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Diversion project killed

State plans smaller-scale coastal restoration work

Lafayette indoor sports complex advances

Tourism officials seek UL land for project

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A wide dirt path is made as part of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project near Myrtle Grove in 2024.

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

The state on Thursday officially canceled the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, Louisiana’s biggest-ever coastal restoration project, and moved to replace it with a smaller-scale version accompanied with other elements, citing ballooning costs and other factors.

The announcement had been widely anticipated, but remained a major development considering the years of study and evaluation that had gone into the unprecedented $3 billion project. It has long been seen as the linchpin of the state’s 50-year coastal master plan.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had already suspended the project’s permit in April and Gov. Jeff Landry had signaled his opposition to it in its current form.

“The state of Louisiana, through its

“At the end of the day, it’s just something that we just could not afford, no way, shape or form. All of the rest of the projects that we have going on in the state would have suffered at some point.”

TONy ALFORD, chair of Gov. Jeff Landry’s advisory commission on coastal issues Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), has reached an agreement with the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group to terminate the MidBarataria Sediment Diversion Project,” a statement from trustees overseeing funds from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill read.

Tony Alford, who chairs Landry’s advisory commission on coastal issues, said

the cost of the project was just too great.

“At the end of the day, it’s just something that we just could not afford, no way, shape or form,” Alford said. “All of the rest of the projects that we have going on in the state would have suffered at some point.”

Coastal advocates have argued that the scale of the project was necessary to meet Louisiana’s severe land loss crisis and expressed concern that the plan was being abandoned.

They have previously noted that the Landry administration’s decision to pause the project, which broke ground in August 2023 under his predecessor John Bel Edwards, has been an important contributor to increased costs.

Some $2.92 billion was to be paid for with BP oil spill funds, and the overall

ä See DIVERSION, page 5A

Lafayette tourism officials are moving forward on construction of a 150,000-square-foot indoor sports complex that they say would draw thousands of visitors to the area.

The Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission voted on Wednesday to proceed with talks with officials with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to acquire land along Cajundome Boulevard to build the complex.

It’s a new location for the com- Berthelot plex, which in 2023 was announced for Beaullieu Park and Comeaux Recreation Center, but commission President and CEO Ben Berthelot said that the city may be able to see a new indoor sports facility become a reality over the next few years.

“There’s a lot of parts that can go one way or the other but they basically authorized me to enter into negotiations,” Berthelot said.

The facility, which would be at the corner of Cajundome Boulevard and West Congress Street, would feature 10 basketball courts and 20 volleyball courts, he said.

Early drafts of the facility also include meeting rooms, a performance training center, a family entertainment center and a cafe.

Preliminary reviews indicate the project would cost $35 million-$40 million but would result in 140,000 annual visitors and 30,000 hotel room stays for the parish.

ä See COMPLEX, page 7A

Poirier reflects on life before final fight in the UFC cage Lafayette native says lesson of his career is ‘keep grinding’

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL ZARRILLI

WEATHER HIGH 84 LOW 77 PAGE 14C

Dustin Poirier celebrates after winning an interim lightweight title mixed martial arts bout in 2019.

Hardheaded. Stubborn. A hard worker.

Those were the words mixed martial artist and Louisiana native Dustin Poirier used to describe himself as a child, during a moment of quiet selfreflection at his home in Lafayette five days before he steps into the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage one final time in New Orleans on Saturday.

They’re also words that describe

him throughout his 16-year career of triumphs, defeats, doubt, courage and bloodshed as a professional fighter and UFC headliner.

In 2012, a 23-year-old Poirier spoke to a reporter after his loss to Chan Sung Jung. Bloodied and exhausted, he held back tears.

“It’s a big hit to me, man. This is my life ... ” Poirier said, choking up. “I’m going to win or I’m gonna die in the cage. One of the two is going to happen.”

Then there was Poirier in 2021, vengeful and hellbent when he knocked out Conor McGregor with an agonizing salvo of punches, rewriting his name in UFC history. Later, in 2024, after his loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, the crowd saw a different, war-wearied

Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified ..................10C Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

Poirier.

“If I do fight again, what am I fighting for?” he said to Joe Rogan in the Octagon after the fight, catching his breath.

“I don’t know, I got a little girl I love and I gotta see. I think this could be it.”

It didn’t take long for Poirier to shed those layers of doubt. His final fight before retiring will come in the Smoothie King Center this weekend against Max Holloway. In an interview, Poirier said he knows exactly what he’s fighting for.

“To try to get one more win, to go out on top ...” he said. “To lay the gloves down and retire in Louisiana, where I first started training and first started fighting.”

The spirit of a fighter has always

ä See POIRIER, page 7A

101ST yEAR, NO. 18

2A ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Trump checked for lower leg swelling

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Ukraine to up domestic arms production

KYIV, Ukraine — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed it that Washington is diverting a Swiss order for Patriot air defense systems to help Ukraine, which badly needs to improve its response to increasingly heavy Russian aerial attacks.

The Swiss Defense Ministry, which in 2022 ordered five Patriot systems, said Thursday it has been informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will “reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine.”

It was not immediately clear whether the Swiss-ordered Patriots would go directly to Ukraine or would replace units in other European countries that may be donated to Kyiv.

Delivery to Switzerland of the systems, worth billions of dollars, was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028.

But the Swiss government said Washington informed it of the delay on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear how many systems would be affected.

The need to adequately arm Ukraine’s military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive after three years of war and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.

It remains unclear when the promised U.S.-made weapons, especially the Patriot systems, might reach Ukraine. Trump has agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries.

Rescuers find mom and son lost in Calif. forest

A mother and her 9-year-oldson who got lost in a remote California forest while on their way to a Boy Scouts camp were rescued after a search crew found notes the pair had left behind.

The notes weighed down by rocks with “HELP” written at the top said they were stranded up the road with no phone service.

A volunteer search-and-rescue team that was training in the Sierra Nevada foothills found the pair Saturday, a day after they had set out for the camp, according to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman and her son got lost on Friday after they left the Sacramento area and their GPS had directed them onto old logging roads deep into the forest, said Lt. Greg Stark, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

They eventually lost their GPS signal and then got stuck about 10 miles from the nearest paved road, Stark said.

Britain will lower voting age to 16

LONDON — Britain will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 by the next national election as part of measures to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday.

The center-left Labour Party pledged before it was elected in July 2024 to lower the voting age for elections to Britain’s Parliament. Scotland and Wales already let 16- and 17-year-olds vote in local and regional elections.

Britain will join the shortlist of countries where the voting age is 16, alongside the likes of Austria, Brazil and Ecuador.

A handful of European Union countries, including Belgium, Germany and Malta, allow 16-year-olds to vote in elections to the European Parliament.

The move comes alongside wider reforms that include tightening campaign financing rules to stop shell companies with murky ownership from donating to political parties. Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali said the change would strengthen safeguards against foreign interference in British politics.

There will also be tougher sentences for people convicted of intimidating candidates.

Trump first noticed the President swelling in his lower legs. diagnosed with As part of the president’s routine medical care and common condition out of an “abundance of caution,” she said he had a in older adults “comprehensive exam” that

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

Special needs teacher Deja Nebula sets up an art installation on July 3 displaying names and faces of people who have been detained, deported or sent to offshore camps during ICE raids in southern California at Olvera Street Plaza in Los Angeles.

Feds give Medicaid recipients’ data to ICE Personal info includes addresses, ethnicity

BY KIMBERLY KINDY and AMANDA SEITZ

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press.

The information will give ICE officials the ability to find “the location of aliens” across the country, says the agreement signed Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement has not been announced publicly.

The extraordinary disclosure of millions of such personal health data to deportation officials is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has repeatedly tested legal boundaries in its effort to arrest 3,000 people daily.

Lawmakers and some CMS officials have challenged the legality of deportation officials’ access to some states’ Medicaid enrollee data. It’s a move, first reported by the AP last month, that Health and Human Services officials said was aimed at rooting out people enrolled in the program improperly.

But the latest data-sharing agreement makes clear what ICE officials intend to do with the health data.

“ICE will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE,” the agreement says.

Such disclosures, even if not acted upon, could cause widespread alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration

have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid.

HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon would not respond to the latest agreement. It is unclear, though, whether Homeland Security has yet accessed the information.

The department’s assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said in an emailed statement that the two agencies “are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”

The database will reveal to ICE officials the names, addresses, birth dates, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers for all people enrolled in Medicaid. The state and federally funded program provides health care coverage program for the poorest of people, including millions of children.

The agreement does not allow ICE officials to download the data. Instead, they will be allowed to access it for a limited period from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9.

“They are trying to turn us into immigration agents,” said a CMS official did not have permission to speak to the media and insisted on anonymity.

Immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that provides nearly-free coverage for health services.

Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government.

But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Emergency Medicaid is often used by immigrants, including those who are lawfully present and those who are not.

Many people sign up for emergency Medicaid in their most desperate moments, said Hannah Katch, a previous adviser at CMS during the Biden administration.

Syrian forces who fought Druze militias leave Sweida province

BY KAREEM CHEHAYEB and GHAITH ALSAYED

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Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country’s postwar transition.

The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday — halted most of the fighting.

However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes.

Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and where they often serve in the military.

Under the latest truce, reached Wednesday after a previous agreement unraveled, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday to keep southern Syria demilitarized and to protect the Druze community. “This will also be the continuation of our policy,” he said.

In a major escalation of its involvement in the conflict, Israel on Wednesday had struck the Syrian Defense Ministry head-

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the White House medical unit showed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when little valves inside the veins that normally help move blood against gravity gradually lose the ability to work properly.

Leavitt also addressed bruising on the back of Trump’s hand, seen in recent photos covered by makeup that was not an exact match to his skin tone.

She said the bruising was “consistent” with irritation from his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” Trump takes aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

She said during her press briefing that her disclosure of Trump’s medical checkup was meant to dispel recent speculation about the 79-year-old president’s health. Nonetheless, the announcement was notable given that the Republican president has routinely kept secret basic facts about his health.

Trump in April had a comprehensive physical exam with more than a dozen medical specialists. The three-page report released then by the White House did not include a finding of chronic venous insufficiency. At the time, Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, determined that the president’s joints and muscles had a full range of motion, with normal blood flow and no swelling.

Leavitt did not say when

included vascular, lower extremity and ultrasound testing.

She noted that chronic venous insufficiency is a benign condition that is common in people over age 70.

She said the tests revealed no evidence of deep vein thrombosis, a more serious medical condition in which a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs. Nor was there any evidence of arterial disease, she said, reading a letter from Barbabella.

People often are advised to lose weight, walk for exercise and elevate their legs periodically, and some may be advised to wear compression stockings. Severe cases over time can lead to complications including lower leg sores called ulcers. Blood clots are one cause, but was ruled out, Leavitt said.

Leavitt said the condition wasn’t causing the president any discomfort. She wouldn’t discuss how he was treating the condition and suggested those details would be in the doctor’s letter, which was later released to the public. But the letter was the same as what she read, and it did not include any additional details.

Dr. Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon at Mass General Brigham who has never treated Trump, said there is no cure for chronic venous insufficiency.

“The vast majority of people, probably including our president, have a mild to moderate form of it,” Dua said.

People with the condition can reduce the swelling by wearing medical-grade compression socks or stockings, to help the blood circulate back to the heart, or by walking, she said.

The exam the White House disclosed Thursday included other testing that found no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness in Trump, Leavitt said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LEO CORREA

Syrian Druze people cross back into Syria Thursday as they walk at the IsraeliSyrian border, in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams.

quarters in central Damascus.

Convoys of government forces started withdrawing from Sweida overnight, Syrian state media reported, saying it was in line with the ceasefire deal and that the military operation against the Druze factions had ended.

The truce was announced by Syria’s Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader. The previous agreement on Tuesday quickly broke down after being dismissed by prominent Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri.

The Syrian government has not released any casualty counts from the fighting.

The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 600 fighters and civilians were killed on both sides over four days of deadly clashes. The monitor also said at least 86 civilians killed in “field executions” — mostly Druze Syrians killed by government forces and their allies — and that at least three Bedouin civilians were killed in revenge attacks Thursday by Druze militiamen.

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House sends bill regulating stablecoins to Trump

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The House has passed three bills intended to boost the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency industry with new regulations as President Donald Trump has pushed to make the U.S. the “ crypto capital of the world.”

One of the three bills, legislation to regulate a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoins, had already passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support and will now head to Trump’s desk. The other two bills — a broader measure to create a new market structure for cryptocurrency and a bill to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a new digital currency — will go to the Senate.

The stablecoin bill, passed on a 308-122 vote, sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for the cryptocurrency, which is tied to a stable asset, often the U.S. dollar, to reduce price volatility. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support in June.

“Around the world, payment systems are undergoing a revolution,” said House Financial Services Chair French Hill of Arkansas as lawmakers debated the stablecoin legislation Thursday morning. Hill said the bill will “ensure American competitiveness and strong guardrails for our consumers.”

After Trump declared it “crypto week,” the bills were stalled for more than a day amid disagreements among House Republicans about how to combine the legislation. In the end, GOP leaders put the three bills for a separate votes, leaving the fate of the other two bills unclear in the Senate. The internal dissent could foreshadow challenges ahead for the more sweeping crypto legislation that Trump has demanded and the industry has poured millions into advancing.

The stablecoin measure is seen by lawmakers and the industry as a step toward adding legitimacy and consumer trust to a rapidly growing sector. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

The House has passed three bills intended to boost the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency industry with new regulations as President Donald Trump has pushed to make the U.S. the ‘crypto capital of the world.’ in June that the legislation could help that currency “grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade.”

The bill outlines requirements for stablecoin issuers, including compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, and mandates that issuers hold reserves backing the cryptocurrency. Without such a framework, Republicans on

the Senate Banking Committee in a statement warned, “consumers face risks like unstable reserves or unclear operations from stablecoin issuers.”

After the votes, House Republicans strongly urged the Senate to take up the second bill, which would create a new market structure for cryptocurrency.

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis.,

said the 294-134 vote on that legislation shows broad bipartisan support and a “massive energy” on the issue.

But it is so far unclear whether the Senate would consider the House bill or try to write its own.

That legislation aims to provide clarity for how digital assets are regulated. The bill defines what forms of cryptocurrency should be treated as

commodities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and which are securities policed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In general, tokens associated with “mature” blockchains, like bitcoin, will be considered commodities.

The third bill, passed on a narrower 219-210 margin, prohibits the U.S. from offering what’s known as a “central bank digital currency,” which is like a governmentissued form of digital cash.

The crypto industry has long complained that unclear laws have made it difficult to operate in the U.S. and that the Biden administration tried to regulate it through enforcement actions rather than transparent rulemaking. Getting this bill passed has been a top priority for the industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to heavy campaign donations and lobbying.

Advocates said the passage of the bills marks a key moment in cryptocurrency’s winding path toward mainstream adoption.

House poised to OK cut to public broadcasting, foreign aid

BY KEVIN FREKING and MARY CLARE JALONICK

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The House is expected late Thursday to approve President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid as Republicans target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda.

The White House had described the package as a test case and said that if Congress went along, more would come. The House’s approval would mark the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and even then the results were more mixed. Un-

like other presidents, Trump is getting nearly all the cuts he requested.

Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis are being subsequently canceled on party-line votes. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate, 51-48, in the early morning hours Thursday. Two Republicans also voted no.

“We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, told reporters.

The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

and nearly $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs, many designed to help countries where drought, disease and political unrest endure.

The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending comes just weeks after Republicans also muscled through Trump’s tax and spending cut bill without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase the U.S. debt by about $3.3 trillion over the coming decade.

The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the CPR represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years.

The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unneces-

sary expense.

The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming.

Democrats were unsuccessful in restoring in the Senate.

Lawmakers with large rural constituencies have voiced particular concern about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, said Tuesday that the

Trump won’t recommend special # counsel in Epstein probe, official says

BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will not recommend a special counsel in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, a White House spokeswoman said Thursday, turning aside calls for further action in an inquiry that has roiled the Justice Department and angered supporters who had been expecting a treasure trove of documents from the case.

The rejection of a special counsel is part of an effort by the White House to turn the page from continued outrage from corners of Trump’s base over the Justice Department’s refusal last week to release additional records from the investigation into

Epstein, a well-connected and wealthy financier who killed himself in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Officials also said Epstein did not maintain a muchhyped “client list” and said the evidence was clear he had died by suicide despite conspiracy theories to the contrary.

Trump on Wednesday sought to clamp down on criticism from his own supporters about his administration’s handling of the Epsteinrelated records, calling them “weaklings” who were being duped and characterizing the investigation as a “hoax” — even though his hand-picked leaders at the FBI and Justice Department had long stoked public expectations

that important information was being hidden.

The news organization Just the News published excerpts Wednesday from a Trump interview in which Trump said he would be open to having a special counsel look into “anything credible” related to Epstein, as well as other long-standing grievances he and his supporters have long raised.

But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to close the door Thursday on a special counsel for the Epstein investigation, saying “the idea was floated from someone in the media to the president.”

“The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case,” she said.

stations are “not just your news — it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert.”

Less than a day later, as the Senate debated the bill, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some money administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states.

But Kate Riley, president

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was “at best a shortterm, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save.”

Among the foreign aid cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and family reunification for refugees and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut for programs that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations.

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GAZA

Israeli strike hits church, killing 3 and wounding priest

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the war’s toll on civilians.

The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack.

In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed “his profound hope for dialogue, reconcili-

ation and enduring peace in the region.” The pope said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,” and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish.

President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike on the church, the White House said. Netanyahu later released a statement saying Israel “deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church.”

The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties.

The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish’s 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish

Nationwide protests start against health care cuts, immigration crackdown

BY COREY WILLIAMS and CHRISTINE FERNANDO

lessness within our administration ... as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged.”

Public Citizen is a nonprofit with a stated mission of taking on corporate power. It is a member of a coalition of groups behind Thursday’s protests.

Major protests were planned in Atlanta and St. Louis, as well as Oakland, California, and Annapolis, Maryland.

Lewis first was elected to Congress in 1986. He died in 2020 at the age of 80 following an advanced pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis led some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was beaten by police, suffering a skull fracture.

Associated Press

CHICAGO — Protests and events against President Donald Trump’s controversial policies that include mass deportations and cuts to Medicaid and other safety nets for poor people have started Thursday at more than 1,600 locations around the country.

The “Good Trouble Lives On” national day of action honors the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Protests were being held along streets, at court houses and other public spaces. Organizers have called for them to be peaceful.

“We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nation’s history,” Public Citizen copresident Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference Tuesday. “We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and law-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians are seen amid war-damaged infrastructure on Thursday in Gaza City. priest Romanelli was lightly wounded.

“We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children,” said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. “We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli oc-

cupation.”

The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that “fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly.” It said it was still investigating.

The military said it only strikes militant targets, ”makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians

and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them.”

Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive

in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. “The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable,” she said.

The church is just a stone’s throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage.

Targeting a holy site “is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,” the Church said in a statement.

Fired prosecutor: ‘Fear is the tool of a tyrant’

BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, said in a note to colleagues that “fear is the tool of a tyrant” and that her firing without reason should fuel “a fire of righteous indignation at abuses Comey of power.”

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. “Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”

“Instead of fear,” she added, “let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for vic-

tims. Of dedication to truth above all else.”

Until her firing Wednesday, Comey had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices.

Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict.

Her termination represented the latest Justice Department effort to fire lawyers without explanation, a trend that has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to remove attorneys for political reasons. The department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked Donald Trump’s ire, including some who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of the Republi-

can president.

She was long seen as a potential target given her father’s fraught relationship over the last decade with Trump. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear.

Asked about the firing Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “This was a decision made by the Department of Justice.”

Maurene Comey had most recently been among the prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The hip-hop mogul was acquitted of the main charges but convicted of lesser prostitutionrelated offenses that may result in a prison sentence of just a few years, an outcome seen by some as a rare defeat for prosecutions.

But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably helping secure the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexu-

ally abuse underage girls.

In that case, she delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case.

Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense criticism from some members of Trump’s base for the Justice Department’s decision not to release any more evidence in the government’s possession from Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura Loomer, who have been critical of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, had been calling for Maurene Comey’s firing.

James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration.

But his relationship with Trump was strained from the start. The FBI director resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president.

North Carolina declares state of emergency in wake of tropical storm

BY MAKIYA SEMINERA Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday.

A one-two punch from Chantal followed by severe weather in the state’s center has “overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments,” according to Stein’s executive order.

Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some

age caused by the tropical storm’s remnants.

The emergency declaration, which took effect Wednesday, jump-starts the process for North Carolina to seek federal recovery assistance if needed. It covers 13 counties in the state’s center, some of which are home to populous cities like Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

Local law enforcement

agencies have confirmed at least six deaths from the storm. Businesses were wrecked and many residents were displaced from their homes after emergency responders rescued them from flooding.

A 58-year-old woman called 911 on her way to work after her SUV got caught in floodwaters, but the call disconnected and she was later

found dead a little ways from her unoccupied vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Rescuers searched for days in Chatham County only to find two missing canoers had died, the county sheriff’s office said, while another woman died when floodwaters swept her vehicle off the road, the State Highway Patrol said.

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In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor’s office.

Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather plowed through as people were still picking up the pieces from dam-

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GOP leaders address library pronoun controversy

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Gov. Jeff Landry and other prominent Louisiana conservatives are criticizing Baton Rouge’s library system after a former employee said he was fired because he refused to use someone’s preferred gender pronouns.

Luke Ash said he was let go from a job at East Baton Rouge Parish Library on July 10 after he refused to use someone’s preferred pronouns.

He recounted the story in an interview with Tony Perkins posted online Tuesday.

Perkins, a pastor and former state representative, is president of the Family Research Council, a religious conservative political advocacy group.

When Perkins asked if the library gave him the option of “using the incorrect biological pronoun and playing the game,” Ash

DIVERSION

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contract included a maximum guaranteed price. But cost increases caused by the state would not have been covered under the price guarantee.

Regardless, it had appeared increasingly unrealistic that the project could be revived in the same form as more time passed and inflation added to the already high price. The state was also confronted with legal challenges over it.

“After years of planning and navigating significant legal and permitting challenges, we’ve made the difficult decision to terminate the Mid-Barataria project,” CPRA Chairman Gordon “Gordy” Dove said in a statement. “However, our commitment to coastal restoration has not wavered.

We are now focused on advancing the Myrtle Grove project, which we believe will deliver similar benefits to rebuild and sustain our coast, in addition to numerous other master plan and annual plan projects.”

‘More than a project’ The state now hopes to build an earlier version of the plan, known as the Myrtle Grove project, with a diversion around a quarter of the size, while also constructing a large-scale land bridge in Barataria Basin using dredged sediment.

The Landry administration still hopes to use BP funds and to negotiate a traditional cost split with the Army Corps of Engineers, Alford said. That split would see the federal government picking up 65% of the tab, with the state paying the rest.

Questions remain over whether any of the money already spent on the project will have to be reimbursed, and whether contractors will have to be compensated for the lost work. Around $619 million has been disbursed through the main pot of BP funds.

responded affirmatively, adding that he was “not going to lie.”

Reached by phone, Ash declined to comment for this story, saying that he had been talking to a lot of people and was trying to discern his next steps.

Ash was hired as a library technician in late March, and his termination was effective July 11, according to personnel records obtained by The Advocate.

He told WBRZ he knew his choice violated the library’s inclusivity policy, which says that employees have the right to be addressed by their chosen name and pronouns, but that he disagreed with that policy, citing “religious convictions.”

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library declined to comment on Thursday.

Ash is the lead pastor at Stevendale Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, according to the church’s website.

Ash told Perkins that he saw “several” things at the library indicating that it was not “a place that was hospitable for a Christian or even a conservatively minded person.”

“The library made their decision that they would rather have a difficult conversation with me than for a transgender person to hear something that they didn’t want to hear,” Ash said.

Ash’s story gained steam on social media this week, grabbing the attention of Louisiana’s top GOP leaders.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, referring to the WBRZ report, said in a social media post Thursday, “This was a public employee in a taxpayer-funded public library.”

“Government can’t force you to violate your conscience or deeply held religious beliefs,” she added.

“This isn’t California or New York.

In Louisiana, a Christian has rights

just like anyone else.”

Gov. Jeff Landry also weighed in, saying on X that “preferred pronouns don’t exist — only biological ones!”

“Louisianans should never lose their job because they refuse to lie!” Landry said.

In commenting, the governor shared a Wednesday social media post about Ash’s story from Libs of TikTok, a popular controversial right-wing account, which has 4.3 million followers.

The Libs of TikTok post about Ash was shared 12,000 times.

Late Thursday afternoon, Woodlawn Baptist Church Lead Pastor Lewis Richerson sent a letter to the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board demanding that it reinstate Ash and “change all DEI-directed policies that led to his termination, ensuring that no employee is forced to violate their religious beliefs or conscience.”

The letter also listed the names of more than 30 other supporters, primarily leaders of Baptist churches in the Baton Rouge area.

Libraries have in recent years become hot spots for debates over gender and sexuality in Louisiana.

Livingston Parish Library Director Michelle Parrish was ousted from that role in a latenight library board vote Tuesday. The library system has been in turmoil for the last few years over books with sexual and LGBT themes.

The drama that has included library board resignations and firings, calls for an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, and a documentary produced by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Lafayette’s library system has seen similar controversies.

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

posited sediment along the commercial fishermen, who way, working with nature argued that amount was not to restore a heavily eroded nearly enough. part of the coast.

Prominent opponents of But the plan was contro- the project included Lt. Gov. versial from the start, par- Billy Nungesser, the former ticularly among commercial Plaquemines Parish presishrimpers and oyster grow- dent. Nungesser discussed ers in the project area. They his criticism of the project would have been forced to with Landry before his eleceither move farther out or tion as governor. find another line or work Louisiana’s land loss crisis since the influx of fresh wa- is only expected to worsen ter would have badly dam- in the years ahead as sea level rise gains pace. The aged their industry.

Supporters of the project state has already lost around noted that those fisheries 2,000 square miles over the will be decimated even if past century, around the size the project is not built, since of Delaware.

Confining the Mississippi land loss and saltwater intrusion will accelerate there, River in place with levees though that would occur and flood walls set the probover a much longer period lem in motion, but other of time. factors have been large Other concerns involv- contributors, including the ing the Mid-Barataria plan thousands of miles of caSTAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER included threats to the dol- nals dug through wetlands phin population in the area by the oil and gas industry Public officials, staff with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and coastal as well as increased flood and shipping channels that rebuilding advocates gather for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion groundbreaking risks for some locations due funneled in saltwater intruceremony near Ironton on Aug. 10, 2023. to the project. The plan in- sion. cluded $378 million in mitibuilt in the first place, when gation funds to compensate Email Mike Smith at Additionally, any project closed doors.” to replace Mid-Barataria The Coalition to Restore the river meandered and de- those affected, including msmith@theadvocate.com. will likely have to undergo Coastal Louisiana, which a lengthy scientific evalua- has worked for decades on tion for it to be approved by land loss issues, said “the both BP spill trustees and science has not changed, nor has the need for urgent the Corps.

The decision by trustees action.”

ONLINE STORE ONLY — SHIPPED DIRECTLY TO YOUR DOOR! “What has changed is the to approve the funds for Mid-Barataria followed a political landscape,” execusix-year evaluation process, tive director Kim Reyher though talks extend back said in a statement. “We still even further, with the proj- need to reconnect the river ect having taken on various to wetlands. The Missis$2,195.00 forms over the years. The sippi is the most powerful earlier version the state now coastal restoration tool that At only 37 lbs, this is one wants to pursue was autho- we have.” of the lightest mobility rized in 2007. scooters on the planet.

