same storm moved on in a weakened state to parts of Michigan. It was expected to cross over lower Ontario, Canada, and back into the United States to hit upstate New York on Saturday night into Sunday

“Still wind and hail threat,” Hurley said of the enhanced risk to upstate New York. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be as robust perhaps as we saw last night.”

Extreme heat

Almost 59 million Americans were under an extreme heat warning Saturday, Hurley said, as the high temperatures combined with humidity pushed an aboveaverage heat index for the Northern Plains and the Midwest Parts of Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa could face temperatures “easily 20 degrees above normal,” according to Hurley, with some areas reaching the triple digits. That kind of heat may be expected in July he said, but it’s rare to see in June.

“A lot of these areas have been pretty cool with rain over the last month or so, so it’s going to be a little bit of a shock,” Hurley said.

Cooling centers were open in cities including Omaha and Minneapolis.

An additional 84 million people were under a heat advisory with the extreme weather expected to migrate east toward the Great Lakes, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, where the “heat risk category is a 4 of 4” into early next week, Hurley said.

Meanwhile parts of the Great Basin and the Southwest were expected to see below-normal temperatures.

frees dissident, 13 others after rare visit from U.S. envoy

BY YURAS KARMANAU and JOANNA KOZLOWSKA Associated Press

TALLINN Estonia Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official, Tsikhanouskaya’s team announced on Saturday Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist who was imprisoned in 2020, arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside 13 other political prisoners, his wife’s team said. The release came just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine in Minsk Keith Kellogg became the highest-ranking U.S. official in years to visit Belarus, Moscow’s close and dependent ally

A video published on Tsikhanouskaya’s ofﬁcial Telegram account showed Tsikhanouski disembarking from a white minibus, smiling broadly despite his shaved head and emaciated frame. He pulled his wife into a long embrace as their supporters applauded “My husband is free. It’s difﬁcult to describe the joy in my heart,” Tsikhanous-

kaya told reporters. But she added her team’s work is “not ﬁnished” while over 1,100 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus.

Tsikhanouski, known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan “stop the cockroach,” was jailed after announcing plans to challenge the strongman in the 2020 election. Following his arrest, his wife ran in his stead, rallying large crowds across the country Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in the aftermath of the August 2020 vote, in the largest protests in the country’s history. In the ensuing crackdown, more than 35,000 people were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned. Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 19½ years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots.

Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term following a January election that the opposition called a farce. Since July 2024, he has pardoned nearly 300 people, including imprisoned U.S. citizens, seeking to mend ties with the West.

Hot-air balloon catches fire and crashes in Brazil

Authorities say 8 people killed and 13 injured in incident

BY ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, ﬁreﬁghters said.

Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon, which was in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande

On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the ﬁre spread onboard the aircraft.

Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot. The crash happened at around 8 a.m. local time, said Lt. Col. Zevir Cipriano Jr., a military firefighter. A fire started in the basket prompting the pilot to try to land the balloon.

Thirteen people, including the pilot, managed to jump out but eight were unable to. Without the weight of the others, the balloon began rising again.

“These people ended up dying — four charred and another four jumped out of the balloon when it was falling,” Cipriano Jr said.

Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina’s civil police force, on X. “It hurts the soul.”

“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the

state structure to do what it can,” Gov Jorginho Mello said in a video on X. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his solidarity with victims’ families and said he was placing the federal government at the disposal of victims and local authorities.

Authorities have opened an investigation and the results will be made public within 30 days, Santa Catarina’s public safety secretary Col. Flávio Graff told journalists. According to the civil police, the pilot has given testimony and they will also gather statements from survivors, Graff added.

G1 reported that the balloon’s expected ﬂight time was 45 minutes, with the balloon reaching 3,280 feet, and cost about $100 per passenger Sobrevoar the company responsible for the multicolored balloon, said it complied with all regulations and had a clean accident record before Saturday

“Despite all necessary precautions and the efforts of our pilot — who has extensive experience and followed all recommended procedures in an attempt to save everyone on board the balloon — we are suffering from the pain caused by this tragedy,” it said in a statement Sobrevoar added that it was suspending all operations for an indeﬁnite period.

Praia Grande is a common destination for hotair ballooning, a popular activity in parts of southern Brazil. The area is famous for its dramatic canyon landscapes and is known as the “Brazilian Cappadocia,” a reference to a region in central Turkey famed worldwide for stunning hot-air balloon rides.

Last Sunday, a balloon came down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 other people, G1 reported.

BISMARCK TRIBUNE PHOTO By TANNER ECKER

Casey Fiest uses an electric chain saw on Saturday to cut limbs off a broken tree lying in a yard from the previous night’s severe thunderstorms in Bismarck, N.D

Mahmoud Khalil vows to keep protesting Gaza war

Activist

home after months jailed in La. immigration facility

BY HOLLY RAMER and ARON RANEN Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J

A Palestin-

ian activist who was detained for more than three months pushed his infant son’s stroller with one hand and cheered as he was welcomed home Saturday by supporters including U.S. Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez.

Mahmoud Khalil greeted friends and spoke briefly to reporters at New Jersey’s Newark International Airport a day after leaving a federal immigration facility in Louisiana. A former Columbia University graduate student and symbol of President Donald Trump ’s clampdown on campus protests, he vowed to continue protesting Israel and the war in Gaza.

“The U.S. government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,” he said “This is why I will continue to protest with every one of you. Not only if they threaten me with detention. Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.”

Joining Khalil at the airport, Ocasio-Cortez said his detention violated the First Amendment and was “an affront to every American.”

“He has been accused, baselessly, of horriﬁc allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,” she said.

“The Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “They are violating the law, and they know that they are violating the law.”

Khalil, a 30-year-old legal resident whose wife gave birth during his 104 days of detention, said he also will speak up for the immigrants he left behind in the detention center

“Whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, anyone in this land, you’re not illegal. That doesn’t make you less of a human,” he said.

Khalil was not accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia.

However the administration has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be

Pope: There should be no tolerance for abuse in church

BY FRANKLIN BRICEÑO Associated Press

LIMA, Peru Pope Leo XIV has said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse sexual, spiritual or abuse of authority — and called for “transparent processes” to create a culture of prevention across the church.

journalists.”

expelled from the country for expressing views it considers to be antisemitic and “pro-Hamas,” referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be “highly highly unusual” for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and had not been accused of any violence. The government ﬁled notice Friday evening that it was appealing Khalil’s release.

Leo XIV

Leo made his ﬁrst public comments about the clergy sex abuse scandal in a written message to a Peruvian journalist who documented a particularly egregious case of abuse and ﬁnancial corruption in a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

The message was read out loud on Friday night in Lima during a performance of a play based on the Sodalitium scandal and the work of the journalist, Paola Ugaz.

“It is urgent to root in the whole church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse — neither of power or authority nor abuse of conscience, spiritual or sexual abuse,” Leo said in the message. “This culture will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, of transparent processes and sincere listening to those who have been hurt. For this, we need

Leo is well aware of the Sodalitium scandal since he spent two decades as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru, where the group was founded in 1971. The then-Bishop Robert Prevost was responsible for listening to the Sodalitium’s victims as the Peruvian bishops’ pointperson for abuse victims and helped some reach ﬁnancial settlements with the organization.

After Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican in 2023, Prevost helped dismantle the group entirely by overseeing the resignation of a powerful Sodalitium bishop The Sodalitium was officially suppressed earlier this year, right before Francis died. Now as pope, Leo has to oversee the dismantling of the Soldalitium and its sizable assets. The Vatican envoy on the ground handling the job, Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, read out Leo’s message on Friday night, appearing alongside Ugaz on stage. In the message, Leo also praised journalists for their courage in holding the powerful to account, demanded public authorities protect them and said a free press is an “common good that cannot be renounced.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Mahmoud Khalil, second from left, alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.y., prepares to speak Saturday at a news conference upon arriving at Newark International Airport in Newark, N.J.

Republicansin Congress praise Trumpafter strikesinIran

BY MARYCLAREJALONICK

and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans —and at least one Democrat —immediately praised President Donald Trumpafter he said Saturday evening thatthe U.S. military bombed three sites in Iran.

“Well done, President Trump,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, posted on X. TexasSen. John Cornyn called it a“courageous and correct decision.” Alabama Sen. Katie Britt called the bombings “strong and surgical.” Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted: “America ﬁrst, always.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Roger Wicker,ofMississippi, said Trump“has made adeliberate —and correct —decision to eliminate the existential threat posedbythe Iranian regime.”

Wicker posted on Xthat“we now have very seriouschoices aheadto provide securityfor our citizens and our allies.”

The quick endorsementsof stepped up U S. involvement in Iran came after Trumphad publicly mulled the strikes for days and many congressional Republicans had cautiously said they thought he would make the right decision. Senate Majority Leader JohnThune said Saturday evening

that “as we take action tonight to ensure anuclear weapon remains outofreach forIran, Istand with President Trump andpray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”

Thune andHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, were briefed ahead of thestrikes on Saturday, according to people familiar with thesituation and granted anonymity to discuss it

Johnson saidinastatementthat the military operations “should serve as aclear reminder to our adversaries andallies that President Trumpmeans what he says.” House IntelligenceCommittee Chairman Rick Crawford,R-Ark. said he had alsobeen in touch with

the White House and “I am gratefultothe U.S. servicemembers whocarried out these precise and successful strikes.”

Breaking frommany of his Democratic colleagues, Sen. John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, an outspoken supporterofIsrael, also praised the attacksonIran.

“AsI’ve long maintained, this was the correct moveby@POTUS,” he posted. “Iran is the world’sleading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities.”

STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD.

IRAN MUSTNOW AGREE TOENDTHISWAR.THANK

YOU!”

Israeli PrimeMinisterBenjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’sdecision to attack in avideo message directedat the American president.

“Your bold decisiontotarget Iran’snuclear facilities, with the awesome and righteousmight of the United States, will change history,” he said. Netanyahu said the U.S.“has done what no other country on earthcould do.”

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation.

But Fox News host Sean Hannity said shortly after 8 p.m. that he had spoken with Trump and that six bunker buster bombs were used on the Fordo facility.Hannity said 30 Tomahawk missiles ﬁred by U.S. submarines400 miles away struck the Iranian nuclear sites of Natanz and Isfahan.

The strikes are aperilous decision, as Iran has pledged to retaliate if the U.S. joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally. He won

the White House on the promise of keepingAmericaout of costly foreign conﬂicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism

Trump told reporters Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it’s“the last thing you wanttodo.” He had previouslyindicatedthathe wouldmake afinal choice over the course of two weeks.

Iran’sSupreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting theIslamicRepublic will “result in irreparabledamage for them.” And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared “any American interventionwouldbearecipe for an all-out war in the region.”

Trump has vowed that he would not allow Irantoobtain anuclear weapon, and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country’sleaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully

TheIsraeli military said Saturday it was preparing for thepossibility of alengthy war,while Iran’sforeign minister warned beforethe U.S. attack that American military involvement “would be very, very dangerousfor

everyone.”

Theprospect of awider war loomed.Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vesselsinthe RedSea if the Trump administration joined Israel’s militarycampaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the U.S.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced that the U.S. had begun “assisted departure flights,”the first from Israel since theHamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparkedthe war in Gaza.

White House press secretary KarolineLeavitt saidThursday that Trump plannedtomakehis decision on the strikes within two weeks. Instead,hestruck just two days later Trump appears to have madethe calculation —atthe prodding of Israeliofﬁcials and many Republican lawmakers— that Israel’soperation hadsoftened theground and presented aperhaps unparalleled opportunitytoset back Iran’s nuclear program, perhaps permanently

TheIsraelis saytheir offensive has already crippled Iran’s air defenses, allowing them to already signiﬁcantly degrade multiple Iraniannuclear sites.

But to destroy the Fordo nu-

Both parties have seen splits in recent days over the prospect of striking Iran. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, aRepublican and alongtime opponent of U.S. involvementinforeign wars, posted on Xafter Trump announced the attacks that “Thisisnot Constitutional.” Many DemocratshavemaintainedthatCongress should have asay.The Senate wasscheduled to vote as soon as this week on aresolution by Virginia Sen. TimKaine requiring congressional approval before the U.S. declared waron Iran or took speciﬁc military action.

clear fuelenrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for the bunker-busting American bomb known as theGBU-57

Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses itsweight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The bomb is currently deliveredonly by theB-2 stealth bomber,which is only found in theAmerican arsenal.

If deployed in theattack, it would be the ﬁrst combat use of theweapon

The bomb carries aconventional warhead,and is believed to be able to penetrate about200 feet belowthe surface beforeexploding, and the bombs can be dropped oneafter another,effectively drillingdeeper anddeeper with each successive blast.

The International Atomic Energy Agencyhas conﬁrmedthatIran is producing highlyenriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclearmaterial could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hitthe facility

Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on acentrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surroundingarea, theIAEA has said.

Trump’s decision for direct

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligencepanel,posted on Xafter Trump’sannouncement: “According to the Constitution we are both sworn to defend, my attention to this matter comes BEFORE bombs fall. Full stop.”

U.S. militaryintervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push —including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

Formonths, Trump said he wasdedicated to adiplomatic push to persuade Irantogive up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice— in April andagain in late May—persuadedNetanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time

The U.S. in recentdayshas been shifting military aircraftand warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel andU.S.bases fromIranianattacks.

All the while,Trump has gone frompublicly expressing hope that themoment could be a“secondchance” forIran to makeadeal to delivering explicit threatson Khamenei andmaking calls forTehran’sunconditional surrender.

“Weknow exactly where the so-called‘Supreme Leader’ishiding,”Trump said in asocial media posting. “He is an easy target, butissafe there —Weare not going to take him out(kill!),atleast notfor now.

The military showdown with Iran comes sevenyears

after Trumpwithdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreementin2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”

The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S.and other world powers, created along-term comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’senrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economicsanctions.

Trump decriedthe Obamaeradeal forgiving Irantoo much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran’snon-nuclear malign behavior. Trump hasbristledatcriticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggestedthatfurther U.S. involvement would be abetrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive andendless wars. Madhani reported from Washington. Rising reported fromDubai, United Arab Emirates. AssociatedPress writers Nasser Karimi in Iran; MehmetGuzelinIstanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo;MatthewLee and JoshBoakinWashington; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributedtothis report.

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One reason the stakes are so high: Murrell threatened to sue for tax money collected in St. George lastyear, and could sue for the same taxmoney collectedsince 2019.Citing that possibility, Broomerefused to accept any agreement with the new city that did not spell out 2024 as the incorporation date.

If St. George successfully sued for taxes collected since 2019,the city-parish might have to give up an estimated $200 million, according to city-parish estimates of annual sales tax revenue.

The amount equates to more than half of the city-parish’s annual generalfund.

That tension was amajor sticking point in negotiations between Broome and St. George ofﬁcials. It was the primary reason the two sides never reached an agreement over how much moneyand which services the city-parish would give the new city

When Edwards finally signed an agreementwith St. George, an incorporation date was not included.

Threats of an impending suit have died down in recent months

“St. George leadership hassaidthat they don’tnecessarily feelthat they have to go after any back taxes, which is the major implication of the incorporationdate,” said District 9Metro Council member Dwight Hudson, whose constituents are mostly St.Georgeresidents.

“Assuming that the transition continues to go the right way,it may be amoot issue, and that’smyhope.”

thedate is set.

An ordinance passed by the Metro Council in 2019 requires anycity withdrawingfromthe “management of the city-parish,”asSt. Georgenow has,to pay into the retirement system

Butsomesay there are other consequences of the incorporation date, like fees for city-parish workers’ retirement and health benefits that St. George is legally required to pay once

The city-parish finance department estimates St. George’sliability for retirement and health beneﬁtsisbetween $9 millionand $11 millioneach year.But whether it owes that money going back to2019 is notclear.The ordinance also spells out that legacy retirementfeesmay be collected after a certain period following incorporation —avariablethathas yettobedeﬁned “It calls for an incorporation date, which obviously, we donot have,” city-parish RetirementAdministra-

tor James Mack said about the ordinance.“It lookslike something thatmay play out in the court system. And so, right nowwe’re in asort of aholding periodtosee if we’regoing to have aresolution to that soon.”

Theonlypiece left

Since it hasrepeatedly stalled so manynegotiations over thepast year, Racca takes issue with theidea thatthe incorporation date has turned insigniﬁcant

“I just don’tunderstand that. If someone thinks it’s a moot point, howare we getting across this hurdle?How is it fair to theconstituents of St. George and the city of BatonRouge?” said Racca, whoseDistrict12includes part of St.George. Racca, alawyer,saysfears of alawsuit over taxes remain.Meanwhile, the cityparish needsthe money owed from St.George to start paying legacy retirement fees. And as both governments hammer out their

budgets, adate needstobe set

“This is the only piece of the puzzle thatneeds to be solvedsothatwecan allgenuinely move forwardand tell the people what’sgoing on. They’ve been in thedark far too long,” Racca said. “Look, we keep hearing the words tax and millage thrown around, and that’sgoing to continue becauseneither side knows or can say with an absolute certainty as to what their budget looks like until this is resolved.”

Yatessaid Tuesdayhe agrees with Hudson that theincorporationdatedoes not play amajor role. As to thelegacy retirement costs, negotiations over those will happen withathirdparty mediator,and theprocess is in its early stages, he said.

“I thinkwe’re aways away from figuring out,” Yatessaid. “We’ve begun to do that process on our side. Ihaven’tdiscusseditwith city-parish ofﬁcials yet, as what theirplans are, but

those conversations will be coming heresooner rather than later.”

On Tuesday,Edwards’ staff did not directly answer aquestionabout whether the mayor-president has considered requesting the parish attorney to ﬁle acourt motion to set adate.

“Thus far, our conversations have been constructive, and the absence of a formal incorporation date has not slowed our momentum or affected our ability to collaborate effectively,” said spokesperson Falon Browninanemail.

If leaders begin to move forward andoperateonan unofficial understanding that2024 is the date, Brown saidEdwards’ team has“no reason to believe there will be any objections” from St. George.

“We’re working in acooperative and solution-focused manner with St.George, with the shared goal of doing what’sbest forresidents across the entire parish,”

she said. “This process is about moving forward together and ﬁnding common ground.”

‘Let’s go getthe answer’

In conversations surrounding the ﬁnalized intergovernmental agreement, Racca points out that cityparish ofﬁcialsagain asked if St. George would agree to an incorporation date, but said once again the answer was “unilaterally ‘no.’”

“Ifit’sa moot point,if it’sanonissue, then why wouldn’tthey agree to it?” she asked. “So there’sjust no possible way that you’re going to get me to believe that this is done.”

The five-year-long legal battle over St. George’sincorporation illustrates the slow and complicated trail alegal action to clarify the date could take.

After St. George voters approvedtheir newcity in 2019, Broomefileda civil suit in state court in Baton Rouge challenging incorporation and won. St. George leaders filedanappeal, which Broome won again but ultimately,anotherappeal up to the state’shighestcourt turnedeverything around. A3-2 Supreme Court vote ruled in favor of St. George last year,and organizers finally got their city Raccabelievesthere is worry amongsome cityparish officialsthatthe same thingcould happen again if they ask acourt to weigh in and rule on the incorporation date. Despite the risk, she believes the parish attorneyshould file amotion regardless and let the chips fall.

“Peoplekeepavoiding this topic. It’sthe crux of every argumentwhenever we try to get something resolved, and that’swhere we always throw our hands up and leave the negotiation table,” Racca said. “Let’s go get the answer.Let’srip theBand-Aid offand just do it.”

Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Sinceit has repeatedly stalled so manynegotiations overthe past year,District 12 council member Jennifer Racca takes issue withthe idea that the incorporation date of St.Georgehas turned insignificant.

Jurors see‘freak-off’ videos in 6thweekofCombs’trial

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRYNEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK The sixth week of the Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial was shortened by aholiday anda juror’sillness as prosecutors nearlyconcluded their case, setting the stage for aone-or two-day defense presentation next week.

In the trial’sfirst five weeks, jurors repeatedly heard testimony about drugfueled marathon sex events described as “freak-offs” by one of Combs’ ex-girlfriends and as “hotelnights” by another.Inthe sixth week,they were shown about 20 minutes of video recordings from the dayslong events.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafﬁcking and racketeering conspiracy charges in the trial, which continues Monday Here are key moments from the past week: Videos of ‘freak-off’

Jurors largely kept their reactions muted when they were shown about20minutes of recordings made by Combsofhis then-girlfriends having sex with male sex workers at the elaborately staged “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.” Prosecutors say the events were proof of sex trafﬁcking and racketeering conspiracy charges because Combs coerced his employees, associates and even his girlfriends to recruit and arrange ﬂights for sex workerswhile his workers obtained drugs, stocked hotel rooms with baby oil, lubricant, condoms, candles and liquor and delivered cash.

In her opening statement, defense lawyer Teny Geragos had called the videos “powerful evidence that the sexual conduct in this case was consensual and not based on coercion.”

Prosecutors played about 2minutesofthe recordings before the defense team aired about 18 minutes of the videos. The public and the press were unable to observe whether the prosecutors or defense lawyers hadthe better arguments after the judge ruled that neither the recordings nor the sound could be seen or heard by anyoneexcept lawyers, the judge and the jury

Several jurors seemed to cast their eyes and sometimes turn their bodies away fromthe screens directlyin frontofthemwhile the recordings played. The jurors listened through earphones suppliedbythe court,asdid Combs and lawyers

Jurorejected

Judge Arun Subramanian started the week by dismissing ajuror whose conﬂicting answers about whetherhe lived in New Jersey or New York convinced the judge he was athreat to the integrity of the trial.

Subramaniansaid the juror’sanswers during jury selection and in the week before he was excused “raised serious concerns as to the juror’scandor and whetherhe shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury.”

“The inconsistencies where the juror has lived and with whom —gotostraightforward issues as to which there should not have been any doubts, and the answers also go to something vital:the basic qualiﬁcations of ajuror to serve,” the judge said.

Residents of New Jersey would not be permitted to sit on aNew York federal jury

Aday before Subramanian ruled, defense lawyers argued ﬁercely against dismissal, saying that replacing the Black juror with a white alternate juror so late in the trial would change the diverse demographics of the jury and require amistrial.

The jurors are anonymous for the Combs trial. It wasn’tthe only issue regarding jurors for the week. The judge, angered by a media report about the questioning of another juror the week before that occurredin asealed proceeding, warned lawyers that they could face civil and criminal sanctions if such aleak happened again. That juror was not

ASSOCIATED PRESS

dismissed.

And Wednesday’scourt session had to be canceled after ajurorreported “vertigo symptoms” on theway to the courthouse

Defensepresentation

Defense attorney Marc Agniﬁlo seemed to closethe dooronany chanceCombs wouldtestifywhen he said Friday that the defense presentation would be ﬁnished Tuesday or Wednesday the followingweek,evenifprosecutors don’trestuntil late Monday

It is notuncommon for defendantstochoose not to testify at criminal trials. Besides being exposed to cross-

The sixth week of the Sean‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial wasshortened by aholiday and ajuror’sillness as prosecutors nearly concluded their case.

examination by prosecutors, thetestimony can be used by the government against thedefendant should there be aneed for aretrial. Also if thereisaconviction, the judge can conclude that the jury believed thedefendant lied on the stand.

Ex-Combs’employee

Brendan Paul, fresh off the college basketball courts where he once played in a cameo rolefor Syracuse University,joined Combs’ companies as apersonalassistant in late 2022 and was warned by afriend who had worked for Combs about what was ahead.

“He told me to get in and

getout,” Paulrecalledfor the jury,citingthe endless days and always-on-edge existence. “If youhavea girlfriend, break up withher Andyou’re never going to seeyour family.”

The friend also instructed him to “build aRolodex of clientele and get out,” he said. Paul saidheworked 80 to 100 hoursa week for amusic power broker whoreceived “thousands andthousands” of textmessages andemails

aday.Hewas paid $75,000 salary initially,but it was raisedinJanuary 2024 to $100,000. He said Combs told him he “doesn’t takenofor an answer” andwantedhis staff to “move like Seal Team Six.” Several times, Paul said, he picked up drugs for Combs andknewtokeep his boss out of the drug trade because “it was very important to keep his proﬁle low.He’sa celebrity.”

The job cametoanabrupt endinMarch 2024 when Paul was arrested at aMiami airport on drug chargesafter asmallamount of cocaine that he said he picked up in Combs’ room that morning wasmistakenly put in his travel bagashepreparedto join Combs on atrip to the Bahamas. Thechargeswere later dropped in apretrial diversion program. Paul said he hadn’tseen Combs since.

Whenitcomestofeedingfamiliesandproviding healthcare,Louisianaisalreadydoingmorewith less. Proposed changestoSNAP(Supplemental NutritionAssistanceProgram,formerlyknown as food stamps)and Medicaid in the“OneBig BeautifulBillAct”couldjeopardizevitalsupport forhundredsofthousands of Louisiananswho rely on theseprograms.

Thefive food banksinthe FeedingLouisiana network,providingfoodformorethan60million mealsannuallythroughmorethan1,000partner sitesand faith-basedorganizations,are already stretchedthin. Unfortunately,Louisiana’s food bankscannot fillthe gapthese cuts wouldleave behind. Here arefive reasons whySNAPand Medicaidare essentialtoLouisiana.Protectingthese programs is more than just compassionate; it’s a smartinvestmentinoureconomyandourfuture

1. SNAP andMedicaidSupport Louisiana Communitiesand LocalEconomies EverydollarspentonSNAPbringsabout$1.50 ineconomicactivitytolocalcommunities.These dollarssupport grocerystores, farmersmarkets, andsmall businesses across Louisiana. Removingorreducingthissupportwouldhave ripple effects,especiallyinrural areaswhere the economyisalreadystretchedthin.SNAP dollars enable families to spendmoremoney on other essentials,likehousing,clothing,transportation andutilities

PatR.Van Burkleo, FeedingLouisiana’s ExecutiveDirector, says:“We have noticeda recent uptick in people callingusfor SNAP application assistance whohavebeenlaidoff andhavenever needed assistance before.For many,SNAPhelps relievetheburdenoffeedingtheirfamiliessothey canfocus on searchingfor work.”

2. LouisianaReliesonFederal FundingMoreThanAny OtherState MorethanhalfofLouisiana’sstatebudgetcomes fromfederalfunding–morethananyotherstate ANYshiftinresponsibilityfor fundingSNAPor

Medicaidfromthefederalgovernmenttothestate couldcreatesigniﬁcantbudgetstrain. SNAP beneﬁtshavealwaysbeenfully funded by thefederal government.Proposedchanges wouldrequire states to begincoveringa portion of thosebenefit costs, whichcould amount to hundredsofmillionsofdollarsforLouisianaeach year starting in 2028 Louisianasimplycan’t affordtofootthisbill.

3. SNAP andMedicaidServe Working Families andStudents, NotJust theUnemployed Social safety netprogramssupport people youknow: thechildcare workerstakingcareof your kids,the collegestudent interningfor your company, thefamilysitting beside youatchurch. SNAPandMedicaidhelppeopleduringdifficult times.Mostrecipientsareworking,caringforloved ones,ormanaginghealthchallenges. Nearly18%ofLouisianians–morethan847,000 people–relyonSNAP.Thatincludesover350,000 childrenand100,000seniors.Medicaidprovides healthcare coverageforroughly1.4millionLouisianians Patcontinues:“Theseprogramsbring dignity andhopetohardworkingpeoplejustlikeyou.We recently helped Kendra,ayoung womanwho is living andworking at ahotel with hertoddler to

avoidhomelessness,applyforSNAPandMedicaid. StorieslikeKendra’sremindusthatsocialsafety netprogramsdon’t just meet immediateneeds Theyhelppeoplerebuildtheirliveswithstability andself-respect.

4. LouisianaCan’t Absorb These CostsWithout Sacriﬁcing Other EssentialServices

IfLouisianaisforcedtotakeonalargershareof SNAPandMedicaidcosts,theaddedstrainonthe statebudgetcould lead to cuts in otheressential services,likeroads,education,publicsafety, and community health programs

Thestate is already heavilyreliant on federal aid.Takingonhundredsofmillionsinnewresponsibilities couldundermine theverysystemsthat keep families aﬂoat.

“CuttingfederalsupportforSNAPandMedicaid doesn’t just affectthose programs,” Patwarns “Itweakens theentirenetwork that supports Louisiana’scommunities.It’sa ripple effectwe can’t afford.”

5. Nutrition andHealthcareGo

Hand-in-Hand

Theproposed“OneBigBeautifulBillAct”doesn’t just impact SNAP.Italsoincludesharmful cuts andaddedhurdlestoMedicaid,puttinghealthcare access at risk formanylow-incomepeopleliving with disabilities,families, andseniors

WithoutMedicaid, many people wouldforgo necessarymedical care, leading to worsehealth outcomesandhigherlong-termcostsforthestate

“Nutrition andhealthcaregohand-in-hand,” Patexplains. “Ifyou lose both,familiessuffer a doublehit.Withoutaccesstoaffordablenutrition andmedical care,peopleare more likely to miss work,experienceemergencies,orneedcostly treatmentlater on.”

WHAT’S NEXT?Stand With Louisiana Families

SenatorsJohnKennedyandBillCassidyhavean opportunitytostandupforLouisianainabigway Standing againstthe cuts andchanges to social safetynetprogramsinthe“OneBigBeautifulBill meansstandingupfor Louisiana’sfuture.

“Consider contacting your lawmakersabout thisissue,”concludesPat.“Theproposedchanges andcutswould be acostlymistake forall of us, andLouisiana’s food bankswillnot be able to ﬁll thesegaps.

Learnmoreatfeedinglouisiana.org.

Many witnessing immigration arrests for first time

BY JULIE WATSON, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press

SAN DIEGO Adam Greenﬁeld was home nursing a cold when his girlfriend raced in to tell him Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles were pulling up in their trendy San Diego neighborhood.

The author and podcast producer grabbed his iPhone and bolted out the door barefoot, joining a handful of neighbors recording masked agents raiding a popular Italian restaurant nearby, as they yelled at the ofﬁcers to leave. An hour later, the crowd had grown to nearly 75 people, with many in front of the agents’ vehicles.

“I couldn’t stay silent,” Greenﬁeld said. “It was literally outside of my front door.”

More Americans are witnessing people being hauled off as they shop, exercise at the gym dine out and otherwise go about their daily lives as President Donald Trump’s administration aggressively works to increase immigration arrests. As the raids touch the lives of people who aren’t immigrants themselves, many Americans who rarely, if ever, participated in civil disobedience are rushing out to record the actions on their phones and launch impromptu protests.

Greenﬁeld said on the evening of the May 30 raid, the crowd included grandparents, retired military members, hippies, and restaurant patrons arriving for date night. Authorities threw ﬂash bangs to force the crowd back and then drove off with four detained workers, he said

“To do this, at 5 o’clock, right at the dinner rush, right on a busy intersection with multiple restaurants,

BY SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Ukraine’s president said that Russia repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing it as a result of Moscow’s disorganization in carrying out large swaps of wounded POWs and remains of troops.

they were trying to make a statement,” Greenﬁeld said. “But I don’t know if their intended point is getting across the way they want it to. I think it is sparking more backlash.”

Previously, many arrests happened late at night or in the predawn hours by agents waiting outside people’s homes as they left for work or outside their work sites when they ﬁnished their day When ICE raided another popular restaurant in San Diego in 2008, agents did it in the early morning without incident.

White House border czar Tom Homan has said agents are being forced to make more arrests in communities because of sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with ICE in certain cities and states. ICE enforces immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding that person until federal ofﬁcers take custody

Vice President JD Vance, during a visit to Los Angeles on Friday, said those policies have given agents “a bit of a morale problem because they’ve had the local government in this community tell them that they’re not allowed to do their job.”

“When that Border Patrol agent goes out to do their job, they said within 15 minutes they have protesters, sometimes violent protesters who are in their face obstructing them,” he said.

Melyssa Rivas had just arrived at her office in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, one morning last week when she heard the frightened screams of young women. She went outside to find the women confronting nearly a dozen masked federal agents who had surrounded a man kneeling on the pavement

“It was like a scene out of a movie,” Rivas said. “They all had their faces covered and were standing

over this man who was clearly traumatized And there are these young girls screaming at the top of their lungs.”

As Rivas began recording the interaction, a growing group of neighbors shouted at the agents to leave the man alone. They eventually drove off in vehicles, without detaining him, video shows. Rivas spoke to the man afterward, who told her the agents had arrived at the car wash where he worked that morning, then pursued him as he ﬂed on his bicycle. It was one of several recent workplace raids in the majority-Latino city

The same day, federal agents were seen at a Home Depot, a construction site and an LA Fitness gym. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people had been detained.

“Everyone is just rattled,” said Alex Frayde, an employee at LA Fitness who said he saw the agents outside the gym and stood at the entrance, ready to turn them away as another employee warned customers about the sighting. In the end, the agents never came in.

Arrests at immigration courts and other ICE buildings have also prompted emotional scenes as masked agents have turned up to detain people going to routine appointments and hearings.

In the city of Spokane in eastern Washington state, hundreds of people rushed to protest outside an ICE building June 11 after former city councilor Ben Stuckart posted on Facebook. Stuckart wrote that he was a legal guardian of a Venezuelan asylum-seeker who went to check in at the ICE building, only to be detained. His Venezuelan roommate was also detained.

Both men had permission to live

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that an Israeli citizen was among the dead Ukraine had received in recent exchanges. He spoke to journalists on Friday but his comments were embargoed until Saturday Ofﬁcials did not disclose the identities of the bodies “They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he said. He said the Russian side insisted the dead were all Ukrainians. Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region. The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead

and work in the U.S. temporarily under humanitarian parole, Stuckart told The Associated Press.

“I am going to sit in front of the bus,” Stuckart wrote, referring to the van that was set to transport the two men to an ICE detention center in Tacoma. “The Latino community needs the rest of our community now Not tonight, not Saturday, but right now!!!!”

The city of roughly 230,000 is the seat of Spokane County, where just over half of voters cast ballots for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Stuckart was touched to see his mother’s caregiver among the demonstrators.

“She was just like, ‘I’m here because I love your mom, and I love you, and if you or your friends need help, then I want to help,’” he said through tears.

By evening, the Spokane Police Department sent over 180 ofﬁcers, with some using pepper balls, to disperse protesters. Over 30 people were arrested, including Stuckart who blocked the transport van with others. He was later released.

Aysha Mercer a stay-at-home mother of three, said she is “not political in any way, shape or form.” But many children in her Spokane neighborhood — who play in her yard and jump on her trampoline — come from immigrant families, and the thought of them being affected by deportations was “unacceptable,” she said.

She said she wasn’t able to go to Stuckart’s protest. But she marched for the ﬁrst time in her life on June 14, joining millions in “No Kings” protests across the country “I don’t think I’ve ever felt as strongly as I do right this here second,” she said.

Zelenskyy said he suspected Russia’s plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the U.S. and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning. He said that because of this, Ukraine would be “in a really difﬁcult situation” of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

Melyssa Rivas stands Friday at a location where she witnessed masked federal agents detain a person earlier this month outside Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Downey, Calif.

GOP’sfoodstamp plan foundtoviolate Senate rules

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON In another blow to the Republicans’ tax and spending cut bill, the Senate parliamentarian has advised that aproposal to shift some food stamps costs from thefederal government to states —acenterpiece of GOP savings efforts —would violatethe chamber’srules.

While the parliamentarian’srulings are advisory, they are rarely,ifever, ignored. The Republican leadership was scrambling on Saturday,days before voting is expected to begin on President Donald Trump’s packagethathewants to be passedinto law by the Fourth of July

The loss is expected to be costly to Republicans. They have been counting on some tens of billions of potential savingsfrom the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, to help offset the costs of the $4.5 trillion tax breaks plan. The parliamentarian let standfor now aprovision that would impose new work requirements for older Americans, up to age 65, to receive food stamp aid.

“Wewill keep fightingto protect families in need,” said Sen. AmyKlobuchar,of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, whichhandles the SNAP program.

“The Parliamentarian has made clear that Senate Republicans cannot use their partisanbudgettoshift ma-

Activistswiththe Poor People’sCampaignprotest on June

Washington against spending reductions across Medicaid,food stamps and federal aid in President DonaldTrump’sspendingand tax bill.

jor nutrition assistancecosts to the states thatwould have inevitably ledtomajor cuts,” shesaid

Thecommittee chairman, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., saidina statement that his team is examining options that would comply with Senaterules to achieve savings and “toensureSNAP serves those who truly need it while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Theparliamentarian’srulingisthe latest in aseries of setbacks as staffworks through the weekend,often toward midnight, to assess the 1,000-page proposal. It all points to serious trouble ahead for thebill, which was approved bythe House on a party-linevote last month over unified opposition

from Democrats and is now undergoing revisions in the Senate.

At its core, the goal of the multitrillion-dollar package is to extendtax cuts from Trump’sﬁrst term that would otherwise expireifCongress fails to act. It also adds new ones, including no taxes on tips or overtime pay.Tohelp offset the costs of lost tax revenue, the Republicans are proposing cutbacks to federal Medicaid,health care andfood programs —some $1 trillion. Additionally,the package boosts national security spending by about $350 billion, including to pay for Trump’smass deportations, which are running into protestsnationwide.

Trump hasimplored Republicans,who have thema-

VanceblamesCalif.Democrats forL.A.immigration protests

VP callsSen.Alex

BY MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP political writer

LOSANGELES Vice President

JD VanceonFridayaccused

California Gov.Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he usedhis appearance in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local ofﬁcials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending in federal ofﬁcers.

Vance also referred to U.S. Sen.Alex Padilla, the state’sﬁrst Latino senator,as“Jose Padilla,” a week after the Democrat was forcibly taken to the ground by ofﬁcers and handcuffed after speaking out during a Los Angeles news conference by Homeland Security SecretaryKristiNoemon immigration raids.

“I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question,” Vance said, in an apparent reference to the altercation at Noem’sevent. “I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’ta

theater. And that’sall it is.” “They wantto be able to go back totheir far-left groups andto say,‘Look, me, Istood up againstborder enforcement. Istood up against Donald Trump,’”Vance added Aspokespersonfor Padilla, Tess Oswald, noted in asocial media post that Padilla and Vance were formerly colleagues in the Senate and said that Vance should know better. “Heshould be more focused on demilitarizing our city than taking cheap shots,”Oswald said Vance’svisit to Los Angeles to tour amultiagency Federal Joint Operations Center and amobile command centercame as demonstrations calmed down in the city and acurfew was lifted this week.

Thatfollowed over aweekof sometimes-violent clashes betweenprotesters and police and outbreaks of vandalism and looting that followed immigration raids across Southern California.

Trump’sdispatching of his top emissary to Los Angeles at atime of turmoil surrounding the Israel-Iran war and the U.S.’sfuturerole in it signals the politicalimportance Trump placesonhis

hard-line immigration policies.Vance echoed the president’s harshrhetoric toward California Democrats as he sought to blame them for the protestsinthe city

“Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass,bytreatingthe city as a sanctuarycity,have basically saidthat this is open seasononfederal lawenforcement,” Vancesaidafter he toured federalimmigration enforcement ofﬁces

“Whathappened herewas atragedy,” Vanceadded.

“You had people whowere doingthe simple job of enforcing the law and they had rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor,making it harder for them to do their job.That is disgraceful. And it is whythe president hasrespondedsoforcefully.”

Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in astatement, “The Vice President’s claimiscategorically false. The governorhas consistently condemned violence and has made his stance clear.”

Speaking at City Hall, Bass said Vance was “spewing lies and utter nonsense.” She said hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted by the federal government on a“stunt.”

“How dare you say that city ofﬁcials encourage violence? We kept thepeace,” Bass said.

policy matters in the budget reconciliation process now being used.

Late Friday,the parliamentarian issued its latest ﬁndings.Itdetermined that Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee’sproposaltohavethe states pickupmore of the tab for covering food stamps —whatRepublicanscalla newcost-sharingarrangement —would be in violation of the Byrd Rule.

Many lawmakers said the states would not be able to absorb the new requirement on food aid, whichhas long been provided by the federal government. They warned many would lose accessto SNAP beneﬁts used by more than 40 million people.

jority in Congress, to deliver on his topdomestic priority, but thedetails of the package, with its hodgepodge of priorities, is drawing deeper scrutiny

All told, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Ofﬁce estimates the package, as approved by the House,would add at least$2.4 trillion to the nation’sred ink over the decadeand leave10.9 million more people without health carecoverage. Additionally, it would reduce or eliminate food stamps for morethan 3 million people.

Theparliamentarian’s ofﬁce is tasked withscrutinizing the bill to ensure it complies with the so-calledByrd Rule, whichisnamed after thelate Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., andbars many

Padilla ‘Jose’ g

Initially,the CBO had estimated about $128 billion in savings underthe House’s proposal to shift SNAP food aid costs to the states. Cost estimatesfor the Senate’s version, which madechanges to the House approach, have not yet been madepublicly available.

The parliamentarian’sofﬁce rulings leave GOP leaders with severaloptions. They can revise the proposalstotry to comply with Senate rulesorstrip them from the package altogether.They can also risk achallenge during floor voting, which would require the 60vote threshold to overcome. That would be unlikely in thesplit chamber with Democratsopposing theoverall package.

The parliamentarian’s latest advice also said the

committee’sprovision to make certain immigrants ineligible forfood stamps would violate the rule. It foundseveral provisions from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, whichisled by Sen. TedCruz, R-Texas, to be in violation. They include onetoprovide $250 million to Coast Guard stations damaged by ﬁre in 2025, namely one on South Padre Island in Texas. Still to come are some of themost important rulings fromthe parliamentarian. Onewillassessthe GOP’s approach that relies on “current policy” rather than “current law” as the baseline fordetermining whetherthe bill will addto the nation’sdeﬁcits. Already, theparliamentarian delivereda serious setback Thursday,finding that the GOPplan to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whichwas a core proposal coming from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, would be in violation of the Byrd Rule. The parliamentarian has also advisedofviolations over provisions from the Senate Environment and Public WorksCommittee that would rollback Environmental Protection Agency emissionsstandards on certain vehiclesand from the Senate Armed Services Committee to require the defense secretary to provide a planonhow the Pentagon intends to spend thetensof billions of new funds.

amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

sitythissummerastheJaguarsfootball team prepares to defend itsSWAC WesternDivisiontitle on newturfat A.W.MumfordStadiuminBatonRouge

TheJaguars’2025homeslateincludes gamesagainst AlabamaState (Sept. 6), JacksonState (Sept. 27), PrairieView A&M(Oct. 18), FloridaA&M (Oct.25) andTexas Southern (Nov.15)

“Whenour fans come here,it’sjust awhole differentenvironment.You reallyget to seeThe Bluff come alive, said Rodney “Coach Rod” Kirschner, Southern’s Deputy Athletic Director “There’snoplace like Mumford. When yousmell thecharcoalgoing at 6a.m andfeelthecamaraderie,it’sjustagreat family atmosphere.”

SouthernJaguarsfanscanamplifytheir supportthisseasonwithmembership in theS Club.Beneﬁts of membership includepremium seatingand refreshmentsthroughoutthegame.Fundsfrom theSClubgotowardsupportingJaguar Student-Athletes in multiple sports

y, p startsintheclassroomandintheweight room,”saidPhilSmith,SClubDirector, DevelopmentOfficerforSouthernAthletics andAssistant Golf Coach. “The SClub is designated to supportall aspectsof beingaStudent-Athlete –academics strength andconditioningand health andnutrition.While you’re doingthat, youcanenjoywonderfulfootballgames in aclimate-controlledenvironment.” Visitwww.gojagsports.com or call (225)771-3171topurchaseseasonor individual game ticketsfor the2025 football season.Visit www.sclubjags comtolearnmoreabouttheSCluband join as amembertoday

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

2outsidethe Supreme Courtin

Thevibesarehi

Solstice at Stonehenge drawsrevelersfor sunrise

BY BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

LONDON As thesun rose Saturday on the longest day of the yearinthe Northern Hemisphere, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge where the ancient monument in southernEngland hasclocked the summer solstice over thousands of years.

The orange ball crested thenortheast horizonbehind the Heel Stone, the entrance to the stone circle, and shone its beam of light into the center of one of the world’smost famous prehistoric monuments. The solstice is one of the few occasions each year when visitors are allowed to walk among the stones,which are otherwise fenced off.

The crowd gathered before dawn at the World Heritage Site to mark the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, beating the

heat during the U.K.’s ﬁrst amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later topped 91.4 degrees in Surrey,80 miles east of Stonehenge, thehottest temperature recorded in the U.K. so far this year.

About25,000 sundevoteesand other revelers, including druids, pagans, hippies, localsand tourists,showed up, accordingtoEnglish Heritage, whichoperates the site More than 400,000others aroundthe world watched alivestream

“This morningwas a joyous and peaceful occasion with the most beautiful sunrise,” said Richard Dewdney,headofoperations at Stonehenge. “It is fantastictosee Stonehenge continuing toenchant and connect people.”

Stonehenge was built in stages 5,000 years ago on the ﬂat lands of Salisbury

Newlaw puts Ten Commandmentsin Texasclassrooms

BY JIM VERTUNO Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the TenCommandments under anew law that will make the state the nation’slargest to attempt to impose such amandate.

Gov. Greg Abbott announcedSaturday that he signed the bill, which is expected to draw alegal challenge from critics whoconsideritanunconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state Asimilar law in Louisiana was blocked when afederal appeals court ruledFridaythatitwas unconstitutional. Arkansas also has asimilar law that has been challenged in federal court.