Working with nature Some coastal advocates have questioned whether Mid-Barataria, scheduled a smaller diversion will be to be constructed near IronBattery Range: 7.5 mi.

Weight Cap: 265 lbs. worth the cost, considering ton in Plaquemines Parish on Weight Without Battery: 37 lbs. how much land Louisiana is the West Bank, was intended losing. to funnel up to 75,000 cubic “Mid-Barataria is more feet per second of Missisthan a project — it repre- sippi River water and sedisents a generational in- ment into Barataria Basin to vestment, paid for with the rebuild lost wetlands there. penalties of an environmen- It was projected to build tal disaster,” Restore the around 21 net square miles $799.00 $1,759.00 Mississippi River Delta, a of land over 50 years, and coalition of coastal and en- would likely have remained The lightest folding vironmental groups, said in effective beyond that time 4-wheel scooter with manual wheelchair on a statement. “These dollars frame. a very tight turn radius the market available in perfect for indoor and The diversion would have were meant to restore the two sizes. outdoor use. coast, not settle a cancel- essentially mimicked the Weight Cap: 250 lbs (Regular) lation of contracts behind way south Louisiana was or 350 lbs (Heavy Duty)

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All solar, wind projects must get Burgum’s OK

WASHINGTON — All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct “elevated review” of activities ranging from leases to rights of way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions.

The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at “ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidydependent wind and solar energy,” the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday.

The order “will ensure all evaluations are thorough and deliberative” on potential projects on millions of acres of federal lands and offshore areas, the department said.

Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law July 4.

The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

In the legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers moved to dismantle the 2022 climate law passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden. And on July 7, Trump signed an executive order that further restricts subsidies for what he called “expensive and unreliable energy policies from the Green New Scam.”

Applications for jobless benefits fall again WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in three months, a sign that the U.S. labor market remains sturdy despite fears over the impact of widespread U.S. tariffs.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 12 fell by 7,000 to 221,000, the fifth straight weekly decline and the fewest since mid-April.

Last week’s number was also lower than the 232,000 that analysts forecast. Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as representative of layoffs.

Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a surprising 147,000 jobs in June, adding to evidence that the American labor market continues to show resilience. The job gains were much bigger than expected and the unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May. Analysts were expecting the unemployment to rise to 4.3%.

Juul allowed to keep selling e-cigarettes WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is allowing vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend.

FDA regulators said Thursday that Juul’s studies show its e-cigarettes are less harmful for adult smokers, who can benefit from switching completely to vaping.

The FDA decision applies to both tobacco- and mentholflavored versions of the reusable product, which works with nicotine-filled cartridges sold in two different strengths.

Juul previously discontinued several fruit and candy flavors that helped drive its popularity but were favored by teens.

Juul will be one of only two U.S. companies authorized to sell menthol-flavored vapes, which many adults prefer to tobacco flavor.

Parents, politicians and antitobacco groups have argued for years that Juul products should be permanently banned due to their role in triggering a yearslong spike in underage vaping.

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U.S. retail sales bounce around

is taking place during a period of wrote William Blair’s macro ana- ment stores all saw sales declines.

Whipsaw trade mixed signals about the economy lyst Richard de Chazal.

The products sold in these sectors The U.S. economy shrank Yet Chazal fears that the admin- are heavily imported. environment prompts asat awell.

0.5% annual pace from Janu- istration may be picking up false A category of sales that excludes erratic spending ary through March, but the U.S. assurances from strong consumer volatile sectors such as gas, cars,

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

AP business writer

WASHINGTON — Consumers picked up their spending in June after an earlier pullback, despite anxiety over tariffs and the state of the U.S. economy.

Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in June, the Commerce Department said Thursday, after two consecutive months of spending declines, a 0.1% pullback in April and a 0.9% slowdown in May. Retail was buoyed earlier in the year by car sales as Americans attempted to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25% duty on imported cars and car parts.

The erratic consumer spending

job market is proving to be very resilient, and major tariffs keep getting postponed.

Healthy spending continues, with a heavy focus on necessities, rather than electronics or new appliances.

Yet consumers haven’t completely cut out spending on nonessential goods. Sales at restaurants, the lone services component within the Census Bureau report and a barometer of discretionary spending, rose moderately.

“Consumers are only feeling a modest amount of pressure from tariffs, and any weakness here is not having much of an effect in forcing them to pull back on more discretionary areas of spending such as restaurants and bars,”

spending. Consumer sentiment and markets have tumbled after aggressive tariff announcements, and many economists expect rising prices will have a greater impact on consumers before the year is over.

Retail sales in June included a 1.2% gain in sales of autos and auto parts. Spending expanded across most major categories including clothing and personal care.

Excluding autos and automotive parts, sales rose 0.5%, according to the Commerce Department Clothing and accessories sales rose 0.9%, while health and personal care sales saw a 0.5% bump.

Online retailers recorded a 0.4% gain.

Electronics and appliance retailers, furniture stores and depart-

and restaurants rose last month by 0.5% from the previous month.

The figure feeds into the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ consumption estimate and is a sign that consumers are still spending on some discretionary items.

The retail sales report arrives amid a whipsaw frenzy of on and off again tariffs have that jolted businesses and households. Business owners say it’s become very difficult to manage supplies and inventories. Americans, when they do shop, are generally steering clear of the things they don’t absolutely need.

The latest government report showed that inflation rose last month to its highest level since February.

Scrutiny over soda sweeteners Trump says Coke to shift to cane sugar as consumers look at no-sugar drinks

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer

The debate over whether CocaCola should use high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar in its signature soda obscures an important fact: Consumers are increasingly looking for Coke with no sugar at all.

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, introduced in 2017, uses both the artificial sweetener aspartame and the natural sweetener stevia in its recipe. It’s one of Coke’s fastest-growing products, with global case volumes up 14% in the first quarter of the year. By comparison, the company’s total case volumes were up 2%.

PepsiCo also noted Thursday that 60% of its sales volumes in major markets in the second quarter came from low- or nosugar drinks.

“When you look at colas, the percentage of growth coming from zero sugar is significant,” said Duane Stanford, the editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

The scrutiny over Coke’s sweeteners began Wednesday, when President Donald Trump announced that Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. had agreed to switch to using cane sugar in the regular version of its beverage manufactured in the U.S. “I have been speaking to CocaCola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at CocaCola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola didn’t confirm the change. In a statement, the company said it appreciated Trump’s enthusiasm and would share details on new offerings soon.

Stanford said he doubts CocaCola will fully shift away from

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

A maintenance crew member descends on the historic Coca-Cola sign that reigns over the intersection of Third Street and Florida Street, giving the namesake a refresh, in downtown Baton Rouge in early 2024. high fructose corn syrup, which has sweetened Coke in the U.S. since the 1980s. There would be tremendous supply chain and logistics headaches, he said, and the U.S. doesn’t make enough sugar for Coke’s needs.

He expects the Atlanta-based company will offer a cane sugarsweetened version in the U.S. just like its rival Pepsi has been doing since 2009. He noted that Coke has indulged U.S. fans by importing Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, since 2005. Coke positions Mexican Coke as an upscale alternative and sells it in glass bottles.

The corn industry wasn’t happy with the speculation. In a statement Wednesday, Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar makes no sense and would cost thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

Shares in ADM, a maker of high fructose corn syrup, dipped nearly 2% Thursday after Trump’s announcement.

In a message on X, Coca-Cola

defended high fructose corn syrup, saying it’s no more likely to contribute to obesity than table sugar or other full-calorie sweeteners. “It’s safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body,” the company said.

“Please be assured that Coca-Cola brand soft drinks do not contain any harmful substances.”

The Food and Drug Administration also says there is no evidence of any difference in safety among foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and those that use sugar, honey or other traditional sweeteners.

Soft drink preferences are highly subjective, as anyone who has been in a Pepsi vs. Coke or 7-Up vs. Sprite debate knows.

But recent trends indicate that Coke and other drink makers need to focus on the kinds of lowand no-sugar drinks that a growing number of consumers are seeking, according to Stanford.

He said his data shows original Coke was the top seller by volume in the U.S. last year, with

19% market share, while Coke Zero Sugar was seventh and had a 4% market share. But Coke Zero Sugar’s share grew 10%, while original Coke’s share was flat.

Nutritionists suggest avoiding added sugars, no matter the form, since they provide empty calories with no nutrients. The 2020 U.S. dietary guidelines advise people to limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, and say children under 2 should not be fed them at all.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has spoken out against sugar. His agency is expected to release updated nutrition guidelines later this year.

“There’s things we’ll never be able to eliminate, like sugar,” Kennedy said at an April news conference. “And sugar is poison, and Americans need to know that.”

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are also named as a concern in a government report Kennedy issued in May. AP health and science editor Jonathan Poet contributed from Philadelphia.

Wall Street cruises to more records amid mixed profit reports

BY STAN CHOE

AP business writer NEW YORK — Wall Street rose to records on Thursday following better-than-expected updates on the economy and a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to top its all-time high set a week ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 229 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7% to its own record set the day before.

Trading was calmer than Wednesday’s, when President Donald Trump jolted financial markets by saying he had discussed the “concept” of firing the chair of the Federal Reserve but was unlikely

to do so. Such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.

A strong profit report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. helped drive tech stocks, and its net income soared nearly 61% in the last quarter from a year earlier.

The chip maker said it’s seeing strong demand from artificial intelligence and other customers, and TSMC’s stock that trades in the United States rose 3.4%.

Other stocks involved in AI also climbed, and a 1% gain for Nvidia was one of the strongest forces

pushing upward on the S&P 500.

PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations.

The drink and snack giant also stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.

United Airlines flew 3.1% higher after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said it’s seen an acceleration in demand from customers that began in early July, and it’s expecting less uncertainty about the economy to hurt its business in the second half

of this year.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Abbott Laboratories, which fell 8.5% despite delivering results for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ expectations. The health care company cut the top end of its forecast range for revenue growth over 2025.

Elevance Health dropped 12.2% after reporting a weaker profit than analysts expected. It cut its forecast for profit in 2025 because of rising medical cost trends in its Affordable Care Act business, along with other factors.

In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed following several better-than-expected reports on the economy.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● 7A

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Oakdale police chief’s wife arrested in fraud case

BY AIDAN McCAHILL

Staff writer

Two days after the Oakdale police chief was arrested for allegedly talking part in a scheme to provide hundreds of fraudulent visas to non-U.S. residents, his wife also has been jailed after being accused of conspiring to commit fraud with the same convenience store owner tied to her husband’s case.

Louisiana State Police announced the arrest of 50-year-old

POIRIER

Continued from page 1A lived within Poirier, even as a child growing up in Lafayette.

Part of it is in his blood. Both his father and grandfather were boxers. It also comes from the tightknit, blue-collar community he grew up in, where his mother ran a foster home out of their house while raising him and his two siblings.

Ultimately, he said, his community was a place where “people had to get their hands dirty and put in work to get anything they wanted.”

Poirier can’t pinpoint the exact moment he knew he wanted to become a professional fighter.

As a kid, fighting earned him no rewards. It instead landed him in boot camp and detention centers, neither of which could break his natural pull toward combat.

But eventually, it started paying off in the right ways. He turned pro in 2009, and quickly rose into the highest echelons of the sport.

Poirier may have said it best in “Fightville,” a popular 2011 documentary that followed him and other rising Lafayette-area martial artists: “Fighting has opened a path to redemption for me.”

Resilience in mind, body, soul More than anything, fighting showed Poirier that he was in control of his future.

“I didn’t have anybody to point the finger at but myself, whether I did good or bad,” he said during the recent interview. “It was just me, pushing myself to be better.”

For a fighter, the mind must be

Alison Doyle on Thursday for alleged unethical conduct in the municipal property bidding process.

Doyle is a former Oakdale city employee and wife of Police Chief Chad Doyle.

The Louisiana State Police Criminal Intelligence Unit’s Alexandria Field Office began investigating Alison Doyle after receiving “credible information” she had worked with Chandrakant “Lala” Patel to manipulate the bidding process for two city-owned properties, accord-

ing to a news release.

After conducting a thorough review, investigators found sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations, the release says.

Alison Doyle was arrested and charged with two felony counts of malfeasance in office. She was booked in the Allen Parish Jail.

The announcement came two days after agents with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS descended on a law

enforcement conference in Baton Rouge, arresting Chad Doyle and Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon.

Patel, who owns convenience stores and a fast-food restaurant in Oakdale and Glenmora; Michael “Freck” Slaney, Oakdale’s city marshal; and Tebo Onishea, a former Glenmora police chief, were also arrested Tuesday.

All four are accused of taking part in scheme in which foreign nationals — most of whom were

from India — paid Patel thousands of dollars to help them obtain a “U visa,” designed to grant victims or witnesses of certain crimes immigration status if they aid law enforcement. Patel would then pay $5,000 to a law enforcement agent to forge a police report listing the applicant as a victim that could be included with a visa application.

During the raids, federal agents executed 11 search warrants, including at the Doyles’ residence.

teur fight. The couple, together for Poirier to imagine a life withsince middle school, married in out the cage. He’s competing for 2009 and bought their first house. the BMF belt, a symbolic title Though his young age at that that’s awarded to UFC fighters for time might suggest otherwise, Po- their toughness. After that, he will irier’s first taste of success didn’t return to his home in Lafayette, where he and his wife have lived come quickly. since 2016, While “Fight“Nothing’s ever going to raise their ville” was bedaughter and ing filmed, he to fill that void. No matter wasn’t just how many businesses I have, prepare for the birth of their training — he no matter how many things son. was driving a keep me busy outside that.

The retiring delivery truck, I don’t think anything’s ever fighter said he hauling winplans to stay dows, doors, going to fill that void of involved in trim and moldpreparing to fight a man in The Good Fight ing to customfront of the world.”

Foundation, a ers to make charity he and ends meet.

UFC FIGHTER Jolie founded In one scene, DUSTIN POIRIER in 2017 to supPoirier points at photos of port causes in himself when Lafayette. The he was 200 pounds, saying some nonprofit raises money by aucdidn’t even recognize him after tioning off memorabilia from Pohe started training. But what irier’s UFC career. many did recognize, including his He plans to keep growing his mother, was his transformation businesses, like his hot sauce from a troubled boy to a deter- brand Poirier’s Louisiana Style, and is considering investing in mined fighter.

“He’s finally found what he’s additional residential properties.

And soon, a reboot of “Fightville” been looking for all of this time,” his mother said in the documen- will be released, following the end tary. “I know that he has been of Poirier’s fighting career.

Still, life won’t feel quite the waiting his whole life to climb up something and put his hands in same once he lays the gloves the air because he did it the best.” down.

“Nothing’s ever going to fill that When Poirier looks back at that STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK ambitious kid now, ahead of his void,” Poirier said. “No matter last fight and with a professional how many businesses I have, no UFC fighter Dustin Poirier carries a ceremonial check before his Good record of 30 wins and 9 losses, he matter how many things keep me Fight Foundation presentation of $35,000 to Catholic Charities of only has two things to say to him. busy outside that. I don’t think Acadiana’s food bank in 2024.

“Keep grinding. It’s gonna pay anything’s ever going to fill that void of preparing to fight a man in off.” front of the world.” as resilient as the body and soul. right headspace every time.

When Poirier was 18 and didn’t Life after retirement And the times that doubt weighed on him, Poirier credits his wife, have a car, Jolie drove him to TexThough he has said Saturday’s Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe@ Jolie, for pulling him back into the arkana, Texas, for his first ama- bout will be his last, it’s still hard theadvocate.com.

COMPLEX

The proposed sports facility could house an indoor track facility along with basketball courts. It could also include meeting rooms, a performance training center, a family entertainment center and a cafe.

Continued from page 1A It will be funded by a 2% tourism improvement tax district on all hotels, which hoteliers agreed to assess on themselves and is expected to generate $2 million annually. Collections began in January.

“It’s going to open up so many possibilities that we weren’t able to go after,” Berthelot said. “Our board recognizes the importance of the university as the largest economic driver in the region. I think this is an opportunity for (the university) to achieve some of their goals as well in terms of growth in revenue and growth in their master plan.”

The board, eyeing hotel development for the area, said that the location was chosen for its proximity to other venues like the Cajundome and the adjacent convention center.

Other locations were suggested but required purchasing land.

PROVIDED IMAGE

The Beaullieu Park location was placed on pause during the transition to Mayor-President Monique Boulet’s administration. The location was never set in stone despite a September 2023 announcement.

“The direction is that we move forward with UL,” Berthelot said.

“As long as there’s not a reason not to, then we would not pursue any other location. If we have to pursue another location, based on negotiations not moving forward, then we would.”

Whether or not the facility sparks growth in that area is still to be determined, officials said.

The convention center, built in 2002, was supposed to attract more hotels to the area but that never happened, board members noted.

Berthelot noted the sports complex is something different.

“It will lead to growth,” he said.

“This indoor sports complex has the ability to fast track that just by the sheer number of people that will be utilizing it on a weekly basis.”

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Man convicted in overdose death 7-year-old child died from fentanyl in 2023

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

A Carencro man was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his 7-year-old stepdaughter who allegedly died from an overdose of fentanyl while in his care.

Daniel James Boudreaux Jr., 51, was convicted by a Lafayette Parish jury on July 14 on charges of sec-

ond-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, Assistant District Attorney Chase Edwards said Wednesday.

Boudreaux’s attorney, Harold Register III, on Wednesday filed a motion for a new trial and a motion for post-verdict judgement of acquittal, court records show.

He was not immediately available

for comment and the documents were not yet available online.

On Jan. 10, 2023, emergency response and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office were called to a residence in the 400 block of Rue De Etoiles in Carencro about reports of an unresponsive child. McKenna Poirier, 7, was taken to a local emergency center and pronounced dead, court records show.

Police records used to obtain a search warrant indicate she had blood on her legs, vomit and a bloody mouth but no signs of physical trauma.

The autopsy report concluded the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity. Tests showed the girl had 17.2 nanograms (billionths of a gram) per milliliter in her system, Edwards said. It takes only 3 nanograms to kill a grown man, he said.

The trial took six days, Edwards said. It took the jury 90 minutes to

hand down the guilty verdicts.

This is the second murder conviction in 15th Judicial Court in Lafayette for someone who allegedly provided fentanyl that caused an overdose death, District Attorney Don Landry said on Wednesday. This is the fourth known murder conviction of its kind in Louisiana, he said.

“The mother testified, and that was very powerful,” Edwards said.

The girl’s mother wasn’t charged,

ä See CONVICTED, page 4B

PBS, NPR stations will have to take ‘hard looks’ at budgets Defunding plan advances in Congress

BY ASHLEY WHITE, MARK BALLARD, KEVIN FREKING and MARY CLARE JALONICK Staff writers and Associated Press

PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy

Vibrant colors and design will greet the first students of the new Helix AI and Medical Academy charter school in Opelousas on Monday.

AI IN FOCUS

Charter school to open this fall emphasizing technology and preparing students for the future Tracey Antee, left, regional development director of Helix, and Preston Castille lead a tour of the new Helix AI and Medical Academy charter school in Opelousas on Monday.

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Staff writer

When Preston Castille left his hometown of Opelousas after graduating as valedictorian from Plaisance High School, he told himself that one day he would come back to help the community that nurtured and raised him.

He went on to be a lawyer, a law professor, a judge and a member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He later became the president and CEO of Helix Community Schools, a network of six charter schools in the state.

That is when a tax on the ballot in St. Landry Parish aimed at lifting teacher pay and building new schools failed twice, leaving School Board members there with a conundrum they were unsure how to solve at the time.

People then reached out to Castille, telling him it was time to find a way to give back to the parish. He approached the school district and pitched the idea of a school that would focus on this

Now, Castille stands in the hallways quickly evolving technology, artificial of the Helix AI and Medical Academy intelligence.

“So we, as Helix, got together with just south of Opelousas with classes the district and joined forces ... and to expected to start in August.

The 40,000-square-foot school, do what we’ve now done and build a new school, which hasn’t happened in ä See AI, page 4B decades,” Castille said.

WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting, moving forward on one of the president’s top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators.

The legislation, which moved to the House on Thursday, would have a tiny impact on the nation’s rising debt but could have major ramifications for targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to U.S. food aid programs abroad.

The House is expected to approve the “rescission” package that the White House described as a test case and said that if Congress went along, more would come.

The House’s approval would mark the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and even then the results were more mixed. Unlike other presidents, Trump is getting nearly all the cuts he requested.

Thursday morning, after the rescission package passed in the Senate, Lafayette’s public radio station KRVS played the nationally distributed World Cafe program. It carried a “gorgeous set” by Marcella Simien produced at KRVS’ performance studio as part of the Acadiana Music Showcase collaboration, said Cheryl Devall, the station’s general manager.

“It was a timely reminder of the way public radio — especially music-driven stations like this — offers the kind of cultural riches that seldom if ever get exposure on its commercial counterparts,” she said in an emailed statement.

KRVS has served Acadiana since 1963.

Funding cuts won’t change the way it elevates the region’s culture and connects with a loyal regional audience and a growing audience of listeners throughout and beyond the U.S., Devall said.

“Like the people who turned Louisiana from a mosquito-ridden wilderness into a hospitable haven, we’ll adapt and make the most of what we have,” she said.

ä See BUDGETS, page 4B

Some parts of Acadiana get up to 4 inches of rain More coming through Saturday

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

Some parts of Acadiana, mostly in St. Mary and St. Martin parishes, received over 4 inches of rain by early Thursday afternoon from a disorganized tropical system that moved ashore from the Gulf.

“Most of the highest rainfall has

been over the Atchafalaya Basin so far,” meteorologist Donald Jones, of the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, said at a 2 p.m. briefing Thursday.

Nine inches of rain was reported by 4 p.m. Thursday at Belle River in Assumption Parish on the eastern edge of the Atchafalaya Basin, according to RainDrop. The service reported 6.4 inches fell at nearby Pierre Part, 4.6 inches in

ä See RAIN, page 4B

A line of strong thunderstorms moves through the city at Cajun Field in Lafayette on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO

By BRAD KEMP

2B ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OPINION T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

People with STIs need treatment Lawmakers in Louisiana nearly passed a law that could have criminalized nearly every adult in the state simply for knowing their sexually transmitted infection status.

House Bill 76 would have turned everyday health S. Mandisa realities into felony that disMoore- offenses proportionately O’Neal target our commuGUEST nities, especially COLUMNIST Black women and survivors of sexual violence.

As Black women committed to genuine safety and security for our commuwe raised the Millicent nities, alarm, and people Foster listened. HB76 did GUEST not advance and the COLUMNIST immediate threat has been stopped.

In its place, the Legislature has approved a task force to study public health outcomes related to sexually transmitted infections.

This could be an opportunity to move toward evidence-based and community informed solutions, but only if those most impacted are truly heard.

HB76 would have let the state treat people as criminals just for living with an STI. Under the proposed law, someone who knows their status could have faced prison time and sex offender registration simply for having consensual sex. Even if they told their partner. Even if they used protection.

Even if they had an undetectable viral load. It would have invited the state to second-guess private moments and turn misunderstandings or disagreements into felony charges.

Sexually transmitted infections are common and treatable. Nearly 23,000 Louisianans are living with HIV. Roughly one in six adults nationwide has herpes. HPV is so common that most sexually active people will contract it at some point in their lives.

But structural barriers, including inequitable healthcare access, housing shortages, transportation issues and discrimination, make underserved Louisiana communi-

ties particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, especially Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ people, women and working class people.

Stigma, discrimination and criminalization already create powerful barriers to testing, care and treatment. Laws that criminalize STIs do more than discourage people from learning their status. They can push people out of jobs, housing and relationships, and increase their risk of experiencing violence.

By punishing those who know their STI status, it creates a powerful reason not to get tested at all.

It also fuels stigma that already pushes people away from the care and support they need. Doctors and even Louisiana’s own previous task force have warned that laws like this do not help.

The proposed law would also harm survivors of sexual assault who acquire an STI. Instead of support and healing, they’d be retraumatized by the very system that is supposed to protect them.

Supporters of the bill claimed it was meant to stop people who “intentionally spread” STIs. But this is a myth and it obscures the

truth: Disclosure is not always safe or easy, but instead is often a risk factor for increased violence and discrimination. Disclosure can carry real risks for women, queer and trans people and those living in poverty. People have faced charges even after disclosing, based on a partner’s word alone.

If we criminalize STIs, nearly every adult in Louisiana could face the threat of heightened policing, steep fines, lengthy imprisonment and even sex offender registration — simply for being aware of their health status.

Louisiana already has a harmful HIV criminalization law that is used unequally and unfairly.

Black Louisianans are about onethird of the population but nearly two-thirds of those targeted by the outdated law.

We need real solutions that genuinely protect our health and safety. That means investing in comprehensive health education, making STI testing more available and ensuring access to proven prevention and treatment options.

Survivors of sexual violence deserve trauma-informed services,

such as sustained counseling and support and medications that prevent HIV transmission. We must also address the social and economic inequities that increase violence and create a safer environment for disclosing one’s STI status.

These proven strategies would meaningfully address the issues of STIs and sexual violence, while avoiding criminalizing our communities, especially Black women and survivors of violence. We can reduce stigma instead of writing it into law.

As the new task force begins its work, lawmakers have another chance to get it right. This starts with listening to survivors, doctors, and community members.

Having a health condition should never be a crime. It’s time for Louisiana to lead with care.

S. Mandisa Moore-O’Neal is a New Orleans-based attorney and executive director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy.

Millicent Foster is a longtime HIV advocate and public speaker who has lived with HIV for 23 years.

Recent federal actions La.’s fundamental approach to education getting noticed have put offshore leasing back on track For generations, offshore energy in the We put more boots on deck. Any South Gulf of America has powered America’s Louisianan knows maintaining a boat economy and fueled thousands of careers costs money. Big steel ones cost even here in Louisiana. But in recent more and that means we are doing years, prior administrations business with lots of vendors not caused a cloud of uncertainty only in Louisiana but all over the which has hung over the industry. nation.

Federal delays, unpredictable The scale of impact is enorlease schedules and regulatory mous. National studies show the whiplash have taken a toll — not offshore oil and gas industry supCourt just on companies like mine, but ports nearly 400,000 U.S. jobs and Ramsey contributes over $30 billion to the on the workers, families and comGUEST economy annually. munities who depend on a steady COLUMNIST In Louisiana, those jobs aren’t offshore energy economy. just statistics — they’re neighbors, As a world leader, our nation friends and family members. cannot be run like this. Our econoA single oil and gas project in the Gulf my deserves and requires certainty with supports more than 200 different job its industries. The effort and capital that types, many of which pay nearly 30% is invested in this industry is massive so above the national average. One Deepwaseesaw policy decisions make us all losers. ter development alone can generate $295 That’s why two recent decisions by million in annual spending, $100 million in Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum direct wages and more than 1,400 direct deserve real credit: advancing Gulf of jobs each year over a 30-year project life.

America Lease Sale 262 and launching That kind of economic engine doesn’t run the process to develop a new five-year without a reliable federal leasing process.

Offshore Leasing Program.

We’ve also seen how the industry continTogether, they send a long-overdue ues to raise the bar. Offshore operations in message — one that offshore workers the Gulf of America are among the most across the Gulf Coast have been waiting tightly regulated in the world. Safety and to hear: The Gulf of America is back on environmental performance are central track! We have work-hardened, skilled to every operation and still continue to immariners that get the “work” done and prove. At Aries Marine, we take pride in they are ready for more. doing things the right way— because the Our company, headquartered in LafayGulf is home. It’s where we live, work and ette, has served the offshore industry for play and where we produce the most delimore than 40 years. Our U.S. built vescious seafood available.

Sec. Burgum’s decisions to advance sels transport workers, equipment and Lease Sale 262 and initiate a new leasing supplies to and from offshore platforms, facilitating successful shallow water and program are steps in the right direction. deepwater operations across the Gulf. We They show an understanding that offshore energy plays a vital role in America’s don’t drill wells — but we do help make energy security, economic strength and offshore development possible. lower-emissions future.

When lease sales stall or permitting We urge continued bipartisan support slows down, the impact hits our crews, for these efforts. When Washington delivour shipyards and the small businesses that keep us all moving. ers the stability our industry needs, LouiThat’s why stability matters. When the siana delivers results. Our state has the federal government offers predictable, people, the infrastructure and the knowregular lease sales — and lays out a clear how to lead the way — and with a stable long-term plan through a five-year leasoffshore policy, we’re ready to do just that. ing program — companies can invest with confidence. That investment ripples Court Ramsay is the president and throughout the Gulf Coast economy. We CEO of Aries Marine Corporation in hire more mariners. We buy more steel.

Lafayette.

Resilience runs deep in Louisiana’s in Monroe will be the first to pilot IB’s classrooms. The state is making waves na- early access program next month. The initiative aligns directly with Louisiana’s tionally — and from my office in Geneva, revised 2024 Public School Accountability Switzerland, internationally — for the imPlan, which emphasizes college and capressive strides in education it has made the last five years. reer readiness. It bridges global and state Louisiana now ranks first in the nation standards while honoring local priorities, for strong early literacy policy, and its helping educators deepen instruction and students achieved their highestkeep students engaged. ever placement on the National AsThe timing couldn’t be more fitsessment of Educational Progress ting for IB’s commitment to LouiNation’s Report Card, moving from siana. Earlier this week, more than 49th in 2019 to 32nd overall last 1,500 teachers and educators from year. the U.S., Canada and Latin America As director general of the Internagathered in New Orleans for the OlliIB Global Conference. The July tional Baccalaureate, which teaches Pekka 15 opening coincided with World 2 million students in 160 countries Heinonen Youth Skills Day — a reminder of — including at 10 schools in LouiGUEST how education prepares youth for siana — I believe that educational COLUMNIST tomorrow’s economy. In Louisiana, progress begins with a renewed that future lies in health, energy commitment to doing the basics exand tech — sectors demanding innovative, ceptionally well. skills-based learning.

That approach is bearing fruit in LouisiLouisiana’s classroom comeback embodana. It is the only state to exceed pre-COVID scores in 4th grade reading, and it ranks ies issues close to my heart: First, learnsecond in 4th grade math growth. ing is civic and personal. The state’s early Louisiana improved its scores by reading gains weren’t just policy — they doubling down on proven, foundational depended on training, community voice reforms: training all K-3 teachers in the and trust in teachers. “science of reading,” deploying intensive Second, we must unlearn systems tutoring and requiring literacy screensteeped in rigidity. For decades, highstakes testing and narrow “teach to the ers with parental notifications. These are test” mindsets undermined deep learning. long-term commitments to doing the baLouisiana’s pivot back to fundamentals — sics well. and now step forward with early access to “Slowness is a quality of the brave,” I advanced, college-focused IB programs write in my forthcoming book, “Learning — echoes a view I hold: Education must as if Life Depended on It.” Louisiana’s move beyond static curriculum to dynamlong-term investment in foundational literacy shows the courage to stay the ic learning that keeps pace with today’s course. But lasting progress depends on fast-moving world. turning strong beginnings into shared sucAs a Finnish educator and lifelong learner, I believe every region has unique cess for all students, everywhere in the strengths. Louisiana’s cultural tapestry — state.

Creole and Cajun voices, French language That’s why Louisiana was the perfect tradition, its jazz musicians’ collaborastate to carry out our first-in-the-world pilot program for early access to the IB tive creations — is fertile ground for IB’s curriculum. For the first time ever, select globally-minded approach. The Louisiana public high schools in Louisiana can begin pilot means many more students may soon teaching IB Diploma Program and Career- join the IB family here, preparing them to related Program courses before completthrive on a globally competitive stage.

As 1,500 educators met in New Orleans, ing the IB’s typical two-year authorization we all celebrated the state’s remarkable process. This expands immediate access and meaningful reading and math gains to high-quality, future-ready education.

— and learned from one another to help At its core, IB equips students not just students everywhere soar. with academic knowledge, but with the In Louisiana’s classrooms, that journey is curiosity, resilience and global perspecwell underway. tive needed to navigate today’s complex world. It emphasizes inquiry, critical thinking and personal growth.

Olli-Pekka Heinonen is the director Students at St. Frederick High School general of International Baccalaureate.

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COMMENTARY

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

President Donald Trump pounds a gavel presented to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, after he signed his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House on July 4.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL After the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans and Democrats honed their messages to voters about what it means for them.While some elements of the bill may be welcome, such as tax cuts, polls are showing that many Americans are worried about cuts to popular programs like Medicaid. How the public views the legislation could determine which party makes gains in the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.What should the parties be telling the public about the law? Here are two perspectives:

Selling how the law benefits Americans It’s one thing to pass a major piece of legislation and have it signed by the president; it’s quite another to get the public to swallow it as something that benefits most of the country.

House and Senate Democrats, who stood in unison against President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” — even trying to change the name of it to spite Republicans — now think they have a strategy to misrepresent it to the public.

Polls show a majority don’t like the bill.

The Wall Street JourCal cites a poll by QuinThomas nal nipiac University and Fox News that shows opposition to the new law outweighs support by 20%.

Probably a major reason for its unpopularity is the way the media frames anything that includes cuts, even when those cuts make sense and separately might poll well. These include forcing able-bodied people who receive Medicaid to look for work, cutting taxes on Social Security for everyone but the hated “rich,” and maintaining the Trump tax cuts, even though they won’t be felt if they continue as they are.

The law adds to the already unsustainable $37 trillion national debt. According to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the law “adds $4.1 trillion to the debt through 2034” and adds “5.5 trillion if made permanent.”

Republicans are counting on economic growth and tariffs to produce enough revenue to reduce the debt. It is like giving Dracula more blood, hoping he will go on the wagon.

The Wall Street Journal story notes that both parties plan to spend mil-

lions of dollars “to shape” voter impressions. It’s not likely that those who voted for or against the measure have read it. Recall then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said about the Obamacare bill, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.”

At 940 pages, the big, beautiful bill will be a hard sell. Democrats may have a slight advantage because it’s currently causing people to fear their benefits might end. Fear works for them with low-information voters, so why shouldn’t they try it again?

Where it didn’t work was with the 1996 Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich success at welfare reform initiative, deliciously known as “The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act.” The Left claimed people would starve, lose their homes and other “the sky is falling” prophecies. It didn’t happen. Able-bodied people mostly found jobs when they realized the gravy train wasn’t stopping at their mailbox anymore. The same will likely happen when it comes to the necessary and long overdue reform of Medicaid and other outmoded and bloated social spending.

If Republicans can sell the law to the public better than Democrats can lie about it, they could maintain and possibly expand their majorities in Congress. If that happens they must use that mandate to seriously reduce the debt. No nation in history has been able to sustain a $37 trillion debt.

Are we so arrogant that we believe we can avoid history and solid economic policy? If we are, no manner of clever accounting tricks, polling, or sleight of hand will be able to deliver us from history’s judgment.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.

Now, the battle lines have been drawn President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is already the subject of campaign attack ads launched by both parties. One Republican group is targeting vulnerable House Democrats like Rep. Jared Golden of Maine with the charge of “voting against tax cuts.”

A Democratic operation is going after swing-district Republicans like Rep. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania with a million-dollar ad buy featuring a constituent who complains that Bresnahan broke his Steve to her to protect Roberts promise Medicaid.

“Afterwards, when the votes were done, when I found out how he voted, I was very upset to hear that Congressman Bresnahan voted for the largest cut to Medicaid in history,” the constituent says.

The 2026 midterm election is well underway, and the stakes are considerable.

Republicans cling to a three-seat margin in the House, and a Democratic victory would upset Trump’s legislative ambitions during his final two years in office.

Both parties think they can use the Big Beautiful Bill to sway voters. Both can’t be right.

“Every Democrat (in the) House and Senate voted no,” argued Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader. “The American people are going to see great benefits from this bill, and they’re going to know which party was fighting for them.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland retorted that the Republican bill has “written the script” for Democratic campaign messages. “I’m certainly going to be talking about it all of the time,” he told USA Today. “I mean, nothing could better capture the way that the Republican party just serves Donald Trump and our

would-be monarchs and oligarchs.”

Polls show that Democrats start with an advantage. A mid-June Fox News poll found that 59% of registered voters opposed the bill, while 38% favored it.

But those are tentative numbers; much depends on how the bill is described and defined over the next 16 months, and Republicans have strong themes to promote.

Tax cuts are always winners, and the bill extends massive reductions initially adopted during Trump’s first term. Plus, it adds some new benefits — reduced taxes on tips and overtime as well as extended credits for some seniors and parents.

Shrewdly, the bill postpones many of its unpopular budget cuts until after the midterm elections, and its most damaging long-term effect — a $4 trillion increase in the national debt — remains an intangible abstraction that seldom impacts voters directly.

Still, Democrats benefit from some structural advantages, starting with the fact that the opposition almost always gains House seats in midterm balloting.

In addition, no president is able to keep all of his promises, so a certain amount of disenchantment is inevitable.

As the Democratic ads in Pennsylvania emphasize, Trump and his allies vowed — explicitly and often — to protect Medicaid funding, and they failed to do so.

The battle lines have been drawn. The attack ads have already been written.

Who benefits from the Big Beautiful Bill? And who suffers? Does it advance growth or aggravate debt? Reward work or punish misfortune? How parties frame these questions — and how voters answer them — will influence American politics for years to come.

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@ gmail.com.

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AI

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gence really is a powerful tool,” Castille said. “Because it’s such a powerful tool, how do we get kids to learn about the concept, become inspired about the concepts and start to develop the building blocks that allow them to use it to create, to invent new ideas? What you’re seeing now is the tip of the iceberg.”

The school will also adapt over time to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology. It is also looking to partner with nearby hospitals, such as Opelousas General Hospital, and clinics to provide students with hands-on learning and

to meet professionals in a desired career field.

AI, or generative AI, was in its early stages when Castille approached the school board around 2022 about his idea. Castille said that the board considered the concept “novel,” but it wasn’t until applications like ChatGPT went online that the district began to understand the power of AI. The technology isn’t without its critics and controversy. Many teachers believe that students are potentially using it to cheat on assignments.

Others suggest that the AI can become a crutch for

students.

Castille, who acknowledged the cons of AI, sees it differently.

“It’s kind of like the calculator.” Castille said.

“Once upon a time, that same argument was we don’t want kids using calculators because they will use it as a crutch. Now it’s understood that that’s just a tool.”

AI, he noted, is here and is here to stay. Students should learn how to use technology and understand its limitations.

Which is exactly what Castille sought to prove to his law students when he required them to use AI

to write a 35-page paper.

The AI was able to generate basic knowledge, and students found that it ultimately served as a jumping-off point for the rest of the assignment.

The school is expected to break ground on its middle school section by the end of this year, Castille said, followed eventually by a high school section. He hopes Helix will be able to entice future investing in Opelousas and its flourishing Interstate 49 corridor.

fall lingers through Saturday, Jones said.

Continued from page 1B The heavy rainfall arrived in Lafayette around 4 p.m. Thursday as the Morgan City and 4 inches s t o r m s y s t e m m o v e d from east to west across in Charenton.

Another couple of inch- the state.

Most of Acadiana can es is possible as the rain-

expect at least 2 to 4 inches of rain through Saturday, Jones said, but it’s possible isolated areas can receive 10 inches or more through late Saturday, when the rain is expected to end.

The risk of flooding is

slightly lower on Friday, he said, and even lower on Saturday.

The long-range forecast isn’t great news. Jones said another low pressure system is expected to move across the Florida peninsula in the middle

of next week, much like this one did, then enter the Gulf.

“There may well be another one next week,” he said.

hood,” which teaches practical skills like being polite to adults and trying new foods to children between 2 and 5 years old.

Louisiana has 318 radio stations, of which 10 get money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and 48 television stations, eight of which get federal money, U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said earlier this week.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting gives money to PBS, which gives that money to local stations.

Louisiana receives about $2.5 million. The stations then pay PBS dues to allow access to its programming.

Louisiana pays about $2.4 million in dues. That money is then given by PBS as grants to the producers, who are also raising money from other sources to put together the individual programs.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting, LPB, is a state agency that receives most of its funding from the state gen-

eral fund and from corporate and viewer donations.

LPB is budgeted to receive $13.2 million from the state in the fiscal year that began this month.

As the only statewide network, LPB broadcasts inaugurations, some Legislature events, gubernatorial news conferences, when hurricanes threaten, and other events. LPB shares its broadcasts with private stations.

LPB also provides educational programming that augments kindergarten through 12th grade teaching in schools and programming that homebound and homeless children can use to continue their education.

The state’s two largest radio stations affiliated with NPR are WWNO in New Orleans, which receives about $220,000 a year in federal funds, and WRKF in Baton Rouge, which receives about $150,000, said Paul Maassen, general manager of WWNO and WRKF.

Continued from page 1B which can house upward of 600 students, will begin teaching students from kindergarten to fifth grade how to use and prepare for AI in future job markets, Castille said.

The school has a focus on the medical applications of AI, but students will also use technology to assist with coding and other aspects of a regular school curriculum.

“Children now are starting to explore and understand that artificial intelli-

RAIN

BUDGETS

Continued from page 1B Public radio station KEDM, which serves the Monroe area, said in a Facebook post the cuts “would have devastating effects on KEDM’s ability to serve you.”

About 22% of the station’s budgeted revenue, or about $145,000, comes from federal funding. If its funding is cut, the station would immediately seek to raise the lost funds from donors and business sponsors, it said on its website.

But, “the loss of federal funding would very likely result in immediate and significant impacts on our ability to provide essential services, including the production of local and regional news and music programming, our ability to purchase national programming, and maintain broadcast infrastructure,” it said.

The White House says — and Republicans have long argued — the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.

The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was established in 1967 to provide outlets for hard-to-reach communities and programming that the business plans of advertiser-funded private television and radio stations could not justify.

Public Broadcasting Service is responsible for Ken Burns documentaries, Julia Child’s cooking shows, the NOVA science series, and all manner of children’s educational programming, such as “Daniel Tiger’s Neighbor-

Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

For both stations, the money accounts for about 8% of the stations’ budgets. The rest comes from individual donations, local business underwriters, and various grants from public and philanthropic sources, he said Tuesday.

In addition, the Corporation of Public Broadcasting pays for shared services, such as rights to air music and the satellite system that delivers national programming. Those expenses will now the borne by individual stations, which could add another $50,000 each station will have to start paying.

“We’re going to really have to take some hard looks at the programming budget.

That includes national programming. But its also going to include local programming too. Local programs are expensive to produce,” Maassen said.

Still, Maassen said WWNO and WRKF, which operate in the state’s largest markets, are in good position relative

CONVICTED

Continued from page 1B he said, because she had checked herself into a secure rehab facility. She testified without any offer of a plea deal that she was an addict and people were in and out of the home dealing drugs, he said.

Law enforcement and emergency medical personnel were familiar with the address because of numerous calls regarding drug deals and health concerns, including an attempted suicide, court records show.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before District Judge Valerie Gotch Garrett.

Boudreaux faces a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the second-degree murder conviction, up to 40 years for the second-degree cruelty to a juvenile conviction and five to 40 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

to other stations, particularly in rural areas where federal money accounts for up to 40% of their budgets. In many cases, not just in Louisiana but across the nation, the smaller stations are the only available free broadcasts of not just local affairs but also disaster warnings.

“I hope the legislators fully understand the ramifications of their votes,” Maassen said.

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SA I N T S P R E V I E W SAFE TIES

Reid, Mathieu could lift defense

S E C M E D I A DAYS D AY 4

Reunion might be boost the Saints need

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid have intertwined a lot throughout their careers. At first, it was in Houston, where Mathieu served as a mentor for Reid when the latter entered the NFL in 2018. Then, years later, it was Reid who replaced Mathieu in Kansas City after the Chiefs decided to not re-sign the veteran.

Now, this season, the pair reunited again: The Saints signed Reid to a splashy threeyear, $30.5 million contract.

“We both get to come in and add our own flavors to the defense,” Reid said.

Reid’s addition was the Saints’ most significant free-agent move this offseason. By luring the two-time Super Bowl champion away from the Chiefs, the Saints hope Reid provides an instant spark to their secondary.

New Orleans opted for a marquee signing rather than bring back starter Will Harris, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Washington Commanders.

How much of an impact will Reid provide?

If his history is any past indication, the 28-year-old should be a thudding presence in the box and help shore up a porous run defense. His versatility should also pair well with Mathieu, who can also mix and match his roles on the backend.

Let’s take a closer look at the safety position.

Best case In the NFL, explosive plays are defined as passes that gain at least 16 yards and runs that go for at least 12 yards. Last season, the

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

SAFETY DEPTH CHART PLAYER Justin Reid Tyrann Mathieu Jordan Howden Jonas Sanker J.T. Gray Terrell Burgess Elliot Davison

HT. 6-1 5-9 6-0 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-0

WT. 207 190 209 210 202 202 190

EXP. 8 13 3 R 8 5 R

LSU wide receiver Barion Brown runs the ball during a drill at spring practice on April 12 at Tiger Stadium. STAFF FILE PHOTO

By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Wide receiver Brown’s speed could make a difference for LSU

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

ATLANTA — The first time Barion Brown returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Kentucky defensive back Jordan Lovett gave him a block. Three years later, the thought of Brown sprinting past him and everyone else on the field hasn’t left his mind.

“He’s a blur, dude,” Lovett said. “He’s one place, then he’s not there. He sees the hole, it’s over. That’s one person I can say, if he gets any open space, you ain’t catching him.”

Brown transferred to LSU after three seasons at Kentucky, and he could become one of the Tigers’ top wide receivers along with redshirt senior Chris Hilton, redshirt junior Aaron Anderson, Oklahoma transfer Nic Anderson and senior Zavion Thomas.

Lovett practiced against Brown for the past three years.

He often had to cover him, and he offered a description of Brown’s skill set.

“Speed. Speed. Speed. Speed. And he can stop on a dime,” Lovett said, snapping, “like that.”

The word speed came up regularly at SEC media days this week in reference to LSU’s wide receivers. LSU linebacker Whit Weeks said four have run faster than 23 mph, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier thinks all of them run the 40-yard dash in at least 4.4 seconds.

“In that unit,” Nussmeier said, “it’s all speed.”

LSU was intentional about adding speed to the position.

When Chris Hilton got hurt last season, it didn’t have someone else who was ready to contribute and could stretch the field vertically. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan joked at LSU’s coaches clinic that he did what any good coach

ä See LSU, page 3C

Tyrann Mathieu STAFF FILE PHOTO

By SOPHIA GERMER

SSEC scheduling saga may soon come to an end ATLANTA — Missouri coach that for five years.”

E Drinkwitz marched to the Eli SEC scheduling has become podium at SEC media days p what we call in the news biz an on Thursday morning and o “evergreen” story, one that has quickly announced (faceq a long shelf life or can be retiously) that he had nothing to visited over and over again. say about the Epstein files, raIt was the topic du jour in Scott diation belts or whether Lee Rabalais most of the media sessions here. The same at the SEC Harvey Oswald acted alone. spring meeting in May. The He did have something pithy to say about SEC football sched- same at those two events last year and the year before that and the uling, or rather the lack thereof. year …

“Eight- or nine-game schedule,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey Drinkwitz said. “We’ve been debating

was asked about a permanent scheduling format when he spoke here Monday. He said there will be a format soon.

It’s starting to sound like a campaign promise.

On the other hand, perhaps there is starting to be a little clarity and movement on the subject. A break in the logjam. Sankey did a subsequent interview with ESPN’s Heather Dinich here Wednesday, in which

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

Western Michigan’s Shipman named UL softball’s new hitting coach

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

UL’s search for a new hitting coach is over.

Coach Alyson Habetz landed on the father of a former player in Western Michigan assistant coach Bill Shipman.

Shipman spent the last two seasons as the hitting coach at Western Michigan after a successful stint as a select softball coach.

Shipman’s teams won the Amateur Softball Association champion, finished third in the ASA Gold bracket and third in the premier girls fastpitch finals.

In his short time with Western Michigan,

he did produce two first-team All-MAC performers in Payton Kelly (.351) and Haley Boxwell (.331).

Shipman takes over a UL offense that struggled in the power game with only 22 home runs last season. Western Michigan had 41 as a team.

Much like former UL coach Gerry Glasco, Shipman got into the softball world coaching his daughters before becoming a college coach.

Maddi played at Tennessee from 2011-14, earning SEC Player of the Year honors in leading the Vols to a pair of College World Series appearances.

She is currently a broadcaster for softball and baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ally began her career at Tennessee from 2019-21, before finishing it in 2023 at Alabama, catching for All-American pitcher Montana Fouts.

Shipman replaces Shellie Landry as the program’s hitting coach, but Habetz’s work offseason work isn’t done. She still must find a new pitching coach to replace Shelbi Sunseri.

So far, the offseason has also added pitcher Julianne Tipton from Arizona State, infielder Kennedy Marceaux from Alabama and infielder Madyson Manning from LSU.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL coach Alyson Habetz has found the program’s next hitting coach in Western Michigan assistant coach Bill Shipman.

2C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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British Open has 5-way tie for lead

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The British Open had a little bit of everything Thursday, from sunshine to rain, a breeze to strong gusts.

And no surprise, it had Scottie Scheffler right in the mix.

Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick handled the notorious “Calamity Corner” par-3 16th by chipping in for birdie.

Harris English, whose longtime caddie couldn’t get a travel visa for the UK because of prison time served 20 years ago, put his shortgame coach on the bag and made seven birdies.

They were among five players tied for the lead at 4-under 67, the largest logjam after 18 holes of the British Open since there was a six-way tie in 1938.

One shot behind was Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who has not finished out of the top 10 in the last four months, a stretch that includes another major among three wins.

He was satisfied with the day’s work of 68, even while hitting only three of 14 fairways.

Rory McIlroy made bogey on the opening hole before a massive gallery — that was still three shots better than his start in 2019 — and overcame three bogeys in a fourhole stretch with a key birdie on No. 17 that allowed him to break par at 70.

McIlroy only hit two fairways.

He was satisfied with the day’s work of 68, even while hitting only three of 14 fairways.

“It was a tough enough day, especially either chopping out of the rough or out of the fairway bunkers most of the time,” McIlroy said. “So to shoot under par was a good effort.”

It’s not that golf’s best were necessary wild off the tee.

There was that small matter of weather, often the greatest defense of links golf, which brought the occasional rain, the constant wind and rounds that nearly last six hours.

That’s why Scheffler seemed perplexed about so much attention on his accuracy off the tee.

“You’re the second guy that’s mentioned that to me,” Scheffler said. “I actually thought I drove it pretty good. I don’t know what you guys are seeing. When it’s raining sideways, believe it or not (it’s) not that easy to get the ball in the fairway.

“Really only had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on the second hole,” he said. “But outside that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple of rounds.”

There also was his 4-iron to 3 feet on the 16th for birdie, the

AP sportswriter

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The oldest major championship has taken a step into the modern world by using a technological feature that British Open organizers hope will bring to life one of the most storied walks in golf.

Spidercam — that’s a camera, not a superhero — was used in golf for the first time at Royal Portrush on Thursday. It’s a camera suspended above the 18th green using four pylons about 25 meters high, giving TV viewers unique views of the closing hole and its undulations.

Held in a resting position high to the back of the green for approach shots, Spidercam swoops down as the players make their walk to the green and hovers just above them as they make their putts.

“It’s pretty cool the way it can

Bryan Braman, a key special teams player for the Philadelphia Eagles’ first Super Bowl championship team, has died from a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 38.

Braman was diagnosed earlier this year and had multiple surgeries in recent months in an attempt to treat the illness. He died Thursday morning, according to the team.

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Texans in 2011, Braman played seven seasons in the NFL. He spent his first three in Houston and last four in Philadelphia. The Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl in Braman’s final game on Feb. 4, 2018. Braman had 56 tackles, 11/ 2 sacks and two fumble recoveries in 97 career games.

Arsenal pays fee to sign Smith from Liverpool

Olivia Smith became the most expensive player in women’s soccer history Thursday when she joined Arsenal from Liverpool for a world record transfer fee of 1 million pounds ($1.34 million).

The new benchmark in women’s soccer surpasses the 900,000 pounds ($1.1 million) Chelsea paid for Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave in January.

The 20-year-old Canada forward signed a four-year deal, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the full details of the transfer have not been made public.

Smith’s deal highlights the rapid increase in spending in women’s soccer with transfer records regularly broken in recent years.

Diamondbacks star’s home burglarized during All-Stars

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PETER MORRISON

Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays his tee shot on the 6th tee during the British Open at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Thursday. Scheffler ended the day with a 68. start of birdie-birdie-par finish.

But no one could go extremely low.

Jacob Skov Olesen, the British Amateur champion last year from Denmark, was the first player to get to 5 under until a bogey at the last. He was joined at 67 by Li Haotong of China, and then Fitzpatrick joined the group with his marvelous chip-in. Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the only player from the afternoon wave to join them at 67.

Fitzpatrick reached a low point in his game at The Players Championship and appears to be back on track, particularly with what he called a well-rounded game in tough conditions on these links.

He is coming off a tie for fourth last week in the Scottish Open.

The chip-in was his highlight, from well below the green to the right, into the cup on the fly.

“A bit of luck, obviously,” Fitzpatrick said. “Sometimes you need that. It just came out a little bit harder than I anticipated and on the perfect line.”

Li might have had the most impressive round, keeping bogeys off his card, by holing a 10-foot par putt on the final hole.

Another bogey-free round belonged to 44-year-old Justin Rose, in the group at 69 that included 52-year-old Lee Westwood, former Open champion Brian Harman and Lucas Glover, who was tied for the lead until a pair of bogeys early on the back nine.

English and Olesen were the only players to reach 5 under at any point.

Harris walked along with Ramon Bescansa, a former player, occasional caddie and mostly known for teaching putt and chipping.

Eric Larson, who has caddied for English the last eight years, was denied a new travel visa required for the UK. Among the red flags is anyone serving more than 12 months in prison. Larson served 10 years for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a case of knowing friends in the Midwest who wanted it and people in south Florida who had it.

Bescansa caddies for Abraham Ancer on LIV Golf, who didn’t qualify for the Open. English is in a crucial stretch of the season as he tries to make the Ryder Cup team. The lanky Georgian isn’t bothered by much, and he’s han-

dled the disruption with ease.

The golf has been pretty steady, too.

For everyone, the hardest part was staying dressed for the occasion. There were sweaters and then rain suits, and some finished their round in short-sleeved shirts.

This is what is meant by “mixed” conditions in the forecast.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele had a mixture of birdies and bogeys that added to an even-par 71. Shane Lowry, the last Open champion at Royal Portrush in 2019, had the nerves of someone hitting the opening tee shot.

He handled that beautifully, along with most other shots in the worst of the weather in his round of 70.

And this might just be the start.

“We’re going to get challenging conditions over the next few days,” Lowry said.

“Today, for example, the 11th hole was like the worst hole to get the weather we got in. ... I think there’s going to be certain times in the tournament where that’s going to happen, and you just need to kind of put your head down and battle through it and see where it leaves you.”

Spidercam tech modernizes oldest major

BY STEVE DOUGLAS

Former Eagles special teams Braman dies at 38

move and do all those swings,” said Northern Irish golfer Tom McKibbin, who went out at 6:35 a.m. local time in the first group of the day with Nicolai Hojgaard and Padraig Harrington.