The Texas measure easily passed in the Republican-controlled state House and Senate in the legislative session that ended June 2.

“The focus of this bill is to look at what is historicallyimportant to our nation educationally and judicially,” Republican state representative Candy Noble, aco-sponsor of the bill, said whenitpassed the House.

Abbott also signed abill that allows school districts to provide students and staff adaily voluntary period of prayer or time to read areligious text during school hours.

The TenCommandments laws are among efforts, mainly in conservative-led states, to insert religion into public schools.

Texas’ law requires public schools to post in class-

roomsa16-by-20-inch poster or framed copy of a speciﬁc English version of the commandments, even though translationsand interpretations varyacross denominations,faithsand languages and may differ in homesand houses of worship.

Supporters say theTen Commandments are part of the foundation of the United States’ judicial and educational systems and should be displayed.

Opponents, including some Christian and other faith leaders, say the TenCommandments and prayer measures infringe on others’ religious freedom.

Alettersigned this year by dozens of Christianand Jewishfaith leadersopposing the bill noted that Texashas thousands of studentsofotherfaiths who might havenoconnectionto the TenCommandments. Texas has nearly6 million students in about 9,100 public schools.

In 2005, Abbott, who was stateattorney general at the time, successfully argued before the Supreme CourtthatTexas could keep aTen Commandments monument on the grounds of its Capitol Louisiana’slaw has twice beenruled unconstitutional by federal courts, ﬁrst by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles and then againbyathree-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which also considers cases from Texas.

State Attorney General Liz Murrell said she would appeal and pledged totake it to the U.S. Supreme Courtifnecessary

Plain approximately 75 miles southwest of London. Theuniquestone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C.

Some of the so-called bluestones are known to have comefrom the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles away,and thealtar stone was recently discovered to have come from northern Scotland, some460 miles away

Thesite’s meaning has been vigorously debated.

Theories range from it being acoronation place for Danishkings, adruid temple, acult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events.

The mostgenerally accepted interpretation is that it was atemple aligned with movements of the sun —lining up perfectly with thesummer and winter solstices.

VoiceofAmerica employeeslaidoff

BY DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer

Layoff notices were sent Friday to 639 employees of VoiceofAmerica and the U.S.agencythat oversees it, effectively shutting down the outlet thathas provided news to countries around the world since World WarII. They included employees at VOA’s Persian-language service who weresuddenly called off administrative leave last week to broadcast reports to Iran following Israel’sattack. Threejournalists working for the Persian serviceonFriday, who left their office for acigarette break, had their badges conﬁscated and weren’tallowed backin, according to one ﬁred employee. In total, some 1,400 people at Voice of America and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or 85% of itsworkforce, have lost their jobs since March, said Kari Lake, Trump’ssenioradviser to the agency.She said it was part of a“long overdue efforttodismantle abloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.”

“For decades,American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency that’s been riddled with dysfunction,biasand waste,”Lake said in anews release. “That ends now.”

VOA began by broadcastingstories aboutAmerican democracy to residents of NaziGermany,and grew to deliver news around the world in dozens of languages, often in countries without atradition of free press.

But President Donald Trumphas fought against the news media on several

fronts, with the complaint that muchofwhattheyproduce is biased against conservatives. That includesa proposaltoshut offfederal funding to PBS and NPR, which is currently before Congress.

Most VOA employees have been on administrative leave since March 15, theirbroadcasts andsocial media posts mostlysilenced.ThreeVOA employees whoare ﬁghting theadministration’sdismantling of VOA in courtwere among those receiving layoff notices on Friday

“It spells the deathof83 yearsofindependent journalism that upholds U.S. ideals of democracy and freedom around the world,” plaintiffs Jessica Jerreat, Kate Neeper and Patsy Widakuswara said in astatement.

The Persian-language em-

ployee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing legal case, was in theofficeFridaywhen colleagues were barred from re-entry.The person was afraidtoleave forthe samereason —even though authorities said their work had been halted —until receiving alayoff notice.

Steve Herman,VOA’s chief national correspondent whowas in the process of retiring to takeajob at the University of Mississippi, calledthe layoffs an “historic act of self-sabotage with theU.S.government completing the silencing of its most effective soft-power weapon.”

It’snot clear what, if anything, will replace Voice of Americaprogramming worldwide. The Trumpsupporting One American

News Network hasoffered to allow its signal to be used. Although plaintiffs in the lawsuit called on Congress to continue supporting Voice of America, Herman said that he is not optimistic that it will survive, even if a Democratic president and Congress take over.For one thing, everyday it is offthe air is another day for viewersand readers to getinto another habit for obtaining news. “I believe that the destruction is permanent,” Herman said, “because we see no indicationinthe next ﬁscal year that Congress will rally to fund VOA.” By the time another administration takespower that is moresympatheticto the outlet, “I fear that VOA will have become forgotten,” he said.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByZHANNA MANUKyAN

People gather SaturdayatStonehenge, England,during sunrise on the summer solstice, the longest dayofthe year

Offsetting fossil fuelsbyplantingtrees impossible

you’dneedall of Northand Central America, study finds

BY MELINA WALLING Associated Press

Planting treeshas plenty of benefits, but this popular carbon-removal method alone can’tpossibly counteractthe planet-warming emissions caused by the world’slargest fossil-fuel companies. To do that, trees wouldhave to cover the entire land mass of North and Central America,according to astudy out last week.

Many respected climate scientists and institutions say removing carbon emissions —not just reducing them —isessential to tackling climate change. And trees remove carbon simply by “breathing.” But crunching the numbers, researchers found that the trees’ collective ability to remove carbon through photosynthesis can’tstand up to the potential emissions from the fossil fuel reserves of the 200 largest oil, gas and coal fuel companies —there’s not enough availableland on Earth to feasibly accomplish that

And even if there were, if those 200 companieshad

Researchersfound that there’snot enoughavailable land on Earth to feasibly accomplish plantingtrees to offsetfossil fuels.

to pay for planting all those trees, it would cost $10.8trillion, more than their entire combined market valuation of $7.01 trillion. The researchers alsodetermined that thecompanies would be in the red if they were responsible for the social costs of thecarbon in their reserves,which scientists compute around $185 per metric tonofcarbon dioxide.

“The general public maybe understand offsetting to be asort of magic eraser, andthat’sjust not where we’re at,” said Nina Friggens,aresearch fellow at the University of Exeter who co-authored the paper published in Communica-

Earlyhumans survived in arange of extreme environments,study says ‘Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists’

BY CHRISTINA LARSON AP science writer

WASHINGTON Humans are the only animal that lives in virtually every possible environment, from rainforests to deserts to tundra.

This adaptability is askill that long predates the modern age.

According to anew study published Wednesday in Nature, ancient Homo sapiens developed the flexibilityto survive by ﬁndingfood and other resources in awide variety of difﬁcult habitatsbefore they dispersed from Africa about 50,000 years ago

“Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists,” said Eleanor Scerri, an evolutionary archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany

Our species first evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago. While prior fossil ﬁnds show some groups made early forays outside the continent, lasting human settlements in other partsof the world didn’thappen until aseries of migrations around

50,000 yearsago

“Whatwas differentabout the circumstance of the migrationsthatsucceeded whywere humans readythis time?” said study co-author Emily Hallett, an archaeologist at Loyola University Chicago.

Earlier theories held that Stone Age humans might have made asingle important technological advance or developed anew way of sharinginformation, but researchers haven’tfound evidencetoback thatup. This study took adifferent approach bylooking at the trait of ﬂexibility itself.

Thescientistsassembled adatabase of archaeological sites showing human presence across Africa from 120,000to14,000 yearsago For each site, researchers modeled what the local climate would have been like during thetimeperiods that ancient humans livedthere

“There was areallysharp change in the range of habitats thathumans were using startingaround70,000 years ago,”Hallett said “Wesaw areally clear signal that humans were living in more challenging andmore extreme environments.”

While humans had long survived in savanna and forests, they shiftedinto everything from dense rainforests

tions Earth &Environment, aNature Portfolio journal. Carbon offsetting essentially means investing in treeplanting or other environmental projects to attempttocompensate for carbon emissions. Trees are one of the cheapest ways to do this becausethey naturally suck up planet-warmingcarbon.Fossilfuelcorporations,along withother companies andinstitutions, have promoted tree-planting as key partofcarbon offset programsinrecent years.

Forexample, TotalEnergies,a global energy company,saidina statement that it is “investingheavily in carboncapture andstor-

age(CCS) andnature-based solutions (NBS)projects.”

To do their calculations, theresearcherslookedat the 200 largest holders of fossil fuel reserves —the fuel that companies promise shareholders they can extract in the future—and calculated howmuchcarbon dioxide would be released if this fuel is burned. The researchers also focused solely on tree plantingbecause the expenseand technologicaldevelopment needed for other formsofcarbon capture are still mostly costprohibitive. Forestry expert Éliane Ubalijoro,who was notinvolved with theresearch, called the study “elegant.”

It “gives people asense of proportion around carbon,” said Ubalijoro, CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF,aninternational forestry research center

But she cautioned against oversimplifying theequation by looking only at carbon capture, noting that tree planting done right can foster food security and biodiversity and protect communitiesfrom natural disasters.

The papereffectively makesthe point that it’s ﬁnanciallyimpossibletooffset enough carbon to compensate forfuture fossil fuel burning,saidDaphneYin, director of land policyat Carbon180, where herteam advocates for U.S. policy support forland-basedcarbon removal. And the idea that companies would be requiredtoaccount forthe downstream emissions from the fossil fuel they extract is

a“fantasy,” she said. Theidea of planting trees is appealing to the public andtopoliticians because it’stangible —people can literally see the carbon being incorporated into branches andleaves as atreegrows, Friggens said. Butshe says othermethodsshouldn’tbeoverlooked —microbesunderground store carbon too, but they can’tbeseen.

And it’saphysically and mathematically inescapablefact, illustrated in part by this study,that there’sno getting around it —wehave to stopemitting carbon, said Jonathan Foley,the executive director of Project Drawdown, who also was not part of the study.Carbon emissions are like an overflowing bathtub, he says: Before you start cleaning up,you have to turn offthe water

to arid deserts in theperiod leading up to 50,000 years ago, developing what Hallett called an “ecological ﬂexibility thatlet them succeed.”

While this leap in abilities is impressive, it’simportant not to assumethat only Homosapiens did it, said University of Bordeaux archaeologist William Banks, whowas not involved in the research.

Othergroups of early human ancestors also left Africa and established longterm settlementselsewhere, including those that evolved intoEurope’sNeanderthals, he said.

The new research helps explain why humans were ready to expand across the world way back when, he said, but it doesn’tanswer the lasting question of why only our species remains today

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

This combination of 2007, 2018 and 2012 photos shows, from left, the Cederbergmountain rangeinSouth Africa, the Tenere desertinNiger and savanna in South Africa.

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LOUISIANAPOLITICS

Cassidyhas an idea to save moneyonMedicare

Plan gets some support, butwill Congress take it up?

Mark Ballard

WASHINGTON —Ever since U.S. senators got their hands on the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ﬁscal conservatives agonized over how betterto cover the trillions of dollars the proposed tax cuts would add to the nation’s$37 trillion debt. Few politicians, particularly President Donald Trump, want to touch Medicare, the federal health insurance plan for seniors and somedisabled people. Along with SocialSecurity,Medicare is oftenconsidered the deadly third rail of American politics.

The massive bill shifts more ﬁnancial responsibility for Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for low-income people, from the federal government to the states. But that isn’tenough to fully pay for Trump’sdomestic agenda and proposed tax cuts.

The entire bill could be killed either by senators who want to roll back proposed Medicaid cuts and by senators who want additional savings to avoid an even larger deﬁcit.

Additional savings could be wrung out of Medicare, perhaps by raising the 65-year-old eligibilityage, some conservatives postulated. More eyed reducing overpayments to privateMedicare Advantageplans, which would appease budget hawks seeking more spending cuts in the megabill.

One idea comes from U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, and it could generate up to $270 billion in savings, according to his ofﬁce —enough to placate some of the concernsthat Medicaid re-

Landrysigns bill targeting drones

Gov.Jeff Landry announced this week that he had signed a bill that gives state and local law enforcementthe authority to take down unmanned drones, calling it the ﬁrst of its kind.

House Bill 261, by Jay Galle, R-Mandeville, allows ofﬁcers to stop “a threat posed by an unmanned aircraft system acting within the state in anefarious manner,” using “legal and safe methods, including but not limited to jamming, hacking or physical capture.”

ductions don’tcover the OneBig BeautifulBill Act’scosts.

Cassidy’sNoUPCODE Act was not integrated intothe Senate Finance Committee’srecommended changes. Still, the idea could reemerge as negotiations continue.

Cassidy’sidea is supported by some lawmakers in bothparties.

Butthe inﬂuential insurance industry has bellowed objections to No UPCODE, therebyadding another coalition tothe ones that oppose Medicaid reductions or some other policy in thethousand-page budget reconciliation bill Trump wants passed “They decided just to kind of leave things in the Medicaid space,” Cassidy said last week.

protect our people and our skies before tragedy strikes.”

Theact speciﬁcally makes it illegaltoﬂyunmanned drones overparades and parade routes.

It makes an exception for drones that are authorized for useinmovies, TV orother productions.

CAPITOL BUZZ staff reports

In anews release, Landry said the “WeWill Act” Act could set anational precedent, because the authority to handle unmanned aircraft hastypically been reserved for federal entities.

“This law puts Louisiana on the front lines of drone defense,” Landry said in the release. “We are taking bold steps now to

Thebill passed both chambers of the Legislaturewithoutopposition.

Earlier this year, Landry saidduring a dinner with President Donald Trump andother Republican governors that unidentifieddrones were spotted near Louisiana nuclear power plants. Entergy confirmed drones hadbeen identified near its River BendStation nuclear power plant.

StateShield, anational nonprofit thatsupports state-level laws to protect against interference from China, praised thelaw

“Louisiana became theﬁrst state in the nation to give law enforcement ofﬁcers authority to

“There’ll be an opportunity to savemoney for the taxpayer and improve service for Medicare Advantage beneﬁciaries in the future. It’sbipartisan.So, I’m hoping that there will be an appetitefor taking this up as soon as we ﬁnish the OneBig Beautiful Bill.”

In traditional Medicare, the federal government reimburses hospitals,physicians and other healthcare providers, if approved, for services already rendered.

About half of the nation’s67 million people on Medicareare enrolled through private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans.

The private plans,generally,

neutralizehostile drones,” said Joe Gebbia Sr., founder and CEO of State Shield.

“Inexpensive drones have become powerful tools for criminals and foreign adversaries to spyon, or even target, critical infrastructure. The risk escalates when those systems are made in China and sendsensitive data overseas. We thankGov.Landry and Representative Galle for theirleadership combating this growing threat.”

Bernie Sandersholds rally in Shreveport

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., held arally in Shreveport on Saturday at the Municipal Auditorium

It was part of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour,aseries of events to have “real discussions across America on how we moveforward to takeonthe Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and inﬂuence in this country.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, aRepublican whose district includes Shreveport,paid

cover awiderrange of services, such as prescription drugs, without the added chargesbeneﬁciaries pay in the traditional plan.

Generally,Cassidy’sNoUPCODE Act would require private insurerstochange aspects of how thefederal government calculates the ratesitpays.

In particular,the legislation would include limiting the practice of aggressively coding on thefrontend to capture every possible diagnosis, which allows higher premiums. But when thecare is deliveredand billed, some of those claims are denied as unnecessary,according to several studies, including oneby theMedicare Payment Advisory Commission.

for abillboard in the city’sdowntown that said, “Nothanks, Bernie, we’ll pass on socialism and a $1,300 tax increase.”

The billboard refers to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the mammoth spending bill that Johnson supportsand Sanders opposes. Amongmany other policy changes, the bill would prevent tax cuts passed during President Donald Trump’sﬁrst term from expiring.

FEMA givesBaton Rouge City Hall$6.2 million

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given East Baton Rouge Parish $6.2 million to retroﬁt windowsinCity Hall, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy,R-Madisonville, announced this week.

“Louisianians are all too familiar with the threats that strong winds pose to their communities during disasters,” Kennedy said in anews release.

“This $6.2 million will help East Baton Rouge Parish fortifythe Baton Rouge City Hall to better withstand gusts during future storms.”

“That’sanenormous shift of money from the Medicare programinto the coffers of the insurance companies,” said Alan Levine,a Louisiana Health Department secretaryunderGov Bobby Jindalwho now runs a systemofmostly rural hospitals andclinicsin29counties in the AppalachianHighlands of northeastTennessee, southwest Virginia,northwest North Carolina andsoutheast Kentucky

Levine’s BalladHealth, based in JohnsonCity,Tennessee, is owed about$130 millionfor services rendered but not paid, he said.

America’sHealth Insurance Plans, anationaltrade associationrepresenting the health insuranceindustry headquartered on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House andthe Capitol, counters the No UPCODE Act provisions would jeopardize care for the elderly

“The President andCongressionalleadersmadeaclear promise to seniors thatthere would be no cuts to Medicareaspart of the budgetreconciliation legislation,”AHIP President and CEO Mike Tufﬁn said in astatement last week

“Last-minute attempts to cut MedicareAdvantage to fund otherpriorities would directly undermine thatpromise and lead to highercosts andreductions in beneﬁts formorethan 34 million seniors andpeople living with disabilities.”

Though No UPCODE is not part of the Senate package, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is spending the weekend trying to knit together policies thatwould convince 51 of the 53 GOP senators in the 100-seat chamber to approve Trump’slegislation.

Thune told reporters he hopes to geta full vote this week on the Senate’s versionofthe One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.

SUNDAY NEWS SHOWS

ABC’s“This Week”: Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. NBC’s“Meetthe Press”: Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mark Kelly,D-Ariz. CNN’s“Stateofthe Union”: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Israeli President Isaac Herzog; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Sen. TimKaine, D-Va.; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; retired Gen.Frank McKenzie, former commanderofU.S. Central Command.

“Fox News Sunday”: Noem; Kaine; Sen. Mike Lee, RUtah.

The Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has aplan that could generate an estimated $100 billion in savings enough to placate some of the concerns that Medicaid reductions don’tcover the One BigBeautiful Bill Act’s costs.

Foundation of 1760s schoolhouse is unearthed

Enslaved Black children were once taught there

By The Associated Press

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Archaeologists in Virginia have unearthed the foundation of a building from the 1700s that once supported the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, William & Mary announced Wednesday

The university in Williamsburg said the foundation is nearly completely intact. Archaeologists also uncovered a cellar that is layered with centuries of artifacts, including slate pencil fragments and jewelry

The schoolhouse was later used as a dormitory, housing some of the first generations of women to attend college in the U.S.

“The roots of our city and university entwine here,” said Katherine A. Rowe,

William & Mary’s president.

“Every layer of history that it reveals gives us new insights into our early republic, from the Williamsburg

Bray School through the generations that followed, up through the early 20th century.”

The Williamsburg Bray

School taught hundreds of mostly enslaved students in the 1760s. The school rationalized slavery within a religious framework. And

yet becoming literate also gave them more agency, with students sharing what they learned with family members.

The schoolhouse then became a private home before it was incorporated into William & Mary’s growing campus. The building was expanded for various purposes, including student housing, and later moved from its original location.

Historians identiﬁed the structure in 2020 through a scientiﬁc method that examines tree rings in lumber. It was then moved to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a living history museum that includes parts of the original city The museum has restored the schoolhouse and is working to identify the students’ descendants.

Meanwhile, archaeologists with Colonial Williamsburg recently uncovered the foundation and cellar during a major project by William & Mary to renovate a university

building, Gates Hall. The school’s archaeologists are also involved. Tom Higgins of William & Mary’s Center for Archaeological Research said the cellar is not lined with bricks and “was probably dug soon after the foundations were laid.”

Researchers have found handmade ceramics often associated with sites of enslavement and Indigenous communities, the university said.

There are also items that appear to be more recent, such as a shard of glass depicting Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, war and the arts. From 1924 to 1930, the building housed Methodist women attending William & Mary

“We know that the girls at Brown Hall were furnishing their dorms,” said Michele Brumﬁeld, senior researcher at the university’s archaeological center “So maybe they were bringing in things like this.”

Museums house clues to our polluted past, biologist says

BY MIRIAM FAUZIA

The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

As a graduate student working out of Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, evolutionary biologist Shane DuBay noticed soot clinging to the bird specimens he handled. Like many researchers, he long regarded these collections kept by museums as windows into biodiversity

But that moment made him wonder if bird feathers could also map the historic arc of industrial pollution.

Now an assistant professor of biology at the University of Texas at Arlington, DuBay is advocating for scientists to consider using museum specimens as tools for public health and environmental research.

He and fellow scientists at the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Yale University and the University of Wisconsin published a perspective last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences detailing the need to view museum specimens in a new light.

“The ideas in this paper aren’t necessarily new,” said DuBay “We’ve known that specimens can be used in this way for decades. Part of what we’re trying to argue in this perspective piece is that (museum specimens) are an incredibly underutilized resource. One of the great examples is with DDT, which is an insecticide. Eggshells were used (from) museum collections to understand DDT’s impacts on bird population and human health through the 1960s.”

One hurdle in tracking historic pollution trends is the lack of data for many places or periods of time. Even if ofﬁcial monitoring

is available, as it is in the present day, it usually begins once a contaminant is already known to be dangerous and widespread, according to the perspective.

By tapping into these museum archives, DuBay said, it’s possible to fill in the missing chapters of an area or region’s pollution history, which can help compare the past to the present and see the long-term links between an environment and public health.

“One of the big advantages of museum work is there’s already been so much time, energy and money put into these collections over the last 100-plus years,” DuBay said. “These samples exist and are being preserved for posterity, so they are a resource that’s already there.”

In 2017, DuBay and Carl Fuldner then a fellow graduate student at the University of Chicago, examined soot on more than 1,300 songbird specimens from across America’s Rust Belt. They discovered the grubbiest feathers dated back to the ﬁrst decade of the 20th century By the Great Depression and after, soot levels on songbirds dropped, mirroring the country’s shift to natural gas heating homes

These ﬁndings suggest air quality at the turn of the century was far worse than previously thought

Exactly what type of museum specimen is optimal for tracking a pollutant’s history depends on the pollutant, said DuBay For example, a 2015 study found mercury levels in ivory gulls’ feathers increased almost 50-fold since the 1800s, likely due to human activity such as coal burning, which releases mercury into the environment.

In another study, from 2021, researchers turned to museum ﬁsh collections to trace the rise of microplastic pollution. Analyzing specimens from 1900 to 2017 and comparing them with fish specimens collected in 2018, they found no plastic particles in ﬁsh guts before the 1950s, but concentrations shot up dramatically once industrial plastic production took off and continued to climb.

“I would say there is a lot of biology in being able to do this type of work and understanding the strengths and limitations of the specimens themselves and the species being used for any given study,” DuBay said. “One of the things we’re trying to argue is there’s still a lot of work to be done in understanding the limitations of what we can and can’t do and the certainty and uncertainty of this method.”

DuBay and his team of researchers are currently working with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, evaluating its bird specimens for different pollutants.

“One of the Ph.D. students in my group is at the Perot scanning the leg bones of hundreds of birds for toxic metal contaminants,” he said. “Her focus is on North Texas, primarily Dallas (County) and Tarrant County, the thousands of specimens that exist from this region over the last hundred years and trying to reconstruct lead pollution (and) mercury pollution histories.”

DuBay said the scanning uses a noninvasive X-ray technique that leaves museum bones unharmed. He admits that worries about damaging precious specimens may discourage researchers from tapping

into collections for environmental studies. Still, he hopes his lab’s research and that of other pioneers in the ﬁeld — will persuade colleagues to dust off their local archives in search of pollution clues.

“The main thing that real-

ly fascinates me about these collections and these specimens is that each specimen is associated with a date, so when and where it was collected — really capturing a place in time that we can never return to,” DuBay said. “It really allows us

Top-ranked

to go back in time to ﬁll in these gaps from an environmental standpoint in powerful ways, and in ways the original collectors of these specimens probably could never have dreamt their specimens were going to be used.”

HoganTaylor brings national expertiseand localcommitmenttobusiness services in BatonRouge

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HoganTaylor,rankedasthe nation’s No.78 public accounting andadvisoryﬁrm by Inside PublicAccounting,hasdeeprootsinArkansasand Oklahoma andisnow expandingits footprintin Louisiana.TheBatonRougeoffice,ledbyPartner TabathaBroussard,isbringingHoganTaylor’s signaturecombination of technicalexcellence andpersonalizedservice to businesses and nonproﬁtsthroughoutthe CapitalRegion.

“I thinkpeopleinthe business community in BatonRouge want relationships,”Broussard said.“What sets us apartisthatweunderstand theirbusinessand arewilling to change with them to help them throughany transitionsthey mayexperience.We’ll be therefor anythingthey need –a helping hand alongthe way.

HoganTaylor offersa broadrange of services includingadvisoryservices, fractional CFO, forensic investigations,valuation andlitigation support, transactionadvisoryservices, risk assurance, taxservices,estateand succession planning,customsoftware,wealthmanagement andmore. With more than 400professionals across ﬁveoffices, HoganTaylor is in aunique position to combinethe scaleand capability of anationalfirmwiththe attentivenessand ﬂexibility of alocal partner.

“Clientexperienceisone of ourmainstrategic pillars, starting from thetimesomeone becomes awareofwhoHoganTayloris,allthewaythrough engagingtheﬁrm,onboardinganddeliveringthe servicestheyneed,”saidRandyNail,HoganTaylor Chief ExecutiveOfficer. “Wetry to make that processaspainlessand frictionlessaspossible.”

In BatonRouge,thatincludesworking with clients in awidearray of keyindustries, includingenergy, agriculture, healthcare,nonproﬁts andmore. WhilemanyHoganTaylor clients aremid-sized,the firm’s flexibilityand scale

give it thecapacitytoalsohelplargerorsmaller organizations,all in away that is responsive, focusedand proactive.

“Weare acommunity-orientedfirm,”Nail said.“We want to be wherethe needsare and wherepeopleneedﬁnancialguidancetohelp fulﬁll theirmissions.

HoganTaylor’sleadership team also recognizes that today’seconomicenvironment poses challenges andquestions for organizations weighing potentialexpansions, investmentsor cost-saving measures

“There’scertainly alot of hesitation right now,”Broussard said.“We’veseencompanies become more fearfulorreluctant in making majorﬁnancialordevelopment decisions. Our goalistohelpthemunderstandwhatlegislationis coming up andhow they canprotect themselves alongthe way.”

That is wherethe ﬁrm’sadvisoryservicesand proactivecommunication stylecomein.

“Weworkhardonbeingbusinessadvisorsand bringing conﬁdence to businesses,” Nail said “Wecan bringperspective,acalming inﬂuence andobjectivity when businesses aretryingto make toughdecisions.”

That senseofpartnershipisreinforced by theway HoganTaylor engageswithclients on an ongoingbasis.Broussard explainedthat communicationistailoredtomeeteachclient’s preference

“Somehavescheduledmonthlymeetings.Some want regularphone callsand emails,” shesaid. “Inmostcases,wefeellikeanextension of their company.We’reavailabletothemwhentheyneed us.Wedoa lotofin-depthconversations to know wheretheyare andwhere they’retryingtogo.” With agrowing presence in BatonRouge and acommitmenttoserving localbusinessesand nonproﬁtswithintegrity andinsight,HoganTaylor is positioningitselfasmorethanjustan accounting ﬁrm— it’s atrusted advisorfor the journeyahead Learnmoreabout HoganTaylor’s services at www.hogantaylor.com

PROVIDED PHOTO William & Mary archaeologists uncovered a foundation from the 1700s that once held the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children in Williamsburg, Va.

By Amanda McElfresh| amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This articleisbrought to youbyHoganTaylor

EDUCATION

Foreign students feel targeted in schools

Anxiety, insecurity have made them cautious, they say

BY JOCELYN GECKER

AP education writer

To attract the brightest minds to America, President Donald Trump proposed a novel idea while campaigning: If elected, he would grant green cards to all foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges.

“It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools,” Trump said during a podcast interview last June

“That is going to end on Day One.”

That promise never came to pass.

Trump’s stance on welcoming foreign students has shifted dramatically International students have found themselves at the center of an escalating campaign to kick them out or keep them from coming as his administration merges a crackdown on immigration with an effort to reshape higher education

An avalanche of policies from the Trump administration — such as terminating students’ ability to study in the U.S., halting all new student visa interviews and moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvard — have triggered lawsuits, countersuits and confusion

Foreign students say they feel targeted on multiple fronts. Late Wednesday, Trump himself took the latest action against international students, signing a proclamation barring nearly all foreigners from entering the country to attend Harvard. A federal judge temporarily blocked the order the following day

Students from around the world described how it feels to be an international student today in America. Their accounts highlight per-

vasive feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity that have made them more cautious in their daily lives, distracted them from schoolwork and prompted many to cancel trips home.

For many, the last few months have forced them to rethink their dreams of building a life in America.

Student feels ‘expendable’

Markuss Saule, a freshman at Brigham Young University-Idaho, took a recent trip home to Latvia and spent the entire ﬂight back to the U.S in a state of panic.

For hours, he scrubbed his phone, uninstalling all social media, deleting anything that touched on politics or could be construed as anti-Trump

“That whole 10-hour flight, where I was debating, ‘Will they let me in?’ — it deﬁnitely killed me a little bit,” said Saule, a business analytics major “It was terrifying.”

Saule is the type of international student the U.S. has coveted. As a

high schooler in Latvia, he qualiﬁed for a competitive, merit-based exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department. He spent a year of high school in Minnesota, falling in love with America and a classmate who is now his ﬁancee. He just ended his freshman year in college with a 4.0 GPA.

But the alarm he felt on that ﬂight crushed what was left of his American dream.

“If you had asked me at the end of 2024 what my plans were, it was to get married, ﬁnd a great job here in the U.S. and start a family,” said Saule, who hopes to work as a business data analyst. “Those plans are not applicable anymore. Ask me now, and the plan is to leave this place as soon as possible.”

Saule and his ﬁancee plan to marry this summer, graduate a year early and move to Europe.

This spring, the Trump administration abruptly revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of international students before reversing itself. A federal

judge has blocked further status terminations, but for many, the damage is done. Saule has a constant fear that he could be next.

As a student in Minnesota just three years ago, he felt like a proud ambassador for his country

“Now I feel a sense of inferiority

I feel that I am expendable, that I am purely an appendage that is maybe getting cut off soon,” he said. “The policies, what they tell me is simple. It is one word: Leave.”

Dreams to ‘doomscrolling’

A concern for attracting the world’s top students was raised in the interview Trump gave last June on the podcast “All-In.” Can you promise, Trump was asked, to give companies more ability “to import the best and brightest” students?

“I do promise,” Trump answered. Green cards, he said, would be handed out with diplomas to any foreign student who gets a college or graduate degree.

Trump said he knew stories of “brilliant” graduates who wanted to stay in the U.S. to work but couldn’t. “They go back to India, they go back to China” and become multi-billionaires, employing thousands of people. “That is going to end on Day One.”

Had Trump followed through with that pledge, a 24-year-old Indian physics major named Avi would not be afraid of losing everything he has worked toward.

After six years in Arizona, where Avi attended college and is now working as an engineer, the U.S. feels like a second home. He dreams of working at NASA or in a national lab and staying in America where he has several relatives.

But now he is too afraid to ﬂy to Chicago to see them, rattled by news of foreigners being harassed at immigration centers and airports.

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THE STATE HOW TO TACKLE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING LOUISIANA SCHOOLS.

“Do I risk seeing my family or risk deportation?” said Avi, who asked to be identiﬁed by his ﬁrst name, fearing retribution.

Avi is one of about 240,000 people on student visas in the U.S. on Optional Practical Training — a postgraduation period where students are authorized to work in fields related to their degrees for up to three years. A key Trump nominee has said he would like to see an end to postgraduate work authorization for international students. Avi’s visa is valid until next year but he feels “a massive amount of uncertainty.”

“I drive to work every morning, 10 miles an hour under speed limit to avoid getting pulled over,” said Avi, who hopes to stay in the U.S. but is casting a wider net. “I spend a lot of time doomscrolling job listings in India and other places.” College over war

Vladyslav Plyaka came to the U.S. from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school. As war broke out at home, he stayed to attend the University of Wisconsin. He was planning to visit Poland to see his mother but if he leaves the U.S., he would need to reapply for a visa. He doesn’t know when that will be possible now that visa appointments are suspended, and he doesn’t feel safe leaving the country He feels grateful for the education, but without renewing his visa, he’ll be stuck in the U.S. at least two more years while he ﬁnishes his degree. He sometimes wonders if he would be willing to risk leaving his education in the United States — something he worked for years to achieve if something happened to his family “It’s hard because every day I have to think about my family, if everything is going to be all right,” he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

Vladyslav Plyaka came to the U.S from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school. As war broke out at home, he stayed to attend the University of Wisconsin.

THE GULF COAST

Vacant since Katrina, historic school could get a new life

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

A building that was used as a school in the heart of downtown Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the waterfront city. Twenty years later, it could see a rebirth

The white Spanish Revival-style property is on the market and open to offers until July 17, according to the listing. Located on North Second Street, it is just a few blocks away from the city’s lively entertainment district packed with restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and antique stores.

At approximately 47,200 square feet, the property features three structures: a three-story main building, a one-story ofﬁce building and a one-story cafeteria with a partially constructed kitchen Built in 1927 by New Orleans architect William T. Nolan, the for-

mer school “represents the modernization of Mississippi’s public education system” during that era, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History said.

The building is one of 14 in Hancock County that is designated a Mississippi Landmark, meaning a permit and approval are required for any proposed alterations.

It most recently housed Second Street Elementary School before the building closed down in 2005 and was, at one time right after construction, the site of Bay Senior High School, according to historic records.

“The site offers outstanding visibility and accessibility for a variety of future commercial, residential or mixed-use concepts,” the listing said But in a city devoted to historic preservation, discussions over modernizing the century-old building have been approached with opposi-

tion from residents in prior years.

In 2018, Jim MacPhaille a New Orleans developer who owns vacation rentals, PJ’s Coffee, Creole Creamery and a restaurant in Bay St Louis — withdrew his proposal to convert the former school into a 70-room boutique hotel. Nearby residents had objected to his zoning change request, saying the plans for the building were too vague.

“It’s really something for the city to figure out if it wants that property rezoned or fixed so somebody can develop it,” MacPhaille said at the time. “I just don’t want to fight with my neighbors.”

Photos of the building’s interior show exposed roofs and walls within former classrooms, hallways and a large auditorium space. After Katrina, the damage was considered minor and moderate, according to assessment records, with several broken windows and possible water damage.

It’s the ninth large jackpot so far this year

BY MARY PEREZ The Sun Herald

The ninth jackpot of the year hit at a Mississippi Coast casino and it wasn’t on a slot machine.

“Precision. Poise. A little Pearl luck,” is how Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville described the win on June 13. An unidentiﬁed player from Millry, Alabama, was playing at the Blackjack Blazing 7s table and won $144,563.

The Scarlet Pearl Facebook post called it “another extraordinary moment” at the casino Additional details weren’t available. This is the second jackpot of more than $100,000 this year at Scarlet Pearl and comes less than a month after an unidentiﬁed winner playing in the highlimits Orchid Room on May 15 bet $12.50 and won $112,098. How lucky is 2025?

The nine jackpots of $100,000 or more this year hit at ﬁve separate Biloxi area casinos.

That’s slightly ahead of 2024 by number of wins, but behind last year at this time for amount won.

Here are some comparisons:

n For the ﬁrst six months of 2025, Coast casinos have 9 wins for a total of $1.88 million.

n In 2024, the Coast casinos saw 17 wins over $100,000, for a total of $5.95 million.

n Last year ﬁve players won their jackpot on poker or other table games instead of slots.

n So far this year, four of the nine wins were on video poker or table games rather than traditional slot games. These eight other players also hit for $100,000 or more

PHOTO By JOHN FITZHUGH

The Second Street School in Bay St Louis, Miss., is just blocks away from the city’s lively entertainment district packed with restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and antique stores.

Bunker Hill in Gloucester,Mass.

Americacelebrates 250thanniversary of Battle of Bunker Hill

BY HILLEL ITALIE

AP national writer

NEW YORK As theU.S. marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, it might take a moment —ormore— to remember why Start with the very name.

“There’ssomething percussive about it: Battle of Bunker Hill,” said prizewinning historian Nathaniel Philbrick, whose “Bunker Hill: ACity,ASiege, A Revolution” was published in 2013. “What actually happened probably gets hazy for people outside of the Boston area, but it’spart of our collective memory and imagination.”

“Few ‘ordinary’ Americans could tell you that Freeman’sFarm, or Germantown, or Guilford Court House were battles,” said Paul Lockhart, aprofessor of history at Wright University and author of aBunker Hill book, “The Whites of TheirEyes,” which came out in 2011. “But they can say that Gettysburg, D-Day and Bunker Hill were battles.” Bunker Hill, Lockhart adds, “is the great American battle, if there is such athing.”

Much of the world looks to the battles of Lexington and Concord, fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, as the start of the American Revolution.But Philbrick, Lockhart and others cite Bunker Hill and June 17 as the real beginning, the first time British and rebel forces faced off in sustained conflict over a specific piece of territory

Adaylong reenactment of the battle got underway Saturday morning with the seaside city of Gloucester standing in for Charlestown. Organizers chose a state park some 35 miles from Bostonto stage the battle because such activity is prohibited at the actual site.

Hundreds of onlookers watched as sharpshooters positioned on arocky outcropping fired upon red-coated British sailors landing in the harbor.During the actual battle, British soldiers responded by

setting aﬁre to drive them offand used thesmoketo mask their movements.

“We’reina volatile period, but this is away that we can really celebrate our heritage and our diverse creation of what became America,” said Andrew Lyter,areenactor whowas overseeing thesmaller vessels.

“I teachhistoryata college, andthisisreally neat to engage with an audience that’svery interested in being here and learning about their history,” he said.

Bunker Hill was an early showcase for two long-running themes in American history —improvisation and how an inspired band of militias could hold their ownagainst anarmyof professionals

“It was ahorriﬁc bloodletting, and provided the Britishhigh command with proof that theAmericans were goingtobealot more difﬁculttosubdue than had been hoped,” said thePulitzer Prize-winning historian RickAtkinson, whose second volume of aplanned trilogyonthe Revolution, “The Fate of the Day,” was published in April.

The battle was born in part out of error; rebelswereseeking to hold off apossibleBritish attack by fortifying Bunker Hill, a110-foot-high peak in Charlestown across theCharles Riverfrom British-occupied Boston. Butfor reasons still unclear,theyinstead armed a smaller and more vulnerableridge known as Breed’s Hill, “within cannonshot of Boston,”Philbrick said. “The Britishfeltthey had no choice but to attack and seize the American fort.”

Abigail Adams, wife of future President John Adams, andson JohnQuincy Adams, also afuture president, were among thousands in the Boston area who looked on from rooftops,steeples and trees as the two sides fought with primalrage. ABritish officer would write home about the “shocking carnage”left behind, asight “that never will be erased out of my mind‘till theday of my death.”

age20, radio anchor newsmanatage 22, andcorrespondent of several Spanish National newspapers andinternational news agencies.

He wasawarded several Spanish journalistic awards. He earned two degrees in Spain: Business Administrationfrom the UniversityofSantiago and Journalism fromthe National School of Journalism in Madrid. Fleeing the threatening regimeunder Francisco Franco, in 1961 he emigratedtothe US as press correspondent,but within the year began acareer in academia teaching Spanish language and literature at colleges in Spartanburg, South Carolina, theUniversity of North Carolina and University of Georgia.

DEATHS continued from parted this life on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Adevoted husband, belovedgrandfather, and faithful servant of God, DeaconWashington's legacy of love and service will live on in theheartsofall who knew him. Visitation willbeheldon Friday, June 27, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM,at Richardson FuneralHome of Clinton, 11816 Jackson Street,Clinton, LA.The celebration of his life will take place on Saturday,June 28, 2025, at 11:00 AM, at McKowenBaptist Church, 7325 Jones ConnellRoad,St. Francisville,LA. Hisfinal restingplace willbeat WashingtonCemetery, Highway 965, St. Francisville, LA

In 1963 he cameto Louisiana andpursued his PhD.In1966 he began teaching Spanish literature, language and culture at LSU, acareer that spanned 18 years as part of LSU'sgraduate faculty. He wasa member of three honor societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Phi SigmaIotaand Sigma Delta Pi. He waspresident of thenational foreignlanguagehonorsocietyPhi SigmaIotain1977 andlater served as ExecutiveDirectorfrom 19862000.

Santiago wasa frequent guest lecturer atseveral universities in theUSA, Mexico, and Italy.In1980, he wasappointed by the National Endowment for theHumanities to serve in WashingtonDCasanadvisor, panelist and examiner of fellowshipand national grant candidates. He most enjoyedleadinga foreign language instruction delegationtoChina as amember of US PeopletoPeople Citizen AmbassadorProgram in 1997

Santiago published seven books in Spanish and English including The Louisiana Professional Real EstateManual;hewas also aNotary Public,Real Estate broker, developer and businessman. Santiago is survived by hisfour children:CholeVilasRackley(attorney) her husband RodRackley of Boulder, Colorado; James Vilas(attorney) and his wife Susan Denson Of BatonRouge;Fernando Vilas (PhDengineer) and his wife Candace of Ft.Worth, Texas; AvelinaV Vilas (doctorofphysical therapy) and her husband Alan WattsofCary, North Carolina; three grandchildren: MiguelJ VilasofGeorgia; Victoria ARackley of Chicago, Illinois; andHenry Homer Watts of North Carolina; hisdomestic partner Lillie Hebert,her daughter Joni and husband David Trujillo of New Orleans and Stacy and husband Tommy Ashton of BatonRouge. Hissisters Amparo and Victoria Vilas-Gil of Vigo Spainpredeceased him.

The family will holda memorial service at Resthaven Funeral Home at afuture date

Washington Sr., Leonard

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Deacon Leonard Washington, Sr., age 88, of St.Francisville, Louisiana, who de-

Arrangementshave been entrusted to RichardsonFuneral Home of Clinton.

Billy Duane Williams, Sr., 89, died June 18, 2025, at

home in

He was born in 1936 to Eugene and Hattie McDonnieal Williams, in Greenville,MS. The family moved to St.Francisville

when Billy wasinthe 9th grade. Billy attendedSunflower Junior Collegeona football scholarship buttransferred to Southeastern University in Hammond after oneyear to be closertohis sweetheart, Helen. He earned aBachelor of Science in Educationfrom Southeastern,and aMasters +30fromLSU Billy marriedhis High School sweetheart, Helen Marie Kendrick, on aspectacularly cool day in August of 1956. Their union wasblessed with six children whoadoredtheir preciousDaddy. Billy wasaneducator whotouched many lives as ateacher,coach, guidance counselor,and principal. After twenty years in publiceducation, he took the roleofPrincipal at Central Private School in 1976. Following over adecadeas theheadmaster there,he continuedhis career at Parkview Baptist School, False RiverAcademy, Wilkinson County Christian Academy, andanother few years at Central Private, before finallyretiringtohis home in St.Francisville in 2002. He is survived by his sweetheartof73years, Helen, six children, Lori Williams of St.Francisville, Billy DuaneWilliams, Jr., of Tennessee, Kathi Cowen andher husband Chuck of Central, BonnieKirkwood andher husband John of Pride,KellyeMoody and herhusbandJeffofBluff Creek, Jaime DeJeanand herhusbandChristian of St.Francisville,eighteen

grandchildren, thirtygreatgrandchildren, andtwo great-great grandchildren. He wasprecededin death by his motherand father,sister BonnieLangford of Jayess, MS,and threebrothers, Donald Williams of Greenville, MS, Gerald Williams of Baton Rouge,LA, andDoug Williams of Bluemont, VA. Visitation willbeSunday, June 29 at 2:00 at First Baptist Church St.Francisville,witha service to follow at 3:00. Interment will be held in aprivate ceremonyata later date. In lieu of flowers, donationsinhis name may be made to St.Jude

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

Colonialsoldiersprepare toface the British on Saturday during areenactment celebrating the 250thanniversary of the Battle of

Williams Sr., Billy Duane

his

St.Francisville.

La.lagsinpay

Statehad smallestpersonal income growth in 2024

BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

Louisiana had the smallestincrease in personalincome growth between the third and fourth quarters of 2024, according to analysis from the U.S. Bureauof Economics.

On average, personal income in the United States grew by 4.6% during that period—from atotal of $24.69 billiontoa total of $24.97 billion. Louisiana’s personal income increased

by just 2.4% in thesame time period. State data from U.S. Department of Commerce are in thousands of dollars.