They were the first players to experience in competition the technology which reportedly cost the R&A 300,000 pounds ($400,000) to install.

“It was a little bit different,” McKibbin said. “I’d never seen it before.”

That’s because the R&A is using the technology before any of the professional tours in golf.

Spidercam has, though, operated widely in TV coverage of other major sports including soccer, rugby and cricket — and has occasionally gotten in the way.

In 2017, India star MS Dhoni hit a shot in a cricket match against England that smashed into the hovering camera and broke it.

In 2022, South Africa cricketer

Anrich Nortje was knocked to the ground when he collided with a low-swinging Spidercam as he walked to his place in the field in a test against Australia. The camera operator responsible was stood down for the remainder of the match.

“I didn’t know what hit me,” Nortje said at the time. “I don’t think it should be traveling at head height.”

At Royal Portrush, Spidercam will complement existing technology such as a plane camera, aerial drones and bunker cameras to enhance TV coverage.

According to the Guardian newspaper, players were briefed last week about plans to use Spidercam at Royal Portrush and there were no complaints despite the potential for getting distracted while preparing to make a shot.

As Hojgaard and Harrington walked alongside each other

to the 18th green, Spidercam swung down and over them. As Harrington made his two putts, the camera almost circled him.

Hojgaard said he didn’t notice Spidercam.

With Royal Portrush not having a clubhouse on the 18th green, there has been space to install the technology. Other venues on the Open rotation won’t have that luxury, notably Royal Lytham St. Anne’s, Royal Troon and Hoylake.

Next year’s Open is at Royal Birkdale, which has its clubhouse near the 18th green but should still have room for the Spidercam technology.

“We ... believe that Spidercam will bring millions of fans a new perspective of the action from Royal Portrush,” said Neil Armit, chief commercial officer at the R&A, “with incredible detail and accessibility wherever they are in the world.”

A home belonging to Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte was burglarized during the Major League Baseball All-Star break, according to police.

Scottsdale, Arizona, police confirmed that the department is investigating a “high-dollar residential burglary” that is believed to have happened on Tuesday night, which is when Marte was playing for the National League in its AllStar game win in Atlanta.

Numerous personal items and jewelry were stolen. No one was at home at the time of the crime.

Police say the investigation is ongoing. The FBI has warned sports leagues about crime organizations targeting professional athletes.

The NFL and NBA have issued security alerts to athletes.

Marathon record-holder suspended for doping test

Women’s marathon world recordholder Ruth Chepngetich was provisionally suspended for a positive doping test on Thursday.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said Chepngetich tested positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent in March and “opted for a voluntary provisional suspension,” during the investigation.

The Kenyan runner set the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon last October in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds.

She also won the marathon at the 2019 world championships in Qatar. The AIU gave no timetable for a disciplinary case. The substance Chepngetich tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) which can be used to disguise the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

ATP Finals in Turin remains through ’26; future uncertain The ATP Finals will remain in Turin at least through 2026, the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation announced Thursday — although political issues could affect whether the tournament stays in Italy beyond then.

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi announced in November that the contract for the year-ending tournament with the Italian federation was extended for another five years through 2030 — but without specifying whether the event would remain in Turin or move to Milan and a new arena being built for ice hockey at the 2026 MilanCortina Olympics.

Binaghi also said that a new government decree which could diminish the federation’s control over organizing the tournament threatens to force the ATP to go elsewhere.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● 3C

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Clark pulls out of All-Star weekend because of groin injury

BY DOUG FEINBERG

ä WNBA All-Star Game 7:30 P.M. SATURDAy, ABC

INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark is out of AllStar weekend.

The Indiana Fever guard injured her right groin on Tuesday night in the final minute of the team’s win over the Connecticut Sun. She said Thursday in a message posted on X that she had to rest her body.

“I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game,” Clark said in the message posted by the Fever. “I have to rest my body. I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action and I’m looking forward to helping (Liberty coach Sandy Brondello) coach our team to a win.”

Clark was supposed to compete in a loaded

3-point contest Friday night and is captain of one of the All-Star teams. The second-year guard was the leading vote getter from the fans and has been a huge reason the league has had a boon in attendance and ratings over the last two seasons.

The WNBA announced that Brittney Sykes of Washington will replace Clark in the All-Star Game. They haven’t announced a replacement for her in the 3-point contest.

Clark sat out the Fever’s 98-77 loss against New York.

Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark had imaging done Wednesday and deferred to the team’s training staff for more details except to say that she considered it good news.

AP basketball writer

basket. As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench. During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.

Clark had been durable throughout college and her first season in the WNBA, never missing a game. Now she’s had four different muscle injuries so far this year.

She missed the preseason opener with AP PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II tightness in her quad but played the next Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark watches as day in an exhibition game at her alma maplayers warm up before a game against the ter, Iowa. She suffered a quad strain against New york Liberty on Wednesday in New york. New York on May 24 that kept her out for five games. Clark returned June 14 and played in Clark got hurt with under a minute left. five games before suffering another injury She walked downcourt holding her right to her left groin that kept her out for four groin after assisting on the Fever’s final contests and the Commissioner’s Cup final.

LSU

SAINTS

would do next: recruit another one.

Brown, a former top 100 recruit, recorded 50 catches for 628 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman while playing with quarterback Will Levis. His production declined, but the dip coincided with a drop in the quality of Kentucky’s quarterback play. Brown recorded a combined 72 catches for 900 yards and seven touchdowns over the past two years. Kentucky also tried to get him the ball out of the backfield.

Kentucky senior tight end Josh Kattus has seen Brown’s career up close. They signed with Kentucky in the 2022 class, and they both had key roles the past three seasons.

He watched Brown’s five kickoff returns for touchdowns, an SEC record. With Brown’s speed, Kattus was asked, what’s it like when he finds open space?

“You kind of already know what’s going to happen,” Kattus said. “You just start pointing at the end zone and being like, ‘That’s where he’s going.’ No one can catch that guy.”

Brown might not even be the fastest player at the position. Hilton claimed he owns the title with a top speed recorded at 23.7 mph, and redshirt freshman Jelani Watkins’ personal best in the 100-meter is 10.01 seconds, the sixth-best time in LSU track history.

Hilton thought he would finally break out last season after a career filled with injuries, only to miss the first seven games with an ankle injury. Unable to run routes for a long time, he struggled when he returned. At one point, Hilton got chewed out by coach Brian Kelly for continually jumping instead of running through the catch.

Nussmeier thought Hilton showed “who he really is as a player” once he regained his confidence. Hilton finished the season with six catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games.

“I think if you watch the last three games of the season, you can see how much of a different team we were and would have been if we would’ve had a healthy Chris Hilton,” Nussmeier said. “His ability to take the top off, his ability to run a backside dig and go 60 yards to the house because of his speed,

Saints’ defense ranked very poorly in that category, allowing 131 such plays. That was the sixth-most across the league.

Reid’s addition may go a long way toward fixing that problem.

The Saints’ breakdowns weren’t all on the back end, but they were a notable part of the issue. Think back to when Jordan Howden ran into Harris and Marshon Lattimore near the end of the Saints’ Week 3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on a 60-yard play that swung the game.

The steadiness from Reid and Mathieu should, in theory, cut down on some of the mental errors that plagued the Saints last season. Mathieu isn’t coming off his best season, but he can produce. He had three interceptions to go along with his two forced fumbles in 2024.

The wild card for this position is Sanker.

The Saints drafted the Virginia product in the third round for a reason, and he gives the Saints another big, rangy safety. If Mathieu’s play time is limited at all next season — his snap percentage of 86.2 last year was his lowest since 2016 — then perhaps Sanker will get a chance to show what he can do.

Either way, if Reid hits in the way that the Saints intend, then that should lift the overall makeup of the defense. It may also be beneficial for Reid, who has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team.

Reid has praised the way defensive coordinator Brandon Staley used All-Pro safety Derwin James when Staley coached the Prediction in 10 words or less Los Angeles Chargers. Reid won’t have the Reid makes first Pro Bowl of career same exact role, which Staley calls the star position, but he should still be put in spots Email Matthew Paras at to succeed. matt.paras@theadvocate.com

Continued from page 1C

Continued from page 1C

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C he expressed his support for a nine-game conference schedule that could take shape in time for the 2026 season. At the moment, there is no SEC schedule beyond this season.

Support by Sankey does not equal a demand or a mandate on the commissioner’s part, and as he was quick to point out he can make peace with the SEC continuing to operate under an eight-game schedule format as well. Ever more the pragmatist than the dictator, Sankey can see both sides of what has clearly been a thorny issue.

“I think we should be working towards that,” Sankey said to ESPN. “My life doesn’t end if we don’t. There’s this absolutist notion that he (Sankey) is going to dictate what’s going to happen. I think we should have an adult conversation. We should be able to make a decision.

“I think nine games would promote great interest through the year, but it would be hard to coach. I’ve had candid conversations with coaches. I’ve told them that.”

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward and coach Brian Kelly have been publicly in the nine-game camp for a long time. They welcome the competition and, frankly, welcome the need for one less nonconference game that is likely to be an unappealing rent-a-win against a mid-major to FCS level school.

But not everyone is in that camp, especially the schools that play annual rivalry games against Power Four conference opponents from outside the SEC. Those schools include Florida (Florida State), Georgia (Georgia Tech), Kentucky (Louisville) and South Carolina (Clemson).

This year the Gamecocks, who visit Tiger Stadium on Oct. 11, bookend their season with two Power Four foes: Virginia Tech in Atlanta on Aug. 31 and Clemson at home on Nov. 29.

“I’m never going to shy away from competition,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “But in my mind, we’re always playing (the equivalent of) nine conference games. If we go to nine, then we’re (in effect) playing 10 conference games.”

Ultimately, deals within and without the SEC will have to be struck in terms of con-

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU wide receiver Barion Brown dances to music between drills during a spring practice on March 22 at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.

is unbelievable.”

Nussmeier talked up the versatility around him. Brown and Hilton have top-end speed. Aaron Anderson came back after a breakout year, and Nic Anderson offers a big body on the outside. Thomas, tight end Bauer Sharp and tight end Trey’Dez Green will all get touches. LSU also has running backs who could be part of the passing game.

“We have so many different guys who can line up in so many different places and do so many special things with the ball in their hand,” Nussmeier said. “It’s a good feeling as a quarterback, and I guess you could say it makes my job a little easier. My responsibility is just to give them opportunities to make plays.”

Worst case One of the more interesting questions of training camp will be how the Saints intend to use Mathieu and Reid together. At their best, they both excel at making plays close to the line of scrimmage — and that’s something that Mathieu hasn’t been asked to do nearly as much since signing with New Orleans in 2022.

The media also didn’t see much of the pairing during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

Mathieu skipped the team’s voluntary workouts and when he returned for camp, his snaps appeared limited. Mathieu was often with the second unit, though the coaches did sprinkle in reps with Reid during those plays, likely to get a look at the pairing.

If that trend continues in camp, that could be a bad sign for Mathieu’s status.

It’d still be surprising to see the veteran cut before the season begins, but if his workload doesn’t increase, it’d be fair to wonder if this staff doesn’t see a significant role for him.

The Saints, though, wanted Mathieu back for 2025. The two sides reworked the safety’s contract again this offseason. Perhaps Mathieu’s limited workload in minicamp can simply be chalked up to not being as familiar with the playbook due to his earlier missed time. But his usage is worth keeping an eye on, anyway.

Elsewhere, the Saints need Reid to pan out. Though his salary in manageable — he’s the league’s 16th highest-paid safety, according to Over the Cap — the safety’s addition was the team’s one major move that didn’t involve re-signing their own.

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ference scheduling and the College Football Playoff.

While the SEC expanded to 16 teams last year by adding Texas and Oklahoma, there is support within college sports to grow the CFP from 12 teams where it was last year to 14 or more likely, 16.

The SEC wants a 5-11 format for a 16team playoff with automatic bids for the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large slots. Reportedly the Big Ten, the other superpower conference who with the SEC is coming to rule college athletics, won’t agree to 5-11 unless the SEC and ACC play nine conference games (the Big Ten and Big 12 already do so).

What will ultimately drive home an SEC scheduling agreement and a new CFP format? It’s a five-letter word starting with “M”: M-O-N-E-Y. Sankey said the next CFP TV agreement with ESPN says a format has to be determined by Nov. 30.

Finally, perhaps, by the end of this season we will know what the schedule format will look like going into the future.

It’s important to add that the SEC’s future doesn’t have to include one be-all, end-all scheduling format. Sankey said Monday that “look ins” could be included in the scheduling plan at prescribed points in the future where the scheduling format could be tweaked.

Personally, I’ve always believed nine games is the best for the SEC. It brings the league into line with the other Power Fours (I’m certain the ACC will go along, too), eliminates one unappealing nonconference game, almost certainly brings the SEC more TV revenue and paves the way for a format that allows everyone in the conference to play every other school within a four-year span. Hard as it may be to believe, but Georgia and Texas A&M have only played one regular-season game (2019) since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012.

It’s beyond time for the SEC and its fans to see white smoke on the conference scheduling issue. Finally, there may be a time when that will happen within a reasonable time frame.

Or, at least, reasonable compared to not having one at all.

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4C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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SCOREBOARD Odds

Pro basketball

Major League Baseball

WNBA glance

American League

FAVORITE at CLEVELAND at TAMPA BAY Detroit at SEATTLE

LINE -134 -124 -124 OFF

UNDERDOG Athletics Baltimore at TEXAS Houston

FAVORITE San Diego at N.Y METS at ARIZONA at LA DODGERS

LINE -154 -164 OFF OFF

UNDERDOG LINE at WASHINGTON +130 Cincinnati +138 St. Louis OFF Milwaukee OFF

FAVORITE at CHIC. CUBS at PITTSBURGH at PHILA. at TORONTO Kansas City at ATLANTA Minnesota

LINE -122 -164 -198 -136 -120 OFF -168

UNDERDOG Boston White Sox LA Angels San Francisco at MIAMI N.Y Yankees at COLORADO

National League

Interleague

LINE +114 +106 +106 OFF

LINE +104 +138 +166 +116 +102 OFF +142

Major League Baseball American League glance East Division Toronto New York Boston Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 55 53 53 50 43

L 41 43 45 47 52

Pct .573 .552 .541 .515 .453

GB — 2 3 5½ 11½

Detroit Minnesota Kansas City Cleveland Chicago

W 59 47 47 46 32

L 38 49 50 49 65

Pct .608 .490 .485 .484 .330

GB — 11½ 12 12 27

Houston Seattle Texas Los Angeles Athletics

W 56 51 48 47 41

L 40 45 49 49 57

Pct .583 .531 .495 .490 .418

GB — 5 8½ 9 16

Central Division

West Division

Wednesday’s games

No games scheduled

Friday’s games

Boston at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Philadelphia, 5:45 p.m.

San Francisco at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Athletics at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m.

Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 6:35 p.m.

Detroit at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Houston at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

National League glance Philadelphia New York Miami Atlanta Washington

W 55 55 44 42 38

L 41 42 51 53 58

Pct .573 .567 .463 .442 .396

GB — ½ 10½ 12½ 17

Chicago Milwaukee St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh

W 57 56 51 50 39

L 39 40 46 47 58

Pct .594 .583 .526 .515 .402

GB — 1 6½ 7½ 18½

Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco Arizona Colorado

W 58 52 52 47 22

L 39 44 45 50 74

Pct .598 .542 .536 .485 .229

GB — 5½ 6 11 35½

Central Division

West Division

Wednesday’s games

New York Atlanta Indiana Washington Chicago Connecticut

W 14 13 12 11 7 3

L 6 9 10 11 15 19

Pct GB .700 — .591 2 .545 3 .500 4 .318 8 .136 12

Minnesota Phoenix Seattle Las Vegas Golden State Los Angeles Dallas

W 20 15 14 10 10 8 6

L 4 7 9 11 12 14 16

Pct GB .833 — .682 4 .609 5½ .476 8½ .455 9 .364 11 .273 13

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Tuesday’s games

Indiana 85, Connecticut 77 Los Angeles 99, Washington 80

Wednesday’s games

Atlanta 86, Chicago 49 Minnesota 79, Phoenix 66 Seattle 67, Golden State 58 New York 98, Indiana 77 Las Vegas 90, Dallas 86

Thursday’s games

No games scheduled.

Friday’s games

No games scheduled.

Saturday’s game

All-Star Game Team Clark vs Team Collier, 8:30 p.m., Indianapolis

WNBA leaders Scoring

1. Napheesa Collier, MIN, 23.2 2. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas, 22.3 3. Kelsey Plum, LA, 20.1 4. Breanna Stewart, NY, 19.7 5. Kelsey Mitchell, IND., 19.1

Assists

1. Alyssa Thomas, PHX, 9.5 2. Caitlin Clark, IND, 8.8 3. Courtney Williams, MIN, 6.0 4. Natasha Cloud, NY, 5.9 5. Skylar Diggins, SEA, 5.8

3-Pointers made

Thursday’s games

No games scheduled

East Division

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No games scheduled

Thursday’s games

No games scheduled

Friday’s games

Boston at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Philadelphia, 5:45 p.m.

San Diego at Washington, 5:45 p.m.

San Francisco at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m.

Minnesota at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

St. Louis at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

American League Leaders

BATTING — Judge, New York, .355; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, .332; Aranda, Tampa Bay, .324; Peña, Houston, .322; Meyers, Houston, .308.

RUNS — Judge, New York, 85; Raleigh, Seattle, 65; Buxton, Minnesota, 64; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 63; Neto, Los Angeles, 61; Rooker, Athletics, 60; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 59; Witt, Kansas City, 57.

RBIs — Raleigh, Seattle, 82; Judge, New York, 81; Greene, Detroit, 78; Ward, Los Angeles, 65; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 60; Torkelson, Detroit, 59.

HITS — Judge, New York, 125; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, 113; Witt, Kansas City, 112; Bichette, Toronto, 111; Rooker, Athletics, 106; Y.Díaz, Tampa Bay, 105.

DOUBLES — Witt, Kansas City, 32; Bichette, Toronto, 25; Ja.Duran, Boston, 25; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 25; Butler, Athletics, 24; Judge, New York, 24; Perez, Kansas City, 24.

TRIPLES — Ja.Duran, Boston, 10; McKinstry, Detroit, 8; Buxton, Minnesota, 4; Isbel, Kansas City, 4; Bellinger, New York, 3; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 3; R.González, Boston, 3; Haggerty, Texas, 3; Henderson, Baltimore, 3; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 3; Volpe, New York, 3; Waters, Kansas City, 3; Witt, Kansas City, 3.

HOME RUNS — Raleigh, Seattle, 38; Judge, New York, 35; Greene, Detroit, 24; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 23; Buxton, Minnesota, 21; Torkelson, Detroit, 21; Ward, Los Angeles, 21.

STOLEN BASES — Caballero, Tampa Bay, 31; Ramírez, Cleveland, 29; Simpson, Tampa Bay, 26; Witt, Kansas City, 25; Robert, Chicago, 22; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 18.

PITCHING — Fried, New York, 11-3; Skubal, Detroit, 10-3; Crochet, Boston, 10-4; Valdez, Houston, 10-4; Rodón, New York, 10-6; deGrom, Texas, 9-2.

ERA — Crochet, Boston, 2.23; Skubal, Detroit, 2.23; deGrom, Texas, 2.32; H.Brown, Houston, 2.43; Fried, New York, 2.43; Bubic, Kansas City, 2.49; S.Lugo, Kansas City, 2.67.

STRIKEOUTS — Crochet, Boston, 160; Skubal, Detroit, 153; H.Brown, Houston, 137; Rodón, New York, 135; Valdez, Houston, 125; Flaherty, Detroit, 124.

National League leaders

BATTING — W.Smith, Los Angeles, .323; Donovan, St. Louis, .297; F.Freeman, Los Angeles, .297; Frelick, Milwaukee, .294; Naylor, Arizona, .294; Burleson, St. Louis, .293; Stowers, Miami, .293.

RUNS — Ohtani, Los Angeles, 91; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 72; Soto, New York, 70; Tucker, Chicago, 68; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 67; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 66.izona, 62; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 62.

RBIS — E.Suárez, Arizona, 78; Alonso, New York, 77; Suzuki, Chicago, 77; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 71; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 69; Wood, Washington, 69.

HITS — T.Turner, Philadelphia, 112; Machado, San Diego, 107; Chourio, Milwaukee, 106; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 105; Riley, Atlanta, 104; Arraez, San Diego, 102; Donovan, St. Louis, 102; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 102.

DOUBLES — Alonso, New York, 26; Chourio, Milwaukee, 25; F.Freeman, Los Angeles, 25; Suzuki, Chicago, 24; Olson, Atlanta, 23.

TRIPLES — Carroll, Arizona, 10; J.Lee, San Francisco, 8; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 7; Moniak, Colorado, 6.

HOME RUNS — Ohtani, Los Angeles, 32; E.Suárez, Arizona, 31; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 30; Suzuki, Chicago, 25; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 25.

STOLEN BASES — On.Cruz, Pittsburgh, 29; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 27; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 25; V.Scott, St. Louis, 24; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 24.

PITCHING — F.Peralta, Milwaukee, 11-4; Boyd, Chicago, 10-3; Pivetta, San Diego, 9-2; Wheeler, Philadelphia, 9-3; Ray, San Francisco, 9-3; Gray, St. Louis, 9-3; Webb, San Francisco, 9-6; Pfaadt, Arizona, 9-6.

ERA — Skenes, Pittsburgh, 2.01; Boyd, Chicago, 2.34; Wheeler, Philadelphia, 2.36; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 2.50; Yamamoto, Los Angeles, 2.59; Ray, San Francisco, 2.65.

STRIKEOUTS — Wheeler, Philadelphia, 154; Webb, San Francisco, 139; Gore, Washington, 138; Skenes, Pittsburgh, 131; Cease, San Diego, 129; Ray, San Francisco, 128.

1. Rhyne Howard, ATL, 2.9 2. Kayla McBride, MIN, 2.6 3. Kelsey Plum, LA, 2.5 4. Sabrina Ionescu, NY, 2.5 5. Allisha Gray, ATL, 2.3

Rebounding

1. Angel Reese, CHI, 12.6 2. A’ja Wilson, LV, 9.2 3. Azura Stevens, LA, 8.7 4. Kiki Iriafen, WSH, 8.5 5. Brionna Jones, ATL, 7.8

Blocked shots

1. A’ja Wilson, LV, 2.4 2. Alanna Smith, MIN, 2.2 3. Ezi Magbegor, SEA, 2.0 4. Napheesa Collier, MIN, 1.6 5. Breanna Stewart, NY, 1.4

Steals

1. Gabby Williams, SEA, 2.4 2. Dearica Hamby, LA, 1.9 2, Ariel Atkins, CHI, 1.9 3. Napheesa Collier, MIN, 1.8 3. Saniya Rivers, CONN, 1.8

Golf DP World Tour/PGA Tour British Open

At Dunluce Links; Portrush, United Kingdom Purse: $17 million Yardage: 7,381; Par: 71

First round

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, S. Africa 33-34—67 -4 Harris English, USA 33-34—67 -4 Matt Fitzpatrick, England 34-33—67 -4 Hao-Tong Li, China 34-33—67 -4 Jacob Skov Olesen, Denmark 35-32—67 -4 Tyrrell Hatton, England 33-35—68 -3 Matthew Jordan, England 35-33—68 -3 Sadom Kaewkanjana, Thailand 33-35—68 -3 Scottie Scheffler, USA 35-33—68 -3 Rickie Fowler, USA 34-35—69 -2 Lucas Glover, USA 32-37—69 -2 Brian Harman, USA 35-34—69 -2 Rasmus Hojgaard, Denmark 36-33—69 -2 Nicolai Hojgaard, Denmark 34-35—69 -2 Tom Kim, South Korea 35-34—69 -2 Maverick McNealy, USA 33-36—69 -2 Aaron Rai, England 33-36—69 -2 Justin Rose, England 35-34—69 -2 Lee Westwood, England 33-36—69 -2 John Axelsen, Denmark 35-35—70 -1 Sam Burns, USA 36-34—70 -1 Tony Finau, USA 35-35—70 -1 Sergio Garcia, Spain 34-36—70 -1 Angel Hidalgo, Spain 34-36—70 -1 Zach Johnson, USA 38-32—70 -1 Justin Leonard, USA 34-36—70 -1 Shane Lowry, Ireland 35-35—70 -1 Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland 34-36—70 -1 Phil Mickelson, USA 34-36—70 -1 Joaquin Niemann, Chile 35-35—70 -1 Jon Rahm, Spain 34-36—70 -1 Dean Burmester, S. Africa 36-35—71 E Daniel Hillier, New Zealand 37-34—71 E Sungjae Im, South Korea 35-36—71 E Takumi Kanaya, Japan 35-36—71 E Nathan Kimsey, England 35-36—71 E Jason Kokrak, USA 36-35—71 E Romain Langasque, France 36-35—71 E Robert Macintyre, Scotland 34-37—71 E Matthew McCarty, USA 36-35—71 E Andrew Novak, USA 35-36—71 E Xander Schauffele, USA 35-36—71 E Jordan L. Smith, England 37-34—71 E Jesper Svensson, Sweden 35-36—71 E Daniel Berger, USA 36-36—72 +1 Keegan Bradley, USA 36-36—72 +1 Bud Cauley, USA 36-36—72 +1 Thomas Detry, Belgium 36-36—72 +1 Nicolas Echavarria, Colombia 36-36—72 +1 Chris Gotterup, USA 36-36—72 +1 Russell Henley, USA 36-36—72 +1 Stephan Jaeger, Germany 36-36—72 +1 Riki Kawamoto, Japan 35-37—72 +1 Oliver Lindell, Finland 36-36—72 +1 Tom McKibbin, Northern Ireland 34-38—72 +1 Francesco Molinari, Italy 38-34—72 +1 Shaun Norris, S. Africa 37-35—72 +1 Thorbjorn Olesen, Denmark 36-36—72 +1 John Parry, England 36-36—72 +1 J.T. Poston, USA 35-37—72 +1 Kristoffer Reitan, Norway 34-38—72 +1 Antoine Rozner, France 35-37—72 +1 Adrien Saddier, France 35-37—72 +1 Jesper Sandborg, Sweden 38-34—72 +1 Adam Scott, Australia 36-36—72 +1 Cameron Smith, Australia 39-33—72 +1 Sepp Straka, Austria 37-35—72 +1 Justin Thomas, USA 36-36—72 +1 Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela 37-35—72 +1 Ludvig Aberg, Sweden 38-35—73 +2 Cameron Adam, Scotland 37-36—73 +2 Akshay Bhatia, USA 36-37—73 +2 George Bloor, England 37-36—73 +2 Brian Campbell, USA 38-35—73 +2 Patrick Cantlay, USA 36-37—73 +2 Jason Day, Australia 39-34—73 +2 Tommy Fleetwood, England 38-35—73 +2 Connor Graham, Scotland 36-37—73 +2 Julien Guerrier, France 37-36—73 +2 Harry Hall, England 38-35—73 +2 Viktor Hovland, Norway 37-36—73 +2 Dustin Johnson, USA 37-36—73 +2 Chris Kirk, USA 38-35—73 +2 Curtis Knipes, England 37-36—73 +2 Thriston Lawrence, S. Africa 38-35—73 +2 Marc Leishman, Australia 38-35—73 +2 Matteo Manassero, Italy 39-34—73 +2 Matti Schmid, Germany 39-34—73 +2 Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden 35-38—73 +2 Younghan Song, South Korea 38-35—73 +2 J.J. Spaun, USA 35-38—73 +2 Jordan Spieth, USA 40-33—73 +2 Justin Suh, USA 39-34—73 +2 Davis Thompson, USA 37-36—73 +2 Matt Wallace, England 37-36—73 +2 Justin Walters, S. Africa 37-36—73 +2 Laurie Canter, England 36-38—74 +3 Corey Conners, Canada 38-36—74 +3 OJ Farrell, England 35-39—74 +3 Ben Griffin, USA 37-37—74 +3 Justin Hastings, Cayman Islands 40-34—74 +3 Lucas Herbert, Australia 35-39—74 +3 Rikuya Hoshino, Japan 38-36—74 +3 Ryggs Johnston, USA 36-38—74 +3 Si Woo Kim, South Korea 36-38—74 +3 Michael Kim, USA 36-38—74 +3 Min Woo Lee, Australia 37-37—74 +3 40-34—74 +3 Hideki Matsuyama, Japan Denny McCarthy, USA 37-37—74 +3 Dylan Naidoo, S. Africa 39-35—74 +3 Marco Penge, England 37-37—74 +3 Richard Teder, Estonia 38-36—74 +3 Cameron Young, USA 36-38—74 +3 Stewart Cink, USA 36-39—75 +4 Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland 37-38—75 +4 Ethan Fang, USA 39-36—75 +4 Ryan Fox, New Zealand 40-35—75 +4 Padraig Harrington, Ireland 38-37—75 +4 Filip Jakubcik, Czech Republic 36-39—75 +4

Brooks Koepka, USA Collin Morikawa, USA Carlos Ortiz, Mexico Taylor Pendrith, Canada Elvis Smylie, Australia Henrik Stenson, Sweden Sahith Theegala, USA Daniel Young, Scotland Byeong Hun An, South Korea Daniel Brown, England Sebastian Cave, England Wyndham Clark, USA Shugo Imahira, Japan Matthieu Pavon, France Frazer Jones, England Guido Migliozzi, Italy Niklas N. Moller, Denmark Louis Oosthuizen, S. Africa Ryan Peake, Australia Aldrich Potgieter, S. Africa Patrick Reed, USA Davis Riley, USA Nick Taylor, Canada Sampson-yunhe Zheng, China

36-39—75 +4 37-38—75 +4 36-39—75 +4 39-36—75 +4 38-37—75 +4 37-38—75 +4 36-39—75 +4 38-37—75 +4 38-38—76 +5 36-40—76 +5 38-38—76 +5 37-39—76 +5 37-39—76 +5 39-37—76 +5 40-37—77 +6 39-38—77 +6 38-39—77 +6 38-39—77 +6 39-38—77 +6 39-38—77 +6 39-38—77 +6 37-40—77 +6 38-39—77 +6 39-38—77 +6

Cycling

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Tour de France 12th stage

A 112-mile mountain ride from Auch to Hautacam 1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:21:19.