States with thehighest statewide total personalincome growthfromthe third andfourth quartersof2024 include:

n Delaware with 6.1% growth —from$73,031 to $74,124

n Georg ia wi th 6% growth —from $698,070 to $708,304

n South Carolina with 6% growth —from $329,412 to $334,261

n Virginia with5.5% growth —from $680,415 to $689,522

n Alabama with 5.4% growth —from $293,688 to $297,556

BR program will train medical assistants

Goal is to create pipelineofworkers

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Anew $2 million program spearheaded by the Baton Rouge Health District aims to recruit, train and place 100 people into medical support jobs at area hospitals

The health district has been awarded a$1million grant for the program from the Louisiana Department of Health’sHealth Care Employment Reinvestment Opportunity Fund. That money will be coupled with $1 million in contributions from localcommunity partners such as the Louisiana Blue Foundation, Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber

The goal is to buildapipeline of health care workers, said Steven Ceulemans, president andCEO of the health district, which is anetwork of the city’sleading medical centers, along with Louisiana Blue and BRAF

“If we strengthen the overall talent pool and engage people in successful careers, everyone beneﬁts,” Ceulemans said. “Wewantpeople to get afoot in the door for asuccessful career.”

The fundingwillbeusedtocover

ä See MEDICAL, page 2B

becoming more visible

BY HANNAH LEVITAN

Mosquitoes, ants and flies are already buzzing about, and insects like termites and roaches are beginning to swarmoremerge,

ä See SUMMER, page 2B

n Utah with 5.4% growth —from $232695 to $235,759. States withthe lowest statewide totalpersonalincome growth between the third and fourth quarters of 2024 include, in ascending order:

n Louisiana with 2.4% growth—from $282,599 to $284,310

n Vermontwith3.4% growth —from $45,517 to $45,898

n Indiana with3.5% growth—from $441,205 to $445,009

n Arkansaswith3.6% growth—from $185,715 to $187,378

n Idaho with 3.7% growth —from $124,561 to $125,698

n Wisconsin with3.7% growth—from $404,205 to $407,927.

tipsfrom ayoung audience member during her performance at Ascension Parish Pride’s inaugural eventatthe Lamar-Dixon Expo Center on Saturday.

COMMUNITyPRIDE

ABOVE: Drag queen ZiaLushdoes a high kick during her performance in front of apacked crowd. RIGHT: Ryan Jeoux, 4, putsglitteronthe cheek of hergodparent Tanya Monette

W. Gray Stream, SarahHeebe to reign over festivities

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

Lake Charles business owner and community leader W. Gray Stream will be the next Washington Mardi Gras king, andYale University student SarahLouise Heebe will be the queen, event organizers announced this week. The duo were selected by U.S. Rep.Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, whoisserving as chairman of next

year’sevent, which will be held from Jan. 29-31 at the Washington Hilton.

“I am honored to select King Gray Streamand Queen Sarah Heebe to reignoverthe royalcourt in what has become one of our nation’s premier social events that highlights Louisiana’sunique culture and joie de vivre!” said Scalise in anews release.

Created more than 75 years ago by Louisiana congressional staffers to bring ataste of the state’s famed Mardi Grascelebrations

to the nation’s capital, Washington Mardi Gras has become agathering of political, business and nonproﬁt leaders. Stream is president of the Stream Companies, which manages operating companies and owns timberland, agriculture andmarshland in Louisiana. He also oversees an investment portfolio focused on Louisiana-based companies and those focused on transitions in the energy industry.In2018, he founded GulfCoast Sequestration,which

focuses on capturingCO2 andstoringitdeep underground. Gov.Jeff Landry picked Stream to lead theLouisiana Economic Development Partnership, which advises state ofﬁcials on attracting new businesses. Heebeisa sophomoreatYale, where sheismajoring in environmental studies with acertiﬁcate in energystudies. She is on the executive board of the Yale Student EnergyAssociation, is co-presidentof the Renewable Future Alliance and worked in alab creating catalysts to reduce CO2, among other work.She is the daughterofFred Heebe, the

Stream Heebe

Drag queen Anita Rzor collects

STAFF PHOTOSBy JAVIER GALLEGOS

Water, AC return to BatonRouge airport

Late-night repairs restore services

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Continued from page1B

BillProﬁta, chairofthe airport commission, thanked repair workers for “working late into the night” to getfaucets, toilets and air conditioning functional again at the nearly 140,000-square-foot facility

Running water and air conditioning havereturned to theBaton Rouge Metropolitan Airport after crews worked into the earlymorning hours Saturday repairing the break.

The repairs involved workersbreaking through an 8-inchthick layerofconcrete ﬂoor to access the main break, airport administrationsaid Friday following the leak.

No flights were canceled during the half-day the airport lost waterand air,but airport staff did bring in temporary Americans with Disabilities

Act-compliant bathrooms outside and place portableair conditioners throughout the building.

Free water bottles were handed out to travelers.

Portable toilets will remain outside the airportfor the next “24or48hours” Proﬁta said, in case further leaks are discovered

Discontent mayswayN.O.mayor’s race

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Weary of grindinglyslow road repairs, adysfunctionaldrainage system, erratic water bills andacity government viewed as inept at respondingtothose entrenched problems, New Orleanians largely blame one person: Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Cantrell

New Orleanians’ discontent with Cantrell reached anew low this month. Acitywide poll found that just 27% of residents approve of her performance, the lowest mark of Cantrell’spolitical career, which took off on aswell of activism after Hurricane Katrina but has since petered into aseriesof scandals,legal troublesand frequent trips outside her city.

While Cantrell’spolitical clout has eroded, the City Council has emerged as anewly powerful player, changinglawsto increase its authority andoversight.

Yeteven as the council assumes anew level of control over the day-to-day functionsof city government, residents don’t seem to blame its members for the frustrations they harbor toward city services. Poll numbers, strategists said, suggest those efforts to cull hertraditional levers of power have succeeded in raising the council’s proﬁle:The survey performed in late May by Faucheux Strategies found that 47% of residents approve of the council’swork

“Rather than the mayor being the most visible political actor, thecouncil is nowfront andcenter,”said Ed Chervenak, apolitical scientist and pollster at the University of New Orleans.

Cantrell pushed backthis week on criticism of her leadership in arare statement, calling it “disrespectful” and “insulting”ataU.S.Conference of Mayorseventand suggesting that it is being levied because she is aBlack woman leader in the Deep South.

As an election ramps up to de-

SUMMER

Continued from page1B

especiallyasLouisiana sees more precipitation, according to Aaron Ashbrook, an assistant entomology professor at LSU.

In past years, more of these pests would already be out and about by mid-June, butbecause of Louisiana’sabnormal winter, some insects are behind schedule.

Here’severythingyou need to know about 2025 summer bug season. Mosquitoes, ants andﬂiesare common household sights in Louisiana. But these pests are currently rampingupacrossthe state, thanks to one factor that’s driving up populations.

“It’sgoing to be abig year for mosquitoes, most likely,because of all the rain,” Ashbrook said.

Last week, New Orleans city ofﬁcials announced that mosquitoes on the east bank of NewOrleans

cideher successor,the eventual winner will need to differentiate themselvesassharply as possible from the perceived failures of Cantrell’sadministration, politicaloperatives said. And while thecouncil’s rising proﬁle couldboostambitions of two members who are running for the city’stop ofﬁce, it could also make them vulnerable to political attacks.

“It gives yougood experience to be mayor,” said Ron Faucheux,ananalyst whose firm performed theMay poll. “But theother side of that coin is that you’re part and parcel of the city government that has so frustrated residents.”

The twoleading candidates according to polling and fundraisingtallies areCity Council members: council Vice PresidentHelena Moreno and DistrictEcouncilmember Oliver Thomas. Arthur Hunter,aformer longtime Criminal District Court judge,isalsoseeking the Mayor’sOfﬁce.

Thecouncil’s strategy

Thecouncil’s clashes with the mayor have occupied much of the last fouryears of her administration. The panel changed city laws toincrease its authority, convinced voters to give it say over theappointments process andsuedher administrationon multiple occasions. Itsmembers have alsoleveled adrumbeat of criticismather administration in public hearings.

While theapproach has lifted the council’sprofile, analysts said Morenoand Thomas, the twocouncil candidates running for mayor,may still need to convince voters that theirexperience atop city government won’t translatetoanother fouryears of dysfunction

“If an outsider candidate can take advantage ofthe dissatisfaction withgovernment and pin that on thecouncil, that could be asuccessfulstrategy,” said Karen Carvin Shachat, apolitical operativewho has workedon mayoralcampaigns in New Orleans for several decades but is not presently working for one.

Hunter is best positioned to carry that message, Faucheux

and Carvin Shachat said.But Faucheuxnoted that the retired judge has lessmoney than his opponentsand notched just9% support in thecitywide poll.

Nearly half of surveyedvoters saidthey would vote for Moreno. Thomas came in second with 22%. Another22% saidthey have not madeadecision.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Moreno see their respective experience as among their biggestselling points. Hunter and a campaign representative did not respond to multiple interview requests.

Thomas describedhow the city cutits violentcrime rate while he was on the council in thelate 1990s, and recalled that the struggling NewOrleans RecreationDevelopment Commission“workedbetterthen.”

Thomas served on thecouncil for 13 years before he served athree-year prison termfor a bribery charge. He was again elected to the council in 2021.

“You want amayor whounderstands the system,” Thomas said. “No one understands the system better than me.”

Moreno, aformer state legislator who has served on the councilsince 2018,saidher aspirations for thecity’stop ofﬁce crystallized “in the last couple of years” as she grewincreasingly frustrated with theadministration’sinability to carry out what she said werebasic city functions, suchasremediating blighted property or ﬁxing broken streetlights. She said thecouncil became increasingly responsible forareas outside its typical legislative duties.

“Due to the fact that we’ve hada failure of leadershipby this administration,the council at times has had to overstep that (legislative) role in order to take on moreofthose operational responsibilities,” Moreno said.

A‘leadership void?’

The recent poll was conducted days after New Orleans’ brazen May 16 jailbreak. Cantrell’slow marks probably stem in part from her quiet response to that affair,said Carvin Shachat.

tested positive forWestNile virus, promptingwidespread mosquito control treatment

Like mosquitoes, ﬁreantsalso ﬂourish after heavyrain,resulting in larger-than-average red mounds.

“When there’salot of rain, their mounds aregoingtobeforming at the top of the soil, and so we’re morelikely to encounter them,” Ashbrooksaid.

Though they’re known for their painful stings and bites, fire ants alsocontrol fleaand tick levels, according to the LSUAgCenter Considering that tick season is particularly bad this year,increasedfire antactivitymay be asilver lining in helping to keep other insect populations in check.

Ashbrooksaid he’salso encountered asubstantialamount of deer andhorse ﬂies this year.These bloodsucking insects mostly targethumans, horses and cattle

Fruit flies, asmaller,winged pest, have been particularly active this month, too.

The council’s“engagement” following theescape, through social media and public meetings,exempliﬁeshow thepanel hasstepped in at momentswhen Cantrell has seemed absent, she said.

Thecouncil notchedwinsin thelatest state legislative session, too —anarenawhere state lawmakers and lobbyists said Cantrell did notmount much of an agenda this year. (Cantrell’s lobbyist said state lawmakers were more hesitanttomove New Orleans-related legislation because of the upcoming overhaul in the city’sleadership through the municipalelections.)

Analysts said Thomas, who has voted more consistently with Cantrell’sadministration than most other council members, will likely have to quelldoubts that he is viewed as an ally of the mayor’s. Thomas firmly rebuked that critique in an interview

“Peoplesee me and (District D council member) Eugene Green as allies of the mayor,” he said. “We’rereallyallies of the people.” Asked whether she was concerned that voters might view her as alignedwiththe performance of city government due to her tenureonthe council, Moreno emphasized that she was inspired to runout of frustrationwith what she called Cantrell’sinaction.

“There hasbeen this leadership void from thetop,” she said. “People have been looking for someone, or something, to step into that role.That’sbeen thecouncil.”

Afew fringe candidates are running, including 911 call center manager TyrellMorris, counselorRicky Twiggs and business owner Renada Collins. But even themajor candidates acknowledgethatthe race’s winning message must be one of change.

Moreno hasthatwordplastered across her campaign website. Hunter pledgestoﬁx acityintrouble.And Thomas promises localgovernment will onceagain “work for everyone.”

Fruit ﬂies feed and reproduce on trashand rottingfood, so it’s extra importanttoempty your garbage andtakeadditionalpreventive measures to avoid infestations.

Termites androaches

But more of Louisiana’s most harrowing pestsare still on their way “I imagine that we might see swarms alittle bit later thanwe typically wouldthis year for termites,” Ashbrook said.

Even though there have already been several swarms, Ashbrook saidthe season was pushed back aweek due to theharsh winter Residents shouldalso look outfor cockroaches, since their activityhas been relatively high recently, according to Ashbrook. Since roaches typically live in manholes andsewers, they are oftenﬂushed outafter ﬂoods and begin searching for adrier spot to hang.

Tips forcontrollingbugs

tuition costs and provide financial supportfor 100 people to go through the twosemestermedicalassistantprograms at Baton Rouge Community CollegeorRiver Parishes CommunityCollege.

Community organizations, such as the Capital Area UnitedWay,will helpparticipants overcome commonobstacles such as arranging child care andtransportation to class. After the participants graduate,BatonRougeGeneral, OurLadyofthe Lake, Ochsner Baton Rouge, Woman’sHospital and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center have committed to hiring all 100 of them.

Participants will be trainedasmedical assistants,abletowork in administrative andpatient care roles. Some of the jobsa medical assistantcan do are schedulingappointments,takingvital signs,billingand giving medications.

These are considered to be entry-level health care jobs. There are no speciﬁc allocationsatany of the participating medical centers for thegraduates, Ceulemans said. It will be based on the need for workers, if the participants want to work in administrativeorclinical jobsand where they want to work.And if agraduate wants to take a medical assistant job at ahospital outside of Baton Rouge, thatisﬁne too.

“Thekey goal is to get talent trained in occupations of need and strengthen the overall health workforce in Louisiana,” he said.

Health care is thelargest employer in Baton Rouge and Louisiana. According to areport from the Louisiana Workforce Commission,more than15,800 medical assistantjobsare expected to be created statewide over the next decade. Those jobs have awageofbetween $16and $27an hour,not counting weekendornight shift pay or beneﬁts.

Unemployed andemployed people are eligible to participate in theprogram. To register,orfor more information, go to brhealthdistrict.com.

Now that acoalition has been assembled to help recruit and train medical assistants, Ceulemanssaid he hopes it can be amodel to expanding the health care worker pipeline.Thatcould include recruiting and trainingpeople for jobsthatrequire alicense such as nurse or lab technician

“There is certainly fertile ground when it comes to healthcare occupationsofneed,” he said.

MARDI GRAS

Continued from page1B

New Orleansbusinessman who owns the River Birch landﬁll, andJennifer Heebe, a former state representative andJefferson Parish Council member.Fred Heebe was king of Washington MardiGras in 2023. Thecenterpiece of Washington Mardi Gras is the ball, open only to members of the Mystick Krewe of Louisianans. But that eventissurroundedbymeetings, an economic developmentluncheon and events sponsored by various majorLouisiana companies andorganizations. The event alsoraises money for acharity selected by the king; lastyear, King Rico Alvendia,aNewOrleansattorney,selectedthe Mars Hero Fund, which supports veterans andfamilies of active-dutymembersofthe military

Termites: Moist conditions are ideal for termites, so ﬁx any leaks, keep vents open andavoid leaving wood piles near your home.

If you ﬁnd mud tubes, warping or water stains in your home, call pest control immediately Roaches and fruit flies: Empty your trash.

This also goes forall pests, because food sources like rotting potatoes, sticky counters or even toaster crumbs can attract an army of bugs.

“What might seem like asmall amount to ahuman wouldbea feast for days forthese ﬂies,” Ashbrook said.

Mosquitoes: UseEnvironmental Protection Agency-approved insect repellent, check for standing water inside andoutside andinstallwindow screensifyou haven’t already

Deer and horse flies: Test outinsect repellent and consider wearing loose-ﬁtting, long sleeves, if you’re

able to. Fire ants: Consider spraying your yard with EPA-registered insecticide or set ant bait near mounds. Fleas and ticks: Avoid feral animals and regularly treat your pets with ﬂea and tick prevention medicine. Check yourself forticks after being outdoors. Consider tightening door frame sealsand fillstructural cracks and crevices to prevent infestations.

LOTTERY

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2025

PICK 3: 1-5-8

PICK 4: 2-2-8-4

PICK 5:

Paul

Earl Paul "Chug" Alonzo, Jr., age 78 years, anative andresident of Baton Rouge, died Saturday, June 14, 2025, in The Butterfly Wing of The Hospice of Baton Rouge after lengthy complicationsfollowing cancer surgery.Heissurvived by his brother Dennis L. Alonzo of New Orleans, his devoted sister who took loving care of him for years Janet Kay Alonzo Fulmer, and her husband Kenneth R. Fulmer, Jr. of Baton Rouge and his nephew Tyler Paul Fulmer of The Hague, Netherlands. Paul was preceded in death by his parents Ida Mae Rome Alonzoand Earl P. Alonzo, Sr., grandparents Ida Oubre Rome and Ulysses J. Rome, Sr., and CorineFalcon Alonzoand Anatole A. Alonzo and uncles Ulysse J. Rome, Jr., Clarence J. Alonzo and Lester M. Alonzo. In high school Paul was the Wolf mascot at Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge. He also attendedSacred Heart of Jesus elementary, St. Ben's Seminary andthe University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette. He was aveteran of the United States Army. For most of his life Paul worked in the hospitality and restaurant industryin New Orleans and in the Caribbean. He loved to cook, especially classic South Louisiana cuisine, celebrate holidays, andlisten to classicalmusic.He spent several of his retirement years caring for his parents and uncles and maintaining family property. In his final years he faithfully watched televised Catholic news and Masses from around the U.S. and the world and was adedicated fan of European soccer. The family would like to thank all of the doctors and medical personnelfor the years of care, the staff of The Butterfly Wing for

Obituaries their kindness in his last days, as well as allthe many friends and relatives fortheir prayers. VisitationwillbeatSacred HeartofJesus CatholicChurchinBaton Rouge beginning at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 25. Afuneral Mass willbecelebrated at 11:00a.m.conducted byReverendJerry Martin. Intermentwill follow in the family plot in Greenoaks MemorialPark. Memorial donations may be made to Sacred HeartofJesus Catholic ChurchinBaton Rouge or St. Ben'sSeminaryinCovington.

Ayo, SteveAlan

Steve Alan Ayo, 70, passedawayonMonday, May12, 2025,after along illness. AresidentofPort Barre, LA, and longtime resident of Gonzales, LA, Steve was born on September 20, 1954,atPensacola Air Force Base to Betty Lou Veazey Ayo and Eugene Joseph AyoSr. Adevoted outdoorsman, Steve loved hunting, fishing,and especially crabbing.A true craftsman, he found joyinsmall engine repair, thrifting, andhands -onartisanship. He retired from theindustrialsector and was aproud small business owner.Known for his warmth, humor, and generosity, Stevenever met astranger—alwaysoffering akind word and helping hand

His greatest joys in life were his childrenand grandchildren. He is survived by his sons,Bryan DewayneAyo and Elliott Joseph Ayo (Jannah);and five grandchildren: Gavin, Avery, Ayven, Jeremiah, and Mia.Heisalsosurvived by his brotherKenneth "Kenny"Ayo (Libby); sister JoAnn "Jodi"Ayo Hager (Eddie);sisters-inlawDiane "Dee"Clark Ayo and Linda MooreAyo; nieces Angie, Leann, Katlyn, and Felicia;nephews Michael,Russell, and Tony; and many extended relatives and dear friends. He was precededin death by his parents; his brothers, Eugene Gene" Ayo Jr.and RussellAyo; nieces Kristina Ayo and BrandyHagerRowell; and nephewShannon Ayo.

Serviceswillbeheldon Friday, June 27, at NewRiver Baptist Church, located at 45270 LA-429, St. Amant, LA 70774. Visitation willtake place from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, with amemorial serviceat 11:00 AM, followedbya repast Matthew 11:28-30 Come untome, allyethatlabour and are heavyladen, and I will give yourest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;for Iammeekand lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest untoyoursouls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

Berner,Daniel Charles 'Danny'

Daniel "Danny" Charles Berner passed away on May 29, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the ageof66. He was born on May 5, 1959, in New Orleans, Louisiana. In his freetime,heloved listening to music and reading. He was an animal lover and adored cats, especially Mike theTiger.Danny also likedtocheeronthe NewOrleans Saintsand theLSU Tigers.Danny was very proud to be anonsmoker of 13 months after defeating thehabit that plagued himfor fifty years. In the last 3years of his life,hewas much healthier andhappier as hisdependence on tobacco lessened and finallystopped.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul L. Berner, Sr.and Mary Louise A. BilliuBerner; brothers, Paul L. Berner, Jr and Lawrence Larry" M. Berner; and themotherof Paul's children, Marie MessaBerner.

Danny is survivedbyhis sisters,Julia A. Berner and Cecile M. Berner; nieces, AprilBerner Madden LaurenBerner Orebaugh, and Dana Berner Brown; nephew, Richard P. Berner; and themotherofLarry's children, Marie Chancey Berner.

The family wouldliketo give special thanksto Danny's "bonus" Baton Rouge family:sister-in-

heart,Willena Herbert and brother-in-heart, Alton Haynes; OchsnerSmoking CessationCounselor and friend, April Seneca;and thedoctorsand staff of NorthBaton Rouge Behavioral Health, Baton Rouge Cardiology Center, Vascular SpecialtyCenter, OchsnerMedical Center, Baton Rouge General Hospital,and St. Joseph Hospice-The Carpenter House. Thiskindand gentle old soul willbegreatly missed. Rest in peace, Danny. Danny willbeprivately laid to rest withhis parentsinLake Lawn Park. In lieu of flowers,please considera donationtothe NationalAlliance on Mental Health,POBox 1509 Baton Rouge, LA 708211509 or the LA-SPCA, 1700 MardiGras Blvd,New Orleans, LA 70114. To view and signthe family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com

Billodeaux, John Stewart

John Stewart Billodeaux wasbornonOctober 5, 1945, and passed away on June 20, 2025. He was the son of the lateJohnW.Billodeauxand Margiana Stewart Billodeaux. John grew up in Jennings. He graduatedfromthe UniversityofLouisiana, Lafayette, (then University of Southwestern Louisiana) with aB.S. and M.S. degreesinbiology. He wasa publicadministrator, business manager andbusinessowner.John is survivedbyhis wife Jeanne LaPlace Billodeaux; twochildren: Stewart Billodeaux(Laurie) and Amanda Robinson;his sister, Peggie Billodeaux; and agrandsonNoah Robinson. John'swish is that, in lieu of flowers, adonation

Alonzo Jr., Earl

Biossat Sr., William Franklin 'Bill'

William FranklinBiossat

4B ■ Sunday, June22, 2025 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

Sr. "Bill"passedaway peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, June 19, 2025 in Baton Rouge at the age of 79. He was born November 2, 1945 to the late Stephen Rushing Biossat Jr. and Martha Grafton Biossat in Monroe, LA. The family later moved to Baton Rouge where Bill attended Baton Rouge High School and Louisiana State University. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1965 and after an honorable discharge, worked in law enforcement for 26 years, retiring as alieutenant from the Louisiana State Police in 1992. He served as president of the Louisiana State Troopers Association while working for State Police. He then workedinthe casino industry for 15 years servingasthe senior director of operation for Isle of Capri Casinos before following his true passion for firearms and becominga licensed gunsmith. Throughout his life, Bill had many hobbies including hunting, fishing, boating, motorcycle riding and scuba diving, but he loved nothing more than shooting pistolsand long range rifles. Bill is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Charmaine Richard Biossat, two sons, William F Biossat Jr (Leigh-Anne) and Jonathan Biossat (Katie), and four grandchildren, Brady Biossat, Paige Biossat, Gabriel Biossat, and Christian Biossat, three siblings, Rush Biossat, Becky Richardson (Harold), John Biossat (Janice) and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother, Vernon Biossat, and many other friends and relatives. Visitation willbe held at St. Jude Catholic Church, 9150 Highland Rd in BatonRouge on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 from 9to 11 am with afuneral mass following.The family extendstheir sincere thanks to the excellent care they received at the Baton Rouge General Hospital and Clarity Hospice.

Hospice of Baton Rouge for the care given to Corinne.

Brignac, Thomas Ray 'Yak'

ThomasRay Brignac, fondly known as "Yak", passed awayonThursday, June 19, 2025 at the ageof 68. He leaves behind to cherish his memoryhis lovingwifeof48years and 5th grade sweetheart, CindyT.Brignac;his sons, Jason P. Brignac and Tyler (Jordan)Brignac;his grandchildren, Thomas Michael Brignac and Stella Anne Brignac. He is also survivedbyhis siblings Larry (Julie) Brignac, Lloyd (Louise) Brignac andCathy Brignac; his sisters-in-law, Gay (Chet) Simpson and Phyllis (Scott) Smith; brothers-in-law, Chad Gautreau,Todd(Stacey) Gautreau and Troy (Angela) Gautreau andhis mother-in-law Audrey Gautreau. He is preceded in death by hisparents Joseph 'Alicide"Brignac and Lelia "T-Sis" Gaudin Brignac; his brothers, JosephPaul Brignacand Floyd JosephBrignac and his father-in-law ElrayP Gautreau.

LA.Funeralservices will be held at CulpepperVirginia NationalCemetery Friday June 27that10am. In lieu of flowers,pleasedonate to Wounded Warrior Project.Special thanks to Heartland Hospice.

Christensen, Verda Ann

VerdaAnn Christensen passed away peacefully on 13 June 2025 at theBaton Rouge Generalhospital. Verdawas born in Amite LA on Sept.24, 1945 to Marvin Virgual Christensen and Olga Kauss Christensen. The family moved to Ponchatoula, LA in 1947 where she attended school until moving to Baton Rouge, LA in 1955. Verda graduated from Istrouma HighSchool and attended LSU. She retiredfrom the Louisiana Departmentof Healthand Hospitals. She volunteered at theCouncil on Aging forseveral years. She enjoyed caning and helpingothers. Verdawas amember of Trinity Lutheran Church. She was preceded in deathbyher parents and is survivedby her brother, Marvin"Mickey" Christensen (Jane), nephew JosephMichael "Mike" Christensen (Cathy) and greatnephew Dane Alexander Christensen.

Afamily graveside service will be held in thenear future. The family would like to thank thecare givers fortheir efforts the last few months, especially Johnette Sanders. The family requeststhat insteadofflowers that those so inclinedmake a memorial donationtoTrinityLutheran Church of BatonRouge.Their website willallow donations on line.Just fillinthe note that it is amemorialfor VerdaChristensen.

denand Isaac Courtney; and Emmie, Isla, andEthan Castilaw; Zane, Katie, and Elijah Noble

He is preceded in death by hisfather, JerryW Courtney of Baker, Louisiana.

Bill'slovefor his family was surpassedonlybyhis love forChrist.His legacy of strength,faith, and love livesoninhis family and allwho knew him. Ihavefought thegood fight, Ihavefinished the race, Ihavekeptthe faith. 2Timothy4:7 To honor hislegacy of love and care forhis family,inlieuofflowers, donations may be madetosupport his grandson, Isaac Courtney'songoing medical needs. Please contact IsaacCourtneyCare@gmail. com for moreinformation.

Avisitationwillbeheld from1:30 PM to 2:00 PM on 2025-06-27 at The Chapel on theCampus, 3355 Dalrymple Drive. Amemorial service will be held from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM on 2025-06-27 at The Chapel on theCampus, 3355 Dalrymple Drive.

passedaway on June 13, 2025. He was an organ donor,and with hispassing, he saved three other lives.Chriswas sarcastic, funny, andhad apersonality andspirit that could fill anyroom he walked into He lovedtocook for others andwas known for his steaks. Chris is survived by his parents, Lynnand Lisa; his sisters, Alyssa andJennifer; andprecededin death by hisgrandparents, Buddy and Cissy Elofson He will be tremendously missed. Ourdays willbe quieterwithout his spontaneousphone calls to check in or share stories,but we will neverforget his voice or laugh.Heloved deeply, andwewill continueliving in that love.Hefought until theveryend, andthat fightingspirit will continue on in the lives he has saved through his organ donation.Wewill love and miss you always, Chris.

Bruce wasthe proud ownerofRainbow Refrigeration andAir Conditioning. He wasformer memberofthe BABR, contributinghis skills andexpertise He will be remembered as an avidoutdoorsman who foundhis peace in the swamp. Visitation will be held on Monday, June 23, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at RabenhorstFuneral Home East, locatedonFlorida Boulevard. Asecondvisitation will take place on Tuesday, June 24, beginningat9:30 a.m. at SacredHeart Catholic Church,followed by afuneral Mass at 10:45 a.m. Bruce is survived by his daughterElizabeth HaikBusquet, son-in-law John Busquet, andhis beloved granddaughter Emberella He waspreceded in death by hischerished wife Ethel Haik,granddaughterIzzy, motherMary Bellar Haik, father Ralph Haik,brothers JerryHaikand Mark Haik, sister-in-law Paula Haik, stepfatherMel Bellar,and stepmother Ellie Haik. The familywould like to extend gratitude to Sarah Casemore, hisdedicated PT, Fresenius KidneyCareon O'Neal's team, andthe Ochsner'sICU team. If love couldhave saved you,you would have lived forever.

Bouquet, Corinne Melancon

Corinne Melancon Bouquet born July 24, 1931, a devout Catholic, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, enteredeternal rest on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at the age of 93. Anative of St. James andlifelong resident of White Castle, Corinne spent the last five years of her life at Francois Bend Senior Living in Gonzales. Corinne deeply cherished the time spent with her familyand enjoyed playing cards with her loved ones. Her legacy of faith, love, and devotion lives on in all who knew her. Corinne leaves behind to cherish her memory, her children: Theresa Becnel (Steve), Charles Bouquet, Sr. (Trudy), David Bouquet, Gene Bouquet (Laura), and Mona Pertuit (Allen); grandchildren, Charles Bouquet, Jr. (Amanda), Kenneth Bradley (Regina), Chad Bouquet (Jamie), Jennifer Foret (Jude), Michael Bouquet (Jennifer), Kevin Becnel (Leah), Jeffrey Becnel, Beau Bouquet (Holly), Marisa Bouquet (Josh McLain), André Pertuit (Bridget), Joshua Bouquet (Kaitlin), Claude Pertuit (Margo Vairat) and JeanPaul Pertuit; great grandchildren: Kinslie, Ashlynn Hunter, Kendall, Grace, Anthony, Allie, Jack, William, Kate, Thomas, Jean-Luc, Luke, Rylee, Ethan, Crew, Carter, Liam and Cameron; sisters-in-law, Doicy Zeringue and Judy Melancon; numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Melvin "Doc" Bouquet, parents, Dr. and Mrs. Claude Melancon; siblings, Elizabeth Haydel, Yolande Bolline, Mildred Lands, Lucille Dolbear, Gertrude Claude, Raymond, Edward, James, Roy, Eugene and Gerald Melancon. Visitation will be held at Wilbert Funeral Home, Plaquemine on Monday, June 23, 2025, from 8:30 to 11am with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church, White Castle, at 12pm, celebrated by Father Al Davidson. Entombment will follow at OLPS Cemetery. Pallbearers will be her grandsons Special thanks to the staff and caregivers of Francois Bend Senior Living and

Thomaswas one of those people thatifyou knewhim, you lovedhim He was always the lifeof the party and lovedhanging out with his friends and family. He always enjoyed agoodday of fishing and a night of playing pool at his localhangout, Coops. His pool teamrecentlywon the Divisional Championship and were on their way to Vegas. His big smile and warm heartwill truly be missedbyall The family wouldlike to extendtheir sincere gratitude to the physicians and staffinthe ICUdepartment at Baton Rouge General. Family and Friends are invited toattend aMassof Christian BurialatSt. John the Evangelist on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.The visitation willbegin at 10:00 AM witha Mass at 12 Noon. The burial will follow at Serenity Oaks Cemetery in Prairieville. Those honored to serve aspallbearersare Ethan Bagwell,Jay Brignac,TroyGautreau Jr., Scott Brignac,Jackson Chaisson,Cooper Fontenot and Joseph Paul Brignac Jr Fondmemoriesand words of condolences may be expressedat www.OursoFH.comfor the Brignac family.

Devoted Military Service Member, Husband, Father, and Grandfather. He died June 16th, 2025,at81years of age in his Haymarket VA home surroundedbyfamily. Michael wasborn September 1st,1943,to John and Arline Brownin GloverWV. He served29 years in the Army. During his time,heserved in the Vietnam War,was partof the special forces,a ranger, and achievedthe rank of Lt. Colonel. He then became the Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Securityfor the StateofLouisiana.Michael loved to travelthe world with his belovedwife Pamela Brown, enjoyed golfing,loved military history and collectingWorld WarIImemorabilia. He is survived by hiswife Pamela Brown, his son Michael BrownIIand spouse Karie Brown, his son BrianBrown, his daughter AshleyBrown his grandchildren Austin Brown, Ethan Brown, Collin Brown, Jordan Brown, Cameron Brown, andhis sister Sharon Brown. He was preceded in death by his brothers Johnathan TerryBrown,and Ronald Brown. He was formerly a residentofSt. Francisville,

James William (Bill) Courtney, 67, of Baton Rouge passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on June 14, 2025 after acourageousbattlewithpancreatic cancer. He was born on September 26, 1957 in BatonRouge,Louisiana After graduating from Broadmoor High School in 1975, he started afamily with theloveofhis life, Terri(Smith) Courtney.Bill worked in several manufacturing industries before joining ExxonMobil as a Process Operator in 1988 and advanced to aShift TeamLeaderbefore retiring in 2017 after 29 years. Bill's love of family,motorcycles and theLordwas obvious to allwho knew him. Whether traveling overseas, riding his adventure bike to theArctic Circle, hiking the Appalachian Trailorrunning theLSU lakes, Billwas constantly in motionand on anew adventure. An avid runner, Billcompletedtwelve marathons, numerous half marathons and one grueling 50k. In atrue displayof strength and perseverance, he completedthe Louisiana Half Marathon earlier thisyear— while still undergoing chemotherapy. He was the rock of thefamily,exemplifying sacrificial love every day. He was an amazing husband to his wife Terri, thebestPapatohis kids and grandkidsand aloyal friend. Bill also served faithfullyathis local church, The Chapel on the Campus where he attended services regularly. He took greatprideinserving on thechurch parking and hospitality team, where he welcomed each guest with awave, asmile, and aservant's heart.Wewillmiss him terribly butknowthat he is in his new body in heaven, completely healed

He is survivedbyhis belovedwife of 47 years, Terri (Smith)Courtney; his mother, Toni (Dresser) GilboyofBaton Rouge, Louisiana; his sister, Erin (Charles Ray) Hall of Zachary, Louisiana; hissisterPatricia (Den) Estess of Central,Louisiana;his brotherDaveGoerz of Leawood,Kansas; and hischildren:Dustin Owen(Lindsey) Courtney of Kingwood, Texas;EricScott (Sarah) Courtney of Walker, Louisiana; and Kelli Courtney (Brandon) CastilawofDenhamSprings, Louisiana. He is also survivedbyseveral step-siblings and extended family members.

He was theproud grandparent of 11 grandchildrenwhom he loved fiercely: Amelia, Henry, and MollyCourtney; Cam-

John Culotta Sr passed away Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, at theage of 91. He was theson of Mary Gerace Culotta and JosephCulottaSr. of Baton Rouge, LA.Heispreceded in death by his parents; brother, JosephCulotta Jr., and his wife Barbara, and his youngestbrother, LeonardCulotta. He is survivedbyhis sons, Billy Loftin, Jr., Russell Culotta, Jr., Chris Culotta (Kelly) and Jeffrey Culotta(Emily); grandchildren, Madelyn Ritchie, Alexandra Hennigan (Daniel), Logan Loftin (Kaitlyn),and FletcherCulotta; great-grandchildren, Oliverand Harper Hennigan; brothers, JamesCulotta(Kay), Jackie Culotta (Sharon); and Godchildren, Karen Stubbs and Ross DeNicola, Jr.Russell was a graduateofCatholicHigh School (51')inBaton Rouge and went on to graduate fromLSU and attended Law School fortwo years thereafter.After college he was drafted into theArmy and served in SanFrancisco, CA after hisbasic training. Afterthe Army, he returnedtoBaton Rougeand went to workfor theState of Louisiana Civil Service in Human Resources. He was appointed Human Resources Director of theCity of Baton Rouge by former Mayor WoodyDumas where he served until 1971. He returned to State Civil Service where he was appointed Human Resources Director for theDepartment of PublicSafetyuntil his retirement. During his career he was awardedthe Charles E. Dunbar Jr.Career CivilService Award which is thehighest honor classified stateemployees can receive. Russell served on many boards and did volunteer workfor various organizations includingSt. Vincent DePaul. He enjoyed spending time at Manresa in Convent,LA and was afaithful parishionerofSt. JudeCatholic Church. Visitation willbe at GreenoaksFuneral Home,9595 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge,LA, on Sunday, June 22, 2025, from 5pmto8pm, and will resume at St.JudeCatholic Church, 9150 Highland Rd., Baton Rouge,LA, on Monday, June 23, 2025, from 9am until theMass of ChristianBurial at 10am. Burial willimmediately followatGreenoaks Memorial Park.The Culotta Family wouldliketoextend aspecial thanks to theHospice of Baton Rouge and the staff of Holly Court Assisted Living for theunwavering support and care of Russell.Inlieuofflowers, donations can be madeto Hospice Of Baton Rouge or Alzheimer'sServicesofthe Capital Area.

is withgreat sadness and devastationthat we announce thepassing of our belovedson. Chriswas

on December 30, 1990, and

On June 16, 2025, we lost amost unique person David Doiron wasbornon May24, 1962 to Robert and Willie Doiron.His sister JuleeDoiron, wasanxiously awaiting thearrival of herlittle brother, andtheir strongsiblingbond lasted throughout everysecond of hislife. HisDown'sSyndromeneverstopped him from livinga full life. He wasanathlete,a dancer, a music lover, asinger,an entertainer andthe happiest person anyofusever knew. Hisknowledge, love andappreciationofthe pop cultureofhis generation wasenviable. Hiscollectionofrecords, CD's andmovies is enough to open astore.His cultural iconsincluded many musicians of the60's, 70's and 80's, includingElvis, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Kiss and many others. But most especially, he loved Michael Jackson,whose dance moves he could copy,downtothe exact step and spin. He loved tough-guy actors like the Duke Boys, ChuckNorris, Mr.T,the Fonz, Hulk Hogan, andvarious other heroes of thetime. Once David graduated from Arlington school, he obtained hisdream jobworkingat McDonaldsfor over 18 years. He wasproud of his work andwas areliable employee.Asa family member, he wasveryloyal, open with hislove andhe hada true heart. He proudly took on therole of "man of thehouse" after hisfather passedaway. always protectiveofhis motherasshe aged. As a friend, he wasthe onewho wouldstick up for you, no matter what you were goingthrough. Hissocial skills surpassed what most party-goerswould envy. He washappy andoutgoing, confident andrealnota phonycellinhis body atruly genuinesoul. Alzheimer'sslowlytook away all of hisabilities and happiness. Therewill never be anotherDavid. He touched so many lives and hisdepartureleaves a huge void in us all.Hewas predeceased by hisfather andmother(Robert and Willie Bellue Doiron), numerousaunts, uncles cousinsand some very special friends. He is survivedbyhis sister,Julee Doiron,aswellasmany loving cousins and some dear friends. Thefamily wouldliketothank theresidents andstaff at theMulherinHome in Mobile,AL for theirfriendship and loving care for thelast two years.The service will be officiatedbyDavid's cousin,BarryBellue. Pallbearers are:PrinceJeffries,Rusty Bellue,Wirt Bellue,JeffriesMorgan, KevinDeVilleand LeeBellue. Visitation will be held at Greenoaks Funeral Home in Baton Rouge,LA., on Monday, June 23, from 10:30am untilservice time of 1:00pm

MarshaJeanHickman Pike died on 03 January 2025, at ProvidenceAlaska Medical Center in Anchorage, AK.She wasbornin Baton Rouge,LAon08 February 1949 to Cecil Lamar Hickman and JohnnieLouise Efferson Hickman. The secondofthree daughters, she attended DelmontElementary, Istrouma Junior High and Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge.She attended Louisiana State University after high school andreceived an associate degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA. WhilelivinginFairbanks, AK she continued hereducation at the University of AK Fairbanks. On 3Aug 1968, she married Russell Gary Wendt whom she met when they were both attendantsat hersister Judi's wedding. Russ wasinthe USAFand they were stationedinSan Antonio, TX, Valdosta, GA, Sacramento, CA andFairbanks, AK.After theirdivorce, she worked for the Diocese of Fairbanks whereshe met thelove of herlife, William Anton "Bill"Pike. They married8 Aug1992 at the ImmaculateConception Catholic Church in Fairbanks and maintainedtheir residence in Fairbanks until Bill's death in 2022. They enjoyed spending winters in Yuma, AZ andtimeattheir condoinHillsboro, OR. AfterBill's death,Marsha moved to Anchorage, AK to live with hersister,Judi Marshaloved to play thepiano and organ and served as churchorganist for MonteSanoBaptist Church in Baton Rouge for manyyears. Shealso played at various other churches over theyears. Shewas amember of the Sleeping Lady Chapter, Daughtersofthe American Revolution Marshahad abeautiful smileand was wonderful at crocheting (especially forher grandchildren), crafting andscrapbooking. When in San Antonio, Marsha hadgreat fun working at the1968 World'sFair (Hemisfair). After that she workedatthe UC Davis Medical Center Surgery Department andretired from theUniversity of Alaska, Fairbanks. Marshawas predeceased by herparents ,her husband William Anthon Pike andissurvivedbysisters; Judith Hickman Dean of Anchorage, AK and Jan Hickman KoellenofBaton Rouge,LAaswell as niece Lindsey KoellenShortofSt. Louis, MO.She is also survived by stepdaughters, sons-in-law andgrandchildren:CathyHawkins and Morten Hansen of Mukiteo, WA;JeanneMarieand PatrickWeis(Kabrin,Kindi, Anyon,Rowan &Adonia) of Cornelius, OR; Sharon and John Chakuchin (David, Rachel, Daniel& Rosemary) of Bethel,AKaswell as Julieand John Ellis (Tyler, Byron &Hunter), also of Bethel,AK. andgreatgrandchildrenEvelyn LindCarlson andAnthony Montantes

Doiron,David

Culotta Sr., Russell John

Russell

Hickman-Pike,Marsha Jean

Courtney, James William 'Bill'

Brown, Michael Lynn

Dilldine, Christopher Glynn'Chris'

born

Haik, Bruce

Bruce Haik,a devoted husband, father,and grandfather, passed away peacefully at the age of 73 in NewOrleans,Louisiana.

Amemorial service for Marsha will be held at the Monroe High School Chapel in Fairbanks, AK at 9:30 am on Saturday, 21 June 2025 followed by areceptionand the internment of her ashes along with those of her dear husband Bill at Northern Lights Memorial Park, 2318 Yankovich Road in Fairbanks

Hilbun, Joel Percival

Rev. Joel Percival Hilbun passed away peacefully on May 10, 2025, just 14 days 13 hours after the death of his beloved wife of 74 years, Kathrine Lurline Martin Hilbun. He was 96 years old. He was born on April 2, 1929, in Ellisville Mississippi to Rev. Bruce Sharp Hilbun and Cammie Vivian Miller Hilbun. He met the love of his life, Lurline, while attending Mississippi College.Together they were activein the Baptist Student Union and the Volunteer Mission Band. Joel earned his degree in Psychology in 1951, one week after marrying Lurline. That same year, he was ordained into the gospel ministry at Calvary Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. In 1955, Joel graduated from NewOrleansBaptist Theological Seminary and began alifelong ministry. Hispastoratesincluded: Center Ridge Baptist, Carmichael, MS (1951-1953); Associate Pastor and Music Director, Calvary Baptist, Mobile, AL (1953-1955); Pastor, Magnolia BaptistChurch, Saline, LA (1955-1957); Pastor,Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Winn Parish, LA (1955-1957); Pastor, First Baptist Church, Gueydan, LA (1957-1971); Pastor, Victoria Baptist Church, Baton Rouge (1971-1986), Pastor, Church of the Nations, Baton Rouge, LA (1996-1998), Senior Pastor, Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA (2007-2020) and Pastor Emeritus, Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA (2020-2025). Joel was a warm, compassionate, and humble pastor who demonstrated God's love for his congregation. He had adeep love &burden for the lost and for people of other cultures &from all walks of life. Most importantly, God's word was His guide and authority. In addition to his pastoral work, Joel served as Director of Missions and Ministry, Seaman's Center Director and Language Missions and Ministry Director for Judson Baptist Association (1981-1995). He also assisted churches statewide through the Louisiana Baptist Convention's Capital Funds Campaign. Laterin life, Joel started sharing daily devotionals on Facebook through Word from the Word, aministry that reached and inspired many. He faithfully posted until shortly before Lurline's passing, when he lovingly devoted his time to her care. Joel and Lurline shared aheart for missions and served internationally in Honduras, Russia and Barbados. Joel also completed three mission trips to India, training pastors and preaching with UniversalConcern. Joel (known as Pop to his grandchildren) was known for his quick wit, funny jokes and love of agood prank—especially on his children,grandchildren andhis cherished Lurlie His laughter was contagious, and people couldn't help but smile when he was around. Joelhad abig heart and lived his faith daily, sharing God's love and shining His light into the lives of everyone he met. He is survived by son Joel D. Hilbun (Henrietta) of Scott, LA; daughters Kaye Smith (Al) of Central LA; and Joy Mohr (Jeff) of Bush, LA; grandchildren, David, Michael (Lauren) and KevinHilbun; StephanieRojas (Ely), Michelle Callender, Katie Smith, Lindsey Liles (Shane); David, Jonathan, Benjamin and Bayli Mohr; great-grandchildren, Taylor Callender, Will Catton, Alexander Martel and Nora, Clara and Myra Liles; brother, Robert (Gail) Hilbun of Laurel, MS; and numerous nieces & nephews.A gravesideservice washeld Wednesday, May 14, 2025 with Pastor Nguyen Trong Vinh officiating at Greenoaks Memorial Park. Pallbearers were Jeff Mohr, David, Michael, Lauren and Kevin Hilbun, Lindsey and Shane Liles, and Katie Smith. Acelebra-

tion of life willbeheld on Saturday, June 28, at 10:30 am at the Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church located at 7133Greenwell Springs Road, Baton Rouge.The family would like to express thanks to family and friends fortheir continuedlove &prayers Aspecial thanks to Bernice Williams forher loving care of Dad/Pop whilehe was hospitalized in the last week of his life

Humphreys, Charles Edward

Charliewas born aspecialneeds childinOrangeburg, South Carolina to Davidand Christine Humphreys. He livedin Baton Rouge,LAfor many years. He finishedinHammond, LA in the care of Hammond Strawberry Fields, aspecial needs facility.Charliewas preceded in death by hismom, dad, and brother,Mike. He is survived by brothers, Russell, Patrick and his wife, Marcia. Followed by ourchildren and grandchildren, Kristy, Madyson, Hunter and Brittany. Specialthanks to all Charlie's caregivers, notably his adopted mom, Barbara Gordon. Charliealtered people's lives in apositive way. He nevershed atear except in laughter when he heard the song,Grandma GotRun Over by aReindeer. To know Charliewas to lovehim, he will be greatly missed

Barbara DeeJacobs was bornonMarch2,1935, in Indianapolis to Aaron and Betty Dee. She attended Shortridge High School, then attended Newcomb College in New Orleans majoring in music. It was thereshe met RogerJacobs, and they weremarried April5,1955. They were married 51 yearsuntil his passing in 2006. She was very active in the communitydoing countless hoursvolunteeringat the Goodwood Museum, The King Tut Exhibitionin NewOrleans, and assisting withthe Pope's visit. She volunteered at the Audobon Zoo, with the zoo mobilewhereshe would provideanimal education to residents of nursing homesaswellasmany schoolchildren. Shewas very active with WYES tv auction, including being co -chair of the auction with Ann Conroy. She even pickedupthe hobby of blowing glass. Her love of musicstartedwhen she was 5years old and she continuedplaying piano until afew months ago AfterHurricanKatrina, Roger and Barbara relocated to Baton Rouge. It was thereshe was in the company of afriend JackKahn from 2007 until hispassing in 2024. Shewas preceded in death by herhusband Roger Bach Jacobs, and son Danny Jacobs. She is survivedbyher daughter, DebbieAnn Jacobs, (New Orleans)and son,Kenneth Jacobs and his wife Sharon Jacobs,one grandchild Robert (Tallahassee,FL). From Jack's family, Jeff andDanaKahn,theirchildrenJack, Lauren and Rachel. Brad Kahn and Tiffaney,his childrenNate and Mason. We would like to thankher caregivers, Stephanie, Chantel, Melanie and Dynesha from Home Instead forproviding great care. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to The Henry SJacobs Camp (Utica, Miss), WYES (PBS) or the Greater Baton Rouge FoodBank

Jarreau, Joseph Jay

JosephJay Jarreau passed away on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at the ageof87. He was anative of Lakeland,LA, anda resident of Baton Rouge, LA He served twoyears in the Army National Guard.From 1980 to 2022, he ran and ownedJarreauDrywall Inc., after being in theindustryfor over 60 years. Josephissurvived by his sons, Kennethand Michael Jarreau; grandchildren, Kristen and John Michael Jarreau; great-grandchildren,Savannah and Adalynn;and other family members. He is preceded in deathbyhis wife, Dollie L. Jarreau;daughter, Sherri D. Jarreau;parents, Gamotois and Delia Jarreau;and siblings, Leroy, Fred, JosephAllen, Amelcar, and Levi Jarreau,Gladys St. Romain, VerdaBerthelot,Rita Miletello,and Thelma Comeaux. Visitation willbe at Greenoaks Funeral Home,9595 FloridaBlvd., Baton Rouge, LA,onTuesday, June 24, 2025, from 5pmto8pm,and willresume at Greenoaks on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, from9am until thetime of funeralservices at 10am. Burial willimmediately followatGreenoaks Memorial Park

Glenda Green Nash, a nativeofOak Grove, LA and aresident of Baton Rouge, LA,passed away on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the ageof71. She worked various jobs includingbanking,billing, officemanagement for multiple medical offices,includingpsychiatry, was certified as medical practice manager (CMPM), and an office manager &X-ray tech fora Chiropractor's office. She volunteered withAdopt OlderKids& La Councilon Child Abuse (Lafayette), St. Joseph's Catholic Church (youth group leader), OuachitaValleyRoad Runner's Association, American Heart Association, LafayetteCommunity Healthcare Clinic, aUnited Way crisis line (1300 hrs), and was avolunteerweekend manager RonaldMcDonald House(2000 hrs). She was intocompetitive ballroom dancing, where she was aUSABDA dance class coordinator.She was preceded in death by her parents, Glen "Horseshoe" AllenGreen and Vida Mae Green; and sister, Dorothy Bandi. She is survivedbyher loving husband of 37 years, Foley Nash; son, Bobby Nash; sisters,Cherrie Bennett (Charlie),Myrtle Green; brother, Tommy Green; and special friends, her nephews Jason Bennett (Sandy) and Charles Danny Bennett. Visitation willbe held at Resthaven Funeral Home,11817 Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge, LA 70816, on Monday, June 23, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. until FuneralService at 2:30 p.m. The family would like to give special thanks to Drs. Johnston, Venable, Olson, &Kovtun, all of Baton Rouge, for their care & consultation,friends &co-

workers forsupport &assistance,&the staff at Pinnacle Home Health/Hospice, &The Crossing (at Clarity Hospice) fortheir compassionate &professional care. In lieu of flowers, donations can be madetothe Ronald McDonald House, to your local non-profit crisis line,or to any non-profitagency supporting adoption.Familyand friendsmay sign theonline guestbook or leavea personal note to thefamily at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com.

Ourso Jr., Joseph Nicholas 'Nickey'

Joseph"Nickey"

Nicholas Ourso Jr. passed away peacefullyonJune 19, 2025, at Our LadyOfThe Lake in Baton Rouge, at the ageof81, surrounded by his family.Hewas bornin Plaquemine, LA.onApril 26, 1944 to Alice Leboeuf Ourso and Joseph"Nick" Ourso,Sr. He was aresident of Pierre Part forthe past 57 years. He graduated fromPlaquemine High School in 1964. Nickeywas kind and friendly to everyone.Heretired fromthe US Army Corps of Engineers as aHydrologic Technician. He enjoyed hunting spending time at thedeer lease, and watching his grandchildrenparticipate at sporting events. He lovedwatching football, baseball and boxing.Nickey enjoyed hismonthly trip to thecasino with his friends, Bruce and Hoss. A fullday reminiscing with his nephew, Bubba, always madehim happy. He was an original board member of thePierre Part BelleRiver Baseball League, where he enjoyed many years of coaching youthbaseball teams. He was also a member of thePierre Part Jaycees, KnightsofColumbus, Pierre Part Hunting Club and SunsetHunting Club.Nickeyissurvived by his loving wife of 57 years , Jessica "Kooney" Ourso; threechildren; Letty Blanchard (Toby), Curtis Ourso (Lanell),LanaChaney (Travis); grandchildren, BrettOurso(Fancie), DexterBlanchard,Dr. Alli Beth Blanchard Damare(Chase), Slye Ourso(Brooke),Sunni Blanchard, Hobie Ourso(Mackenzie), Karlie and Karsyn Chaney;great grandchildren, Hailey, Lilah and KaiOurso,Lilli and Cooper Ourso SkylarOurso, Nash Blanchard; sister, DoraSwords(Roger); brother, LeBoeuf Ourso(Jennifer);and brother-inlaw, Kirk Chedotal. He is preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Nick Ourso;sisters, Joann Chambers (Harry), Joy Willis (Earl "Red"), Mary Alice RillsVarnell(Jude, Dalbert);motherand father-in-law, Lillian and LesterChedotal;brother-in -law, Curtis Chedotal;and greatgrandchild, Parker Ourso.The pallbearers will be Dexter Blanchard, Coy Soreth, Chase Damare, Brett, Slye, and Hobie Ourso. The honorary pallbearers are Toby Blanchard, Curtis Ourso,Travis Chaney,LeBoeuf Ourso, Bubba Willis and Brian Willis. The family would like to thank Dr. Militello, JudsonJones, Dr. Bolotte, Dr. Stagg,the Nursing Care Home Healthand his amazing nurse, Gena Blanchard. We are forever grateful to Father Al Davidson and thePierre Part Fire And Rescue Department. Visitationwillbeheldon Sunday, June 22, 2025 from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm at Ourso Funeral Home in

Pierre Part. Then to continue on Monday, June 23, 2025 for 8:00 am untilthe Mass of Christian Burial for 11:00 am at St.Josephthe WorkerCatholic Church Entombment to follow in thechurchcemetery. Father PatrickRivierewill officiate.

JuliaBrumfield Nesbit Peters, belovedmother, grandmother,great-grandmother, andfriend, went into thehouse of the Lord Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 4:44pm at the age of 87. Juliawas born in Centreville,Mississippi on October31, 1937, daughter of the lateJohnP.Brumfield and LucilleKoen Brumfield. Julia's life wasone of purpose andpassion.After graduating from Baton Rouge High School, she wasdedicated to raising herfivechildrenand later acareerasanagentinreal estate. Juliawas actively involvedinher community, serving as amember of the Board of Real EstateBrokers, theDaughters of the American Revolution,and theKrewe of Iduna. Her generosity extendedtoher volunteerworkwith theBR Eye Bank Auxiliary, demonstratingher deep care for others.A passionate lover of theoutdoors,Julia enjoyed huntingand fishing andtook immense pleasure in traveling to new destinations.Her exceptional culinary skills delightedfamilyand friends alike,whileher talentasa pianistfilledmanygatherings with joy. Aboveall,Juliacherished thetime spent with family, impartinglifelessonsofadvice, of kindness and resilience to herbeloved family. Julia lovedunconditionally. Julia is preceded in death by her husband of 33 years, Lewis C. Peters; parents, John andLucilleBrumfield; and son-in-law, Daniel"Dan"C Bogan.She is survived by herchildren, Lisa Bostick (Bill), W. David Nesbit (Jackie), J. KevinNesbit (Sandy), and J. KeithNesbit, Julia(Jan)Bogan-Amos (Alan); grandchildren, Kathryn Bostick (Brett), Robert Bostick (Kolby), Jon Bostick (Maria), Jennifer Bohler (Kyle),Julia Johnson (Justin),Blake McNiece (Caitlin), Alex Nesbit (Macy), Amy Nesbit, DanielBogan (Erin), andLauraBogan (Levi); andstep-children,GlenPeters(Allison), Mary Fuller(Roger), WarrenPeters(Barbara), and Carol Bourgois, and seven great-grandchildren.The familywishestoextend theirheartfelt gratitude to, ChelseaYoung,The Carpenter Houseand Garden View Assisted Living for theircompassionatestaff andcare. In honoringJulia's memory, we inviteall whoknewand lovedher to join thefamilyfor avisitation at ResthavenFuneral Home, locatedat11817 Jefferson Hwy,Baton Rouge, LA, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Visiting hourswill continue the followingday, June 26, from 9:00 AM until thefuneral service begini d

ning at 10:00 AM,conducted by Chaplain Chester Readus. Gravesideserviceswill follow at ResthavenGardens of Memory. In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a tree in herhonor or donatingtothe Baton Rouge Eye Bank Auxiliary, reflecting herlife'sdedication to givingback. Familyand friends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyat www.resthavenbatonroug e.com.

Mary

Mary JosephineGenusa Porto, anative of Port Allenand residentofDonaldsonville,passed away peacefully at herhomeat theage of 83. Mary spent herlifedevoted to herfamily. Shewas awife,mother grandmother and friend whowill be greatly missed. Sheenjoyedfishing, raisingparakeetand cockatiel birds, and cooking herSunday dinnerspecialty, meatballs and spaghetti. She also lovedtobake herItalian cookies but most of all spendingtimewithher family. She is survived by herhusbandJosephV.Porto Jr.of62yearsand her threechildren; Debra Porto, Joseph PortoIII (Dana), and Chad Porto; three grandchildren; Debra Wendt(Troy), Elise Porto andLibbey Porto; two great grandchildren;Jacob Sumralland HaileyWysingle. Sheisprecededin death by herparents,Louis andRoseScalise Genusa; three brothers Camello Genusa Sr., Braggio Genusaand Louis Ganusa Jr.; and threesisters, Catherine Genusa, Alice Zito andRosie Daquano. A memorial service willbe held on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 from 10:00 am until theMass of Christian Burial for 11:00 am at Ascension of OurLordCatholic Church in Donaldsonville Inurnmenttofollow in the church mausoleum. Father Matt Duprewillofficiate

Peters,Julia Brumfield Nesbit

Porto,

Josephine Genusa

Nash,GlendaGreen

Jacobs, Barbara Ann Dee

Vilas PhD LSU Professor, Santiago

Baton Rouge Weather

This LSU moment sponsored by theNo. 1

OMAHA, Neb The number of the day, everyone, is one.

One run for LSU.

One pitcher protecting that one-runlead in the person of Louisiana-born-and-raised Kade Anderson.

KADE,MAN

One victory away from another College World Series championship forthe Tigers. This one was unusual. Unusually hot (97 degrees at first pitch) with an unusual near-galeforce wind howling in from right field, making the chances of ahome run ball flying out in that direction rarer than, well, a1-0 game LSU has played awhole bunch here in Omahaover the past 40 years, but this was thefirst 1-0 decision, win or lose, the Tigers have ever been involved with.

Here’sanother number foryou: 50. That’s how many games LSU has won in 79 appearancesinOmaha, fourth-most all-time.Add Coastal Carolina to the Tigers’ list of unwillingvictims.The Chanticleers gave up their remarkable 26-gamewinning streak grudgingly, but they couldn’tcrack the Kade code. When they went back to their team hotel on Saturday night to review the Anderson tapes, they’re going to lament the fact that they were 0for 9with runners in scoringposition. That left ﬁelder Sebastian Alexander overslid the bag at third to end the Coastal third inning (Baseball Cardinal Rule No 7: Nevermake the third out at third base). That they squandered apretty impressive starting effort from their starter Cameron Flukey,and reliever Dominick Carbone

How impressive? LSU hadonly three bites at the RBI apple with runners in scoring position. Three. But they were 1for 3

ä See RABALAIS, page 8C

LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson pitches in Game 1ofthe CollegeWorld Series finals

SaturdayinOmaha, Neb

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

OMAHA,Neb Five runs typically have been the magic number for LSUthis season.

Heading into Game 1ofthe College WorldSeries final, theTigers had lost only twice all year when theyhad scored at least five runs.Their record in games where they scored fewer than five runs was 8-13.

Butwhen Kade Anderson is pitching, recent historical precedent can be thrown out of the window LSUneeded just one runagainstCoastal Carolina on Saturday night at Charles Schwab Field.And Anderson,

theLSU left-handed sophomore ace whoisthe potential No. 1pick in the upcoming MLB draft, madesure of it.

The Louisiana native tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season —this one against the Chanticleers —tocement his status as an LSU legend in the Tigers’ ﬁrst-ever 1-0win in the NCAA Tournament. He struck out 10 batters and allowed just three hits on 130 pitches. “His next pitch should be forsomeplace in the Washington Nationals organization,” LSUcoach JayJohnson said,referring to the Nationals having the No. 1pick in theJuly draft. “It’snot close.”

ä See LSU, page 8C

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

Instead, theNBA draft lottery fell the other way and the Pelicans ended up sliding to the No. 7pick.

“Even when we went from 4to7,Iwasn’t oneofthe people that was really disappointed in that back room,” Dumars said.“Iwas OK with it. Iknowthisdraft, and we’re going to get agood player at 7.”

Joe Dumars, unlike most of the NewOrleans Pelicans fan base, wasn’tfazed when the pingpong balls didn’tfallinhis team’s favor on that May eveninginChicago Dumars, hired in April as the Pelicans executive vicepresident of basketball operations, just had inherited ateam that ﬁnished withthe fourth-worst record in the NBA. Thatdismal 21-61 season gave the Pels a12.5% chance of landingthe No. 1overall pick and winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.

ä NBA draft 7P.M.WEDNESDAy,ESPN

Thereare two reasons for Dumars’ optimism. First,helikes this year’sclass. Secondly,and mostimportantly,hereally likes the guy who is going to help him ﬁnd theright players. Troy Weaver was the ﬁrst person Dumars hired.

Weaver is the new senior vice president of basketball operations andisresponsible for helping locate the missing piecestoturn things around forthe Pelicans. Before coming to New Orleans, Weaver spent timeasanassistant general manager forthe OklahomaCity Thunder and general manager of the Detroit Pistons. This past season, he served as asenior adviser for the

See PELICANS, page 5C

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

against Coastal Carolina on

Scott Rabalais

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson and catcher Luis Hernandez embrace after the Tigers defeat Coastal Carolina 1-0 on SaturdayinOmaha, Neb

OUTDOORS

What astory

PHOTO

Tristan Rude shows offthe 9.65-pound largemouth basshecaught to wowthe crowd at last weekend’sBrother Dardis Fishing Rodeo in NewOrleans.The rest of the storyfor theJesuit High student is how, when fishing with his motherand battling this lunker largemouth, he tipped overthe canoe,losteverything in the boat, butkept his rod and reel in hand and landed the fish. Naturally,his catch wonthe rodeo’s Division II category.

Wherehavethe fish gone?

Fishing GrandIsle surf hasbeen lacking foryears

BY JOE MACALUSO Contributing writer

Here’shoping this doesn’t raise alarms like other instances like this have over the years.

Fact is, there are few,ifany, fishinthe Grand Isle surf, not just this summer but for many summers. For years, fishing off the beach at Grand Isle was an adventure.Speckled trout, redfish, jack crevalle,Spanish mackerel, an occasional flounder —and sharks —were in the shallows and between the sandbarstoprovidenonboaters with sport and achance to put wholesome food on the table.

Guessing there are several reasonstoexplain this dilemma.

Guessing violent hurricanes and storms are ﬁrst on the list. Then, to repair storm damage to the berm protecting the island, sand was pumped several timesfrom thefrontofthe island. Shrimping, through not in theshallows, is another disruptive force. But what about behind the island? In Caminada and Barataria bays?

During the past handful of years, catches of speckled trout and redfish are down despite the efforts to rebuild several of the fish-producing reefs that have disappeared in our state’sbattle against subsidence. Or,could this be along-longering effect of the BP oil-spill disaster Again, there’snosimple explanation, and the reason for this writing is to save you the time and effort of fishing the surf along Louisiana’sonly inhabited barrier island Wahoo Our state’snew regulations

on thetakeofwahoo is in effect: alimit of ﬁve per person daily and possession limit.

TheWildlife andFisheries Commission set the limit in advance of apotential move by federal ﬁsheries managerstoimposerestrictions on this offshore species after theGulfCouncil learned of large numbers of wahoo taken on the Flower Garden National Banks were showingupinTexas ports.

Wildlife and Fisheries suggested thefive-per-angler take after LA Creel dockside surveys.

The state agency’sfisheriesmanagers can notify the GulfCouncilthatLouisiana has put awahoo management planinplace.

Francine’s kills Hurricane Francine,the Category 2storm that made landfall in Terrebonne Parish on Sept.11, left dead ﬁsh across nearly two million acres in our state.

The report, issued Friday by Wildlife andFisheries (LDWF),cataloged widespread areas with low dissolved oxygen thattriggered 89 documented fish kills, of which39werereportedby the public and 50 identified by theagency’sfisheries biologists in bayous and canals

Thereport also stated Francine’seffect on fish populations were said to be moderate compared to 2021’sHurricane Ida.

Newlaws

Amajor bill passed in the recent legislative session and signedinto lawprovides broad protectionfor theﬁrearmsand relatedbusinesses.

The new law gives liability protectiontofirearms manufacturers andsellerswhen they have transferred afirearm in compliance with federal and statelaw to anyone whomight use thatfirearm in acriminal activity And, another new law gives thesame liability pro-

tection to makersand distributors of ammunition.

Need nominations

The CoalitiontoRestore Coastal Louisiananeedsnominations for its annual Coastal Stewardship Awardstorecognize individuals, companies, organizations and communities “whoseachievements in coastal restoration and protection are exemplary.”

Winners will be honored at CRCL’s annualbanquet on Nov.13inBaton Rouge. Nominations should come from letters of support, an explanation why this person or group deserves consideration, news stories, photos and/or videos. Submission deadline is Aug. 3. For details, call James Karst at (504) 220-7899.

Good news

The reauthorization of the Dingell-JohnsonSportfish Restoration Act has been introduced in the U.S. House. If passed, this important fundingmechanism would carry through 2031.

This act collects excise taxes up to 10% in thesale of mostfishing tackle and equipment, then, through federal disbursing, is sent to states, tribes and territories to fund habitatrestoration, ﬁsheries research and access improvements, and provides major funding for Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.

Disbursement is based on the number of ﬁshing licenses sold annually,and has provided more than $12 billion since ﬁrst enacted in 1950.

Acentury of hooks

If you ﬁsh freshwater or saltwater, then it’s likely you’ve used an Eagle Claw hook,or that’s company’sLazar Sharp and/or Trokar hooks.

Well, this month, Eagle Claw celebrates its 100th year of made-in-Americahooks. Congratulations for making it this long andmakingtheminthe USA.

JesuitHigh Rodeo

The final leaderboardfromthe two-dayBrother Dardis Family Fishing Rodeo with anglers and weight of their catches in pounds. Division, 19 &older; Division II, 18-and-younger anglers: DIVISION II Speckledtrout: 1, Will Fernandez, 4.05 pounds.2,Rollins Leopold, 3.9. 3, James Campo, 3.3. Redfish: 1, Brandon Burke,7.35. 2, Sam McEnery,6.75. 3, James Breaux, 6.65. Redsnapper: 1, AnthonyAmadeo, 20.15. 2, Hunt Charvet, 19.1. 3, Hudson Puckett, 18.7. Sheepshead: 1, Connor Discon, 6.7. 2, HayesStavinhoa, 5.7. 3, Charlie Cusimano, 5.6. Blackdrum: 1, Carl Giffin IV,8.15. 2, Campbell Levy 7.35. 3, Stephen Danna, 7.05. Flounder: 1, Jude Campo, 2.65. 2, Nash Leingang, 1.35.

3, Michael Pulazzano, 1.2. Bass: 1, Tristan Rude, 9.65. 2, Martin Breaux,1.9. 3, Blaine Wilbanks,1.4. Freshwater catfish: 1, Cael Howerton, 9.3. 2, Howerton, 7.15.

3, Howerton, 7.0. DIVISION I Speckledtrout: 1, Stephen Peterman, 3.9. 2, John Lagarde, 3.15. 3, Michael Meier, 3.1. Redﬁsh: 1, Christopher McMahon, 7.0. 2, David Boyd 6.85. 3, ChrisPetty,6.65.

Redsnapper: 1, W. Desenhart, 17.9. 2, C. Puckett, 17.7.

3, Joe Piacun, 14.85

Sheepshead: 1, Msgr. Christopher Nalty,5.5. 2, Casey Stavinohoa, 5.55. 3, Gared Discon, 5.3. BlackDrum: 1, Carl Giffin, 7.4. 2, KennyPrados, 6.8. 3, Jeff Levy,5.65. Flounder: 1, KennyPrados,1.4. 2, Richie Donnes, 0.9. 3, Prados, 0.75. Bass: 1, William Rau, 3.45. 2, ColleenRude, 1.4. 3, Kerry Redmann, 0.95. Freshwatercatfish: 1, Gene Simons, 15.95. 2, K. Cusimano, 3.05. 3, Cusimano, 2.95. SPECIAL Father/daughter: Seth &LucyShute. Biggestfish: AnthonyAmadeo III, 137.0 (grouper). 5-troutstringer: Team Puckett, 21.05. Junior Southwest Bassmasters FERRIDAY Age-group resultsfromthe two-dayJunior Southwest Bassmasters-Denham Springs’ Maytournament heldduringFather’s Dayweekend on Lake Concordia with anglers, theirhometowns,number of bass weighed in parentheses (five-bassdaily limit), total weight in pounds and big-bass winners: FIRST DAY 15-18 agegroup: 1, Evan BurrisWalker(5) 11.63 pounds 2, Grant Brouillette, Baton Rouge (3)5.05. 3, Ayden Albarez, Addis (2) 4.09. BigBass: Burris, 3.26.

MONDAY RED STICK FLYFISHERS FLYTYING: 7p.m.,

Orvis Shop, 7601 BluebonnetBlvd. Open to public. Hands-on clinic covering basics of ﬂy tying. Materials and tools provided. Website: rsff.org

THURSDAY ACADIANA BUGS&BREWS: 6p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook,Lafayette. Open to the public. Email Flip Siragusa: redﬁsh452@ gmail.com. Website: www.packpaddle.com

SATURDAY FLYFISHING 101: 9-11 a. m.,Orvis Shop Bluebonnet Boulevard,Baton Rouge.Fee free. Basics of casting,rigging, ﬂy selection Equipment furnished. All ages,adultsto accompany15-and-younger. Preregistration required. Call Shop(225) 757-7286.Website: orvis.com/batonrouge ONGOING

CCASTATEWIDE TOURNAMENT &ANGLERS’ RODEO/S.T.A.R.: Summer-long ﬁshing contest through Sept. 1. Multiple species categories. CCAmembership required. Website: ccalouisiana.com AROUND THE CORNER

JUNE 29—SOUTH LOUISIANA HIGHPOWER

CLUB MATCH: 8:30 a.m.,Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Range, St.LandryRoad,Gonzales. CMP GSSM, NRA match rifle or service rifle 200-yard/50-rounds match course &Prone matches. Fee$15 members, $20 nonmembers, $5 juniors. $25 annual club (first match free) &Civilian Marksmanship Program membership (allows purchases from CMP) Call (337) 380-8120. Email Mike Burke: SouthLaHighPower@hotmail.com

JULY2-6—NRA NATIONAL HIGHPOWER LONG-RANGECHAMPIONSHIP: Alliance Riﬂe Club,Malvern, Ohio. Website: allianceriﬂeclub.org

BY DANGELSTON AP sportswriter

LONG POND,Pa. Pocono Raceway paints its signature black rocks outside the garage in gold lettering with alastname and race car number highlighted to honor some of NASCAR’sgreats.Jimmie Johnson hasone So does Richard Petty, among others. So where’sthe celebratory boulder for Denny Hamlin, who holdsthe track record with seven wins and saw an-

other victory thrown out in 2022 becauseof adisqualification? Hamlin laughed when he said Pocono officials told himthe requirement was, “either retire or die.” At 44 years old, Hamlin —who just welcomed ason with fiancee Jordan Fish should have the prime of his life ahead. As for retirement? What, and miss outonall thefun?

Even without aCup championship on his resume, Hamlin remains adominant force in the sport and he showed again Saturday why he’sthe driver to beat on the 2 1/2mile tri-oval track. Hamlin skipped last week’s race in Mexico City following his son’sbirth and returned without missingabeat, turning alap of 172.599 mph to take the topspot in Sunday’srace. “Truthfully,I’m on arun,” Hamlin said. “I don’tknow how else tosay it.”

JULY3-5–75TH GOLDEN MEADOW-FOURCHON

TARPON RODEO: Fourchon Marina &Pavilion, Port Fourchon. Beneﬁts South Louisiana High students. Fishing begins daylight July 3. Weigh-in July 4-5. King of theCatch cooking contest. Inshore, BigGame, Shoreline,Kayak, Spearﬁshing &Children’s divisions. Website: fourchontarpon.com.

JULY6-10—NRA NATIONAL PRECISION PISTOL CHAMPIONSHIP: Cardinal Shooting Center Marengo, Ohio. Also: NRA National Smallbore Championship Website: thecardinalcenter.com FISHING/SHRIMPING SHRIMP: Spring inshoreseasonand outside watersopen statewide. OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Redsnapper,ﬂounder;lane, blackﬁn, queen andsilk snappers &wenchmen among othersnapper species; all groupersexcept closed for goliath& Nassau groupersinstate/federal waters.

CLOSED SEASONS: Gray triggerﬁsh, greater amberjack, blueﬁn tuna and gag, goliath& Nassau groupersinstate/federal waters. LDWF UPDATES

CLOSED: Woodworthshooting range through June 22 (berm maintenance); Pearl River WMA (Old U.S. 11 gate&shooting range; flooding);HopeCanal Road/boat launch (MaurepasSwamp WMA, leveeconstruction); roads/trails, RichardYancey WMA (except Sunk, Shell, Yakey, Wycoff &Silver Lakes roads, flooding);GrassyLakeWMA all roads &trails (flooding),except SouthBayou Natchitoches Road is open

DRAWDOWNS: underway on Saline &Kepler lakes.

REOPENED: South Farm (Sherburne WMA). EMAIL: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com

PROVIDED

Rattler, Shough making casestoSaints

First-year coachMoore lookingfor right fitatQB

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Kellen Moore looks primarily at two areas when evaluating his quarterbacks at this time of year

Analysis

The Saints coach wants to see their command and control. The command begins in the huddle, with the signal-caller relaying the play call.The control then takesplace at the line of scrimmage, with howthe quarterback reads the defense and dictates the outcome.

Everything else is awork in progress.

“The execution, just the consistency,isgoing to be the big aspect as we continue to grow this thing,” Moore said. “But you feel really good where all these guys are at.”

Through two months of offseason workouts, the Saints’ three-man quarterbackbattle resembled more of atwo-man competition. SpencerRattler and Tyler Shough have gotten the majority of reps with an injured Jake Haener (oblique) working to get healthy

So, who will winthe battle?

Moore obviously isn’t anywhere close to naming avictor.But through their play,both quarterbacks made acompelling argument for why they could win the job. Let’stake a closer look at why each man realistically could start Week 1.

Case forRattler

Rattler publicly has said he doesn’tfeel that he’s been overlooked in the starting quarterback battle, and his throws throughout the offseason have made sure notice is paid, just in case.

“You’ve just got to play free,” he said.

Rattler has done so thus far.He’sbeen quick and decisive, looking much faster than ayear ago. As much

as hestruggled in his seven gamesasarookie, it’s apparent that experience beneﬁted the24-year-old in the long run.

Thecoachingstaff isn’t oblivioustothe challenging circumstances that Rattler faced last year,too. Injuries decimated the lineup, particularly along theoffensive lineand at wide receiver

That doesn’tgive Rattler apass on his play from that stretch —hefailed to win a game,after all —but it does explain whyhelooks better with afullsupporting cast, and whyitispremature to write himoff after one season.

Rattler’sbest moments as arookie came when he was on themove, and if he winsthe job, his mobility mayprovetobea deciding factor.But whathas been impressive abouthim this offseason is that his top throws have come fromthe pocket

Some ofthat can be explained bythe fact the Saints have stuck to 7-on-7 work in practices —meaningthere hasn’tbeen atrue pass rush to force Rattler outsideofit. Butagood throw is agood throw.And Rattler has needled some of these passes to histargets ForRattler to win the job, he’ll havetobebetter in areas that have yettobe measured this offseason. He was pressured on astaggering 39.2% of his dropbacks lastseason,and while it can be temptingto blame that on thehealth of the offensiveline, he was also under duress in college. A ProFootball Focusstudy from 2019 indicated that pressurerateisone of the moreconsistent metrics to carry over from collegeto thepros for quarterbacks. The two other worrying trends for Rattler as arookie were hissplits between theﬁrst and second halves, and his tendency to turn the ball over.His eight turnovers (ﬁveinterceptions,

three fumbles) were the league’sthird-most across theweeks he suited up. And his passer rating went from 103.5 in the ﬁrst half to 46.5 after halftime. Training camp, and more so thepreseason, will be a testfor Rattler to show he’s learned from the past. But remember,Rattler was not aﬁnished product when theSaints drafted him 144th overall in 2024. They were intrigued by Rattler’s potential, especially given his background as ahighly prized recruit who was once thought of as the top quarterback prospect in the country Quarterbacks need time to grow.Perhaps Rattler will show enough growth this summer to seize the job Case forShough Shough hasn’tlooked overwhelmed at all in this competition, and he said there’sa good reason for that.

Thequarterback is usedto ﬁghting for astarting spot.

At Louisville, Texas Tech

and Oregon, Shough had to earn his job and believes that has helped him throughout this offseason. He said he doesn’tfeel as pressed to force thedeep ball, for instance, because he’slearned that taking thecheckdown can be the smarter option.

“I know thebest way to do it is just do your job,” Shough said. There have been times this offseason in which Shough has been slower than Rattler,but alearning curve was to be expected. Rattler underwent asimilar experience as arookie last year,when he seemed hesitantoncertain throws especially before training camp. It has been evident Shough is still adjusting to thespeed of NFLdefenses and the rate that he must go through his progressions.

Still, Shough has improved over the last few weeks, and that bodes well heading intotraining camp next month.Hewas much sharper during mandatory minicamp, with theball zipping out on certain throws.

Shough’sarm talent is undeniable. His deep passes rocket downthe ﬁeld, and he’shit the fast receivers in rhythm.Beyond that, Shough’sarm talent results in impressive placement. He’sable to ﬁre off passes into tight windows, such as when he hit Rashid Shaheed amid tight coverage from Kool-Aid McKinstry

Like Rattler,Shough will have to show he’scomfortable against apass rush. Several draftanalysts noted how his gamecan falter under pressure, and the stats back that up. According to Pro Football Focus, his completion percentage at Louisville dipped from 71.3% when kept clean to 42.3% under pressure. But as drastic as that split is, Shough was relatively good at avoiding sacks and turnovers. He was only sacked on 3% of his dropbacks last season, and when facing pressure, he was sacked on only 9.3% of those plays —third-best in the nation. He also had only six interceptions in 2024, good fora1.5% intercep-

tion rate.

Draft status, meanwhile, won’tautomatically win Shough the job, but it is worth mentioning. The 25-year-old was the Saints’ highest-drafted quarterback since 1971, and this coaching staffplayed an active role in wanting him Shough, fairly or unfairly, is seen as Moore’squarterback compared to the two signal-callers whom the coach inherited. If the competition is close, it’sfair to wonder whether the Saints will lean toward starting Shough because of that. And there’s an argument that it may be morebeneﬁcial forthe franchise in the long run to ﬁnd out what it has in the rookie. Then again, the circumstances might prove irrelevant. Shough simply may be the best quarterback on the roster.Ormaybe it’sRattler.The answer is coming this summer

EmailMatthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate.com

‘Another greatgroup coming in’toThibodaux

QBsManning andNussmeier headlineManning Passing Academy

It’sthat time of year

Duncan

Thibodaux again will be the center of the quarterback universe next weekend as the Manning Passing Academy kicks off at Nicholls State on Thursday The 29th edition of the prestigious camp will be the biggest ever, with a record 1,450 campers and 44 of the nation’stop collegiate quarterbacks, including 11 of the projected starters in the Southeastern Conference.

“We’ve got another great group coming in,” said ArchieManning, whospearheads the recruitment of the college quarterbacks to the camp. “Wehad such great demand that we couldn’ttake allofthe quarterbacks that wanted to come. That’sagood problem to have.”

Among the headliners this year are Arch Manning, the third generation of the camp’snamesakes, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier,Cade Klubnik of Clemson and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina. The college quarterback group includes seven of the top 10 quarterback prospects in Pro Football Focus’ 2026 NFL Draft rankings, although it’spossiblethat Manning will bypass next year’s draft and stay at Texas for afourth year.Other projected ﬁrst-rounders

LSU quarterbackGarrett Nussmeier huddles up during the Manning Passing Academyon June 28 at Nicholls StateinThibodaux. Nussmeier,a senior projected to be a first-round draft choice,helps headline this year’scrop of quarterbacks.

are Nussmeier,the son of Saints offensivecoordinator Doug Nussmeier,and Sellers. Twoother projected firstround quarterbacks, Drew Allar of Penn Stateand Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, were scheduled to attend but recently informed MPA officials they willnot make the camp because of scheduleconflicts Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, who transferred from Tulane this offseason, is also scheduled toattend. It will behis first local appearance sinceheleft Tulane in December Quarterbacksfrom three in-state colleges also will serve as counselors: Carson Camp,Southeastern Louisiana; Deuce Hogan, Nicholls State;and Walker Howard, UL. Nussmeier and Klubnik are among13quarterbacks

making areturn appearance at the Manning Passing Academy The highlight of theweek again will be theFriday Night Lights competition, pittingthe college quarterbacks in aseries of skill competitions. The event begins at 8p.m. Friday at Guidry Stadium. As usual, thecamp will feature several high-proﬁle guests, including former CBS college football

analyst Todd Blackledge, former ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay,and former Carolina Panthers tight ends Wesley Walls and Greg Olsen,who is bringing his son, T.J. Acouple of special guests will work at theManning Passing Academy this year Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden will speak to thecampers and coach them on the ﬁeld, Archie

Manning said. Gruden has not coached since being ﬁred by theRaiders in 2021. He served as aconsultant with the Saints in 2023. Tyler Shough is also expected towork the camp, albeit in an unknown capacity. The Saints rookie attended the 2023 Manning Passing Academy and asked Archie Manning whether he could work it this year while staying in New Orleansfor theoffseason.

“I’ll ﬁnd something for him to do,” Manning quipped. “The only difference is this time we’ll give him an upgrade. He won’t have to sleep in the dorms or make the sheets on his bed. Buthestill gets just $300 aday,just like everyone else.”

Email Jeff Duncanat jduncan@theadvocate.com.

Jeff

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Saints quarterbacks, from left, Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler,Hunter Dekkers and JakeHaener taketurns throwingthe ball during aminicamp practice on June 10 in Metairie.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

Broussard glad he nixed brotherly advice

St. Thomas More coach ranks sixth nationally in wins

Editor’s note: This is an entry in a proﬁle series of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The induction ceremony is set for Saturday in Natchitoches.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Sometimes it’s a good idea to listen to the advice of your older brothers.

There was one particular decision, though, St. Thomas More boys basketball coach Danny Broussard is glad he didn’t.

After graduating from Meaux High School in rural Vermilion Parish in 1977, Broussard’s first thought was to become a coach

After all, his older brothers Rickey and Brent were already coaches and the family was always heavily involved in athletics.

“They were kind of trying to talk me out of it,” Broussard said.

“They said things like, ‘Oh, it’s tough, you don’t make a whole lot of money and it’s long hours, so why don’t you do something else?’ Broussard spent his freshman year at then-USL in Lafayette in

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

Washington Wizards

“Troy has a unique skillset,” Dumars said. “His ability to identify talent in this league is elite. He has a long track record of being able to identify players at an elite level.”

Weaver gets his ﬁrst test in New Orleans on Wednesday when the NBA draft begins. The Pelicans own the No. 7 pick and the No. 23 pick (acquired in a trade on Tuesday) in this year’s draft.

This is familiar territory for Weaver Seventeen years ago, he was hired as assistant general manager with the Seattle SuperSonics as they were relocating to Oklahoma City His team then, just like this year’s Pelicans, had a top-10 selection (No. 4) and a pick in the 20s (No. 24). The SuperSonics had gone 20-62 the season before, one less win than the Pelicans had this season

It was Weaver who made a strong push for the SuperSonics/ Thunder to roll the dice and take a chance on a certain player whose draft proﬁle wasn’t overly impressive — especially for a No. 4 pick.

“Because of his defensive ability, he is unlikely to be a bust, although he probably won’t develop into a bona ﬁde superstar,” read one 2008 draft proﬁle on the prospect.

The player was Russell Westbrook, who went on to become an MVP and is a likely Hall of Famer “In terms of evaluation, Troy’s ability to see players for what they can be and not for who they are right now is a major strength,” said Will Dawkins, the general manager of the Wizards. Dawkins worked with Weaver this season in Washington. The two of them also arrived in OKC together back in 2008 under Sam Presti, arguably the best executive in the NBA.

“The way Sam Presti leads, he allows everybody to have a voice,” Dawkins said. “He allows people to listen and then makes the best informed decision Troy had a loud voice in (drafting Westbrook), and he consistently spoke up for the guys who he thought weren’t necessarily the best players now, but would be the best players moving forward.

“With Troy in Oklahoma City, we were able to build something pretty special based off the talent It wasn’t just about identifying the players. It was also grooming them once they got there, and Troy played a big part in that.”

In addition to Westbrook, the Thunder drafted Serge Ibaka with the 24th pick that year. Westbrook and Ibaka became key pieces for a Thunder team that reached the NBA Finals four years later

Weaver wasn’t available for an interview for this story, but the draft philosophy he talked about when the Pistons hired him as general manager in 2020 likely still holds true today

“I just feel like my philosophy is we don’t draft players, we draft people,” Weaver said five years ago. “We want to make sure we get

general studies, hoping to decide what his future would hold.

He thought about being a pharmacist.

“The only problem with that was pharmacy school was in Monroe and I didn’t want to go way up there and also there were too many chemistry courses,” Broussard said “I was good at math, but not chemistry.”

After the second semester, his adviser came to him demanding a decision.

With no other favorable options in mind, Broussard said, “I’m going to education.”

More than four decades later, Broussard is entering the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as one of the nation’s most successful coaches in high school basketball history The induction ceremony is set for Saturday in Natchitoches.

It wasn’t that his brothers didn’t think young Danny could coach In fact, he had already proven he could.

As a senior at Meaux, Broussard coached the school’s 4H basketball team to a tournament title in Kaplan.

“I found guys at Meaux,” he said.

“We put together a little team of fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders and we won That’s kind of when I got hooked. I remember thinking, ‘This is fun. I love this.’

March

Getting them together and preparing them and then seeing the results.”

the person right. If you get the person right, the basketball will take care of itself. Drafting high, getting the person right is more important to me. You draft in the 20s, you might want to take a swing on some talent or maybe a position.”

Weaver’s time in Detroit didn’t go well ThePistonswentjust54-192in his three seasons running the show

But he drafted some of the key pieces that helped the Pistons turn things around this season to ﬁnish sixth in the Eastern Conference after winning a combined 31 games the previous two seasons.

“When we showed up, the cupboard wasn’t bare,” ﬁrst-year Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the Detroit Press in an interview

“There was a ton of talent in that locker room.” Credit Weaver for that.

Can he bring that type of talent to the Pelicans’ locker room?

Dawkins believes he can.

“First and foremost, Troy is as consistent as a person and as a evaluator as anyone I’ve been around,” Dawkins said. “He has a great combination of hard work and humility. Believe it or not, that’s hard to ﬁnd He does the work and is really in it with you.

He’s a true day one type grinder

As a leader, he’s inclusive, he’s ﬂexible and he’s conﬁdent ”

That confidence comes from Weaver’s path to becoming an NBA executive He isn’t a Hall of Famer like Dumars, the man he’s now working with for the ﬁrst time. Heck, Weaver never stepped foot on an NBA court as a player His basketball playing days ended after one season playing at a community college. After that, he helped start and coach an AAU team in the 1990s. His success at finding talent there led him to landing college assistant coaching jobs at Pittsburgh, New Mexico and Syracuse.

It was Weaver who ﬁrst noticed Carmelo Anthony before he became one of the top recruits in the country Nailing that evaluation early gave Weaver a head start in the recruiting process, and he ended up getting Anthony to sign with Syracuse and eventually lead it to a national championship as a freshman.

“Troy’s years of experience at the youth level and the college level and the pro level are hard to match compared to a lot of evaluators out there right now,” Dawkins said. “He can see the game as an evaluator, but through a coaching lens. He’s spent so much time coaching and being around players. All of that combined is what makes him Troy Weaver.”

Big brother Rickey wasn’t surprised by those early signs of success.

“I never had any doubt that Danny could accomplish great things,” said Rickey, who led Nicholls State to two NCAA Tournament appearances. “There was just something about him.”

Upon graduating college, young Danny faced another big decision.

He got an offer from Hanson Memorial in Franklin to be basketball coach. Broussard asked for the weekend to ponder his options. Once again, his older brother had other ideas. While Danny was communicating with Hanson, a math teacher at a new school, St. Thomas More where Rickey was the head basketball coach, decided to run the math department at Fatima instead just weeks before the start of

school.

So Rickey implored Danny to talk to STM’s administration before accepting the Hanson job.

“They offered me $3,000 to $4,000 more a year to be a freshman baseball, basketball and football coach,” Broussard said. “That’s a lot of money to a kid right out of college, so I took it.”

Danny, then 22, quickly moved into the spot as the Cougars’ top basketball assistant, and about a year later Rickey joined the Ragin’ Cajuns staff.

“I remember asking Rickey, ‘So who is going to coach St. Thomas More?’ and he said, ‘You are.’ ” Fast-forward 41 years and Broussard ranks as the No. 6 coach nationally in wins with 1,162 that’s 171 from being the winningest coach ever He’s led the Cougars to six state championships, ﬁve state runners-up, 20 Top 28 appearances, 27 district championships and 18 30-win seasons.