2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 4:23:29.

3. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull BORA - hansgrohe, 4:23:42.

4. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 4:24:19.

5. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 4:24:19.

6. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 4:24:52.

7. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal QuickStep, 4:24:52.

8. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 4:25:21.

9. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull - BORA hansgrohe, 4:25:27.

10. Cristian Rodriguez, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 4:28:45.

Also 15. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 4:31:44.

24. Sepp Kuss, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 4:34:49.

65. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 4:52:41.

78. William Barta, United States, Movistar Team, 4:52:41.

Overall standings

1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 45:22:51.

2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 45:26:22.

3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal QuickStep, 45:27:36.

4. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull BORA - hansgrohe, 45:28:25.

5. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 45:28:31.

Soccer MLS glance Western Conference

W San Diego FC 13 Vancouver 12 Minnesota United 11 Los Angeles FC 10 Seattle 9 Portland 9 Colorado 8 Austin FC 8 San Jose 7 Real Salt Lake 8 Houston 7 Sporting Kansas City 41 FC Dallas 5 St Louis City 4 LA Galaxy 3

L 7 5 5 5 6 7 10 8 8 10 11 6

T Pts 3 42 5 41 7 40 5 35 7 34 6 33 6 30 6 30 8 29 4 28 5 26 11 5

GF 46 38 39 36 34 31 30 17 44 24 29 23

GA 31 25 26 24 31 31 36 24 39 28 38 35

10 12 14

7 6 6

29 23 25

41 35 45

Eastern Conference

22 18 15

W L T Pts GF GA Philadelphia 14 5 4 46 39 22 Cincinnati 14 6 3 45 38 31 Nashville 13 5 5 44 41 25 Columbus 11 4 8 41 38 32 Inter Miami CF 11 4 5 38 44 33 Orlando City 9 6 8 35 41 31 New York City FC 10 8 4 34 29 25 New York 9 8 6 33 38 30 Charlotte FC 10 11 2 32 38 37 Chicago 8 9 5 29 42 40 New England 6 9 7 25 29 30 Toronto FC 5 11 6 21 25 29 Atlanta 4 10 8 20 25 40 D.C. United 4 12 7 19 19 43 CF Montréal 3 14 6 15 20 43 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.

Lafayette Christian wide receiver Brayden Allen fights for yardage after a long catch against Notre Dame on Oct. 18 at LCA.

LCA receiver Allen commits to Tulane

BY MIKE COPPAGE

Contributing writer

Brayden Allen plans to begin his college football career in The Big Easy.

The Lafayette Christian receiver, who will be a senior, committed to Tulane on Wednesday, picking the Green Wave over Texas Tech, Boston College and Vanderbilt.

“There were a lot of factors that went into the decision,” Allen said. “My official visit went really well. As soon as I got there, they showed a lot of love. I could tell it’s not ‘fake love.’ They weren’t just telling me stuff to try and get me to go there.”

The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder landed more than a dozen offers and took official visits to Texas Tech and Boston College.

He was swayed by Tulane coach Jon Sumrall and receivers coach Carter Sheridan, who has forged a tight bond with Allen.

“One thing I liked a lot is that (Sheridan) didn’t just tell me the stuff I’m doing right,” Allen said.

“He also told me my flaws. I stand out as a really good route-runner, but on the top of my routes I can be more physical.”

Tulane’s 2026 recruiting class has 17 commitments and is ranked No. 2 in the American Athletic Conference behind South Florida, according to On3.

Two of the Green Wave’s top four prospects are receivers: four-star Trez Davis (West Monroe) and Allen, a three-star recruit and the No. 14 player in Louisiana.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said.

“I like how Tulane runs their offense and how much they throw the ball. And with coach Sheridan, it’s about more than football with him.”

Allen, who visited the New Orleans campus twice for spring practice, said he’s eager to take in his first home game at Yulman Stadium.

“I’m coming to Tulane with my head down, ready to work,” he said. “You’re not ever going to see me get complacent. I’m coming to Tulane to work and grind, for sure.”

Allen’s commitment date of June 16 was special because it also celebrated the birthday of his late uncle, Jeremy Daniels.

“He was a big factor in my childhood,” Allen said. “I could always throw the football with him.”

As a junior, Allen caught 55 passes for 1,155 yards and 10 touchdowns with an average of 21 yards per catch. He’s aiming for at least 1,200 yards this season.

“I don’t say this lightly,” LCA coach Matt Standiford said.

“Brayden has a chance to be the best receiver ever at the school, and we’ve had some really good ones.

“One thing I love is that receiver is a position that can sometimes be labeled as having divas, but Brayden never complains.

He doesn’t say a word. Last year against Dunham, he played safety the whole game and only got one or two catches. He loves to block on the perimeter. All in all, he’s a top-end guy.”

Wednesday’s scores

Chicago 2, Atlanta 2, tie Charlotte FC 2, D.C. United 1 Cincinnati 3, Miami 0 New York 5, New England 3 Philadelphia 2, CF Montréal 1 New York City FC 2, Orlando City 1 Vancouver 3, Houston 0 Los Angeles FC 1, Minnesota 0 Nashville 3, Columbus 0 Colorado 3, Seattle 3, tie Austin FC 2, LA Galaxy 1 Real Salt Lake 1, Portland 0 Toronto FC 1, San Diego FC 0 FC Dallas 2, San Jose 2, tie

Saturday’s games

Charlotte FC at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

D.C. United at Columbus, 6:30 p.m.

Chicago at CF Montréal, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando City at New England, 6:30 p.m.

Miami at New York, 6:30 p.m.

St Louis City at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Houston, 7:30 p.m.

New York City FC at Sporting Kansas City, 7:30 p.m.

Toronto FC at Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

San Jose at Seattle, 7:30 p.m.

Cincinnati at Real Salt Lake, 8:30 p.m.

LA Galaxy at Los Angeles FC, 9:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Portland, 9:30 p.m.

Vancouver at San Diego FC, 9:30 p.m.

Pro football CFL glance East Division Hamilton Montreal Toronto Ottawa

W 3 3 1 1

L 2 2 4 5

T Pts 0 6 0 6 0 2 0 2

PF 158 142 128 133

PA 141 112 163 173

Calgary Saskatchewan Winnipeg BC Edmonton

W 4 4 3 3 1

L 1 1 1 3 4

T Pts 0 8 0 8 0 6 0 6 0 2

PF 140 145 113 136 118

PA 91 123 94 146 170

West Division

Thursday’s game

Toronto at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Friday’s game

Calgary at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday’s game

Saskatchewan at BC, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s game

Hamilton at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Transactions BASEBALL

Major League Baseball American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES — RHP Corbin Martin elects free agency.

NEW YORK YANKEES — Reinstated RHP Rico Garcia. Optioned RHP Clayton Beeter to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL).

TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Sent RHP Paxton Schultz and OF Daulton Varsho to FCL Blue Jays on a rehab assignment.

National League MIAMI MARLINS — Transferred RHP Jesus Tinoco to the 60-day IL list. Acquired RHP Michael Petersen from Atlanta in exchange for cash considerations and optioned him to Jacksonville (IL).

MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Acquired C Andrick Nava from Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations.

NEW YORK METS — Agreed to terms with TWP Mitch Voit on a minor league contract.

Sent RHP Paul Blackburn to FCL Mets on a rehab assignment.

FOOTBALL

NFL TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed RB Jordan Mims. Waived RB Tyrion Davis-Price.

HOCKEY

NHL TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS — Acquired F Dakota Joshua from Vancouver in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick.

Corso honored as he begins farewell from ‘College GameDay’

BY JOE REEDY AP sportswriter

The countdown to Lee Corso’s final appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” kicked off when the longtime analyst and former coach was honored at the ESPYS on Wednesday night.

“My goal on TV was to bring a smile to everybody’s face. I hope I have done that,” Corso said on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles after a video aired and comments by “GameDay” analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee.

Corso — the lone remaining member of the show’s original cast who turns 90 in August — announced earlier this year that his final show would be on the opening week of the season. ESPN last month revealed the 39th season of “GameDay” would begin in Columbus, Ohio, before reigning national champion Ohio State hosts the Texas Longhorns on Aug. 30.

“This is a unique opportunity we have to weave him into the evening and really begin the process of sending him off with full honors,” ESPN’s president of content Burke Magnus said. “To get him there in person to acknowledge all of his contributions and what he’s meant to both the company and sports, but more importantly the fans, we just think it’s a fitting way to kick off his departure.”

Corso’s popular headgear segment started at Ohio State on Oct. 5, 1996, before the Buckeyes faced Penn State. Since then, he has gone 286-144 in 430 selections wearing everything from helmets and mascot heads to dressing up as the Fighting Irish leprechaun

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Kirk Herbstreit, left, greets Lee Corso on stage at the ESPy Awards on Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

from Notre Dame, the Stanford tree and historic figures James Madison and Benjamin Franklin.

He has worn 69 different school’s mascot headgear.

Corso got to don Southern California’s Trojan helmet one final time on Wednesday night as USC’s band, song girls and spirit squad came on stage at the end of the segment.

“I feel like I’ve had the best seat in all of college football for these last 30 years right next to coach, right before he pulled the headgear out and said something that nobody else would say,” Herbstreit said. “There’s so many lessons and such a special bond I’m so lucky to share with one of the great spirits and great minds college football has ever seen.”

Corso’s television career withstood a stroke in 2009 that left him unable to speak for a while.

Even though his appearances on the road have decreased in recent seasons, he was in Atlanta in January for the College Football Playoff national title game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Checkmate!

South Branch Librar y, 2210 Glasgow Ave., and the BBR Knights Chess Club will celebrate International Chess Day at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. All ages and skill levels welcome for a chess puzzle competition, “exhibition simul match,” scavenger hunt, arts and crafts, and a showing of the movie “Queen of Katwe.” ebrpl.com.

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

With schedule out, BR Underground Film Fest readies to highlight Louisiana’s independent artists

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

Volunteer oppportunities are available prior to and during the festival.

All volunteers will receive a badge for the festival. In order to receive a badge, at least two time slots will need to be registered for via the BRUFF volunteer application on the fest’s Instagram page and at the following link: forms.gle/v67RJbuLrw5tFtZj8.

ä See UNDERGROUND, page 6C

5CN

LOUISIANA MUSIC STARS SHINE BRIGHT WITH SUMMER OF NEW MUSIC

F

BY JOHN WIRT

|

Contributing writer

amous and on-the-rise Louisiana recording artists, including country star Lainey Wilson, 2025 “American Idol” finalist John Foster and line-dance king Cupid, recently released new music.

Here’s a rundown:

LAINEY WILSON “Over the Rainbow,” the heart-tugging ballad popularized by Judy Garland in the classic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” inspired Lainey Wilson’s latest single. In “Somewhere Over Loredo,” Wilson sings and dreams of rodeo nights in the little border town where she once knew her true love. The “Wizard of Oz” references include the little dog who co-stars in the song.

“Somewhere Over Loredo” is one of five new songs on the deluxe edition of Wilson’s 2024 album, “Whirlwind,” to be released Aug. 22. The Grammy-, CMA- and ACM-winning singer from Baskin — the biggest music star from Louisiana in years — will perform Sept. 11

and 12 at Raising Cane’s River Center Arena in Baton Rouge and Sept. 13 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City.

Wilson will also join Mumford & Sons for their “Railroad Revival Tour” show Aug. 3 at Champions Square in New Orleans.

JUSTIN GARNER AND CUPID PROVIDED PHOTOS

Want to help?

F r i d ay, J u ly 18, 2025

HEAT WAVE

Deep cuts

With five weeks to go before the inaugural Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival, the scope and buzz for the event continues to grow.

Even before the first film screens, organizers have expanded the August event from its initial three days to four days, made possible by support from fest sponsors. Presented

by Visit Baton Rouge, the fest will run Aug. 21-24 at the Manship Theatre.

In addition, a pre-festival event, BRUFF’s first “Indie Spotlight Night” in June at Celtic Media Center, saw invited guests filling the studios’ screening room. Supported by Irrevo- LeBlanc cable Designee LLC, the evening offered a meet and greet reception followed by a showing of “Ada and the Doc,” a short film that also will be featured at the festival.

“Ada and the Doc,” Morgan City native Matison LeBlanc’s school project toward her advanced degree, was chosen to screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May. “Ada” tells the story of the first woman to be executed in Louisiana. LeBlanc hopes to develop a feature-length version of the film.

Meanwhile, the festival announced its selected 10 featurelength films, 39 short film projects and schedule last week, which also features seven panels and four hands-on workshops.

The films were chosen from more than 150 submissions worldwide.

“The Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival showcases the best of Louisiana’s independent film scene. We’re here to celebrate what makes local storytelling special and to get these artists in the right room with the right people,” BRUFF Creative Director Brendan Pyron said in a news release. “If you care about the future of film in our state, come to BRUFF. Badges and tickets are on sale now at our website.”

The full festival schedule is now live at batonrougeunderground.com. Check out the variety of ticket options at manshiptheatre.org.

|

Rhythm-and-blues singer Justin Garner joins Cupid, the line-dance king from Lafayette, for “Midnight Is for Lovers.” The destined-for-thedance-floor track is Garner’s first fusion of Southern soul and line dance with his signa-

ture romantic R&B-pop.

Popular for decades though line dancing has been, it exploded this year on the heels of South Carolina singer 803Fresh’s “Boots on the Ground.” That

ä See MUSIC, page 6C

Manship Theatre announces family show series Staff report From fairy tales to fun musicals, Sherlock Holmes to “Swan Lake,” the Manship Theatre has announced a full slate of family shows for the 2025-26 season.

Here’s more on what’s in store:

Sept. 14 THE SHARPE FAMILY SINGERS … LIVE!: The American singing family

includes Broadway-star parents Ron and Barbra, with their kids Samantha, Logan, and twins Aidan and Connor.

“Their new live show is an audience interactive and multimedia production that features Broadway showstoppers from smash hit musicals, megahits from the Disney songbook, blockbuster soundtracks from popular films and a wide variety of Top 40/Contemporary pop

Three Billy Goats Gruff.”

“This retelling weaves three Nov. 2 classic tales into a heartwarming BILLY GOATS GRUFF AND OTHER TALES: adventure that celebrates friendRecommended for grades Pre- ship and courage,” the release K through first, this is Mermaid also states.

Theatre of Nova Scotia’s newest production. It presents a fresh Nov. 30 and engaging reimagining of MARIACHI HERENCIA DE MEXICO: three cherished children’s stories: CHRISTMAS SHOW: The historic “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” ä See MANSHIP, page 6C “The Little Three Pigs” and “The

hits,” a news release states.

6C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Don’t leave possessions unattended while out But despite the help of three Dear Heloise: M.W. in California store employees, I never saw the said she straps her cross-body cart again. If someone purse into a shopping cart would do this for a few so that no one could steal it shopping bags, I wouldn’t without taking the cart. want M.W. or anyone folI was shopping not long ago. There were a few lowing her suggestion to grocery items in my cart. make this mistake and beThe only things of mine in come a “cross body.” — Bill Hints from W., via email the cart were a number of Heloise clothing shopping bags. I Coffee grounds walked a little way away to look into the dairy section. The Dear Heloise: I love redbud trees cart was still in sight if I turned and had one planted in my yard in this way.

2023. The lady at the nursery told

me about your trick to mix coffee grounds in with the roots to stimulate growth. Well, I started collecting the grounds, and when I had a freezer bag full, I planted my redbud tree.

You wouldn’t believe how well it’s taken off! My slow-growing tree is full and tall now. This coffee trick really works. So many neighbors ask what I used, and I tell them coffee grounds as recommended by Heloise.

Thanks for all the terrific hints you have provided over the years.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press Today is Friday, July 18, the 199th day of 2025. There are 166 days left in the year.

Today in history On July 18, 1976, at the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci of Romania became the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10 from Olympic judges for her performance on the uneven bars.

Also on this date: In 1536, the English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.

In 1863, during the Civil War, Union troops spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, made up of Black soldiers, charged Confederate-held Fort Wagner on Morris Island, S.C. The Confederates were able to repel the Northerners, who suffered heavy losses; the 54th’s commander, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, was among those who were killed.

In 1964, nearly a week of rioting erupted in New York’s Harlem neighborhood following the

MANSHIP

Continued from page 5C

fatal police shooting of a Black teenager, James Powell, two days earlier.

In 2005, an unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Alabama, to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.

Today’s birthdays: Olympic gold medal figure skater Tenley Albright is 90. Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 87. Singer Dion DiMucci is 86. Actor James Brolin is 85. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre is 85. Singer Martha Reeves is 84. Business mogul Richard Branson is 75. Actor Margo Martindale is 74. Musician Ricky Skaggs is 71. World Golf Hall of Famer Nick Faldo is 68. Actor Elizabeth McGovern is 64. Actor Vin Diesel is 58. Author Elizabeth Gilbert is 56. Retired NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway is 54. Singer-songwriter M.I.A. is 50. Actor Elsa Pataky (“The Fast and the Furious” films) is 49. Movie director Jared Hess is 46. Actor Kristen Bell is 45. Actor Priyanka Chopra is 43. Actor Chace Crawford is 40.

the legendary Sherlock Holmes and trusted companion, Dr. Watson. They must investigate the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, rumored to be the victim of a supernatural and savage hound. As they uncover chilling secrets and dark family histories, Holmes must use razor-sharp intellect to solve a case where logic and superstition collide.

tradition of mariachi music has its roots of origin in cities such as Guadalajara and Mexico City. As the ever-evolving genre’s influence spread, it reached Chicago and birthed the Mariachi Herencia de México. The young virtuosic Latin Grammy-nominated group has issued chart-topping March 8 albums and performed across the BILL BLAGG’S FAMILY MAGIC: With North American continent. more than 60 minutes of nonstop magical fun, the show is specifiDec. 7 cally designed to entertain and “SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS”: LIGHTWIRE engage audiences of all ages. Bill THEATER: Follow four little elves as Blagg blends comedy, audience they discover who they are, what participation and mind-bending true friendship is, and what pur- magic.

“Prepare to be amazed as ordipose they have as one of Santa’s little helpers. All ages will be nary objects come to life while entertained by the colorful sets, others vanish in the blink of an beautiful costumes and doo-wop’n eye … and you might even be cholive band. sen to float in midair!,” according to the news release.

JAN. 25

“THE UGLY DUCKLING”: The New Orleans-based Lightwire Theater returns to the Manship with a classic tale turned modern utilizing light, music and technology. Recommended for all ages, but also note that theatre will turn completely dark once the performance begins so that you can see the lit characters and props.

March 22

FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA: The troupe, which promotes flamenco in the U.S., was founded by acclaimed artist Carlota Santana in 1983. Santana has created more than 25 original works and is known for her passion and dedication to the art form. Santana’s work, including the “100 Years of Flamenco in New York” exhibit, Feb. 1 has earned her numerous awards, “PETE THE CAT”: Recommended for solidifying her legacy in flamengrades Pre-K through third. “For co. Recommended for grades Pete the Cat, life is an adventure four to 12th. no matter where you wind up. So the minute the groovy blue cat March 28 meets The Biddles, he gets the HOUSTON BALLET II: Presented in whole family rocking, except for partnership with the Baton Rouge young Jimmy Biddle, the most or- Ballet Theatre. Houston Ballet II ganized second grader on planet is the second company of HousEarth. ton Ballet, America’s fourth larg“When Jimmy draws a blank est ballet company. Comprised in art class, it turns out Pete is of an array of ballet students the perfect pal to help him work from around the world, Houston it out. Jimmy and Pete go on an Ballet II members perform a diadventure of friendship all the verse range of works, including way to Paris in a VW bus!,” the excerpts from great classics like synopsis states.

“The Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker” to Feb. 7 contemporary works by Houston AQUILA THEATRE: “THE HOUND OF Ballet artistic director Stanton BASKERVILLES”: The fog-shrouded Welch.

For information on single tickmoors of England are the backdrop for this spine-tingling mys- ets or season passes, visit mantery that can only be solved by shiptheatre.org.

UNDERGROUND Continued from page 5C

Grants and more

and the Celtic Studios grant, five days of stage space to a filmmaker.

SPONSOR LIST: batonrougeunderground.com/#sponsors DONATION WEBSITE: paypal. com/donate/?hosted_button_ id=DEP48THG3JFM8 MORE INFORMATION: batonrougeunderground.com or follow on social media at @BatonRougeUnderground

With sponsor support, the festival award three grants to rising filmmakers: the Shoestring grant, $5,000, to a filmmaker to go toward a new project; the Panavision Camera grant, a $15,000 Panavision camera rental package to Email Judy Bergeron at a director or cinematographer; jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

— Monica B., in San Antonio

For your safety Dear Heloise: Joan D. wrote in to say that she had taken a selfdefense class and how it had come in handy when she needed it. I took a self-defense class years ago, and it was a lifesaver.

A man tried to kidnap me at a do-it-yourself car wash when I was the only person around. He was later found and arrested for kidnapping a woman, rape and attempted murder.

I realized how close I came to being one of his rape victims or possibly getting killed. I urge everyone to learn at least a few basic steps to defend themselves. You never know what a stranger has in mind, so it’s better off safe than sorry.

The police usually know where defense classes are being held, so just call and ask. Take a friend with you when you go. — An avid reader, in New York Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

SHOWS TO WATCH — ACADIANA FRIDAY

DONNY BROUSSARD BAND: Fred’s, Mamou, 8 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar, New Iberia, 5 p.m.

CASEY COURVILLE: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MARLON G.: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

PAUL TASSIN: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

STRAIGHT WHISKEY: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY NIGHT JAM: La Maison de Begnaud, Scott, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

THE CAST: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

JAMBALAYA TRIO: Randol’s Cajun Restaurant, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

FIRST STREET HOOLIGANS: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

PHANTUM SUN, GOODBYE ACADEMY, AND KISMET: Artmosphere, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

WAYNE BLUE BURNS: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

REAGAN ERA REJECTS, HELLFURY, BONDBREAKER, DOGMA: Freetown Boom Boom Room, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

MATTHEW EWING AND THE ALL STAR BAND: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

ORDINARY WORLD: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

THE RETRO REWIND: The Ruins Lounge, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

RUSTY METOYER: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY

WAYNE SINGLETON & SAME OL 2 STEP: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING JAM SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

JAMMIN’ ON THE BAYOU: St. Landry Visitor Center,

MONDAY

PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

SAM SPHAR: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION By MARy BRUTON

TERRY HUVAL & FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

GROOVE ROOM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

KILLER KARAOKE: Freetown Boom Boom Room, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

Louisiana-raised blues singer, songwriter and pianist Marcia Ball takes the stage at the Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are WEDNESDAY DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry $51-$61.

Visitor Center, Opelousas, Opelousas, 1 p.m.

CAJUN JAM SESSION: Touchet’s Bar, Maurice, 2 p.m.

MAJOR HANDY! SWAMP SATURDAYS: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3 p.m.

GRITS & GRAVY: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 4 p.m.

CHALAN THIBODEAUX: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

GRACE NOVOSAD: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MIKE BROUSSARD: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

ABIGAIL: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

ZACH EDWARDS: Tap Room, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

CATAHOULA BAND: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

MARCIA BALL: Grand Opera House of the South, Crowley, 7 p.m.

BREWSTER DURBIN ALL STARS + GENUINE MUSTARD: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

ESE, TARGET AUDIENCE: Freetown Boom Boom Room, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

JULIAN PRIMEAUX: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

HIGH PERFORMANCE: La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

ANDREW WAIN JAZZ: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

SOUTHERN ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONFERENCE EDM NIGHT: Artmosphere, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

TRAVIS MATTE AND THE KINGPINS: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

YACHT-SEA: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY

GLENN ZERINGUE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CICO’S SONGWRITING CIRCLE: NUNU Arts and Culture Collective, Arnaudville, noon BAL DU DIMANCHE — CURTIS POULLARD & THE CREOLE ZYDECO BAND: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

SUNDAY FUNDAY — GENO DELAFOSE: Buck & Johnny’s the Glassroom, Breaux Bridge, 1 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2 p.m.

RUSTY METOYER: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3 p.m.

JUSTIN CORNETT: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 4:30 p.m.

CHUBBY CARRIER: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 5 p.m.

STEVE FREY: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6 p.m.

JAKE SINELLA: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MUSIC

pid. The vocals and the harmony and the melody are reminiscent of Continued from page 5C Earth, Wind, & Fire and the Jackson 5, but the two-step and Southern soul are in there as well. With song’s official music video has 11 Cupid on the record, it’s the permillion YouTube views. fect marriage of genres.”

Garner wants to capitalize on Garner’s next show is Aug. 9 at this latest line-dance craze.

Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club in New “I’ve been performing pret- Orleans. ty much all over the U.S.,” the Plaquemine native said. “The one thing people have been asking for from me is something up-tempo.