“It’s a testament to his longevity and consistency and success,” former player Lyle Mouton said of Broussard’s Hall of Fame induction. “The way he tells it, he became a coach by default. I guess sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. He has proven it was a great decision and it wasn’t luck.

“You don’t do it for this long with so much success if it was just luck all the way.”

Duke’s Flagg, Rutgers’ Bailey headline NBA draft’s forwards

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey were the first two names mentioned last summer when it came to college basketball’s top incoming freshmen. Now they’re the headliners among forwards in the NBA draft. Flagg led Duke to the Final Four and became only the fourth freshman named Associated Press men’s national player of the year Bailey put up quality numbers at Rutgers, though in a losing season. Flagg and Bailey were ranked 1-2 in the 2024 recruiting class by 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN. Now Flagg is the projected No. 1 overall pick, while Bailey is a likely top-ﬁve prospect.

Here’s a look at the position entering Wednesday’s ﬁrst round: Cooper Flagg, Duke

STRENGTHS: The 6-foot-8, 221-pound Maine native has a versatile allaround game far more advanced than his age, with room to develop as he turns 19 in December He led Duke in scoring (19.2) rebounding (7.5), assists (4.2), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.4). He shot 38.5% on 3-pointers and 84% from the line.

He proved he can thrive as a scorer such as when he had an Atlantic Coast Conference freshmanrecord 42 points against Notre Dame. That included ranking in the 85th percentile or better in converting as the ballhandler in pick-and-rolls, on post-ups and in transition, according to Synergy’s analytics rankings.

He also thrived as a playmaker, while his length allows him to alter shots, get into passing lanes and ﬁnish at the rim — sometimes over a defender

And then there’s his competitive edge, with multiple examples of Flagg’s willingness to take on big moments and receptiveness to ﬁrm coaching. That included coach Jon Scheyer lighting into Flagg during a ﬁrst-half timeout in January for playing soft (in so many words) against N.C. State, then Flagg responding with 23 of his 28 points after halftime. Flagg also went for 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three blocks as Duke held off Arizona in a shootout win in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, a performance Scheyer called “one of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of.”

CONCERNS: Not many He can always get stronger though he checked in at the combine 16 pounds heavier than his listed weight at Duke (205). He could also cut down on turnovers considering he had 15 games with at least three, though only two came after Feb. 1. Ace Bailey, Rutgers

STRENGTHS: The 6-8, 203-pound Bailey is a versatile shotmaker with athleticism. He averaged 17.6

points and 7.2 rebounds with stepback skills, a good midrange game and the ability to shoot off the dribble or on the catch. Notably, he ranked in Synergy’s 94th percentile for contested catch-and-shoot looks (39 of 81, 48.1%).

Bailey can attack the paint and stretch defenses with his range. He had ﬁve January games with at least four made 3s while shooting 34.6% from behind the arc on the season. The versatility and athleticism indicates defensive potential, too. He averaged 1.3 blocks and had six games with at least three blocks in Big Ten play

CONCERNS: Adding strength would help him against bumps and physical play by stronger defenders, such as improving on ﬁnishing just 42.1% of layups in the halfcourt at Rutgers. There’s a streakiness in his shot, such as making 12 of 31 free throws (.387) over a sixgame midseason stretch or 7 of 39 3-pointers (.179) after January

There’s also the awkward question of Bailey’s impact beyond stats considering the Scarlet Knights had a losing record despite Bailey teaming with another one-and-done prospect in likely No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper

Kon Knueppel, Duke

STRENGTHS: The 6-7, 217-pound Knueppel was an efficient wing scorer with size and defensestretching range. The freshman lottery prospect made 40.6% of his 3s and ranked in Synergy’s 98th percentile when it came to overall spot-up shooting (52.9%), with nearly three-quarters of those attempts coming from behind the arc. He also ranked sixth in Division I by shooting 91.4% at the foul line, and stood out as ACC Tournament MVP when Flagg was sidelined by injury And Knueppel had 10 games with at least four assists as a secondary playmaker CONCERNS: Knueppel isn’t an elite athlete, so there’s a question of matching up against quicker or

more explosive opponents. Colllin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina

STRENGTHS: The sophomore lottery prospect has a strong 6-7, 240-pound frame and a nearly 7-1 wingspan. He thrived in the halfcourt (shooting 57.9% to rank in Synergy’s 88th percentile), and has contributed as a scorer (16.8) and rebounder (8.3).

He also averaged 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals, indicating the potential for him to defend multiple positions.

CONCERNS: His shooting touch is a major question after he went 0 for 5 from 3-point range as a freshman, then just 9 for 34 (.265) as a sophomore. He also made just 69.5% of his free throws in two college seasons. There’s also the risk of being the “tweener” who is too slow to guard outside and too small to defend in the paint.

Others of note: CARTER BRYANT: Arizona’s 6-7, 215-pound freshman reserve shot 37.1% on 3s and a block per game despite playing just 19 minutes a night. Throw in a 39.5-inch max vertical leap, and he’s a possible lottery pick.

NOA ESSENGUE: The lanky 6-9, 194-pound Frenchman is a potential late lottery pick. Essengue, who turns 19 in December, has been honing his versatile skillset with Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany

LIAM MCNEELEY: The freshman jumped right in as a starter for two-time reigning national champion UConn. He’s a first-round prospect as a ﬂoor-stretching wing with size (6-7, 215) and shotmaking ability, highlighted by him going for 38 points against then-No 24 Creighton and 22 points in the NCAA Tournament against eventual champion Florida.

WILL RILEY: Illinois’ 6-8 freshman from Canada is a ﬁrst-round prospect with the potential to play as a guard or as a wing forward. He showed potential as a scorer and passer at Illinois, though he needs to develop physically with a 186-pound frame.

AP PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Troy Weaver is in his first season as senior vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans.

FILE PHOTO By KIRK MECHE

St. Thomas More coach Danny Broussard reacts to a foul call during the LHSAA Division I select championship game in Lake Charles on

15.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Duke forward Cooper Flagg celebrates after scoring against Houston in the national semifinals at the Final Four on April 5 in San Antonio. Flagg is the projected No. 1 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft.

ALL-METRO SOFTBALL

CLASS 5A, 4A MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

ABBY FROELICH DUTCHTOWN, SR. • PITCHER

Give up or get going That’s two dramatically different choices for a team that starts a season with a losing record.

With Froelich in a lead role, the Griffins got going and went all the way to the LHSAA Division I nonselect title game

Though Dutchtown lost to top-seeded Sam Houston 3-2 in the finals, Froelich was an overwhelming choice as the All-Metro Outstanding Player on the Class 5A-4A team

“I knew this season would be different,” Froelich said.“Our other pitcher graduated. I knew I would pitch more.

“Then, we did not get off to the best start. It came down to us working together, finding ways to win trusting each other.”

The Rhodes signee was 24-9 in the circle with a 1.72 ERA and 302 strikeouts Froelich also batted .353 with six home runs and 40 RBIs.

COACH OF THE YEAR

After an early-season tournament loss, there was a team meeting Wins followed the next day. Dutchtown put together a 17-game winning streak and won the District 5-5A title during its run to Sulphur

“Once we started our winning streak, I think we knew we had a chance to go far in the playoffs,” Froelich said.“We grew as a team and found ways to win.

Froelich’s lead-by-example style was pivotal to the season, said Dutchtown coach Nancy Ensminger.

“Abby’s impact in the circle was huge for us,” Ensminger said.“She worked hard in practice every day and it paid off big

“Once the games came, she was equipped to take on her opponent with her teammates, who had confidence in her.”

Robin Fambrough

There was unfinished business for Kylee Savant and the Tigers this spring

The Houston signee always was one of Louisiana’s top defensive catchers and a solid hitter But in 2025, it all came together for Savant and her Livingston Parish-based team, which made her a consensus choice for All-Metro Outstanding Player for Class 3A and below

“Obviously, the goal was winning a state championship going to Sulphur and getting the job done,” Savant said.“Personally my focus was not putting so much pressure on myself. Once I did that, everything else was easy and I had fun.”

Savant had fun and did all the things needed to lead the Tigers (26-9) to the Division III nonselect title. She batted .434 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in what was her sixth varsity season.

COACH OF THE YEAR

After launching a grand slam in Doyle’s semifinal victory against Kaplan, Savant added a three-run double that lifted the Tigers to a 4-3 victory over Jena in the title game.

“Kylee Savant has been doing it all year,” Doyle coach Kyle Wieck said after the title game.“She rose to the occasion day in and day out.When we needed a spark, she has been there

“She doesn’t have to have the long ball to win a game.A double down the line we’ll take it.”

In turn, Savant takes a stellar season with her as she moves to the college level.

“We knew what we wanted to do — win a championship,” Savant said.

“Doing it with my teammates means everything.”

Robin Fambrough

NANCY ENSMINGER DUTCHTOWN

A slow start did not stop the Griffins from finishing as the Division I nonselect runnerup.

A year after a top-seeded Dutchtown squad lost in the quarterfinals, Ensminger’s thirdseeded Griffins started the season with a losing record before putting together a 17-

game winning streak. More importantly the Griffins advanced to an LHSAA title game for the first time in a decade.

Ensminger, a former college pitcher, used her knowledge to prepare hitters, often throwing batting practice.

Robin Fambrough

CLASS 5A, 4A ALL-METRO TEAM

PITCHERS

BLAIR CLEMENT

Lutcher So.

Had 14-5 record, 2.16 ERA

BRAYLEE DECOTEAU

St.Amant, Jr.

Had 13-3 record, 3.00 ERA

ABBY FROELICH

Dutchtown, Sr.

Had 24-9, 1.72 ERA

AVA KATE PHILLIPS

Live Oak, Jr.

Had 18-8 record, 3.80 ERA

CATCHERS

AVA NEHRING

Central, Sr. Batted .517

BROOKE RABALAIS

St.Amant, Jr. Hit .395

INFIELDERS

BAILEY DUCOTE

St.Amant, Jr. Batted .479

ZOE FABRE

Brusly So. Hit .471

JEANNE JANISE

Live Oak, Jr. Batted .391

CAYDEN TULLIER East Ascension, Jr. Had .500 average

HARLEE USRY

Walker, Fr Hit .400

OUTFIELDERS

OAKLEE BAILEY Walker So Batted .440

JENNA BLANCHARD Dutchtown, Jr. Hit .327

DA’MIAYA DUNN Live Oak, Jr. Had 404 average

AVERY ST. PIERRE Lutcher Fr Batted .486

UTILITY PLAYERS

McKENZIE CREEL East Ascension, Jr. Hit .451

LEXIE GUERCIO Central, Jr. Batted 478

ABIGAIL HEIDBRINK Brusly, Fr Had 19-3 pitching record

CAROLINE JOHNSON Dutchtown, So. Batted 366

KINLEY MECHE

St.Amant, Sr Hit .418

MADISON WILCOMBE Walker Sr Batted .412

Editor’s note: Teams selected by area coaches.

KYLE WIECK DOYLE

After leading the Tigers to an LHSAA runnerup finish in his first season as head coach, Wieck and his team took the next step and won the Division III nonselect title. Wieck’s detailed approach refined a Doyle offense that was ranked among the state’s most powerful. Doyle outscored its playoff

PITCHERS

BELLA COLLINS

Doyle, Sr.

Had 16-3 record and 4.03 ERA

MORGAN LANDRY Catholic-PC, Sr. Had 20-8 record, 1.70 ERA

MALLOY MILES French Settlement, So. Had 12-8 record, 1.95 ERA

JALAYAH SLAUGHTER Parkview Baptist, 8th Had 12-8 record, 2.24

CATCHERS

HALEY MELANCON Catholic-Pointe Coupee, Sr. Batted.456

KYLEE SAVANT Doyle, Sr. Hit. 434

INFIELDERS

JULIANNA ARMAND Catholic-Pointe Coupee, So. Had .374 average

JOLIE GAWLIK Parkview Baptist, So. Hit .419

LONDON HARVEY University, Sr Batted .494

BAILEY MCLIN Doyle, Sr. Hit .411

TAYLOR WILLIAMS Albany, Sr. Batted .485

opponents 33-6 before a 4-3 championship game win over Jena

The Tigers finished 26-9 overall.The Division III nonselect title is Doyle’s first softball crown since winning a Class 2A title during the 2018 season.

Robin Fambrough

OUTFIELDERS

MORGAN JACKSON University Sr Batted .446

ALYSON FLETCHER Doyle, Sr. Had .479 average

AVA LANDRY Parkview Baptist, So. Batted .419

SHELBY TAYLOR Doyle, Sr. Hit .500

UTILITY PLAYERS

AVA ACOSTA French Settlement, So. Batted .436

GABBY FONTENOT University Sr Hit .543

AIMEE GAWLIK Parkview Baptist, 7th Had .391 average

KATIE LANDRY Albany, Sr. Hit .390

CHARLI NEUMANN

St. John-Plaquemine, Jr. Batted .523

LILLIE ST. GERMAIN Catholic-Pointe Coupee, Sr. Had .333 average

SYDNEY VIALLON

Ascension Catholic, Sr. Batted .500

KYLEE SAVANT DOYLE, SR • CATCHER

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Doyle catcher Kylee Savant drives the ball against Jena during the Division III nonselect championship game on May 4 in Sulphur Savant batted .434 with 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 60 RBIs.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Dutchtown’s Abby Froelich delivers a pitch against Sam Houston during the Division I nonselect championship game on May 4 in Sulphur Froelich, a Rhodes College signee, had a 24-9 record, a 1.72 ERA and 302 strikeouts

CLASS5A, 4A MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

LiveOak pitcher Sawyer Pruitt finished 9-2 duringhis senior season. The 6-foot-6UL signee recorded 117 strikeouts in helping the Eagles to aDivision I nonselect runnerup finish.

SAWYER PRUITT LIVE OAK, SR. • PITCHER

Pitching against manyof Louisiana’s top teams duringhis seniorseason, Sawyer Pruitt led the Eagles to aDivision Inonselect runner-up finish in impressive fashion.

“I just wanted to givemyteamthe best chance to winevery time Itouched theball and Ifeel likeIdid that pretty well,”Pruitt said.“My velocity picked up alittle bit. My change-up took off a little more this year and so didmyslider.

“Asapitcher,the most important thing todo is fill up the strikezone and don’t giveupfree passes.The five games when Ilocated three pitches Igaveupone run, so that washuge.”

The6-foot-6 UL signee finished 9-2for Live Oak, recording 117 strikeouts and earning LSWAClass 5A all-state honors.

Pruitt cites a1-0 victoryoverDivision I select champion Catholic andashutout win

COACHOFTHE YEAR

BRAD BASS CATHOLIC

Another year brought another LHSAA Division Iselect championship for Brad Bass and the Bears.The 2025 title carriedspecial significance to go along with an outstanding 37-5 record.

An 8-1 victoryoverBrother Martin that completed atwo-game sweep in the championship series gave Catholic back-to-back baseball titles for the first time in schoolhistory

Losing multiple starters froma 2024 championship team that claimed aNo. 1

PITCHERS

CAMERONDeROCHE

Lutcher, Jr Went 8-1 with 1.37 ERA

ZANT GURNEY

Live Oak, Jr

Had9-2 record with 1.64 ERA

LUCASLAWRENCE

Catholic,Jr.

Had 9-2 record with 1.21 ERA

SAWYER PRUITT

Live Oak, Sr

Had 9-2 record with 1.17 ERA

BRAYDENRAY

Brusly Jr

Had 10-2 record with 0.98 ERA

CATCHER ANDREW CLAPINSKI

Catholic,Sr. Hit .469

INFIELDERS

COLE GUIDROZ

Central, Jr Hit .340

CHIP JOINER

West Feliciana,Sr. Hit .400

MATTHEWLEWIS

Denham Srings, Sr Hit .398

CASEYMcCOY

Dutchtown, Sr Hit .383

JACKRUCKERT

Catholic,Sr. Hit .369

overBenton in asemifinal series game as examples.

Just as crucialasthe keywinsPruitt noted washis effortina 3-1 victoryovereventual champion SamHouston in the best-of-three finals series. He walkedthe first four batters he faced and thenstruck out the next three. Pruitt allowedjust three hits and finishedwith 11 strikeouts.

“Sawyer faced allthe toughest teams— Barbe, Catholic,Teurlings, Sam Houston, Parkview, Dutchtown, Benton and Northshore,” Live Oak coach JesseCassardsaid.“He deservesall the attention and accolades he is getting.

“He pitched against the best of the best and wassoconsistent. His preparation and ability to staylockedinwas very mature.”

RobinFambrough

national ranking was not the obstacle that skeptics —and perhaps someopponents expected Bass’squad to encounter.

Capitalizing on their version of the next-manup mentality,the Bears relied on pitching depth and abalanced offense that featured newstarters in keyplaces Finishingninth in MaxPreps’ final national poll —the best fora Louisiana team —was a final accolade forBass and the Bears.

RobinFambrough

OUTFIELDERS

NOAH LEWIS

Catholic,Sr. Hit.336

JOHN MARTINEZ

St.Michael,Sr. Hit.390

BRAYLENMONTGOMERY

Walker,Sr. Hit.421

AIDENWASHINGTON

Brusly,Sr. Hit.393

UTILITYPLAYERS

GAGE BERTHELOT

Lutcher, Sr Hit.352and scored 29 runs

DREW DAIGLE

Brusly,Sr. Hit.384; finished 5-2 as pitcher

DAVISEMONET

Catholic,Sr. Hit.379; went 4-0 as pitcher

AUBREY ST.ANGELO

Brusly,Jr. Hit.360with 35 RBIs

COOPER SMITH

Live Oak, Sr Hit.383with eight home runs

KASONJOHNSON

Dutchtown, Sr Hit.320and was 4-2 as pitcher

NOAH SULLIVAN

Zachary, Jr

Had6-2 record with 1.37 ERA

Ayear after helping University High win its first LHSAA baseball title,there was no question whothe leaderwould be infielder Jake McCann.

The BelhavenCollege signee had to step out of his comfortzone to playthe role. McCann admittedthe resultssurprised him as he led the Cubs to arunner-up finishinDivision III select.

“Wegraduated such alarge senior class of leaders and IknewI needed to speak up, McCann said.“I always trytoleadbyexample so that partwas different.

“Whenwewent4-0 in the Monroe tournament to open the season, Iknewgood things wouldhappen.Toward the endofthis year …that was probably as much funasI’ve everhad playing baseball.”

In 2024, McCann powered arally that gave the Cubs acome-from-behind victoryinthe

COACHOFTHE YEAR

JOHN RAMSEY UNIVERSITY

Fate is not always kindtocoacheswho take over aprogram in anysportthe year aftera precedent-setting season.

Because he was an assistant coach at U-High previously,John Ramseyknewboth what he had and the challenges theCubs wouldface.

What followedwas a2025 season of success fewteams in the Baton Rougearea wouldmatchorsurpass.

PITCHERS

CADE DURBIN

ParkviewBaptist, Sr

Had 7-0 record with 0.99 ERA

MACE MELANCON

Ascension Catholic, Sr

Had 7-2 record with 2.51 ERA

SAMMITCHELL

ParkviewBaptist, Sr

Had 6-2 record with 1.54 ERA

GRANTSUNSTROM

University,Jr.

Had 7-3 record with 1.45 ERA

SAMSTEWART

Family Christian, Jr

Had 10-3 record with 3.09 ERA

CATCHER

WYATTBURATT

Ascension Christian, Sr Hit .382

INFIELDERS

CLAYTONKIMBALL

Central Private, Sr Hit .365

JAKE McCANN

University,Sr. Hit .373

DEVYNBAKER

Family Christian, So. Hit .378

JOSH LIM Dunham, Sr Hit .368

WILLIAMNIKOLAUS

Dunham, Sr Hit .320

title game.As asenior,his numbers improved. He batted .373 with 47 hits, 45 runs, 14 doubles, threehomeruns and 24 RBIs.

“Jakewas just that guy forus,”coach Jon Ramsey said.“He wasthe leaderand nobody would question that. Even thoughhe’snot the most vocal guy,heknewwhat he needed to do. Nobodycan everquestion his work ethic. The (players) respect him,sowhenhedid speak, theylistened.

McCann, in turn, credits his teammates coachesand the team culture.

“We’re an incredibly resilient group,”McCann said.“That resiliency is something we built a culture with. Early on, we were superyoung withalot of newstarters.Wemade mistakes, but by the endofthe year we were clicking.It wasreally special.”

RobinFambrough

University advancedtothe Division III select final seriesinSulphur,claiming arunner-up finish witharevamped lineup and coaching staff.

Ramsey’s first season as theU-High head coach ended witha28-11 record.The Cubs were aNo. 2playoff seed and swept all three of their early-round opponentsby2-0 series margins.

RobinFambrough

OUTFIELDERS

CLAYTONFONTENOT

ParkviewBaptist, So Hit .525

JARISHAMILTON University,Sr. Hit .315

BRODYBAILEY Episcopal, Sr Hit .318

UTILITYPLAYERS

HENRYBECKERS

ParkviewBaptist, Jr Hit .387; had 4-1 pitching record

TYLERBICKETT

Central Private,Sr. Had 7-3 pitching record; hit .327

CHASECRESSON Episcopal, Sr Had 4-2 record; hit .306

MASONHILL

French Settlement, Sr Hit .394 with 4-2 pitching record

MASONLEBLANC

Ascension Christian, Sr Hit .346; 4-0 as pitcher

TREVOR McMORRIS

French Settlement, Jr Batted.384; 5-4 as pitcher

KADE PENALBAR

Maurepas, Jr Had 132 strikeouts

JAKE McCANN UNIVERSITY,SR. • INFIELDER

PROVIDED PHOTO

University Highinfielder JakeMcCann hit .373 with three home runs, 14 doubles and 24 RBIs in helping lead the Cubs to arunner-up finish in Division III select.

FILE PHOTO By KIRK MECHE

2025 COLL WORLDSERIES LEGE W

LSU

Continued from page1C

The Tigers (52-15) areone win away from their eighth national championship with two shots at getting it. The ﬁrst one is set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday against Coastal Carolina on ABC.

“That necessarily wasn’tto end the College World Series,” Anderson said about his performance.

“We’ve gotone more that we’re preparing for.We’ll go back to the hotel and start preparingfor that one as well.”

Coastal Carolina (56-12) made Anderson work for his gem. The Chanticleersdrew ﬁvewalks and were hit by two pitches. They put arunner in scoring position in the ﬁrst, third, fourth and seventh innings. Anderson had thrown 54 pitchesthroughjust threeframes.

But Anderson got better as the game went on. After walking three batters through theﬁrst two innings, he escapedajam in the third, struck out the side in the fourth and cruised through the next two innings.

He allowed asingle in the seventh inning and awalk in the eighth, but nothing else as he entered the ninth after throwing 115 pitches. In the ﬁnal frame, he struck out first baseman Colby Thorndykeand forced agroundout to third base before walking pinch-hitter Domenico Tozzi with twoouts.

Pitching coach Nate Yeskie met with Andersonafter thewalk. Whatever he said must have worked, as Anderson forced aﬂy out to right ﬁeld to end the game.

“He’s thebestplayerinthe country,” Johnson said of Anderson.

“There’snobody closer to the major leaguesthan that rightnow

“I don’tthinkyou can quantify it —Paul Skenes, Joe Burrow,that type of deal.”

The weather was expected to be afactor in Saturday’s outcome, with temperatures in theupper 90s with blistering winds at 15-20 mph. But Anderson said the conditions weren’tnearly as tough as they were during the Baton Rouge super regional, when he allowed six earned runs in seven innings in his Game 1start.

“Yeah, Ithink that’s the real beneﬁtinplaying in Louisiana. Growing up there, this washonestly not nearly as bad as it was in the

College WorldSeries At Charles Schwab Field Omaha Omaha, Neb.

(Double Elimination;x-if necessary)

June 13

Game1: No. 13 Coastal Carolina 7, Arizona 4

Game2: No. 8Oregon St.4,Louisville 3

June 14

Game3: No. 15 UCLA 6, Murray St. 4

Game4: No. 6LSU 4, No. 3Arkansas 1 June 15

Game5: Louisville 8, Arizona 3

Game6: No. 13 Coastal Carolina6 No. 8Oregon State2

Monday Game7: No. 3Arkansas 3, Murray St. 0

Tuesday Game8: No. 6LSU 9, No. 15 UCLA 5

Game9: Louisville 7, No. 8Oregon St. 6

Game10: No. 3Arkansas 7, No. 15 UCLA 3

Wednesday Game11: No. 13 Coastal Carolina11, Louisville 3 Game12: No. 6LSU 6, No. 3Arkansas 5 Championship Series

(Best-of-3)

Saturday

Game 1: No. 6LSU 1, No. 13 Coastal Carolina0

Sunday Game2: No. 6LSU vs.No. 13 Coastal Carolina, 1:30 p.m. Monday

Game3: No. 13 Coastal Carolina vs No. 6LSU,6:30 p.m.-x LSU 1, Coastal Carolina 0 CoastalCarolinaLSU (56-12)(52-15) abrhbiabrhbi

Bodine c2 00 0Curiellf3 11 0 Alexanderlf3 01 0Freydh4 00 0 Barthol 2b 400 0Milamss3 02 1 Mitchell 3b 200 0Brown rf 401 0 Pado rf 401 0Jones 1b 40 00 Thorndyke1b4 00 0Hernandez c3 01 0 Mihos dh 401 0Stanﬁeldcf3 00 0

Dooleyss1 00 0Dickinson 2b 301 0 Sykes cf 400 0Braswell3b3 00 0Totals 28 03 0Totals3016 1 E— Barthol. 2B— Pado (6), Milam(14).RBI Milam (57). DP —Coastal Carolina 1. LOB— Coastal Carolina5,LSU 7. SH —Dooley (11) CS —Alexander (6). CoastalCarolina000000000—031 LSU100000000—160 IPHRERBBSO Coastal Carolina Flukey L, 8-2 64 11 29

Carbone 22 00 02

en Coastal Carolina’stendency to hit pull-side groundballs, Braswell wasprepared for the extra action.

“I was veryhyperfocused, very hyperactive out there,”Braswell said. “I am in every game, but especially withthem.”

The only run between the two sides came in the ﬁrst inning when Milam shot asingle up themiddle to drive in freshman Derek Curiel from second base.

Milam wasn’tdoneafter his single. TheNew Mexico native doubled and reached third base in thethird inning and walked tolead off the sixth. Besides Dickinson’s second-inning single,Milam was the only Tigerwith ahit through theﬁrst 52/3 innings.

“He made acouple of mistakes to me in my at-bats,” Milam said. “First at-bat, (I)got threeheaters and Iwas able to get one down and putaswing at it.

“Second at-bat, he hung three spinners, and Iwas able to put another good swing on it.Hewalked me in thelast at-bat.Ijust sawhim well.”

After Milam’swalk, senior Luis Hernandezrippeda singletoput runnersonthe cornerswithtwo outs for junior Chris Stanfield. But Stanfield,who is now2for 15 in Omaha, grounded out to shortstop to end the threat. Hernandez’ssingle had achance of beingarun-scoringhit after right-handedpitcherCameron Flukey’spickoff throwtofirst base went haywire. But instead of the ball squirting away from Thorndyke,ithit first-baseumpireJeff Head anddidn’tallow Milam to advance to second base.

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

LSU AndersonW,12-1 93 00 510 HBP —byAnderson (Bodine); by Anderson (Bodine). PB —Bodine (3); Hernandez (8). Umpires—HP: Brian deBrauwere1B: Jeff Head 2B: Gregory Street 3B: CaseyMoser Time —2:35. A— 25,761. ON DECK

super regional,”Anderson said. “And it wasn’t even comparable, honestly.”

Playing an even biggerrole in thewin than theweather was the LSUdefense. The Tigers didn’t commitany errors as Anderson forced groundballafter groundball.

Senior third baseman Michael Braswell, despite his struggles at the plate,cleanly ﬁelded atough bunt in the seventh inning and made an expert play ranging to hisleft in theninth.Junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson and sophomore shortstop Steven Milam ﬁelded trickyshort hops on the ground with ease. Braswell led the Tigers with four assists on groundball putouts. Giv-

Flukey,despite his wild pickoff attempt, fooled the LSU lineup through six innings. He allowed just one earned run on four hits and recorded nine strikeouts before exiting for left-hander Dominick Carbone.

“He’sa good pitcher,” Dickinson said of Flukey. “He’s94to98(mph) with 20-plus inches of ride.”

LSU finished withsix hits but went just 2for 14 with runners on base. Milam was the only Tiger with multiple base knocks.

“I thought (Flukey) had multiple pitches in thezone for strikes,” Stanfield said. “He wasgetting ahead, and he has good stuff.

Butnot as good as Anderson on this night.

Email Koki Rileyat Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

in those situations (there’sthat number once again) as Stevan Milam drove in Derek Curiel from second base in the top of the first inning. Somehow,that’sall Anderson would need.Inwhatisvirtually certain to be thesophomore left-hander’s last startfor theTigers— he’s going to be one of thetop picks in this year’sMLB draft —hehung in there inningafter inning. That Anderson madethat lead stand up the entire game was aminor miracle. The way he started thegameheclearly didn’thave his best stuff.Bythe time he got through the second inning, he’d already tied his season-highfor walks with three on his way to five to go with a customary 10 strikeouts. The breakingball wasn’tbreaking like he wanted. Anderson also hit Coastal’s leadoffman Caden Bodinetwice, bringing the Chanticleers’ record total of hit by pitches this season to 178. Is HBP aminor at Coastal in thephysical education departmentorsomething? Someone get me acool towel and course catalog and let’sfigure this out. The walks didn’tbother Anderson. Neither didthe hit batters. Nor the oppressive heat, that least of all. There wasless than no chance he was coming outofthe game. LSU’srelievers spentmore time Saturday tossing afootballin the bullpen than baseballs to prepare to relieve thebig lefty.

“I think that’sthe real benefit to playing in Louisiana,” the Madisonville native said. “This was honestly not nearly as bad as it was in the super regional (against West Virginia). It wasn’t even comparable.” LSUcould have gotten another run in thethird or the seventh, but bad umpiring breaks shortcircuited those chances. Abad throw by Flukey to first to try to get Milam struck first-base umpire Jeff Head, keeping Milam from advancing on athrow that would have rolled into foul ground. Alittle later,Luis Hernandez singled, but Milam running from first had to stop at third,where he wasstranded on aChris Stanfield grounder The next inning, Daniel Dick-

WHO: LSU(52-15) vs.Coastal Carolina(56-12)

WHEN: 1:30 p.m., Sunday WHERE: Charles Schwab Field TV: ABC RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (NewOrleans) RANKINGS: LSUisNo. 6overall seed; Coastal CarolinaisNo. 13 PROBABLESTARTE

inson got aboard on ahit by pitch. But he was ruled out on an appeal to areview by the School of HBPs, Coastal, that he leaned into the pitch. It wasabad interpretation of abadly written rule.

“The ball was clearlyinthe batter’sbox,” LSUcoach Jay Johnson saidwiththe calmofaman whose team won regardless. “I’m not sure what he (Dickinson)was supposed to do.It’satough rule when you’re rewarding thepitcher for throwing aball.”

Nowthe heat’sonCoastal Carolina going onto the coffee bean roaster of Sunday’s1:30 p.m Game 2. There’sachance, a good chance, the Chanticleers are unburdened mentally from that monstrous winning streak that they’ve been lugging around fortwo months now

The problemis, they aren’t playing Game 7ofa championship series here Sunday like they will on Sundaynight in theNBA Finals. It’s best two-of-three, andina span of less than 24 hours, Coastal Carolina could be done.

Coastal coach Kevin Schnall tried to comfort his team and supporters by remembering that in 2016, the Chanticleers lost 3-0 to Johnson’sArizona team,then came back to winthe title with a pair of one-run squeakers. The Tigers are halfwaythere, yes, but Johnson knowsaswell as anyone how little that gets you. LSUhas won,but it’s just one. The goal forthe Tigers is to make this aone-game season andend it allbefore Coastal can have a chance to start thetwo-game winning streak it desperatelyseeks.

LSU shortstop StevenMilam connects with theballduring Game 1ofthe CollegeWorld Series finals against Coastal Carolina on SaturdayatCharles SchwabField in Omaha, Neb

LSUthird baseman Michael Braswell tags out Coastal Carolina left fielder Sebastian Alexander at third baseonSaturday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

LSU coach JayJohnson speaks with right fielder JakeBrown,left, and first basemanJared Jones near the dugout on SaturdayinOmaha, Neb

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

From left, LSUsecond baseman Daniel Dickinson, center fielder Chris Stanfield, third baseman Michael Braswell,left fielder Derek Curiel, firstbaseman Jared Jones, shortstop Steven Milam and right fielder Jake Brownleap in celebration afterthe Tigers defeatCoastal Carolina 1-0 on SaturdayinOmaha, Neb.

Hataoka

Yubol

Davidson

Khang

Young Kim

Kyriacou

Soo Bin Joo

+10

72-76-78—226 +10

Ariya Jutanugarn 73-78-75—226 +10

Moriya Jutanugarn

Jennifer Kupcho

Yan Liu

75-72-79—226 +10

76-73-77—226 +10

72-75-79—226 +10

Brooke Matthews 74-73-79—226 +10

Ryann O’Toole 75-75-76—226 +10

Paula Reto 73-75-78—226 +10

Gabriela Ruffels 77-74-75—226 +10

Jing Yan

Na Rin An

74-77-75—226 +10

75-74-78—227 +11

Ana Belac 74-72-81—227 +11

Akie Iwai

Yuka Saso

75-74-78—227 +11

79-72-76—227 +11

Patty Tavatanakit 77-73-77—227 +11

Lauren Hartlage 75-74-79—228 +12

Nanna Koerstz Madsen 75-75-78—228 +12

Carlota Ciganda 74-73-82—229 +13

Hannah Green 74-74-81—229 +13

Bianca Pagdanganan 74-77-78—229 +13

Rose Zhang 72-79-78—229 +13

Hae-Ran Ryu 70-80-80—230 +14

Jasmine Suwannapura 72-76-82—230 +14

Olivia

+5 Stephen Ames 75-67-74—216 +6 Thomas Bjorn 78-71-67—216 +6 David Duval 74-71-71—216 +6 Matt Gogel 74-71-71—216 +6

Langer 73-71-72—216 +6

Montgomerie 74-71-71—216 +6

Pernice 70-75-71—216 +6 Ken Tanigawa 75-70-71—216 +6 Padraig Harrington 73-72-72—217 +7

+7 Y.E. Yang 74-70-73—217 +7

Cejka 77-71-70—218 +8

Triplett 73-75-70—218 +8

Weekley 71-72-75—218 +8

Appleby 73-73-73—219 +9

Billy Mayfair 70-76-73—219 +9

Dicky Pride 77-72-70—219 +9

David Toms 75-74-70—219 +9

Woody Austin 76-69-76—221 +11 Michael Allen 72-76-74—222 +12

Billy Andrade 76-73-73—222 +12

Shane Bertsch 77-75-70—222 +12

Chris DiMarco 77-75-70—222 +12

John Daly 76-74-73—223 +13

Rocco Mediate 73-73-77—223 +13

+13

+14

+15

+15 Paul Broadhurst

+16 Lee Janzen 82-74-74—230 +20 Tom Lehman 77-76-WD

Tennis

Cinch Championships Results

Saturday At The Queen’s Club

London Purse: €2,522,220 Surface: Grass LONDON Results Saturday from Cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Semiﬁnals Jiri Lehecka, Czechia, def. Jack Draper (2), Britain, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Carlos Alcaraz (1), Spain, def. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, 6-4, 6-4. Men’s Doubles Semiﬁnals Michael Venus, New Zealand, and Nikola Mektic, Croatia, def. Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley, Britain, 6-3, 7-5. Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash (4), Britain, def. Harri Heliovaara, Finland, and Henry Patten (2), Britain, 7-6 (3),

BY JOSH DUBOW AP sportswriter

SAN FRANCISCO — For Rafael Devers, his ﬁrst home run for San Francisco felt similar to the 215 he hit for Boston — even if this one came against the Red Sox just six days after his surprising trade to the Giants

Devers delighted his new fans in San Francisco when he connected for a two-run homer against his former team on Saturday to help fuel a 3-2 win for the Giants.

“Nothing more special than any other home run that I hit,” he said through an interpreter “I’m just here and happy that I was able to contribute for the team’s win.”

Devers began his first series against the Red Sox by going 0 for 5 on Friday night and grounding out in his first at-bat Saturday. He then delivered just what his new team had been expecting when he hit an opposite-field drive off Brayan Bello over the left-field fence for a two-run homer in the third inning.

“That’s kind of typical him too, just let it travel and catch it late and block it out to

left ﬁeld,” manager Bob Melvin said “He’s done it so many times in Boston This park kind of plays that way to lefties as well I think to get that one off his back, feels good about that, obviously being incredibly impactful in the outcome of the game. Now he can settle in and do his thing.”

Devers got loud cheers from the Oracle Park crowd of 39,027 as he rounded the bases for his 216th career home run that just happened to be caught by a fan in a Red Sox T-shirt.

“As soon as he hit it, you kind of feel almost a little weight fell off his shoulders when he hit that ball,” Giants starter Landen Roupp said. “You could just see it We expect many more from him in that area. Really excited to have him on the team and he will be a huge help.”

Devers became the 10th player to homer for and against the same team in a span of seven days or fewer, according to Sportradar The last player to do it was Abraham Toro, who homered for Houston against Seattle on July 26, 2021, and then for the Mariners against the Astros the next day

Newalbum featuringThe RollingStones ahistoricmix of cultures

The Rolling Stones don’tdo tribute albums. Rock ’n’ roll gods with more than 250 million albums sold, the Stones are usually the worshipped, not the worshippers. But rock guitarist C.C. Adcock, of Lafayette, was on to something that could change that. Adcock, like Mick Jagger, cut his musical molars on theaccordion blues and boogie of Opelousas native Clifton Chenier,the heralded King of Zydeco.

Adcock is also aproducer on an album that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Chenier’s birth.He’salso friends with acouple of Jagger’schildren, Lizzy and Jimmy,known to crash at Adcock’splace in the French Quarter All were together for adinner at Antoine’sinNew Orleans when Adcock broughtup the Chenier tribute and apossible Stones participation

IMAGE FROM FRANCIS PAVy/FACEBOOK

Smithsonian Folkways

Recordingsisreleasing a7-inch vinyl of the Rolling Stones and Steve Rileyperforming Clifton Chenier’s‘Zydeco Sont PasSale, as partofa100th anniversary tribute to theKing of Zydeco.

“I had already gone to Keith Richards’ camp,” Adcocksaid “I knew acouple of people there. We had been told it was apossibility,but nothing ﬁrm.” “When Ibrought it up to Mick, he said, ‘Yeah, that’s something I’dlike to be involved in. Let’sdoit,’”Adcock continued. “I said Ihad been waiting to hear back from Keith. He goes, ‘You asked the wrongman, didn’tyou?’

The world gets to hear the Stones’ reverence for Chenier when “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco” is ofﬁcially released June 27 on Valcour Records and Smithsonian Folkways. The14song albumfeatures the Stones TajMahal,Lucinda Williams, Charley Crockett and other icons performing Chenier classics with Keith Frank, Nathan Williams, Clifton’sson C.J. Chenier,Sonny Landreth and other Louisianamusic stars

Aspecial, 7-inch vinyl ofthe Stones’ single, “ZydecoSont Pas Sale,” drops June 25, Clifton

ä See ALBUM, page 4D

ALLIN LIVING

‘Louisiana Eats’Poppy Tooker dishes on love, loss andoysters at Antoine’sinNew Orleans

BY JANRISHER Staff writer

Sharing ameal with someone creates possibilities far beyond immediate nourishment. In this lunch series, LouisianaCulture editor Jan Risher meets notable Louisianans at therestaurant of their choice and tells thestory of their lunch.

Poppy Tooker knows what she wants and isn’tafraid to ask for it.

“So Iwant it to be adark pink, nota pale pink.OK? No ice, no fruit— and in astemmed glass. Gotit?”she said, as she ordered what she calls “Poppy’sPink drink” at Antoine’s. It’s her signaturedrink,and she’shappy to teach others how to makeit.

That generosity sums up much of the spirit with which Tooker approaches life. (For the record, to makePoppy’sPink drink, shake 10 shakes of Peychaud’sbitters into astemmed glass, top with 8 ounces of sparkling water.Garnishwith lime, if desired.)

The bitters’ distinctive New Orleans ﬂavor is no accident. Tooker describes herself as old-school New Orleans, which, in local parlance, meansthat thenext sentence should be about where she went to school.

“I was alifer at Ursuline, kindergarten all the way through,” she said, eventually explaining

STUCKINTHE MIDDLE WITH YOU

Butwhere,exactly,isthe

MaryGuillory,left, assistant director of the Avoyelles Parish Commission of Tourism, andWilbert Carmouche,director, frame themselves within the Centre de la Louisiane sign, marking the geographic center of the state in Avoyelles Parish.

that it was almost all theway through. In her senior year in 1975, she left Ursuline amidst a bit of drama.

She ﬁnished at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts —a brief detour that, 50 years later, came full circle.

Even so, she did eventually become Ursuline’salumni president, which she considers one of the greatest feathers in her cap.

‘Food became my love language Tooker is the award-winning

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

host and producer of the radio show “Louisiana Eats,” which is broadcast weekly on NPRafﬁliates throughout the Gulf South. Her much-loved radio broadcast celebrates its 15-year anniversary this month. Our lunch wasevidence of its inﬂuence and reach. Lunch with Tooker is acommunity affair —arunning conversation with staff, friends and family

She credits her paternal greatgrandmother forher deep interest

Louisiana’shighest geographical point is Driskill Mountain near Arcadia in the northwest part of the state. Itslowest elevation is New Orleans at 8feet below sea level. But whereisthe state’sgeographical center? That’s the question Megan Smith has been pondering. She lives in Pollock, which is located in centralLouisiana, the region that covers the state’s midsection. “Butwhere is the exact center of the state?” Smith asked.

anyone marked it on a map or put up asign letting people know where it is?”

Jan Risher and PoppyTooker in front of Antoine’sinNew Orleans

Herman Fuselier

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

STAFFPHOTOSByJAN RISHER

Antoine’swaiter Alvin Ross delivered the restaurant’sclassic baked Alaskafor dessert.

Daughters of the American Revolution

Members of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered on June 14 at the Old State Capitol to celebrate Flag Day, Shown are, from left, Lucille Reulet Ourso, State Regent Cheryl Whitlow Gott, Lea Cantey Evans, Rezzie Abadie Meyer and Ina Gremillion Navarre.

BRDAR celebrates Flag Day at Old State Capitol

On Saturday, June 14, members of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered at the Old State Capitol to join the General Philemon Thomas Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution in celebrating Flag Day While Flag Day is not a widely acknowledged holiday, it is a special time to recognize and appreciate the role this great symbol plays in our nation’s history It also strives for remembrance and thankfulness for the service and sacriﬁce of the military men and women and patriots.

A ceremony highlighting the history of the American flag was led by Dr. Derrick Spell, the registrar for the SAR Chapter with support from Chapter President Paul Bledsoe and numerous other chapter officers. Spell also recognized Louisiana Society Daughters of the American Revolution Regent Cheryl Whitlow Gott with a special award, a Galvez Challenge Coin, for her last three years of leadership and hard work. Gott will end her term of office later this month at the Continental Congress of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters located in the heart of Washington, D.C. UMF, La. Conference contribute to Lydia Patterson Institute

The United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana announced it is partnering with the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church to provide a joint gift of $240,000 to the Lydia Patterson Institute a private faith-based school supported by the United Methodist Church’s South Central Jurisdiction.

The gift will help the Lydia Patterson Institute with ongoing capital needs that help the school provide a high-quality education and faith-centered formation for its students many of whom cross the U.S.Mexico border daily to attend school in a safe and supportive environment.

Chris Spencer, president and CEO of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, noted that the gift came from funds originally raised to assist with the renovation of the Lydia Patterson Institute’s chapel. Since that project has been completed, the funds are being redirected to help address the school’s current pressing needs.

Founded in 1913 with Mrs Lydia Patterson, a Methodist laywoman acting through the Women’s Missionary Society of her church, the Lydia Patterson Institute is a private, faith-based United Methodist school that serves students in the El PasoJuarez region, providing education to students in sixth through 12th grade. For more information on LPI, go to www.lpielpaso.org.

Celebrating 50 years in 2025, the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana supports United Methodist churches and ministries by promoting faithful stewardship,

TBR to host Books & Tea summer book club

FYI BR staff reports

Join the ﬁrst book club at TBR Books & Tea, 6:30 p.m., July 16 at 7276 Highland Road, Baton Rouge. An RSVP is requested either by visiting https:// tinyurl.com/yzps7buv or stopping by the shop

The book club will dive into “Atmosphere: A Love Story” by Taylor Jenkins Reid — a moving and beautifully written novel that’s perfect for summer reading This club is open to book club veterans or ﬁrst-timers.

Donate backpacks to the Love Your Neighbor van

First United Methodist Church’s Love Your Neighbor van is in need of backpacks for homeless individuals in Baton Rouge. Please place new or gently used

UMF of Louisiana

Members of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana announced it’s partnering with the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church to provide a joint gift of $240,000 to the Lydia Patterson Institute. Shown are, from left, LPI President Dr Carla Cardoza and Foundation President Chris Spencer

planned giving, ﬁnancial grant support and long-term ﬁnancial sustainability throughout Louisiana and beyond.

Krewe of Iduna celebrates 2026 royal court

The Krewe of Iduna board of directors hosted a court social on May 16 for the 2026 Iduna royal court at the home of Krewe President Beth Browder

The highlight of the event was the announcement of the royal court for the 65th annual Carnival ball by 2026 Ball Captain Susan Bennett Lindrew Court members include Queen Iduna LXV Catherine Poss, King Bragi LXV Brian Aydell and maids and dukes: Emily Parnell and Eric Parnell; Hollie Johnston and Bo Stepp; Emma Smith and Michael Smith; Camille Naquin and Richard Naquin; Addison Wolfe and Mic Clary; and Elia Nassif and Gregory Nassif The ball captain’s lady in waiting is Lucy Cheek and her esquire is Emerson Ford Pages to the queen are Evelyn Reynolds and Amelia Baldridge Pages to the king are Thomas Fletcher and John-Malcom Green

Krewe of Iduna board of directors are: Lindrew, 2026 ball captain; Browder, president; Jenny Heroman Koenig, ﬁrst vice-president and court chair; Dr Jayme Looper; second vicepresident and krewe chair; Brandi Aydell, secretary; Kayla Fletcher, treasurer; Jennifer Labauve, decorations chair and auditor; Amy Cheek, parliamentarian and public relations chair; Skylar Baldridge member-at-large; and Britney Ford, past ball captain 2025.

backpacks in the bin near the First United Methodist Church’s Conference Center at 930 North Blvd., Baton Rouge, or mail donations to: Love Your Neighbor Van, 930 North Blvd. Baton Rouge, 70802.

Lights, Camera, Maker Faire is Oct. 18

The Baton Rouge Maker Faire is a community festival that brings together science, art, craft, homesteading and makers of all kinds. This family-friendly event showcases the work of various makers across Baton Rouge anyone who is embracing the DIY or DIT (do-it-together) spirit and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.

The event is Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Main Library on Goodwood Boulevard. Entries can be submitted from individuals, groups such as hob-

Krewe of Iduna Royal Court

On May 16, the Krewe of Iduna Board of Directors hosted a Court Social for the 2026 Iduna Royal Court at the home of Krewe President Beth Browder Shown are, from left,

King Bragi LXV Brian Aydell & Queen Iduna LXV Catherine Poss; back row, Maid

Maid Emma Smith Maid Elia Nassif, Ball Captain Susan Bennett Lindrew, Maid Camille Naquin, Maid Addison Wolfe and Maid Emily Parnell.

Krewe of Iduna Board of Directors

Members of the Krewe of Iduna hosted a Court Social for the 2026 Iduna Royal Court at the home of Krewe President Beth Browder on May 16. Shown are, from left, seated, Beth Browder, president; and Susan Lindrew, ball captain; back row, Skylar Baldridge, member-atlarge; Jennifer Labauve, decorations chair & auditor; Amy Cheek, parliamentarian & public relations chair; Dr Jayme Looper, second vice president & krewe chair; Jenny Heroman Koenig, first vice president & court chair; Brandi Aydell, secretary; and Kayla Fletcher, treasurer

On June 14, the Sons of the American Revolution held a Flag Day

The program featured members in period costumes, and historian

the history of the U.S flag Shown are, from

Jeff

Brad Richard, Christopher Achee, Mitch Pratt, Steve Kubicek and Paul Bergeron.

byist clubs and schools, commercial makers or crafters, startups and companies. The 2025 theme is ﬁlmmaking. Priority acceptance will go to makers who can incorporate an interactive and learning experience to share with attendees. Sign up at batonrouge.makerfaire. com/maker-form-2025/. Some of the previous makers have showcased robotics, fashion technology, biology/biotech and chemistry projects, drones, kinetic art, open hardware projects, music performance, glass, ceramics, blacksmithing, textiles, radios, sustainable transportation, puppets, bicycles and humanpowered machines and more. Email questions to makerfaire@ ebrpl.com.

Coffee and Lagniappe features Barbara Sims Louisiana State University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Sons of the American Revolution

Members of the Sons of the American Revolution held a Flag Day ceremony at the Old State Capitol on June 14. Shown are Dr Derrick Spell, right, and Paul Bledsoe, president of the local SAR chapter PROVIDED PHOTO

program’s Coffee and Lagniappe series will present Barbara Sims, who will speak on Louisiana music and musicians at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at the Bluebonnet Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge. The talk will include particulars on regional musicians such as Leadbelly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmie Davis, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis and the rest of the Marsalis family, as well as Cajun and zydeco music and musicians. Sims is the former publicity and sales promotion manager for Sun Records, where she was employed from 1957 to 1960. During those years, she worked closely with Sun Records founder Sam Philips (who discovered Elvis), in launching the careers of Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. After leaving Sun Records, Sims joined the English faculty at LSU, where she taught for 36 years and received two university-wide teach-

ing awards.

Baton Rouge Symphony summer raffle contest

Enter the Baton Rouge Symphony summer rafﬂe contest for a chance to win an all-expensespaid trip for two to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The prize includes: round-trip airfare for two, a three-night hotel stay, two tickets to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and a dinner with Maestro Adam Johnson. Terms are as follows: n Tickets are $50 per entry n There is no limit on number of entries.

n A winner will be drawn at the symphony’s opening night concert Sept. 18. To enter, visit https://give.brso. org/event/montreal-rafﬂe-tickets/ e656149.

Email Joy Holden at joy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

seated

Hollie Johnston,

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sons of the American Revolution

at the Old State Capitol

Eddie Vaughn spoke on

left,

Truax,

TRAVEL

Global Wildlife Center adding newanimalencounters

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

What doesittake to be ahuman kangaroo mom? ForChristinaCooper,executivedirector atGlobal Wildlife Center and mothertoPopcorn, a9-month-old babykangaroo, the list is long: bottles every four hours, awillingness to clean up poopfrom the ﬂoors at herhome, a custom pouch for Popcorn to grow and sleep in, past experience caring for ababy kangaroo under consultation with akangaroo rescuer in Australia and adegree in animal science

But visitors at the Global Wildlife Centernow have the opportunity to get up close with kangaroos, no degrees required. Theanimal encounter,called the Walkabout, is a30-minute experience where people of all ages can walk through the center’skangaroo enclosure, take photos with the mob (yes, that’swhat groups of kangaroos are called) and meet Popcorn

Since 1991, Global Wildlife Center has been adestination for family outings and school ﬁeld trips, but in the last few years, they’ve been working to expand both their offerings for guests and the care they provide for the animals.In addition to the kangaroo encounter,the center addeda capybara encounterlast year,where people can paint withcapybara, and atortoise encounter is in the worksfor the end of June.

‘Weprotect what we love’

These opportunities to meetthe animals must be purchased separately from the traditionalsafari wagon and Pinzgauer tours, but they offer the chance to get up close and personal with the animals —rather than just driving by or seeing them from adistance. As aformer tour guide at the center, Cooper said these experiences allow kids or people who might be alittlenervous or scaredaround animalstohave acomfortableexperience.

allows giraffes to safely receive voluntary veterinary care and collaborated with otheracademics and organizations to do noninvasive research

TheGlobalWildlife Centerruns approximately eight large safari wagon tours and aselection of private/semi-private Pinzgauer tours every day.The beauty of the tours is that anything can happen. Tour guides stay in touch via walkietalkieaboutwhere animals were last spotted, but it’sreally one big game of hideand seek on the 640 acresofopen land where the animals can roam free.

‘Wholenew era’

Macie Matherne grew up spendingsummersand weekends at Global Wildlife Center and feels apersonalconnectiontothe animals.Kameel, oneofthe oldest documented giraffesinthe world, just celebratedher 32nd birthday Matherne, 35, says that she and Kameel grew up together.Though she andher father hada difﬁcult relationship at times, she admires the unique place he was able to create.

“He did always say that he created this space, ultimately,for me,” she said.

After his passing, Macie Matherne has strived to create her own legacy there, but it hasn’talways been easy.In2019, Global Wildlife Center came under serious scrutiny with allegations about ﬁnancial mismanagement, sexualharassmentand animal neglect. The new CEOsaidshe feelsmanyofthe claims against them in 2019were sensationalized.

But the work she’sdonesinceto improve conditions has shown.

Ryan Schroer,region and international accounts manager for Mazuri, acompany that helps zoos andaquariums with their nutrition needs, says the staffatGlobal WildlifeCenter are consistent in working with him to improve nutrition forthe animals.

Schroer is also aPh.D. student studying gastrointestinalparasites of giraffesinmanaged care, andas part of his research, he stops at the center with as little as afew hours’ notice to observethe giraffesand conductabodyconditionscore an assessment of animal health.

“I’ve got nothing but good things to say,” he said. “They’ve continued to improve and get better and better and better every timeI go there.”

On the consumer side, they were voted the No. 3Best Safari Park in USA Today’s10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

Cooper worked for Global Wildlife Center after she gotout of college in 1996 until 2010. When founder Ken Matherne passed away in 2021, his daughter,Maci,

”Weprotect what we know andwhatwelove,”she said.“If I could get achild that was nervous around animals or scared or afraid, andget them to pet and feed and touch and smile— thattomewas themost rewardingexperience just changing someone’sattitude aboutanimals and helping them to embrace thewonders of nature.”

became the newowner/CEO and asked Cooper to return. Cooper saidher returnpresented an opportunitytomakesomeof thedreams and goals shehad for thecenter areality Partofthat vision was toacquire capybaras, which they’ve done Another goal, she said, was to hire afull-time, on-site veterinarian, Dr.KanyonMcLean.The center has installed agiraffe chute that

On board aPinzgauer tour,rhea birds chased afterthe vehicle evoking “Jurassic Park.” Giraffes come right up andstick their heads into the vehicle, andcows make the silliest faceswhile angling for food. Their mouths are toobig for the cups that the center provides, so people have to dump the food right into theirmouths(thereis slobber involved; be careful).

“This is awhole new era at Global Wildlife Center,” Cooper said while Popcornhoppedaround in her ofﬁce.

She’swaiting for the day that Popcorncan rejoin themob.Until then,she’llbecaringfor thekangaroo one bottle at atime.

Email SerenaPuangatserena. puang@theadvocate.com.

Customer blamed forpreviousbumperdamageoncar rental

Christopher Elliott

Irented acar from Thrifty in Anchorage and noted damageon the front bumper when Itook the car.Months later,Thrifty is holding me responsiblefor the damage, which Ididn’t cause. The evidence is very clear from the paperwork Ihave, butThrifty’s third-party claims company, PurCo,won’t listen. It claims that Thrifty lost the paperwork proving Ididn’tcause the damage.The paperwork clearly states that the damage wasthere when Ichecked the car out. PurCo wants me to pay$2,212. Canyou help me? —Natasha Bird, Beaverton, Oregon

Thrifty shouldn’t have charged you adime —and not just because you had already noted the damage.I’llget to the other reason in aminute. This is another instance of a companyblamingits customer forsomethingthat wasn’ttheir fault. When you rent acar,itisessential to carefully document any preexisting damagetoavoid being held responsible for it later It soundslike you did everythingbythe book. Youpaid for Thrifty’sdamage waiver.And you notedthe damage on the paperwork when you checked out thecar.But Thrifty’sthird-party

claims company,PurCo, is claiming that Thrifty lost the paperwork. How convenient Could you have done anything differently? Yes. If you ever get another car that’sdamaged, politely ask for another one. I’ve seen too many cases where an employee assures acustomer that “it’s ﬁne” only toreceive abill for repairs later

Youcould have also taken “before” and “after” pictures.I didn’t see any as part of your claim,and Ithink they might have helped establishthat the damage was there before you rented the car Why wasn’tPurCo listening to

you? Your bill included a$400 “administrative fee,” which is what PurCo charges to handle a claim. Iwasn’tthere when your case came in, but if Ihad to guess, I’d say PurCo didn’twant to lose thebusiness. But your case wasa slam dunk. Not only did you have written proof of the preexisting damage, but you also had asecond defense. The dates of your rental didn’t align with the dates on the claim.

Youcould have tried to resolve this on your own by contacting Thrifty’scustomer service executives. Ilist their names and contact information on my consumer

advocacy website, Elliott.org. I also have the names and numbers of the executives at the claims company,Purco Fleet Services. Icontacted Thrifty on your behalf.Arepresentative reviewed your ﬁle and agreed that you should not have been charged for the damage. The representative contacted PurCo and requested that it close your claim.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

Popcorn,a 9-month-old Kangaroo joey, perches on ashoulder at the Folsom facility

Flying to El Paso for a passport one Sunday

BY PAUL CLIFTON Contributing writer

It was a hot Sunday afternoon when the wheels touched down at the El Paso (Texas) International Airport.

Human Condition

The purple/gray silhouette of the Franklin Mountains loomed in the west as I hopped into a taxi and headed downtown to my hotel. I had never been to El Paso, never had an inclination to visit. Until a few days prior, that is. On a Friday evening. I came home from work and my wife was on the phone. She was distraught, pacing. “We have a problem,” she mouthed to me, hand over the phone. “Passport.”

She hung up the phone and told me that my passport would expire on Sept. 10. We were to leave for Scotland to attend my oldest son’s wedding on Sept. 4. It was Aug

CURIOUS

said Wilbert Carmouche, tourism director “You use your iPhone or smartphone to click on this code, and it takes you to a site that tells you how to get there.” Visitors are indeed ﬁnding the site, and they’re taking photos with the sign for social media, Carmouche said.

Those who don’t want to seek out a QR code kiosk can either visit travelavoyelles.com/about/ ﬁnd-your-center-in-the-centerof-louisiana on where to ﬁnd Centre de la Louisiane or simply drive to its physical address at 1860 Old River Road in Mansura which is a little more than 5 miles southeast of Marksville.

Visitors driving north on La. 1 should turn right on La. 107, locally known as Cocoville Road, upon approaching Marksville. After about a mile, turn right on Old River Road, which eventually follows an oxbow lake called Raccourci Old River, a curve left behind by the Mississippi River after it changed course.

A little more than three miles down this road, the marker stands on the left, surrounded by its own crushed stone parking lot in the midst of private ﬁshing camps bordering former waterway

“CLECO put up a security light for us in the parking area,” Carmouche said. “So this is a safe spot.”

Marked by a metal sign

The sign is a large, metal cutout of Louisiana, where visitors can frame themselves within the state for photos. “Avoyelles Centre de la Louisiane” borders the top in blue and red letters, and a bubble noting “You are here” marks the location on a mini outline of the state

The exact coordinates of this

ALBUM

Continued from page 1D

Chenier’s birthday It features Jagger singing the original Creole lyrics, backed by Grammywinning accordionist Steve Riley of Mamou Playboys fame.

Recorded in 1965, the original is a hard-driving, stripped-down romp of accordion, rubboard and drums, Clifton Chenier’s early sound that rocked dancehalls and rural house dances in southwest Louisiana. In later years, he added horns, organ and blues guitar, an electrifying mix that put his “Bogalusa Boogie” album in the Grammy Hall of Fame and Library of Congress.

Adcock was challenged with making Clifton Chenier’s barebones, old-school zydeco work with the signature guitars of Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. The results gave him the “frissons,” French for chill bumps.

“Keith and Ronnie did what they always do — the ancient art of weaving,” Adcock said “They ﬁnd a way to snake around each other and support each other Two guitars end up sounding like one. I was on cloud nine watching how they let it unfold.

“It sounded like the Stones. It wasn’t a little cute, cultural cameo. It was like, ‘Oh let us pay tribute to your culture.’ It was also ‘No, we’re the Stones. We make Stones records — in whatever we do.’ I thought that was a very, very cool thing.” Adcock will always cherish his “catbird seat” in producing a historic blend of music cultures.

27. I could ﬂy to Ireland but I could not return Panicked, I googled expedited passports. The U.S Department of State website noted that one could make an appointment at a passport agency/ofﬁce for a quick turnaround under certain circumstances. I called the number and

location are 30.5191 degrees north, 91.5209 degrees west. Carmouche and assistant tourism director Mary Guillory pinpointed these numbers after extensive research.

“We started working on this in September of 2024,” Carmouche said. “We looked at maps in the Assessor’s Ofﬁce and discovered that the center was not where it was previously marked.”

Guillory said a concrete marker once declared the state’s geographic center as being 40 yards north of where the new marker stands

“We looked at the maps, and we knew that wasn’t right,” Guillory said. “We were doing a rebranding of Avoyelles Parish at the time, and we knew this would be the perfect identity for us, because though we have good food and friendly people, we aren’t the only parish in the state that has these things.”

But not every parish can claim to be the exact center of the state, bringing together north and south Louisiana, along with a diversity of cultures and traditions where where French and English are equally prevalent. Avoyelles Parish is also home to the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana.

Dare to drive the twisty-turns of Avoyelles Parish’s backroads for a chance to stand right smack in the middle of the state. While there, take a selﬁe or group photo. And don’t forget to tag Avoyelles Parish Tourism when posting them.

For more information, visit travelavoyelles.com.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

waited, held captive to dreadful, soulless hold music.

As I sat, sporadic skitterings emanated from our attic.

Being an environmental consultant, I knew well the black hole that is bureaucracy Finally, an angel came on the line and I told her our story “OK, let’s see if we can get you into the New Orleans ofﬁce,” she said. I listened, her keyboard clacked, each stroke a spike to my skull.

“Hmmm, there is an opening in November Well, that’s not gonna work, is it? Hold on.”

And then she said something I will never forget.

“Don’t worry, we are going to get you to your son’s wedding.”

After more searching, she came up with an open 8 a.m. slot the following Monday in El Paso. That night, I booked a ﬂight for Sunday

By the next evening, the thumping and skittering in the attic had

become louder, bolder I climbed the attic steps, cleared the top and shone a ﬂashlight into the dusty darkness. The beam exposed two neon eyes, perfectly still.

The raccoon assumed an indignant posture on its hind legs as if I had interrupted something. I had read somewhere that light, sound and scent can run them off, so I ﬁlled a huge bowl with white vinegar, grabbed a portable radio (tuned to the most annoying country music station I could ﬁnd), left the light on and hoped for the best.

“Yep, it’s a raccoon,” I told my wife, trying, and failing, to be nonchalant.

Now to Sunday I got on a plane and left my wife at home, alone, with a raccoon banging around in the attic and the specter of an expired passport hanging over the family like Damocles’ sword.

Once I checked into the hotel, I walked ﬁve blocks to the passport ofﬁce to recon. I had the requisite documents

proof of travel and receipts, birth certificate, on and on. All night, I obsessed over what else could go wrong. Then I found it. A sign on the office door stated cash only so I wandered around downtown El Paso searching for an ATM. At 8 a.m. Monday, the passport office was quite busy but well-run with helpful staff and, unbelievably, I was out of there by 10 a.m., crisp new passport in hand. I called home. The raccoon had fled.

I got on a plane bound for Baton Rouge ﬁrst thing Tuesday I could ﬁnally breathe; all was well. Scotland and the wedding were beautiful.

— Clifton lives in Baton Rouge. Human Condition submissions of 600 words or fewer may be emailed to features@ theadvocate.com. Stories will be kept on ﬁle and publication is not guaranteed. There is no payment for Human Condition.

TOOKER

Continued from page 1D

in and love of Louisiana food.

“My world revolved around her and meals at her house,” Tooker said. “My great-grandmother coming to pick me up and taking me out to lunch or cooking in her kitchen with Rose and Lily, who were like the original food processors, taught me how to love people with food — so that food became my love language and my vehicle for showing you how much.”

I asked Tooker to choose a restaurant for our lunch that she felt best represented classic New Orleans. She said it was a tough call, but ultimately, for her, there was only one answer: Antoine’s Restaurant.

Located at 713 St. Louis St. in the French Quarter, Antoine’s dates back to 1840, “when New Orleans was queen city of the Mississippi River when cotton was king and French gentlemen settled their differences under the oaks with pistols for two and coffee for one,” as the restaurant describes its origins. Rick Blount, CEO, is the current family custodian of Antoine’s. He’s the ﬁfth generation of the family to run the iconic establishment. He stopped by the table to chat, too. As he describes it, “Our family’s been hoarding here on St. Louis Street for 185 years.”

His wife Lisa Blount stopped by later to chat and get feedback on the meal, the new menu design and the importance of keeping dishes reasonably priced.

I said I had not.

Tooker, by the way, is on a ﬁrstname basis with Antoine’s family members, including those who ran the place 150 years ago.

“It’s a wonderful room in and of itself. Jules (Alciatore, son of Antoine) created it in the late 1890s when Japanese art was so in. It was one of his ﬁrst really big banquet rooms,” she explains. “When Dec. 7 happened in Pearl Harbor, they literally locked the doors and never went back in there for like 40 years. They never used the space. Isn’t that the wildest thing? That is how big and how great this place is.”

She moves on to another room where she found and read handwritten and typed correspondence from Roy Alciatore, who managed the restaurant through the Prohibition era and World War II.

the best thing on the table. I keep thinking of them. The French onion soup was rich and the cheese just right. The salad was fresh and satisfying.

The baked Alaska at the end of the meal was over the top. Its meringue was perfectly charred and tasted just as good.

The overall experience felt fancy Even so, Antoine’s does a great job of keeping the dishes affordable. If you haven’t been to Antoine’s in a while (or forever), take this as your sign to go. We had a peek behind the scenes, thanks to Tooker, but the magic wasn’t exclusive.

Tooker won me over with her all-in approach to life, love and Louisiana. She’s not one of those people who compartmentalizes her life into various segments — it’s all on the table at once, mixing and meshing ﬂavors.

She doesn’t shy away from the hardest parts of life. Earlier this year, she became a widow Her husband, Kenny Tobin, died on Feb. 28, 2025. He was diagnosed with ALS in March 2024. Tobin was the teenage love she never forgot — and she believed he was the love of her life. The pair reconnected in 2015 and married in 2022.

“This speaks to how much they respect Clifton and how important that music is. I would not have felt comfortable going to them with a tribute to Buddy Guy or Muddy Waters or Dolly Parton,” Adcock said. “It was something about Clifton. They knew that music. It was just kinky enough that it would be something that they would be involved in.

“It speaks to how much they love American music and how much they knew zydeco.”

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

Antoine’s food and ambience for our Friday lunch would be hard to beat. Gentle piano music played in the background. The light was perfect.

We tried three different oysters: the Rockefeller, the Foch and Ronquille. All three were outstanding, but Tooker and I agreed that the Ronquille — new to Antoine’s menu and a specialty of chef Ralph Pausina — was a revalation.

On a first-name basis

Tooker knows the incredible vastness of Antoine’s and its history well. A few years ago, she had the chance to help catalog the contents of some of the restaurant’s rooms that had been locked for decades. In 2019, she facilitated the donation of the ephemera to the Historic New Orleans Collection, which has an ongoing cataloging project of the artifacts.

“Have you ever been in the Japanese room on the second ﬂoor?” she asked.

“Roy really brought this place into its 20th-century fame,” she said. “He planned the 100th anniversary and marketed that so successfully that it really put them on the map.”

She explained that Roy Alciatore didn’t think that there should be a telephone that people could call for reservations. Instead, he believed people should write a letter

“So, every letter that Roy received was there,” she said. “The original was there, but even better, he meticulously made a carbon copy of his response to every letter, attached to the original. I mean, what a writer’s dream.”

The treasure trove of Antoine’s and New Orleans history included correspondence from Walt Disney, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and more.

An all-in approach

Beyond the oysters, Antoine’s iconic potato puffs served with Bearnaise sauce might have been

“The disease raced through his body We had only been married about two years at that point,” she said. After she buried him, she wanted to move away from the home where she had nursed him through the illness. One day, she ran into Geoffrey Lutz at Costco. He was an old high school friend from her brief stint at NOCCA. Fifty years later, that brief detour ended up reshaping her world again through Lutz.

She mentioned she was looking for a place in the French Quarter As it happened, he had one. She took it, and, in the months since, the two have fallen in love.

Tooker is aware that the timing may seem unconventional, but she is in love. She’s happy and grateful for another chance.

“I just keep singing. I feel like Julie Andrews,” she said. “When I burst into song, which I do often, I will sing, ‘Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.’”

Whether ordering a drink, sharing the history of a place she adores or falling in love again, Tooker lives with the same intensity she brings to the table — all heart, all ﬂavor, all in.

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

IMAGE FROM FRANCIS PAVy/FACEBOOK Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is releasing a 7-inch vinyl of the Rolling Stones and Steve Riley performing Clifton Chenier’s ‘Zydeco Sont Pas Sale,’ as part of a 100th anniversary tribute to the King of Zydeco.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

French onion soup from Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans

STAFF PHOTO By IAN McNULTy

Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans is the oldest continuously family-run restaurant in the U.S

AT THE TABLE

Pork jambalayawas once astapleonwedding menus

Country-stylerecipe canfeedacrowd

BY DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN

Contributing writer

June has long been considered the best time of year to get married. In today’sworld of elaborate weddings, Itried to thinkback to atime when the focus was not so much about spending large amounts of money but instead was atime when arelativemade your dress, and the reception was held at the church hall.

Iremember attendingawedding with my mother and grandmother long ago. My great-aunt’s daughter was getting marriedat asmall Catholic church in rural Rayne. The church was awhite wooden building, the interior was ﬁlled with rows of woodenpews and sparsely decorated, evenfor awedding.

The wedding ceremony wasa full Mass and lasted at least an hour.Guests were then invited to the church hall for ameal. This was not the kind of wedding with dainty ﬁnger sandwiches or vegetable trays and deviled eggs. We wereserved aplate of food, and guests sat at long tables, communal style.

The couple who got married and most of the guests were hardworking Cajun folks. They had little interest in ﬁnger foods but rather preferreda “stick to your ribs” kind of repast.We joined the line with others and received aplate of pork jambalaya, black-eyedpeas, cabbage slaw dressed with white vinegar, salt and pepper and asliceof white bread.

“Do you need me to bringin

more jambalaya?” shouted the cook from thekitchen door

The jambalaya had been cooked outsideina large black cast-iron pot. Tray bytray,the jambalayawas brought to the kitchen and served to guests.

“Yeah, bring in more. We got more people coming,” answered theserver

We made our way to theempty spots at the table andhad aseat next to distant relatives.Webegan our heartymeal, and Itold my mom, “Look, Igot someof thecrispy rice!”

“Yeah, you did get some of the crispyrice from the bottom of thepot, you luckygirl!” she replied.

That crispyrice was aprized bite.

After themeal, themusic started. There was athree-piece Cajunband,and couples danced thetwo-step. Nextcame the bride and groom

Everyone cleared theﬂoor, andthey slowly danced to their favorite song.Then, one by one, guests took aturn dancing with the brideorgroom. Each new partner pinned money onto the bride’sveil or thegroom’slapel. By theend ofafew songs, the newlyweds hadcollected asizable amountofmoney to spend on their honeymoon

Not all weddings are meant to be grand affairs. Regardless of thesize or level of fanfare, familyand friends who help to support the brideand groom as they embark on alife together are what make the celebration truly meaningful,turning asingle day into the foundation of apartnership.

This Louisiana, country-style jambalaya is agreat crowd pleaser.

Pork Jambalaya

Serves 6-8

2pounds pork shoulder meat, cutinto 2to 3-inch chunks

2tablespoons vegetable oil

1largeonion, mediumdiced

1green bellpepper,medium diced

2stalks of celery, mediumdiced

2clovesofgarlic, finelychopped

2teaspoons red cayenne pepper

1tablespoon salt

1tablespoon granulated garlic

2cups raw,long grain rice

3-4cups of water or chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. Cut pork meat into chunks and season withred pepper,salt and granulated garlic.

2. In aheavy-bottomed 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or cast iron pot, heat oil over ahigh to medi-

um-high heat.

3. Addhalfofthe pork and brown the meat well on both sides.Remove browned meat and add remaining pork. Brown on bothsides andremove from the pot

4. Adddiced onions, diced bell peppers anddiced celery.Sauté vegetables until they just begin to brown. Add chopped garlic and cook for 1minute.

5. Return browned meat to the pot.Add enough water to cover themeat. Cover the pot and reduce to medium heat. Cook for about 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender,adding morewater as necessary.Cook until the liquid has thickened to agravy consistency

6. Addraw rice and stir.Add water or chicken broth and stir

DINING SCENE

again. The amount of water added will depend on the gravy with the meat.Ifthere is alot of liquid, add less water or broth. If your gravy is really reduced, add the 4cups. As arule of thumb, forevery cup of rice, you will need 2cups of liquid.

7. Over medium heat, bring to agentle boil. When the water has been absorbed and is even with the rice level, cover the pot with atight lid and reduce heat to medium-low

8. Cook forabout 20 minutes. Check forthe doneness of the rice. Remove from heat and set aside with the lid on. This resting time allows forthe moisture to be absorbed by the rice.

9. Uncover jambalaya, add chopped green onions and gently ﬂuffthe rice.

Lakefrontdiningand barscene growsinMandeville

Staycation turns into barcrawl

As afternoon slipped into evening on the Old Mandeville lakefront, the breeze picked up, the waves near the seawall danced more sprightly, and the time felt right for an aperitif, aspritz of aromatic spirits and bubbles to set the mood and raise the curtain on the meal to come.

It was also prime time at thenew waterfront restaurant called Aperitif Spritz +Bites (1943 Lakeshore Drive, 985-778-2045), and soon the view it offers of the lake had drawn peopleto the umbrella-shaded seats against the porch rail. Others were jostling at the door for atable inside or seat at the bar.These were in demand.

Aperitif, which opened in the spring, has become ahot spot, with afeel somewhere between abeach house dining room and clubhousebar

The Old Mandeville restaurant and bar scene has been growing. Between new and different spots and the golf cart trafﬁc shuttling between them, it can resemble asomewhat quieter version of the buzz around waterfront towns down the Gulf Coast. On arecent weekend, Iused dinner at Aperitif as theanchor for aone-night staycation from my New Orleans home to explore. Old Mandeville is not a resort, it’saneighborhood, aLouisiana one, and that means it has character and this will change from one stop to the next, from polished to languorous, as afun bar hop following dinner proved in unexpected ways. It was just the kind of quick weekend adventure that helps the New Orleans summer sail past abit more smoothly For lodging,I found the charming de la Bleau (see

delableau.com), arambling modernhouse, elevated with upscale tree fort vibes andlake views. It hasthe heart of an old-school B&B, right downtothe homey, self-servebreakfastspread providedinthe shared kitchen. Like everything on the circuitwewould undertake, it was just afew blockstothe next stop.

Aperitif to start

Aperitif is the latest from Cayman Sinclair,wellknowninthe northshore food scene. Hiscatering company,The Lakehouse, ﬁelds gigs fromweddings to disasterrelief to feasts forcelebrities.These days, you’ll likely ﬁnd him bounding around the Aperitif dining room, shuttling dishes fromthe kitchen, making introductions between familiarfaces andbeing the host, aroleinwhich he excels.

Aperitif brings some of the same energy of his last restaurant, also calledThe Lakehouse (it didn’treopen afterHurricane Ida). But here it’sdistilledtoamore reﬁnedformat. In fact, the “spritz +bites” part of its name somewhatundersells akitchenthat is upping the antefor dininginMandeville. Fried oysters arrivein

avintage tray with shellshapedcups, each one its own composed bite with acrinkle of fried spinach, hollandaise and crumbled bacon over the burst of the bivalve. Afew specials this night showed the kitchen at its best, with velvetysalmon crudo paired witha dash of tuna tartare and just atouch of ponzu, and alsoarare appearance of soft shell crawfishfriedintempura tucked intoairy profiteroles (fromTournesol Bakery in Covington). These would be winners on theregular menu rotation. For entrees,there’sa steak au poivreand short ribs, though seafood is the specialty. Athick cut of snapperwas perfectly cooked, flaking apartinto itscreamysauce.

The Creole classic shrimp Clemenceau gets deluxe treatment with pancettawrapped scallops and royal redshrimp over theroasted potatoes, mushrooms and crispsnap peas. For dessert,the proﬁteroles return ﬁlledwithindividual gelatoscoops,witha baby-sized copper pot of hot chocolatesauce for dunking. While the small restaurant is busy,isdoes not feel frantic, an admirable feat of noiseabatement worked in between thecool contemporary design. That’s key for alakefront wind down, though we wereonthe way up. Aperitif sits right next to Donz on the Lake (1951 LakeshoreDrive), alongtimewaterfront watering hole that’sbeen spruced up abit but deep down is still

adive. It would be our ﬁnal destination, but ﬁrst, we had awildly different range of stops to make.

Aview, somethingnew

The setting sun can beautifully paint the lake in changing soft hues, and agreat perch to watch this show is a rocker on the porch at Pat’s Rest AWhile (2129 Lakeshore Drive).

What had been acluster of historic but disintegrating campcabins has been turned into amodern campus of dining rooms and bars around acentral patio. Elevated, you get the best of the breeze and aview that puts you on the lake, not just by it, as if you’re aboard a boat.

Sophie Tavern, its sometimes raucous, always adults-only bar just off the family-friendly patio, feels like having drinks in the crow’snest.

When it turned solidly dark, we were off to Noir Bistrot (2032 Woodrow St.), anew lounge that adds a dash of art deco ﬂair to the Mandeville Trailhead, by the playground and pavilion, looking like it was dropped here straight from Magazine Street. The kitchen serves small plates and the bar brings a cheeky streak to the drinks. Youcan add smoke to any cocktail, for instance. And across the healthy list of winesbythe glass and beer you can add asalted caramelrim to your glass. Iwas not exactly craving this ﬂavor combination. But wheninRome, try the salted caramel on your IPA and Portuguese white, I reasoned. Let my path show you adifferent way: Stick to the unadulterated adult beverages and enjoy the

twilight ambiance of the room.

The fun of bouncing around to different places is seeing how they roll, and that applied to the next stop.

The Grapeful Ape (2013 Jefferson St.) started out as awine shop, and the list remains astrong point, especially for abottle, while it has evolved into more of acocktail lounge, with a tavern-casual feel around a decidedly upscale drink list.

The Houdini manifested as abulbous wine glass brimming with vodka and tonic, turned lavender with butterfly pea syrup; the more understated Interview is afloral, delicate gin cocktail. We sipped these at the bar under an installation of faux grapevines that seemed to crawl across the ceiling, in yet another scene Ididn’t expect to find in Old Mandeville.

Dippingintoa dive

The old reliable, of course, wasDonz, right next to Aperitif where we started. Youcan’tsay the name without hearing the “z” in its spelling, acue not to take anything too seriously Dives are dives. Arock band, Jay B. Elston, wasrifﬁng high and heavy in the back room, and the view outside of moonlight on the lake and alive oak rustling in the breeze was precisely right to end this romp. The next morning, the coffee provided at our lodging was notquite kicking hard enough. So it was over to Tandem Coffee &Cocktails (424 Girod

STAFF PHOTOSByIAN McNULTy People takeinthe lakefront view on the porch at Aperitif Spritz +Bites, an upscale casual restaurant and bar in Old Mandeville.

NoirBistrot is acocktail lounge for drinks and small plates in Old Mandeville.

Fried oysters are topped with hollandaise and bacon over spinach at Aperitif Spritz +Bites.

PHOTO By DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN Pork Jambalaya

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,June 22, the 173rd day of 2025. There are 192 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On June 22, 1938, in a rematch that bore the weight of both geopolitical symbolism and African American representation, American Joe Louis knocked out German Max Schmeling in just two minutes and four seconds to retain his heavyweight boxing title in front of 70,000 spectators at New York’sYankee Stadium.

On this date:

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for asecond time as Emperor of the French. 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, amassive and ultimately ill-fated invasion of the Soviet Union that would prove pivotal to the Allied victory over the Axis Powers.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the “GI Bill of Rights,” which provided tuition coverage, unemployment support and low-interest home and businessloans to returning veterans.

In 1945, the World War II Battle of Okinawaended with an Allied victory

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.

In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the ﬁrst former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving asentencefor his role in the Watergate cover-up.

In 1981, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock star and former Beatle John Lennon.

In 1986, Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona scored the infamous

“Hand of God” goal in the quarterﬁnalsofthe FIFA World Cup against England, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.(Maradonawould follow minutes later witha remarkable individual effort that become known as the “Goal of theCentury,” and Argentinawon 2-1.)

In 1992, the U.S.Supreme Court, in R.A.V v. City of St.Paul, unanimouslyruled that “hate crime” laws that banned cross burningand similarexpressionsofracial biasviolated free-speech rights.

In 2011, after evading arrest for 16 years, mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was captured in SantaMonica, California.

In 2012, former Penn Stateassistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted by ajuryin Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on 45 counts of sexually assaulting10boysover 15 years. (Sandusky would later be sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.)

Today’sBirthdays: Actor Prunella Scales is 93. Actor KlausMaria Brandauer is 82. Fox News analyst Brit Hume is 82. Musician-producer PeterAsher (Peter and Gordon) is 81. Musicianproducer Todd Rundgren is 77. Actor Meryl Streep is 76. Actor Lindsay Wagneris76. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,is76. Actor Graham Greene is 73. Singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauperis72. Actor Bruce Campbell is 67. Environmentalactivist Erin Brockovich is 65. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is 65. Basketball Hall of FamerClyde Drexler is 63. Actor Amy Brenneman is 61. Author Dan Brown is 61. Actor Mary Lynn Rajskub is 54. Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner is 54. TV personalityCarson Daly is 52. Actor Donald Faison is 51. Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey is 47. Golfer Dustin Johnson is 41.

Musicians’ formal clothesnot formal enough

Dear Miss Manners: Ihave had season tickets to theorchestra for acouple of decades.For evening concerts, the orchestra wearswhitetie, and women soloistswear evening dress. For afternoon concerts, the soloistsstill wear evening dress, and the men in the orchestra wear black suits, black shirts and black ties

The musicians who are women, however,wear an assortment of black clothes:from black slacks witharegular black shirt to an orchestramusician’straditionallong black dress. In my opinion, some of the women look as though they should be turning on the TV and getting abowl of popcorn.

er to dress up. Granted, women are expected to showvariety in their outﬁts, and there areunlikely to be enough formal events in modern life for themtoinvest in an evening wardrobe.

But even when such occasions weremore common, ladies knew how to dress up without maintaining costume shops —pairing basic dresses withscarves, jewelry or little jackets.

Gentle reader: Strange, isn’tit, that when formal clothes arecalled for, men areoften now more dressed up than women? Not counting the Oscars, of course

Miss Manners has noticed this in orchestras, but also at social events. The men will be properly —not to mention attractively —clad in dinner jackets, while many of the women hardly both-

Dear Heloise: Twoyearsago, afriend

asked me to attend aself-defenseclass withher becauseshe felt uncomfortable going alone. So, Iagreed, and it was the smartest thing I’ve ever done

As for orchestras, surely women musicians can ﬁnd long black dresses or trouser suits they can wear at everyconcert. Variety is not aconcerninthis case.Ofcourse, these garmentswould have to allow for ease in playing their instruments.

Miss Manners recalls reading about acellistwho tried on adress in aNew York department store by sitting down and opening her legs to accommodate an imaginarycello —whereupon the saleswoman said sternly,“Madam!

Bergdorf’s is not that kind of store!”

Dear Miss Manners: I’m in my late 70s and enjoy spending time with my adult

children. My son-in-law drives avan, whichisvery hard for me to get into. I would prefer to take our car,which is easy for me. However,anytime we go as agroup, we take his van. When Iasked my husband what we might do to avoid my difﬁculty,hejust said, “(Son-in-law) likes to drive.”

I’m spending my second day in pain from getting in and out of this van. Would it be rude of me to insist on taking our car? How should Iexpress my needs without seeming too demanding? Also, I’m not able to drive at night.

Gentlereader: So you really need your son-in-law’shelp in getting around, and it is not unreasonable for him to use his own car —especially as there seem to be several people in this group, and avan is probably abetter ﬁt.

Miss Manners is not unsympathetic with you; she mentions this only to free you from any sense of victimhood. And then to tell you to buy a small folding footstool to keep in the van for these excursions.

Email dearmissmanners@gmail. com.

This past Christmas while Iwas out shopping one evening, Iwas busy placing packages in the trunk of my car Aman came up behind me, grabbed my hair, and said I’d better give him money or else. He had asmall gun aimed at my neck. Isaid that Ihad no cash and usually shopped with my credit cards. Iﬁgured this would work to get rid of him. It didn’t.

He took my car keys and told me to get in the car.Irefused and used three moves thatmyself-defenseinstructortaught me to use. Dangerous?Yes, but if Igot intothe car,hemight have killed me out in the middle of nowhere If he shotme, therewould have been aloud noise, and in abusy parking lot, someone might have heard and called for help. He got away,but Iwas unhurt. I

Many Americansare fortunate to havedental coverage fortheir entire working life, through employer-provided benefits.Whenthose benefits end with retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to putoff or even go without care. Simply put —without dentalinsurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

When you’re comparingplans ...

 Look forcoveragethat helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe numberof procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundredsout of pocket before benefits are paid.

 Shop forcoveragewithnoannual maximum on cash benefits. Some planshaveannual maximums of $1,000.

urge other women to take self-defense classes. It might save your life someday.Itsaved mine,and Iwas alive to seemyﬁrst grandchild born afew months ago. —Joan D.,inNew York Coffeepotcleaning

Dear Heloise: Iread the helpful hint from areader about cleaning glass coffeepots. Insteadofa special stain remover,Iuse baking soda and dish soap; it works great! No chemicals, just natural products. —Michele C., Cypress, California Michele, if you happen to forget to turn off the pot at night, and you have somenastyburnedcoffee stuck to the bottom of the pot in the morning, just take2tablespoons of baking soda, ahandful of ice cubes, and asquirt of dishwashing soap.Then swirl the mixture around in theglass pot. It will loosen up thegunk on the bottom

—Heloise

Keepingperfume fresh

Dear Heloise: Acouple of years ago, I wasgiven abeautiful, decorative box that sat on my dresser.Itwas fairly large but empty.One day,I decided to

store all my perfumebottles inside of it. This reduced clutter on my dresser, kept sunlight off the bottles, and kept all of my perfumeatabout the same temperature. People tell me that I’m hiding all the pretty bottles, but what good are the bottles if the perfume has lost its fragrance or evaporated?

—Bianca, Kingston, Rhode Island Honeyvs. sugar

Dear Heloise: Which is better foryou: sugar or honey?

—Betty,inMichigan Betty,honey and sugar are both comprised of glucose and fructose, although honey contains less of each. Honey has been used forcenturies as asweetener and amedicine. It has vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and enzymes. Sugar does not. However,sugar has about 49 calories per tablespoon while honey has 64. Honey is sweeter than sugar, which meansyou could probably use less honey than sugar.Itisnot recommended to give honey to children under 12 months of age due to arisk of infant botulism —Heloise Sendahinttoheloise@heloise.com.

expensive— especially theservicespeople over 50 oftenneed.

Consider these national average costs of treatment. $222 fora checkup .$190 for afilling. $1,213 fora crown.3 Unexpected bills likethis can be arealburden especially if you’re on afixed income.

Ask about

BETWEEN THEPAGES WITH WENDyA.GAUDIN

Xavier professordives into Creole rootsinnew book

‘SunsetLimited’usestrain routetoinvestigate lineage

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Louisiana is arich stateofmixed-race people.Wendy A. Gaudin,a California native and descendant of LouisianaCreoles, approachesthe complextapestryofwhat it means to be Afro-Creole in Louisiana and California in her creative nonﬁction book, “Sunset Limited: An Autobiography of Creole.”

Gaudin uses the train route, theSunset Limited —atrain that manyCreolefamilies took from New Orleans to LosAngeles —asavessel for investigating herown family’slineage and experiences while examining the cultural and social elements of being Creole inside and outsideofLouisiana.

Gaudin forms apersonal, nuanced history that includes elements of poetry and imagery

Gaudin is ahistorian, essayist,poetand history professor at Xavier University in New Orleans, where she teaches courses in the disciplinesofhistory and African American and diaspora studies. Herresearch interests areprimarily in Creole history and the historiesof racially mixed people in different French colonial contexts, namely south Louisiana and south Vietnam.

How did you approach your unique style of including poetryand imageryamong the history?

My Ph.D., master’sand bachelor’sdegrees are all in history,and Idid learn how to write the standard, traditional, third-person singular style that is supposed to be from an objective point of view

But Ialso studied oral history,and one of the elements is the relationship of the recorder of the story to the person telling their story.You cannot act as if you are two machines telling stories

Californian, and that perception of me may shapewhat they tell me and how they tell me.I would also saythat I’ve always been acreative writer My strengthisinterdisciplinary.Iwrite creativenonﬁction. Iwriteautoethnography.Iwritepoetry.Iweave them all together.I wrote from my strength, rather than the dictates of my discipline.

”Sunset Limited” is accessible in away that people can connect to it and not feel likethey’re reading above their understanding.Though, at the same time, it’seducational. How did you accomplish that?

Ireally wanted it to speak to multiple audiences —topeople who are interested in life, life stories, life writing. Idid not want it to only speak to academics.

Ialso want to say Creoles are more than onething, and so Iwanted the book to reﬂect themultidimensionalityofCreoles.

What similarities do you see in the Creolediaspora to Los Angelesand the Louisiana Creolemigration to other cities?

There were different migrations. One migration was New Orleans to Chicago, primarily around World WarI,and another was southwest Louisiana to Houston.

Other ethnic groups live in Chicago, so it’sadifferent kind of landscape than Houston and adifferent landscape from LosAngeles

All of that is going to shape how Creoles integrate into alandscape that has differentethnicities, and perhaps even how they’reperceived.