Addis native John Foster and A dance record. So, I wanted to do the other finalists in season 23 of something up-tempo that has a two- “American Idol” have released step feel to it. Cupid is the perfect their postseason singles. Foster artist to drive that sound home.” previewed his song, “Tell That Cupid — known for his multimil- Angel I Love Her,” on the April 20 lion-selling 2007 hit, “Cupid Shuf- episode of “American Idol.” Foster fle,” and 2021 single, “Flex” — met wrote the song in memory of MagGarner in 2019 at the Essence Fes- gie Dunn, a friend and fellow Brustival in New Orleans. ly High School student. Dunn, 17, At the festival, Garner recalled, and Caroline Gill, 16, were killed “Cupid stopped me and said, ‘Hey, on New Year’s Eve 2022 when an I love your work.’ I said the same Addis police officer ran a red light to him. We wanted to work togeth- during a high-speed chase.

Since Foster’s rise to runner-up er. So, now is the time to showcase two Louisiana artists together on a on “American Idol,” he’s performed twice at the Grand Ole Opry in song.”

Cupid is his friend, mentor and Nashville. Following his Opry depeer, Garner said. but on June 7, he returned for a “Over the years, we’ve always second appearance on July 9, his supported each other from side- 19th birthday. Foster’s next Baton lines. Our journeys are similar. Rouge performances are Aug. 1 We’re both from small towns and and 2 at The Texas Club. He returns have big dreams. I’m honored to to the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 21. have Cupid on the track.”

Originally conceived by Garner as a solo recording, “Midnight Is for Lovers” evolved into a duet.

A pop-rock band from Lafayette, “I kept feeling as though some- LVVRS has issued its latest single, one was missing,” he said. “The “The Bed.” It precedes the Octoperson who came to mind was Cu- ber release of LVVRS’ second EP,

JOHN FOSTER

LVVRS

10 a.m.

FOREST HUVAL BAND: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

ABI CLAIR: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

DAVE TRAINER: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

SAM AND AMANDA SPHAR: The Tap Room, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

DUSTIN SONNIER: Lakeview Park, Eunice, 5:30 p.m.

AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MATT GARY TRIO: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

COMMUNITY DRUM CIRCLE: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

RORY SUIRE: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

SLIM BAWB & STEVE JUDICE CD RELEASE: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

HORACE TRAHAN: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.

ZACH EDWARDS: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

KARAOKE PARTY: Black Bull, Youngsville, 8 p.m.

Compiled by Marchaund Jones.

Want your venue’s music listed?

Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com.

The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper.

“Heaven and the Heartland.”

Led by singer-songwriter River Gibson, LVVRS made its second consecutive appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April. This October, the band will play its debut performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

LVVRS’ song “Backseat Bliss” appeared in Season 6 of the Netflix series “Love Is Blind.” Another of the band’s songs, “Hypnotic Love,” appeared in Season 1 of Netflix’s “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On.” The band made a cameo appearance in the Baton Rouge-filmed “The Iron Claw,” the 2023 film starring Zac Efron and Lily James.

KAREN WALDRUP Mandeville native Karen Waldrup, a Top 5 finalist in season 25 of “The Voice,” recently released “Blue Cowboy Boots.” It’s a breakup song with an upbeat message.

“It feels good putting a dead-end relationship behind you,” Waldrup said. “The word ‘blue’ isn’t about regret, but rather about freedom.

Rodeo, cowboy lingo is fun. It feels good putting on your favorite boots and getting happy.”

A Nashville resident since her graduation from the University of Southern Mississippi, Waldrup cowrote “Blue Cowboy Boots” with Ed Hill, the Grammy-nominated songwriter whose recording artists cuts include Trisha Yearwood and Tracy Lawrence. “Blue Cowboy Boots” follows the singer’s previously released seven studio albums and more than 50 singles.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

zodIAC cAncER (June 21-July 22) Size up a situation and work your magic to ensure everything goes according to plan.

Home, family, comfort and convenience will lead to gratitude and peace of mind. Take pride in what you have.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Be cautious dealing with people who can influence your reputation, career or financial wellbeing. Take the high road, share positive input and enjoy whatever event you attend.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Don't let anger set in; find better ways to expel your energy. Volunteer to help a cause that concerns you. Declutter, dismiss and discard what no longer works for you.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Keep absorbing information and using your discoveries to improve your life. Research, travel and make a move; it will help you find the happiness or satisfaction you're searching for. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Transform whatever you discover into something that improves your life or your relationships. Channel your energy into what you can do to help a cause or improve yourself. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take pride in your surroundings. Pay it forward and give away items you no longer need or use. A kind gesture, romantic suggestion or an event that can lead to love will pay off. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Pay attention to loved ones. Make plans that unite people. Be the glue, the go-to per-

son, and enjoy the attention and love. A change doesn't have to be costly, but it must be satisfying and gratifying.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Embrace change and consider what you want to manifest for yourself. Discuss your feelings and intentions with loved ones and make plans that promote a lifestyle that promotes equal opportunities.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Concentrate on where your money goes. Planning and sacrifice will be necessary to achieve your goal. Refuse to let outsiders talk you into something you don't need or want.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Refuse to let emotional spending or indulgence take the lead. Sticking to the truth may be difficult, but it will help you phase out the people and projects that no longer reflect your values or beliefs. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Be careful what you sign up for or promise. Wanting to be a people pleaser will hold you back when you need to gain respect by doing what's right and best for you.

Trust in your abilities.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) A change will be uplifting. Adopting a new image, making an upgrade or attending a social event will change your perspective and offer insight into your challenges.

Optimize your chances to get ahead.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's cLuE: y EQuALs B

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

lll

Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Robertson Davies, a popular Canadian author, said, “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

I suppose that applies to bridge players, except that they must also try to “see” the opposing hands, imagining where the key missing cards lie. And if you can, always assume the worst possible breaks. Agreed, they will not happen often, but when they do, if you can overcome them, you and your partner will be very happy.

In this deal, how should South play in six spades? West leads a heart. East wins with his ace and shifts to a diamond.

North’s four-spade rebid showed a maximum opening bid with no singleton or void (otherwise, he would have made a splinter bid).

South used Blackwood, East doubling North’s five-heart reply to ask for a heart lead. South, not worried about hearts, jumped to six spades.

The only potential problem is in the trump suit. Declarer’s inner eye should see that if the four missing cards are divided 2-2 or 3-1, there will be no worries. So South should assume a 4-0 split.

How can he overcome that?

If East has all four trumps, declarer is doomed; he must lose a trump trick.

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

But if West has all four, South is safe as long as he starts with his king, keeping dummy’s ace and queen hovering over West’s 10 and jack. When the 4-0 division is disclosed, declarer twice leads spades through West to nullify his trump holding.

The eyes have it! © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

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 — GRocERIEs: GRO-suh-rees: Staple foodstuffs, meats, produce,

Bizarro

marmaduKe

dairy products and usually household supplies.

Average mark 25 words Time limit 45 minutes Can you find 39 or more words in GROCERIES? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — DIstREss deist desist diet dire dirt dress dries driest ides side sire

sister site sties stir stress stride tide tied tier tire tress

tried tries resist rest ride rise rite edit

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalms 27:14

Patience. It’s worth the wait. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

NOTICE TO PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

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1-800-960-6397 Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be ac‐ cepted until 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 31, 2025 , at the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office at 316 W. Main Street, Lafayette, Louisiana for the follow‐ ing: #2026-01 Mechanical Plant Boiler Replacement For information on this bid, contact the Finance Office at the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Documents are also available at the Sheriff’s Office Website at www. lafayettesheriff.com and www.centralauctionh ouse.com. Bids received after the above date and time will be returned un‐ opened. Bids will be eval‐ uated by and purchased based on quality, cost and adaptability of said items.

Bidders must comply with all condi‐ tions submitted in bid specifications. The Sher‐ iff reserves the right to reject any and all bids deemed unsuitable in the best public interest.

Mark T. Garber, Sheriff Parish of Lafayette 150047-JUL 16-18-2T $20.58

CLASSIFIEDS WORK

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --SECTION 00 11 13 – AD‐ VERTISEMENT TO BID Notice is hereby given that sealed bids (one original) will be received by the Lafayette Parish School System Purchas‐ ing Department, located at 202 Rue Iberville, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70508 and electronic bids will be received at www. centerlinebidconnect. com. Delivery to any other department other than the Purchasing De‐ partment is unaccept‐ able and may result in non-consideration of the bid. Bids will be received until 10:00 a.m., CST on Thursday, August 07, 2025 for construction of the following project as described in the Bidding Documents and listed on the Bid Form: LPSS Southside High School Pavement and Limestone Project 312 Almonaster Road, Youngsville, LA 70592 BID # 14-26 It is further understood and agreed that the work under this contract shall be completed as follows: Southside High School Pavement and Limestone Project shall be substantially complete by Friday, September 19, 2025.

The Contractor shall be subject to reimburse‐ ment to the owner of liq‐ uidated damages in the amount of fifteen hun‐ dred dollars ($1,500.00) per consecutive calendar day if the project is not b i ll l

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals y p j substantially complete by the dates specified.

Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the above stated time and date in the Purchas‐ ing Department Confer‐ ence Room of the Lafayette Parish School System Central Office Building.

Complete Bidding Docu‐ ments for this project are being distributed in elec‐ tronic form and may be obtained without charge and without deposit from the Public Plan Room at www.centerlinebidco nnect.com.

Printed copies are not available from the Owner or Pro‐ ject Designer but arrangements can be made to obtain them through most repro‐ graphic firms. Plan hold‐ ers are responsible for their own reproduction costs. Questions about this procedure should be directed to: Centerline – Phone: 504-291-5738, email bidconnect@ centerline.co.

Each bid must be accom‐ panied by a certified check, cashier’s check, or Bid Bond using the Owner’s form payable to the Lafayette Parish School System, the amount of which shall be five percent (5%) of the amount of the proposed Base Bid plus all Alter‐ nates. Money Orders will not be accepted.

Electronic bids may be submitted online at www.centerlinebidco nnect.com.

In accor‐ dance with LA RS 38: 2212.E(6), bids for this project may be submit‐ ted electronically via up‐ load to Centerline Bid

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CLASSIFIEDS WORK

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Connect (www.centerl inebidconnect.com ). All bid documents shall be uploaded by the due date and time stated above.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure should be di‐ rected to Centerline (phone: 504-291-5738), (email: bidconnect@centerline. co). A Bid bond will be re‐ quired, per the contract documents, and should be uploaded with the rest of the required Bid Documents. If a scanned copy of the Bid Bond is uploaded, the original notarized bid bond must be produced “on-de‐ mand” per the Owner’s request.

right to reject any and all bids for just cause.

The successful Bidder shall be required to fur‐ nish a Performance and Payment Bond in an amount equal to 100% of the Contract on the forms provided by the School Board and written in accordance with Louisiana law.

The Lafayette Parish School System strongly encourages the partici‐ pation of minority busi‐ ness enterprises in all contracts or procure‐ ments let by the Board for goods and services.

To that end, all Contrac‐ tors and suppliers are encouraged to utilize mi‐ nority business enter‐ prises in the purchase or sub-contracting of mate‐ rials, supplies, and ser‐ vices in which minority owned businesses are available.

LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM Larry Breaux, Purchasing Department Advertising dates: July 11, 2025 July 18, 2025 July 25, 2025 END OF SECTION 00 11 13

Bids shall be accepted only from Contractors who are licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors for the classification of Building Construction. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of forty-five (45) days after receipt of bids, except under the provisions of La. R.S. 38:2214.

149303-jul 11-18-25-3t $139.02

A Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will begin at: Southside High School, 312 Almonaster Road, Youngsville, LA 70592 at 10:00 a.m., CST on Friday, July 25, 2025.

NOTICE TO PUBLIC

The Owner reserves the

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. PO-030-2025 has been introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette Parish Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government would donate a surplus 2003 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck to the Parish of Acadia, Branch Volunteer Fire Department which is no longer needed for public purposes, the following described property, to wit:

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE ---

p posed for adoption by the Lafayette Parish Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment would donate a surplus 2001 Fire Truck to the Parish of St. Landry which is no longer needed for public pur‐ poses, the following de‐ scribed property, to wit: Surplus 2001 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck Unit #404 Duson Description FRHT 2001 fire truck Serial/vin 1FVHBGA881HJ94455 Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an oppo‐ sition is filed, the Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordi‐ nance until a hearing has been held.

Publication Dates: July 18, July 25, August 1, 2025.

149725 July 18, 25, Aug 1, 3t $37.41

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. PO-031-2025 has been introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette Parish Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government would donate a surplus 2001 Fire Truck to the Parish of St. Landry which is no longer needed for public purposes, the following described property, to wit: Surplus 2003 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck Description Unit #404 Duson FRHT 2001 fire truck

Serial/vin 1FVHBGA881HJ94455

Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordinance until a hearing has been held. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Publication Dates: July 4, July 11, July 18, 2025 ______________________________________________________________ NOTICE TO PUBLIC

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. PO-031-2025 has been introduced and is pro‐ d f d i b

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. PO-032-2025 has been introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette Parish Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government would donate a surplus 2003 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck to the Town of Sunset, Sunset Fire Department which is no longer needed for public purposes, the following described property, to wit:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. CO-067-2025 has been introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette City Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government would transfer nine (9) point blank ranger green ballistic vests, which are no longer needed for public purposes, to the Kaplan Police Department, the following described property, to wit: SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST

210000081663 180000361351 180000361347 200000102260 180000361352 180000361349 180000361341 180000361353 210000081658

210000081656 180000361337 180000361332 200000102253 180000361339 180000361328 180000361331 180000361338 210000081651

Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette City Council shall not adopt the ordinance until a hearing has been held.

Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette City Council shall not adopt the ordinance until a hearing has been held.

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

Publication Dates: July 11, July 18, July 25, 2025.

Publication Dates: July 11, July 18, July 25, 2025.

149106-521170-July 11, 18, 25-3t $ 133.89

NOTICE TO PUBLIC

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

210000081659 180000361327 180000361335 180000361329 180000361336 210000081650 210000081653

Publication Dates: July 4, July 11, July 18, 2025. ______________________________________________________________

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

210000081652 180000361643 180000361346 180000361342 180000361350 210000081657 210000081660

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

NOTICE TO PUBLIC

SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST SWAT RANGER GRN BALLISTIC VEST

Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordinance until a hearing has been held.

Legal Notices

NOTICE TO PUBLIC

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. CO-066-2025 has been introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette City Council on August 5, 2025, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government would transfer seven (7) point blank ranger green ballistic vests, which are no longer needed for public purposes, to the Franklin Police Department, the following described property, to wit:

Surplus 2003 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck Description Serial/vin 490-0004 KW 2003 pumper tanker fire truck 1NKDL00X83J394799

149107-521171-July 11, 18, 25-3t $ 141.75

Surplus 2003 Pumper Tanker Fire Truck Description Serial/vin 490-0007 KW 2003 pumper tanker fire truck 1NKDL00X43J394802 Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordinance until a hearing has been held. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Publication Dates: July 4, July 11, July 18, 2025.

148475-519046-july 4-11-18-3t $ 330.75

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● 11C

lll

Lafayette City and Parish CounCiL PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING OF JULY 15, 2025 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA. ATTENDANCE COUNCIL: Donald Richard (Vice-Chair, District 2), Bryan Tabor (District 1), Ken Stansbury (District 3) and John Guilbeau (District 4) ABSENT: AB Rubin (Chair, District 5) COUNCIL STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Jeremy J. Swiney (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Cindy Semien (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy “Rich” Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Christina Dayries (Chief of Staff), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer), Patrick S. Ottinger (City-Parish Attorney) and Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney) (4:32:00) CALL TO ORDER Vice-Chair Richard called the Regular Parish Council Meeting of July 15, 2025 to order.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance The Vice-Chair called upon Councilmember Tabor to cite the invocation and called upon Councilmember Stansbury, to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

WELCOME AND CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice-Chair Richard made the following announcements: • Chair Rubin is unable to attend today’s meetings, as ViceChair I will preside; • Community Development and Planning has requested an amendment for Item #13, JO-037-2025, to correct the address to “108 Princeton” in the title and backup documents; • Public Hearing for Citizen Input on the Budget will be held during a Special Joint Council Meeting on August 19th at 5:15 p.m. for all matters related to the 2025-2026 Proposed Budget; • Final Adoption of the Budget will be held during a Special Joint Council Meeting on September 11th at 5:15 p.m; • Notice is hereby given that at its meeting to be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. at the Council Auditorium, 705 West University, Lafayette, Louisiana, the Lafayette Parish Council plans to consider adopting a resolution ordering and calling an election to be held in the Parish of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, affecting ad valorem taxation therein; • Wished a happy birthday to Councilmember Ken Stansbury, which he celebrates on July 25th.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS No Council Announcements were made.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: REPORT

EXECUTIVE/MAYOR-PRESIDENT’S

Dayries stated that the Environmental Quality Convenience Center groundbreaking is on July 31st.

Dayries also stated that there is a low-pressure system in the Gulf, lingering near the Louisiana coast. Lafayette Parish is under a flash flood watch through Saturday. Sandbags are available at five (5) locations.

ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: PO-027-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell at public auction and public internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list (public auction and public internet auction), motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: PO-028-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into a homestead exemption audit mapping system purchase agreement between the Parish of Lafayette and the Exemption Project, Inc. (also known as TrueRoll) and a cooperative endeavor agreement by and between the taxing bodies concerning the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System, motion to adopt by Tabor, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

Justin Centanni stated that the agreement is between nine (9) taxing bodies. He noted that out of the 68k homestead exemptions in the Parish of Lafayette, he expects about 1k to not be legitimate.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: PO-029-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating and maintenance budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $9,875 in Parish General Fund Balance (1050) and appropriating within the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (1203) for annual audit fee expenses, motion to adopt

by Guilbeau, seconded by Tabor, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: PO-033-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in the amount of $669,405 in National Opioid Settlement Funds received from the State of Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department for allocation to the Acadiana Crime Lab as approved through Resolution No. JR-015-2023, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: JO-032-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell at public auction and public internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list (public auction and public internet auction), motion to adopt by Stansbury, seconded by Guilbeau, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 9: JO-033-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to submit the 2025 Annual Action Plan grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, motion to adopt by Stansbury, seconded by Guilbeau, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 10: JO-034-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $1,540,451 in CDBG funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department, motion to adopt by Tabor, seconded by Guilbeau, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 11: JO-035-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $619,808.35 in HOME funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and appropriating funds within the Community Development and Planning Department, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

ABSTAIN: None Motion to amend was approved.

The vice-chair then called for a vote to adopt, as amended, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt, as amended, was approved.

• • •

19th at 5:15 p.m. for all matters related to the 2025-2026 Proposed Budget; Final Adoption of the Budget will be held during a Special Joint Council Meeting on September 11th at 5:15 p.m; Councilmember Hooks is unable to attend today’s meetings; Wished a happy birthday to Councilmember Andy Naquin, which he celebrates on July 20th; Wished a happy birthday to Councilmember Kenneth Boudreaux, which he celebrates on July 30th.

INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCES

AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

A motion to introduce, in globo, items 14-18 was offered by Stansbury, seconded by Guilbeau.

Boudreaux offered prayers and sympathy to family and friends of the fatal accident on the Evangeline Thruway.

14. PO-034-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council setting forth and designating the ad valorem tax millage rates and imposing taxes on all property subject to ad valorem taxation in the Parish of Lafayette and authorizing the Assessor and Tax Collector for the Parish of Lafayette to assess and collect property taxes for 2025.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: REPORT

15. PO-035-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government by adjusting the manning tables and increasing the hourly pay rate of two (2) Librarian I positions within the Library Department.

16. PO-036-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council declaring the building or structure located at 2005 W Gloria Switch Road, Unit B, Carencro, Louisiana, owned by Gerald Arceneaux and Pamela Arceneaux, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

17. PO-037-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council providing for the abandonment of a certain portion of a 20’ drainage servitude on Lot 152 of the Magnolia Park, Extension No. 3 Subdivision, located at 520 Montrose Avenue.

18. PO-038-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into an intergovernmental agreement between the Parish of Lafayette and the City of Youngsville concerning surface improvements to S. Larriviere Rd. (Youngsville Project No. H.012867), and amending the FY 24/25 operating and five-year capital improvement budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in the amount of $400,000.00 to assist in the funding of the reconstruction and improvements to the unincorporated portion of S. Larriviere Rd. The Vice-Chair then called for a vote to introduce the ordinances (items 14-18), in globo, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

JOINT INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCES A motion to introduce, in globo, items 19-22 was offered by Guilbeau, seconded by Tabor.

19. JO-039-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances Chapter 82, “Taxation” to conform to legislative changes to the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code.

20. JO-040-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending Chapter 86, “Traffic and Vehicles,” Article II, “Administration and Enforcement,” Division 2, “Traffic Operations Prohibited” of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances by enacting Section 86-10, “Speed Contests and Vehicular Stunts.”

21. JO-041-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of that property located at 213 North Buchanan Street (Assessment No. 6010353), 203 Chalmette Drive (Assessment No. 6035922), & 201 Conrad Street (Assessment No. 6030150) to Acts of Love, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

22. JO-042-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of various adjudicated properties to Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

The Vice-Chair then called for a vote to introduce the ordinances (items 19-22), in globo, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

(4:57:00) ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Council, ViceChair Richard declared the Regular Meeting adjourned. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY MEETING OF THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A SPECIAL MEETING OF JULY 15, 2025 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA. ATTENDANCE LPPA: Kenneth P. Boudreaux (Chair, District 5), Liz W. Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3), Elroy Broussard (District 1) and Andy Naquin (District 2) ABSENT: Thomas Hooks (District 4) LPPA STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Jeremy J. Swiney (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Cindy M. Semien (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy “Rich” Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer) and Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney) (5:32:00) CALL TO ORDER Chair Boudreaux called the Special LPPA Meeting of July 15, 2025 to order.

INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCES A motion to introduce, in globo, items 1-2 was offered by Hebert, seconded by Naquin.

1. O-LPPA-249 An ordinance of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA) adopting an operating and capital budget of revenues and expenditures for the Lafayette, Louisiana Public Power Authority for the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2025 and ending October 31, 2026. (Finance) 2. O-LPPA-250 A series ordinance of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA) authorizing the issuance and sale of Electric Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2025, of the Lafayette Public Power Authority, and providing for other matters in connection therewith. (Finance) The Chair then called for a vote to introduce the ordinances (items 1-2), in globo, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

(5:33:00) ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the LPPA, Chair Boudreaux declared the Special Meeting adjourned. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING OF JULY 15, 2025 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA. ATTENDANCE COUNCIL: Kenneth P. Boudreaux (Chair, District 5), Liz W. Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3), Elroy Broussard (District 1) and Andy Naquin (District 2) ABSENT: Thomas Hooks (District 4) COUNCIL STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Jeremy J. Swiney (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Cindy Semien (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy “Rich” Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy)

AGENDA ITEM NO. 12: JO-036-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in the amount of $927,179 in National Opioid Settlement funds received from the State of Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department for allocation to the Acadiana Crime Lab as approved through Resolution No. JR-0152023, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer), Patrick S. Ottinger (City-Parish Attorney), Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney) and Yancy LeGrande (Deputy Chief of Staff)

AGENDA ITEM NO. 13: JO-037-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council providing for the abandonment of a six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A of The Village of River Ranch Phase VII-B Subdivision, located at 119 Princeton Woods Loop, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury.

WELCOME AND CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS

A motion to correct the address to “108 Princeton Woods Loop” in the title and backup documents by Guilbeau, seconded by Stansbury, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin

•

(5:33:00) CALL TO ORDER Chair Boudreaux called the Regular City Council Meeting of July 15, 2025 to order.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance The Chair called upon Councilmember Naquin to cite an invocation and upon Councilmember Broussard to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Chair Boudreaux made the following announcements: • Community Development and Planning has requested an amendment for Item #20, JO-037-2025, to correct the address to “108 Princeton” in the title and backup documents; • Community Development and Planning has requested an indefinite deferral for Intro Item #29, CO-083-2025, as the ordinance should have been submitted as a Parish Ordinance; • Public Hearing for Citizen Input on the Budget will be held during a Special Joint Council Meeting on August

EXECUTIVE/MAYOR-PRESIDENT’S

Godeaux made the following announcements: • The Environmental Quality Convenience Center groundbreaking is on July 31st; • There is a low-pressure system in the Gulf, lingering near the Louisiana coast. Lafayette Parish is under a flash flood watch through Saturday. Sandbags are available at five (5) locations. The river is currently at low level and pumps have ceased which will allow for additional capacity; • The Mayor-President is at the Bloomberg Harvard Leadership Program; • The Surrey Street groundbreaking is July 24th; • The Environmental Quality Convenience Center groundbreaking is July 31st; • LFT Fiber has moved into Lemoine Building.

RESOLUTIONS AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: CR-011-2025 A resolution of the Lafayette City Council approving the adjusted FY 2025 budget of the Downtown Development Authority (“DDA”), the governing authority of the Lafayette Centre Development District (“LCDD”), motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

Kevin Blanchard signed in to answer any questions. There were no questions.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: CR-012-2025 A resolution of the Lafayette City Council granting authority to take preliminary action relative to the issuance, sale and delivery of not exceeding $6,500,000 of Communications System Revenue Bonds of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of said bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith, motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

Godeaux clarified that there are new bonds to facilitate the purchase of the Lemoine Building.

REPORT AND/OR DISCUSSION ITEM AGENDA ITEM NO. 6: Update on ARPA Funds and Projects LeGrande led the Council through a PowerPoint presentation which covered: • LCG ARPA Funds – By the numbers; • Expenditure Status; • ARPA Projects Overview; • Investment Types; and • Impact of ARPA funds.

Boudreaux requested that the administration come back in 60 days with an updated report on the impact that the ARPA funds have had on underserved communities.

ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: CO-065-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell at public auction and public internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list (public auction and public internet auction), motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: CO-068-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the Lafayette Development Code so as to reclassify the property of Case No. 2025-11-REZ 1510 Kaliste Saloom Road Rezoning, located generally north of Kaliste Saloom Road, east of Steiner Road, and south of Pembroke Lane; being rezoned from CM-1 (C) (Commercial Mixed, with conditions) to CM-1 (Commercial Mixed), motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 9: CO-069-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the Lafayette Development Code so as to reclassify the property of Case No. 2025-12-REZ Lot 8-A East Bluebird Drive Rezoning, with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a bar/lounge in a CM-1 (Commercial Mixed) zoning district, located generally north of Bob White Loop, west of East Bluebird Drive, and south of Camellia Boulevard; being rezoned from MN-2 (Mixed-Use Neighborhood) to CM-1 (CUP) (Commercial Mixed, with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a bar/lounge in a CM-1 (Commercial Mixed) zoning district), motion to adopt by Hebert, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

Eric Macicek signed in to answer any questions. There were no questions.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 10: CO-070-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into an Act of Deposit on behalf of the Lafayette Police Department of mounted horse Sugarfoot to Senior Corporal John Domingue (police horse), motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 11: CO-071-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the Bertrand Drive Revitalization – Phase I A-1 Project a public necessity and authorizing the acquisition of the necessary rights-of-way, immovable property and other property rights requisite to the construction of said project, either on an amicable basis or through the proper use of the expropriation process, if necessary, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 12: CO-072-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 operating and capital budgets of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing anticipated revenues in the amount of $3,140,013 from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) FY 23/24 Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Grant and appropriating these funds along with the required match in the amount of $2,330,896 for use within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 13: CO-073-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing anticipated revenues in the amount of $263,353 received from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) FY 23/24 Section 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Grant and appropriating these funds along with the required match in the amount of $46,475 for federal fiscal year of 24/25 for use within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division, motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 14: CO-074-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council providing for the levy of local or special assessments on certain lots or parcels of real estate in a portion of Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, Consolidated Sewerage District – Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area), to pay a portion of the total cost of the establishment, acquisition, construction, improvement, extension and maintenance of a sewer system and all necessary equipment and installation in connection therewith to serve the properties located in the Consolidated Sewerage District – Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area), all in accordance with the provisions of Subpart A, Part II, Chapter 9, of Title 33, of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Broussard, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

Per Hebert’s request: Brad Eldridge, Wastewater Operations Manager, stated there this has been an ongoing project since 2018 and that this ordinance is the final step.

JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION AGENDA ITEM NO. 15: JO-032-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell at public

auction and public internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list (public auction and public internet auction), motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Broussard, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 16: JO-033-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to submit the 2025 Annual Action Plan grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 17: JO-034-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $1,540,451 in CDBG funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 18: JO-035-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $619,808.35 in HOME funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and appropriating funds within the Community Development and Planning Department, motion to adopt

by Broussard, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 19: JO-036-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in the amount of $927,179 in National Opioid Settlement funds received from the State of Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department for allocation to the Acadiana Crime Lab as approved through Resolution No. JR-015-2023, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 20: JO-037-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council providing for the abandonment of a six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A of The Village of River Ranch Phase VII-B Subdivision, located at 119 Princeton Woods Loop, motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Hebert.

A motion to correct the address to “108 Princeton Woods Loop” in the title and backup documents by Hebert, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to amend was approved.

The chair then called for a vote to adopt, as amended, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt, as amended, was approved.

INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCES Boudreaux reminded everyone that Item #29 will be addressed after the in globo vote.

A motion to introduce agenda items 21-28 & 30-31, in globo, was offered by Naquin, seconded by Hebert.

21. CO-075-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council setting forth and designating the ad valorem tax millage rates and imposing taxes on all property subject to ad valorem taxation in the City of Lafayette and authorizing the Assessor and Tax Collector for the Parish of Lafayette to assess and collect property taxes for 2025.

22. CO-076-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $38,616 received from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE) and appropriating within the Lafayette Police Department.

23. CO-077-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 capital budget of the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government by transferring $242,000 from the Station 6 Rebuild-Addl Funding to the Station 11 Roof RPRAddl Funds project within the Lafayette Fire Department for additional funding needed.

24. CO-078-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 105 Conrad Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Ledezma Juan Sacramento Sanchez, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

25. CO-079-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 516 Fourteenth Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Quincy Mason Richard and Mathis Brent Richard C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, and Dionne Lynette Richard, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

26. CO-080-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 1402 Moss Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by William J Zimmer and Patricia Claire Fiero Zimmer, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

27. CO-081-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 141 S. Orleans Drive, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Sara Dixon Williams C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

28. CO-082-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 405 W. Saint Louis Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Nancy Lee Buttleman and Glen Gale Guilbeau (Estate) C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, and Lima Network, C/O Melissa Castille to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

30. CO-084-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council providing for the issuance and sale of Communications System Revenue Bonds of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

31. CO-085-2025 A Fifth Supplemental Ordinance of the Lafayette City Council supplementing an ordinance adopted on September 6, 2005, as amended and restated on March 21, 2006 (the “General Bond Ordinance”) to provide for the issuance and sale of Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2025, of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, pursuant to the General Bond Ordinance; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

Boudreaux requested clarification be provided regarding the status of the bond process for condemnations.

The Chair then called for a vote to introduce the ordinances (items 21-28 & 30-31), in globo, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

DEFER INDEFINITELY AGENDA ITEM NO. 29: CO-083-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 621, 623, and 627 Teurlings Drive, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by John S Leblanc, C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same, motion to defer indefinitely by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to defer indefinitely was approved.

JOINT INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCE A motion to introduce agenda items 32-35, in globo, was offered by Hebert, seconded by Naquin.

32. JO-039-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances Chapter 82, “Taxation” to conform to legislative changes to the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code.

33. JO-040-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending Chapter 86, “Traffic and Vehicles,” Article II, “Administration and Enforcement,” Division 2, “Traffic Operations Prohibited” of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances by enacting Section 86-10, “Speed Contests and Vehicular Stunts.”

34. JO-041-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of that property located at 213 North Buchanan Street (Assessment No. 6010353), 203 Chalmette Drive (Assessment No. 6035922), & 201 Conrad Street (Assessment No. 6030150) to Acts of Love, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

12C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Lafayette City and Parish CounCiL 35. JO-042-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of various adjudicated properties to Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

The Chair then called for a vote to introduce the ordinances (items 32-35), in globo, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hebert, Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

COMMENT(S) FROM THE PUBLIC AGENDA ITEM NO. 36: Comments from the public on any other matter(s) not on this agenda.

David Dixon, Patrick Herrington, Karen Hail, Bob Hammack, Jeremiah Supple and RB Logan all spoke regarding drainage and flooding concerns. They noted that the Vermilion River rises much faster with less rainfall than it did in previous year. They noted a need to have the Vermilion River dredged. They stressed that this is an emergency situation that needs to be immediately addressed.

Chris Gros requested that the public have access to LCG’s project schedules.

Brian Courtright stated that there is a traffic safety issue with cars attempting to turn left into the new Southern Classic Chicken on Johnston Street and requested assistance.

Hebert stated that the left turn is legal but requested that an apparatus to assist be implemented.

(6:51:00) ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Council, Chair Boudreaux declared the Regular Meeting adjourned. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE AND THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF JULY 15, 2025 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA. ATTENDANCE CITY COUNCIL: Kenneth P. Boudreaux (Chair, District 5), Liz W. Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3), Elroy Broussard (District 1) and Andy Naquin (District 2) ABSENT: Thomas Hooks (District 4) PARISH COUNCIL: Donald Richard (Vice-Chair, District 2), Bryan Tabor (District 1), Ken Stansbury (District 3) and John Guilbeau (District 4) ABSENT: AB Rubin (Chair, District 5) COUNCIL STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Jeremy J. Swiney (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Cindy M. Semien (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy “Rich” Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer) and Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney) (5:17:00) CALL TO ORDER City Chair Boudreaux opened the Special Joint Council Meeting and called the City Council Meeting to order.

Parish Vice-Chair Richard called the Parish Council Meeting to order.

Boudreaux announced: • Budget reviews are scheduled for August 7th, August 12th, and August 14th; • There will be a public hearing for citizen input on the budget on August 19th; • Budget Wrap-Up is scheduled for August 28th; and • Final adoption is scheduled for September 11th.

JOINT INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCE AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: JO-038-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council adopting an Operating & Five-Year Capital Improvement Budget of revenues and expenditures for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government for the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2025 and ending October 31, 2026.

City Council motion to introduce by Hebert, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce was approved by the City Council.

Parish Council motion to introduce by Guilbeau, seconded by Tabor, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau NAYS: None ABSENT: Rubin ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce was approved by the Parish Council.

Fontenot stated that the budget with be available to the public at 6pm online at www.LafayetteLA.gov. She thanked the Finance staff for all of their hard work during budget preparation.

There being no further business to come before the Councils, Parish Vice-Chair Richard declared the Parish Council Meeting adjourned.

City Chair Boudreaux declared the Joint Meeting and the City Council Meeting adjourned.

(5:27:00) ADJOURN /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council each met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and adopted the following ordinances: ORDINANCE NO. JO-032-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT TO SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION SURPLUS VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MOVABLE PROPERTY WHICH ARE NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES, AS PER THE ATTACHED LIST (PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government has in storage surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous LCG movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list.

SECTION 2: It would be in the best interest of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell this movable property at a public internet auction to the highest bidder.

SECTION 3: The attached list represents the surplus LCG movable property to be sold.

SECTION 4: All items shall be sold in an “as-is, where-is” condition. The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids, establish minimum bid prices, or withdraw any items from the sale.

SECTION 5: The Lafayette Mayor-President, Monique B. Boulet, be and she is hereby authorized and directed to sell at a public auction and public internet auction surplus LCG movable property as per the attached list.

SECTION 6: It is specifically recognized that all requirements of the State law pertaining to the sale of surplus movable property including notice of this proposed ordinance to the public shall be adhered to.

SECTION 7: Any opposition to this ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Council within 15 days of first publication.

SECTION 8: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9: After first having been adopted by a majority of the authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** ORDINANCE NO. JO-033-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE MAYOR-PRESIDENT TO SUBMIT THE 2025 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN GRANT APPLICATION TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby authorized to submit the 2025 Annual Action Plan grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

SECTION 2: The grant application is for federal assistance for housing and community development activities that will primarily benefit low- and moderate-income persons.

SECTION 3: The Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council further authorize the Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, to conduct all negotiations, execute, and submit all documents, including but not limited to, applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests, memoranda of understanding and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned projects.

SECTION 4: Such further terms as may be reflected in any pertinent documents pertaining to the grant application, and any such documents on file in the Office of the Clerk of the Council in connection with this ordinance, are made a part hereof by reference.

SECTION 5: All ordinances and resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 6: After first having been adopted by a majority of the

authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** ORDINANCE NO. JO-034-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT BY INCREASING REVENUES IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,540,451 IN CDBG FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by increasing revenues in the amount of $1,540,451, received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and appropriating funds within the Community Development and Planning Department.

SECTION 2: This increase in revenues shall be as reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council.

SECTION 3: The Community Development and Planning Department is hereby granted the authority to recognize, via administrative budget revision, the annual CDBG program income received at the end of the program year. CDBG program income must be recognized before the end of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government’s fiscal year end., but program income is not known until October 1 of each year, leaving insufficient time to recognize program income through a Council ordinance.

SECTION 4: The Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, is hereby authorized to amend the operating budget within the grant period by transferring any unexpended appropriated balances into or out of salaries and benefits line items and all other expense line items in order to expend the total award amount in accordance with the CDBG regulations.

SECTION 5: All ordinances and resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 6: After first having been adopted by a majority of the authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** ORDINANCE NO. JO-035-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT BY INCREASING REVENUES IN THE AMOUNT OF $619,808.35 IN HOME FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by increasing revenues in the amount of $619,808.35, received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the 2025 HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program and appropriating funds within the Community Development and Planning Department.

SECTION 2: This increase in revenues shall be as reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council.

SECTION 3: The Community Development and Planning Department is hereby granted the authority to recognize, via administrative budget revision, the periodic receipt of homeowner contributions associated with the Housing Rehabilitation Program carried out by the Community Development and Planning Division pursuant to the HOME Program. Receipt of said homeowner contributions shall not necessitate additional Council action.

SECTION 4: The Community Development and Planning Department is hereby granted the authority to recognize, via administrative budget revision, the annual HOME program income received at the end of the program year. HOME program income must be recognized before the end of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government’s fiscal year end, but program income is not known until October 1 of each year, leaving insufficient time to recognize program income through a Council ordinance.

SECTION 5: The Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, is hereby authorized to amend the operating budget within the grant period by transferring any unexpended appropriated balances into or out of salaries and benefits line items and all other expense line items in order to expend the total award amount in accordance with the HOME regulations.

SECTION 6: All ordinances and resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 7: After first having been adopted by a majority of the authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** ORDINANCE NO. JO-036-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $927,179 IN NATIONAL OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA OPIOID ABATEMENT TASK FORCE AND APPROPRIATING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR ALLOCATION TO THE ACADIANA CRIME LAB AS APPROVED THROUGH RESOLUTION NO. JR-015-2023 BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: WHEREAS, there exists a national health crisis caused by the prevalence and misuse of opioid-based drugs across the United States; and WHEREAS, the State of Louisiana has entered settlement agreements with various pharmaceutical producers and distributors as part of the National Opioid Settlement (NOS); and WHEREAS, the State of Louisiana has created the Opioids Abatement Task Force, which is charged with disbursing NOS funds to participating parishes and tracking the proper use of funds by parish governments; and WHEREAS, Lafayette Parish is the recipient of NOS funds through the Opioids Abatement Task Force and is charged with expending NOS funds on allowable opioid abatement activities as defined by the Opioid Abatement Task Force and reporting such use to the State; and WHEREAS, through Resolution No. JR-015-2023, the Lafayette City Council and Lafayette Parish Council resolved to support the planning, construction, and equipping of the new Acadiana Crime Lab, and resolved to use their best efforts to provide funding of up to $1,605,445 in match, should the project be funded.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by allocating $927,179 received from the State of Louisiana Opioids Abatement Task Force and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department for expenses related to the required cost share for construction of the Acadiana Crime Lab for Lafayette Parish Agencies.

SECTION 2: The Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council hereby authorize the Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests, memoranda of understanding and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project.

SECTION 3: This transfer of funds shall be as reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council. The Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, is hereby authorized to amend the operating budget within the grant period by de-obligating any unused funds deemed unnecessary for the completion of the referenced project.

SECTION 4: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 5: After first having been adopted by a majority of the authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** ORDINANCE NO. JO-037-2025 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL PROVIDING FOR THE ABANDONMENT OF A SIX (6’) FOOT BY SIX (6’) FOOT UTILITY NICHE ON LOT D-162A OF THE VILLAGE OF RIVER RANCH PHASE VII-B SUBDIVISION, LOCATED AT 108 PRINCETON WOODS LOOP BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: WHEREAS, a six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche was dedicated to the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, by that certain act of dedication dated August 01, 2003, and recorded under Act No. 2003-00040270 of the Lafayette Parish Conveyance Records; and WHEREAS, a boundary line adjustment of Lots D-161 and D-162, created Lot D-162A of The Village of River Ranch, Phase VII-B subdivision and is clearly shown on a plat of survey conveyance prepared by Barry J. Bleichner PE/PLS, dated June 01, 2016, recorded under Act No. 2016-0019765, records of Lafayette Parish; and attached hereto and made a part hereof in Exhibit A; and WHEREAS, the six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A has been proposed for abandonment and is clearly shown on a plat of survey prepared by A.E. Montagnet, PLS, dated May 07, 2025, attached hereto and made a part hereof in Exhibit B; and WHEREAS, it has been determined by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council that the six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A, as shown in Exhibit B, is no longer needed for public use and, accordingly, it is appropriate that said utility niche be abandoned.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that:

SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance.

SECTION 2: The Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council hereby abandons the six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A, as shown on a plat of survey prepared by A.E. Montagnet, PLS, dated May 07, 2025, attached hereto and made a part hereof in Exhibit B. SECTION 3: The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby authorized and empowered to execute an Act of Abandonment in order to effectuate the abandonment the six (6’) foot by six (6’) foot utility niche on Lot D-162A, as shown on a plat of survey prepared by A.E. Montagnet, PLS, dated May 07, 2025.

SECTION 4: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 5: After first having been adopted by a majority of the authorized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint ordinance by the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette City Council met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and adopted the following ordinances: CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-065-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT TO SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION SURPLUS VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MOVABLE PROPERTY WHICH ARE NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES, AS PER THE ATTACHED LIST (PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government has in storage surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous LCG movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list.

SECTION 2: It would be in the best interest of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell this movable property at a public auction and public internet auction to the highest bidder.

SECTION 3: The attached list represents the surplus LCG movable property to be sold.

SECTION 4: All items shall be sold in an “as-is, where-is” condition. The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids, establish minimum bid prices, or withdraw any items from the sale.

SECTION 5: The Lafayette Mayor-President, Monique B. Boulet, be and she is hereby authorized and directed to sell at a public auction and public internet auction surplus LCG movable property as per the attached list.

SECTION 6: It is specifically recognized that all requirements of the State law pertaining to the sale of surplus movable property including notice of this proposed ordinance to the public shall be adhered to.

SECTION 7: Any opposition to this ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Council within 15 days of first publication.

SECTION 8: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-068-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE LAFAYETTE DEVELOPMENT CODE SO AS TO RECLASSIFY THE PROPERTY OF CASE NO. 2025-11-REZ 1510 KALISTE SALOOM ROAD REZONING, LOCATED GENERALLY NORTH OF KALISTE SALOOM ROAD, EAST OF STEINER ROAD, AND SOUTH OF PEMBROKE LANE; BEING REZONED FROM CM-1 (C) (COMMERCIAL MIXED, WITH CONDITIONS) TO CM-1 (COMMERCIAL MIXED) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette Development Code is hereby amended so as to reclassify Case No. 2025-11-REZ 1510 Kaliste Saloom Road Rezoning located generally north of Kaliste Saloom Road, east of Steiner Road, and south of Pembroke Lane, the particular parcel being rezoned from CM-1 (c) (Commercial Mixed, with conditions) to CM-1 (Commercial Mixed); the said parcel being shown and identified on a map titled, “A Plat of Survey Rezoning The Residences” prepared by PBM Surveying, LLC, dated April 23, 2025, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part thereof.

SECTION 2: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-069-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE LAFAYETTE DEVELOPMENT CODE SO AS TO RECLASSIFY THE PROPERTY OF CASE NO. 2025-12-REZ LOT 8-A EAST BLUEBIRD DRIVE REZONING, WITH A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) FOR A BAR/LOUNGE IN A CM-1 (COMMERCIAL MIXED) ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED GENERALLY NORTH OF BOB WHITE LOOP, WEST OF EAST BLUEBIRD DRIVE, AND SOUTH OF CAMELLIA BOULEVARD; BEING REZONED FROM MN-2 (MIXEDUSE NEIGHBORHOOD) TO CM-1 (CUP) (COMMERCIAL MIXED, WITH A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) FOR A BAR/LOUNGE IN A CM-1 (COMMERCIAL MIXED) ZONING DISTRICT) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette Development Code is hereby amended so as to reclassify Case No. 2025-12-REZ Lot 8-A East Bluebird Drive Rezoning, with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a bar/lounge in a CM-1 (Commercial Mixed) zoning district, located generally north of Bob White Loop, west of East Bluebird Drive, and south of Camellia Drive, the particular parcel being rezoned from MN-2 (Mixed-Use Neighborhood) to CM-1 (CUP) (Commercial Mixed with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a bar/lounge in a CM-1 (Commercial Mixed) zoning district); the said parcel being shown and identified on a map titled, “Commercial Resubdivision of a Portion of Unplatted Lot 7 and Lot 8”, prepared by Duplantis Design Group, dated April 4, 2025, and, a “Commercial Rezone of Lot 8-A of Pine Farm Phase 1-B” prepared by Ritter Maher Architects, dated April 11, 2025, copies of which is attached hereto and made a part thereof.

SECTION 2: The following conditions are to apply: 1. There will be no live outdoor music.

SECTION 3: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 4: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-070-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE MAYOR-PRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO AN ACT OF DEPOSIT ON BEHALF OF THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF MOUNTED HORSE SUGARFOOT TO SENIOR CORPORAL JOHN DOMINGUE (POLICE HORSE) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: WHEREAS, a certain police mounted horse, SUGARFOOT, in the service of the Lafayette Police Department, can no longer serve as mounted horse and, therefore, is no longer useful or needed for such purposes; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette Police Department wishes to enter into an Act of Deposit wherein the custody and care of mounted horse SUGARFOOT is transferred unto Senior Corporal John Domingue; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council agrees that this would be in the best interest of mounted horse SUGARFOOT; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council wishes to authorize the Lafayette Mayor-President to execute any and all documents needed to properly transfer the custody and care of the mounted horse SUGARFOOT to Senior Corporal John Domingue including, but not limited to, the Act of Deposit, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof; and accordingly.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance.

SECTION 2: The Lafayette Mayor-President, Monique B. Boulet, be and she is hereby authorized to execute any and all documents needed to properly transfer the custody and care of the mounted horse SUGARFOOT to Senior Corporal John Domingue including, but not limited to, the Act of Deposit.

SECTION 3: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 4: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-071-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL DECLARING THE BERTRAND DRIVE REVITALIZATION – PHASE I A-1 PROJECT A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OF THE NECESSARY RIGHTS-OF-WAY, IMMOVABLE PROPERTY AND OTHER PROPERTY RIGHTS REQUISITE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF SAID PROJECT, EITHER ON AN AMICABLE BASIS OR THROUGH THE PROPER USE OF THE EXPROPRIATION PROCESS, IF NECESSARY BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council has declared the Bertrand Drive Revitalization – Phase I A-1 Project (hereinafter referred to as “Project”) a public necessity; and WHEREAS, the public purpose to be served by the construction of said project is to provide for roadway, drainage, utility, and sidewalk improvements; and WHEREAS, the project limits are shown on the attached Exhibit “A” for the project; and is generally the limits of the roadway, drainage, utility, and sidewalk improvements; and WHEREAS, design work is progressing to a point wherein it is determined that certain tracts of land or portions thereof will be required for construction of the Project.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance.

SECTION 2: The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby authorized to acquire such land, immovable property, rights-ofway, servitudes, or other property rights as are determined to be necessary under good engineering standards to provide for the construction of said project; and he is authorized to do so on an amicable basis or by the proper use of the power of expropriation granted to municipalities under applicable State law. In pursuing said land, immovable property, right-of-way acquisitions, he is authorized to acquire said land, immovable property, right-ofway and to settle the matters thus presented, on such terms and conditions as he shall deem proper and in the best interest of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government.

SECTION 3: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 4: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-072-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGETS OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT BY INCREASING ANTICIPATED REVENUES IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,140,013 FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA) FY 23/24 SECTION 5307 URBANIZED AREA FORMULA GRANT AND APPROPRIATING THESE FUNDS ALONG WITH THE REQUIRED MATCH IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,330,896 FOR USE WITHIN THE TRAFFIC, ROADS & BRIDGES DEPARTMENT, TRANSIT DIVISION BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating and capital budgets of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by increasing anticipated revenues in the amount of $3,140,013 from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Grant and appropriating these funds within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division.

SECTION 2: The purpose of the grant is to provide federal funding to replacing low floor transit buses within Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division.

SECTION 3: LCG city match funds were appropriated for use in the FY 23/24 budget year and carried over for use in FY 24/25.

SECTION 4: The Lafayette City Council hereby authorizes the Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to applications, amendments, payment request and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned funding.

SECTION 5: The increase in revenues shall be reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council.

SECTION 6: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 7: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-073-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 CAPITAL BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT BY INCREASING ANTICIPATED REVENUES IN THE AMOUNT OF $263,353 RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA) FY 23/24 SECTION 5339 BUS AND BUS FACILITIES FORMULA GRANT AND APPROPRIATING THESE FUNDS ALONG WITH THE REQUIRED MATCH IN THE AMOUNT OF $46,475 FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR OF 24/25 FOR USE WITHIN THE TRAFFIC, ROADS & BRIDGES DEPARTMENT, TRANSIT DIVISION BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 capital budget of the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by increasing anticipated revenues in the amount of $263,353 received from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Grant, and appropriating these funds within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division.

SECTION 2: The purpose of the grant is to provide federal funding to replace transit buses within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges Department, Transit Division.

SECTION 3: Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government city match funds will be used as the Transit system operates strictly within the city limits of Lafayette. These match funds were appropriated in FY 23/24 and have been carried over for use in FY 24/25.

SECTION 4: The Lafayette City Council hereby authorizes the Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to applications, amendments, payment request and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned funding.

SECTION 5: The increase in revenues shall be reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council.

SECTION 6: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 7: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** CITY ORDINANCE NO. CO-074-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OF LOCAL OR SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS ON CERTAIN LOTS OR PARCELS OF REAL ESTATE IN A PORTION OF CONSOLIDATED SEWERAGE DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, CONSOLIDATED SEWERAGE DISTRICT - PROJECT XIV (GREENFARM ROAD AREA), TO PAY A PORTION OF THE TOTAL COST OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, EXTENSION AND MAINTENANCE OF A SEWER SYSTEM AND ALL NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND INSTALLATION IN CONNECTION THEREWITH TO SERVE THE PROPERTIES LOCATED IN THE CONSOLIDATED SEWERAGE DISTRICT - PROJECT XIV (GREENFARM ROAD AREA), ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SUBPART A, PART II, CHAPTER 9, OF TITLE 33, OF THE LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES OF 1950, AS AMENDED, AND OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, acting as the governing authority of the Lafayette Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana (the “District”), that: WHEREAS, on August 18, 2020, the Lafayette City Council adopted City Resolution No. CR-031-2020, which amended City Resolution No. CR-022-2020, declaring the intent of the District to establish, acquire, construct, improve, extend, and maintain sewer system improvements within a portion of said District related to Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area) and to provide for the publication of a Notice of Intention to assess a pro-rata portion of the costs of said intention of improvements to each lot or parcel of real estate to be served or benefited by said improvements, all in accordance with the provisions of Subpart A, Part II, Chapter 9, of Title 33, or the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, et. seq.; and WHEREAS, on October 20, 2020, the Lafayette City Council adopted City Resolution No. CR-035-2020 declaring the intent of the Lafayette City Council to proceed with the construction of the proposed improvements to the District related to Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area); and WHEREAS, on May 16, 2023, the Lafayette City Council adopted City Ordinance No. CO-066-2023 approving and accepting the improvements constructed within the District related to Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area), finding that such improvements were completed satisfactorily in accordance with the contract with the contractor constructing said improvements; and WHEREAS, on June 4, 2024, the Lafayette City Council adopted City Resolution No. CR-010-2024 accepting and approving the certified statement or report of Lafayette Utilities System, of Lafayette, Louisiana, showing in detail the total cost of the improvements in the District related to Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area), together with the amounts thereof chargeable to each lot or parcel of real estate abutting the proposed improvements and providing for the notice of such assessment to the be provided to the effected property owners; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council, acting as the governing authority of the Lafayette Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, has determined that each lot or parcel of real estate to be assessed in the respective Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area) will be benefited to an amount not less than the proposed local or special assessments, and following said review and findings, and by mailings on August 19, 2024, mailed to each property owner to be assessed, a notice advising each property owner of the proposed assessment and the manner and time for payment thereof, and further containing a general description of the proposed improvements, the description of the property to be assessed and the location thereof, and further notifying each property owner to advise the governing authority in writing within 15 days from the date of said notice if any inaccuracies exist in the proposed assessments, said notice being deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the respective property owners at their address as it appeared on the last Lafayette City assessment roll on which the property was assessed for Lafayette City taxes; and WHEREAS, to cover that portion of the total costs of the respective Project XIV (Greenfarm Road Area) to be assessed against the abutting property in accordance with said engineering report, it is the desire of the Lafayette City Council, acting as the governing authority of the Lafayette Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, to levy local or special assessments as herein provided.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, acting as the governing authority of the Lafayette Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance.

SECTION 2: In compliance with an under the authority of Subpart A, Part II, Chapter 9, Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority, and in accordance with the construction contracts awarded and the certified statement or report of Lafayette Utilities System, of Lafayette, Louisiana, and to pay that portion of the total cost (after deducting the contribution of the City of Lafayette) of establishing, acquiring, constructing, improving, extending and maintaining a sewer system within a portion of the Lafayette Consolidated Sewerage District of the City of Lafayette, engineers’ and attorneys’ fees, and all other costs incidental to said work, to serve the properties located within the District, there is hereby levied a local or special assessment of Fourteen Dollars ($14.00) per front foot on each and every lot or parcel of real estate abutting streets, rights-of-ways and sewer ways between the points hereinafter set out and located within the corporate limits of the District, all as

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Lafayette City and Parish CounCiL described on Exhibit “A.” SECTION 3: The amounts herein assessed shall be due and collectable immediately upon passage of this ordinance at Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, 705 West University Avenue, Lafayette, Louisiana, and if not paid within 30 days from the date hereof, it will be conclusively presumed that any property owner whose property is affected thereby has exercised the right and option hereby granted to pay the respective amounts due and assessed in ten (10) equal annual installments maturing on the anniversary date of December 31 in the years 2025 to 2034, inclusive, and bearing interest at a rate not exceeding five per centum (5%) per annum from date of the adoption of said ordinance until paid. The first installment of the unpaid principal amount of the assessment shall become due on December 31, 2025, and the subsequent installments shall become due annually on December 31 of each year thereafter. The failure to pay any installments or interest thereon when due shall ipso facto cause all other installments and the interest thereon to become due and payable and the District may, after thirty days from the date of such default proceed against the property for the collection of the total amount due thereon, including interest, plus twenty percent additional on the principal and interest of the past due installment or installments or twenty percent of the amount sued for, and in the event judgment is necessary to effect collection, twenty percent of the amount of the judgment rendered, as attorney’s fees provided that said attorney’s fees shall be payable by the property owner only if demand by the governing authority of the district through registered or certified mail has been made on the property owner and he has failed to pay the amount due within ten days after such demand, all as provided for by Subpart A, Part II, Chapter 9, Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority.

SECTION 4: A certified copy of this Lafayette City Ordinance shall be filed with the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorded of Mortgages in and for the Parish of Lafayette, Louisiana, who shall forthwith record the same in the Mortgage Records of said Parish and this Lafayette City Ordinance, when so filed and recorded, shall operate as a lien and privilege against each lot or parcel of real estate herein assessed, which lien and privilege shall prime all claims except taxes.

SECTION 5: After the 30-day period set forth in Section 2 has expired the unpaid balance owed on an assessment may be prepaid at any time at a price equal to the outstanding principal balance of the assessment being prepaid and the amount of the total annual interest for the then current assessment year on the principal balance being prepaid.

SECTION 6: Any and all payments made in cash in payment of the assessments being levied shall be expended for no purpose other than the payment of the costs of said improvements herein referred to, and the Clerk of the Council, or a representative thereof, is hereby empowered, authorized, and directed to issue receipts authorizing the cancellation of the assessments hereby levied upon payment to said District of the full amounts due on account of the respective installments.

SECTION 7: This Lafayette City Ordinance shall be published in one (1) issue of the official journal of the District as soon as possible.

SECTION 8: In case any one (1) or more of the provisions of this Lafayette City Ordinance shall for any reason be held to be illegal or invalid, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect any other provisions of said ordinance, but the same shall be construed and enforced as if such illegal or invalid provision had not been contained herein. Any constitutional or statutory revision enacted after the date of this ordinance which validates any provision herein shall be deemed to apply hereto.

SECTION 9: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 10: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette Parish Council met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and adopted the following ordinances: PARISH ORDINANCE NO. PO-027-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE CITYPARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT TO SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION SURPLUS VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MOVABLE PROPERTY WHICH ARE NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES, AS PER THE ATTACHED LIST (PUBLIC AUCTION AND PUBLIC INTERNET AUCTION) BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government has in storage surplus vehicles, equipment and other miscellaneous LCG movable property which are no longer needed for public purposes, as per the attached list.

SECTION 2: It would be in the best interest of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell this movable property at a public auction and public internet auction to the highest bidder.

SECTION 3: The attached list represents the surplus LCG movable property to be sold.

SECTION 4: All items shall be sold in an “as-is, where-is” condition. The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids, establish minimum bid prices, or withdraw any items from the sale.

SECTION 5: The Lafayette Mayor-President, Monique B. Boulet, be and she is hereby authorized and directed to sell at a public auction and public internet auction surplus LCG movable property as per the attached list.

SECTION 6: It is specifically recognized that all requirements of the State law pertaining to the sale of surplus movable property including notice of this proposed ordinance to the public shall be adhered to.

SECTION 7: Any opposition to this ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Council within 15 days of first publication.

SECTION 8: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** PARISH ORDINANCE NO. PO-028-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE LAFAYETTE MAYORPRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT MAPPING SYSTEM PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE AND THE EXEMPTION PROJECT, INC (ALSO KNOWN AS TRUEROLL) AND A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE TAXING BODIES CONCERNING THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT MAPPING SYSTEM BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: WHEREAS, the Parish of Lafayette (hereinafter referred to as the “Parish”), the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of Lafayette (hereinafter referred to as the “Sheriff”), the Lafayette Parish School System (hereinafter referred to as the “School Board”), the Lafayette Centre Development District (hereinafter referred to as “LCDD”), the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (hereinafter referred to as “LEDA”), the Lafayette Bayou Vermilion District (hereinafter referred to as “BVD”), the Lafayette Airport Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Airport”), the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District (hereinafter referred to as “Teche”) and the Lafayette Parish Tax Assessment District (hereinafter referred to as the “Tax Assessor”) (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the “Parties”) mutually acknowledge that unlawfully claimed homestead exemptions deprive Lafayette Parish and its citizens from revenue to which the Parish is otherwise entitled; and WHEREAS, the Parties mutually acknowledge that the Parish has a direct financial interest in identifying those properties for which the homestead exemption was erroneously claimed or improperly recognized; and WHEREAS, the Tax Assessor is the Parish entity responsible for administering the evaluation and assessment of properties located within its geographical boundaries; and WHEREAS, the Tax Assessor desires to implement a process/ program to more efficiently and effectively identify, locate, and enforce homestead exemption violations (hereinafter referred to as the “Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System”) which would aid the Parish in recovering this lost revenue as is lawfully due, without the need to raise taxes; and WHEREAS, the Parties described and identified above have acknowledged and agreed to the implementation of the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System for the public purpose of reducing the incidence of erroneously claimed or improperly recognized homestead exemptions; and WHEREAS, in connection therewith, the Tax Assessor has indicated to the Parties that he proposes to, and shall, contract with The Exemption Project, Inc. (also known as TrueRoll) for certain services, as more particularly identified in the Exclusive Agreement for Homestead Audit Mapping and Proactive Homestead Exemption Monitoring Services between the Lafayette Parish Assessor’s Office and The Exemption Project, Inc. (Also Known As Trueroll) (hereinafter referred to as the “TrueRoll Contract”), substantially in the form which is attached hereto as Exhibit “A;” and WHEREAS, the Tax Assessor proposes that the Parish on behalf of the Tax Assessor and in accordance with La. R.S. 33:4713, enter into the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System Purchase Agreement by and between the Parish of Lafayette and The Exemption Project, Inc. (also known as TrueRoll) (hereinafter referred to as the “Purchase Agreement”), in substantially the same form as attached hereto as Exhibit “B,” and in consideration of the services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc. to the Tax Assessor, in accordance with the TrueRoll Contract, the Parties described and identified above have acknowledged and agreed to proportionately share the costs of such services since each will receive the net benefit resulting from the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System; and WHEREAS, in recognition of and in agreement with the

above statements, the Parties described and identified above have manifested a desire and intention to execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “CEA Agreement”), substantially in the same form attached hereto as Exhibit “C,” consenting to and authorizing the above acts and specifying the responsibilities and obligations of each of the Parties in connection with the payment of the costs associated therewith; and WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 14(C) of the 1974 Constitution of the State of Louisiana and La. R.S. 33:1324, et seq., provide that, for a public purpose, public entities, parishes, municipalities and political subdivisions may engage in and make cooperative endeavor agreements/intergovernmental agreements between themselves for specific purposes; and WHEREAS, the transfer or expenditure of public funds in connection with the services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc. are not a gratuitous donation; and WHEREAS, the parties hereto are authorized and empowered to enter into this Agreement under the provisions of Louisiana law, including, but not limited to, La. R.S. 33:1324, et seq., and Article VII, Section 14(C) of the 1974 Constitution of the State of Louisiana and all Ordinances, Resolutions and Acts specific hereto.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance.

SECTION 2: The following synopsis summarizes the CEA Agreement by and between the Parties.

Participants: The Parish, the Sheriff, the School Board, LCDD, LEDA, BVD, the Airport, Teche and the Tax Assessor.

Purpose: The purpose of the CEA Agreement is the acknowledgement and agreement of the Parties to the implementation of the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System for the purpose of reducing the incidence of erroneously claimed or improperly recognized homestead exemptions and to proportionately share in the costs of services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc. pursuant to the TrueRoll Contract inasmuch as each Party will receive the net benefit resulting from the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System.

Funds and/or services provided by the Parish: The Parish agrees to pay its proportionate share of the costs of the services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc., according to its millage.

Funds and/or services provided by the Sheriff, the School Board, LCDD, LEDA, BVD, the Airport, Teche, and the Tax Assessor: The Parties agree to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc., according to their millage.

Benefits to the Parish: The Parish shall receive additional tax revenues collected from those properties identified for which the homestead exemption is erroneously claimed or improperly recognized.

Time Frame: The initial term of the CEA Agreement shall be for three (3) years (“Initial Term”) from the date this Agreement is executed by the last Party (“Effective Date”). Thereafter, it shall continue in effect on a year-to-year basis. The CEA Agreement may be terminated by any Party, without cause, following the Initial Term upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to the other Party and the Parish Assessor.

SECTION 3: The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby authorized to execute the attached Purchase Agreement, substantially in the same form as attached hereto, and the CEA Agreement, substantially in the same form as attached hereto, with the Parties wherein the Parties acknowledge and agree to the implementation of the Homestead Exemption Audit Mapping System for the public purpose of reducing the incidence of erroneously claimed or improperly recognized homestead exemptions and to proportionately share in the costs of services to be provided by The Exemption Project, Inc. pursuant to the TrueRoll Contract.

SECTION 4: The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby further authorized to execute any and all other documents and take any and all other actions in connection therewith.

SECTION 5: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 6: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** PARISH ORDINANCE NO. PO-029-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT BY TRANSFERRING $9,875 IN PARISH GENERAL FUND BALANCE (1050) AND APPROPRIATING WITHIN THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (1203) FOR ANNUAL AUDIT FEE EXPENSES BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating and maintenance budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by transferring $9,875 in Parish General Fund Balance (1050) and appropriating within the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (1203) for annual audit fee expenses.

SECTION 2: This transfer of funds shall be as reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council.

SECTION 3: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 4: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** PARISH ORDINANCE NO. PO-033-2025 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL AMENDING THE FY 24/25 OPERATING BUDGET OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $669,405 IN NATIONAL OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA OPIOID ABATEMENT TASK FORCE AND APPROPRIATING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR ALLOCATION TO THE ACADIANA CRIME LAB AS APPROVED THROUGH RESOLUTION NO. JR-015-2023 BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: WHEREAS, there exists a national health crisis caused by the prevalence and misuse of opioid-based drugs across the United States; and WHEREAS, the State of Louisiana has entered settlement agreements with various pharmaceutical producers and distributors as part of the National Opioid Settlement (NOS); and WHEREAS, the State of Louisiana has created the Opioids Abatement Task Force, which is charged with disbursing NOS funds to participating parishes and tracking the proper use of funds by parish governments; and WHEREAS, Lafayette Parish is the recipient of NOS funds through the Opioids Abatement Task Force and is charged with expending NOS funds on allowable opioid abatement activities as defined by the Opioid Abatement Task Force and reporting such use to the State; and WHEREAS, through Resolution No. JR-015-2023, the Lafayette City Council and Lafayette Parish Council resolved to support the planning, construction, and equipping of the new Acadiana Crime Lab, and resolved to use their best efforts to provide funding of up to $1,605,445 in match, should the project be funded.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: The FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government is hereby amended by allocating $669,405 received from the State of Louisiana Opioids Abatement Task Force and appropriating within the Community Development and Planning Department for expenses related to the required cost share for construction of the Acadiana Crime Lab for Lafayette Parish Agencies.

SECTION 2: The Lafayette Parish Council hereby authorizes the Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents, including but not limited to applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests, memoranda of understanding and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project.

SECTION 3: This transfer of funds shall be as reflected in any pertinent documents which are attached hereto and made a part hereof and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Council. The Lafayette Mayor-President, or her designee, is hereby authorized to amend the operating budget within the grant period by de-obligating any unused funds deemed unnecessary for the completion of the referenced project.

SECTION 4: All ordinances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 5: This ordinance shall become effective upon signature of the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon an override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council each met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and introduced the following joint ordinances.

JO-039-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances Chapter 82, “Taxation” to conform to legislative changes to the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code.

JO-040-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending Chapter 86, “Traffic and Vehicles,” Article II, “Administration and Enforcement,” Division 2, “Traffic Operations Prohibited” of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances by enacting Section 86-10, “Speed Contests and Vehicular Stunts.”

JO-041-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of that property located at 213 North Buchanan Street (Assessment No. 6010353), 203 Chalmette Drive (Assessment No. 6035922), & 201 Conrad Street (Assessment No. 6030150) to Acts of Love, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

JO-042-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Non-Warranty Donation of various adjudicated properties to Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Inc. a certified non-profit, pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2205.

The ordinances will appear before each the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council for public hearing and final adoption in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium located at 705 W. University Avenue, Lafayette, LA on August 5, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council met in Joint Special Session on July 15, 2025 and introduced the following joint ordinance.

JO-038-2025 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council adopting an Operating & Five-Year Capital Improvement Budget of revenues and expenditures for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government for the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2025 and ending October 31, 2026.

The ordinance will appear jointly before the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council for public hearing and final adoption in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium located at 705 W. University Avenue, Lafayette, LA on September 11, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette City Council met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and introduced the following ordinances.

CO-075-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council setting forth and designating the ad valorem tax millage rates and imposing taxes on all property subject to ad valorem taxation in the City of Lafayette and authorizing the Assessor and Tax Collector for the Parish of Lafayette to assess and collect property taxes for 2025.

CO-076-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by increasing revenues in the amount of $38,616 received from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE) and appropriating within the Lafayette Police Department.

CO-077-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 24/25 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $242,000 from the Station 6 RebuildAddl Funding to the Station 11 Roof RPR-Addl Funds project within the Lafayette Fire Department for additional funding needed.

CO-078-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 105 Conrad Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Ledezma Juan Sacramento Sanchez, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

CO-079-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 516 Fourteenth Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Quincy Mason Richard and Mathis Brent Richard C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, and Dionne Lynette Richard, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

CO-080-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 1402 Moss Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by William J Zimmer and Patricia Claire Fiero Zimmer, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

CO-081-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 141 S. Orleans Drive, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Sara Dixon Williams C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

CO-082-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council declaring the building or structure located at 405 W. Saint Louis Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, owned by Nancy Lee Buttleman and Glen Gale Guilbeau (Estate) C/O Margo H. Dugas, Attorney Appointed, and Lima Network, C/O Melissa Castille to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

CO-084-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council providing for the issuance and sale of Communications System Revenue Bonds of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

CO-085-2025 A Fifth Supplemental Ordinance of the Lafayette City Council supplementing an ordinance adopted on September 6, 2005, as amended and restated on March 21, 2006 (the “General Bond Ordinance”) to provide for the issuance and sale of Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2025, of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, pursuant to the General Bond Ordinance; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

The ordinances will appear before the Lafayette City Council for public hearing and final adoption in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium located at 705 W. University Avenue, Lafayette, LA on August 5, 2025; except CO-078-2025, CO-079-2025, CO080-2025, CO-081-2025 and CO-082-2025 which will be up for final adoption on August 19, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette Parish Council met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and introduced the following ordinances.

PO-034-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council setting forth and designating the ad valorem tax millage rates and imposing taxes on all property subject to ad valorem taxation in the Parish of Lafayette and authorizing the Assessor and Tax Collector for the Parish of Lafayette to assess and collect property taxes for 2025.

PO-035-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 24/25 operating budget of the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Government by adjusting the manning tables and increasing the hourly pay rate of two (2) Librarian I positions within the Library Department.

PO-036-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council declaring the building or structure located at 2005 W Gloria Switch Road, Unit B, Carencro, Louisiana, owned by Gerald Arceneaux and Pamela Arceneaux, to be dilapidated and dangerous to the public welfare and ordering the condemnation of same.

PO-037-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council providing for the abandonment of a certain portion of a 20’ drainage servitude on Lot 152 of the Magnolia Park, Extension No. 3 Subdivision, located at 520 Montrose Avenue.

PO-038-2025 An ordinance of the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into an intergovernmental agreement between the Parish of Lafayette and the City of Youngsville concerning surface improvements to S. Larriviere Rd. (Youngsville Project No. H.012867), and amending the FY 24/25 operating and five-year capital improvement budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in the amount of $400,000.00 to assist in the funding of the reconstruction and improvements to the unincorporated portion of S. Larriviere Rd. The ordinances will appear before the Lafayette Parish Council for public hearing and final adoption in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium located at 705 W. University Avenue, Lafayette, LA on August 5, 2025; except PO-036-2025 which will be up for final adoption on August 19, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE

Power Authority, and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

The ordinances will appear before the Lafayette Public Power Authority for public hearing and final adoption in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium located at 705 W. University Avenue, Lafayette, LA on August 5, 2025; except O-LPPA-249 which will be up for final adoption on September 11, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL ____________________________________________________________ NOTICE The Lafayette City Council met in Regular Session on July 15, 2025 and adopted the following resolution: CITY RESOLUTION NO. CR-012-2025 A RESOLUTION OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL GRANTING AUTHORITY TO TAKE PRELIMINARY ACTION RELATIVE TO THE ISSUANCE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF NOT EXCEEDING $6,500,000 OF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM REVENUE BONDS OF THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA; MAKING APPLICATION TO THE STATE BOND COMMISSION FOR APPROVAL OF SAID BONDS; AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH BE IT RESOLVED by the Lafayette City Council (the “Governing Authority”) acting as the governing authority of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana (the “Issuer”), that: WHEREAS, the Issuer owns and operates a local communications network offering telephone, cable TV, high-speed internet access, and other communications and information services (collectively, the “Communications System”); and WHEREAS, the Issuer, pursuant to Ordinance No. O-2302005 adopted on September 6, 2005, as amended and restated

by Ordinance No. O-053-2006 adopted on March 21, 2006 (the “General Bond Ordinance”), has heretofore issued the following bonds payable from and secured by, first, the income and revenues derived or to be derived from the operation of the Communications System, after provision has been made for the payment therefrom of the reasonable and necessary expenses of operation and maintaining the Communications System (the “Net Revenues”), and second, to the amount necessary, the revenues of the Utilities System as provided in the General Bond Ordinance (the “Residual Revenues”): i.

Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2015 (the “Series 2015 Bonds”); ii. Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2021A (the ‘Series 2021A Bonds”); iii. Taxable Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2021B (the “Series 2021B Bonds”); and WHEREAS, this Governing Authority has authorized the issuance of its Communications System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2025 (the “Series 2025 Refunding Bonds”), for the purpose of refunding all or a portion of the outstanding Series 2015 Bonds; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1430 of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority (the “Act”), and subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, it is now the desire of this Governing Authority to provide for the issuance of not exceeding $6,500,000 of Communications System Revenue Bonds (the “Bonds”), in one (1) or more series, each on a taxable or tax-exempt basis, for the purpose of (i) acquiring and improving property, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment; and (ii) paying the costs of issuance of the Bonds; and WHEREAS, upon the issuance of the Bonds, the Issuer will have no outstanding bonds or other obligations of any kind or nature payable from or enjoying a lien on the Net Revenues or the Residual Revenues, EXCEPT its (i) unrefunded Series 2015 Bonds, if any, (ii) Series 2021A Bonds, (iii) Series 2021B Bonds, and (iv) Series 2025 Refunding Bonds, if issued (collectively, the “Outstanding Parity Bonds”); and WHEREAS, the Issuer desires to make formal application to the State Bond Commission for approval of the Bonds and further to employ professionals in connection therewith.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Lafayette City Council, that: SECTION 1: Recitals. All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this resolution.

SECTION 2: Preliminary Approval of Bonds. Preliminary approval is given to the issuance of not exceeding $6,500,000 aggregate principal amount of Communications System Revenue Bonds of the City of Lafayette, State of Louisiana, which may be issued in one (1) or more series, each on a taxable or taxexempt basis, pursuant to the Act, to be issued for the purpose of (i) acquiring and improving property, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment;and (ii) paying the costs of issuance of the Bonds, said Bonds to be payable, equally with the Outstanding Parity Bonds, from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of first, the Net Revenues, and second, to the amount necessary, the Residual Revenues. The Bonds will be issued at an interest rate not exceeding six (6%) percent per annum and shall mature no later than November 1, 2040.

The Bonds shall be issued in fully registered form and shall have such additional terms and provisions as may be determined by this Governing Authority.

SECTION 3: State Bond Commission. Application is hereby made to the State Bond Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for approval of the issuance and sale of the Bonds and for consent and authority to proceed with the issuance and sale of the Bonds as provided above, and Bond Counsel is directed to make application to the State Bond Commission in accordance with the foregoing on behalf of the Issuer. By virtue of applicant/issuer’s application for, acceptance and utilization of the benefits of the Louisiana State Bond Commission’s approval(s) resolved and set forth herein, it resolves that it understands and agrees that such approval(s) are expressly conditioned upon, and it further resolves that it understands, agrees and binds itself, its successors and assigns to, full and continuing compliance with the “State Bond Commission Policy on Approval of Proposed Use of Swaps, or other forms of Derivative Products Hedges, Etc.,” adopted by the Commission on July 20, 2006, as to the borrowing(s) and other matter(s) subject to the approval(s), including subsequent application and approval under said Policy of the implementation or use of any swap(s) or other product(s) or enhancement(s) covered thereby.

SECTION 4: Employment of Bond Counsel. This Governing Authority finds and determines that a real necessity exists for the employment of special counsel in connection with the issuance of the Bonds, and accordingly, Foley & Judell, L.L.P., of New Orleans, Louisiana, as Bond Counsel, is hereby employed to do and perform work of a traditional legal nature as sole bond counsel with respect to the issuance and sale of said Bonds. Said Bond Counsel shall prepare and submit to this Governing Authority for adoption all of the proceedings incidental to the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of such Bonds, shall counsel and advise this Governing Authority as to the issuance and sale thereof and shall furnish its opinions covering the legality of the issuance of the Bonds. The fee of Bond Counsel for each series of bonds shall be fixed at a sum not exceeding the fee allowed by the Attorney General’s fee guidelines for such bond counsel work in connection with the issuance of the revenue bonds and based on the amount of said Bonds actually issued, sold, delivered and paid for, plus “out-of-pocket” expenses, said fees to be contingent upon the issuance, sale and delivery of said Bonds. The Lafayette Mayor-President is hereby authorized and directed to execute, and this Governing Authority hereby agrees to and accepts the terms of, the engagement letter of Bond Counsel appended hereto. A certified copy of this resolution shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana for approval of said employment and of the fees herein designated, and payment for the work herein specified upon completion thereof and under the conditions herein enumerated is hereby approved without further action of this Governing Authority.

SECTION 5: Employment of Municipal Advisor.

The Governing Authority of the Issuer has retained Sisung Securities Corporation, of Metairie, Louisiana, pursuant to its contract dated April 25, 2023, to act as its Municipal Advisor (“MA”) pursuant to the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Issuer hereby acknowledges that it is represented by the MA and will rely upon the advice of the MA with respect to the Bonds. The fee to be paid the MA shall be payable solely from the proceeds of the Bonds when and if issued, and the amount thereof shall be subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission.

SECTION 6: Appointment of Underwriter/Placement Agent. The Issuer hereby appoints Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as underwriter/placement agent in connection with the issuance and sale of all or any portion of the Bonds, any compensation to be paid from the proceeds of the Bonds and contingent upon the issuance of the Bonds; provided that no compensation shall be due to said underwriter/placement agent unless the Bonds are sold and delivered.

SECTION 7: Repealer. All resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

This resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote on behalf of the Lafayette City Council thereon was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: Hooks ABSTAIN: None AND the resolution was declared adopted on this, the 15th day of July, 2025. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Exhibits for this resolution are available for inspection at the Lafayette Council Office.

The Lafayette Public Power Authority met in Special Session on July 15, 2025 and introduced the following ordinances.

O-LPPA-249 An ordinance of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA) adopting an operating and capital budget of revenues and expenditures for the Lafayette, Louisiana Public Power Authority for the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2025 and ending October 31, 2026.

O-LPPA-250 A series ordinance of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA) authorizing the issuance and sale of Electric Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2025, of the Lafayette Public

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150414-525679-JUL 18-1T $ 1,827

14C ● Friday, July 18, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. THURSDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

MODERATE

83°/73° 92°/75° 100° in 1932 65° in 1967

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

READING 54

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

GOOD

24 hours through 5 p.m. Thu. 1.18” Month to date (normal) 3.21” (3.66”) year to date (normal) 50.21” (34.81”)

SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

6:18 a.m.

8:10 p.m.

12:31 a.m.

2:13 p.m.

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates SOURCE: AIRNOW.GOV

NEW

FIRST

FULL

LAST

JUL 24

AUG 1

AUG 9

AUG 16

THE NATION AND WORLD Today City

LOUISIANA FORECAST

RIVER STAGES MISSISSIPPI

Monroe 91/76

Shreveport 95/76

Jackson 87/75

Longview 97/75

Many 86/74

Hattiesburg 88/74

Alexandria 84/74

Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 84/75 Beaumont 84/76

Port Arthur 85/78

Lafayette

AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 86/78

Lake Charles 83/75

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 85/75

ATCHAFALAYA

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

TIDES HIGH

First FT. LOW

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 3:20p 0.5 Shell Beach 9:03a 1.3 South Point, Marsh Island 8:49a 1.5 Cypremort Point 10:02a 1.3 Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 4:52a 1.0 Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 4:19a 1.2 Wine Island 6:00a 1.3

3:01a 8:37p 3:41p 7:35p 4:09p 2:43p 5:11p

FT.

HIGH

Second FT. LOW

FT.

0.1 0.0 -0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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Forecasts and graphics, except KATC forecasts, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2025

Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

7.40 37.40 40.80 25.00 16.40 12.43 8.30

-0.20 -1.00 -0.90 -0.80 -0.50 -0.45 -0.28

40

22.48

+0.88

19

-1.34

+0.01

18 29 8

-0.50 11.14 1.38

-0.38 +0.11 +0.03

13 15

1.99 1.01

-0.35 +0.30

47 34 29 20 12 6

20.00 15.33 13.52 10.93 7.90 3.81

-0.93 -0.84 -0.76 -0.56 +0.10 -0.25

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

The World Amsterdam Bangkok Barcelona Berlin Brussels Cairo Dublin Frankfurt Havana Hong Kong Jerusalem

Saturday

Hi

Lo

W

Hi

Lo

W

City

94 84 100 78 89 99 87 91 91

75 65 78 57 75 80 75 81 75

s pc s pc sh t t c t

97 83 97 78 87 101 87 92 90

76 69 80 58 74 83 76 80 77

s s s c sh s t pc t

New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

80 92 87 76 85 101 69 83 93 92 90

64 80 77 60 63 76 58 61 76 83 66

c r s pc c pc sh c t r s

84 91 86 82 84 97 68 88 93 92 86

64 80 73 62 64 76 57 66 73 82 65

pc r s s c pc sh c t pc s

Kuwait City London Madrid Mexico City Montreal Moscow New Delhi Paris Rome Stockholm Tokyo

Hi

Today

Saturday

Lo

W

Hi

Lo

W

86 94 89 107 79 96 85 74 94

78 76 73 87 69 77 75 66 79

t t pc t c t t s t

89 95 83 108 84 94 94 74 94

77 75 75 87 72 76 78 66 79

t t pc s t t t s t

120 85 97 73 76 79 90 90 88 81 89

91 64 64 55 60 59 80 65 69 55 77

s pc s sh pc c r pc s pc c

117 77 92 74 80 78 92 83 87 80 90

95 62 65 56 63 65 80 64 73 54 78

s sh s r c c c sh s s s

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

-10

-0s

0s

10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

SOLUNAR TABLE The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

Today Sat. Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu.

Major

Minor

Major

Minor

6:15a 12:02a 6:41p 12:28p 7:06a 12:52a 7:34p 1:20p 7:58a 1:43a 8:28p 2:13p 8:52a 2:37a 9:23p 3:08p 9:49a 3:33a 10:20p 4:04p 10:46a 4:30a 11:16p 5:01p 11:42a 5:28a 12:11p 5:56p

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation.

Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Showers T-storms

Rain

Flurries

The 2025 Louisiana snowstorm in a hardcover book

Snow

Ice

Cold

Warm

Stationary

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