They may have been perceived as Greeksinone place, and then as Italians in another place, as Latin Americansin another place, and Idon’t thinkthat there’sanythingstrange about that.

We look at each other We hear each other’s accents. We share some of our history witheach other.When you’rean oral historian, you give some of yourself to the subject that you’re interviewing, and it’snot ﬂat.It’smultidimensional. It’svery rich

PROVIDED PHOTO

WendyA.Gaudin, Xavier University historyprofessorand authorof ‘Sunset Limited: An Autobiography of Creole’

Iwas speaking to these Creoles whoare my grandparents’ generation, andI am a younger generation. They may be judging me based on how Ilook, how Ispeakasa

Ithink that’swhat happens when people are of mixed ethnicity.

So, they ﬁnd their place, and they ﬁt into whatever that place is.

What wouldyour grandparents have thought about the new pope being descended from a 7th Ward family?

Ithink that my grandmother,Rita Roux, probably would have been especially proud that he was a7th Warder like herself. She probably would have said, “Oh, yeah. I know all of them.”

So manyofusknow people within Creole families that sort of cross the color line back andforth,like aswinging door.Members of my own family have done that.

Ithink my grandparentswould not be surprised. They would probably look at him and say,“Yes, he looks like members of ourfamily.”

What do you think peopledon’tunderstand about leavingaspecificculture within acountry?

That identity is notsimple. Self-deﬁnition is not simple. The idea that we are one thing is absurd.

Race is such an overwhelming dominant narrative and adominant category that it fools us intothinking that we are just this one thing, even if we have to tear ourselves apartorsqueezeourselves until we can’tbreathetoﬁtintothat category Migration is abeautiful way of understanding that we are more than one thing, and our identity is made up of multiple elements of our lives. People of mixed race are apeople, not just part this or part

that. We share things across language, acrosstime.Ifeel that Creoles are a part of the African diaspora, and we’re also part of the multiracial, post-colonial world.

Although“SunsetLimited” tells afairly comprehensive historyofLouisiana Creoles, is there anything that youwould add?

Perhaps Iwould write alittle bit about Acadiana, because Acadiana has awhole Creole history and aculture that’squite different from New Orleans.

Email Joy Holdenatjoy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

Mark Twainoncesharedthe stagewitha NewOrleans writer

Little wonder that “Mark Twain,” Ron Chernow’snew book about America’smost famous writer,has climbed up this summer’sbestseller list. Chernow, whose 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton inspired ablockbuster Broadway musical, has a devoted following of fans. Twain, of course, has his stalwart community of admirers, too. Even those who have never read Twain’sbooks know who he was. His success as astage performer,mixing public readings of his work with humorous monologues,made Twain America’sﬁrst stand-up comic. Those performances, so often recreated for modern audiences by the late actor Hal Holbrook, extended Twain’slegacy as apublic wit into our own time. But what few readers know and what Chernow’sbiography makes vividly clear —isthat when Twain embarked onone

memorableleg of his lecture tour, he had aNew Orleans sidekick who seemed to please audiences at least as much as the author of “Huckleberry Finn.”

Twain’slecture partner,whom Chernowdiscusses in great detail, was George Washington Cable,aNew Orleans writer who gained anational reputation in thelatter part of the 19th century because of hisstory collection, “Old Creole Days,”and anovel, “The Grandissimes.”

Cable used Creoledialect in hisstories andalso sang Creole tunes, which made him, like

Twain, notonly an author but an entertainer.

WhenTwain embarked on a four-month lecture tour between 1884 and1885, he asked Cable to be part of thegig. Twain had abig ego,but he apparently got lonely on theroad,sothe thought of having aprotégéalong seemed appealing. His choice of Cable as akind of warmupact wasn’t withoutcontroversy

Cable, who’d fought forthe Confederacy andwas theson of a slave owner,had publicly called foranend to racist policiesinthe ebb of Reconstruction, arguing that Americans shouldn’ttolerate “a class of people less thancitizens.” Many Southerners were incensed.

In the North, though, Cable had fewworries abouthis reception.

“Wehad agreattime last night,”hewrotefrom Boston. “Twenty-twohundred people applauding laughing &encoring in

washogging thestage.

As Twainput it,his juniorpartner’s“constantdisposition is to lengthen his pieces —henever shortensone.”

There were other tensions,too. Cable,a devout Presbyterian,“refused to travel on theSabbath because he wanted to rise earlyand attendlocal churches andSunday schools,” Chernow tells readers. Twain, who neversuffered from an excess of piety,thought the delayinhis tourschedule awaste of time.

After theirtravels, thepair’s friendship cooled,“andthere was neverasequeltotheir celebrated speaking tour,”Chernowwrites Cable,meanwhile,suffered“viciouscriticism back home” and decidedthathenolongerﬁtin NewOrleans. He andhis family moved to Massachusetts.

Music Hall.”

But Twain, neverone to share the limelight,began to grumble, privately complaining that Cable

TRADEPAPERBACK

Email DannyHeitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.

1. “Till SummerDoUsPart” by Meghan Quinn

2. “Problematic SummerRomance”by Ali Hazelwood

3. “The Tenant”byFreidaMcFadden

4. “One Golden Summer”

PHOTO

Author Samuel Clemens,better known under hispen name of Mark Twain

thousand Batting a

But firm rents couldsignalrecovery on theway

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

aBaton Rougeshed, MarucciSports toppledthe biggestnames

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

all theother cities in thestudy —generally have been rising nominally for decades But it’sa different picture when inflation is taken into account. In Johnson’sstudy,New Orleans andBaton Rouge are among only 10 U.S.cities that have seen inﬂation-adjusted house prices sliding downward since2000. It’seven worsenews for thecurrent marketinNew Orleans, where prices are14% beloweventhatdownward trend—putting thecityonthe bottom of the list.

STAFF

Baton Rouge

Claire K. Spencer has been hired as a vice president by Crown Crafts and will take over as chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer on June 30.

Spencer replaces Craig J. Demarest, who is retiring after four years as CFO.

Spencer has spent the past six years with H&E Equipment Services, handling U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ﬁlings and compliance.

She also worked for HRI Properties and KPMG in ﬁnancial reporting and audit roles

She earned a bachelor’s and master’s in accounting, both from Southern Methodist University.

Dr Quentin Alleva has been named regional medical director of Ochsner Baton Rouge, effective June 30. Alleva joined Ochsner Baton Rouge as a staff radiologist in 2008 at Ochsner Medical Complex-The Grove. Since 2012, he has served as regional chair of radiology In 2018, he was named associate medical director of medical specialties for the Baton Rouge region.

He earned a medical degree from Yale School of Medicine. Alleva completed an internship and residency at Ochsner Clinic in

MARUCCI

Continued from page 1E

pedo bats” in the majors is that Marucci is determined to remain on the cutting edge of innovation in the old ball game.

Earlier this year, Marucci and Victus became the ofﬁcial bats of Major League Baseball, replacing rival bat maker Louisville Slugger.

One reason for the switch, Noah Garden, deputy commissioner for MLB, told The Athletic, was that Marucci had innovation in its DNA.

The company operates a baseball performance lab in Baton Rouge. Ballplayers come there to be ﬁtted for a bat, or multiple bats, with custom weights and shapes for different hitters or hitting situations.

“For years, there hadn’t been a lot of changes to baseball equipment,” said Kurt Ainsworth, Marucci’s co-founder and CEO in a phone interview. “Now it’s all very high-tech, and we’re on the forefront.”

This focus on highly engineered gear has helped Marucci become the most popular bat maker in professional baseball According to Bat Digest, Marucci and Victus account for half of MLB bat market share. The company has also carved out a chunk of a much bigger market. Building on a close relationship with college baseball powerhouse LSU, it now sells aluminum and composite bats to collegiate athletes, high schoolers and little leaguers with major league dreams.

In addition to bats, Marucci now sells gloves, balls, helmets, apparel and footwear And, since 2015, it has opened 14 Hitter’s Houses globally These retail stores with batting cages in the back — promote the brand and the game all at once. All these offerings earned the company roughly $192 million in revenue in 2024, according to an annual report from its parent company.

“We’re going to do things that will shock some people,” Ainsworth said. “And we want to become a household name.” Arms race Early on a recent weekday morning, Marucci’s unassuming Baton Rouge headquarters was already buzzing with activity.

In the Hitter’s House at the front of the campus, employees were preparing for the days’ shoppers and sluggers to arrive.

A few buildings away, Marucci executives were meeting in a large, glass-walled conference room. Colorful bats, gloves, helmets and other gear covered the walls And in the factory across the parking lot, a worker was operating a lathe that turns cylinders of unﬁnished maple called billets — into usable, if unﬁnished, bats in seconds. A dozen or so co-workers were busy sanding, painting and stenciling. The high-tech scene was a few doors down. In the performance lab, Micah Gibbs, the company’s director of player performance was giving a tour of one of the most advanced batting cages in the world, equipped with cameras and other sensors to study every element of a batter’s swing Marucci opened the space in

New Orleans and a fellowship in body imaging at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Dr Jamie B. Patterson has joined the breast cancer care team at Woman’s Hospital

Patterson is a surgical oncologist who has more than a decade of expertise in breast-conserving surgery skin and nipple-sparing mastectomies. She most recently served as medical director for The Breast Center at Kent Hospital, afﬁliated with Brown University She earned a medical degree from the University of Nevada and completed her residency at the University of California, Irvine.

Off The Hook Restaurants has added three members to its management team.

John Lush is chief operating ofﬁcer Lush has a background in scaling up multi-unit restaurant brands.

Bailey Richard is director of marketing, communica-

tions and compliance. Randy Gross is director of operations.

Off The Hook was founded in 2012 and has eight locations across south Louisiana.

New Orleans

Sion James has joined Son of a Saint as an ambassador James is a former standout Tulane University and Duke University basketball player He previously was co-CEO of Ryan’s Giving Tree, a New Orleans nonprofit focused on improving community health, housing and economic outcomes.

He earned a bachelor’s in management from Tulane Freeman School of Business. James was honored with the Freeman School Dean’s Service Award and the Newcomb-Tulane College Student-Athlete Award after logging nearly 350 community service hours.

Son of a Saint is a nonprofit devoted to uplifting fatherless boys through mentorship, mental health support and educational guidance.

BUSINESS HONORS

Dr Maria Velez, a pediatric hematologist oncologist at Manning Family Children’s, has been named president of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Velez’s appointment was recently announced at the organization’s annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky She earned a medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. Velez completed her residency at the University Pediatric Hospital in Puerto Rico and a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.

Velez Hayes

of the 2025 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award. Hayes practiced until 2023 with Hayes, Harkey, Smith & Cascio in Monroe, primarily in representation of civil litigants in state and federal courts. Since 2023, he has worked exclusively as mediator and arbitrator

He was honored as the foundation’s 2016 Distinguished Attorney and by LSU Law in 2018 for Distinguished Achievement. Hayes serves as chair and immediate past president of the Louisiana State Law Institute.

Thomas M Hayes III is the recipient

2023 in partnership with The Golf Lab, a 16-year-old venture that provides golfers with quantitative data designed to help improve their game. “Now, it’s like we’re bringing golf to baseball,” Gibbs said. In the facility, Marucci helps

batters gain insights and choose equipment aimed at improving their performance no matter what they’re facing on the ﬁeld.

When the site is in use, techs attach wires and nodes to a batter’s body to track movement and speed. A 3D motion capture sys-

tem, ground plates and sensors attached to bats gather additional data.

“Players have had hitting coaches forever, but it’s hard to quickly retrain your body to change motion, especially when facing 100 mph pitches,” said Gibbs, a former LSU player “So, if a batter is having a slump, there might be an easier ﬁx: Just change the bat.”

Hometown home run

The origin of Marucci Sports is far from high tech. In fact, the company started in one backyard and moved to another before hitting the big time.

In the early 2000s, longtime LSU athletic trainer Jack Marucci set up shop in his backyard next to his own wiffleball field, to make the perfect wood bat for his young son Gino. He continued to make bats of all sizes as a hobby, and his connection to college baseball and, by extension, the pros — helped him show them off to influential players.

In 2004, Ainsworth and Joe Lawrence, both former LSU ballplayers who spent time in the majors, were rehabbing injuries at LSU

They recognized the potential in what Marucci was making and convinced him to partner with them to turn the hobby into a business. They invested in equipment and moved the operation to Ainsworth’s backyard.

The company’s quick ascent is now legendary Marucci bats were ofﬁcially approved by MLB for in-game use in 2005 Then, over the next two decades, Marucci gained more highproﬁle users and everyday fans

The company has acquired several competitors, including Victus, Lizard Skins and Baum. It’s been bought twice itself, first for $200 million in 2020 by Connecticutbased publicly traded holding company Compass Diversified, and for $572 million in 2023 by Georgia’s Fox Factory Holding Corp. Today, Marucci has about 400 employees worldwide. Most work in Baton Rouge or in a fulfillment center in Geismar Others are stationed throughout the United States, with outposts in Tokyo and the United Kingdom.

Jack Marucci and Lawrence are no longer involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.

Playing catchup

Marucci Sports has expansion plans, including opening a public factory tour in Baton Rouge this summer Florida-based training company The Stable, which operates a training facility on the Baton Rouge campus, will set up shop later this year at a Marucci facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, which will also house a Hitter’s House and performance lab.

But Ainsworth said staying on the cutting edge of tech is key to growth plans in a sport where cameras and computers are part of every pro practice and teams are hiring former NASA scientists and MIT grads.

Marucci is now helping teams design gear for different scenarios: batting against a left-handed pitcher vs. a right-handed pitcher, for instance. Or making lighter bats for players who are having an off day or are feeling under the weather

“The game is changing,” Ainsworth said. “There used to be one bat for all situations, but now players may have a few dozen models. It’s like golfers using different clubs.”

New bat designs have become popular The “torpedo” bat with a bulge in the barrel that moves its center of gravity closer to the hitter’s hands — has been embraced by many pros, particularly after a jaw-dropping surge of homers by the New York Yankees early this season drew attention to the strangely shaped sticks.

The research and design extend to gloves, cleats and other gear

“We’re designing and developing products that feel like an extension of your body,” Ainsworth said. Major leaguers are the company’s highest-proﬁle customers. At its headquarters, there’s a wall of signatures from stars who have traveled to Baton Rouge to study their swing.

But the company’s most important market, by far, is everybody else, said Tulane University business professor Peter Ricchiuti, a big-time baseball fan whose ofﬁce on campus is ﬁlled with MLB memorabilia.

“It’s amazing that Marucci was able to break into a business that was dominated by Louisville Slugger, which was to baseball bats what Q-tips are to cotton swabs,” Ricchiuti said. “When youngsters see big leaguers swinging a Marucci bat, they want one.” Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

Alleva

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Pallets of billets fill the Marucci Sports Baton Rouge warehouse as an employee inspects several for processing

Baseball cards of players that use Marucci equipment line a wall with a few cards of CEO Kurt Ainsworth in the office.

Micah Gibbs, director of player performance and master bat fitter, holds a bat while talking about bat balance at the Baseball Performance Lab on the Marruci Sports campus in Baton Rouge.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Some baseball players that use Marucci bats have signed a special wall at the office.

TALKING BUSINESS

Musician, PreSonus founder still ‘takes every meeting’

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Baton Rouge native Jim Odom

is a musician, inventor and businessman who cofounded PreSonus Audio Electronics in 1995 to meet the growing demand for affordable digital music-making gear used in recording studios and on stage. The company’s first pro duc t, made in a temporary factory set up in the back of a Baton Rouge furniture store, won awards at an industry trade show for its ability to improve the sound quality of recorded audio.

PreSonus launched several hit products early on that launched it into competition with Yamaha and other global brands operating in the same space. Then, over the next quarter-century it continued to grow and expand, adding a successful software business to its portfolio in the early 2000s and employing roughly 180 people in Baton Rouge.

In 2021, Odom sold PreSonus to Fender Musical Instruments Corp., the famous guitar maker, for more than $200 million. He stayed at the company until a little over a year ago, when he completed his assignment to merge the companies’ research and development, and product groups. Now, the serial entrepreneur — also a decadeslong guitarist in the Louisiana rock band LeRoux, famous for the 1978 hit song “New Orleans Ladies” — is coaching and investing in companies from

Audio company sold to Fender for $200M STAFF FILE PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING A curved ‘CDL 12’ model loudspeaker manufactured for PreSonus Audio Electronics can be stacked in an arc with multiple speakers, providing sound that is of the same volume, regardless of where one is in a room. PreSonus founder Jim said the company’s first product, a digital signal processor called the DCP-8, took off when it was used by Broadway shows in New york.

around the world.

In this week’s Talking Biz, adapted from a conversation earlier this spring, Odom talks about building and selling the business, the challenges along the way and what’s next.

This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity

In the 1990s, there was a “digital revolution” in the music industry when the move away from expensive analog gear — like tape machines — made it much more affordable to get professional sound quality

Can you talk about your company’s role in bringing audio electronics to the masses?

When digital audio was invented, it meant that a piece of gear that might have cost $100,000 was now $5,000. It became possible for someone to build a little room in their house to record and produce music. The large studios at the time were charging $1,000 to $2,000 a day because their investment in equipment was in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $1 million.

We started by developing tools for those home studios.

Who were you competing with?

Companies like Yamaha and Mackie, but we found our niche in things like digital signal processing.

What is that?

You can send a signal from a microphone, for instance, through a processor and change the sound. You can equalize it, change the pitch of it or do anything with it using software that lives inside a microchip.

You were in a garage competing with global corporations. What were the decisions that you made that allowed you to grow?

The term ignorance is bliss comes to mind. I had some experience building products at my previous job, so we built a small factory in the back of a furniture store. We had robotic machines working on circuit boards. Customers would wander into the back wondering what was happening.

Your garage era was brief. You scaled up pretty quickly In 1995, my partner and I went to a major music industry trade show in Los Angeles. We had a 10-by-10 booth, launched our ﬁrst product, a digital signal processor called the DCP-8, and it was named one of the top 10 products of the show out of about 900 companies.

How was it used? It ended up somewhere we didn’t expect, on Broadway in New York City They would stack

about 10 of these and use them to control all of the microphones for the actors onstage. They would switch the scenes in real-time using our products.

You encountered obstacles as you grew the company. How did Hurricane Katrina affect you, for instance? It was brutal. In Louisiana we couldn’t go into the ofﬁce for two or three weeks, but we still had to work because our business is global. I remember sitting on my front porch with my generator running. One day, I was talking to my factory guy in Taiwan, who had just experienced a typhoon and he was also on his porch with his generator going.

So Katrina was a disruption, but you got through it. The pandemic was a different story, full of surprises.

First, we thought no one would be buying because the stores are shut down. Then, suddenly, online meetings became the only way to work and we manufacture audio interfaces and microphones, perfect for online business meetings.

First, we cut back our forecasts, and then we tripled them. Why did you sell?

We were ready Since we were crushing it during the pandemic, it was a great moment. A lot of our investors had been in for 25 years at that point, and we had never had a liquidity event They never made a penny and then they made a lot.

How do you go about selling a global audio electronics company?

The ﬁrst thing we did was start interviewing investment banks. We ended up with Baird out of London. They had a lot of experience in the audio industry a big Rolodex. We started with about 80 interested parties — a lot of private equity ﬁrms — but knocked that number down pretty quick. The whole process took about a year What are you working on now?

I’ve been pretty active in meeting new people and discussing new ideas — everything from AI-generated music to where the music business is headed.

I joined a group out of Nashville called MAD Records to immerse myself into an incubator environment for musicians that are trying to write, record and market their music. And I started a record label, which will be announced soon.

My ﬁrst record release is for a fantastic musician Jonathon “Boogie” Long — and will be released this summer.

I’m also on the board of directors for Innovation Catalyst Venture Capital Fund out of Baton Rouge.

As an investor, I’m looking for companies with exemplary founders that can go the distance.

I’m an early investor in United Studio Electronics, a wonderful microphone company founded by Chad Kelly a genius in mic design. I invested in a startup called OwlDuet, which is an AI-based technology for music production. I also invested in an Austrian company that develops digital audio networks for music and event production.

It’s an exciting moment in technology, and it’s moving very fast.

What’s your advice for new entrepreneurs?

I think networking was one of the biggest things that helped us. I never turned down a trade show or a meeting. I still take every meeting because you never know who you’re going to meet that might be able to help your business.

The ﬁrst big order for PreSonus from Guitar Center came out of a conversation at a bar in California. After about half an hour, we had our ﬁrst product in all the stores. So you just never know. Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

With averageused-carpriceshitting $30K,ispre-owned

rate of 7.1%.

Michelle Singletary THE COLOR OF MONEy

Ioften advise driversseeking to replace their old car to buy a pre-owned vehicle, mainly due to depreciation. Accordingto Kelley Blue Book, new vehicleslose nearly 30% of their value over the ﬁrst two years. Considering this fact, allowing someone else —in this case, the prior owner of the car when it wasnew —totake that kind of hit would make sense. Just wait and buy a usedcar to save alot of money, right?

Well, it’snot quite that simple for budget-conscious buyers anymore, based on new datafrom Edmunds, acar-shopping website: The average price for a3-year-old used vehicle was $30,522 in the first quarter of 2025,anincrease of 2.3% from $29,844 the previous year Rising used-car prices have narrowed the cost differential between new and old vehicles, Edmunds reported, notingthatthe gap has shrunk to about $17,000. Look, that is still asignificant difference, especially if you need to finance your car.However, when you put it in perspective,

Fool’sTake:

Built to grow

this narrowing makes it abit harder to convince people that buying usedisabetter deal.

Edmunds said theprice jump forlate-model cars can be attributedto several factors.

One is thetariff war being waged by President Donald Trump. “As tariffs threaten to restrict new-vehicle supplyand pricing, spillover demand could once again inﬂatevalues of used vehicles, particularlyfor nearnewmodels,” Edmundssaidinits market report.

Another is that used cars aresitting on dealer lots longer —anaverage of 38 days. Thismight lead youto think thatdealerswould become desperate andcut prices to spur sales. But generally,that’s nothappening. They are“demonstrating awillingness to wait for theright buyers given thelower supply,” according to Edmunds.

The surge in used prices is also related to people keeping their cars longer.The average age of trade-ins rose to 7.6 years in the ﬁrst quarter of thisyear,up slightly from 7.3 years ayear ago. With fewer trade-ins amid high demand,used-car dealers can charge more.

The rising costs of nearly new vehicles might also indicate a broadershifttoward apricier

used-car market, thereport noted. So,used or new, what’sbest? It depends.

Buying used is stillagood deal For many people,depreciation still matters. Agap of $17,000 is still alot of money.Myhusband andI spent that much on aused car for oureldest daughterwhen she was in high school. She’s 30 andstill driving that car

Toomanyconsumers are committing to high monthly payments for anew car or stretching payments out longertoafford anew ride.

Acase in point: Another recent Edmunds report found that 17.7% of new-car buyers hadmonthly payments of $1,000 or moreinthe first quarterofthisyear.The averagemonthly payment for anew car wasn’t much better: $741. In contrast, the averagemonthly paymentfor aused car was $550, basedonanaverage term of 69.7 months, an 11.3% interest rate anda down paymentof$4,078. It’snosurprise that more buyers aretrying to stretch their money,with 84-month loanshitting an all-time high in the first quarter. Theymadeup19.8% of new-vehicle financing, up from 15.8% ayear earlier With aused car,you may not

have to stretch your budget to a breaking point. Remember that new cars usually come with higher insurance premiums. Also, keep in mind that the higherthe price of the car,the more youwill need to pay in sales tax.

If your ﬁnances are tight, you should consider aused car.Just be sure to have amechanic check it out. Edmunds and similar sites provide useful reviews, prices andadvice on buying areliable usedcar

When newisright foryou

There comes atime when your vehicle starts acting like a tantrum-throwing toddler.Itissues constantwhining noises or won’t move when you want it to. Your car’scrankiness ﬁnally leads to the decision to trade it in for a newone.(This part of the analogydoesn’twork with atoddler,I know.)

However,just like dealing with atoddler, you need astrategy First, ﬁgure out what you can afford

According to Edmunds, the averageamount ﬁnanced for a newcar was $41,473 for the ﬁrst quarter. That camewith aterm of 69.5 months, adownpayment of $6,511 and an average interest

If you’re buying new (or used), don’troll aprevious loan into a new one, which could result in negative equity —when you owe more on your vehicle than it’s worth. This could trap you into abloated loan that is harder to escape than acar salesman trying to upsell you on an expensive extended warranty At edmunds.com, there is acar affordability calculator.Plug in the monthly amount you can comfortably afford so that you can see avehicle price range.

Over the years, Ihave found different ways to save, whether buying with cash to avoid ﬁnancing costs or buying used to get a good deal. And sometimes Ihave bought new when Ididn’twant to compromise on the features I wanted.

If you can truly afford anew car —and you aren’tconcerned about depreciation because you will keep the car years longer than the average owner —get what you want. It’sOKtotreat yourself if the decision to buy new aligns with your ﬁnancial well-being and personal preferences.

EmailMichelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost. com.

Motley Fool

Amazon.com(Nasdaq: AMZN) is aleader in e-commerce and cloud computing, two areas that helped net sales climb to $638 billion in the latest full year.After e-commerce earnings dropped in 2022 due to inflation, Amazon boosted profits by shifting U.S. fulfillment from anational to a regionalsystem, bringing items closer to customers. This saved on costs and improved its ability to deliver faster.Meanwhile, Amazon WebServices,the world’sleading cloud-computing platform, drives profitsfor the

entire company Amazon hasgone all in on the high-growth technology of artificial intelligence. It has developed about 1,000 generative AI applications to improve productivity and efficiency across its retail business, from front-end tasks like customer service to back-end taskslike coding. Thecompany now has major growth opportunitiesine-commerce, cloud computing and digital advertising, and it’susing AItoboost revenue and improve profit margins. Amazon’s shares recentlytraded at aforward-looking price-toearnings ratio of 33, well below itsfive-year average of around 48, offering an attractive entry point into one of the tech sector’s most diversified players. Longterminvestors may want to consider shares of Amazon for their

portfolios.(John Mackey,former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is amember of The Motley Fool’sboard of directors. TheMotley Fool owns shares of and recommendsAmazon.com.)

Fool’sSchool: Homebuying tips

Part of the classic American dream is buying one’sown home. It’satrickything to do, though, and is often one’sbiggestpurchase ever.Soheed these tips.

n Check your credit score: The higher your credit score, the better interestrates you’ll be offered, so it’sworth taking some time to beef up your score if need be. Good waystodosoinclude paying down debts andpaying bills on time.

n Shop around for the best mortgage: Don’taccept the ﬁrst homeloan you’reoffered —check with multiple lenders. Read up on differentkinds of homeloans, too, to see which is best for you: ﬁxedrate or adjustable-rate, 30- or 15year,and so on.

n Get preapproved: Being prequalified (which meansyour lender thinksyou can afford agiven amount) isn’tenough if you want to be acompetitive bidder as properties become available. Haveyour lender preapprove you —meaning it hasvetted your finances and is ready to lend you up to aspecified limit.

n Be suretofactor extraexpenses into your decisions: For example, there will likely be closing costs on your home loan, and ahome appraisal andinspection. Youmight also want to buy “points,” an

upfront fee to shrink your interest rate. Once you own the home, you’ll need to factor in homeowners insurance, maintenance and repairs and property taxes.

n Don’tbuy more home than you can afford: Crunch somenumbers to see whatkind of dwelling you can realistically buy and maintain. You don’twant to spend so much that you’re ﬁnancially pinched.

n Employaprofessional: It’ssmart to enlist the services of an experienced buyer’sagent. This real estate professional can offer valuable advice and guide you through the homebuying process.

n Don’tviewa home primarily as an investment: Real estate can fall in value, just as stocks can, and it typically doesn’tincrease in value at arapid clip. Instead, view your new homeasanice place to live.

Ex-Lowe’s staffer says ruling ‘bittersweet’ in union-busting case

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

A former employee at Lowe’s in New Orleans said a settlement this week in his long-running case over alleged union-busting tactics by the hardware chain was a bittersweet victory.

Felix Allen was ﬁred by the North Carolina-based hardware business two years ago after leading an effort to form a union at the Elysian Fields Avenue store

The company said at the time that Allen had been ﬁred because of improper use of a forklift.

However, Allen filed a formal complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that his ﬁring had followed a pattern of harassment by Lowe’s management in the months after he and some fellow workers had begun the process of

trying to form a union in October 2022.

In a settlement finalized this week, Lowe’s agreed to pay Allen just over $14,000 in lost wages, according to documents filed with the labor board. The company was also obliged to post a notice in the Elysian Fields store informing workers of the settlement and their rights, including their right to form a union.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Allen said. “It’s good to get the money but it’s too little, too late.”

Allen moved to New Orleans in 2020 after earning a master’s degree in music from Florida State University As the COVID pandemic disrupted the economy, he took a job at Lowe’s that turned into a full-time gig. He said low pay and hazardous work practices led him and others to try and unionize the store.

Supporters of the effort garnered the required minimum signatures from at least 30% of the store’s 172 employees when they filed a petition to unionize with the labor board. But they had to withdraw it in December 2022 due to a procedural error because the union wasn’t properly identified on petition cards. It was never refiled and the effort fizzled.

In investigating Allen’s claims of unfair labor practices, the labor board found Lowe’s had illegally harassed employees by aggressively surveilling them and using other methods that were determined to be for the purpose of deterring their unionizing efforts

Lowe’s didn’t respond to requests for comment about the case. In previous statements, the company said it prefers for its employees to deal directly with management rather than through a union.

“It’s exciting that the NLRB has been able to resolve this case after almost two years and hold Lowe’s accountable, even if this is a small punishment for such a large corporation,” Allen said.

Violations history

Lowe’s has successfully resisted about a half-dozen unionizing efforts by its employees over the past two decades. There are currently no petitions ﬁled with the labor board to form a union at any Lowe’s store.

Since 2000, Lowe’s and its subsidiaries have been found to have violated employment or safety-related rules 156 times and paid a total of just over $89 million in fines, according to Violation Tracker Allen said he waived his right to try and be reinstated at Lowe’s. He is working full time as a musician in the New Orleans area.

In plain numbers, that means that if you bought a house in New Orleans a decade ago at an average price of $155,000 it should have declined in value by about $2,000 after inﬂation if it followed the long-term trend. But current inﬂation-adjusted house prices in New Orleans are down by more than $20,000 over that period, at $132,000.

“There are a lot of reasons to live in New Orleans besides property price appreciation, but homeownership is very often sold as the best vehicle to wealth creation, and that might well not be the case in New Orleans,” Johnson said in a phone interview There are many factors behind that, including population decline and a slowgrowth economy. They also reﬂect a big swing back from the steamy prices during the COVID pandemic, when few houses were moving and those that came on the market were snapped up at or above asking price. The gen-

eral inflation that followed has meant that the easing in house prices has been exaggerated.

In Baton Rouge, the market didn’t get as pumped up as it did in New Orleans during the pandemic and prices have been less volatile in recent years. The problem is that the long-term downward trend has been much steeper

A Baton Rouge house bought at about $135,000 in 2000 now has a market value of about $128,000 after adjusting for inﬂation, or a loss of 5%.

Johnson and his partner in the study, Eli Beracha, a real estate professor at Florida International University, are quick to point out that many things have to be factored

into their study In common with all metro areas, for instance, New Orleans and Baton Rouge have many variations across its parishes and neighborhoods and even at street level.

Also, being at the top of their list isn’t an unqualiﬁed accolade. The current top city is Detroit, where house prices have been on a strong upward trend for the past seven years, but from a low base. Conversely, it is one

of the 10 cities in Johnson’s study to have seen a longterm decline in house prices after inﬂation.

New homebuilding in Detroit has not kept pace with rising demand, both in the city and its near suburbs. Detroit issued only 18 singlefamily home permits last year, leaving demand unmet, according to city data. At the same time, speculative investors have been dominating Detroit area home pur-

chases, often for cash, which accounted for about 40% of sales in the first quarter of this year, according to Redfin, a real estate firm.

A shiny hope?

Cities like Seattle, which has seen a near-doubling in inflation-adjusted house prices since 2000, have their own problems. The Emerald City has a notorious affordability problem, with soaring house prices and rents leading to one of the most intractable homeless problems in the country Johnson said he hopes their new database will be “part of the conversation,” and help policymakers as well as homebuyers and investors to make informed decisions.

“There is one bright and shiny hope for New Orleans,” Johnson said.

“A key data point — the price to rent ratios — are very low,” he said. “That typically signals soon-to-be property appreciation. So, in New Orleans, we might well be at the right buying point.” Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate. com.

BeyondtheHeadlines

As oneofthe largest lawﬁrmsinLouisiana,Jones Walker LLPishonored to partnerwith TheAdvocate |Baton Rougetosupport theexpandedbusinesssection.

This in-depth reportingwillexplorewhatbusinesses aredoing to achievetheir goals, avertthreats, addressopportunities,and advancetheir business objectives.Welook forwardtothe thought leadership andconversationthissection will inspire. Since1937, ourﬁrm hasbeencommitted to workingwithcommunityleaders to develop business opportunitiesacrossthe state. We aresteadfast in continuing ourdedicationtogobeyondinadvising clientsand supportinginitiatives andorganizations that make Louisiana abetterplace to live andwork

William H. Hines,ManagingPartner bhines@joneswalker.com 504.582.8000 201St. CharlesAvenue NewOrleans,LA70170-5100

PROVIDED PHOTO By RITA HARPER Felix Allen in 2023 outside the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Elysian Fields in New Orleans. He won a settlement from the hardware chain after the National Labor Relations Board found they had used unfair labor practices to block efforts to form a union.

JEREMYWEIMER HANCOCKWHITNEY 225-978-2592 •Jeremy.Weimer@hancockwhitney.com hancockwhitney.com/jeremy-weimer •NMLS175288

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Fly

preparesfor surgery to remove one of her kidneys at

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Hospital in Shreveport on March 31.Her stepbrother,Hampton Burnside, was the organ recipient.

Notblood, butbonded Louisiana womandonates kidney to stepbrotherafter surprise match

BY JANRISHER Staffwriter

When they were growing up, Hampton Burnside remembers that his stepsister Susan Fly Allardyce loved New Kids on the Block.

“She used to always watchNick at Night. She liked ‘Night Court,’ ”he said.“Ididn’tlike NickatNight that much.”

Burnside was 9and his new stepsister was 12 when their parents married. Even back then, he recognized her extraordinary kindness.

“Wegot along from the get-go,” Burnside said.

These days, he admits, he’d probablywatch Nick at Night as longas she wanted.

Now,heconsidersher morethan kind. He considers her amiracle.

Adisease hiding in plainsight

In March 2024,Burnside thought he had arespiratory infection. Short of breath, he went to the hospital —and discovered his kidneys were in total failure.

“He had no idea that he had kidney disease,” Allardyce said. There was no reversing the damage. He began dialysis threetimes aweekand hadto leave his job with Community Coffee.

“Being akidney patient is a full-time job,” Allardyce said. The symptomsleading up to Burnside’skidney failure —fatigue, itchy skin, swollen limbs, weight loss —don’talways set off alarm bells.

‘The dads arethere’

Growing number of Blackfathers with autisticchildrenlook to be more visible

BY KENYA HUNTER AP health writer

ATLANTA— When Tyrone Green’s youngest sonwas diagnosed with autism, his wife wasimmediately ready to get the 3-year-old the support he needed.But Green was stuck: He hadquestions about his son’sfuture and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness —like no one, not his wife,not his friends, understood his experience.

“Mywife couldn’tunderstand what Iwas going through as a Black father, allthese hopesand dreams Ihad for my kid,” said Green, who lives in Michigan. “She didn’tfeel the same way.” In 2021, he joined aBlack fathers’ support group and met a fewother dads eagertodiscuss their unique challenges. They startedtheir own podcastin2023 called“AutisHIM,” aplace where Black dads talk aboutthe wins andsetbacks of having autistic children.

Green is amonga growing number of Black fathers of autistic children looking to be morevisible in the nationalautism conversationthrough podcasts, nonprofitsand summits that speciﬁcally address theirexperience. These mensay their hope is not only to be consideredmorethansidekickstomothersofthe children, but also to help other Black dads acceptautism diagnoses andnot prolong getting kids the help that theyneed Autism is aneurodevelopmental disorder that affects how people communicate, process information and interact with the world around them.Federal data shows thatsince2020, Black children have had ahigher prevalence of autism spectrum disorder than White children— achange experts credit mostly to better awareness of autism in underservedcommunities.

SusanFly Allardyce andHampton

Burnsidebecame stepsiblings when he was9and she was 12. ‘Wegot along from the get-go,’Burnside said.

ä See KIDNEY, page 2X

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.recentlyannounced plans to have the federal government do abroad study for the causes of autism, even though it’sbeenlooked at by researchersfor decades. He hassaidautism is a“tragedy” that“destroys families” and thatsome people with autism will never hold ajob, pay taxes or go on dates.

But manypeople with autism live successful, socially richand independent lives, which makes anarrative like Kennedy’sdangerous, said Michael Hannon, a counseling professor at Montclair State University who studiesthe social and emotional aspects of autism on Black fatherhood.

It “can literally diminish hope for any father or father figure or family,” Hannon said of Kennedy’sframing of autism

But affinity groups forBlack menwho have kids with autism are asuccessful way to get the dads to engage with their emotions, Hannonsaid.

ä See AUTISM, page 2X

Susan

Allardyce

Willis Knighton

HEALTH MAKER

Oncologist following a family legacy

New cancer leader combines research and patient care in Louisiana

BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

Pennington Biomedical Research Center announced the arrival of Dr Adithya Hari, a nuclear oncologist, in April.

Hari will be the assistant professor, physician and nuclear oncologist at Pennington’s Division of Clinical Science.

Hari, born in a government hospital in Kurnool, India, was the child of doctors and professors. He followed a family legacy to study medicine. He studied at the same hospital he was born and began his ﬁrst years of medicine there, too.

“Most of my teachers and professors were my family,” Hari said. “It was cool to be there, but I was always interested in U.S. health care.”

Hari made the move to the United States for his medical internship at Piedmont Athens Regional hospital in Georgia.

Hari’s research in cancer metabolism and nuclear medicine in Louisiana will be a collaborative effort with Mary Bird Perkins

Cancer Center, Louisiana Cancer Research Center and LSU Health

New Orleans.

Hari will work with Louisiana institutions on research initiatives that support the LSU-lead preparations for the upcoming submission of the NCI Cancer Center Support Grant — a pivotal step toward enhancing cancer research and care across the state.

Hari earned his medical degree from Kurnool Medical College in Kurnool, India, pursued doctoral studies in clinical and translational science at Case Western Reserve University Hari completed a nuclear oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

What is nuclear medicine?

Nuclear medicine is a pretty new sector of medicine even for most of the clinicians. Many don’t understand the full impact.

Nuclear medicine is a ﬁeld where we use radioactive molecules to determine the function of various molecules in the body

This can be used for either diagnostic purposes or therapeutic purposes. At my fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, I had the privilege of extending my knowledge deep into the brain’s hippocampus.

My doctorate was in metabolism, but I always wanted to carve out a niche in the clinical space. That’s how I was interested in

Evan Polk, right, talks with his daughter, Jordyn Polk, 13, after she was dropped off from school recently in Secane, Pa He said a big part of navigating his daughter’s autism diagnosis was learning to sit with emotions that weren’t simply ‘happy and mad.’

AUTISM

Continued from page 1X

“The challenge is convincing people to (talk openly and honestly), because the practice of doing that is rare, not just among Black men, but people in general,” he said, adding that people might think it will reﬂect on their ability to parent.

Evan Polk said a big part of navigating his 13-year-old daughter’s diagnosis was learning to sit with emotions that weren’t simply “happy and mad.”

In the beginning, he was very protective.

“I became a helicopter dad,” said Polk, who started AuSome Kicks, an art therapy nonproﬁt for autistic children near Philadelphia earlier this year “I didn’t want nobody or nothing to harm her whatsoever When I found out she was autistic, she’d be outside with knee pads and elbow pads looking crazy.”

He said he later taught his family to be more patient with his daughter, as opposed to traditional parenting styles of being ﬁrm and hoping that she would fall in line.

Dr Berry Pierre said he initially was on the sidelines of his autistic daughter’s support team as his wife, Maria Davis-Pierre, did the bulk of advocating

The Florida couple founded Autism in Black and for the first five years, he said the organization didn’t specifically tailor messaging to Black dads.

“Whether it be in schools the (individual education plan) meetings, the mothers were just there,” Pierre said. “But as we started to kind of try to go deeper and ﬁgure out ‘All right, what’s going on? Where are the guys?’ we started to realize that a lot of them will be there.”

Many Black dads, Pierre found out, were equally involved as the moms, and Pierre wanted to get

switch between being a diagnostic and also a therapeutic physician.

What brought you to Louisiana?

Southern Louisiana has been on my radar for such a long, long time. The primary investigator in clinicals trials of new medications for prostate cancer was Dr Oliver Sartor a longtime medical director and researcher at Tulane. He was a urologist, a cancer urologic malignancy specialist, and he directed some of the biggest trials in nuclear medicine space.

The collaborative nature of different institutions in his work within southern Louisiana throughout his career inspired me. It left a lasting impression on my mind.

The availability of a world-class research center at Pennington, and the clinical expertise from Mary Bird Perkins, provided an excellent stage for me to be a clinician researcher

together to discuss patients who might not have a straightforward diagnosis, not a straightforward course of disease. I want nuclear medicine to enter the tumor discussion, so that we could have input at the patient care level.

What are you bringing to the state to advance cancer research in Louisiana? It’s so remarkable the degree in which everybody is coming together It’s such an honor for me to work here at such a pivotal time as the institution increases its footprint into cancer research. Everything is coming together with one objective: to reduce the impact of cancer within this region.

I’m also planning to collaborate with my previous institutions like Kettering that would enhance our research and bring in a different demographic of patients for research.

more of them talking publicly about autism

“The dads are there, but we know the general public doesn’t realize that yet,” Pierre said “So we try to serve as this engine to shine a light on what’s really happening. The dads are there, they’re attentive. And even with this diagnosis, they’re going even harder.”

Some dads, like Nicholas Love in North Carolina said they ﬁrst hesitated to openly share their journey of raising their kids with autism in fear that people may not understand.

“I was very guarded for a while in talking about my children both being on the spectrum,” said Love, who is CEO of the marketing agency The Kulur Group.

“Even in how you take pictures that you upload on social media, being cognizant and thinking about, ‘Well is this a picture that looks, dare I say, the perception of what normal looks like?’”

Now, he’s an open book about them, is understanding when employees need a little extra time for urgent family needs and has advocated that men receive more paid leave so they will have time to be more involved with their kids.

“I got to a point where it’s like, ‘OK, this is my reality I need to do my part in normalizing this,’”

Love said Green said that while his podcast and platforms like Autism in Black make it easier for Black fathers to share their stories of their kids’ wins and losses, he’d like to see “more support groups out there, more podcasts, more conversations.”

“I see a lot of Black women doing their thing and I highly appreciate that, but I think there deﬁnitely needs to be more conversations surrounding (Black fatherhood and autism) because, for myself, I’m a Black man,” Green said. “I have a Black family but this is never really the topic of discussion.”

nuclear medicine to begin with. Nuclear medicine is not just medicine; you have to have profound knowledge of the nuclear physics component of it: How does radioactive decay work? What is an electron? What is a proton? What is an alpha particle? What is a gamma ray?

It was quite challenging to me because of the intricateness of the studies. Ultimately, I wanted to have a combination of both sides of medicine so that I can

KIDNEY

Continued from page 1X

“Put that together and it doesn’t spell out anything big,” she said. “The symptoms can be confused with something else so easily.”

Burnside, 45, is a single father to two children, ages 9 and 11. He’s their only guardian.

A bond beyond biology

“He is my brother,” she said “When he got sick, I took it as, not really a sign, but in solidarity with him, I decided to make changes since he had to change his entire lifestyle.”

She cut out fast food, reduced her meat intake and lost 20 pounds.

“I took the opportunity while worrying about my brother’s health to focus on my own,” she said.

To her surprise, by the time she saw her doctor again for a routine checkup, all her numbers were in the normal range.

Months into Burnside’s diagnosis, Allardyce traveled to a family wedding On the day before the wedding, she went for a long walk. It was a walk that changed everything.

“There were butterflies and birds, and the weather was perfect. I don’t know if it was God that said it to me, but this idea came to me, ‘What if I got healthy so that I can donate? What if all of this was for a purpose?’” she said.

By midnight, she was registered to begin the process of donating a kidney

At first, she assumed she wouldn’t be a match for Burnside. She expected to enter the paired donation program — a system that matches incompatible donorrecipient pairs with others in the same situation, so everyone can get a kidney that ﬁts.

After all, he had not asked her to get tested.

“He was hoping that someone else in his family would go get tested,” she said. “I wasn’t even someone he had thought of because we aren’t blood related.”

But then she got word that their blood types were compatible — she’s A+, he’s A-.

Still, there were other factors to consider

“His hospital got him to give blood and then snuck me in to give blood and they mixed our blood to see if it would work,” she said.

“You could have knocked me over with a feather when they said we were a match.”

She said the match is not as improbable as winning the lottery but it’s still rare.

“He only had one volunteer He didn’t have a line of people to donate,” she said. “If you tested a hundred or a thousand people, there may be another match, but are they willing?”

Even once they had matched, challenges remained.

Allardyce learned that 40% of willing donors are disqualiﬁed for

I’m looking forward to work on integration of nuclear medicine for seamless patient care. I’m looking forward to developing a framework so that all the targeted patients are treated without any kinks in workﬂow Those are my top priorities.

I also want to expand our participation in tumor discussions. In some cases, the medical oncologists, the surgical oncologists, the radiologists and pathologists get

Susan Fly Allardyce, left, donated a kidney to her stepbrother, Hampton Burnside. She said their compatibility is not as improbable as winning the lottery, but it’s still rare.

anatomical reasons alone. Fortunately, even though her left kidney was atypical, surgeons were still able to make it work.

After months of testing and waiting, Allardyce was cleared for surgery

She shared the news with her family and a few close friends but waited to tell Burnside.

“The night she called me, I had had a terrible day,” Burnside said, his voice cracking. “I get choked up talking about it. She called and said, ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’”

Rooted in generosity and love

Now fully recovered, Allardyce says her health is great.

“It’s like nothing ever happened,” she said. “No pain — just a little scar to remind me of what I did.”

Living donor transplants are rare but growing Nicole Labadot, executive director of the Legacy Donor Foundation in New Orleans, said the dynamics are complex but rewarding.

“Becoming a living donor is a deeply personal decision rooted in generosity and love,” Labadot said.

And sometimes, it’s the only option for people.

The average wait time for a kidney in Louisiana is ﬁve to seven years more time than many people in need have.

“Anybody on a normal transplant waiting list has to be sick

I am pretty active in the society of nuclear medicine. Nearly 10,000 people, including physicians, technologists, doctoral students and anyone remotely interested in nuclear medicine meets twice a year

I’m planning to increase our presence there to potentially attract more faculty and staff here so cancer research can continue to grow

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

enough to need an organ but well enough to survive a transplant,” Labadot said. “The beauty of being a living donor is that you’re at the optimum health. You’re giving someone an organ functioning at a much higher level than a deceased donor.”

Most living donors, like Allardyce, resume their lives without long-term health effects. They also receive priority status on the transplant list should they ever need a kidney themselves.

“Living donors like Susan are real-life heroes,” Labadot said. “They give someone a second chance at life.”

‘I get to see my kids grow up.’

At 5:30 a.m. on March 31, Allardyce arrived at Willis Knighton Hospital in Shreveport for the transplant surgery She expected to be done by noon, though doctors had warned her that her kidney’s unique anatomy might extend the timeline.

The transplant was a success — but the early days of recovery were tough for Burnside.

“My brother is doing much better than he was right after surgery when he was in and out of the hospital,” she said.

Though he had stage 5 level kidney disease before the transplant, Burnside no longer needs dialysis.

These days, he’s focused on raising his kids and looking forward to easing back into work. Nearly three months post-surgery he’s eager to be around people again.

“I’m night and day from where I was. I get to see my kids grow up,” he said.

“I love my sister to death. I can’t put in words how much she means to me. I wrote her a letter, but that’s not enough.”

Allardyce said she doesn’t want her brother to feel like he owes her anything.

She’s asked him to stop saying thank you.

“We’re all ready to ﬁnd our normal again — and that’s a good thing. We want to be bored,” she said.

Maybe that means they will ﬁnd time to cue up a little “Night Court” or sing along to some New Kids on the Block.

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

DO YOU HAVE A HEALTH STORY?

The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and re-examining tried and true methods on ways to live well.

Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana.

Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Dr. Adithya Hari is a nuclear oncologist working at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

PROVIDED PHOTO

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

Eat FitLiveFit

Toploaf choices: Getting goodatbuying better bread

Needhelpinthebreadaisle.Whichloaf isbest?

Thatwasthegistofatextthatpopped upfrommydadafewweeksago,followed byaphotooftwoverysimilarlooking brownloavesandanothertextthatread: Wholegrain?Multi-grain?Help!Mydadis prettynutrition-savvy,butlikemanyofus, heﬁndsbreadlabelsdifficulttodecipher.

Confusinglabels:

Hardlythebestthingaboutsliced bread •Browncolor≠wholegrain Flipthe loaftoreadtheingredientsandlook forwordslikewhole-wheatflour, sproutedwholegrainoraclearly namedwholegrain.Considersteering clearofanythingthatincludesthe word‘enriched’aswellasingredients likewheatflourorunbleachedwheat flour,whichisjustrefinedwhiteflour indisguise,strippedofthefiber-and nutrient-richbranandgerm.

•‘Multi-grain’breadandotherloaves labeledas7-grainor15-grainonly meanthatmultiplegrainswere used—notnecessarilywholegrains.

•Fibermatters.Tohelpcurbcravings andkeepbloodsugarsteady,aimfor atleast3gramsofﬁberandideally nomorethan2gramsofaddedsugar perslice.

•Gluten-freebreadsmay soundlikeagoodidea, butmanyarestillbasedon refinedfloursliketapioca starch,potatostarchorrice flour—notidealwhenwe’re lookingformorefiberand protein.Instead,ifglutenfreebreadsareonyourlist, lookforthosemadewith betterqualityingredients likealmondflour,amaranth orsorghumflour.

Additivesworthknowing Mostdoughconditionersand preservativesarebenign,butsomestill showupinstoreboughtloavesandfall underthe‘avoid’categoryfromthe CenterforScienceinthePublicInterest (CSPI)ChemicalCuisinelistoffood additives,including:

•Potassiumbromate–Usedto enhancetextureandproducealighter bread,potassiumbromatehasbeen linkedtokidneyandthyroidtumors inanimalstudies,anditisbannedin manycountries.

•Azodicarbonamide(ADA)–When breadisbaked,ADA—achemical usedasableachingagent—can breakdownintourethane,apotential carcinogen.

CSPIconsidersthefollowingcommon breadadditivesgenerallysafe:enzymes,

calciumpropionate(moldinhibiter)and theemulsiﬁersmono-anddiglyceridesand DATEM.Ifthebreadisotherwisenutrientrich,asmallamountoftheseadditives doesn’tconcernmeformostpeople.

Toploaf:5breadstotry Dave’sKillerBread–Powerseed •Organicwholewheatbreadwithﬂax, quinoaandpumpkinseeds

•Perslice:90calories,18grams carbohydrate,4gramsﬁber,1gram sugar,5gramsprotein •Niceseedycrunch

SilverHillsSproutedPower–TheBig16

•Wholegrainwheatwith16different grainsandseeds,sproutedforeasier digestion

•Perslice:95calories,16grams carbohydrate,4gramsﬁber,1.5grams sugar,6gramsprotein

•Mildoaty,nuttyﬂavor

FoodforLife–Ezekiel4:9Low-Sodium SproutedBread(ﬂourless)

•Flourlessandvegan,thisbreadis madefromsproutedwheat,barley, millet,lentils,soybeans,andspelt

•Perslice:80calories,15grams carbohydrate,3gramsﬁber,0sugar, 5gramsprotein

•Labeledas‘low’sodium,itactuallyhas zerosodiumperslice.(Mostbrands ofbreadhaveabout140to190mg sodiumperslice.)Lookforitinthe freezersection.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsner’sEatFit nonproﬁtinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam

ARTHRITISRATES SLIGHTLy

Louisiana had the sixth-highest rate of arthritis among adults in 2023 with 30.7% adults reporting the condition. The national averageis 26.3% —that’s about 54 million peoplein the United States with arthritis

Arthritis rates have decreased across the nation, from 27.7% in 2022 to 26.3% in 2023, according to data from the Centers forDisease Control andPrevention via America’sHealth Rankings

In this data, the CDC looked at adults across the nation whowere told by ahealthprofessional that theyhad some formofarthritis —that includes over 100 conditions.

Arthritis, which literally translates to “joint inflammation,”can cause many different symptoms including pain, redness,heat and swelling of the joints, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and

Virtual mental health firstaid training offered Youth Mental Health First Aid is hosting aclass viaZoomtoteach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, neighbors and other caring residents how to help children aged 12 to 18 who are “experiencing amental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.” The course features a ﬁve-step action plan to help Louisiana proclaims Woman’sHospital Day

Gov.Jeff Landry and lawmakers declared Monday,May 19,asWoman’sHospital Day in Louisiana to celebrate reaching amilestone of 400,000 birthsatthe Baton Rouge hospital.

BaseCulture–7Nut&SeedBread(low carb;grain-andgluten-free)

•Madewithalmondbutter,ﬂaxseed, chia,hemphearts,pumpkinand sunﬂowerseeds

•Perslice:100calories,8grams carbohydrate,4gramsﬁber,0sugar, 3gramsprotein

•Mypreferenceistotoastitto accompanyameal;it’salittletoo smalltomakeapropersandwich.Look foritinthefreezersection.

Nature’sOwn–KetoMultigrainBread (lowcarb)

•Boththeir‘ketomultigrain’and‘keto softwhite’usemodiﬁedwheatstarch andwheatproteinisolateinplaceof ﬂour.

•Perslice:40calories,10grams carbohydrate,9gramsﬁber,0sugar, 6gramsprotein

•It’sadecentlow-carboptionfor everydaysandwiches,thoughIprefer thequalityofingredientsintheBase Culturebrandforalower-carbbread.

Traditionalsourdough Slow-fermented,homemadesourdough isinaclassofitsown.Forstarters,ithas oneofthesimplestingredientlistsyou canfind:flour,waterandsalt.Alonger fermentationtimeallowstheenzymesto helpdigestmuchoftheglutenandstarch creatingatangyloafthatmanyfindeasier todigest.Ifyou’reluckyenoughtohave aneighbor,bakeryorhobbythatkeeps realsourdoughinclose,steadysupply, celebrateit—andshareitwithothers whenpossible!

Thebottomline

Breadshouldbringusjoy,notconfusion. Keepawholesomeloafonhandfor everydaymeals,andwhenthathomemade sourdoughcrossesyourpath,savorit Afterall,thebestbreadistheonethat suitsourtastebudsandnutritionalneeds.

BY THENUMBERS

DECLINEBUT LA.STILL RANKSHIGH

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Thestates with the highestrates of arthritis in the countryinclude, in descending order: n West Virginia with 39.7% of adults reporting arthritis, n Tennessee with 33.2% of adults reporting arthritis, n Maine with 32.7% of adults reporting arthritis, n Mississippi with 31.1% of adults reporting arthritis, n Alabama with 30.9% of adults reporting arthritis.

Thestates with the lowest ratesof arthritis in the countryinclude, in ascending order: n California and Texaswith 21% of adults reporting arthritis in eachstate, n NewJersey and Utah with 22% of adults reporting arthritis in eachstate, n Minnesota with 22.1% of adults reporting arthritis.

NewOrleans transplant institute given ELITEStatus

OchsnerHealth’skidney transplant program, part of the Ochsner Transplant Institute, has been awarded ELITE Status within the credentialed ProgramsofExcellence transplant networkbyINTERLINK COE Networks &Programs. ELITE Status is awarded to only aselect fewprograms nationwidecertifying delivery of superior transplantcare. Health system launches youthcrisis program

Anew mobile crisis program includes a24/7 crisis intervention team on site or virtually.The initiative at Southeast Community Health System looks to provide

Arthritisinthe United States

HEALTH NOTES

mental healthneed of children (up to 21) across southeast Louisiana. LSU Healthdoctor gets international recognition

six-decade career washighlighted on nature.com.

Penningtonwelcomes human performancechief

Dr.Nicolas Bazan,ofLSU Health New Orleans’ Neuroscience CenterofExcellence, was honored at Accademiadei Lincei in Rome, aprominent scientific institution, for his research on neurodegenerative disease and brain aging.

Bazanhas spent his life’swork researching neurodegenerative diseases, acondition his aunt in Argentina experienced on his way to apiano class at 8years old.Bazan’s

Dr.Stefan Pasiakos will lead the Center for HumanPerformance Optimization at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. In this role, Pasiakos will lead groundbreaking research aimed at enhancing human performance andphysiology across diverse environments —from the battleﬁeld to deep space, according to Pennington.

Tulane doctor honored with national award TheAcademy of Diagnosticsand Laboratory Medicine has awarded

Tulane SchoolofMedicine research scientist Tony Hu the 2025 AcademyAward for Outstanding Contributionsto Clinical Chemistry in aSelected Area of Research. Oneofthe nation’shighest honors in clinical diagnostics, the award recognizes clinical chemists whose pioneering research efforts have placed them among the world’s foremost experts in their ﬁelds. HealthNotes is an occasional listing of health happenings around Louisiana. Have somethingyou’d liketoshare? Contact us at margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com.

Bazan

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

Brain Health

Manypeoplewonderifthere’sanythingtheycandotokeeptheirbrainhealthyandreducetheriskof dementia.There’sgoodnews!Makingsomesimplelifestylechangescanimproveyourbrainhealth.What’s evenbetteristhatthesehabitswillmakeyourlifericherandmoreenjoyable.Hereareﬁvethingsto incorporateintoyourlife:

Exercise:Mostofusknowexerciseisgoodforourhearts.But didyouknowexerciseisgoodforyourbrain,too?Exercising ﬁvedaysaweekfor20to30minutesatatimehasbeen showntohavelong-termpositiveeffectsonthebrain.Try activitieslikewalking,dancing,cyclingorswimming.

Diet:Eatinghealthyfoodsoverthecourseofyour lifeandminimizingjunkfoodiscriticalforbrain health,sothere’snotimeliketodaytogetstarted. Thinkfruits,vegetables,healthyoilsandﬁsh.

Sleep:Didyouknowpoorsleepisoneofthebiggest causesofreducedconcentrationandmemoryproblems? Poorsleepthatgoesonforyearsisnotgoodforyourbrain. Weallneedseventoninehoursofuninterruptedsleepeach night.Ifyouneedhelp,consultyourdoctororhealthcareprovider.

Relaxationandstressreduction:Stresscanaffectmood andmemoryanditalsocanincreaseanxiety.Maketime forrelaxationandunplugfromtechnologylikecellphones. Takingwalks,relaxinginthebathtub,andpracticingdeep breathingareafewwaystorelax.Ifyouneedadditionalhelp withstressandanxiety,talktoatherapistorpsychologist.

Mentalactivity:Keepyourmindsharpwithactivitieslike reading,talkingtofamilyandfriends,doingpuzzles,and socializing.Don’tspendallyourfreetimezonedoutinfront oftheTV.

Peoplewhohavediabeteshavelotsofgoodreasonsforcontrolling it,includingloweringchancesofheartdisease,stroke,andfootorleg amputations.Anothergreatreasontocontrolyourdiabetesislowering yourriskofdementia.

Researchhasshownanincreasedriskofdementiaforpeoplewithtype 2diabetes.

MostpeopleintheUnitedStateswhohavediabeteshavetype2 diabetes.Andresearchaboutthelinkbetweendiabetesanddementia hasmostlycenteredonpeoplewithtype2.

Peoplewithdiabetesareunabletoproduceenoughinsulin.Without insulin,glucose(sugar)staysinthebloodstreamathigherlevels.Over time,thatuncontrolledglucosecancausemultiplesideeffects,including mentalcomplications.Dementiaisonepossiblesideeffect.

Whilescientistsarestillstudyingthelinkbetweendementiaand diabetes,youcanmakechangestoyourlifestyleandtakemedicationsto improveyourhealthandcontrolyourbloodglucoselevels.Herearesteps youcantake:

1. Knowyournumbers.Ifyou’reworriedyoumighthave diabetes,reviewyourmostrecentbloodsugarlevel

STAFF

BUFFINGTON ABOVE: Isabella Frank, Seeds to Success program managerof Horticulture, demonstrates howto fill in agrow towertothe teachers recently at the School Garden Leadership Workshop held at LSU’s Hill Farm Teaching Facility

Expandinga teacher’sreach

La.program to connectcommunities with fresh, healthyfood

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

For Carl Motsenbocker,Farm

to School is more than just aprogram. It’sabout local food systemsand working to teach children and feed children within a local food area.

For more than 20 years, he has recruited LSU studentsand his ownfamily to helpplantgardens in local schools. Back in 2014, he attendeda FarmtoSchool conference in Austin, Texas, and realized Louisiana would be a perfect place to implement the program.

Earlierthissummer, Motsenbocker,Louisiana Farm to School executive director and professor of Horticulture and SustainableAgriculture at LSU, led26educators and community membersfrom across Louisiana participatedinthe Seeds to Success FarmtoSchool Garden Leadership Workshop at LSUin Baton Rouge.

Lyn

Participants drilled holes into large white trash bins to make strawberry grow towers. The methodswere simple, the materialsaccessible andthe practice possible for aclassroom or addition to aschool garden. After drilling,the groups of educators watched as Isabella Frank, Seeds to Success program man-

ager for horticulture, filled a newly-made grow tower with soil media and taught them how to seed the towers.

SeedstoSuccess is theLouisiana Farm to School program which works to shore up connections that communities have with fresh,healthy food andlocalfoodproducersbychanging food purchasingand education practicesatschoolsand preschools

Garden Leadership Workshop

TheweeklongannualFarm to School Garden Leadership Workshoptakes place at the Hill FarmTeachingFacility on LSU’scampus.Bythe end of the week,the attendees build their network witheach other, learn aboutsustainable food gardening, practicegardeningmethods and practice Seeds to Success curriculum.

“(Theeducators) learna lot in the mornings in the classroom, andtheninthe afternoons,they have alot of funwiththe lessons,” said Tyne Bankester,the programmanager forcurriculum integration and MarketMaker.“Theyget to experience it alot like thestudents. They go through it and see so that way they can think about how thiswould work in their classrooms.”

The workshop involves a morninglecture and instruction, taughtbyDenyse Cummins, a mastergardener and aSeeds to Success program adviser,followed by an afternoon hands-on training. After the training, the educator studentspractice lessondelivery using one of the lessonsonthe Seeds to Success curriculum resources website.

The workshop participants leave the weeklong training loaded down with garden tools theybuilt,raised garden beds recipes, seeds, Harvest of the Month trays with posters and other gifts to help them with theirrespective Farm to School plans

ExpansionofSeeds to Success

In 2016, Gov.John Bel Edwards signed Act 404, directing the State Board of Elementary and SecondaryEducationand the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to create a farm to school program.This led to the development and launch of Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program, apartnership betweenthe LSU AgCenter andthe LouisianaDepartment of Education Division of Nutrition Support, fundedby theUSDA Motsenbocker,who hadwrittenmultiplegrants andstarted Harvest of the Month by 2016, was approached to lead the program —and he hasbuilt it piece by piece since.

“It’sbeen really rewarding,” he said. “It’sreally nice to seeit expand, and to see people using it, and to see excited kids, excited teachers andexcited farmers interested.”

Seeds to Success focuses on a three-pronged approach to engaging communities and schools with fresh, healthy andlocal food —SeedingLA, Harvest of the Monthand Purchasing Local. The program is setuptosupport schools however they choose to implement Seeds to Success.

Seeding LA provides engaging and educational materials related to agricultureand nutritionfor teachers, parents and students. Seeding LA is brokenupinto threesubcategories: Seeds to Grow,SeedstoSow and Seeds to Know Harvestofthe Month showcases locally grownfoods in Louisiana schools, institutions andcommunities.Eachmonth, participating sites focusonpromoting onelocally grown item. Activities could include serving

JanRisher LONG STORy SHORT

Cracking thecodeof summer

Our10-year-old nephews,Sam andHenry Risher from Olive Branch,Mississippi,have spent the last week withus. Moments after they arrived, both descended upon theold rotary phone in ourliving room —clearlyhaving no ideahow to operate it.I gave them my phone numberand asked them to try to callme.

Theytreated thediallike acombination lock,rarelyputting their ﬁngers in theholes. Theykepttrying to “click” the center.After each falsestart, they pushedeach other outofthe way to try again.

Twominutes in,they realized they needed to pick up thereceiver.

“Doweclickit?” Henry asked “Oh,wehavetoget theletters. We have to ﬁgure out howtotypeit.” Hisbrother took alook witha magnifyingglass.

“Butthere’snoofﬁcialevidence of whenweget thenumbers,” Sam said. The conversation anddiscovery went back andforth Iadmired theirpersistence.

“You have to getthis right there,” Henry said, pointing from the3 to theﬁngerstop Iencouraged them to do just that.

“I have no ideahow,” Henry said. Theykeptatit.

“This hastomatter,” Henry said, pointing againtothe numbers. Yes, Iassured him. That does matter

Sevenminutes in,they still hadn’t ﬁgured it out andwouldhave kept at it,but Ioffered to show them howitwas done.

Aweek later,they’re still notover theirrotary phone amazementand dialitmost every time they walk past it.Figuring outthe rotary phone set thetonefor theweek —curiosity,confusionand lots of laughter Theycame to Louisiana fortennis camp at LSU, where they spent theirmornings.The rest of the

HenryRisher,Jan Risher and Sam Risher standing at the entrance of the Senate Chambers in the Louisiana Capitol Building

days andevenings were withusat whatwedubbed“Camp Aunt Jan andUncle Julio.”

We have had afull week:Wewent to thetop of thestate capitol.We wove old-fashioned potholders. We watched theoriginal “How to Train Your Dragon” at home, then went to thetheater to see the newone. Their uncleworked withthem as they each created two pieces of art. After church Sundaymorning, they even taught me alittle abouttwin speak,their own way of communicating —sometimes even without words —that leads to giggles, as happened midway through oneofthe hymns we were singing.

We wenttothe original Cane’s andlater to MikeAnderson’s, where they tried alligator,gumbo andpo-boys. Theywentswimming Theytoured thenewspaper press andnewsroom.

At theKnock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge, we workedfor 40 minutes to build an incredible Rube-Goldberg machine.Whenitﬁnally worked, we cheered like theSaints wonthe SuperBowl

PROVIDED PHOTO

BELOW:

Hakeem drills ahole into atrash can to build agrowtower

Meet people and be confronted with new ideas

BY JAN RISHER Staff writer

Alan Nobili is executive director of the Alliance Française de La Nouvelle-Orléans, where he leads initiatives in French language education, cultural programming and international exchange. Originally from Paris with Corsican roots, he grew up in Réunion Island and Tahiti.

Nobili has held leadership roles across Europe and North America, including as director of the Alliance Française du Manitoba in Canada He has more than 20 years experience in cultural diplomacy nonproﬁt management and multilingual education.

He is ﬂuent in French, English and German. He collects vinyl records and enjoys playing tennis.

What is Alliance Française, and who does it serve in New Orleans and throughout the state of Louisiana?

We are the French cultural center here in New Orleans. We are a nonproﬁt and offer French classes for all ages and levels — and more classes and events related to French and Creole culture to connect the Louisiana audience with the French language and culture, because French is a heritage language here in New Orleans and throughout much of Louisiana. It’s the official language of 29 countries and is spoken in more than 80 countries in the world. Our work is a way to connect the city and the state with many different cultures and people all over the world. Alliance Française is part of a global network, with 105 chapters in the USA and more than 800 in the world.

What is the perception in French-speaking countries of the importance of the French language and culture in New Orleans and Louisiana?

Most people don’t realize how Louisiana is important for French

speakers all over the world. It’s the place in the USA where French is a native language, a heritage language, and still spoken today by a large portion of the population. We estimate that more than 150,000 people still speak French in Louisiana mainly in Acadiana, but also in New Orleans and in many other parishes. For the members of the French world, this is a very special place.

Nearly 100,000 French tourists from France come every year to Louisiana. When they come, of course, they are looking for good food, good music, but also, they are always praying to connect with French speakers and everything related to the French history and presence.

What role do organizations like yours play in supporting cross-cultural connections and the value of appreciating other cultures?

In these times, we know that our offering is important because we provide a place where people and cultures can meet. It’s a place where you can have a discussion,

a conversation. We believe that’s important in today’s times — that people communicate and exchange ideas even if they don’t share the same points of view

We need such spaces where people from different backgrounds French speakers, non-French speakers, foreigners, Creoles, people from New Orleans and tourists can meet and be confronted with new ideas and experiences.

I believe Alliance Française plays a great role in getting people to start conversations and exchange ideas.

Alliance Française does language testing?

We curate and offer ofﬁcial tests — French language tests that are used for people wanting to immigrate to Canada or those who want to become French citizens. We have observed over the last few months a huge increase in the demand of American people, or people with Haitian roots or from some other countries, looking to immigrate abroad.

Some of these people have been

Nominate someone extraordinary

Award celebrates accomplishments of those over 60

BY JAN RISHER Staff writer

Do you know someone over the age of 60 who is doing extraordinary things? Going back to get more education? Inventing something new? Winning awards for work they are still doing?

Do you know someone who has made significant accomplishments after turning 60 years old? Nominate them for the Louisiana Inspired ENCORE Awards. The awards celebrate Loui-

TEACHERS

Continued from page 1y

local items in a meal or snack, offering taste tests, featuring posters around the school, or teaching food education to help students get to know the featured item Purchasing Local aims to unite local farmers with cafeterias. Seeds to Success Farm to School provides the framework and network for farmers and schools to ﬁnd one another, and they also offer trainings on food safety and food procurement.

With the passage of Senate Bill 14 in the most recent legislative session, Louisiana schools will have to make sure that at least 20% of the food they buy comes from Louisiana farms

This law will go into effect at the start of the 2027-28 school year Seeds to Success is set up precisely to meet this demand through their Purchasing Local arm.

Bankester says Farm to School programs thrive when they are supported — by administration, their district and the parents.

“To succeed, they need to build a team to work with, and that team can look however it needs to look, They need somebody to have their back,” she said. “It’s kind of about ﬁnding how this is going to work at your school. Every program looks different.”

Seeds to Success also provides support to teachers throughout the year, especially at the annual Farm to School Conference in October that teaches gardening training, education training and procurement trainings. The

sianans aged 60 and over who continue to lead, serve and inspire. The awards will recognize individuals who prove that purpose and passion don’t fade with age they evolve Whether they launched a business, wrote a book, earned a degree, created art, led community initiatives or made a lasting impact in any ﬁeld, we want to recognize those who keep going, keep learning and stay engaged with their communities. The 2025 ENCORE Awards will highlight those who have taken on bold new challenges, lifted up others and made a measurable impact in their communities or beyond, challenging outdated ideas of aging by shining a light on

people whose second (or third!) acts are meaningful, powerful and creative. Nominations for the 2025 ENCORE Awards can be made here. If you are unable to complete the online nomination form but would like to nominate someone, call (225) 336-6954. Submissions will close July 14. Award recipients will be announced in late summer For more information, email Jan Risher at jan.risher@theadvocate.com.

conference is not restricted to educators — school food authorities, farmers and community partners also attend. The 2025 Farm to School Conference is scheduled for Oct. 8 in Baton Rouge.

One of the ﬁrst grants Motsenbocker applied for and won was the Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant, a competitive grant that connects students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, ﬁeld trips and local food sourcing for school meals.

In March 2025, the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program for ﬁscal year 2025, which

would have provided $10 million to help schools and early care and education centers incorporate local foods, nutrition education, and garden activities into their meal programs, was canceled. That funding for Seeds to Success is gone. Seeds to Success is funded through 2026, but the Louisiana Farm to School Program Act that Edwards signed in 2016 is contingent upon grant renewal in October For more information, visit seedstosuccess.com.

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

married to French citizens for years, like 15 or 20 years, and then suddenly they decide to become French. So, they take these exams.

In terms of the cultural exchange, especially in regards to food and music,what does Alliance Française offer?

Each year we host the Bastille Day event. This year on July 11, it will be the big instance of food heaven.

We invite French vendors to provide speciﬁc French foods — charcuterie, pate and cheese, of course.

We are bringing a selection of local vendors specializing in what I would say is real French food.

But throughout the year, we organize workshops like wine tastings, food tastings — on cheese, for example.

We offer a food and French language workshop, usually at the end of the year for small groups willing to learn French and cook at the same time. We have a small kitchen. With a chef, we will prepare a program linking French cuisine, Creole cuisine and French language learning.

How long have you lived in New Orleans?

I moved last year from Paris with my family We are my wife and my three kids. They are 8, 13 and 16. I’m going to celebrate one year of pure pleasure, joy and cultural discovery I didn’t expect so much fun and so much energy from this city From that point on, it was pure pleasure.

We are enjoying the city, and I’m very happy as the director here I think that people can feel it when they come to Alliance Française to learn French or attend events — they can feel that I am happy to do my job and to be here in New Orleans.

This is very important when you run a cultural center — that you make people comfortable — and that I adopted the New Orleans

way of life.

You know what? Sometimes I’m sad because I know that my term will end in three years’ time. I can already feel that it’s going to be hard to leave New Orleans in 2028. My position is a four-year term. Then, I will be assigned and transferred to another place.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned in your one year in New Orleans? I learned that living in New Orleans is like running a marathon. You need to keep a good energy rate. There are many events, so many cool things to do. I would say that I learned how to manage my energy I learned that even if I miss one event because I’m too busy, there will be another — which is pretty cool.

Other than your offices, where do you like to go in New Orleans, or other places in Louisiana, for what you consider to be a touch of France — to feel more at home?

There are a few cafes I like. For example, Delachaise Cafe on St Charles. I feel good there because there is a terrace which is not airconditioned. I don’t like air conditioning that much. I prefer to sit on the terrace and have an espresso. I would say this is my favorite place to feel like at home.

You can go to French tables in New Orleans or Baton Rouge also. Each time I go to French tables, I just feel like, “Wow.” It’s really moving for me to see how these people are still keeping the culture alive — being very American and very French at the same time.

Who can visit Alliance Française?

We love welcoming people, even if they are just going to spend one hour here. It’s a place where everyone is welcome — people speaking French or not.

This interview was edited for length and clarity

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

RISHER

Continued from page 1y

We went to the Old State Capitol and admired its beauty We especially loved the Old Capitol’s ghost story video an engaging take on the building’s history I highly recommend it. The boys had never been to New Orleans — so we went. Just as we were turning into the French Quarter from Esplanade, trying to time our trip to avoid all the hubbub of the day three cops blocked our way For a moment, we couldn’t ﬁgure out what was going on Then suddenly, right in front of us, the Naked Bike Ride started. Imagine being a 10-year-old boy and that being your welcome to New Orleans they will never forget!

We went on to have beignets at Café du Monde and tromped through the rain in the French Quarter From there, we went uptown to visit friends and walked all to Audubon Park

Being tourists close to home was more fun than one might expect. I encourage everyone to make a list of local activities and set aside a week to do them.

The week with my nephews was a great reminder of the power of making a list and doing the things. Even more than being tourists at home, I loved being with these boys. Turns out, 10-year-old boys

eat more than one might expect! They also love to repeat nonsensical things over and over, which they call “Italian brain rot.”

Phrases I’ve heard at least 397 times each this week include, “Tralalero, tralala,” and “Bombardiro Crocodilo.”

I have no idea what either phrase means — the boys just repeated them endlessly I am not a fan of that saying about “making memories.” I don’t believe in doing something just to make a memory I prefer to do it for the experience and to live it fully Nonetheless, throughout the week, I couldn’t help but think about the way new experiences in new places can stick with a 10-yearold. I’m conﬁdent some of our shared experiences will ﬁll a little corner of their memories — and mine too.

Other than the movie, beignets, and Knock Knock Museum, everything else we did was completely free.

The week was a reminder that delight hides in the simplest or most surprising places cracking the code of a rotary phone, repeating nonsense words, riding an elevator to the top or a Naked Bike Ride welcoming you to New Orleans.

The boys are back home now I miss them already. Even the “tralaleros.” Even the “Bombardiro Crocodilos.”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Alan Nobili, executive director of Alliance Française de La NouvelleOrléans

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER Ten-year-old twins Henry Risher and Sam Risher test the girth of a roll of paper in the press room at The Advocate.

PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON

Teachers work on building a garden tower recently at the School Garden Leadership Workshop held at LSU’s Hill Farm Teaching Facility

BR Arts Councilcultivateslocal filmmakers

10-weekprogram provides hands-on, professional courses in creative industries

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Between TV,TikTok, YouTube or digital billboards,video media is everywhere, andsomeonehas to make it. But getting to be one of those people can be difﬁcult. First, one has to know about the different jobsavailable, learn the technical skillstodosaidjob, network with industry professionals andgain experience.

That’swhere the Talent Advancement Program comes in.

Through TheArts Councilof Greater Baton Rouge, the program provideshands-on,professional training courses in creative industries. The course this summer, taught by Chris Jeansonne, will run on Saturdays until Aug. 16.The programispart of the Arts Council’s effort to meet the demand fortalent in Baton Rouge’screativesector, and they plan to expand the program to address local needs

The Talent AdvancementProgram started in 2022 and has had four previous cohortsofstudents in differentfields such as audio engineering and gallery arts. Last year was the pilot for the videoproduction track, which had students working as agroup to shoot acommercial for theprogram,rotating throughevery role on aset.The decision to focus theprogram on commercials was intentional.

“Commercials are the lifeblood of alot of our local ﬁlmmakers here ” Jeansonne said.

Though work in the film industry in Louisiana and in the United States in general has sufferedas productions are choosingtofilm in other countries where tax credits are more lucrative, local businesses always need commercials. Now,with businesses investing as much, if not more, money into short form videos and social media outreach, the demand for this talent has grown.

The Louisiana Legislature passed abill expanding tax credits for ﬁlm

and TV productions, which supporters hope willbringmoreproductions to the state.

Jeansonne said the skills that someonewouldneedtowork on a commercial set are highlytransferable to other kinds of production work.

“What is goingtobethe most beneﬁcial intermsofcontent creation locally,hereinBaton Rouge, is being able to support localadagencies to take theirideas and bring them to fruition,” he said.

Beyond learning about job opportunities through experimenting in different roles on thecommercial set, he hopes that students in his classdevelop an industry vocabulary to work in the industry competentlyand get their foot in the door

The program isdesigned to be accessible tobeginners. Participantsdon’thave to have aportfolio

of video production work to apply

Each class is kept to 10-15 peopleto make sure each persongetsone-onone attention

Graduates of the programshould be able to step onto acommercial set, social media set or even some lower level documentary/ﬁlm productions and start building their careerswith the skills they learn during the 10 weeks.Graduates of the program are added to theArts Council’s roster of creativeprofessionals which connects them with future work opportunities

The program allowed local photographer MayaMiller to make her directorial debut on acommercial based on an idea she pitched. She said it was empoweringtosit in that role,and the program taught her to view video production in anew way

“This program is away to keep people engaged, keep people in-

At Our Lady of theLake Cancer Institute, we’regiving patientsnew hope through bold ideas and innovativeresearch.Withmorethan 45 clinical trialsfocused on cancer care,our patients have accesstosome of the most advanced treatments available today.Fromthe latestbreakthroughs in precision medicinetoimmunotherapy and targeted therapies, we bring new treatment paths and morepossibilities to families across our region.

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terested, keep peoplethinking creatively on how they can have their voiceand have it be seen and heard in asafe space that allows people to give positivefeedback and afﬁrm those things,” she said.

Sincegraduating theprogram, Millerhas workedonseveralprojects with local creatives and even ﬁlmeda production at alocal school through the Arts Council.

For more experienced peoplein the cohort such as Antione Lacey, who has adegree in ﬁlm production, the program was an opportunity to learntoworkwitha team,operate newequipment and formulate budgets.Lacey is ateacher and aims to eventually transition into adirector of photography andﬁlm full time. With theskills and connections he made during the program, he

believesthis is possible when he’s ready

Everyyear, LukeSt. JohnMcKnight, chief operations officer at the Arts Council, said artists and filmmakers move away fromLouisiana because that’swhatit’ll take for them to gain recognitionorget established in thefield. But it doesn’t have to be that way.Hebelieves the Talent Advancement Program is a way to change that.

“Webelieve thatLouisiana produces some of the most cherished andvalued art in our entire country,”hesaid. “There is aneed regionally to continue to support and cultivate the folks who are already here.”

Email SerenaPuang at Serena. Puang@theadvocate.com

Talent Advancement Program cohortfellowsMoon Muhammad and Dante Matthews capture headshots.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’sTalent Advancement Program’s video production course is taught by instructor Christopher Jeansonne.

DorcasBrandongathersfootagefor

a2024 Talent Advancement Program commercial.

A2024 video production cohortwith Baton Rouge’sTalent Advancement Program gathers b-Rollfor their group project, acommercialfor the program

FAITH & VALUES

Pilgrims cross the wilderness in Spain

Voyage to honor the Rocío Virgin

BY GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Contributing writer

Their faces, hats and ﬂamenco dresses caked in dust, hundreds of pilgrims gathered around an oxdriven carriage with their icon of the Virgin Mary after slogging on foot, horses and wagons through dirt roads for nearly 12 hours.

The festive flamenco music stopped, the ubiquitous beer bottles and wine glasses were put down, and the Catholic faithful prayed an evening rosary by pine trees in the wilderness a few miles from the hamlet of El Rocío.

“One can drink and hang out Our best friends are here. But it’s essential to pray,” said Meme Morales, who’s been doing this pilgrimage since the early 1990s, this year with her two grown daughters. “The Virgin is something that forms part of our life.”

Venerating the Rocío Virgin has been a tradition since the main icon was discovered near this village in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia around the end of the 13th century

It has grown into one of world’s largest, most unique Catholic pilgrimages. For days before Pentecost weekend, about a million people do the “romería del Rocío” in swirling clouds of dust that’s as pervasive and natural as the faithful’s devotion.

Feast and faith

It looks like a rolling, wild party, even among the religious brotherhoods, more than 130 of whom participate, taking different paths from around the region and as distant as Brussels. Morales’ group is the Triana brotherhood.

From when they break camp around dawn until well into the night, they sing ﬂamenco songs, many specific to each brotherhood — accompanied by guitar and rhythmic clapping Homemade food and copious amounts of water, beer and sherry are shared with friends and strangers alike.

But there are prayers at every break along the country paths, priests to hear confession at day’s end, conversations about the pope, mission trips and social outreach, even solemn Masses in the ﬁelds.

“Without that, this wouldn’t make any sense. It would be a picnic,” said Patricia Rodríguez Galinier who oversees liturgical celebrations for the Triana brotherhood. Based in a neighborhood by the same name in Seville, about 50 miles away, it’s one of the largest and oldest, founded more than 200 years ago.

Rodríguez had just helped set up Mass by the Triana “simpecado” — meaning “without sin.” It refers to their version of the icon of the Virgin, carried by an ox-driven cart covered in silver and fresh ﬂowers. At each night’s camp, wagons are set in a circle

and people gather to worship through the night With the oxen tied to small trees and some riders still on horses in the 90-degree weather more than 700 faithful listened to the homily by their spiritual director, the Rev Manuel Sánchez.

He quoted Pope Leo XIV’s ﬁrst public words about God’s love for everyone — adding, to laughter, that love included those at that moment receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation behind the wagon still grasping their beer bottles.

“There’s a profound sense of spontaneity in El Rocío just like in the Gospel when Jesus goes to have dinner with folks,” Sánchez said later “We have a lot of time to come to God crying in life, but that’s not El Rocío.”

Popular devotion

One reason for the pilgrimage’s down-to-earth nature is El Rocío’s location, in the wetlands and sand dunes of the Guadalquivir River’s estuary, said Juan Carlos González Faraco, a University of Huelva professor who has studied the pilgrimage.

Until the last few decades, when large-scale greenhouse farming and natural protected areas have taken over, it was a malaria-prone wilderness frequented mostly by cattle and horse ranchers.

That’s allowed the centuries-old pilgrimage tradition to continue without the strictness of other

places of devotion to Mary It has stayed in the hands of the brotherhoods instead of the institutional church, said González.

He’s a member of the main brotherhood from Almonte, the closest town to the sanctuary that manages its white church filled with golden images and orange sand from the pilgrims’ footsteps.

Its president, Santiago Padilla, spent hours at the sanctuary’s doors Saturday, solemnly welcoming each brotherhood as they arrived.

“They come laden with intentions, supplications, prayers. And it’s the moment we shake their hands, we hug and we give thanks to the Virgin for this pilgrimage they made,” said Padilla, whose family has been pilgrims for generations.

A return to countryside roots

Padilla wore an impeccably white jacket and formal riding kit, like many members of the brotherhoods who do the pilgrimage on horseback. Women wear shawls and long, ﬂaring dresses or skirts — to better ride sideways on horses and protect themselves from the brush and the sun.

Such outfits might look like Spanish stereotypes, but they pay homage to the working traditions of many families from the area.

“Everything that has a good presence takes us a bit closer to God,” said Ignacio Sabater Wasaldúa, the Triana brotherhood

leader He rode horses this year alongside his son, helping lead the dozens of wagons and thousands of pilgrims on foot.

The brotherhoods stress that their commitment to Christian life transcends one yearly pilgrimage — though it draws inspiration from it and they wouldn’t consider missing it.

“El Rocío should be a model for society, with affection and solidarity,” Sabater said.

Triana, for instance, maintains a chapel with daily Masses and brings nearly 200 youth from marginalized backgrounds to the brotherhood’s house in El Rocío for a summer camp.

“I’m a rociera the whole year,” said Macarena Ruíz, who started participating in the late 1980s and whose three children are camp counselors.

Despite Spain’s growing secularization, youth remain involved in the pilgrimage, whether to maintain a family tradition, make new friends or live out their faith.

This year, Triana’s youth group organized Eucharistic adoration late into the second night at camp.

“That’s the assurance that this will not be lost,” said Esperanza García Rivero, whose grandfather took his wagon on the pilgrimage in the 1940s.

Sweat and tears before Mary Hidden beneath the traditions and the festivities, many pilgrims are motivated by promises they

made to the Virgin.

After a double mastectomy for breast cancer, Paloma Maria had a large Mary tattoo designed between her shoulders.

“It’s her who takes care of me. My Rocío Virgin is everything for me,” said the young woman from Cordoba.

Maria Mendoza also came to give thanks when, together with García and her close Triana friends, she walked into the sanctuary Saturday after the brotherhood was formally received in front of it.

More pilgrimage events awaited, culminating overnight Sunday into Monday with the final procession of the Rocío icon to visit every brotherhood in town. It’s a massive scrum that lasts hours, after which the faithful make their long return journeys, on foot, horses and carts.

But this was the ﬁrst moment when the women were ﬁnally face to face with their Virgin. Tears quickly mixed with sweat and dust on their faces.

“So many thoughts swirling, for you, for your friends it’s just an explosion,” Sara de la Haza whispered.

Then someone in the crowd intoned the Triana’s salute to the Virgin. The friends wiped their eyes and started joyfully singing — “You are the white dove, you are what I’ve loved the most since the day I was born.”

Republicans, Democrats agree that wetlands need action

BY KENDRA CHAMBERLAIN

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Kendra Chamberlain for Columbia Insight, is part of the AP Storyshare. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities — solutions that can be adopted around the world. Each year, hundreds of bird species take flight through the Paciﬁc Flyway Stretching from northern Alaska to Patagonia, it’s one of the main migration routes for waterfowl and other bird species in the western Americas.

Now U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at supporting wetlands habitat restoration across the entire Columbia River Basin and along the Oregon and Washington coasts. The bill calls for $10 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030 to carry out the pilot program.

The aim is to ease the journey for birds moving through the Paciﬁc Northwest by creating and sustaining pockets of wetlands

habitat across an area that, over the last century or so, has been drained and put to use through agriculture or commercial development

“Most waterfowl and migratory birds in our region ﬂy from Alaska to Mexico, sometimes further,” Matt Little, western region director of public policy at Ducks Unlimited, told Columbia Insight.

“They’re dependent on water being put on farmers’ fields and ranchlands, even temporarily, during the migration.”

Little has been working on the bill on behalf of Ducks Unlimited for the last three years.

“There’s a lot of concern that there’s not enough funding to do good, on-the-ground, restoration work,” said Little. “And there are needs of water infrastructure and fish-friendly water infrastructure, especially along the coast. That’s where the idea [for the bill] came from.”

The Northwest Wetlands Voluntary Incentives Program Act offers grants and technical assistance to government agencies, Tribal entities, farmers, ranchers and nonproﬁts for wetlands restoration and enhancement projects. The bill would also provide assistance to farmers and ranch-

ers for water infrastructure projects that support migratory birds as they make their seasonal journeys.

Bipartisan conservation bills are a growing rarity in Congress, but Little said he believes this bill is popular enough to get momentum in Congress.

“All bills take a while, and in this environment where everything’s being cut, I think it will take longer,” said Little. “But this is a huge, big step, and to make it a bipartisan bill, with these two senators, is a huge step forward.”

The bill has backing from groups like the Idaho Wildlife Federation, Paciﬁc Birds Habitat Joint Venture, Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts and Oregon Agricultural Trust.

“Preserving critical wetland habitat is vital to protecting open landscapes for the diverse species — including numerous varieties of birds and ﬁsh that call Idaho home,” Crapo said in a statement “Investments in public-private partnerships in Idaho and the Paciﬁc Northwest will help keep wild spaces wild.”

“Restoring our wetlands is about more than just providing habitat for birds and other

PROVIDED PHOTO

A group of pilgrims with faces, hats and flamenco dresses caked in dust ride together on a pilgrimage to Rocío, Spain to pay homage to the Virgin Mary

PROVIDED PHOTO By JURGEN HESS

American avocet is among the waterfowl and migratory birds needing

SUNDAY, JUNe 22, 2025

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

grams

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

todAY's Word — diriGiBLes: dih-RIJih-buls: Airships.

Average mark 42 words

Time limit 60 minutes

Can you find 58 or more words in DIRIGIBLES?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku