The Advocate 07-20-2025 by The Advocate

Visa fraudarrests rock threesmall La.towns

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY |Staff writer

OAKDALE Ann Odom, 73, has lived her whole life in this smallcity at the ankle of Louisiana’sboot. And for the past three decades, she’sowned aﬂea market and gift shop about 10 minutes north in tiny Glenmora

On Thursday,aday afterpolice chiefs in Oakdale and Glenmora were indicted on fraud charges, along with Oakdale’scity marshal and the police chief in an even tinier nearby hamlet, Forest Hill, Odom stood in herstore and tried making sense of it.One thoughtcame to mind.

“Money is the rootof all evil,” she said.

The arrests of four elected local lawmen, following ayearlong fed-

eral investigation, stoodout even in apart of western Louisiana thathas seen its share of disgraced ofﬁcials.

The 62-count indictment unsealed last week includesallegations of faked police reports, fraudulent visas for foreign nationals and tens of thousands of dollarsinalleged bribes It portrays Rapides and Allen parishes as an epicenter of immigration fraud on awide scale.

According to prosecutors, each of those four lawmen was plied with stacksofcash by the ownerofa local fast-food franchise andtwo convenience stores. Then, hundreds of people receivedvisasbased on phony police reports that portrayed themascrime victimsorwitnesses whowere helping authorities.

Allfour lawmen pleaded not guiltyonThursday in federal court in Alexandria The indictment ripped through thisthree-town stretchofU.S.165, whereresidents grappledwiththe sight of their current or former top municipal law officers being led away in handcuffs One of theindicted lawmen,Forest Hill Chief GlynnDixon,submittedhis resignation to thestate on Friday.The job status of the other three— Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, MarshalMichaelSlaney andformer Glenmora PoliceChief Tebo Onishea— was apparently unchanged.

Organized retail theft spikes in BatonRouge

Authoritiesexploring new ways to stem inventoryloss

BY AIDAN McCAHILL |Staff writer

Tide Pods, baby clothes, AirPods, powertools. These aren’tjust itemsfound in the kitchen junk drawer, butalong withcrawﬁsh tails, areamong the moststolen itemsinthe Capitol Region.

Law enforcementand retailers trace their disappearances, and countless other items, to a seemingly hot new trend: organized retail theft.

“It’sbasically where people take shoplifting and turn it into abusiness,”saidCapt. Chad Jones, commanderofthe East BatonRouge Sheriff’s Ofﬁce Larceny Division.

While career thieves have been around since before recorded history,inrecentyears thepractice hasgained national headlines andinternet viral status as cases surge in frequency andboldness. Retailers of all sizes, from major chains to momand-pops, increasingly describe the problem as out of control.

“Weare under assault, ﬁguratively speaking, and sometimes literally speaking,” said Barry Mince, aLouisiana-based investigator hired by retailers. “You have an increase in the sheer volumeofpeople. It is John Q. Public these days that are conducting these activities.”

The National Retail Federation reports that “retail shrink,” or inventory loss, totaled over $112 billionin2022— more than double the$45.2 billionreported in 2016 —with about two-thirds of thoselosses attributedtotheft in both years. In Louisiana alone, retailers lost $1.06 billion to theft in 2022.

Letlow’s next move biggestquestioninLouisiana politics

BY TYLER BRIDGES |Staff writer

What is Julia Letlow’snext move?

That’sthe burning question now in Louisiana politics. Within the next 60 or so days, the U.S. representative has to choose among

three tantalizing options: Does she run for reelection, challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy or seek to become presidentofLSU?

Well-liked by Republicans who either love or loathe President Donald Trump, Letlow,44, is personable andpositive, much more

likely to praise someone than tear them down. She is serving her second full terminthe House in adistrict that extends from Monroe through LivingstonParish andthe Florida Parishes into Baton Rouge,including Central, St.George and

LSU’scampus. She has easily won three races to the House,running the ﬁrst time after her husband Luke had won the seat in December 2020 and then died three weeks later from COVID-19.

Before that, Letlow served as asenior administrator at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and was aﬁnalist to be the university’s president.

“There is no wrong answer for Julia Letlow because there’sno dead endinher political future,”

See LETLOW, page 10A

101ST yEAR,NO. 20

Dr.Parker R. Say, anative of BatonRouge,LA, earned hisBachelor’sDegree in Biological Sciences from Louisiana StateUniversity(LSU) in 2017,and hisMedical Degree from theLSU Health SciencesCenterinNew Orleansin2022.Dr. Saycompleted hisresidency in Internal Medicineat theLSU Health SciencesCenterinBaton Rouge, LA in 2025

Dr.Say has joined TheBaton RougeClinic’s Internal Medicine Departmentand is acceptingnew patients.

schedule an appointment, please call(225) 246-9240

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Cars line the downtown area along EastSixth Avenue in Oakdale on Thursday. Oakdale PoliceChiefChad Doyle was one of four electedLouisiana lawmen arrestedfollowinga yearlong federal investigation. The62-count indictment unsealed last week includes allegations of faked police reports, fraudulent visas for foreign nationals and tens of thousands of dollarsinalleged bribes.

Letlow

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam, killing 34

HA LONG BAY, Vietnam A boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing 34 people, state media reported. Eight others remain missing.

The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports.

Rescue workers saved 11 people and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Authorities had earlier reported that 12 people had been rescued, but later revised the ﬁgure to 11.

The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.

The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country’s capital.

10th person dies after Massachusetts fire FALL RIVER, Mass. — A tenth person has died after a fire that tore through an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts last weekend, ofﬁcials conﬁrmed on Saturday Brenda Cropper, 66, died at a hospital Friday, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III. She had been in critical condition all week, he said. Because of a miscommunication, her death for a time this week had been announced prematurely, officials have said.

The fire, which erupted Sunday evening, left some residents hanging out windows of the three-story facility screaming for help.

The cause remains under investigation, but the district attorney’s office says it does not appear suspicious Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon says the blaze started in a room on the second ﬂoor At least 30 people were hurt as thick smoke and ﬂames trapped residents inside. Records and accounts from staff raise concerns about conditions at Gabriel House before the blaze.

U.S. imposes limits on Mexican flights

The Trump administration imposed new restrictions Saturday on ﬂights from Mexico and threatened to end a long-standing partnership between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico in response to limits the Mexican government placed on passenger and cargo ﬂights into Mexico City several years ago.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Mexico’s actions to force airlines to move out of the main Benito Juarez International Airport to the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport more than 30 miles away violated a trade agreement between the two countries and gave domestic airlines an unfair advantage. Mexico is the top foreign destination for Americans with more than 40 million passengers

ﬂying there last year

“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement,” Duffy said of the previous administration

“That ends today Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means ﬁghting for the fundamental principle of fairness.

All Mexican passenger, cargo and charter airlines will now be required to submit their schedules to the Transportation Department and seek government approval of their flights until Duffy is satisﬁed with the way Mexico is treating U.S. airlines. It’s not immediately clear how Duffy’s actions might affect the broader trade war with Mexico and negotiations over tariffs A spokesperson for Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum didn’t reply immediately to a request for a comment, and she didn’t mention the restrictions at an event Saturday

Israeli troops kill 32, Gaza officials say

Palestinians were trying to reach U.S. group’s food distribution sites

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip

Israeli troops opened fire

Saturday toward crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a U.S.- and Israelibacked group in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people, according to witnesses and hospital ofﬁcials.

The shootings occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which launched operations in May The U.S. and Israel seek to replace the traditional U.N.-led aid distribution system in Gaza, asserting that Hamas militants siphon off supplies.

The U.N. denies the allegation.

While GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health ofﬁcials and witnesses say Israeli army fire has killed hundreds of people as they try to reach the hubs. GHF’s four sites are in militarycontrolled zones.

Israel’s army, which isn’t at the sites but secures them from a distance, said Saturday that it ﬁred warning shots near Gaza’s south-

ernmost city of Rafah, after a group of suspects approached troops and ignored calls to keep their distance. It said the incident occurred overnight when the distribution site was closed.

GHF said that there were no incidents at or near its sites and added, “we have repeatedly warned aid seekers not to travel to our sites overnight and early morning hours.”

Most of Saturday’s deaths occurred as Palestinians massed about 2 miles from a GHF aid distribution center near the southern city of Khan Younis.

Mahmoud Mokeimar said

that he was walking with masses of people, mostly young men, toward the hub. Troops ﬁred warning shots, and then opened ﬁre.

“The occupation opened ﬁre at us indiscriminately,” he said. He said that he saw at least three motionless bodies on the ground and many wounded people ﬂeeing.

Akram Aker, another witness, said that troops ﬁred machine guns mounted on tanks and drones between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

“They encircled us and started firing directly at us,” Aker said. He said he saw many casualties on the ground.

Sanaa al-Jaberi said that there was shooting after the site opened as people seeking aid broke into a run.

“Is this food or death? Why? They don’t talk with us, they only shoot us,” she said, and showed off her empty bag.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said that it received 25 bodies. Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of meters or yards north of another GHF hub in Rafah, the hospital said.

Dr Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser’s nursing department, said that it received 70 wounded people.

He told The Associated Press that most people were shot in the head and chest.

“The situation is difﬁcult and tragic,” he said, adding that the facility lacks medical supplies Some of the wounded, including a child, were treated on the floor One boy stood patiently, holding up a blood bag for someone on a stretcher Meanwhile, Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service in northern Gaza, said that two people were killed in Gaza City when an airstrike hit a tent in a camp sheltering displaced families.

In central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital said that 12 people were killed in an airstrike including police official Omar Aqel. Two children, including an infant, and ﬁve women — all relatives of Aqel — were among the dead.

Al-Awda Hospital said that it also received two people killed by an Israeli strike on a group of people in Bureij, and that another strike on a group of people along Salah El Din street in central Gaza killed a child. Another strike on a house in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sheikh Radwan killed at least four people, according to the Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service. A strike on a cart in Tal al-Hawa in northern Gaza killed another four people, the service said.

Car strikes crowd outside L.A. venue, injuring 30

Bystanders attack driver, who was shot

BY DAMIAN DOVARGANES Associated Press

LOS ANGELES A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people waiting to enter a performance venue along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, injuring 30 people and leading bystanders to attack the driver authorities said.

The driver was later found to have been shot, according to police, who were searching for a suspected gunman who fled the scene along Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood.

It was not immediately clear if the driver was shot before or after the crash or why he drove into the

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

A vehicle sits on the sidewalk Saturday after ramming into a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles, injuring 30 people.

crowd, a police spokesperson said.

Twenty-three victims were taken to hospitals and trauma centers, according to police. Seven were in critical condition, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen said a line of people

— mostly female — were waiting to enter Vermont Hollywood when they were struck by a Nissan Versa that also hit a food vending cart and valet stand. “This was a very chaotic scene,” said VanGerpen, a public information ofﬁcer

People inside came out to help victims in the minutes

before emergency crews arrived, he said. The driver, whose gunshot wound was found by paramedics, was also taken to a hospital. Police did not identify him or disclose his condition.

The person suspected of shooting him was described as a man in a blue jersey with a silver revolver

“This is under police investigation,” VanGerpen said.

“This will be a large investigation with the LAPD.” Vermont Hollywood was hosting a reggae-hip hop event from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to its online calendar There was no immediate

response to a phone message left with the business.

A fight broke out outside the venue beforehand, according to Maria Medrano, who with her husband was there selling hot dogs. Shortly afterward, she said, the car hit the people, and the couple narrowly escaped when it crushed their stand.

“The car stopped once it hit the hot dog stand, it got stuck there,” Medrano told The Associated Press from the hospital. “If not, I wouldn’t be here to tell” the story After the crash she heard what sounded like gunshots.

“Everyone started running,” Medrano said.

By The Associated Press

Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into Saturday with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person, part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that Russia fired over 300 drones, along with more than 30 cruise missiles. One person died in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, which was hit with more than 20 drones and a missile, Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov wrote on Telegram, while five people were rescued when a ﬁre broke out in a residential high-rise building According to Zelenskyy, six other people were wounded in the attack on Odesa, including a child, and critical infrastructure was damaged in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

The Ukrainian president also thanked international leaders “who understand how important it is to promptly implement our agreements” aimed at boosting Ukraine’s defense capabilities, including joint weapons production, drone manufacturing and the supply of air defense systems.

Russia has been intensifying its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. It now often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages

are likely to escalate. On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 71 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 13 drones were shot down as they approached the Russian capital. In other developments, Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Russia on Saturday of deporting Ukrainian citizens into Georgia and leaving them stranded without proper identiﬁcation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE A residential building burns Saturday after a Russian air attack in Odesa, Ukraine.

Trump chisels away at power of compliant Congress

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON — “Mr President, this is the gavel used to enact the ‘big, beautiful bill,’” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a White House signing ceremony on the Fourth of July “I want you to have it,” he said.

Handing over the gavel delighted President Donald Trump who, seated behind a desk outdoors, immediately tested it out with a few quick thumps.

The moment left a memorable mark on a historic day The gesture reflected a traditional nod of honor, from one leader to another, a milestone of the Republican Party’s priority legislation becoming law But the imagery also underscored a symbolic transfer of political power, from Capitol Hill to the White House as a compliant Congress is ceding more and more of its prerogative to the presidency.

Since Trump’s return to the White House in January, and particularly in the past few weeks, Republicans in control of the House and Senate have shown an unusual willingness to give the president of their party what he wants, regardless of the potential risk to themselves, their constituents and Congress itself.

Republicans raced to put the big package of tax breaks and spending cuts on Trump’s desk by his Independence Day deadline. Senators had quickly conﬁrmed almost all of Trump’s outsider Cabinet nominees

despite grave reservations over Robert F. Kennedy Jr as health secretary, Pete Hegseth as the Pentagon chief and others. House Republicans pursued Trump’s interest in investigating his perceived foes, including investigating Democratic President Joe Biden’suse of the autopen But at the same time, Congress hit the brakes on one of its own priorities, legislation imposing steep sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, after Trump announced he was allowing President Vladimir Putin an additional 50 days to negotiate a peace deal, dashing hopes for a swifter end to the conﬂict.

This past week, Congress was tested anew, delivering on Trump’s request to rescind some $9 billion that lawmakers had approved but that the administration wanted to eliminate, including money for public broadcasting and overseas aid It was a rare presidential request, a challenge to the legislative branch’s power of the purse, that has not been used in decades.

“We’re lawmakers We should be legislating,” said a deﬁant Sen. Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska, as she refused to support the White House’s demand to rescind money for National Public Radio and others.

“What we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority. We want you to execute on it We’ll be back with you with another round,’” she said. “I don’t accept that.”

Tech CEO resigns after controversy over Coldplay concert video

BY ALEX VEIGA AP business writer

A tech company CEO has resigned after controversy over a video captured on the big screen at a Coldplay concert.

Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Astronomer Inc. according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company Saturday “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,andrecently,thatstandard was not met,” the company said in its post on LinkedIn.

The move comes a day after the company said that Byron had been placed on leave and the board of directors had launched a formal investigation into the incident, which went viral.

A short video clip from Coldplay’s concert Wednesday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, showed a man and a woman cuddling and smiling, his arms wrapped around her, as she leaned back into him.

When they saw themselves on the big screen, her jaw dropped, her hands flew to her face and she spun away from the camera. He ducked out of the frame, as did she.

Lead singer Chris Martin had asked the cameras to scan the crowd for his “Jumbotron Song,” when he sings a few lines about the people the camera lands on.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he joked.

Internet sleuths identiﬁed the man as the chief executive officer of a U.S.-based company and the woman as its chief people ofﬁcer

Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s co-founder and chief product officer, has been tapped as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for Byron’s successor It’s easy to miss, but most concert venues have signs informing the audience that they could be filmed during the event. Look for them on the walls when you arrive and around the bar areas or toilets. It’s common practice especially when bands like to use performances for music videos or concert films

Congress, the branch of government the Founding Fathers placed first in the Constitution, is at a familiar crossroads. During the ﬁrst Trump administration, Republicans frightened by Trump’s angry tweets of disapproval would keep their criticisms private.

Those who did speak up — Liz Cheney of Wyoming in the House and Mitt Romney of Utah in the Senate, among others — are gone from Capitol Hill.

One former GOP senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who announced in 2017 during Trump’s first term that he would not seek reelection the next year is imploring Republicans to ﬁnd a better way “The fever still hasn’t bro-

ken,” he wrote recently in The New York Times. “In today’s Republican Party, voting your conscience is essentially disqualifying.”

But this time, the halls of Congress are ﬁlled with many Republicans who came of political age with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and owe their ascent to the president himself. Many are emulating his brand and style as they shape their own.

A new generation of GOP leaders, Johnson in the House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have pulled closer to Trump. They are utilizing the power of the presidency in ways large and small — to broker deals, encourage wayward lawmakers to fall in line, even

to set schedules.

Johnson, R-Benton, has openly pined for what he calls a “normal Congress.”

But short of that, the speaker relies on Trump to help stay on track. When Republicans hit an impasse on cryptocurrency legislation, a Trump priority, it was the president who met with holdouts in the Oval Ofﬁce late Tuesday night as Johnson called in by phone.

The result is a perceptible imbalance of power as the executive exerts greater authority while the legislative branch dims. The judicial branch has been left to do the heavy lift of checks and balances with the courts processing hundreds of lawsuits over the administration’s actions.

“The genius of our Constitution is the separation of power,” said Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, in an interview on SiriusXM’s “Mornings with Zerlina.”

“That the Republicans in Congress would be so ignoring of the institution that they represent, and that have just melted the power of the incredibly shrinking speakership” and Senate leadership positions, “to do all of these things, to cater to the executive branch,” she said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., endured Trump’s criticism over his opposition to the tax and spending cuts bill. The senator raised concerns about steep cuts to hospitals, but the president threatened to campaign against him. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection in 2026.

Sen. Susan Collins, RMaine, voted against that bill and the rescissions package despite Trump’s threat to campaign against any dissenters.

One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, appears to be pressing on, unphased. He recently proposed legislation to force the administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein ﬁles, something the president had been reluctant to do.

“Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that if the president wants something, you must do it,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, in a Senate speech. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to operate under the assumption that this man is uniquely so powerful.”

Family sues Atlanta over homeless camp death

BY CHARLOTTE KRAMON Associated Press/ Report for America

ATLANTA The family of a homeless man who died after a bulldozer crushed his tent during an encampment sweep sued the city of Atlanta on Friday over his death, calling it “tragic and preventable.”

The lawsuit ﬁled by Cornelius Taylor’s sister and son alleges that city employees failed to look to see if there was anyone inside the tents in the encampment before using a bulldozer to clear it. Taylor, 46, was inside one of the tents and was crushed by the truck when his tent was ﬂattened, the lawsuit says.

City ofﬁcials had called for the clearing of the encampment in preparation for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday The encampment was blocks away from Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King had preached. An autopsy report later revealed Taylor’s pelvic bone had been broken and that he suffered damage to organs and internal bleeding.

“A tent that was occupied by a human being was crushed by this heavy equipment. That’s obviously wrong,” attorney

Harold Spence said. “Nobody looked inside the tent, and if someone who looked inside had taken 10 seconds to do so, this tragedy could have been averted. And if you

don’t know what’s inside, you don’t crush it.”

The lawsuit ﬁled in Fulton County State Court asks for a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages, as well as repayment for medical expenses, funeral costs and legal fees. It was ﬁled against the city and seven unnamed city employees, including the driver of the bulldozer

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

President Donald Trump holds a gavel on July 4 after he signed his bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House in Washington while surrounded by members of Congress.

Texas’ search forflood victimsstretches into 3rdweek

BY JOHN HANNA and NADIA LATHAN Associated Press

AUSTIN,Texas The search for victims of deadly ﬂoodingin Texas Hill Country is headed into itsthirdweekasofﬁcials trytopin down exactlyhow many people remain missing and lawmakers prepare to discuss authorities’ initial response andproviding better warning systems.

Flash ﬂoodskilledatleast

135 people in Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with most deathsalong the Guadalupe River in Kerr County,about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio. The Hill Country is naturallyproneto ﬂash ﬂooding because its dry, dirt-packed soil cannot soak up heavy rain.

The Texas Legislatureis scheduled to convene Mondayfor aspecialsession

Gov.Greg Abbott initially called lawmakers back to the Texas State Capitol in Austin for other reasons, butheand legislative leaders haveadded ﬂooding-related issues to the agenda. Themissing State officials had been saying about 160 people were unaccounted forafter theﬂoodinginKerrCounty alone, but they now say about

100 remain missing in Kerr andother counties. KerrCountyofficialssaid thenumber of missing peopledecreased as victims were recovered,contactwas made with people who were found safe, andsomereports were found to be unsubstantiated or falsified.Also, they said, themissing listfluctuates as reports come intoa hotline

The floods laid waste to the Hill Country.Vacation cabins, youth campscampgrounds ﬁll the riverbanks andhills of Kerr County and Camp Mystic,acenturyoldChristian summer camp for girls in alow-lying area alongthe Guadalupe. At least 27 of itscampers and

counselors died. Floodingexpands agenda

Abbott called the special session hoping legislators would pass ameasure to regulate abooming business in THC productsafter he vetoed abill that would have banned them. Andsince the flooding,President Donald Trump has told the Republicanswho control state governmenttoredrawcongressional districts to help the GOP’schances of retaining a U.S. House majority in next year’smidterm elections.

Abbott said lawmakers would also review authorities’ handling of the floodingand consider improving warning systemsfor Hill

Country residents. Kerr County does nothaveawarning systembecause state and local agencies missedopportunitiesover thepastdecade to ﬁnance one.

Trump and Abbotthave pushed back aggressively againstquestions about how well local authorities responded to forecasts of heavy rain and the first reports of flash flooding. The president called areporter “evil” for raising such issues andsaid he thought “everyone did an incredible job underthe circumstances.” Abbott dismissed aquestion aboutwho was to blame forthe deaths as “the word choice of losers” and used an analogy that began: “Everyfootball team makes mistakes.”

“The way winners talk is nottopoint ﬁngers,”heconcluded.

Lawmakersplantovisit

Abbott hasdesignated bills dealing withearly warning systems andemergency communications as priorities for the Legislature’sspecial session, scheduled to last 30 days.

The House and Senate have formed special committees on ﬂooding and disaster preparedness, andthey’re planning aJuly31visit to Kerrville, theseat of hardest-hit

Mandiesafter beingpulledintoMRI machine

By The Associated Press

WESTBURY, N.Y.— Aman who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing alarge weight-training chain around his neck has died, according to police and his wife, who tolda local television outlet that he waved goodbye before his body went limp.

The man, 61,had entered an MRI room while ascan wasunderway Wednesday afternoon at Nassau Open MRI. The machine’sstrong magnetic force drew him in by the metallic chain aroundhis neck, according to arelease from the Nassau County Police Department.

He died Thursday afternoon, but apolice officer who answered the phone at the Nassau County police precinct where the MRI facility is located said thedepartment had notyet been given permission to release the name Saturday.

Adrienne Jones-McAllister told News 12 LongIslandin arecorded interview that she was undergoing an MRI on her knee when she asked the technician to get her husband, Keith McAllister, to helpher get off the table.She said shecalledout to him. She told News 12 that the technician summoned into theroom her husband, who waswearing a20-pound chainthat he uses for weight training, an object they’dhad

acasual conversation about during aprevious visit with comments like: “Ooooooh, that’sa big chain!”

When he got closetoher, she said, “at thatinstant, themachineswitched him around, pulled him in and he hit the MRI.”

“I said: ‘Couldyou turn off the machine, call 911, do something, Turn thisdamn thingoff!’” she recalled,as tearsran down her face. “He went limp in my arms.”

She said the technician helped hertry to pullher husband off the machine but it was impossible.

“He waved goodbye to me and then his whole body went limp,”Jones-McAllister told the TV outlet.

Jones-McAllister told News

Gene therapymaker says it won’t halt shipmentsdespite patientdeaths

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON Drugmaker

Sarepta Therapeutics said late Friday it won’tcomply with arequest from the Food and Drug Administration to halt all shipments of its gene therapyfollowing thedeath of athird patientreceiving one of its treatments for muscular dystrophy The highly unusualmove is alatest in astring of events that have hammered the company’sstock for weeks and recently forced it to lay off 500 employees. The company’s decision not to comply with the FDA also places future availability of its leading ther-

apy,called Elevidys,indoubt.

TheFDA said in astatement Friday night that ofﬁcials metwith Sarepta and requested it suspend all sales but“thecompany refusedto do so.” Theagency has the authority to pull drugs from the market, but the cumbersome regulatory process can take months or even years Instead,the agency usually makes an informal request and companies almostalways comply

“Webelieve in access to drugs for unmet medical needs but arenot afraid to take immediate action when aserious safety signal emerges,”FDA Commissioner Marty Makarysaid in astatement.

Elevidys is the first gene therapy approved in the U.S. for Duchenne’smuscular dystrophy,the fatal musclewasting diseasethataffects males, though it hasfaced scrutiny sinceits clearance in 2023. The one-time treatment receivedaccelerated approval against the recommendationsofsome FDA scientists who doubted its effectiveness.

TheFDA grantedfull approval last year and expanded thetherapy’suse to patients 4years and older,including those who can no longerwalk Previously, it wasonly available for younger patients who were still walking.

KerrCounty,tohear comments from residents.

The committees are scheduled to begin with ajoint hearing Wednesdaytoconsiderthe state’sresponse to the fatalfloods; planning for floods; infrastructure for managing floods; andcommunications among first responders.

One bill alreadyintroduced by Republican Rep. Don McLaughlin would require the state’s top public health

official to set building standards for youth camps in 100-year floodplains —which FEMA definesasa high-risk area with a1%chance of flooding in any given year During arecentnewsconference, Republican state Rep. DrewDarby,amember of theHouse’scommittee, saidlawmakers cannot bring back flood victimsorundo the flooding. “But what we candois learn from it,” he said.

More than 1,500attendees gathered in New OrleansinlateJunefor theLouisiana Farm Bureau Federation’s103rd annual convention making it oneofthe best-attendedsessionsin theorganization’shistory. Theevent attracted adiverse crowdoffarmers,ranchers, educators, policymakers andadvocates from across the state, allunitedbya shared commitment to ensuring Louisianaagriculture hasa viable future

“Itwas afullcrowd with alot of positive momentum andgoodinteractions,”saidLFBF

ment andenergyfromparticipants,staff and volunteers.I’m very humbledtobere-elected as presidentand very appreciative of theopportunity to continue to serveinthisrole.”

Many of themajor discussionsthroughoutthe convention centered on legislationand policy includingthe recent passageofPresidentDonald Trump’sBig BeautifulBillinCongress, which includesseveralagriculturalprovisions.Louisiana CongressmanClayHiggins addressedattendees directly,sharing insights on howthe bill will impact Louisianaproducers, especially in the face of rising costsand potentialnew tariffs. In addition,state dignitariesincluding Governor Jeff Landry andInsurance Commissioner Tim Temple,alongwithmanylegislators,spokeabout howLouisiana laws will impact theindustry.

PresidentRichard Fontenot. “There were alot of youthparticipating,sowewereexcited to see that.Itseems to perk everybody up when you seethe youngergenerationgetting involved.” Someofthemajorhighlightsoftheconvention included theannualawardsthatare givento farmersandgrowersfromthroughoutLouisiana This year’s recipients included: •President’s Award: VermilionParish Farm Bureau

•Young Farmersand Ranchers Achievement Award: Frankieand MallorySotile, AscensionParish

•DiscussionMeetWinner: Abbygail Davis, St.Tammany Parish •ExcellenceinAgricultureAward: Randi Toups, LafourcheParish •YoungFarmersandRanchersOutstandingYoung Farm Woman: Courtney Gerace, St.LandryParish

•Louisiana Ag in theClassroom Teacher oftheYear: KesslerLandry, MartialF.Billeaud Elementary,Broussard

In addition,EmmaLouiseDupreeofGrant Parish waschosenasthe 2025 LouisianaFarm Bureau FederationQueen Although Fontenot is alongtimeleaderin LFBF,thisyear’sconventionmarkedhis ﬁrst servingaspresident.Members electedhim for anotherone-yearterm. In all, Fontenot said the experience wasa bitofa whirlwind, butalsoa proudmomentfor him andhis family “Anytime youcan shareyourpassion and dreams with so many otherpeople, it’s agreat experience,” he said.“Therewas alot of excite-

“Wewereactivethispastlegislative session andhad some successstories to share,”Fontenot said.“Therewerea lotofgoodconversations abouthow we cankeepthings moving in a positive direction. Thenew federal bill means we have more relevant economic data.Wewere lookingat2012data, andeveryoneknows that everything costsalot more now. Ithinkwe will seebettercropinsurance components for producersand abettersafetynet.Itfeels like thereissomelight at theend of thetunnel. Onereasonthe convention hasbecome so popularisthatitisnot just aboutformalmeetings andpresentations.Withfamily-friendly events like an icecream social,talentcontest andqueen’s contest, theatmosphereblends professionalismwithwarmth, creating space for spontaneousand open conversationsamong agricultural stakeholdersfromacrossthe state.

“Everyonerealizesthisisa good opportunity to have some solidarity andput ourvoices together,” Fontenot said.“It’s always good to seefarmers andranchers, butit’salsoexciting to seepeoplefromeducation andresearchin attendance.Itreminds us that youdon’t have to be in direct production to be an advocate for agriculture. As theLFBFcontinues to shapeagricultural policy andsupport farmersand growersacross Louisiana, Fontenotsaidhehopes attendees cancarry thepositivemomentumfromthe convention into theirdaily work “Our main purposeatthe convention is not only to have funwithfamilyand friends, butto developpoliciesfor us to useindaily management with ourstaff andexecutive leadership,” Fontenot said.“When people leavethe event, Iwantthemtofeelliketheyare apartofthe LouisianaFarmBureaufamilyand that their voicemakes adifference.” Formoreinformationortofindyourlocal Farm Bureau,visit www.lafarmbureau.org.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE PHOTO By ELI HARTMAN

Campers’ belongings sitoutside one of Camp Mystic’s cabins on July7near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, aftera flash floodswept throughthe area.

12 that McAllister suffered heart attacksafter he was freed from the MRI machine.

Syriaurges Bedouintribestocommittoceasefire

BY SALLYABOUALJOUD and OMAR ALBAM Associated Press

DAMASCUS,Syria Syria’sinterim PresidentAhmad alSharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturdayto “fully commit” to aceaseﬁre aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country’spostwar transition.

Despite the call, clashes continued in the southern province of Sweida.

Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouinsagainst the Druze wereredeployed to halt renewedﬁghting that erupted Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence also drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before atruce was reached

In his second televised address since the fighting started, al-Sharaa blamed “armed groups from Sweida”for reigniting theconflict by “launchingretaliatory attacks against the Bedouins and their families.” He also said Israeli intervention “pushed the country into a dangerous phase.”

Israel had launched doz-

ens of airstrikes on convoys of government ﬁghters and even struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus,saying it was in supportofthe Druze,who form asubstantial community in Israel and are seen as aloyal minority, often serving inthe Israeli military Reports hadsurfaced of Syrian government-affiliated fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burninghomes over the four-day violence.

TheU.S.envoy toSyria, TomBarrack, announced that Israel and Syria had agreed to aceaseﬁre early Saturday.Al-Sharaa made no direct reference to the agreement in his speech, but said “American and Arab mediations stepped in”to restore calm.

Addressing the Bedouins, al-Sharaa said they “cannot replace therole of the state in handling the country’s affairs and restoring security.” He also said: “Wethank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceaseﬁre and comply with the state’s orders.”

Meanwhile, aprominent Druze leader,Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who opposes the current government

andhas distanced himself from thetwo ceaseﬁres announced on Tuesday and Wednesday,said that an agreement brokered under thesponsorship of guarantor states contained several measures aimed at de-escalating tensions in Sweida. They include the deployment of checkpoints outside theprovince’s administrative borderstocontain clashes and prevent inﬁltration, a48-hour ban on entry by any partyintoborder villages,and safe, guaranteed

passagefor remaining members of theBedouin tribes still inside theprovince.

Sharaareiterated that Sweida “remains an integral part of theSyrianstate,and the Druze constitute afundamentalpillar of theSyrian national fabric,” vowing to protect all minorities in Syria. He also thanked the United States for its “significant role in affirming itssupport for Syria during thesedifficult times,” as well as Arab countries and Turkey,which

mediated Wednesday’s truce.

More than half of the roughly 1million Druze worldwide live in Syria

Most of the other Druze live in Lebanonand Israel, including in the Golan Heights, whichIsrael captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast Warand annexed in 1981.

The U.N. estimatesmore than 87,000 people have been displaced in Sweida province since July 12 due to heavy shelling, sniper ﬁre

and abductions. Entire communities have fled on foot, with many now crammed intoovercrowded schools, churches and public buildings under dire conditions, theU.N. Office forthe Coordination of Humanitarian Affairssaidina report. Infrastructure damage has cut electricity,water and telecommunications in much of the area, it said. The mainhospital in Sweida was operating at just 15% capacity due to staff shortages and alack of fuel. Thesecuritysituation is also endangering humanitarianworkers. The White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, reported that one of its emergency team leaders wentmissing on July 16 while responding to acall forhelp from aU.N team,OCHA said. Meanwhile, Jordan,Syria, andthe U.S. agreed on aset of practical steps to bolster the ceasefire, including the deployment of Syriansecurity forces and the release of detainees from all sides, Jordan’sForeign Ministry said on Saturday. The announcement came after ameeting between Barrack,Syria’s Foreign MinisterAsaad al-Shibani and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

Congo, Rwanda-backedrebelsmovetowardendingconflict

Partiessign declarationof principles

BY CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal— Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels on Saturday signed adeclaration of principles in Qatar to end decadeslong ﬁghting and commit to acomprehensive peace agreement that

wouldincludethe restoration of state authorities in key eastern cities controlled by the insurgents. Congoand the M23rebelscommitted to “buildingtrust”through various measures,including an exchange of prisoners and detainees as wellas restoring stateauthority in all parts of the country,including rebel-held areas, Mohammedbin Abdulaziz binSaleh Al-Khulaiﬁ,Qatar’sminister of state, said at abrieﬁng.

It was not immediately clear if the declaration involves M23’swithdrawal from cities it controls, as thetwo parties seemed to interpret the agreement differently BertrandBisimwa, an M23 leader,saidonXthat the declaration is “not aquestionofwithdrawal but of mechanisms for empoweringthe state, enabling it to assume its prerogatives and obligations.” M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka

toldThe Associated Press in atelephone call: “Weare in Goma with thepopulation and we are not going to get out.”

However,Congolese governmentspokesmanPatrickMuyaya said thedeclaration takes into account “the nonnegotiable withdrawal” of the rebels, followed by the deployment of government forces and institutions. Backed by neighboring Rwanda, the M23 is the most

prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in Congo’smineralrich east. With 7million people displaced in Congo,the U.N. hascalledthe conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.” Saturday’s signingisthe first direct commitment by both sides since the rebels seized two key cities in eastern Congo in amajor advance early this year.Afi-

nalpeace deal is to be signed no later than Aug. 18, and it “shall align with the Peace Agreementbetween Congo and Rwanda,” facilitated by theU.S.inJune,according to acopy of the declaration seen by AP M23 had been pushing for the release of its members heldbyCongo’s military, many of them facing the death sentence. Congo had requested the withdrawal of the rebels from seized territories.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByGHAITH ALSAyED

Bedouin fighters from various provinces gather SaturdayatUmayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, before heading to the southernprovince of Sweida to join clashes between Bedouin clans and Druze militias.

Surrogates speak out about couple under investigation

BY JAIMIE DING and HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press

LOSANGELES A woman who almost served as a surrogate for a Southern California couple now under investigation by authorities said she backed out after the couple asked her if any of her friends would like to carry a child for them too.

The request as well as conﬂicting information she was getting left the woman, Esperanza, unnerved and she decided not to sign a surrogacy contract with Silvia Zhang, who offered her $60,000. Esperanza spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that her last name not be used because she has not shared her surrogacy experience publicly Zhang, 38, and her husband, Guojun Xuan, 65, are now the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities after their infant child was taken to the hospital with a traumatic head injury in May Authorities have since taken 21 children from the couple’s custody, many of whom were born by surrogate, said Lt. Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, near Los Angeles.

Surrogacy is an agreement between parties for a woman to become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer and deliver a baby for the intended person or couple to raise.

The children range in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3. Esperanza is one of at least eight women who say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates. The women, many of whom were ﬁrst-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple’s family situation and intentions. Some, like Esperanza, did not move forward with carrying a child for the couple. Another who did, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed in March for the couple.

“She said that she’s a realtor in Arcadia and that’s how she has a lot of money and was able to afford a lot of surrogates at the time,” Esperanza said.

Esperanza backed out of the surrogacy after the lawyer for the couple abruptly hung up on her while discussing the contract She said the document said the couple would implant two embryos instead of one and the section requiring background information on the couple was cut out The couple became angry when she decided not to move forward.

the messaging was through texts and emails with representatives from the agency, who discouraged her from reaching out to Zhang.

“The agency was always like, ‘Oh, they’re very busy people,’” she said.

When she learned that the couple had at least two other surrogates having babies for them, she was told by the agency “they just want a big family.”

Arcadia police say the FBI is involved in the investigation over whether the couple misled surrogates around the country The FBI has not confirmed its investigation Elliott said she was interviewed by the FBI at the end of May Elliott worked through a business called Mark Surrogacy, according to the contract she signed and shared with the AP. California state records show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investments LLC registered at the company’s Arcadia home until this June. Elliot’s contract listed an El Monte address for the company An AP reporter visited that location Thursday and did not ﬁnd anyone who recognized the names of the couple or Mark Surrogacy Zhang did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Lawyers for Mark Surrogacy did not respond to emails seeking comment, nor did a fertility clinic involved in the embryo transfer In social media posts, other women who say they served as surrogates for Zhang and Xuan outlined suspicious actions including the couple not fulﬁlling payment obligations and weren’t present for the children’s births. Many women contacted by the AP did not respond or said they would only speak after securing an attorney Zhang and Xuan were ar-

rested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-monthold infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby according to Arcadia police.

Arcadia police did not ﬁle charges at the time, in order to ﬁnish a full investigation, Cieadlo said, and detectives were looking into possible child abuse charges and anticipated presenting a case in a few weeks.

The couple told police that they “wanted a large family” and produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certiﬁcates, including some from outside California, that list Zhang as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said. Xuan was listed as the father on at least some of the birth certiﬁcates, Cieadlo said.

Esperanza’s dealings with Zhang began in 2023. She had posted in a Facebook group for people interested in surrogacy and received a message from Zhang.

Zhang said she and her partner already had an 8-year-old daughter in China but were having fertility issues. Zhang said she was working with a surrogate who was already pregnant but that she wanted “twins,” so she was pursuing a second surrogate. But Esperanza said things started to feel amiss after Zhang asked if she had any friends who also wanted to be surrogates.

Bangladesh’s Islamist party projects

BY JULHAS ALAM Associated Press

force with rally in Dhaka

DHAKA, Bangladesh Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party rallied in the capital on Saturday to show their strength before an election expected next year, as the South Asian nation stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus said that the next election would be held in April. But his administration didn’t rule out a possibility of polls in February, which has been strongly demanded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Par-

ty and its allies. Jamaat-e-Islami, which had sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, had said that it would mobilize 1 million people on Saturday. While Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971 In late March 1971, Pakistan’s military had launched a violent crackdown on the city of Dhaka, which was then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as Bangladesh.

The party on Saturday placed a seven-point demand on the Yunus-led administration to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election; justice for all mass killings; essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year’s mass uprising. It also wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election.

Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami had spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally On Saturday morning, they continued to stream toward Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army had surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on Dec. 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war

Esperanza showed text messages to the AP that showed Zhang offering $3,000 more if she agreed to keep going, and another $2,000 bonus after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Elliott gave birth to a baby girl in March. She chose to be a surrogate because she “really wanted to give somebody a family.”

The Texas woman began the process when Mark Surrogacy reached out to her directly on Facebook. She signed a contract listing Xuan and Zhang as the intended parents. The contract said Elliott would receive $65,000 in a series of payments by the end of her 16th gestational week.

Elliott became wary when early in the pregnancy she flew to California to meet the couple and only Xuan showed up. As the process went on, Elliott had almost no direct contact with the Xuan and Zhang, which is uncommon in surrogacy Most of

Elliott ﬂew to California for the embryo transfer, which was done at Western Fertility Institute in Los Angeles. The clinic declined to comment on the investigation.

Neither parent were there for Elliott’s labor or delivery, and only Zhang showed up a few hours after the baby was born The woman “didn’t seem very connected with the child she kind of barely looked at her,” Elliott said. After handing Elliott $2,000 in cash and giving three of her family members in the room $200 each, the woman left with the baby girl. Now, Elliott wants custody of the girl and says she just hopes all the babies are safe. When the news first broke about the couple, she confronted Zhang on the phone and over text. In text messages Elliott showed to the AP, Zhang wrote: “All the babies really important in our life.”

Notice is hereby givenpursuanttoArticle 7, Section23(c) of theLouisiana Constitution andR.S.47:1705(B)thatapublichearingof theCityCouncil forthe City of Zacharyin East BatonParishwillbeheldatits regular meetingplace in theCouncil Chambers at City Hall locatedat4700MainSt. Zachary, LA 70791onAugust26, 2025 at 6:30 P.M. to consider levyingadditionalorincreased millagerates withoutfurther voterapproval or adopting theadjustedmillage rates afterreassessmentand rollingforward to ratesnot to exceed theprior year’s maximum. Theestimated amount of taxrevenues to be collectedinthe next year from theincreased millageis$1,320,118.06 and theamountofthe increase in taxesattributable to themillageincreaseis$98,767.96.

In 2002,the starsaligned forChadOlivier

With some experience underhis belt anda passionfor helpingpeoplegrowtheir wealth thethen-29-year-oldopenedOlivier Groupin BatonRouge,fulfilling hisdreamofowninga financial services firm.

“Since Igot into thebusinessin1996, I always hadavisiontorun afirmthatwould help clients andgrowemployees,” Oliviersaid. Today, Olivier Grouphas ateamof14people whosecommitmenttoservice andgrowth resonatesdeeply. Theﬁrm wonthe 2025 Best of BatonRouge Gold Awardfor Best Wealth Management

“Wepride ourselvesonbeing part of the communityandgivingthebestpossibleserviceto ourclients,” Olivier said.“We’vebeenextremely successfuland growntremendouslybecause of that.”

Olivier Groupoffersawiderange of ﬁnancial planningservices.The most in-demand ones includetax planning andpreparing for retirement

also adeptatbreakingdowncomplex ﬁnancial transactions into information that anyone can easily understand

“The technology platformthatweuse has really enhanced ourability to show clients everything that hasadollarsignattachedto it,” Oliviersaid. “All of ourclients canlog onto theiraccount throughour websiteand seetheir entire ﬁnancial worldand alloftheir important documents. Everything is at theirﬁngertips.It also helpsusasadvisorshave aclear pictureof theentiresituation.”

Although Olivier is anativeofChalmette, he andhis family have made BatonRouge their home.He, hiswifeand children areactivein thelocal special needscommunity,aswellas TheDunhamSchooland St.GeorgeCatholic Church Olivier said that if he couldgiveone piece of ﬁnancial advice,nomattersomeone’s stage in life,itwould be to stay consistent with their savingsand live within theirmeans

“Whenclients arestartingtothink about retirement,weﬁgure outwaystheycan withdraw from theirretirementaccounts without increasing theirtax burden,” Olivier said.“We work on alot of differenttax strategies to make sure that clients getthe most outoftheir dollars andensuretheyhave somethingtopassonto thenextgenerationintheir family.”

Part of what sets Olivier Groupapart is its transparency andclarity in allcommunications. Advisors work closelywithclients to explain whereresults came from andwhy aspecific investmentstrategyisbeing used.Theyare

“Ifyou stay consistent with your saving andinvestments anddon’t look forimmediate gratiﬁcation,you will do well,” he said.“Thekey is to be disciplinedthrough theentireprocess.” OlivierGroup is locatedat4609Bluebonnet Blvd., SuiteA,Baton Rouge. To learnmoreor schedule an appointment, call 225-757-9484 or visitwww.oliviergroup.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAE C. HONG

The home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan is seen Wednesday in Arcadia, Calif., where a number of children were removed from the couple’s home after a child abuse allegation in May, according to Arcadia police.

“It’sabsolutely getting worse,” said local grocer Danielle Satawa. “They have become more emboldened.” But beyond bottom lines, expertssay retail theft also burdens consumers, strainsthe court system andshrinks state coffers.

Capital One Shopping reportedLouisianalost $47.1 million in retail salestax revenuedue to theftin 2022. Localauthorities and businesses, struggling to respond, are now exploring new ways to stem the tide of sticky ﬁngers.

“It is every bit as out of control as it was,” Jones said. “But right now we are doing something about it.”

An open invitation?

Jones hasbeen with the Sheriff’s Office since 1997.For years he handled mostly residential burglaries, butstarting in themid2000s thieves began to prefer ﬂuorescent-lit aisles to furnished living rooms.

While many blame social media trends or the growth of online marketplaces for spikes in retail theft, Jones says one factor driving its rise in Louisianaisa change to state law.Inthe mid-2000s, the limit for misdemeanor theft was raised from $500 to $1,000, with offenders typically given court summonses instead of jail time. Meanwhile, residential burglary remains a felony

“That same person, they now can go to Walmartor Sears, steal the same item that youhave at your house, and the penalty is less,” Jones said. “And they can get more for that item because it’sbrand-new in the box.”

“A lot of the people that are being arrested for this are fully aware of what the (misdemeanor) limit is,” said April Landry,anassistant district attorneyfor East Baton Rouge Parish. Afew years ago, Jones

was assigned to lead the EBRSO’snew Larceny Division. Last year,itreported 2,428 retailthefts—more than robberies, burglaries and vehicle thefts combined.

Theline between regular vs. organized retail theft can beblurry,hesaid,but thelatterusually involves two to three individuals sticking to what they know best. That might entail a focus on department store clothing,swipingpower tools from Home Depot, or “liquor crews” that raid convenience stores. Then theloot is either resoldonline, on the street or to other vendors.

Many groups travel throughout the GulfCoast, and by the time Jones gets acallfroma corporation, theyare usually long gone.

“They’ll steal 20 drills at a Home Depot in West Baton Rouge.ThencomeintoEast Baton Rouge andreturn those drills for cash,” Jones said. “Then they moveto the next city.”

Once they have hadtheir ﬁll, thecriminals will wire money back to where they arebased, he added.

In June, three 19-year-olds anda22-year-old— none from Louisiana —werearrested in for stealing from aLowe’sin Gonzales. When Ascension Parish sheriff’s deputies pulled themover, they discoveredtheir vehiclehad been linked to nine thefts acrossLouisiana and Mississippi. Aquick search found $25,000 worth of merchandise.

The majority of shopliftingtacticsaren’tcomplicated, mostly because thanks in part to the riseof self-checkoutlines —they don’thavetobe. Landry,the assistant district attorney, says about 90% of thecases shesees dealwith “skip scanning,” where individualsavoidscanningitems through self-checkout

Others relyonmore charm.One group travelingthrough BatonRouge stole $10,000 in gift cards in amatter of eighthours by tricking cashiers intoactivating thecardswithout

purchase,according to the East BatonRouge Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Oneofthe starkest local examples is thecase of a BatonRouge man who has been arrested over adozen times since 2018 for retail theft. Court recordsshow he often wore asurgical mask, grabbed expensive items, then ﬂedtohis car

He has been documented stealing at least $19,000 worth of Apple products from Walmarts across Louisiana.

“It is arepeat type of situation,” Jones said. “They serve theirtime …then they areright back out there notmaking the right decisions.”

In late 2023, theman whostruggled with substance abuse —admitted to investigators thathe resold many stolenitems to Blue Tech Wireless, a phone repair shop on Airline Highway. Following an undercover investigation, deputiesraided thestore The owner was arrested and confessed to buying at least two Nintendo Switches, 19 Apple Watches, and 27 pairs of AirPodsfrom thethief, accordingtoarrestrecords Missingmerchandise

Satawa has served as chief financial officer for Shopper’sValue Food, aBaton Rouge grocerychain, since 1998. While notan existentialthreat, she says shoplifting hasbecome a majorissue, forcing her to invest in more security,and ultimately raise prices.

“That cost has to be absorbed, unfortunately,” she said.

Larger retailers may better withstandlosses, but after acertainpoint, many report retail theft has forced themtoclose stores, reduce hours or remove certain items from shelves. Some have invested in improvedsurveillance, locked up merchandise, or moved away from self-checkout. Othershire privatesecurity, though mostguards aretrained nottoconfront shoplifters to avoidescalatingviolence.

“Regardless of whether youhaveself-checkoutsor staffed registers, if amajor theft actor wants to remove aproduct from astore,it’s notgoing to matter.”said Mince, who represents largerretailers in thearea.

Retail theft also strains lawenforcement by pulling ofﬁcers away from patrolling violentneighborhoods, or by overwhelmingcourts

“The issue is we getso many theftcases it can kind of create adelay,” said Landry,whose office currently has abacklogof more than11,000 criminal cases.

“What do youdowiththat as aprosecutor?” she said.

“You are weighing the balance of,yes there is criminal activity,but you are alsotrying to be cognizant of low-level crimes clogging up the court system.”

Even for thesmaller numberofmajor cases, Landry saysconvicting offenders underLouisiana’sorganizedretailtheft statute afelony —ischallenging. Current laws focus on businessesbuying stolengoods rather than thosestealing directly from stores.

“As ourlaw is written,it just ends up as theft,” she said.

While Landryand others push to revise state laws, she acknowledges prison time for stealing afew hundreddollars’ worth of Stanley cups,for instance, isn’talways the solution Yetneither is allowing repeat offenders to roam free and continue the cycle.

“Yes, we are making arrests,”Jones added. “But what else can we do to circumvent this process to prevent it from being arevolving door? We’rewilling to trywhatever else, because jail is notthe answer to everyproblem we have.”

Breaking thecycle

For many ﬁrst-time shoplifters, Landry will offer thechancetoenrollinthe city’spretrial diversion program, whichshe oversees.About half choose to participate, receiving education on crime prevention

anddecision-making, along with evaluations formental health andsubstance abuse. Monitored directly by the DistrictAttorney’s Ofﬁce, successful completion allows participantsto avoid court altogether

“Its like being on probation, without aconviction.” she said, adding that the program has been successful, with about a5%recidivism rate.

Recently,the District Attorney’sOfficehas also partnered with the 19th Judicial District Court and CriminalJustice Coordinating Council to launch apilot program for 25 repeat offenders of retail theft. Enrollees are given aneeds-basedassessment andconnected to resources forhousing, jobs, education and financial literacy If they finish the program successfully,their charges are dropped.

The program has been in place for only about a year,and Landry says it is tooearly to assess its effectiveness (three participants, including the man who sold stolen itemsto Blue Tech Wireless, are set to graduate this month). Still, the pilot has already bucked traditional notions of what drives some crime.

“Wethought this would be an issue where people didn’thaveadequatehousing, adequate jobs or they had substance abuse issues,” Landry said. “We’re ﬁnding most of the people that arecoming into the programs, they have jobs, mostare making fairly decent money; however, this

is away forthemtosupplement their income. …We ﬁnd that interesting.”

Outside the courts, while the industry continuesto invest in enhanced surveillancetechniqueslike licenseplate readers, Jones says one of his division’s mosteffective practices has been organizing community groups, where business owners form relationships with each other on a first-name basis, and are encouraged to alert each other whenevertheft occurs.

“Wewere able to put abig dent on what was going on at the mall,” Jonessaid. “So we took thatona broader scaletoEast Baton Rouge Parish.” Meanwhile,Satawa has hired off-duty police officers actually able to make on-sitearrests, and, encouraged by theDistrict Attorney’s Office, joined LAMA ORCA,analliance of retailers across the Gulf South dedicated to combating organized retail crime.

“As alocal company, we didn’tknow that was a thing,” she said. Nowlarger chains regularly share information withher,including pictures of shoplifters and effective new theftprevention strategies.

“Nowthatwehaveeverybody pulling together, we’re able to track some of this organized crime, and also put astoptosome of these groups thatwerenever on theradar,” Jones said. Email Aidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com

shirts, hats, posters,books.

Thelead federal prosecutor said he hoped the news of theallegedimmigration fraud would travel farther —to the desk of his boss, President Donald Trump.

“It certainly is in line with his priorities,” said Alexander VanHook, acting U.S. Attorneyofthe Western District of Louisiana. Federal authorities haven’t released muchinformation about who exactly received the forged visas. Charging documents state, “The majority of the Aliens were non-Louisiana residents.”

Prosecutors said most were from India, but it’snot clear where they were living.

Aspokesperson for the ofﬁce declined Fridaytoelaborate beyond the indictment.

Chandrakant “LaLa” Patel, the businessman accused of orchestrating the alleged visafraud scheme, was mostly amystery to many locals. Several said he was mainly known for running the Subway on Dr George B. Mowad Highway, named for alate Oakdale mayor

One customer of the Subway said in an interview that Patel often fed homeless people or donated cookies to the local high school,orat sports games. Allen Parish Sheriff Douglas Hebert said Patel has no local criminal record.

The indictment claims the schemewent back years, but the fraud charges focus on alleged fake reports and applications for Uvisas from 2024.

Alawyer for Doyle declinedtocomment, anda lawyer forSlaney didn’t return amessage seeking comment. Lawyers for Dixon and Onishea did not return messages seeking comment. An attorneyrepresenting Patel, who hasn’t been arraigned in the federal case, didn’treturn messages seeking comment.

Additional charges

The Uvisa program, created in 2000, was designed to insulate undocumented crime victims who may be cooperating with law enforcement, allowing them to remain in the U.S. while their cases play out. Patel acted as amiddleman; visa seekers paid him “thousands,” and Patelinturn paid the police chiefs, the July 2indictment alleges. Prosecutors allege that Patel and the men used the moneytobuy two pickup trucks, two campsites on Bundick Lake, an RV,a2025 Land Rover,aToyota sport van and other vehicles.

Patel’sreach extends further,according to state ofﬁcials. Aday after Doyle’s arrest, Louisiana State Police arrested his wife, Alison Doyle, who worked in the Mayor’sOffice. Sheis accusedofrigging the bidding process so Patel could acquire two city-owned properties.

Patel paid $56,200 for two properties in quit-claim deeds from the city,both on Oct. 15, 2024, parish land records show,right around the

timeprosecutors allege the bribes-for-visa scheme was reaching its heights

Law enforcement ofﬁcials said the scheme involved “several centralLouisiana parishes,”suggesting awider reach, and that it could date to as early as 2015. It’s unclear if other public ofﬁcials were involved

Attorney General LizMurrill said she expects her office will lodge additional state charges against the accused.

Talk of thetowns

The day after the arrests, they werea lightningrod among groupswho gathered for lunch at Fuzzie’sRestaurant in Glenmora, or for a drinkatYum Yums Frozen Daiquiris in Oakdale, many of whom gossiped while scrolling news feeds for updates

Areporter at the daiquiri bar asked how such alarge immigration scheme could happen in Trump country Apatron triedtoanswer it simply “It’sall about thathere,” he said,rubbing together twoindex fingersand his thumb. More than onelocal wonderedaloud: Wouldthere be more to come? In Oakdale, some weren’tsurprisedat thenotion that their local officials were on the take, given arecent string of corruption scandals.

Oakdale is known mostly for its hugefederal complex of twoprisons and aprison camp off Whatley Road, if notits dominant high school girls basketball team, the Lady Warriors.

It sits in the middle of AllenParish,among themost rural and conservative areas of Louisiana,far fromurban centers or debates over sanctuary cities.

About80% in theparish voted for Trump in 2024. Thearea also helped reelect U.S.Rep.MikeJohnson,the House speaker Hebert, theparishsheriff, hasa federal contract to houseU.S. Immigrations and CustomsEnforcement detaineesatthe parishjail in Oberlin. He saidit“absolutely”bothered himthat his fellow lawmen stood accused of letting illegal immigrantsslip through. When

asked if he was surprised that themis ndu from Oakdale, “no comment Othercorru In recent has faced ot scandals.

“It’severywher said Sarah agift shop Street in downtown “But it’sbad ally bad.”

West, 57, said weary of th Aformer chiefand on wereindict malfeasance cluding alle chief sprung from jail and mate was use and work at chief was later acharge of tionduring from theDistrict Ofﬁce show A2022 sta that Oakdale’ clerk, who di paid herself over seven To some, different,t his own history: was cityw 2011, Doyle on charges an undisclosed public money wage garnishments were intended according to He pleaded misdemeanorthat was ex punged, according to Hebert,the sheriff.

police officer and childhood friend of Doyle’ who

declinedtogive hisname, said, “I honestly thought we wouldn’thave stuff like that once (he) becamechief.”

“But …” he added, trailing off mid-sentence as he stood behind ashop counter Invisiblecrime

Doyle and Slaney ran against each other for city marshal in 2017. Slaneywon, but Doyle soon becameOakdale’s policechief, winning election in 2020, state election records show

Nowthey’re co-defendants, each accused of accepting bribes from Patel in exchange for drafting phony armed robbery complaints, which visa seekers could thenuse to apply forU visas.

In Forest Hill, Mayor Elizabeth Jeter said in a statement Wednesday that she was“deeply saddened” over the indictment of police chiefDixon. “ForestHill is astrong, close-knitcommunity and we understand how difﬁcult this news is forour residents.”

Thedocuments forged on behalf of noncitizens added up to an invisible crime wave,the federalindictment alleges. In reality armedrobbery wasvirtually nonexistentinOakdale, according to city crime data reported to the state in 2022 and 2023. Local law enforcement in Rapides Parish said they’ve never had any real problems withany noncitizens, either way.

DistrictAttorney Phillip Terrell said the areas policed by the indicted chiefs aren’texactly hotbeds for crime.Hesaidhe’d alert defense attorneys about any cases handled by the indicted police leaders.

“Off the top of my head, I’mnot awareofany felony cases that we have outof Forest Hill or Glenmora,” Terrell said.

“There’snot muchactivity there, other than, apparently,the fraudulent activity.”

Staff writer Ashley White contributed this

Aformer fellow Oakdale

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Workersrip up the sidewalk

said Mary-Patricia Wray, a lobbyist and politicalconsultant in Baton Rouge. “She could run for reelection and gain seniority in the House. She could run for the Senate and have agood chance of winning.Orshe could return to her comfort zone and go back into academia. She is acommodity in all three of those long-term choices.”

that will prod her to enter theSenate race.

Several people said that Gov. Jeff Landry, whois closely aligned with Trump, has told them that he wants hertorun against Cassidy Landry appeared as the “special guest” at a fundraiser for her in Lafayette on June 30, with checks earmarked for the “Letlow Victory Fund.”

TheGovernor’s Office declined to comment.

For now,Letlow is not tipping her hand on what shemight do. Shedid not respond to arequest foraninterview for this article. In a statement, she said she was “grateful for the outpouring of encouragement and support”and added, “I remain committed to working with President Trump, Speaker (Mike) Johnson, and Majority Leader (Steve) Scalise to continue delivering results for Louisiana and the nation.”

Runningfor Senate?

Several political insiders say she has discussedwith them thepossibility of running against Cassidy,afellow Republican who is running hard for a third term. The key question is whether Trump would endorse Letlow to punish Cassidy for voting to bar Trump from holding ofﬁce again under an impeachment article that accused him of “inciting violence against the government of the United States” with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol Of the 30 lawmakers,political consultants and donors contacted for this story most predicted that Trump will either publicly or privately endorse Letlow and

Cassidyalready is facing two majorRepublicanopponents who wantTrump’s support: Treasurer John Fleming and state Sen. Blake Miguez,ofNew Iberia. But some Republicansdon’tthink Trumpwillrisk losing Cassidy as a reliable vote in the Senate by endorsing Letlow, Fleming or Miguez, given thenarrow Republican margin there. Andothers say that Trumpoperatesby hisown set of rules, so no one can be sure what he’ll do

Most peopleinterviewed agreed thatLetlowwould run forthe Senate only if she hasTrump’sblessing, which they say wouldopenaspigot of campaigncash for her Fornow,Cassidyhas abig head start.Hehas $8.7 million in campaign cash, is known statewide and has made aseries of moves aimedatendearing himself to Trump andconservativevoters. On Wednesday,Cassidy’steam highlighted that Trumpsigneda bill sponsored by the senator that aims to help law enforcement ofﬁcialscombat the scourge of fentanyl. Cassidystood directly behind Trump’sleft shoulder during the White House ceremony “Anyone can enter this race, but it won’tchange the outcome —Senator Cassidy will win,” campaignspokes-

person Ashley Boschsaid in astatement. “He’sasolid conservative standing shoulder-to-shoulder withPresident Trump —working to secure our southern border, unleash American energy, andchampionthe America First agenda. Senator Cassidy is protectingour values and delivering real results for Louisiana.”

PresidentofLSU?

But because Letlow hasa doctorate from theUniversityofSouth Florida and a background in academia, some people believe that she wants to become president of LSU, aposition that opened when WilliamTate in Mayannounced his departure for Rutgers University.The president’s job wouldcomewith housing and asigniﬁcant payboost for Letlow

She has already moved to BatonRouge withher two smallchildren and has put herhouse outsideofRayville, in Richland Parish, on themarket for $775,000, online records show Letlow hastodecideher next move soon because of the new congressional electionschedule that requires candidates to qualify for the House or Senateinmid-Januaryfor theApril18closed partyprimary

Meanwhile, ScottBallard, who chairsthe LSU presidentialsearch committee, said thecommittee will step up its efforts in August and is aimingtochoose Tate’s successor by year end.

Lee Mallett, the committee’svice chair,has publicly supported McNeese State President Wade Rousse as Tate’sreplacement.

Mallettintroduced Rousse to LSUhealth care ofﬁcials at areception at the Governor’sMansion on June 2.

Stay in hercurrent job?

Amid theuncertaintyover what shewill do next,Letlow’ssurest bet is to seek a thirdfull term in theHouse. She cruised toreelection in Novemberwith 63% of the vote and is poised to hold that Republican-majority seat for years.

The biggest potential barrier is theU.S.Supreme Court, whichsaidinJune that it will rehear in its next term acasethat seeks to overturn the current map forLouisiana’ssix congressional districts. If the court does rejectthe existing boundaries, Louisiana might end up witha newmap that gives Letlow avirtually unwinnableBlack-majority district

“If sheforgoes theSenate race, she’s looking at possibly losing her own congressional race,” saidScott Wilfong, aRepublican political consultant.

No matterhow the court rules,the current map will almost certainly remainin place for next year’selections, said Michael Li, a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York anda Tulane Law School graduate. That’s because any courtruling will be too latetoaffect the 2026 elections, he said.

TheTrump factor

Political circles arerife withspeculation whether Letlow will challenge Cassidy

Some political insiders say that Trump has already met privatelywith Letlow andoffered hissupport. Others insist that that hasn’t happened.

One thing is certain: She hasn’tpublicly ruled out the possible race.

Another thing is certain: Trump has repeatedly shown he holds tremendous animustoward any Republican whovoted to impeach him or convicthim,taking great delight in the retirement or defeat of those who did.

Of theseven Republican senators whovoted to convict Trumpofthe Jan. 6attack,only three remain in ofﬁce: Sen. Susan Collins,of Maine; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; and Cassidy Afterthat vote, Trump regularlybelittledCassidy,calling him “Wacky Bill”and other schoolyard names Cassidy hasdone everything he can this year to

get back in Trump’sgood graces

He voted to confirm the president’scontroversial Cabinet picks, including Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.assecretary of health.Cassidy,despite his strong support forvaccines, has not joined critics who have blasted recent moves by Kennedy thathavesowed doubt about the beneﬁts of vaccines.

Earlier this month, Cassidy voted for Trump’sOne Big Beautiful Bill, ameasure that extends thepresident’sexpiring tax cuts and partially pays for them by cutting Medicaid, the federal program that provides health care to the poor.The bill passed51-50, so Cassidy’ssupport wascrucial.

Cassidy’sstaffsends out newsreleases each time he gets invited to theWhite House.

“Cassidy &Trump Continue to Work Togetherto Deliver Major Wins for Louisiana,” read the Cassidy campaign’snews releaseon the fentanyl bill signing.

At least for now,Cassidy hasthe financialbacking of suchmajor Republican donors as business ownersBoysieBollinger,Eddie Risponeand RichardLipsey.

“There’snoreason Iwould change my supportfor Bill Cassidy,”Lipseysaid.“I think he’s done an excellent job. Iwould hope there would be no confrontation betweenJulia andBill. I think our president is smart enough to put that aside (the conviction vote).”

Bollingerdoesn’tbelieve Letlow will runfor Cassidy’sSenate seat because he doesn’tthink Trumpwill support one of Cassidy’sopponents.

“Itmakes sensefor Trump to stay out, as much as he hates Cassidy forthe impeachmentvote,” Bollinger said. “He got RFK (conﬁrmed). If Trump opposed him,Cassidy has no incentive to support the Trump agenda. Trumpknowsthat.” Republicans holdaslim 53-47 advantage in the Senate. Murkowski, Collins,

Sen. ThomTillis of North Carolina, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentuckyhave shown awillingness to vote against Trump. Letlow’s priorities During hercampaigns, Letlow has said her priorities are getting more federal money for herdistrict, including dollars to ﬁx roads, bridgesand sewer systems, makingsurefarmers receive the aid they need from the government andexpanding broadband internet service in rural areas. Along withall other Republicans in Louisiana’scongressional delegation, she voted forthe One Big Beautiful Bill. Letlow,during her 41/2 years in the House, has voted with the conservative Heritage Foundation 75% of the time, compared with 89% for the average House Republican.She has a100% voting record with National Right to Life, aleading antiabortion group. Letlow hasbeenbuilding anetwork of donors across Louisiana and has $2.1 million in the bank, the latest campaign financereport shows. She raised money at fundraisers hostedby lobbyist Paul Rainwater at hishome in Baton Rouge in March (with special guest Attorney General Liz Murrill), by business owner Phyllis Taylor in Metairie in May (with Scalise as the special guest) and by Lee Mallett at his ranch in Jefferson Davis Parish in May Cardealer SteveTayloris hosting an event forLetlow at his Monroe home on July 25. “The sky’sthe limit for her,”saidRyanCross,

Scalise

Cassidy

Trump’stariffthreatpushesBrazil’sLula’spopularity

U.S. pressure mayworsen legaltroubles forBolsonaro

BY GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press

SAOPAULO U.S. President

Donald Trump may have thought that pressuring Brazil with higher tariffs would helphis ally,the country’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the move apparently backﬁred.

Last week, Trump sent a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva threatening a50% import tax and directly linking the decision to Bolsonaro’strial, which he called a“witch hunt.”

“This trial should end immediately!” Trump wrote Thursday evening in a second letter, thisone addressed to Bolsonaro. He added that he had “strongly voiced” his disapproval through his tariff policy

Rather than backing down, Brazil’sSupremeCourt escalated the case, worsening Bolsonaro’slegal troubles. On Friday morning, federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home and political office. Theformer president was ordered to wear an ankle monitor,banned from using social media, and hit with other restrictions.

Meanwhile, Lula —who was facing higher unpopularity,growing opposition in Congress and increasing risks to his likely reelection bid —seems to have gained politically from the situation.

Now the 79-year-old leftist Lula, in office for the third non-consecutive term of his long political career, is seeing renewed acceptance, congressional support against Trump andpleas to run one last time to defend Brazil’ssovereignty Back in thegame

Lula has appeared more energized in public since Trump’sannouncement. At anational students assemblyThursday,hewore ablue cap reading“Sovereign Brazil Unites Us” —acontrast to MAGA’s red cap. “A gringo will not give orders to this president,” he told the crowd, and called the tariff hike “unacceptable blackmail.”

The impact on Lula is not aﬁrst.Trump’sactions targeting othercountries have boosted ideological rivals in Canada and Australia instead of strengthening his allies at alocal level.

Private pollster Atlas said Tuesday that Lula’sunpopularity had reversed course after his spat with Trump. Lula’sjob approval went fromat 47.3% in June to 49.7% since the tariffs battle began. The poll of more than 2,800 people was conducted July 11-13, with amargin of error of 2 percentage points. The study also said 62.2% of Brazilians thinkthe higher tariffsare unjustiﬁed while36.8% agree with the measure

Brazil’sPresidentLuizInácio Lula da Silvagestures Monday upon arriving at an event on the economy at the Planalto presidentialpalaceinBrasilia, Brazil.

EvenBolsonaro’sformer vice president, Sen. Hamilton Mourão, criticized Trump’smove as undue interference in Brazil’s politics, though he said he agreed thetrialagainstthe far-right leader is biased against him

Socialmedia analytics

ﬁrm Palver analyzed 20,000 messages about Trump on WhatsApp, Brazil’smost widely used communication platform,a day after Trump’sannouncement. Its analysis said right-wing users dominated viral content, butspontaneousconversationsleaned left, mocking Bolsonaroassubmissive anddefendingBrazil’ssovereignty

“Trump has put Lula back in thegame,” saidThomas Traumann, an independent politicalconsultant and formerspokesmanfor theBrazilian presidency who only weeksago argued that Lula hadlost his front-runner status in the presidential race as he struggled to deliver on his promises on the economy

“Trump handed it toLula on asilver platter,” Traumann said.

Business leaders who until recentlysided with Bolsonaro are having to court Lula to negotiate with Trump. Agribusiness, Brazil’slargest economicsector and atraditional rightwingstronghold, united to criticize theU.S.president’s move. Industry groups were quick to denounce thetariffs as politically motivated and lacking any commercialjustiﬁcation.

National outrage

“In general,with the major exceptionofa more radical conservativewing, (Trump’smove) generated national outrage forviolatingBrazil’ssovereignty,” lawmakerArnaldoJardim, amember of thecongressionalagricultural caucus, told TheAssociated Press. Jardim, who pushed for theapprovalofareciprocity bill that could be used by Lula if there’snoagreement untilthe Aug. 1deadline, hardly sideswiththe president

“Evenamong sectors that initially thought this could benefitBolsonaro, many hadtoreconsider their positions,” hesaid

Topcongressional leaders whorecently helped nix a

Lula decree to raise atransactions tax were moving towarda head-on collision withhim. AfterTrump’s announcement, they signed ajoint statement agreeing with Lula’s promisetouse the reciprocitylaw against theU.S.

In another change, Brazil’sCongress decided to start moving on Lula’splan to give an income tax break to millions of poorer Brazilians.Many politicians said thatsuch initiative was dead after Lula became the ﬁrst president in threedecades to have adecree annulled by lawmakers.

Bolsonaroremains on trial

At theSupreme Court, Bolsonaro is only getting deeper into troubleashis trial continues.

Last week,Brazil’s chief prosecutor called for a guiltyverdict, accusing the former president of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting violent abolitionofthe democratic rule of law,among other charges.

Thedefense will next likely present its case in the coming weeks, after which thepanel of Supreme Court justices in the trial will vote on whether to convict or acquit him

The former president also suffered moreconsequences —the court’s latest restrictions on Bolsonaro, including the ankle monitor, arepart of asecond investigation against one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, aBrazilianlawmaker who currently lives in the United Statesand is known for his close ties to Trump. He has been underscrutiny forallegedly working withU.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian ofﬁcials.

SupremeCourt Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who

oversees criminalcases against Bolsonaro, said his and his son’sactions attempted to pressurethe Brazilian judiciarybyinvolving theU.S.

The court’sdecision cited both Trump’sletter to Lula and several social media posts by the Bolsonaros in support of sanctions against Brazilian ofﬁcials and speaking favorably about tariffs.

“A sovereign countrylike Brazil will always know how

to defend its democracy and sovereignty,” de Moraes said. “The judiciary will not allow any attempt to subject the functioning of the SupremeCourt to the scrutiny of another state through hostile acts.”

Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia, the country’scapital,thatthe ankle monitoringwas a“supreme humiliation.”

“I neverthought about leaving Brazil, Inever

thought about going to an embassy, butthe precautionary measures are because of that,” the formerpresident said. In astatement, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused de Moraes of trying to criminalize Trumpand the U.S. government.

“Sincehehas no power over them, he decided to make my fathera hostage,” the younger Bolsonaro said of the judge.

LCTCSﬁllskey role in Louisiana’seconomicgrowth with human-centered work that connects peopleto purpose

By Amanda McElfresh|amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

As thestate continuestobuild astrongerand morediverseeconomy,theLouisianaCommunity andTechnicalCollegeSystem(LCTCS)isserving asapowerfulengineofprogressasitsinstitutions providehigh-qualityeducationandanincreasingly largerange of services to help residentsovercome barrierstosuccess

non-traditionalstudentswhoareworkingtowards completinganeducationwhilefacingdailyhurdles such as transportation andchildcare needs, food insecurity,languagebarriersorbalancingtheneed forfull-time work with thedesiretoimprovelife fortheir families

To providea more comprehensive framework for thosestudents, LCTCSisinthe processof implementinganew“one-door”integratedservice model. Rather than having students navigate a fragmentedsystemofservicesontheirown,LCTCS institutions areworking with otheragenciesto bringthose resourcesunder oneroofand provide guidance to help students ﬁndassistance.

“Weknowthata lotoftimes,the main barrier to students gettinga credential or adegreeisnot aboutthelearning.It’sabouttheresourcesoutside of theclassroom,” Dr.LeBoeuf said.“Thoseare therealities that many of ourstudentsdealwith.

“Ata time when so many states aretryingto ﬁgureout howtoclose workforce gaps,increase participationratesandsupporteconomicgrowth, we’refortunatehereinLouisianatohaveanetwork of colleges that arebuilt to do just that.Theyhelp connectpeopletopurpose,” said OsmarPadilla AssistantSecretary forWorkforce Development at theLouisiana WorkforceCommission.

So farthisyear, more than 38,000 people have completedaneducational programatanLCTCS institution, an increase of more than 3,000over theprior year.With12institutionsand 56 total locationsacrossthe state, LCTCSoffersaccess to residentsfromall walksoflife, in largecities andrural communities. Many LCTCScredential, degree andcertiﬁcationprogramsare focusedon ﬁvecoresectors –construction, manufacturing, transportation andlogistics,information technology andhealthcare.

Having thoseofficesinone location willhelpusto triage thoseneeds andget them addressed. The goal of themodel is forstudentstoexitout of one door with acredentialinhandand apathtoward long-termstability.”

Padillasaidthatwithmorethan108,000 job openings in Louisiana, LCTCSiswell-positioned to connectpeoplewiththose opportunities.

“Weare in askills-ﬁrst labormarket,”Padilla said.“There’sbeenasigniﬁcantwillingnessamong alot of employerstounderstandthatpeopleare learning in differentways. LCTCShas been at the forefrontofthoseconversationswithemployersand showcasing that we cantrain reallygoodpeople andhavereallygoodoutcomeswithnew ways of validatingskills.LCTCShasproventhatfolkswho earn thosecredentials andgointothe workforce arejust as strong of an employeeaspeoplewho take atraditional pathway.

LCTCSVicePresidentofEducation Dr.Chandler LeBoeufsaidmuchofthatsuccess comes from meetingpeoplewhere they areand helping themsucceed.WhilesomeLCTCSstudentsenroll immediatelyaftergraduatinghighschool,othersare

“Wetalktoemployers everyday,and they want goodpeoplewithfoundationalskillswhoareeager tolearnmore,”hesaid.“It’sarealpositivetoseeus moving to amodel that is more person-centered andcan providethe rightresources,trainingand labormarketawareness.”

Dr.LeBoeuf said he is conﬁdent that LCTCSis well on itsway to achievingits goal of awarding at least50,000industry-basedcredentials by 2030 That goal is part of thestate’s overallmasterplan forhighereducation,which callsfor 85,000 such credentialstobeawarded

“I believeweare on target to getthere,but we want to getthere strategically,”hesaid. “We remainheavilyfocusedonindustrysectorsthatare high-wage,high-demandandalignwitheconomic development.”

LCTCSincludesBaton RougeCommunity College,BossierParishCommunityCollege,Central LouisianaTechnicalCommunityCollege,Delgado CommunityCollege,LouisianaDeltaCommunity College, Fletcher TechnicalCommunity College, NorthshoreTechnicalCommunityCollege,Northwest LouisianaTechnical CommunityCollege,Nunez CommunityCollege,River Parishes Community College,SouthLouisianaCommunityCollege,and SOWELA TechnicalCommunity College. Visit www.lctcs.edutolearn more aboutaninstitution near you.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By ERALDO PERES

Top judge wants to help combat student absenteeism

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Louisiana Chief Justice John Weimer knows ﬁrsthand that regularly attending school can improve a child’s future

He grew up the eldest of ﬁve in a single-parent household in Thibodeaux. As a teen whose parents didn’t ﬁnish high school, he didn’t see much use for education and often opted to skip class to ride motorcycles instead But after a long illness caused his father to lose his auto service shop and the family struggled to make ends meet, Weimer decided it was time to take school more seriously

When a high school English teacher took an interest in him, Weimer began to nurture bigger aspirations for his life. With encouragement from his teacher, he enrolled at nearby Nicholls State University, then went on to attend LSU law school

He began his career as a judge in the 17th Judicial District Court in Lafourche Parish and taught classes at Nicholls State University for several years, before being elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2001. He was appointed chief justice in 2021.

Seeing how much his life changed after he prioritized school, Weimer has become an outspoken advocate for efforts to improve student attendance. The share of Louisiana students who miss 10% or more of school days has been on the rise, with nearly 1 in 4 students qualifying as chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year

During a state education board meeting in January, Weimer pointed to studies that found students who chronically miss school are far more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system, often at a cost to

Q&A WITH JOHN WEIMER

both taxpayers and communities.

Reducing the number of students who regularly miss school could help, but it will take an all-handson-deck approach, he said.

He proposed a summit where stakeholders from across Louisiana could come together to discuss factors that contribute to absenteeism and brainstorm potential legislation to present to the Legislature next spring. That meeting is set to take place Sept. 8 in Alexandria. Weimer said he hopes that by convening educators and government ofﬁcials who deal with student absenteeism and truancy

teachers, principals, district attorneys, judges — they can come up with solutions that will prevent students from falling off track and, potentially, landing in courtrooms like his.

“Do we do nothing and watch these numbers grow at great expense to society,” he asked during a panel discussion on student absenteeism last month, “or do we intercede and do something?”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity

What agencies are responsible for combating student absenteeism?

Everybody brings something

to the table. I’ve talked to the District Attorney’s Association about having more of a role in the discussion, because in some places (in Louisiana), the district attorney has taken charge. Some districts report their absentee students directly to the DA’s Ofﬁce, and they invite the parents in to chat. In some places, it’s the schools taking the lead.

Every district provides services, like FINS (Families in Need of Services), and they attempt to link families to the services they need to get their children to school. Recently, I heard about a student who wasn’t going to school because his shoe fell apart, and somebody with the district was able to get a hold of a pair of shoes for him.

Who will be at the state absenteeism summit in September and what will be the focus?

There will be school personnel, as well as district judges, district attorneys and public defenders.

We’re inviting anybody who plays any kind of role in truancy, from teachers, principals, ofﬁce people, to people involved in FINS.

We’re still working on what the discussion topics are going to be.

The request we sent to judges was to let us know what they think they’re doing well and what challenges they face in their jurisdiction. The plan is to publish what certain (communities) have done that have been beneﬁcial.

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We’re trying to come up with best practices and have everyone meet with their superintendent, district attorney and sheriff to discuss what they can do. Because each parish is so different assets, politics, ﬁnancial resources — things that some places are doing will be off the table for others.

What do you see as your role in this state-

wide effort?

It’s to help facilitate and collaborate. I’m not a philosopher, I’m a judge, and sometimes I’m criticized for being too involved in social programs. But I think it’s all part and parcel of what we do. There are different people with different philosophies about how problems should be addressed, and I prefer to take a collaborative approach There is power in a robe and a gavel that other people don’t have. There is the ability to get people together and try to ﬁnd solutions. That’s what this is all about.

How can schools avoid criminalizing children who are chronically absent?

The key is to get them as early in the process as you can, before it becomes chronic, before they start engaging in behavior that gets them expelled from school. That’s a whole other complicated set of circumstances that we’ll have to rely on those in education to supply some answers for As courts, we’re called upon to resolve disputes, and I tell students all the time, “You don’t want me deciding your fate.”

Do you have a message to young people who struggle to attend school?

I was in the position many kids ﬁnd themselves: a single-parent home with very little guidance about getting an education. I learned the hard way by watching my father struggle.

Get as much education as you can. Going to school is the ﬁrst step, but if you go to be disruptive, if you go just to get a diploma, you can probably sneak out without an education.

But if you really work hard, and work with the teachers and administrators who are there to help you, you can accomplish anything you want in life.

Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate.com.

FILE PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer speaks Jan. 19 at the Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge.

Rules for liquids in air travel may

BY REBECCA SANTANA and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press

NEW YORK When limits on liquids were introduced at TSA checkpoints across the country in 2006, bins overflowed with bottled water, toothpaste, shaving cream and so much more. Nearly two decades later, travelers are much more accustomed to the “3-1-1 regulations” governing the size of the liquids they’re ﬂying with, but scenes of passengers guzzling a beverage before putting their bags through the screening machines are still common.

systems as more and more travelers turned to checked bags to pack toiletries. At the time the 3.4-ounce limit was implemented, the FBI and other laboratories had found that tiny amounts of substances small enough to fit into a quart-size bag couldn’t blow up an airliner

When the ban was eventually lifted in September 2006, consumers and businesses alike had to learn how to adapt to the 3-1-1 rule — leading to more demand for smaller, travel size bottles of anything from shampoo to toothpaste, as well as clear, “TSA approved” toiletry bags that are still seen on store shelves today.

The rule was also adopted in many countries around the world starting later that year

changes the TSA makes, whatever they are, only start at a handful of airports that have the technology to do so. Over the years, airports worldwide have adopted some aspects of security screenings faster or differently than others.

But travelers could be confused if they’re able to bring a full-size bottle of shampoo or lotion when ﬂying out of one airport, for example, but not on their return trip home.

“The devil is going to be in the details,” Harteveldt said. “That’s why the rollout plan will be absolutely critical.”

That’s why Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent ripples through the traveling public when she said earlier this week that changes mi gh t be afoot when it comes to the TSA’s current liquid limits.

“The liquids, I’m questioning. So that may be the next big announcement, is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem told a conference hosted by “The Hill” in Washington. Will travelers be able to carry bigger bottles? Multiple 1-quart bags of liquids? Those details haven’t been rolled out. But coming on top of her announcement earlier this month that travelers could keep their shoes on at TSA checkpoints, it seems a much different security experience for American air travelers might be emerging.

9/11 changed much

Airline travel changed dramatically after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. Before that, airlines were responsible for security and would often contract it out to private firms, said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group. Travelers often didn’t need to show their ID at security checkpoints — and people without boarding passes, such as family members or friends, could go to the gate in some locations.

“It was much more casual. And clearly it was ineffective, because 9/11 occurred,” Harteveldt said.

That’s when the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration were born, with the mandate of preventing more terrorist attacks.

The liquid limits, however, didn’t kick in until 2006, after authorities foiled a plot that used liquid explosives smuggled aboard carryon luggage The TSA then brieﬂy banned all liquids in carry-on luggage. That ban lasted about six weeks, but strained airlines’ baggage

Keith Jeffries a former TSA director at Los Angeles International Airport and now vice president of K2 Security Screening Group, says whatever comes next needs to be clear for passengers. And he knows whereof he speaks.

Jeffries was working for TSA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when the liquids rules came down overnight Signage had to be changed to let passengers know of the new regulations. Barrels overﬂowing with toothpaste, shaving cream and shampoo had to be emptied every half hour Jeffries remembers seeing a pair of shoes sitting in one of the barrels.

When he asked why, a TSA staffer said there was gel in the soles. “I said, ‘Please tell me I don’t have a passenger back there walking in the sterile area barefoot. And he says, ‘No, sir, they still have their socks on,’ ” he said.

“That’s how chaotic it was.”

More than convenience

Any move to simplify the screening process and cut down on the time it takes for passengers to navigate checkpoints would be a welcome change for everyone, Harteveldt says Because it isn’t just about convenience; those lines before the security checkpoints are the most at risk to a potential threat

The fact that the TSA felt conﬁdent enough to change its shoe policy earlier this month may not save too much time from an individual traveler’s perspective, Harteveldt notes but marks a “big step forward” toward cutting down the average length of the security process when you think about the number of people going through U.S. airports each day Relaxing current liquid restrictions could aid that effort.

Still, questions remain

“What we don’t know is what the secretary is going to announce about liquids,” Harteveldt said. “Will they remove the liquid ban altogether — and can we go back to bringing full-sized of toiletries and other items with us? Will they allow people to bring more than one bag of toiletries and liquids? And importantly, will they relax the limit on (the) quart-size bag itself?’”

It’s also possible that the

Harveldt says a more streamlined process could make travelers less stressed, but others — including ﬂight attendants and pilots who are in the skies more frequently — may object and question whether airport security is being compromised. Still, Harveldt says he doesn’t believe the TSA would make this change if the agency “didn’t feel it was authentically, truly safe.”

What of TSA PreCheck?

If shoe regulations disappear and liquid restrictions are eased, the effects could ripple into the TSA PreCheck program, in which passengers submit information like their fingerprints and the agency prescreens them for any red ﬂags. By giving the agency this information, the traveler then gets some beneﬁts not available to other travelers a special line to go through and the ability to keep their computers in their bags and their shoes on, for example.

But if those benefits become more widely available to all passengers, will fewer people sign up for PreCheck?

“What is the impact on now both shoes and liquids going to have on TSA PreCheck enrollment? That is the milliondollar question,” Jeffries said. “And if I was still with TSA, I would be watching that closely over the next 12 to 18 months.”

While the prospect of increasing the current liquid limit could be a welcome change for many U.S. travelers, some experts say that the tech isn’t available in enough airports yet. Current X-ray machines used at most airports today have a difﬁcult time distinguishing between different types of liquids, says Jeffrey Price, a professor of aviation at Metropolitan State University of Denver

That’s key, he explains, in determining whether something is harmless or potentially explosive.

While newer computed tomography scanners are better and have begun making their way to airports, Price said in commentary published last week that it could take “another decade or more” before the newer machines are deployed at all U.S. airports.

“This is an issue that needs to be studied much more carefully than the policy to leave your shoes on,” he said in an email Thursday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV Travelers makes their way through security on Thursday at the Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tenn.

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

Johnsongetsfunding clawback legislationpassed

Victorycomesamid

Epstein filesimbroglio

WASHINGTON By anymeasure, House Speaker MikeJohnsonhad asuccessful few weeks.

The Benton Republican herded acontrary clowder of HouseRepublicans to aseries of huge legislative wins for President Donald Trump, capped early Fridaymorning with ﬁnal passage of arescission bill that clawed back already appropriated billions for public broadcasting and foreign aid, among other expenditures.

trained at LSU.

The White House refused to comment on conversations between Trumpand Johnson. But press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trumphad long contended Attorney General Pam Bondi should release any additional “credible” evidence.

Mark Ballard

The Senate had passed the amended measure at 2:30a.m. Thursday,leaving Johnson lessthan 46 hours to getthe legislation to Trump for his signature beforethe clawback expired. Plenty of House members had reasons to oppose the measure, from defunding publicbroadcasting to setting the precedent of allowing apresident to usurp Congress’sconstitutional powerof thepurse.

But Johnson’sbiggest hurdle was afight between Republicans over publicly releasingfederal investigatory files on accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, afinancier who allegedly providedhis prominentfriends with underage girls for sex and died in prison awaiting trial.

On July 7, Trump’sDepartment of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation released a“nothing to see here” memo. Theﬁles contained “no credibleevidence” that Epstein was murdered, he committed suicide in 2019;his client list didn’texist; and he blackmailed no one, accordingtothe Justice/FBI memo.

Those were the exact allegations Trump and many of his supporters —including FBI Director Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, Patel’schief deputy —raised over the years trying to tar Democrats for not releasing the ﬁles. Now

Landrynames Lafourche president to highway job

Gov.Jeff Landry on Wednesday announced that Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson III will serve as executive director of the Ofﬁce of Louisiana Highway Construction, the state’s brand-new transportation agency

“Archie has been adedicated publicservant for Lafourche Parish working tirelessly to answer the needs of the southeast region,” Landry said in astatement. “Weare excited to bring Archie into the administration to serve in this new role.” Under areorganization plan approved by state lawmakers and Landry last month, the new Ofﬁce of Louisiana Highway Construction is independent of the state Department of Transportation and Development. It will oversee about 4,800 miles of smaller state

in power themselves, theTrump administration didn’twant to release anything more than the memo Many in the MAGA base were enraged,and many Republicans were looking for political cover while theclock ticked down on the rescissionsbill.

“Now they are reaping what they have sown,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday Epstein had pleaded guilty andwas convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court for procuring achild for prostitution. Adecade later,federal law enforcement

roadways that don’t qualify for federal funding, including planning, construction, maintenance and repairs.

BUZZ staff reports

Theofﬁce is tasked with “privatizing functions as well as reimagining transportation project delivery,” Wednesday’sannouncement stated

Landry said Chaisson will beworking together with DOTD Secretary GlennLedet, who recently left the top job at the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

“I am confident that the days ofamore efficient transportation department are onthe horizon,” Landry said. Ledet said the appointment of Chaisson is a strong step forward for both thenew office and the state” andnoted that thetwo transportation leaders worked closely in previousroles.

“He has aproven track record of gettingthings done and has

identiﬁed 36 other underage girls, someasyoung as 14, and in 2019 charged Epstein with sex trafﬁcking minors.

On Tuesday,Johnson got in the middle of the fray when he told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson the Epstein records should be released.

“I agree withthe sentiment thatweneed to put it out there,” Johnson said. “It’sa very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.” Johnson seemed to be joining MAGA loyalistslike Steve Bannon againstTrumponthe issue.

been areliable partner throughout,” Ledet said. “I’m conﬁdent in his leadership and look forward to collaborating with him to improve how we deliver roadway projects across Louisiana.”

In aseparate news release announcing his resignation as Lafourche Parishpresident as of Aug. 1, Chaisson said, “I am excited to start this next chapter in my life and work alongside our governor to re-imagine the way we construct and rehabilitate our roads and bridges across our great state.

Chaisson ﬁrst won election as parish president in 2019 and then again in 2023 when he ran unopposed. He is also thepresident of a group called Parishes Advocating for Coastal Endurance, or PACE. He also served as public works director for the City of Thibodaux as well as parish administrator for Lafourche Parish.

Senate advances

U.S. attorney candidate

Kurt Wall is one step away

Without mentioning anyone’s name, Trump lashed back on Truth Social calling the controversy a “scam” and a“hoax” that his “past supporters” were championing on behalf of Democrats and the news media.

On Wednesday Johnson walked back his comments, telling The Hill, aCapitolHill politics publication, that he and Trump have always supported transparency “I’m saying the samething the president is that, Imean, you need to have all of the credible information released forthe American people to maketheir decision,”said Johnson, alawyer

from being conﬁrmed as the United States Attorney for the Middle DistrictofLouisiana, based in Baton Rouge, after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee recommended his nomination to thefull Senate Thursdaymorning. The Republican majority on thecommittee approved Wall’s nomination by President Donald Trump. Democraticmembers on the Judiciary Committee had walked out of the hearing because of acontroversy over Emil J. BoveIII, whoTrumphas nominated for alifetime appointment as ajudge on theU.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judiciary Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley,R-Iowa, overrode Democratic points of order and called for avote while Sen. Corey Booker,D-N.J., accused Republicans of not following established Senate rules. Democraticmembers, who makeupaminority of the panel, walked out.

“It’s happened before and we have to movealong,” Grassley said, addingthat asimilar inci-

Thursday morning’sWall Street Journal reported that Trumphad sent Epstein a“bawdy letter” in 2003. Trumpdenied doing so and threatened to sue the newspaper Trumphas long acknowledged that he and Epstein werefriends from the 1980s until the early 2000s.

As timewas running out on Trump’sclawback bill, Republicans on the House Rules Committee tired of being repeatedly called upon to vote downDemocratic and Republican amendments demanding release of the Epstein ﬁles. The panel needed to vet and forward the bill before a ﬂoor vote could happen.

After hours of committee foot-dragging, Johnson agreed to allow anonbinding resolution giving Bondi 30 days to “make publicly available in asearchable and downloadable format” all documents, records, communications and other evidence related to the investigation, the online political newssource Punchbowl reported at 8:39 p.m.Eastern Time Thursday

At 9:07 p.m., Trumpposted on Truth Social that he asked Bondi to produce pertinent grand jury testimony,ifthe court approved. Bondi responded at 9:09 p.m.on X: “President Trump—weare ready to movethe court tomorrow (Friday) to unseal the grand jury transcripts.” The committee forwarded the legislation.

At 12:03 a.m. Friday,only two Republicans joined 211 Democrats voting against the rescission bill —216 Republicans voted to send the measure to Trumpfor his signature.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

dent once occurred when Democrats madeupthe majority on the committee.

Bove’s nomination wasforwarded with only Republican votes.

Wall’snomination wasfurther downthe agenda and he too was approved only by Republican votes without discussion.

U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy,RMadisonville, did not attend the hearing but had Grassley vote on his behalf Wall prosecuted violent crime, drug and white-collar cases as an assistant district attorney in Livingston Parish and before he worked in the East Baton Rouge Parish.

If the full Senate approves his conﬁrmation in avote likely to take place next week or the week after,Wall will succeed Ronald C. Gathe Jr.asthe chief federal law enforcement ofﬁcer forAscension, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena parishes.

CAPITOL

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, leavesthe House chamber on Thursdayatthe U.S. Capitol in Washington.

THE GULF COAST

New park in Florida expands public beach access, parking

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

This summer, Louisiana vacationers making their annual escape to Florida’s Gulf Coast will ﬁnd a new stretch of sugar white sand and aquamarine waves the result of a multimilliondollar effort to expand public beach access. Destin’s Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park will feature 340 feet of public beach access, along with restrooms and 49 free parking spaces, including ADA-accessible and low-speed vehicle spots, according to city ofﬁcials.

While the beach access at Tarpon is already open, additional amenities are expected to be completed before next spring, Destin mayor Bobby Wagner said in a post on Facebook.

The project is a part of a broader $26.5 million initiative by the City of Destin and the Okaloosa Board of

County Commissioners to reinvest tourism revenue in expanding access for both visitors and residents, city ofﬁcials said. The ﬁrst phase of the initiative, a $9 million expansion at nearby Crystal Beach, has already been completed.

The total cost for Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park was $16.75 million.

Only two years ago, the site offered “a sliver of beach access,” according to Nick Tomecek, the public information ofﬁcer of Okaloosa County In response, the city demolished several buildings in the area and expanded the public beach from 5 to 340 feet.

Doug Hattaway, the land conservation director of Trust for Public Land — the lead agency that helped negotiate the property purchase — described the project as a “commitment to protecting public access to nature and preserving the unique coast character” of Destin.

The park’s opening comes at a time

of ongoing tensions over limited shoreline access in Destin, where large portions of beachfront are privately owned, and vendor operations contribute to crowding. Wagner has said the city aims to “buy and build more public beaches over the next two years” while addressing vendor issues.

The project also coincides with a shift in travel patterns, as more vacationers are turning to the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast, drawn by less-crowded beaches and more affordable lodging.

“This is all about reclaiming the beaches for our residents, for our tourists,” Wagner said at Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony “As we all know, there’s limited space out there, and where there’s an issues, there’s always an opportunity.”

Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe @theadvocate.com.

Anglers catch 1,000-pound

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Hours after dropping bait into the Gulf last Thursday morning, anglers Trey Linder and Steve Callaway hauled in an 11-foot, 8-inch tiger shark off Pensacola’s West End Beach. They tagged the shark for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research, then posed with the slickskinned predator prying open its jaws to reveal its rows of comb-shaped teeth before releasing it back into the water

The whole process, which started at 5 a.m., took about 3 minutes, the anglers wrote in a Facebook post, adding that “experience is key.”

If there’s any time of year anglers are likely to catch a tiger shark, it’s now — summer is when coastal sharks come closer inland in search of warmer waters to give birth, NOAA shark biologist John Carlson said last year Tiger sharks are the third most commonly caught coastal shark in the United States, according to the Florida Museum. In the Gulf, they are the most common shark species found in both coastal and offshore waters. The species can grow up to 18 feet in length and weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

CivilrightsworkslowedasEducation Department

Data showsfewer casesresolvedas Trumpdismantles agency

BY COLLIN BINKLEY AP education writer

WASHINGTON The Trump administration insists it hasn’t wavered in itsdutytoprotect the civil rights of America’s children evenasitdismantles the Education Department. Yetits own data shows the agency has resolved far fewer civil rights cases than in past yearsdespite families ﬁling more complaints.

The Education Department’scivil rights branch lost nearly half its staff amid mass layoffsinMarch, raising questions about itsability to address adeep backlog of complaints from studentsalleging discrimination based on disability,sex or race.

Pressed on the issue in June, Education Secretary Linda McMahon denied aslowdown.

“Notonly are we reducing the backlog, but we are keeping up with the current amount with areducedstaff because we are doing it efﬁciently,” McMahonsaid at a Senate budget hearing. By several measures, however,the output of the Ofﬁce for Civil Rights appears to have fallen sharply in comparison with previous years.

Apublic database of theofﬁce’sresolution agreements —cases in which schools or universities voluntarily agreed to address civil rights concerns —suggests the ofﬁce’swork has slowed.

The database lists just65 resolutions so far this year, on pace to fall far below previous years’ totals. Last year the office logged 380 resolutions in total, following 561in 2023. DuringPresidentDonald Trump’sfirst term, the office averaged more than 800 resolutions ayear,including 1,300 during his first yearin office.

Other internal data obtained by The Associated Press show asimilar trend. Since Trump took ofﬁce, the total number of resolvedcases is down about 40% from the same time frame last year —including cases that were dismissed, mediated or reached avoluntary resolution. Compared with last year,there also has been a

70%decreasein the number of cases resolved through resolution agreements or actiontakenbyaschool to comply with federal law,the internal data shows.

Meanwhile, new complaints have increased 9%.

Thetotal number of cases has now climbedbeyond 25,000.

An EducationDepartment spokespersonsaidthe Trump administration is ﬁxing abrokensystem.

“When staff levels were at their peak, OCR’sprocesses still provedtobeineffective, as evidenced by thechronic backlogoftens of thousands of cases that left students’ discrimination claims languishing over many presidential administrations,” spokesperson Julie Hartman said Parents and advocates say they’ve noticeda difference.

Adrienne Hazel filed a complaintinApril after her 20-year-old son Ricky,who has autism, was placed in a public school programwithoutacertified teacher and was not given an individual learning plan. Hazel, of Southfield, Michigan, hasnot heard from the federal office after receiving an automatic reply when she filed thecomplaint.

Things moved faster last year when Hazelﬁled aseparatecomplaint forher son.

Theoffice notified Ricky’s school, which Hazel says spurred thedistricttoreach an agreement with her within about threemonths.This time, she said, it feels like she’sonher own.

“There has been zero response to this,” shesaid. “He’s basically going intoa babysitting situation. He’s not getting thethings that he needs to grow intoindependence. Andhe’ll just be aging without getting an education.”

Marcie Lipsitt, aspecial education advocate in Michigan who worked with Hazel, said such stories are common. She helps families ﬁle complaintsbut warnsitcould take at leastayear beforean investigation opens. Some schools have backtracked on previous agreements,she said, yet parents can’t geta response from the federal ofﬁce.

“It’shorrible.I’m watching childrensuffer like they’ve never suffered,” she said. “There is no accountability.”

The fateofthe Education Department itself is in question as theTrump administrationmoves ahead with a plan to wind down the agency.A SupremeCourt decision Mondaycleared theway for theagency to continue mass layoffsand outsource some functions to other agencies. McMahon previously suggested the civil rightswork could be managed by theJusticeDepartment.

Still, McMahon said in June that the office was making headway after inheriting a backlog of 20,000 cases from the Bidenadministration. Shetoldsenators theofﬁce was catching up on the backlog and keeping up withnew complaints

With half thestaff, many question how that’spossible.

In aJune court order pausing the termination of Ofﬁce for Civil Rightsemployees,a federal judge in Boston said thebranchis“currentlyincapable of addressing the vast majority”ofcomplaints. More than 200 of theofﬁce’s employees remain on leave

while that case is decided.

The Ofﬁcefor Civil Rights is responsible forenforcing civil rights lawsacross the nation’sschools and is often alast resort for parents and students facing discrimination from schools. The ofﬁce reviews complaints and, for those that meet certaincriteria, opens investigations. Others are dismissed or move to amediation process.

Of the 65 resolution agreements reported this year, 57 were signed afterTrump took ofﬁce. Of those, the vast majority involve complaints of discrimination based on disability,with smaller numbers based on sex or race. Most of the sex discrimination ﬁndings deal withkeeping transgender athletes out of women’ssports, oneof Trump’scampaign promises.

“OCR will continue to meet its statutory responsibilities while driving to improve efﬁciencyand resolve thelongstanding backlog,“ Hartman said.

Multiple workers in the ofﬁcewho spoke on condition of anonymity forfear of retaliation said caseloads have

grown too big to manage. In last year’sbudget request, the office said it wasbecoming difficult to keep up when investigative staff averaged 42 cases per person. Some estimates put the current caseload beyond 200. The employees said it meansmorecaseswilllanguish. Another parent in Michigan, Casie Clouse, hasn’t heard from the department sinceshe fileda complaint in May.Her son, Brady,who is blind in one eye and has alearning disability,wasn’t getting the type of help his school promised, including access to teachers’ notes and reduced coursework. Brady,14, madenoacademic progress in eighth grade, and he’snow heading to high school without the support he needs, his mother said. “It’s been so frustrating nottoevenhaveanupdate at all,”said Clouse, of Ann Arbor.“He is going to go to high school andfail. Ifeel like my child will not geta high school diploma if he stays in Ann Arbor Public Schools.”

TheGolden Deeds awardisthe most prestigiousaward in theGreater BatonRouge area Since itsinceptionin1942, it hasbeen awardedtoonlyone outstanding recipienteach year forphilanthropic servicetothe community. Theactions andservice of therecipients have made thecommunity abetterplace to live andwork.

TheGoldenDeeds Awardnominations includethe nine-parishBaton RougeMetropolitan StatisticalAreawhich covers East BatonRouge,WestBaton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension, Livingston, St.Helena, East Feliciana, West Felicianaand Pointe Coupee

By The Associated Press

LONDON The Bayeux Tapestry,the 11thcentury artwork depictingthe Norman conquest of England, will be displayed in Britain for the ﬁrst time in almost 1,000years.

Ofﬁcials said recently thetreasuredmedieval tapestry willbeonloan from France and arrive next year at theBritish Museum, where it will star in ablockbuster exhibition from September 2026 to July 2027. The loan was announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’srecentstate visit to the United Kingdom

The fragile 230-foot clothdepicts the events leading up to the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. The artworkwas believed to have beencommissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux andhas been displayed in various locationsacross France, including most recently at theBayeuxMuseuminNormandy.

“The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most iconic pieces of art everproduced in the U.K. and Iamdelighted that we will be able to welcome it herein2026,”Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy saidinastatement

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO The 11th-centuryBayeux

chronicling the Norman conquest of England is displayedin2019 in Bayeux,France.

“This loan is asymbol of ourshared history with our friends in France, arelationship built over centuries and one that continues to endure,” she added.

In return, the British Museum will loan treasures from theSutton Hoo collection —artifacts from a7th century Anglo Saxon ship burial —tomuseums in Normandy.The excavationofSutton Hoo was dramatized in the2021 ﬁlm “The Dig” starring RalphFiennesand Carey Mulligan.

Other items to be loaned to France include the Lewis Chessmen,the mysteriousmedieval chess pieces carved from walrus tusks and whales’ teethdating from aroundthe 12thcenturythat were discovered on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

Explainwhy your nomineeshouldreceive theGoldenDeeds Award.Tellusinyourown wordsabout themostmemorable things they’vedoneinservice to thecommunity

Tell us howtheir actionstouched your heart; howtheymadea difference

Give speciﬁcexamplesofwhatthey’ve done Maximumof750 words. Nominationsmustmeet speciﬁcrequirementstobeconsidered.

each •Group tables available To purchase tickets, contact RichardFlicker at ﬂicker@premier.net or 225-931-1626

Mail nominationletters to The Advocate attn: Ellen Ducote P.O. Box 588 Baton Rouge, LA 70821

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SyLVIA JARRUS

Adrienne Hazel, left, stands with her son Ricky on ThursdayinSouthfield,Mich.

EBR School Board balks at contracts

Kids’ Orchestra, BRyC programs may be revisited

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

In a rare and unexpected de-

feat for Superintendent LaMont

Cole, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board failed to approve contracts with two local nonproﬁts, one that teaches young children how to play music and another that helps hundreds of teenagers each year improve their chances of get-

LSU-area apartment complex sold for $82M

Student housing demand strong

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

An LSU-area apartment complex was sold for $82 million to a New York investment group last week. Timberline Real Estate Ventures of Rye, New York, purchased the Park Place Baton Rouge development at 222 E. Boyd Drive in a deal that was ﬁled Wednesday with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court’s Ofﬁce. The seller was Park7 Baton Rouge Owner LLC of New York City Park Place is a 280-unit complex that opened in 2017. Park7 developed the multifamily housing complex, but sold it to Timberline along with student apartment developments in Columbia, South Carolina; Orono, Maine; and Waco, Texas. The complex has a number of amenities, including a rooftop pool with a hot tub and jumbo TV screen, a covered parking garage, private study rooms, a fitness center and a movie theater. This is the second LSU-area deal Timberline has made this year In February, the investment group bought The Oliver, a 612-unit development at 4500 Burbank Drive, for $25 million.

Craig Davenport, of Cook Moore Davenport & Associates, said the sale of Park Place shows the continuing strength of the LSU apartment market. The complex changed hands for around $295,000 per unit or $110,000 per bed, one of the highest sale prices that has been seen in the local market.

From 2020 to 2024, enrollment at LSU has gone up from 30,793 students to 37,490. That’s led to a crunch in on-campus housing. A year ago, the university was offering local freshmen a $3,000 bonus if they chose to live with their parents.

It also led to purchases by investors such as Timberline and Brookﬁeld, a New York ﬁrm that bought the 732-unit Arlington Cottages and Townhomes complex on Ben Hur Drive in late 2024 for an undisclosed amount of money

“I’m assuming that was another high-dollar sale,” said Davenport, who tracks the local apartment market.

The Dinerstein Companies, a Houston-based developer, recently purchased Tiger Pointe Apartments off Nicholson Drive and a vacant tract of land next to the Southgate Towers Apartments at Nicholson and Burbank, for what Davenport says will probably be two new complexes.

“All of this shows that student housing developers are hot on the LSU market right now,” he said.

Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

ting into college.

Voting along racial lines, the board was unable to muster the needed five-vote majority to approve the $445,000 contract with Kids’ Orchestra and the $786,000 contract with the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition, or BRYC.

The 2025-26 school year begins Aug 7, less than three weeks from now Neither contract is dead, though.

The board is expected to revisit them within the next two months.

Board members opposed to the contracts argued that the district should either bring this work inhouse, or, if it hires outside providers, it should give a shot to other local organizations doing similar things.

“We can take and use that money across the board in a way that all the kids are served equitably,” said

board member Cliff Lewis. “Fair is fair,” said board member Dadrius Lanus. “If we’re going to do this for one, or two, or three organizations, then you open the door to all organizations that can provide services to make all of our schools better.”

As an example, Lanus pointed to 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge, an organization for which he previously served as executive director Like BRYC, 100 Black Men has a successful ACT prep program.

“They’re raising ACT scores at

some of your lowest-performing schools by an average of three points, and they’re doing it for free,” Lanus said.

Board President Shashonnie Steward sided with Lewis and Lanus. “If there are better options, then I’m open to looking into it,” Steward said.

All three ended up abstaining. The ﬁnal vote Thursday was 4-0 on both items. Board members Carla

ABOVE: The Rev Cary Bani sprinkles holy water around the runners and riders and their toes and bikes RIGHT: Riders, runners and the Rev. Cary Bani pose for pictures following he event.

Riders roll along Main Street following the seventh Annual Blessing of the Bikes and Runners at St. Joseph’s Cathedral on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

HOLy RIDE

Fundraiser to help buy bulletproof vests

Bourbon flight to be raffled off

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Nearly a decade after a deadly attack on law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, a local nonprofit is holding a fundraiser fueled by bourbon to help equip officers with high-tech bulletproof vests. The Capital Area Law Enforcement Foundation is raffling off a bourbon flight valued at $70,000 to buy as many rifle-rated bulletproof vests as possible for three local departments.

The fundraiser started earlier this week on the ninth anniversary of the 2016 ambush in which gunman Gavin Long shot and killed two BRPD ofﬁcers and two

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies.

The vests that Deputy Brad Garafola, Cpl. Montrell Jackson, Officer Matthew Gerald and Deputy Nick Tullier were wearing that day were rated only for handgun fire, not the long-gun munitions Long was firing. In the aftermath of those killings, former Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade formed CALEF and began seeking better protection for his officers.

“I was a cop for 32 years, so I know what it’s like,” Englade said. “When I was ﬁrst on patrol, we didn’t have vests. I mean, there just wasn’t such a thing.

“What has happened in America is that people that commit crimes have transitioned from handguns into semiautomatic

See FUNDRAISER, page 2B

Seven venomous snakes call La. home

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Seven venomous snakes call Louisiana home, including coral snakes, cottonmouths, rattlesnakes and copperheads.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 7,000 to 8,000 people get bitten by venomous snakes each year in the U.S., with about ﬁve of those cases resulting in death. What’s the cardinal rule of keeping yourself and the snakes — safe, according to experts? Leave them be.

“A lot of venomous snakes bites are the result of people trying to kill snakes,” said Chris Austin, curator of amphibians and

reptiles at the LSU Museum of Natural Science and biological sciences professor “All snakes would much rather slither away from you.”

It’s also easy to misidentify a snake without proper training, he said.

“In all cases, it’s best to just leave them alone,” Austin said. Venomous snakes in Louisiana

Here’s the rundown of Louisiana’s venomous snakes, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Cottonmouth

n Types: Northern Cottonmouth

n Where they are found: Swamplands and ponds, lake and stream borders throughout Louisiana. They like dense canopies and Expert says it’s best to leave snakes alone

ä See SNAKES, page 2B

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Last of jail escapees still at large

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

If he’s ever recaptured, Derrick Groves awaits two life prison sentences with no shot at parole.

It’s an incentive to remain free that appears ample for Groves, who on Wednesday completed his second month in hiding as the last, and some fear most dangerous, of the 10 Orleans Parish jail detainees who ﬂed the lockup on May 16.

Authorities had little to say this week about a search that once numbered a reported 200 personnel. A variety of state and federal agents are still after Groves, who turned 28 while in hiding. But the tips have slowed, ofﬁcials said, and Groves’ whereabouts remain a mystery

“We continue to get tips on him from Crimestoppers and through the Marshals Service, and we’re actively looking at those,” said Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair “Some are in-state, some are out-of-state. Some are ‘I saw Elvis at the gas station’ tips. Others are a little bit better. We continue to investigate all of those tips.” Fair said support for the search is coming from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations as well as Louisiana State Police. He said it’s clear Groves has had help staying hidden, but “a person or persons have not been established” as suspects in that effort.

“We do believe he’s getting help from somebody whether family or friends providing him aid, (or) giving him money while he’s on the run,” Fair said. The reward from various agencies for information leading to Groves’ arrest is still $50,000. Darlene Cusanza, CEO of Crimestoppers GNO, did not return messages seeking comment.

A fugitive surviving off the grid for months is not so unusual, Fair said.

“Some people with survival skills will go camping, basically, for lack of better term. Head off into the wilderness.

I don’t think Groves is doing

FUNDRAISER

Continued from page 1B

and automatic rifles now, and these vests were just not designed for that in the very beginning.”

When the idea to raise money to buy rifle-rated vests began, Englade tested a handful of vest options at a local gun range. The vest that proved the best was designed by a company called Angel Armor

“We started with the phrase ‘all-day riﬂe protection,’” said Aaron Pettigrew, national sales director for Angel Armor “When the events happened to Baton Rouge and in Dallas, that’s when everybody was like, well, we need rifle protection. We’re being ambushed It was a scene that shocked the whole entire country.”

But Pettigrew said the response of many departments was to buy “active shooter kits” that included

SNAKES

Continued from page 1B

often coil near water

n Identifiers: Dark tan to very dark brown/black. Black or dark brown crossbands. White line from corner of the eye along the angle of the mouth. Coral snake

n Types: Harlequin coral snake, Texas coral snake

n Where they are found: Florida Parishes above Lake Pontchartrain (Harlequin coral snake), Western Louisiana as far south as Calcasieu Parish (Texas coral snake)

n Identifiers: Red, yellow and black bands. A popular rhyme to distinguish from other snakes in the Southern U.S. is, “Red and yellow can kill a fellow; red and black, friend of Jack.”

However most snake experts would advise to leave

that, but if people are letting you stay at their place and you’re not coming out much ” Fair said.

“Ultimately, I think we’re going to catch him. We only need to get lucky once He’s got to look over his shoulder every day of the week.”

At the local level, the New Orleans Police Department referred questions about the search to the Louisiana State Police, the lead agency which released a statement

“With only one fugitive still at large, the Louisiana State Police continues to work alongside our local, state, and federal partners to investigate all information that may lead to the apprehension of Derrick Groves,” it read.

“Our focus remains unwavering, and we will not stop until Groves is in custody.”

Recent research has found that 8% of escapees from jails or other lockups used violence against community members while on the lam, and 6% committed violence against authorities who recaptured them.

Unlike Antoine Massey, the last of the nine recaptured men to turn up, Groves has not announced his presence or declared himself the victim of injustice on social media since the group fled through a hole behind a ripped-out toilet, scaled a wall and crossed Interstate 10 to freedom.

Groves has been convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, and has pleaded guilty to two counts of man-

vests, but which were often kept in the back of a police vehicle.

“And they didn’t study what happened,” he said.

“If they’re ambushed, they don’t have that time, right? So how can we put together a lightweight rifle-plate package that’s not going to be cumbersome.”

The company says Angel Armor vests were designed to wear for hours on end in hot or exhausting conditions, and the design is adapted to the way modern law enforcement industry thinks about body armor The equipment is sold exclusively to sworn ﬁrst responders, the military and federal agents, according to Angel Armor

The vests cost around $2,000, and CALEF is looking to buy as many as possible for its three chosen departments for this year: Baton Rouge police, LSU police and Southern University

“The little departments,

all snakes alone rather than putting too much faith in rhymes.

Copperhead

n Types: Eastern copperhead n Where they are found: Throughout forested areas of Louisiana, not including permanent swamps and cheniers.

n Identifiers: Brown or reddish-brown with crossbands resembling hourglasses or Hershey’s Kisses.

Rattlesnake

n Types: Timber rattlesnake, pygmy rattlesnake, eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake

n Where they are found: Wooded areas in most of Louisiana (timber rattlesnake), uplands and pine ﬂatwoods in northern and central Louisiana and the Florida Parishes (pygmy rattlesnakes), pinelands in Tangipahoa, Washington and St. Tammany

SCHOOL

Continued from page 1B

Powell-Lewis and Emily Soulé were absent.

The board members voting yes were Mark Bellue, Mike Gaudet, Patrick Martin V and Nathan Rust.

Gaudet said he shares some of the concerns raised, but urged putting off the topic until this fall when the board reconvenes to set budget priorities for the following school year He objected to voting down the contracts now, “right at the beginning of the school year.”

reduce planned service expansion, focusing only on high school seniors, but he said the organization is committed to working with the district in the future.

“As we prepare to serve 500+ 8-12th-graders and 900+ alumni through our traditional out-of-school program, we will now move forward with a revised in-school plan, offering postsecondary and early-career counseling to seniors at any high schools in our original contract that choose to enlist these services,” Spielfogel said. “We will support these efforts through our own fundraising.”

relatively few schools that Kids Orchestra was then serving. Cole worked with Kids Orchestra to extend the program to 15 schools serving a total of 445 students; the proposed contract for next year names 17 schools. That expansion in schools, however, increased the cost to $900,000 with the district handling half. The district’s share consequently increased from $175,000 to $445,000. Lewis, however remains opposed: “When is enough enough? We are not your funders.”

slaughter in separate cases. He’d remained jailed locally for months awaiting his terminal sentence, after the judge recused herself and his defense lawyer received a suspension.

Darriana Burton, 28, a former Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employee who has been described by officials as an associate and girlfriend of Groves, was arrested for allegedly helping to plan the escape. She’s one of several people outside of the escapees who are accused as accessories. A jail plumber Sterling Williams, has been charged with helping facilitate the jailbreak.

“We continue to support a coordinated, multiagency effort to locate and apprehend Derrick Groves, as we have with the previous 9 captures including the one led by Sheriff Susan Hutson,” the sheriff’s office said Friday in a statement. “As we have stated before, we urge Mr Groves to surrender peacefully before he or anyone else is harmed.”

In the meantime, Attorney General Liz Murrill said she’s working on recommendations from an investigation into deﬁciencies at the jail. Murrill put her support behind a request that went before the state Bond Commission on Thursday for $15 million to go to “emergency repairs and hardening” of the Orleans Parish lockup.

That measure passed, an ofﬁcial with the commission said Friday

we can go in and knock them out, three, four, five, six vests,” Englade said. “When you talk about hundreds, that takes a little more effort.”

Entry into the bourbon rafﬂe costs $100 per ticket, with the winner’s name to be drawn on Aug. 15.

First prize is an EH Taylor ﬂight of 12 bourbons, with a reported market price of $70,000. Second place is a 20-year-old Double Eagle

Very Rare bourbon.

“It’s amazing watching the community rally behind the officers,” Pettigrew said.

“It means everything to their families. It means everything to them. And you know, hopefully they never have to use the gear, but in the situation that they do have to use it, hopefully that they are protecting those individuals across the board in their community.”

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@ theadvocate.com.

Parishes with last recorded sighting in 1995 (eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake)

n Identifiers: The telltale rattle. Red/orange band down the back (timber and pygmy rattlesnake), diamondshaped pattern with dark brown markings and pale edges (eastern diamondbacked rattlesnake).

Email Haley Miller at haley.miller@theadvocate. com.

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“Effectively it would kill the program for this school year, and all the kids that would have beneﬁted from it would not,” Gaudet said.

District policy says that items voted down can’t be reconsidered for at least 60 days, or not until Sept. 15, unless two-thirds of the board votes to revive the item. The next scheduled board meeting is Aug. 21. To take action earlier President Steward would have to call a special meeting.

Cole said he prefers running academic programs in-house but that doesn’t always make sense, and in such cases “we must seek external partners who can provide those services at a high level.” He said he judged that retaining Kids Orchestra and BRYC is in line with district goals outlined in the strategic plan approved by the board in January

“The recommendations that we brought forth are based on that process,” Cole said. “If we change the process, we may, no guarantee, we may change the recommendation.”

Representatives of Kids’ Orchestra did not respond to a request for comment.

BRYC Executive Director Lucas Spielfogel said in statement he is “disappointed” at the “unexpected” contract denial, but thanked Cole and others for their support. He said the organization will

For more than a decade, the school system has contracted with Kids Orchestra to provide music lessons to elementary-age children.

BRYC first contracted with the school system in fall 2023. Last year the district spent almost $800,000, the same amount at issue now, to establish BRYC college prep classes at a handful of Baton Rouge high schools.

Since forming in 2009, BRYC has helped hundreds of teenagers each year improve their chances of getting into a good college Its Class of 2023 had an average ACT score of 22.23, well above state and local averages, and its students improved by 3.8 points on average during their time there.

Thursday’s meeting defeat is unusual. In his ﬁrst year as superintendent, Cole has managed to maintain a steady consensus on a board previously riven with disputes. Meetings, which previously routinely stretched late into the night, are much shorter, often wrapping up now with the sun still shining.

The Kids Orchestra contract was one of Cole’s ﬁrst challenges on the job. Lewis has been critical of that contract since he joined the board, and last August he made his displeasure known to the new superintendent, harping on the

In the case of BRYC, Cole pressed the organization to focus more on ACT prep. The new contract adds an elective ACT prep course that would be available to 200 juniors at 10 high schools. One goal in Cole’s employment contract is to increase ACT scores. School Board members did not object to the contracts at their July 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, a meeting where the board unanimously recommended 32 contracts and agreements in short order But when the board met again Thursday it was a different story Neither Kids Orchestra nor BRYC had representatives present. After sitting in silence the week before, Lewis and Lanus now had lots to say The absence of PowellLewis and Soulé gave them an advantage

“I’m curious why none of these concerns came up in committee, which is the meeting we have to discuss matters like this,” board member Rust observed. After the meeting, Lewis said he, Lanus and Steward did not organize the defeat of the two contracts in advance. “There was no power play, no ambush, none of that,” Lewis said. “I just went in there and voted my conscience.”

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

The Orleans Parish jail is pictured on the left in New Orleans on May 16. Ten inmates escaped from the jail.

NewOrleans librariesdip into rainy-dayfund

Building issues forceclosures

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

When air conditioning systems fail at New Orleans public libraries, branches either shut down entirely— often forweeks at a time —oraccess is limited to a portion of the building.

And during heavy rain,staff sometimes places trash cans under leaky ceilings tocatch thedrips, but minimizing water damage to bookcollections andﬂooring is particularly challenging whenthere are multiple leaks in asingle building, library Director Emily Painton said this week.

As the New Orleans Public Library system moves through its busiest season, when kids are outofschool for the summer,recurring building woes like aging roofs, mold, plumbing and AC issues have again shutdown a handful of branches —three just this month —threatening avital community resource.

Library ofﬁcialssay the problem has grown worse, prompting them to dip into the system’sreserve fundand inject more than $10 million toward replacing the roofs and heating, ventilation andair conditioningsystems across five locations,Painton

said.

They’ve also created anew facilities administrator position that will becharged with assessingand overseeing the 15 branches andmanagingconstruction projects.

Thelibrary system is acity agency funded almostentirely by adedicated property taxmillage

It hasalready pulledfromits reserves $9.5 million to coveranew HVAC system, an elevator and deferred maintenance upgrades for the Main branch.

The Main branch and three others —Nix in Mid-City, Keller in CentralCity and the Children’sResource Center closed thismonth for plumbing, AC and other repairs, continuing an annual trend of emergencyclosures that peak in the summertime.

Jeremy Dupre, an unhoused resident, satoutside the Main Branch on arecent Wednesday

While thesite’sACnever “blows cold air,” he said,the branch serves as arespite from the heat andasa jobsearch tool through the site’scomputerlab.

“It’sridiculous. They shut it down everyother week,itfeels like,” he said.

“Due to HVAC issues, the buildingcannot stay cool enough to comfortably accommodate library staff or patrons,” NOPL announced earlier thismonth of the downtown Main Branch. “We

areintouchwithour vendorto mitigate the problem.”

At the Algiers Regional Library,the secondﬂoor AC was out most of last summer,limiting access to the first floor

Patron Sharon Shirey recalled staff’s accommodations to grab booksrequested fromthe second floor’sadultsection,but it was frustrating to nothave browsing access.

“I’m so sad about the deplorable conditions of our libraries because so many people, especially kids,dependonthem,”she said.

While the bulk of the city’s public libraries are in historic buildings —fourwerebuilt over 100years ago—ahandful built in 2012 are in need of the most critical repairs: New Orleans East,Robert E. Smith, Algiers Regional,RosaKellerand Norman Mayer.

New Orleans officials once hailed their openings as symbols of community resilience after their predecessors were destroyed by HurricaneKatrina andits aftermath

Butthe newbuildings began experiencing HVAC issues at least seven years after opening, according to city budget documents. Today,the unitsand the building’sroofshave reached theend of their life spans, Painton said. The library system’sdecision

to tapinto its rainy-day fund, one typically reserved for lesscostly library needs, comesasthe quick repairsneeded to keep branches open eat at the budget.Over the past four years, New Orleans Public Libraries has spent more than $500,000 of itsoperating budgetonrepairs, according to Painton.

”These replacements arenot apermanent solution in theway newsysteminstallations would be,” shesaid.

The move also comes as funding earmarked for the projects underthe city’scapital projects budgetdrags on.

In 2019, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’sadministration reallocated more than $26million in bond proceeds —that had been dedicatedfor library, recreation, public safety and other improvements —topay foracontroversial mental health wingatthe Orleans Parish jail.

But at abudget hearing last November,Painton said thecity administration informed them the money wouldn’tbereturned in 2025.

”Formany of these librarylocations, we cannot go another year making small ﬁxes patching and hoping. Theleaking roofs are particularly problematic, causing damage to our buildings,our carpets, our materials, mold, and to ourreputationinthe community,” shesaid then.

While the replacementsare needed to keep the libraries operational, funding the projects through the reserves was alast resort for libraryofﬁcials.

Shannan Cvitanovic, director of thenonproﬁt Friends of New Orleans Public Library,which supports libraryprograms and services, said it made sense for the worktogothrough capital projects. The cityhas a$2.5 billion this year for arange of longterm infrastructure and facility improvement projects,budget documentsshow. Shealsonoted that prior to the capitalbudget reallocation,the library system completed construction plans and selected acontractor Now the workwill have to go back to thedrawing board, she said.

”Wehad hopes that capital projectswould cover these muchneeded repairs. Butwejusthope that with the new administration, the procurement process to maintain the library buildingsis simpliﬁed or expedited,” Cvitanovic said.

While themoney will help renovatethe five branches, library officials said theentire system needsattention.A first task for the new facility administrator will be establishing acomprehensive plan for improvements Email Joni Hessatjoni.hess@ theadvocate.com.

St.Tammany homebuilders criticizenew zoning rules

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

It was an unlikely pair. There was Matthew Allen, an environmentalist who frequently opposes new residential development in St. TammanyParish, and Jeff Schoen, alawyer who regularly represents developers.

Normally on opposing sides, they both agreed at a St. Tammany Parish Council meeting in May to support an ordinance creating new building requirements in coastal areas prone to flooding.The council passed it unanimously,but it’s settoconsidereven more zoning changes in August, and homebuilders worry it could impact housing affordability Theordinance passed in May establishes a“coastal resilience” zoning area south ofU.S.190 between Mandeville andSlidell, which falls in thedistricts of Parish Council members Arthur Laughlinand Joe Impastato.

It requires new homes to be built 3feet abovethe base flood elevationlevel— the water level expected in aflood with a1%chanceof occurring in agiven year. With afew exceptions, the law also prohibits the use of fill —dirt fill used to elevate homes —and restricts the storage of large equipment. Allen thanked the council for taking a“leap of faith,” saying the regulations were “probably the biggest stepforward in ourdevelopment practices I’ve seen in 20 years.”

“I do think it’saterriﬁc initiative,”Schoen said, adding that it was important for business and development lawyers to recognize the need for abalanced approach to development

“At this point we’re ata no-brainer,”joked council member Arthur Laughlin, who championed the ordinance and called it “my baby.” Residents in his district have been concerned costly flooding may be made worse by development in an area already prone to ﬂooding from both rivers and Lake Pontchartrain.

But the new zoning rules have been criticized by homebuilders in the parish, who question its impacton theaffordability of homes —a question the parishis asking about housing more broadly In August, theParish Councilwilldecidewhether to approve asecond areainLaughlin’sdistrict for less restrictive coastal resilience zoning north of U.S. 190 and south of Inter-

state 12. Anotherarea between U.S. 190 andI-12 in Impastato’sdistrict could also get that zoning by the end of thisyear, Impastato said.

The newzoning regulations stem froma study the parish commissionedfrom Desire Line, aMetairiebased planning company, in response to bansonsome constructionsouth ofI-12 in Laughlin and Impastato’s districts In the study,which kicked off in January 2024 andwas ﬁnalized this spring, Desire Line found the low-lying area has significant flood risks from Lake Pontchartrainand rivers likeBayou Lacombe. Amajority of theareawas designated by theFederal Emergency Management Agency to be in aflood zone, the study found, and about athird of theparish’srepetitiveloss structures—orstructures that ﬂoodmorethanonce —were concentrated in that area.

The consultants found that inadequate infrastructure anda large number of homeswith slab foundations built on ﬁll were also contributing to ﬂood risks. They recommended lowering density in some areas and requiring “more resilient housing construction.”

“You can still build aton of houses, it’sjust not at the densities thatare goingtocreate widespread ﬂooding,” said Alex Carter, founder of Desire Line.

Resilience Overlay District 1, for the areas south of U.S. 190 in Impastato and Laughlin’sdistricts,isnow in effect. The less stringent Resilience Overlay District 2, whichwould also require raised homes, butplace fewer restrictions on ﬁll in an area betweenU.S. 190 and Interstate 12, hasnot yetbeen adopted

“It’snot entirely new,” Impastato said, saying some parts of his districtalreadyhad restrictions.But he said thestudy helped them makemoreinformed decisionsabout it.

“Wewanttoreverse the tide, so-to-speak,onﬂooding problems.

“Wewerehopingthe secondresilience zone would

go back to the drawing board,” said JennyDexter,executive officer at Northshore Homebuilders Association, which represents residential construction professionals in St. Tammany,Tangipahoaand Washington parishes.

Some homebuilders have criticized the two resilience overlayzones, saying more restrictions could raise costs for homebuyers.

“NHBA supportsthe goal of reducing ﬂood risk and protecting property,but we have concerns that elementsofthe Coastal Resilience Land UseStudy and the corresponding ordinance will result in unintended consequences, including reduced housing availability and affordability,”said Bubba Jenkins, a homebuilder and former chairman of the NHBA, in an email.

“There’sa lot of unanswered questions still,” Dexter said, adding she was dissatisﬁed withhow the process of approving the regulations hasgone.

Laughlin andCarter, meanwhile,said theyhave hadnumerousstakeholder meetings and public discussions about the study andits recommendations They also argue that the concerns aboutaffordabilityare misplaced. Even if the upfront cost of araised home mightbehigher, thesavings,such as from lower insurance rates, reduced ﬂood costs andhigher resale value, canmakea raised homecost-effective, Carter said.

In acasestudy published in January 2024, researchers at Louisiana State University found that a 2,500-square-foot, singlefamily rental home in Metairie that was raised by 2feet abovebase ﬂood elevationhad acombined net beneﬁt for theowner and renter somewherebetween $14,978and $23,658.

In astatement,Michael Vinsanau, spokespersonfor parish President Mike Cooper,alsonoted the potential cost savings fromthe new zoning.

“PresidentCooper’s administration supports resilient and sustainable

construction practices whichwouldreducethe likelihood of ﬂood damage andimprove our ratingin (FEMA’scommunity rating system) program, which in turn, lessens flood insurance costs for our homeowners.”

Carter said it wasnecessary for the parish to take atwo-pronged approach to planning.

“Ifyou’relowering density in thisarea, you have to raise density in other

areas thatare less prone to ﬂooding.”

Laughlin said he thought part of the concern about new zoning rules may come from afear thatitwill take off across theparish, which has found itself in recent years struggling to balance growth withresidents’ concerns about infrastructure

At aParishCouncil meeting in the spring, council member Pat Phillips, whose district includes an area between U.S. 190 and I-12,

suggested he might like a similar study done in his district. Meanwhile,somelongtime residents in Laughlin’sdistrict, like Donna McDonald and Chief Elwin “Warhorse” Gillum, have praised the initiative.

“This is not going to stop all the ﬂooding —werealize that, but it’s atool in the toolbox,” McDonald said. TheParish Council will have its next meeting on Aug. 7.

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Obituaries Beard, Florence Mariotti

Florence Mariotti Beard, a loving wife,mother, grandmother andfriendto many, passedawayather homeinAmite,La. on July 15, 2025 at theage of 93. A formerresidentofBaton Rouge,La. andlongtime parishioner of OurLadyof Mercy Catholic Church,Flo moved to Amite, La.tolive withher sonand quickly becamea loving member ofSt. Helena Catholic Church.She wasa devout Marianand very dedicated toher faith. Flolit up any room sheentered.She had thatlittletwinkle in her eyesthatwentalong with her funlovingspirit. She had a ﬂairfor fashion Wherever youwould see her youknewshe wouldbe dressedperfectly with everythingmatchingfrom her earrings down to her shoes.Flo is survived by son,GaryBeard andhis wifeDiane;grandchildren, Jason,Jennifer, Nathan Nicholas, Jacob, and Jon; great grandchildren, Gabby and Ellie; herlifelong friend, Nita Vicari andall the Vicari familyand many friends.She waspreceded indeath by herhusband HaroldBeard andher son, FatherMarkBeard.A spe‐cialthank yougoesout to her specialcaregiversand ModernHomeHealthand Hospice forlovingour Flo Birdand taking such good careofher.Visitationwill beheldatSt. Helena Church Hall on Monday, July21, 2025 at 8:30 am until Mass of ChristianBur‐ial at 12 noon.Rosaryin Hallat9 am presentedby Catholic Daughtersand Knights of Columbus, Amite.Entombmentwill followonthe groundsof Greenoaks Memorial Park McKneelyFuneral Home Amite,inchargeof arrangements. Foranon‐lineguestbook,visit http://www.mckneelys com.

Rose C. Boudreaux passed away peacefully at herhome on Thursday,July 17, 2025, at the age of 89. She was aretired caregiver, resident of Plaquemine and anative of Pierre Part, LA. Visitation willbeheld at St.John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Plaquemine on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, from 9:30am until Mass of Christian Burialat 11:30am, celebrated by Father Parvin Jadhav. Interment will follow at Grace Memorial Park, Plaquemine. Rose is survived by her children, Timothy Boudreaux and Ellis

Boudreaux; grandchildren, TiffanyBoudreaux Moreau (Scott), LoganBoudreaux, Rene Boudreaux,Ashley Boudreaux Chavez (Victor); great grandchildren, Amelia, Owen, and Sawyer, Montre Laneux, and Violet Chavez;siblings, Andy Hanson(Lynelle), Linda Bushnell (Joe), and Cathlene Lacoste; numerous nieces and nephews. Precededindeath by herhusband,AndrewBoudreaux; son,Richard Boudreaux; father,DaveCavalier,Sr.; mother, MabelHanson; stepmother,ShirlyCavalier;siblings, Gloria Michelle (Angelo), Velma Menard, Dave Cavalier, Jr Cindy Ribardi, and Joe Cavalier.Rose loved reading herBible, watching westerns and spending time with herfamily.

Brown, Cornell

It is with great sadness that the family of Cornell Brownannounceshis passing on Tuesday, July 15, 2025,atthe ageof77. A visitation willbeheld on Tuesday,July 22, 2025, from 9am until religious servicesat11amatWilbert FuneralHome, 24120Railroad, Plaquemine, Louisiana 70764. Please find fullobituary, share sympathies, condolences, and memoriesonlineat www.wilbertservices.com

Cedars, Janice McDaniel 'Jan'

Janice McDaniel Cedars, 80, passedawaypeacefully on July 15, 2025. Shewas bornonJuly 8th, 1945 to her beloved parents, RobertK.McDaniel and Gladys (Magee) McDaniel After graduating from BrookhavenHigh School, she went on to earnher Bachelor's degree from LSU.She later earneda Master's degreefromLSU. Shewas selfless, humble, loving, brilliant and musically talented (played 7instruments)and willbe deeply missedbyall who loved her.She is survived by her daughter,Dora Cedars Pharis(Sean), beloved grandchildren, Abigail Noyes and Jack Pharis, and her sister-inlaw, Georgene McDaniel Shewas precededindeath by her belovedparents and brother, Jack. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to St Jude's Children'sResearch Hospital orthe WoundedWarriors Project.

Frederick I. Frisby entered eternal rest at River Oaks Nursing Center in Baker, LA on July14, 2025, after alongand bravebattlewithProstate cancer. He was 97 years oldand a retired professorofGeography at Southern University and A& MCollege and ElderatFirst Presbyterian Church of Scotlandville.He is preceded in death by his parents, Rachel, and Rev. C.W. Frisby, first wife Bernice Edwards Frisby,sister Lennie and brothersJohn and Theodore,and son Carl Frisby Sr. He is survived, by his loving wife, Mary Williams Frisby and son, Kevin Frisby,and was loveddearlybyhis five stepchildren, Andray, Cathy, Ronnie, Derekand Tania, thirteen grandchildren,fourteengreatgrandchildrenand many nieces, nephews, cousins and friendswho lovedand willmiss him dearly.

Serviceswillbe, on July 24, 2025, at HallDavis & SonFuneralHome, 9834 Scenic Hwy, BatonRouge, LA 70807. Visitation willbe from10a.m. to noon with funeral servicesimmediatelyfollowing. Interment willbeatPortHudson National Cemetery, 20978 Port Hickey Rd,Zachary, LA

Robert Daniel “Dan” Hays, belovedhusband,fa‐ther, grandfather, greatgrandfather,brother,and friend, passedawayon Wednesday,July16, 2025 atthe ageof85. Resident ofMaurepas, Louisiana, Dan wasbornonMay 11, 1940, in Greenville, Penn‐sylvania. Danproudly servedour countryinthe UnitedStatesAir Force, and laterworkedasa com‐puter analystfor Dow Chemicalinthe chemical industry. Atrueoutdoors‐man,Dan enjoyedboating and huntinginhis free time. He wasa lifetime memberofthe Baton Rouge Boat Club,where he was honoredtoearnthe title of Commodore seven times.Dan's love formusic shone brightly as he en‐joyed singingwiththe Gib‐son Four,a cherished group from hisAir Force days. In hisleisure time Dan couldoften be found relaxingonhis porchina rocking chair, savoring a cup of coffee or an ice-cold MillerLitewhenthe day's workwas done.But above all,Dan trulycherished the roleofhusband,father, grandfather,and greatgrandfather,lovinghis familymorethananything elseinthe world. He is pre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, Mary Louise andLuke Allison;sister, Patty Alli‐son;and brother-in-law, Frank Erwin. Danissur‐vived by hisbeloved wife of63years,Elizabeth “Liz” Hays; daughters, Dana LeGrange(Andrew), Vicki Banta(Brian),and Lori

Schillace(Johnny);sister, Barbara Erwin; grandchil‐dren, Steven Easley (Melissa), KevinBanta (Brittany), Michael LeGrange(Janey),Matthew Banta (Hope),Dani Schillace,and Blaise Schillace (Mary);greatgrandchildren,Charlotte, Demi, Jax, Kenleigh,Bay‐lon,Brielle,Haizley, Bar‐row,Ezekial “Zeke”,Eli,and BabySteele; andnumerous treasured nieces and nephews.The familywould liketoinviteall who knew and lovedDan to join them aswecommemorate his life. Avisitationwillbe heldatResthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Hwy.inBaton Rouge, on Monday, July 21, 2025, from 9:00a.m.until funeralser‐vices at 11:00 a.m. Grave‐sideserviceswillfollowat Resthaven Gardensof Memory. In lieu of ﬂowers, the familykindlysuggests donations be made to:The AmericanHeart Associa‐tionand Parkinson’sFoun‐dation.

HutchinsonJr., William Richard'Butch'

W. R. Hutchinson, Jr. (Butch) passedaway peacefully July16, 2025 at theage of 83, surrounded by family and friends.

Born August 3, 1941 in Alexandria,Louisiana Butch was theson of William and Bertie (McBride) Hutchinson. He was agraduateofPineville HighSchool and Louisiana College.In1963 he became thedevoted husband of PeggyJeanMoore.Butch and his family became residentsofCentral in 1977. Butch built asuccessful career in medical laboratory equipment sales, working with Scientific Products, Baxter and Info-Lab. After retiring,hegavegenerously of his time preparing taxreturns through AARP and enjoyed working at theelection polls.

Known for his dry wit and sincere love forpeople, Butch was happiest when connecting with othersand bringing smiles to their faces.Butch was a faithful member of Zoar Baptist Church formore than four decades, serving as an usherand adeacon. An avid outdoorsman and achampiontrap shooter, Butch also found joyingardening and cooking.Heloved preparing meals for family and friends using fresh vegetables fromhis bountiful garden. Aboveall,his most meaningful accomplishment was thesteadfast care he providedPeggy throughout her lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Butch is survivedbyhis threechildren, Karla(Davey) Hebert, William (Billy) Hutchinson IIIand Nancy (Karl)Whetstine;grandchildren, Anna (Ben) Saucier, Daniel (Jana) Hebert, Jaylin Ammons, Jacob (Brittany) Ammons, Liana (Cody) Perryand Merris Whetstine;great-grandchildren, Reed, Luke, Maverick, Rory, Jayden, Jase, Robby, Wesley and Dante. He was preceded in death by parents, William and BertieHutchinson; lov-

ingwife,PeggyMoore Hutchinson; sister,JoAnn Chapman andgreat-grandson, HaidenTanner. Acelebration of Butch's life will be held Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at Zoar Baptist Church, 11848 Hooper Road,Baton Rouge,LA 70818. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. followed by a service at 11:00 a.m. and burial. Thefamilyextends heartfelt appreciationto dear friend, Vickie Rabb, for thecompanionship and love she shared withButch over thelast several years. Many thanks to theICU nursesofOLOL for the compassionatecareprovided to Butchduringhis final days.

LeSaicherre, Kerry James

KerryLeSaicherrewas a simple man witha variety of interests. He hada big heartand enjoyedhelping others and spendingtime with hisfamilyand his many friends.Heenjoyed working on his camp and fishing off the pier,listeningtorock music,watchingsunsets, and sunrises. At home, he lovedtosit on theporch andvisit with friends. He lovedthe out-of -doors andfed numerous birds andanimals. He was abig LSUfootballand baseballfan and listened to or watchedall the games. He wasconstantly tinkeringwith andfixing things,his ownand for others.And he grew and experimentedwith vegetables andfruit in hishydroponicgarden Kerrywas born and raisedinGonzalesand lived nearby in Prairieville He died on Friday, July 18, 2025 at home as he wanted,after abrief stay at OchsnerHospital. He had an aggressive form of mesotheliomabrought aboutbyasbestos exposure in theworkplace. Kerry was68yearsold. ACelebrationofLife gathering will be held Sunday, July 20, 2025 at Ourso Funeral Home in Gonzales 11 am -3 pm. Friends and familyare invited to celebrate hismemory by sharingstories in this informal gathering and by wearing rock'nroll t-shirts, jeans, andLSU gear Kerryenjoyedretirementbut had several jobs in hisworkingcareer. He wasa jack of all trades; boiler maker, plantlaborer, workedinITonoil pipelines,did construction, andowned alight construction/handy man small business.

Kerryissurvived by his daughterJessica Dieutto (and partnerLeo), 5grandchildren, Avamarie, Blair, Siegan,Emerson,and Gannon; hissisters, Kathy LeSaicherre Conerly(Brent), DonnaLeSaicherreJones (Tim), and Danette LeSaicherre Daigle (and partnerMike), along withseveral nieces, nephews, great nieces and great

nephews; and numerous other"brothersand sisters by differentmothers".

Hisfamilywould like to thank theincredible staff at Ochsner's, especially Drs. Perone,Patel, and Johnson.

Naquin, Steven Don

It is with aheavy heart that we announcethe passing of StevenD Naquin. Steve passedawayfrom Liver CanceronJuly10, 2025, at the age of 71 surroundedbyloved ones. The5th floor staff at OLOL as well as Hospice Dr.Jess Duet Anderson andDr. Raven gaveexceptional care andmade sure that Steve wascomfortable and wasalso very helpful in keeping thefamilyinformed andcomforted. Stevenwas known to friends and familyas "Steve"or"Dee",tohis close friends he was known as "Knock"and to hisgrandchildren as "Gramps". Steve wasborn on November 17, 1953, in Baton Rouge,La. and a graduate of Baton Rouge High school class of "72" Steve wasprecededin death by his parents Harold J. Naquin and Mamie Naquin, adaughter WendyHanhart, brother-in -law Ronald J. Vaught,and numerousaunts, uncles andcousins.

Steve wassurvived by hisbrother John Naquin Jr., sister SandraVaught, his dearlyloved nephewBryan J. Naquin, Wife of 36 years Sharon Knight, son in law E.J. Hanhart, daughter Joanne Saucier and 4 grandchildrenwho were thelight of hisheart, Jules Hanhart, Ellie Hanhart, EddieHanhart andJustin Saucier as well as several othernieces, nephews and great nieces andnephews. Steve RetiredfromBell South/ATT after 45 years of dedicatedservice and wasanavidLSU football andbaseballfan,healso lovedspendinganentire month everyyear at the beach with hiswife and grandchildrencooking and watchingthe kids play as well as always meeting newpeople.Anotherpassion of hiswas fishingwith hisbrother John, andlifelong friends Steve S.,Mike W., andErnie H. Hisfavorite fishingplace,his happy place wasLake Des Allemands.

StevenNaquin was always there for friends and familyand lovedtocook for benefitsorjust to bring hisfavorite dishes to anyoneinneed. He willforever be in ourhearts and memories butwillbe missed from oursight dearly.

Allfriends andfamily are welcome to come share memories andpictureswith thefamilyand celebrate thewonderful life of Steve Naquin. We ask that in lieu of flowersthatyou make a donation to yourlocal CancerSociety. Thank you all for the prayersand warm wishes. Loving memories never

Frisby, Frederick I.

Hays,RobertDaniel'Dan'

Boudreaux, Rose C.

die As years roll on and days pass by. In our hearts amemory is kept Of the ones we love and will never forget.

Acelebration of life will be held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on 2025-08-02 at Zachary Taylor Post VFW3784, 13214 Choctaw dr. Baton Rouge, La

Powers, DonaldJ.'Paw'

He was born October 16, 1941, and passed away on July 11, 2025, at home surrounded by his family. He is survived by two daughters, Mindy (Kevin) LaBauve and Denise Powers; Grandkids, Zack (Collin) Powers, Madison (Turner) Francis, Maggie "Goose" and Brody LaBauve; two great grandsons, Brooks, and Bennett Francis; two brothers, David and Lloyd Powers. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles Earl Sr. and Margaret Luce Powers; brothers,George, Charles Jr., Lawrence Powers, and the love of hislife for 52 years, Geneva Ann "Minerva" Bourgeois Powers. He was adedicated, loving, selfless, giving, and honest man to his wife, children, grandkids, and all who knew him. Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2025, in the Timothy Building at The Church International of St. Amant on Highway 431 with visitation from 9am11am with service to follow. Areception will immediately follow. Thank you to Gentiva Hospice; Renee, Craig, Shameika, Amber, and Kara. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Mesothelioma Research Foundation. Arrangements with Church Funeral Services in St. Amant, LA

Rabalais, Beverly Mayeux

BeverlyMayeux Rabalais, 95, passed away peacefully on Monday,July 14th, surrounded by family in the comfort of her home on Archery Drive, where she had raised her children and welcomed generations of cherished memories since 1962. Beverly leaves behind alegacy of endless warmth and incomparable kindness. She was awoman who could strike up a conversation with anyone and make them feel like old friends withinminutes. Though she is gone, the echoes of her infectious laughter, livelystories, and the joy she brought to every conversation will live oninall who knew and loved her. Beverly was born on July 21, 1929, to parents, Nettie T. Mayeux and Louis C. Mayeux in Brusly, Louisiana. She was brought up in Hamburg along with her beloved clan of brothers,Frank, Louis, andMurray. Though nicknamed "Petie" due to her petite stature, she exuded alarger-than-life personality andspirited wit from ayoung age. In 1949, at just 19 years old, she graduated with honors from ULL with abachelor's degree in elementary education. She later earned her certification in early childhood education from LSU, driven by her passion for instructing young minds. Beverly worked 21 fulfilling years as an educator, first in the communities of Simmesport and Arabi, and finally at St. Thomas More Catholic School in Baton Rouge, where she enjoyed many years teaching pre-K and kindergarten. Known for her patience, gentle encouragement, and playful sense of humor, Beverly was anatural with children. Beverly's life was deeply rooted in faith. She wasa devoted and active parishioner at St. Thomas More Catholic Church for over 60 years,and her spiritual commitment extended well beyond Sunday mass, as evidenced by her dedication to organizations such as The Catholic Daughters of America Ct. #1915 and the parish's nursing home ministries. Beverly is preceded in death by

band, Eulan C.Rabalais,to whom she was married for amemorable 54 years filledwith laughter, companionship,and devotion Sheissurvived by her daughter, MicheleRabalais; son, Randy Rabalais and wife, Jennifer;and the light in her later years, her adoredgrandchild, Kristen. The family wouldliketooffera heartfelt thanks to Beverly's wonderful caretakers, Mona, Tammy, Amanda, and the whole team at Audubon Home Health, fortheir diligent and lovingsupport. The visitation and funeral service for Beverly willbe held on Thursday, July 24, 2025,atSt. Thomas More CatholicChurch. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM, and therosarywillbeled by theCatholic Daughtersat 12:30PM. The funeral mass willbegin at 1:00 PM. Burial willfollow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory. In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made in Beverly's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, acause close to her heart. Those we love don'tgoaway, They walkbeside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but alwaysnear, Still loved, stillmissed, and very dear.

"I have fought the good fight, Ihavefinished the race,I have kept the faith. From now on there is reservedfor methe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, willgive me on thatday, and not only to me but also to allwho have longed for his appearing." Timothy 4:7-8

DavidEugene Shanks was peacefullycalled home to be with hisLord and Savior on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 with his daughter Lori by his side. He was born to RobertL ShanksSr. and Myrtie JacksonShanks on November 30, 1946.

Davidwas anative of Greenwell Springs, Louisiana but spent the last 15 yearsliving in Thibodaux

He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Robert L. Shanks, Jr.and Ethel Marie Haik

David was aproud graduate of LSU.Heloved everything purple and gold, especially basketball.

Hewas an animal lover, outdoorsman,and an avid fisherman.

He spent many successful yearsworking in the insurance industry. He was business minded, driven and had an amazingentrepreneurialspirit. He was fullofideas and plans forpatents.

Davidnever met a strangerand referred to his closest friends as brothersand sisters.

He was kind, loving and exceedingly generous. He was aboastful storyteller and had the incredible ability to command a room

Lefttocherish his memory are daughters Amy Shanks, Lori Shanks Martin and his sons in lawHarold Wilbratte and Robert C. Martin, VI.

He's also survivedby two grandsons —His absolute pride and joy, Robert C. Martin, VII "Sev"and An-

drew David Martin. Serviceswillbeat3:00 PM at SealeFuneralHome, in DenhamSprings, LA on Monday, July 21, 2025 with visitationstartingat1:00 PM Pallbearers areHarold Wilbratte, Robert Martin, SevMartin, AndrewDavid Martin anddearfriends Rondell Young and Austin Isibor. In lieu of flowers,please make adonation to the charity of your choice. David left an incredible mark butwouldlikefor his passing to be acelebration —Hewas saved and is free at last

Songy, Rosa TheresaGravois

Rosa passedaway peacefullyonJuly15, 2025, atthe ageof95. Shewas bornand raised in Vacherie, LA by herpar‐ents, OzaneJ.and Louise B. Gravois,the 12thofthir‐teen children.Rosawas the belovedwifeofthe late Russell D. Songy. Russ and Rosawerethe proudpar‐entsof3 daughters, KayS Stiles(Payne) of Metairie, DeniseS.Pierce(thelate Louis)ofNewnan, GA and Carol S. Savoie (Tony) of Baton Rouge. Together, theyenjoyed 10 grandchil‐dren, JayStiles(Colleen), RussStiles(Jessica),Ryan Stiles(Stephanie),Lauren S.Cassara (Andy),Sarah S. Dusang(Kevin) Leslie S. Williams (Jess),Michelle S. Walker(Keith),CarolineS Aguilar (Zach),Matthew T. Pierce, andRachelP.Ben‐son (Caleb). Rosa is also survivedby16lovinggreat grandchildren.Mom’s pri‐ority wasraising her daughters,but shealso treasured bridge friends, St. CharlesParishArt Guild, findinga Gravoispa‐triot to become aDaughter ofthe American Revolu‐tion, andinher earlier years,a member of theSt. PhilipCatholicDaughters Mom andher siblings re‐mainedendearedtoeach other throughout theiren‐tirelife. Sheisprecededin death by her6 brothers, Rene, Guy, Lester,O.J., Earl and CharlesGravois;sis‐ters, Adele, Denise,Stella, Rita, andMarie,blessed withmanywonderful inlaws. Sheissurvivedby JackieWaguespackofThi‐bodaux. Also survived by 2 sisters-in-law, Sr.Linda Songy andTibby S. Davis (Chester).Mom wasAunt Rosatocountless nieces and nephews, Relatives and friendsare invitedto attenda funeralMasson Thursday,July24atSt. Charles Borromeo,13396 River Road,Destrehan, 70047. Visitation will begin at10AM, followed by ser‐vices at Noon,officiated by Rev.Harry Bugler.Alexan‐der FuneralHomeisin chargeofarrangements. In lieuof flowers, contribu‐tions to Holy CrossSisters 1400 O’DaySt, Merrill,WI 54452 or DominicanHigh School,7701 Walmsley, New Orleans, LA 70125 would be appreciated.

from Baton RougeHigh School, he proudly served in theUnited States Navy from 1967 to 1971, spending threeand ahalfyears stationed in Vietnam. His servicewas amemorable time in his life and shaped theman he would become. In 1973, Tommy movedto Alaska, where he livedfor seven adventurous years beforereturning to Baton Rouge, thecity he always called home. Here, he built alasting legacy by owning and operating amasonry business for many decades. Tommy was also an avid fisherman and hunter, passions that kept himclose to nature throughout his life.Heis survivedbyhis children, Tami Stricker,WadeThibodeaux, and Brett Thibodeaux; hisgrandchildren,Burke and Bode Stricker,and Gageand TateThibodeaux;and his brothers, Jimmy, Ronnie, Mike, and NedThibodeaux. He willbemissedbymany otherlovingfamily members and friends. Tommy is preceded in death by his grandson, Reed Stricker; and hisparents, Buddyand RuthThibodeaux. The familywouldliketothank Greenoaks Funeral Home forhandling thearrangements. Tommy's kindness, fun loving nature, hard work, and adventurous spirit willbefondly remembered by allwho knew him.

Carole L. Tilley, born 1940 Cottonport, LA passed away peacefully June 9, 2025 from cardiorespiratory arrest after five weeks of diligent rehab to recover from aseriousfall. Memorial service: 11AM Aug,2,2025 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on 8833 GoodwoodBlvd.Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Carolegraduated from Lake Charles High School 1958 and LSU1962 and was an Alpha DeltaPisorority member. Carolejoyfully sang soprano in Episcopal choirsfrom The University of theSouth 1967-70, Good

Shepherd in Lake Charles 1970-71, St.Augustine's in Baton Rouge 1971-78, St Timothy'sinLaPlaceand St.Luke'suntilmovingto MelbourneFlorida in 2023.

Carolevaliantly kept her faith, cheerfulness, composure, concern for others andsense of responsibility through43yearsofcaregiving duringher husband's seriousdisability, herown threehip replacements, twobreast cancer surgeries, battle with heart disease, vascular dementia, andmildAlzheimer's. Shewas preceded in death by herhusbandof58 years, Rev. David J. Tilley (2020), father Dr. Joseph DowningLemoine (1949), motherVirginia June HawkinsLemoine (1951), nieceGinny McPherson (1990), nephew John Lemoine (2012), brotherDr. Joseph Robert Lemoine (2014), brother-in-law Carl H. McPherson, Jr.(2023) and nephew Scott K. Tilley (2025).

Sheissurvivedbyher Sister: Linda McPherson, Sisters-in-law: MicheleFry (John Nagle), Dr.Hannah Lemoine.Children: Anne OConnor-Smith (Mike), David Ryan Tilley(Liezl), Dr.Margo T. Frey (Greg). Nieces andNephews: NathanT.Fry, JamesTilley, MelyndaKirkus, Jennifer Tilley-Voegtle, Heather Tilley, MelindaPeterson, CarlMcPherson III,Betty Achey. Grandchildren: Caitlin,Kristinand Connor Frey, DylanTilley, Blake andKelsey O'Connor, Laura Miller,Jennifer Diaz, Dr. Katie Smith, Melissa DeStefanoalong with nine wonderfulgreat-grandchildren In lieu of flowers, donationsappreciated at: https://onrealm.org/Sai ntLukesEpisc/-/form/give/ fire

LouisianaDepartmentof Labor.She is survived by 2 daughters,Meg Wilson Lee and husband, Gerald and AndreaWilsonDours and husband,Lucien“Jay”,a sister, Sandra Wilson Car‐ruthand brother-in-law, LynnNewman, 7grandchil‐dren, Emily Wilson (Kris), HannahDours Boatner (Cody), Lucian Dours, Jr (Sarah),AshtonWilson Dours,Tyler Lee, JacobLee, and JaredLee, 9greatgrandchildren,Hadley, CJ, MaryElla, Waylon,Keegan, Connor, Kane,Harper, and BabyLuke, dueJuly2025 She is preceded in death byher parents, DC and ElaineWilson, sister,Deb‐bie Newman,brother-inlaw,WillieCarruth,niece Joanna Newman,her best friend, DannyGrifﬁth and her faithfulcompanion, Shadow. Peggywas agrad‐uateofSillimanInstitute She wasproud of herScot‐tishroots andhad adeep loveofanimals,family, friends andher family property. AMemorialSer‐vicewillbescheduled at a later date.Inlieuof ﬂow‐ers,memorialdonations may be made to Joanna Dee Newman Nursing Scholarship,Southeastern Louisiana University Foun‐dation, SLU10293, Ham‐mond, LA 70402. Share sympathies, condolences and memories at www.Cha rletFuneralHome.com

Shanks, David Eugene

Tilley, CaroleLemoine

OUR VIEWS

Allacross La., there’s good news on crime

Twoyears after astatewide political campaign in which urban crimewas amajor issue, Louisianahas seen aremarkable turnaround.

New Orleans has witnessed asteepdrop in both murder and gunviolence, with 2025 onpace to be the safest year since 1970.After averaging 200murders per year overthe last ﬁve years, the city had logged 53 as of early July.And that’s including the tragicNew Year’smorning terror attack on Bourbon Street that took 14 revelers’ lives.

Shreveport has seen far fewerhomicides in 2025 as well, with nearly half as many asat the midpoint of last year Baton Rouge too is seeing fewerhomicides this year,down 19% compared to the ﬁrsthalfof 2024. These drops are part of anationaltrend that has ofﬁcials and researchers encouraged, but also not exactly sure of howtodivvy up the credit. But there are thingshappening that aresurely partofthe larger puzzle.

In New Orleans, analyst Jeff Asher points to an infusion of resources from the American Rescue Planand federallaw enforcement agencies,the state, the city and nonproﬁts.

The drop in crime coincideswith —but started before —the arrival of Troop NOLA, the effective and well-received Louisiana State Police unit assigned to the city by Gov.Jeff Landry. Mayor LaToyaCantrell’sHealth Department leads a program that includes violenceinterruptionand concentratesontrauma, and nonproﬁts areon board tooffer therapy and community-based services.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, also points to aproactive focus on violent offenders by the perennially short-staffed New Orleans PoliceDepartment Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith attributed the good news in his city to anintensive focus on getting ﬁrearms out of the wronghands

In Baton Rouge —and also in NewOrleans —policehave countered stafﬁng shortagesby ramping up partnerships with federaland state law enforcement agencies.

Other factors likely include the end of the COVIDdisruptions andthe increased use of advanced technology

We also acknowledge community-ledinitiatives like the broad-based NOLA Coalition, whichis working to build support for the NOPD andinvest in badly neededyouth services

Andwecredit Landry and Attorney General LizMurrill for crossing politicallines to offer help —aswell as local ofﬁcials who disagree with them on other issues but have put those differences aside.

None of this is to say that all is entirelywell. RapesinNew Orleans are up, and BatonRouge hasseena scourge of retail theft. Thedevastating impact of violent crimeonvictims andtheir families doesn’tdiminish simply because there arefewer of them. Crimeisoftencyclical,and can tickupagain when ofﬁcials let down theirguard So when progress happens, it’sworth applauding —and worth understanding, so thatthose in charge can be better prepared to keeppeople safe when the tide turns again.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

Anew trend: Gettheetoanunnery

“I feel thenuns have been expecting us.They knew ourlast nerve would disappear at some point.”

This quote comes from apiece in theonline publication Vice: “Gen Z Women Are BookingConvents Instead of Beach Houses This Summer.” They are not staying for life. Convents typically have “come and see” weekends for women discerning religious life. Thesearen’t those weekends.Theseoffer respitetoanoverwhelmed population in need of quiet time —and God. “Monasteries and convents are now seeing waitlists as young women lineupfor akind of stillnessthat’s hardtocome by elsewhere,” according to thearticle. “No phones buzzing, no endless notiﬁcations, and deﬁnitely no smalltalk. Instead, many are spending theirdays tending gardens, attending prayer services,and catching up withthemselves.”

It is exhilarating to see. Thereis something hopeful happening. I’d say it is mysterious, except it makes all

thesense in the world. People aren’t happy,and they want to be Just in my New York metro area, theBirgittine sisters have an extraordinarily beautifulbed-and-breakfast type guesthouse on the Long Island Sound in Darien, Connecticut. Imade use of it when on deadline on abook on prayer,“AYear with theMystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.” Ishould have stayed ayear,but the longest stretch for which Icould convince thesisters to put up with me was two weeks. Andwhile The Sisters of Life do not runaguesthouse in the same way the Birgittinesdo, they do have aretreat house they runfor the Knights of Columbus in nearby Stamford, with retreat weekends for womenand men throughout theyear The Birgittines,founded by the great mystic Bridget of Sweden, are known for theirhospitality.WhenI was looking for aplace to do a30-day retreat in thetraditionofSt. Ignatius of Loyola and his demandingly fruit-

Petpeevesabout

The way we express ourselves in writing today differs greatly from the formal way of writing letters in the past.We’re so usedtoﬁring off emails and texts using shorthand that some habitshave become ingrained. However,there are somehabitsthat I, for one, ﬁnd are overused and distracting to me as areader Here are afew of these in no particular order.First is the use of ALL CAPS for emphasis. This has become common even though it is the equivalent of shouting at your reader.Noone likes to be yelled at,and if the POINT is powerful enough, the WORDS will create their own emphasis in themind of the reader Related,and equally common is the liberal use of the exclamation point to express anything from surprise to anger to general bewilderment. I must admit Ioften fall into this habit as well in text messages, but when I see it in letters, Itend to think, “It’sa

ful Spiritual Exercises, they provided plenty of it. In the Franciscan town of Assisi, the sisters welcomedan American in silence. If you don’thavethe time or energy for afull-blown retreat, you could learnfromGaryJansen, in his book (muchsmaller andcheaper than mine), “The 15-Minute Prayer Solution.”OK, so your phone may be constantly blowing up. Your baby maynot sleep anynight. The bills are making youworkextra shifts. And thatmay be only the beginning of the litany of noise in your life.You can carve out 1% of your day(which, as Jansen reminds us, equals 15 minutes). Call it self-careorwhatever makes it palatable to yourself or others, but you’re talking about1%ofyour day to try to make exclusive time for God, your creator,the creator of the universe. We don’tneed aconvent waiting list to clear up in ordertoclear our heads, refresh oursouls andremind us of what really matters.

EmailKathryn Jean Lopez at klopez@nationalreview.com.

letter! The point is clear! Adding that punctuation does nothing foryour statement! Alsooverused are quotation marks madetoexpress “skepticism” about the“facts” or someone’s“expertise” on atopic. These perhaps are used like air quotes in reallifeconversation, but again, if you makeclear you are questioninganassertion in your argument, the words should obviate theneed forextraneous punctuation.

Lastly,Isee the use of acronymswith no explanation alot these days. Whilesomecommon abbreviations, like FBI, CIA or OMV,are understood by most people, you should never assume readers will understand acronyms used by aspeciﬁc industry or trade. Of course, there is nothing incorrect about any of these habits, as they are just minor pet peeves. Writing does evolve. Butifwewrite to convey meaning, then we should do everything

we can to avoid turning off readers. Going to ourletters inbox for the week of June 26 to July 3, we received 62 letters. In the lead-up to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, it’s notsurprising that the topic wasthe subject of the largest group of letters. Nine letters took up issuesinthe bill, while an additional four letters focusedonthe effectthat Medicaid cuts will have on Louisiana. Immigration was the next most popular topic with four letters. The case of Mandonna Kashanian, the New Orleans woman detainedbyImmigration and Customs Enforcement, prompted three more letters. When there is intense interest on a single topic, we cannot publish all your letters, but we know the topic is important and try to publish as manyviews as we can.

Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | OpinionPage Editor.Emailher at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.

Arnessa Garrett

Kathryn Jean Lopez

COMMENTARY

As N.O. enters itspolitical season,changeisinthe air

Atime traveler from two decades back might look at the names on the fall New Orleans ballot and feel like not muchhas changed.

There’saMorrell and aWillard —incumbent JP and state Rep. Matthew—running for the two at-large City Council seats; they’re the son and nephew,respectively of the two Cynthias who represented the council districts hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina. Oliver Thomas is there too, running for mayor long after he was an at-large memberand the likely successor to Ray Nagin. Alot changed for Thomas in the interim —aguilty plea in abribery case and short stint in prison, followed by acomeback as aradio host and then on the council and now,ﬁnally,amayor’s race in which he’snolonger the clear front-runner Familiar names notwithstanding, alot’schanged in how the city elects all its politicians.

Stephanie Grace

waswidelythought that thedays of electinganon-Black mayor to lead the majority AfricanAmerican city were over.Then cameMitch Landrieuand LaToya Cantrell and allbetswereoff, whichisgood news for CityCouncilmemberat-large Helena Moreno,who has led mayoral polls sofar and ﬁtsall threecategories. Rounding outthe toptier areformer JudgeArthur Hunter and a late entry,state Sen. Royce Duplessis.

Thatopenness on thepart of city’s electorateisone indicationofanaltered landscape.

Another is the deathofamodel aroundwhichcity politics was organized. That’smostapparent in DistrictB,where therewon’t be an electiononOct.11atall because nobody signed up to challenge incumbent Lesli Harris.

Twenty years ago, New Orleans had never had awoman mayoror one who was not anative, and it

This speaks well of how Harris hasperformed in her ﬁrst term, but it also highlights something else:Thatthe BOLD organization, which used to dominatepolitics in the CentralCity core of District B, didn’tﬁeldacandidate, four years afterHarrisunseated BOLDstal-

wartJay Banks. Back in the day,BOLDlaunched major candidates suchasJim Singleton, Cantrell and Thomas. And other groups thatwerepartofthe city’s“AlphabetSoup” of post-civil rights organizations did the same: The Morial family’sLIFE, former U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson’sProgressive Democrats, COUPand SOUL and more.

But Thomashas moved to DistrictE in New Orleans Eastand built anew political brand, and the daughter of one of BOLD’s early leadersKen Carter,mayoral candidateEileen Carter,ismore agadﬂy known for leading the failed effort to recall Cantrell than acontender

The other groups are either dormant or shrunkeninstature and relevance.

Onereason is that Katrina scrambled theresidential patterns that made neighborhoodbased organizations strong. A crackdown on public corruption played apart too, snaring political leaders including Thomas, Nagin and Jefferson. Political activity has moved to television and now social media and away from the

streets. These days it’shard to ﬁnd asuccessfulyounger politician who does things the old way What’s replaced it is something morefree form, shifting alliances among politicians and moreindependence amongvoters.

There arestill groups to watch. Labor,criminal justice and women’sorganizations can offer meaningful support.

Individual ofﬁce holders still get involved in other campaigns; U.S. Rep.Troy Carter is helping several fellow Algiers pols run citywide, including state Rep. Delisha Boydagainst Willard and Constable Edwin Shorty forsheriff against incumbent Susan Hutson and Michelle Woodfork, the former interim police superintendent.District Attorney Jason Williams has raised money for Moreno, Woodfork and several council candidates.

Conservatives, aminority in the city, areaswing vote formayor, and have in recent years gone not withsomeone who shares their political views —none of the major candidates, all Democrats, do but theperson they think is most willing to work with them. That’sa

potential opening for someone like Hunter or Duplessis.

There’salso the barely underradar question of how manyvoters will choose acandidate based on race.

And, of course, there are matters of substance and background.

In the mayor’srace, everyone’s talking about making the city work better,which could lead voters to look forleadership on the council. Or they may decide everyone in city government is part of the problem and gravitate toward arelative outsider like Hunter or acomparatively new face such as Duplessis. Or they may remember that the last time they took achance on someone they didn’tknow wellthey got Nagin, whoended his tenure about as unpopular as Cantrell is. If one thing’sfor sure, it’sthat change is very much in the air this campaign season. Just which version of change voters will choose, at this early point, is anybody’sguess.

EmailStephanie Grace at sgrace@theadvocate.com.

Foryoung people,socialinterventioncan help preventcrime

Someone can be “tough on crime” and at the same time, without logical contradiction,also want to do preventive work addressing crime’s“rootcauses.”

Socialwork and prosecutorial work need not be mutually exclusive, and indeed can be complementary

Especially with nonviolent youthful offenders, an ounce of prevention can be wortha whole ton of prison doors. That’swhy it is so important that Louisiana, under oversight from the state Supreme Court, boasts programs across the state called Families In Need of Services.Even better would be if more private-sector or nonproﬁt groups stepped up to partner with the FINS groups and multiply the FINS’ good work.

director ofthat tri-parishFINS, told me that FINS will “create aservice plan that hasa list of providers” andalsowill provide mentorshipand accompany children to meetingsatschool or at courtstohelp thechildren and their families feel comfortable with plans to get thekids on the right track.

Quin Hillyer

Little things matter,she said: “How can you go to school if youdon’thave clean clothes or you don’thave lights or even water to brush your teeth with in themorning?” Oneofthe wonderful outﬁts that partner with FINS is called GUMBO, for Global United Mission Beneﬁting Ourselves and Others.

Families In Need of Services staff from left,

FILE

Elizabeth Engolio, supervisingjudge;and CaseyCannon, offi

July 10 at the group’s office in Port Allen.

As reported by this paper’sHaley Miller,the FINS group for the parishes of West Baton Rouge Iberville and Pointe Coupee is “full of success stories.” What FINS does is take “statusoffenders” —those who engage in smallscale offenses that by deﬁnition can be committed only byminors, such as truancy —and intervene to keep them out of the court system by leading them to counseling or to other resources that can help turn their lives around. Plenty of families lack basic necessities such as running water, electricity or access to transportation.GracieBergeron,the

Amultifaceted nonproﬁt run by disabled veteranDeborahDickerson, GUMBO provides meals for thecommunity’s needy while using kids referred by FINS as kitchen workers.

“Wegive them asafe haven andweteach them skills they need: entrepreneurship skills and services skills,” Dickerson said.

“And we also discuss alot about what they would like, and who they would like, to become.”

This is exactly the sort of public-private cooperation that turns lives around, stopping kids from steps that often lead to criminality and instead helping them onto pathstoward self-sufﬁciency andsuccess. For example, FINS playedabig role in helping the

West Baton Rouge ParishSchools cut chronic absenteeism in half, from 18.7% to 9.8%, in just one year This model of addressing root causes works elsewhere in the country,too. I’ve written before of aprogram in Mobile, Ala., called NEST Nurture children, Equip parents, Strengthen families and Transform communities —inwhich four-orﬁve-person teams of volunteers help juvenile offenders, sometimes of somewhat more serious crimes than FINS deal with, get on the right track.

“Wevery quickly learned there was very little hope for helping theyoung person unless we ad-

dress theenvironment in which they were living,” said Norman McCrummen, aconservative retired scholar andPresbyterian Minister whoco-founded NEST with Mobile County juvenile court judge Edmond G. Naman.

“A team wenttothe house where one of our mentees lived and found that there weremany thousands of roaches, no beds, one or two chairs, no electricity —so[we] quickly arranged to get electricity and within aweek the house had been fumigated and furniture had been provided.”

Professional researchers from theUniversity of South Alabama found that whereas the crime recidivism rate foryouthful of-

fenders nationally was 52% and forMobile County as awhole a whopping 66%, forsimilarly situated NEST participants it was just 26%.

And NEST director Carole Grant says that among NEST participants in anew “lifeskills” program,anastonishing 97% passed current grade-level testing in schools.

Imention NEST’sremarkable success so as to suggest that with alittle extra public money and with even greater engagement of public-private partnerships with wonderful groups such as GUMBO or other NEST-like groups that Louisianans might create, perhaps the state’sFINS groups could expand to cover not just “status offenders” but other moreserious but still nondangerous youthful miscreants.

FINS,NEST and GUMBO all show that individual attention, combined with assistance addressing root causes, can keep teens away from trouble and help them,instead, thrive.

“Research shows,” said FINS’ Bergeron, “that if children have one positive person in their life, whoissetting the standard and supporting them,ithas all the impact in the world.”

The moresupport Louisiana gives to FINS,the morekids will keep their heads above turbulent waters.

Quin Hillyer canbereached at quin.hillyer@theadvocate.com.

Businessman, police chiefs have wrongideaabout immigration

Boy,dopeople love this country of ours. So many people from other places like enough of what they hear and see in the UnitedStates that the number of immigrants has steadily increased in recent years.According to the American Council on Immigration,in 2023 there were about 47.8 million immigrants, roughly one in sevenpeople who live here. That’sa6.8% increase from 2018.

That’salot of people. According to Homeland Security,the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service officials, an Oakdale-based businessman worked with aLouisiananetwork of law enforcementofficials to ensure that those numbers continuetogrow with people who wantedofficialvisa statustopursue their version of the American dream. Apparently that includes buying their way in with fake police reports and bribes Afew days ago, reports surfacedthatthere were lots of law enforcement officers in Allen

Parish’sOakdale, at aSubway,the police station,the citymarshal’s home and,gulp, thepolice chief’s home.Meanwhile, federaland local ofﬁcers had converged at the Rapides Parish home of, gulp, the Forest Hill police chief.

“Freck” Slaney

n ForestHill Police Chief Glynn Dixon

n Former GlenmoraPolice Chief Tebo Onishea

On Thursday,another person was charged: Alison Doyle, wife of the Oakdale police chief.

immigrants as possible as fast as possible, the feds say these people were making sure somefound away to use one Uvisa requirementtoget afour-year Uvisa by claiming to be avictim of acrime that didn’thappen.

rich, large and in charge and particularly responsible forbusiness and community organizing —and law enforcement.

They even showed up as an unregisteredgroup of law enforcement ofﬁcers at theLouisiana Association of Police Chiefs Conference at theCrowne Plaza in Baton Rouge to arrest acouple of leaders who were supposed to be learningmore about how to protect and serve.

Theyearlonginvestigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies.About 200 law enforcement ofﬁcers were apart of what happened,but we didn’t know whyuntil the next day.At aWednesday news conference, it was announced that several peoplehad been charged as apart of afederal indictment: n Oakdale businessman Chandrakant “Lala” Patel n Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle

n Oakdale City Marshal Michael

If you missed thefake police report/visa scam developments, Patel was charged with 24 counts of mail fraud, eight countsofmoney laundering, acount of bribery and acount of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Doyle and Dixon each got tagged withsix countsofvisa fraud, six counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. Slaney and Onishea have to deal withsix countsofvisa fraud, six countsofmail fraud and two counts of money laundering. Onishea also faces six counts of visa fraud and six countsofmail fraud.

Former Oakdale cityemployee

Alison Doyle was arrested on two counts of malfeasance in ofﬁce for conspiring with Patel to manipulatethe bidding process for a couple of city-owned properties.

As President Donald Trump aims to arrest and deport as many

“They’re poisoning the blood of our country Notjust in South America. Not just the three or four countries that we think about” the president said when he was campaigning in New Hampshire in December 2023.

“But all over theworld they’re coming into our country —from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They’re pouring into our country.”

Poisoning? No. From all over theworld? Yes.

Apparentlythat includes people from India, especially those with thelast name Patel.

In theUnited States, about one in 10 people with Indian ancestryhave that surname. I’ve had anumber of Patel friends, so I know thename originates mostly in Gujarat, awestern India state, but also in Karnataka and Maharashtra. There’sageneralization that says Patels are powerful,

Based on the indictment, Patel wasn’tenforcing the law;hewas violating it. The indictment accuses him of operating an illegal service forcustomers seeking U visas whoweren’this neighbors and friends, but a“majority” were from outside of the state in India. Louisiana is losing population. We need morepeople to stay.We need morepeople to come.

I’m allfor creative ways to encourage people to have babies, to help childrenget astrong, gradelevelorhighereducationand to help young people getcollege educations or laborskills thatallowthemtoearna living wage. I’m allfor enticing people from otherstatestocome here and to do whatwecan to attract immigrants, too.

But fake police reports, bribes and other illegal moves are not the way to do that.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Gracie Bergeron, director;

cer,stand

Will Sutton

Baton Rouge Weather

Summer optimism for Pels in s ort

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

At least Joe Dumars and the NewOrleans Pelicans hope that’s thecase

The Pelicans want to leave all of the Summer League losses (ﬁve in ﬁve games),turnovers(100),rookie growing pains and injuries out there in Sin City

The Pelicans haven’twon a Summer League game in Vegas since 2023,astring of 11 straight losses. They went 0-5 for the second straight summer.They followed last summer up with the second-worst regular season in franchisehistory (21-61).

vicepresident of basketball operations gave up an unprotected 2026 ﬁrst-round pick to trade up to draft Derik Queen. That draft night trade was proof thePelicans are in win-now mode.

be evaluated in 12 weeks, which is around Oct. 10. Ateam that is already thin in the middle now all of asudden is thinner

Rod Walker

They don’tneed this regular season to go that way,especially after Dumars —inone of his ﬁrst major decisionsasexecutive

Scheffler appears inevitable at BritishOpen

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

PORTRUSH, NorthernIreland The question

Scottie Schefﬂer was askingofhimself at the start of the week could very well be posed to those chasing him in the British Open.

What’sthe point?

Schefﬂer delivered anotherexample Saturday at Royal Portrush why he has dominated golf the last three years. He wasthe only player in the last eightgroups not to make abogey on his way to a4-under67that allowed him to open afour-shot lead as he goes for the third leg of the careerGrand Slam.

Schefﬂer has won the last 10 times hehas led after 54 holes. It’snever easy,nomatter how he makes it look. But onthis gorgeous day he was in fullcommand of his game, and nowisinprime position to winhis second major of the year He was helpedbya6-iron to 10 feet for eagle on the par-5 seventh. He alsomanaged three big par saves, two on the backnine,to keep everyone at adistance.

“Talking of execution,he’sprobably the best in the business right now,” RoryMcIlroy said after a5-under 66 that broughthim to only within six shots ofSchefﬂer Scheffler had the golf world buzzing

Now that SummerLeague play is over,let’stakealook at what we learned about the Pelicanswhile they were away in Vegas.

1. The curse continues. Well, at least it seems like acurse as the injury bug just keeps biting. The Pelicans, plagued by injuries all of last season, got hit withanother one in Vegas. Queen underwent surgery for atornscapholunate ligament in his left wrist Friday He suffered theinjury in Tuesday’sgame against thePortland Trail Blazers. He’ll

2. Herb Jones’ extension is awin. This one didn’thappen on the courts in Vegas, but it occurred while the Pelicans were out there. The team agreed to athreeyear,$68 million contract extension with its defensive stopper,locking up its best defender for the foreseeable future. This was good value for one of the NBA’s best defenders. The Pelicansare awhole lot better when Jones is playing. When he madethe ﬁrst-team NBA All-DefensiveTeam in the 2023-24 ä See WALKER, page 5C

BYLUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

gest-tenured offensive linemen in the organization, center Erik McCoy and right guard Cesar Ruiz, both of whom are coming off

Abig position switch on theNew Orleans Saintsoffensive line interior could pay big dividends, but there’salsoa legitimate chance it winds up as afailed experiment

After three seasons of bad-to-average results at offensive tackle, Trevor Penning is shifting tothe inside in 2025 —a moveboth he and the Saints believe is natural and will be beneﬁcial in thelong run. Entering the ﬁnal year of his rookie contract, Penning will getanopportunity to prove whether he deserves asecond deal withthe Saints.

Joining Penning on theoffensive interior are thetwo lon-

Scottie Scheffler looks at the lie of his putt on the 12th green during the third round of the BritishOpen on Saturdayatthe Royal Portrush Golf Club in NorthernIreland.

Logano youngest to hit 600 starts

BY DAN GELSTON AP sports writer

DOVER, Del. — Joey Logano’s ﬁrst

NASCAR Cup Series start — before he would drive for heavyweight owners such as Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske — came in New Hampshire for a short-lived team called Hall of Fame racing Set to make his 600th career start, the youngest driver in NASCAR history to reach that milestone, the 35-year-old Logano has constructed a Hall of Fame career Take a look at the resume: three career NASCAR championships, a Daytona 500 victory, the youngest driver to win a Cup race, 37 career victories and seemingly tethered to the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske for as long as he can race.

“At ﬁrst glance, I said, ‘Well, it’s just starts,’ ” Logano said. “But then when you start thinking about it, to be able to be around in a sport as an athlete competing at a top level for 16-plus years and hitting 600 starts, it’s pretty incredible to have a career that long.” Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits

No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He’ll top seventime NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months. Consider, only three previous drivers among the 33 others in NASCAR history were in their 30s when they hit 600 starts.

Logano also has topped the massive expectations set for him when he entered the sport as a teenager hyped as NASCAR’s next great driver He entered NASCAR with the nickname “Sliced Bread,” as in, the best thing since, and navigated a slow start to his career to blossom into one of the best over the last 13 years at Team Penske.

“I grew up in front of everybody All of us change over the years as you grow up,” Logano said. “Life comes at you and you evolve and keep going with it.”

Logano qualiﬁed for his ﬁrst career Cup start on Sept. 14, 2008, at New Hampshire on car owner points because rain washed out qualifying. He started 40th and was penalized only 39 laps into the

race for taking the jack with him as he exited pit road. He ﬁnished three laps down in 32nd place in the No. 96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing, essentially on loan from Joe Gibbs Racing to get some experience. The two teams even agreed to move JGR’s Home Depot sponsorship to Hall of Fame’s car for the 18-year-old Logano’s ﬁrst race.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal making my first start,” Logano said that ﬁrst day “I was ready to go as soon as we started.” He wasn’t necessarily ready for the big time. Logano was pegged with enormous expectations to replace Hall of Famer and three-time champion Tony Stewart in 2009 for Gibbs. Just a teenager, the enormity of the ride combined with Gibbs’ impatience made for a brief run at JGR. Logano did win his ﬁrst race also at New Hampshire, in 2009 — but won only one more time before Gibbs cut him loose after the 2012 season. The timing worked out for Logano. Penske needed a driver and 2012

NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski urged his boss to sign the 23-year-old Logano, convinced a change of scenery could do wonders for his career Logano made the most of his Penske lifeline and is now the only active three-time champion in NASCAR and one of only 10 drivers in history to win three or more titles. Petty is the only driver to win his 600th career start, and he would make 1,184 overall in Cup — one of many NASCAR records he holds. Logano might not catch The King in total starts, but the driver who has never missed a race over his full-time career is in no rush to slow down.

“I would be an idiot to think you can be competing at the top level into your 50s,” Logano said. “What athlete has ever done that? Something changes at some point, but, right now, I still feel as fresh as ever I feel as sharp as ever I’m driven as much as ever I still care. I still get emotional about things, so that shows me I care a lot. With those factors still there when the end is, I don’t know yet. I don’t know.”

Shorthanded Germany beats France at Women’s Euro

BY DANIELLA MATAR

AP sports writer

BASEL, Switzerland Germany overcame France on penalties and reached the semiﬁnals of the Women’s European Championship despite playing almost the entire match — and extra time — with 10 players. A drama-filled match finished 1-1 on Saturday, then Germany won the shootout 6-5 thanks to the heroics of Ann-Katrin Berger, who saved two as well as dispatching her own spot kick.

Germany will face World Cup winner Spain in Zurich on Wednesday That seemed improbable after less than 13 minutes when Germany midﬁelder Kathrin Hendrich pulled the hair of France captain Griedge Mbock and was issued a straight red card.

Grace Geyoro converted the resulting penalty but Sjoeke Nüsken headed her team level just 10 minutes later Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Germany could have taken the lead with a penalty of its own in the second half but France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved Nüsken’s spot kick. Nüsken scored Germany’s last spot kick in the shootout It was an incredible way for

Players of Germany run to celebrate after winning the Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals match between France and Germany on Saturday at St Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.

Germany to mark its 50th appearance at a Euros, more than any other team For the second straight match, Germany was forced to play the majority of the contest with 10 players Carlotta Wamser was sent off shortly before halftime of the 4-1 thrashing by Sweden in their ﬁnal group match. This time it happened even earlier A France free kick was headed wide but the Video Assistant Referee spotted Hendrich yanking Mbock’s ponytail.

Geyoro stepped up and, despite the resounding jeers from the wall of Germany fans behind the goal, dispatched the penalty powerfully down the middle.

Germany knew that, with a player down, it had to take full advantage of its set pieces. Klara Bühl ﬂoated in a corner and Nüsken raced to the near post to meet it with a glancing header that looped into the far corner of the net. Despite the player advantage, France was struggling to impose itself. Delphine Cascarino thought she restored France’s lead just be-

Wizards buy out Smart, who plans to join Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have found a point-of-attack, defensive-mind wing defender in guard Marcus Smart, who has agreed to a buyout with the Washington Wizards and plans to sign a twoyear, $11 million deal with Los Angeles. Smart, the 2022 defensive player of the year when he played for the Boston Celtics, will sign his deal after he clears waivers. He has a player option after the 2025-26 season, meaning he can become a free agent next summer Smart played in only 34 games last season, splitting time between Memphis and Washington. He dealt with a ﬁnger injury on his shooting hand last season. He averaged 9.0 points, 3.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.3% from the ﬁeld.

Phillies put 3B Bohm on IL with fractured rib

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has a fractured left rib and was placed on the 10day injured list Saturday before Philadelphia’s game agains the Los Angeles Angels.

Bohm was injured a week ago when San Diego’s Yu Darvish hit him with a pitch. He sat out Sunday against the Padres before the All-Star break, then played Friday night against the Angels in the ﬁrst game back from the break.

Bohm is hitting .278 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs in 92 games this season.

Utility player Weston Wilson was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to the Phillies’ game Saturday night game against the Angels to take Bohm’s spot on the roster

Usyk becomes undisputed heavyweight boxing champ

LONDON Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois in the ﬁfth round and became the undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time on Saturday The undefeated southpaw retained his WBA, WBC and WBO belts and regained the IBF belt he relinquished just over a year ago. The 38-year-old Ukrainian dropped Dubois twice in the ﬁfth — the second time with a lunging left hook. The London native looked stunned on the canvas and couldn’t beat the count.

Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) beat Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) for the second time in under two years. Last time was a ninth-round stoppage in Poland with a straight jab But the ﬁnishing shot Saturday was a nodoubter

NASCAR plans to skip 2026 Chicago Street Race

NASCAR is pressing pause on its Chicago Street Race, answering at least one major question about its schedule for next season.

NASCAR raced on a street course in downtown Chicago on the ﬁrst weekend in July each of the last three years. But it had a three-year contract with the city, leaving the future of the event in question.

fore halftime but it was ruled out for offside. France had a second goal ruled out after the break, following a lengthy VAR review Both sets of players were waiting to kick off again when referee Tess Olofsson ruled out Geyoro’s strike for an offside in the buildup.

Germany was gifted a chance to take a remarkable lead when France defender Selma Bacha gave away a needless penalty when she tripped Jules Brand near the byline.

But France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved Nüsken’s spot kick in yet another failed penalty at Euro 2025.

The best save of the night and maybe even of the tournament — came from her Germany counterpart in extra time. A backward header from Germany captain Janina Minge had Berger scrambling back to scoop it off the line with an astonishing one-handed stop to spare her teammate’s blushes. Melvine Malard sent a longrange screamer crashing off the crossbar with almost the last touch of the 120 minutes. It was then time for more Berger heroics.

Berger saved the ﬁrst penalty she faced from Amel Majri, but Les Bleues were back level when Germany’s Sara Däbritz hit the bar with her penalty

Writing to Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday, race president Julie Giese said the plan is to explore the potential of a new event weekend with his ofﬁce and other community leaders while also working on a more efﬁcient course build and breakdown.

Giese said NASCAR is keeping its Chicago Street Race ofﬁce and plans to continue its community partnerships.

Niners continue shuffling special teams, cut Odum

The San Francisco 49ers released special teams standout George Odum on Saturday in the latest move to overhaul that unit. Odum had been placed on the non-football injury list on Friday with a knee injury and now is off the roster entirely before the ﬁrst training camp practice is scheduled for Wednesday Odum had spent the past three seasons with the Niners, leading them with 759 snaps on special teams and tied for the fourth-most special teams tackles in the NFL with 36 in that span. The Niners have made major changes on their

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHTO By DERIK HAMILTON

Joey Logano drives through a turn during a NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on June 22 in Long Pond, Pa.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARTIN MEISSNER

OUTDOORS

LDWF distributes 5M Fla.-strainbass

BY JOE MACALUSO

Contributing writer

Fishing has become a give-and-take activity, and that’swhat showsupthis week in Louisiana outdoors.

The give comes from Wildlife and Fisheries work in producing then distributing Florida-strain largemouth bass in various stages of growth.

The total came to 5,219,797 fry,the smallest;tofingerlings about 2inches long; and, Phase II ﬁngerlings, which are usually around 6inches long. One location, Lake Buhlow, received 77 adult bass.

The agency’sInland Fisheries Section teamed with theNatchitoches National Fish Hatchery and the Shreveport’sCross Lake Fish Hatchery forthis stocking effort in 56 locations across the state Notable here is the effort on thewestern side of theAtchafalaya Basin where the release indicated 2,080,500 fry and 100,300 ﬁngerlingswere carriedto Lake Fausse Point and Lake Dauterive. HendersonLake received 50,300 ﬁngerlings. False River got 6,000 fingerlings; ToledoBend, 499,400 fingerlings; and, BusseyBrake,40,100 fingerlings.

Some community lakes, likeGretna’sCity Pond, were stocked with as few as 300 ﬁngerlings.

Snappercount

ThelatestWildlifeand Fisheries report on the recreational red snapper catch, through July 6, showsatakeof407,853 pounds.That’s45.6%ofour state’s 894,955-pound annual recreational allocation. With the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeocoming this

weekend—and the activity it producesaround the GrandIsleMarina weighstation and the OttoCandies Pavilion —Louisiana’s offshore reef fishermen should have enough quota to make it through the LaborDay weekend without an interruption of the fourper-day limit and the sevendays-a-week opportunity Newman

Tommy Tuma,the 27-year Wildlife and Fisherieswildlife biologist,willﬁll theOfﬁce of Wildlife’sassistant secretary position.

Tuma has been the lead manonforming hunting seasons, bag limits, adjustments to rules and seasons on the 1.6 million acres in wildlife management areas and working with federal agencies toestablish seasons andrulesonfederal landswithin thestate. He was also the agency’srepresentative concerning farm bill initiatives and restoration programs and howitrelated to private and public lands incentives Newstuff

The curtainwent down on ICAST,the country’s largestﬁshingtrades show —the AmericanSportﬁshingAssociation’s three-day gathering in Orlando, Florida. Part of this piscatorial whirlwindisthatmediaand buyers get to see, and vote on, the new stuff manufacturerswillintroducelater this year and early next year

There are 41 categories andthe BestofShow(drum roll, please) went to the FluxJet Electric Jet Kayak —yes, the ﬁrst of its kind. Congratulationsare in storefor the Baton Rouge area folkswithBUZBE, theinnovativetackle box introduced four years ago at ICAST.

This year,the BUZBE guys had the top ﬂy ﬁshing accessory, their Colony 28T box, and the top tackle management item, their Swarm Hexslide.

Fish released in 56 locations throughout state STAFF FILEPHOTO By TRAVISSPRADLING

Voted best in saltwater reel was the Quantum Cabo CB4000 spinning reel;the saltwaterrod, the Flats Class Inshore rod; freshwater rod, the Tatula Cork Bass rod; and, freshwaterreel, theBallistic 3000 BAMQLT.

Hikers beware

Learning more andmore Louisianafolkslike to get away from the heat and hike in the hills and mountains during the summer

And that means morecontact with ticks.

The Centers for Disease Controlalready is reporting arecord-breaking spring and summer for tick-related visits to emergency rooms —and the CDC folks tell us July stacks up to be theworst month forthese reports since 2017.

The CDC best adviceincludes:

n Wearing long, lightcolored pantstucked into socks or boots, and longsleeved shirts to keeps ticks fromreaching the skin. This also makes them easier to see ticks before they get to your skin;

n Forfolks living in tick country,you need to create what the CDCcalls a“tick moat”byusing gravel or wood chips along property edges to discourage tick migration from wooded areas;

n Removing leaf litter, prime tick hiding spots;

n And, storing firewood on elevated surfaces to prevent tick-carrying rodents from using stacks of ﬁrewood as ashelter

n Ticks arenotorious for transmitting diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Heartland virus and Bourbon virus —yeah, we know some folks with bourbon virus but not from ticks —and ticks can also leave victims with alpha-gal syndrome, which, according to the CDC“is apotentially life-threatening food allergy to red meat.”

Louisiana DepartmentofWildlife and Fisheries

technicianTracyAndrews nets several Florida-strain bass fingerlings from atank at the False River public boat landing in NewRoads in a2014 file photo. In June, the LDWF released morethan 5million bass (fry, fingerlings and adult bass) in 56 locations across thestate.

it

This imageofthe 2025-26Federal Waterfowl Stamp will be amust forduckand goose hunters for the upcoming season, whichbegins in mid-September with the nine-dayteal season. The stamp is availableatmost U.S. post offices and online

THURSDAY

ACADIANABUGS &BREWS:

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

THURSDAY-SATURDAY GRANDISLE TARPON RODEO: Grand Isle Marina &Otto Candies Pavilion, Grand Isle. Website:tarponrodeo.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

DUCK HUNTERS EXPO: Fairgrounds, Oklahoma City.Delta Waterfowl event. Includes Friday’s Grand Duck Hunters Banquet. Call-makers&calling championships. Website: deltawaterfowlexpo.com

SATURDAY

BAYOUBLAST/NSCAREGIS-

TERED EVENT: CoveyRise, 58256 CoveyRise Drive, Husser. 100-target main event, 50-target Super Sport, 5-Stand &12-gauge true pair. Fees $45-475. Call Covey Rise (985) 747-0310. Website: scorechaser.com

SACK UP FORCLEAN WATER: 9a.m., Howell Park, 5509 Winbourne Ave.,Baton Rouge. RSFF/NoWakeOutﬁtters conservation, environmental &habitat enhancement days Email AlmeidaRobinson: almeidarob38@gmail.com

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

BASSMASTER KAYAKSERIES: LakeChamplain, Plattsburgh, New York. Website:bassmaster.com

ONGOING

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

HUNTING

LOTTERYDOVEHUNT DEADLINE: July27for ElbowSlough WMA. $8.50 application fee. Applications website: louisianaoutdoors.com/lot-

tery-applications. CallDavid Hayden (318) 487-5353. Email: dhayden@wlf.la.gov

LOTTERYTEAL HUNT DEADLINE: July 27 for White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. $8.50 application fee. Applicationswebsite: louisianaoutdoors.com/lottery-applications. CallLance Ardoin (337) 536-6061. Email: lardoin@wlf. la.gov

AROUND THECORNER

JULY27—SOUTH LOUISIANA HIGHPOWER CLUB MATCH:

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

JULY28—REDSTICK FLYFISHERS FLYTYING: 7p.m., Orvis Shop, 7601 Bluebonnet Boulevard.Open to public. Handson clinic covering basics of ﬂy tying. Materials and tools provided. Website: rsff.org

JULY31-AUG. 2—BASSMASTER OPEN/DIVISION 1: St. Lawrence River, Waddington, New York. Website: bassmaster.com AUG. 2—WOOD STORK/WADING BIRD VIEWING: 7-10 a.m., South Farm, Sherburne WildlifeManagementArea. Pondsdrained exposing feedingopportunity for storks, wadingand shorebirds.No feeexcept 18 andolder must have aWMA Access Annual or aFive-Daypermits available on Wildlife& Fisheries website: louisianaoutdoors. com AUG. 2—FLYFISHING 101/ REDFISH: 9-11 a.

Shop, Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge. Feefree. Basics of casting, rigging. No fee. Equipment furnished. All ages, but 15-and-younger mustbeaccompanied by an adult. Preregistration required. CallShop (225) 757-7286.Website: orvis.com/ batonrouge AUG. 2—FRIENDSOFNRA/ NORTHSHORE BANQUET: 5:30 p.m American Legion Post 16, 2031 Ronald Reagan Highway, Covington. CallJeffrey Antwiller (504) 616-1140. Email: jeffreyantwiler@gmail.com

FISHING/SHRIMPING

SHRIMP: Spring inshoreseasonclosed exceptinBreton/ Chandeleur sounds.All outsidewaters remain open. OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Redsnapper, ﬂounder; lane, blackﬁn,

NFL PLAYER RANKINGS

TWO CLOSE TO CALL

BY ROB MAADDI AP pro football writer

Ja’Marr Chase achieved the receiving triple crown. Justin Jefferson has rewritten receiving records in his ﬁrst ﬁve seasons.

So which superstar pass-catcher is the best wide receiver in the NFL?

It’s a tie, according to a panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers who ranked the top ﬁve players at the position, basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through ﬁfthplace votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Chase and Jefferson, both former LSU stars, each received four ﬁrst-place votes and four seconds.

Amon-Ra St. Brown finished third, CeeDee Lamb was fourth and AJ Brown placed ﬁfth Tyreek

Kittle’s

Hill, Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin and Mike Evans also received votes.

1 (tie). JA’MARR CHASE, Bengals

Chase led the league in receptions (127), yards receiving (1,708) and touchdown catches (17) last season, becoming just the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to win the receiving triple crown

He was a unanimous All-Pro selection and teamed with Tee Higgins to give quarterback Joe Burrow two dynamic playmakers.

1 (tie). JUSTIN JEFFERSON, Vikings Jefferson had 103 catches for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, also earning a unanimous All-Pro selection Jefferson is the first player in NFL history with more than 7,000 yards receiving in just ﬁve

all-around game earns him top tight end

BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer

2. BROCK BOWERS, Raiders

seasons. He set records for most receptions by any player in their first three NFL seasons and most yards in first three four and five seasons.

3. AMON-RA ST. BROWN, Lions

Brown has three straight seasons of more than 100 receptions and more than 1,100 yards receiving. He followed an All-Pro season in 2023 with another one in 2024, ﬁnishing with 115 catches for 1,263 yards and 12 TDs. Brown received three thirdplace votes, one fourth and three ﬁfths.

4. CEEDEE LAMB, Cowboys

A four-time Pro Bowl pick and 2023 All-Pro, Lamb put up prolific numbers in his first five seasons. Lamb had 101 catches for 1,194 yards and six TDs last year, his third straight surpassing 100/1,100.

vote by AP writers

Lamb holds the Cowboys’ singleseason records for both receptions (135) and yards receiving (1,749), both set in 2023 when he also set an NFL record with three straight games of 10 receptions and 150 yards receiving. He received two third-place votes and four fourths.

5. A.J. BROWN, Eagles

Brown has become one of the league’s elite playmakers since joining Philadelphia in 2022. He had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven TDs in 13 games last season and played a big role in the offense for the Super Bowl champions. The three-time Pro Bowl pick had more than 1,400 yards receiving in each of his ﬁrst two seasons with the Eagles. Brown got two third-place votes and three ﬁfths.

Barkley top RB after record-setting year

BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer

2. DERRICK HENRY, Ravens

Mahomes voted the top QB

BY ROB MAADDI

AP pro football writer

Patrick Mahomes still stands on top among NFL quarterbacks. The threetime Super Bowl MVP was voted the NFL’s No. 1 quarterback by The Associated Press in a preseason survey This time, he had more competition for the top spot after being a unanimous choice in 2023 and 2024.

A panel of eight AP pro football writers ranked the top five players at quarterback, basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. Firstplace votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. Mahomes, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to consecutive Super Bowl titles in the 2022-23 seasons, finished with five first-place votes in the latest poll Reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen got two, finishing second. Joe Burrow received the other first-place vote and came in third.

Two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson ﬁnished fourth and Jalen Hurts, who outplayed Mahomes in Philadelphia’s dominant Super Bowl victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs, was ﬁfth. Jayden Daniels and C.J. Stroud also received votes.

1. PATRICK MAHOMES, Chiefs Mahomes had a career-low 3,928 yards passing and tied for his fewest touchdown passes with 26, but still led the Chiefs to their third straight Super Bowl appearance and ﬁfth in his seven years as the starting QB. Mahomes, who turns 30 in September, has a chance to become only the fourth quarterback to win four Super Bowls. He received two second-place votes and one fourth.

2. JOSH ALLEN, Bills

Perhaps no position requires a wider range of skills to succeed in the NFL than tight ends, who are asked to thrive as receivers in the middle of the ﬁeld as well as being key parts to the run and pass games with their blocking.

While many teams divide those roles among multiple players, George Kittle’s ability to do it all for the San Francisco 49ers as one of the most efﬁcient receivers and top blockers helped him score the honor of being voted the top tight end in the league by The Associated Press.

A panel of eight AP pro football writers ranked the top ﬁve players at tight end, basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through ﬁfth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Kittle got five first-place votes and three seconds to win the voting. Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers was the only other player selected on all eight ballots and came in second with two first-place votes, five seconds and one fifth.

Kansas City’s Travis Kelce got the other ﬁrst-place vote and ﬁnished third, followed by Arizona’s Trey McBride and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta and Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson also received votes.

1. GEORGE KITTLE, 49ers

Kittle is coming off one of his most productive seasons as a receiver, catching 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight TDs for an injuryriddled San Francisco offense. He led all tight ends and ranked third overall with 2.62 yards per route run in a sign of how efficient he is as a receiver Kittle also remains one of the top blocking tight ends, helping him earn first- or secondteam All-Pro honors in five of the past seven seasons.

Bowers burst on the scene during a record-setting rookie season when his 1,194 yards receiving were the most ever by a rookie tight end and his 112 catches were the most ever by any rookie. The former Georgia star was a ﬁrstteam All-Pro and quickly established himself as perhaps the top receiving threat at the position in the NFL

3. TRAVIS KELCE, Chiefs

Kelce is one of the most productive tight ends ever, with his 1,004 catches and 12,151 yards receiving ranking third all time at the position. But the six-time All-Pro showed signs of slowing after turning 35 in October. He still managed 97 catches for 823 yards, but his 8.5 yards per reception were down 4 yards from his career average entering 2024 as he had signiﬁcant drops in yards after catch and missed tackles forced.

4. TREY McBRIDE, Cardinals

McBride, a former Colorado State star, has made steady improvement since being drafted in the second round in 2022 and reached star status last season, when his 111 catches and 1,146 yards receiving trailed only Bowers among tight ends. The only thing missing for McBride, 25, was success in the red zone, where he had only two touchdown catches tied for the second-fewest ever for any player in a 100-catch season.

5. MARK ANDREWS, Ravens

Andrews has been one of the top tight ends for years, but his production has started to tail off since he was an All-Pro in 2021. After missing significant time with injuries in 2023, the former Oklahoma star had 55 catches for 673 yards and led all tight ends with 11 TD receptions last season Unfortunately for Andrews, his season might be best remembered for dropping a tying 2-point conversion pass late in a 27-25 divisional playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Saquon Barkley’s ﬁrst season in Philadelphia featured record performances on the ﬁeld, a Super Bowl title and a new contract that is the richest ever for a running back.

Barkley’s performance with the Eagles also helped him score the honor of being voted the top running back by The Associated Press.

A panel of eight AP pro football writers ranked the top ﬁve players at running back, basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. Firstplace votes were worth 10 points. Second- through ﬁfth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Barkley got seven first-place votes and one second to win the voting easily Baltimore’s Derrick Henry was the only other player selected on all eight ballots and came in second with one first-place vote, five seconds, one third and one fifth.

Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs got the remaining two second-place votes and finished third. Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey rounded out the top ﬁve.

Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor, Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs and Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving also received votes.

1. SAQUON BARKLEY, Eagles

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season, falling 101 short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s regular-season record because he was rested rather than playing in a meaningless Week 18 game. His 2,504 yards rushing including the playoffs broke Terrell Davis’ record of 2,476 and featured a record seven TD runs of at least 60 yards.

Barkley parlayed that into a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million with $36 million guaranteed, which is the richest ever for a running back.

Anyone expecting Henry to drop off in his 30s was disappointed last season when a move to Baltimore helped spark a resurgence to his career Henry who turned 31 in January, rushed for 1,921 yards last season for the most for a player after turning 30, topping the 1,860 yards Tiki Barber had at age 30 in 2005. Henry has the 11th-most yards in a season and the most for a player who didn’t win a rushing title as he remains one of the best pure rushers in the game.

3. JAHMYR GIBBS, Lions

Skeptics questioned the decision by Detroit to draft Gibbs 12th overall in 2023, but he has more than delivered in his ﬁrst two seasons as a dangerous runner and receiver. After a strong rookie season, Gibbs took a big step last season when he rushed for 1,412 yards and 16 TDs to go with 517 yards receiving and four more scores. Gibbs’ 36 overall touchdowns in the regular season and playoffs are the second most ever for a player in his ﬁrst two seasons, trailing only the 37 for Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.

4. BIJAN ROBINSON, Falcons

Picked eighth overall in 2023, Robinson has quickly earned his place among the top running backs in the league thanks to his skill as a runner and receiver Robinson ranked fourth among running backs last season in yards from scrimmage (1,887), tied for sixth in touchdowns (15) and second in ﬁrst downs (102).

5. CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY, 49ers

Injuries to his Achilles tendon and knee hampered McCaffrey last season as he played only four games after winning AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. But when he’s healthy, there are few players more productive than McCaffrey, as evidenced by his 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 TDs in 16 games in 2023.

Allen led Buffalo to a fifth straight AFC East title and edged Jackson for the MVP award last season. But Allen and the Bills again were knocked out of the playoffs by Mahomes and the Chiefs, losing in the AFC title game.

Allen threw for 3,731 yards, 28 TDs and had six interceptions for a 101.4 passer rating. He ran for 531 yards and 12 scores, becoming the ﬁrst player in NFL history to have ﬁve consecutive seasons with at least 40 total TDs. He got three second-place votes, one third and two fourths.

3. JOE BURROW, Bengals

Burrow set career highs last season in nearly every passing category, including yards (4,918), TD passes (43) and QB rating (108.5). He earned his second AP Comeback Player of the Year award but the Bengals couldn’t overcome another slow start and missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record.

Burrow, who started 17 games last season for the ﬁrst time in his career, received a secondplace vote, two thirds and three fourths.

4. LAMAR JACKSON, Ravens

Jackson is coming off his third All-Pro season and the best allaround year of his career He threw for 4,172 yards, 41 TDs and only four interceptions, and led the NFL with a 119.6 passer rating. He also ran for 915 yards and four scores. But Jackson and the Ravens fell short in the playoffs again, losing to the Bills in the divisional round. Jackson got one second-place vote, four thirds, two fourths and one ﬁfth.

5. JALEN HURTS, Eagles

The Super Bowl MVP appeared on just four of eight ballots despite leading the Eagles to their second NFC championship victory in three years.

Hurts, who got one secondplace vote, one third and two fifths had 2,903 yards passing, 18 TDs and only five interceptions last season. He ran for 630 yards and 14 scores. Hurts’ seven total touchdowns are the most by a quarterback in his first two Super Bowls.

Kittle

Former LSU stars Chase, Jefferson tie for top wide receiver in

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NICK WASS

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase reaches for a pass against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov 7 in Baltimore.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ABBIE PARR

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson catches a pass for a first down against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 29 in Minneapolis.

Mahomes

Barkley

WNBA commissioner says labor deal will get done

Engelbert ‘really optimistic’ new agreement will be reached by Oct. 31

BY DOUG FEINBERG

AP basketball writer

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert feels optimistic that the league and the players’ union will be able to come to a new collective bargaining agreement at some point, even if it’s after the end of the October deadline.

While the two sides are far apart right now after meeting for the first time in person on Thursday since December with more than 40 players in attendance, Engelbert has faith that a deal will get ﬁnished.

“I’m still really optimistic that we’ll get something done that would be transformational,” she said before the All-Star Game on Saturday night. “And that, next year at the All-Star (break), we’ll be talking about how great everything is. Obviously there’s a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get there.”

Engelbert said that more meetings are planned in the future. The current CBA will expire on Oct 31 after the season is over “I have confidence we can get

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

McCoy has shown he can be durable, playing at least 99% of the offensive snaps in three of his six professional seasons. But he also has battled injuries in three of his last four campaigns, missing five games in 2021, four in 2022 and a career-high 10 last season Considering what the Saints are operating with at quarterback this season, it would be extremely beneficial to have McCoy on the field. Not only has he played at a Pro Bowl level when he’s been on the field (he was Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center last season before his injury) but McCoy’s experience and leadership also would take a big burden off a young quarterback in terms of identifying pressures and calling out protections.

New Orleans undoubtedly was better when McCoy was on the field last year — in the five games he played at least 65% of the snaps, the Saints went 4-1 and scored 35 points or more three times That’s obviously not all on him, but he plays an integral part. But McCoy is a known commodity and, to a lesser degree, so is Ruiz. The big question mark is Penning. He flamed out at left tackle. The Saints moved him to the right side last year, where he gave them solid but not overwhelmingly good play Now the new coaching staff — a group that includes new offensive line coach Brendan Nugent — is going to give him a long look at left guard. In theory, the move makes sense. At his best, Penning is an aggressive, mauling run blocker who has the strength to dominate at the point of attack. At his worst, his pass protecting technique has fallen apart when he’s asked to be in space. By moving him to guard, the Saints are accentuating his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses.

Quarterback Shough signs fully guaranteed contract with Saints

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints no longer have to worry about a potential Tyler Shough holdout.

The Saints rookie quarterback agreed to sign his contract Saturday and received a fully guaranteed deal, his agent told ESPN. The deal, struck before Shough was set to report for training camp on Tuesday comes after the two sides negotiated over the guaranteed amount for the fourth year of the four-year contract.

The deal is projected to be worth nearly $10.8 million over four years.

Shough, picked 40th overall, was one of many second-rounders who had remained unsigned deep into July Talks were complicated by the fact that the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns became the ﬁrst teams in league history to fully guarantee the contracts for second-round picks Jayden Higgins and Carson Schwesinger, setting a precedent for the other 30 players taken in the round.

37), New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson (No. 38) and Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden (No. 39) also received fully guaranteed contracts.

something done by October, but I’m not going to put an exact date on it,” she said. “We’ve got some room to continue negotiations if we’re close at that point.”

There’s a lot of money coming into the league over the next few years with a new 11-year media rights deal worth more than $2.2 billion, three new expansion teams that each paid $250 million in fees and many new sponsors.

The players’ top priorities are greatly increased salaries and a revenue-sharing plan, which Engelbert understands.

“We’re going to do something transformational here because we we want the same things as the players, but we want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing with our owners, their ability to have a path to profitability, as well as in to continued investment,” she said.

Other areas that Engelbert discussed included: She talked about trying to expand the footprint of the league around the world. The league will welcome its ﬁrst team outside the U.S. next year with the addition of the Toronto Tempo. Engelbert mentioned Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa as places that could have huge interest in the WNBA.

“I think we’re really strong domestically now There’s a huge amount of possibilities, to turn these players into a global household being stars that they’ve now become here in the United States domestically,” she said.

The consistency of officiating has been a topic that players and coaches have been discussing a lot this season, and Engelbert said that the league is aware and will evaluate it.

“I realize consistency is the name of the game, and I think it’s something we definitely need to look at and evaluate,” she said.

“There’s an independent evaluation of our ofﬁcials and there are ramifications. It’s something we need to continue to work on. As our game evolves so does our ofﬁciating, so we’re on it.”

Engelbert said the league would look at possibly expanding the length of the season in the future on the backend of the season. The WNBA can’t really start any earlier because of the NCAA Tournament, but could go into early November There’s a good shot that will happen next year with the FIBA World Cup taking place in early September

“We’re looking about what’s the best footprint, what’s the best number of games,” she said.

SAINTS SIGN VETERAN D-LINEMAN AHEAD OF CAMP

Days before the start of training camp, the New Orleans Saints are adding a veteran presence to their defensive line.

Free agent defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard is signing with the Saints, according to a league source.The 31-year-old Bullard started 17 games for the Minnesota Vikings last year recording a sack and a career-high seven tackles for loss.

Bullard has some history with new Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.The Chicago Bears drafted Bullard in the third round of the 2016 draft, and Staley coached the Bears linebackers from 2017-18.

Most of Bullard’s usage has come as a rotational defensive lineman. He’s appeared in 116 games in nine seasons with the Bears,Vikings, Cardinals, Falcons and Seahawks, making 53 starts.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Bullard most likely will join a group that includes Bryan Bresee,Vernon Broughton and Jonah Williams competing for snaps as the team’s base defensive end.

Luke Johnson

INTERIOR

OFFENSIVE LINE DEPTH

CHART

PLAYER POS. HT. WT EXP

Erik McCoy C 6-4 303 7

Will Clapp C 6-5 314 8

Cesar Ruiz G 6-4 316 6

Trevor Penning G 6-7 325 4

Dillon Radunz G 6-6 301 5

Nick Saldiveri G 6-6 316 3

Kyle Hergel G 6-2 315 2

T Simpkins G 6-5 312 R

Essentially, the Saints are asking a 6-foot-7, 325-pounder to play in a phone booth, which should be beneficial. He will have to prove he can handle some of the premier defensive tackles who play in the division such as Vita Vea of Tampa Bay and Derrick Brown of Carolina — but he will at least not have to do so on an island

There is a decent chance that guard is Penning’s natural position and that he ﬁnally delivers on the promise that made the Saints select him 19th overall in 2022. The physical ability has never been a question, and if the lightbulb clicks on, New Orleans may be positioned to have an above average offensive line across the board in 2025.

Worst case

If McCoy can’t stay on the ﬁeld, that could trigger a pretty rough domino effect for the offense.

New Orleans signed old friend Will Clapp this offseason for depth along the offensive interior — Clapp can play three positions — but there’s a big gap between Clapp and McCoy McCoy affects every phase of the Saints offense, and there’s only going to be more on his plate this year with an inexperienced quarterback lining up behind him. If he deals with injuries again this year, it will be difﬁcult for the Saints to navigate his loss even with the talent around him. And Penning is a gamble, even with veteran Dillon Radunz ready to take his spot if he struggles. Penning is just an idea at guard right now, and even if it makes sense logically, it may not practically His technique issues may be just as pronounced inside as they were outside, and if there’s one thing that can turn an otherwise good passing play into a disaster, it’s interior pressure.

This should be an improved unit in 2025, but it’s no slam dunk.

A prediction in 10 words or less Penning plays well enough to merit a modest extension.

Deadlines, however, spur action. And a week before training camp, a ﬂurry of deals started to get done across the league. The San Francisco 49ers broke the dam when they agreed to terms with defensive lineman Alfred Collins, taken three picks behind Shough at No. 43. San Francisco reportedly guaranteed 88% of Collins’ rookie contract.

From there, deals starting flying in. Of them, Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (the 35th pick), Miami Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea (No.

WALKER

Continued from page 1C

season, the Pelicans ranked sixth in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. A shoulder injury limited Jones to just 20 games last season. If he returns to pre-injury form, it should instantly make the Pelicans better The last two NBA champions (the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder) both had two all-defensive team players on their roster The Pelicans have made sure they have at least one for years to come.

“Herb Jones exempliﬁes all the great qualities our team values with his toughness, competitiveness and commitment to getting better every day,” Dumars said.

3. Jeremiah Fears is a work in progress. It really didn’t matter how many games the Pelicans won in Vegas. They were going to be judged on this trip by how well their two first-round draft picks (Fears and Queen) played. We’ll start with Fears, since he was the No. 7 pick. Through the first three games, Fears played like the 18-yearold that he is while adjusting to the NBA. You could see his quickness right away The Kyrie Irving-like handles and the Russell Westbrook-like athleticism on one dunk attempt were there. But he struggled finishing at the rim. In five games, Fears was 30 of 75 from the floor (40%) and knocked down just 4 of 22 3-pointers (18.2%). But more concerning were the turnovers (25 total) and lack of assists (13). His fourth game, a loss to Oklahoma City, was his best when he finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists. He showed enough in that outing to let you know that he can play in the league once he adjusts to the physicality of the NBA game. But if the season started tomorrow, it would be hard to insert him in the starting lineup right away A few weeks ago, I suggested the Pelicans pursue free agent Chris Paul to mentor Fears. I feel even stronger about that, especially with Dejounte Murray still rehabbing his Achilles injury

4. Queen also is a work in progress. Other than Cooper Flagg, selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks, there won’t be many players in this draft class under a larger microscope than Queen. That’s what happens when a team gives up a future ﬁrst-round pick for you. Queen’s start in Vegas was a bit shaky, but he showed in his third game why Dumars invested so much in him. You don’t see many 6-foot-9 guys with his

Shough, for his part, said he was not worried about whether the deal would get done. The quarterback told The Times-Picayune in June that he was “super optimistic” it would get completed, and that he was waiting to see what would happen with the rest of the deals that had not been done.

“I want to ﬁght for as much as we can get, but at the same time, there’s a lot of things that have yet to unfold with other guys ahead (of me),” Shough said then. With the deal now done, Shough can focus on getting acclimated for camp and competing for the starting job. The 25-year-old is battling Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener for the top spot.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

skillset. He played well in his third and final game (17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks). His turnovers (17 in three games) are a concern, too. While Fears plays at 100 mph, Queen plays more like he’s driving through a speed zone. Sometimes that makes you question his motor (especially on the defensive end). But his slow pace is effective, and his shooting touch and passing ability are impressive. Unfortunately he won’t get a chance to work on the things he needs to work on now that he has to rehab from surgery 5. Yves Missi’s shot was missing. Missi, fresh off a secondteam NBA All-Rookie season, had his struggles finishing, too. Missi shot a dismal 9 for 31 from the floor (29%) and also struggled from the free-throw line (4 for 13). He rebounded well and blocked shots (six in three games), but he will need to be better finishing. Lester Quinones, Antonio Reeves and Keion Brooks had their moments, as did second-round draft pick Micah Peavy and two-way player Trey Alexander Hunter Dickinson, signed to a two-way contract, may be able to provide some depth in the middle.

6. Team chemistry OK, we won’t make too big of a deal out of this one because it’s the norm during Summer League. After all, who turns down a chance to go hang out in Vegas? But it was refreshing to see Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado, Murray and newcomers Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and Kevon Looney all sitting together court side during the Pelicans’ second game against the Lakers. It’s good to see that core of players bonding before the real work starts.

7. All in on Zion Williamson. Dumars has made plenty of moves this offseason. None of them will mean a thing if Williamson doesn’t put the Pelicans on his broad shoulders. The Pelicans will be as good as Williamson makes them. He’s the most important piece to the puzzle. Dumars made it clear in May that he’s fully committed to Williamson.

“I want him to start focusing on the responsibilities of being the best player here and the focal point,” Dumars said. “There are some responsibilities that come with that. Go represent your organization.”

So to see Williamson and Dumars sitting and talking along the baseline Wednesday night was a positive sign that the two are on the same page. Seeing the two of them smiling was a positive. Especially on this winless trip where smiles were hard to come by Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Saints quaterback Tyler Shough throws a pass during organized team activities on June 5.

Engelbert

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever warms up before the WNBA All-Star Game while wearing a players’ union shirt on Saturday in Indianapolis

Continued from page 1C

earlier this week when he said celebrations don’t last but a few minutes. He loves the competition. He loves the work. But in terms of fulfillment, he often questions why he wants to win so badly when the thrill of winning is fleeting He was at 14-under 199, four shots ahead of Li Haotong of China, who delivered his own mystery by saying he had no idea how he recovered from the full swing yips a few years ago to be in the final group of a major for the first time. Another shot back was Matt Fitzpatrick, who was tied with Scheffler through six holes but couldn’t stay with him when the No. 1 player began to pull away Fitzpatrick missed a pair of short par putts and had to settle for a 71.

The biggest roars belonged to McIlroy, so much that it felt as though all of Northern Ireland was behind him. There wasn’t an inch of grass or gorse to be seen beyond the wall of people lining the fairways. There were 30-yard gaps along the ropes for Schefﬂer. McIlroy opened with three birdies in four holes. The roar that shook Royal Portrush came on the par-5 12th when McIlroy holed a 55-foot eagle putt that gave him a spark and the gallery hope — even though he still was six behind He produced only one more birdie the rest of the way and still faces a big climb.

BRITISH OPEN

Li aims to be China’s ﬁrst major winner

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sports writer

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland Li Haotong is in contention to become the ﬁrst man from China, a country of 1.4 billion people, to win a major golf championship.

The No. 111-ranked Li will play in the final pairing at the British Open on Sunday with Scottie Schefﬂer, the world No. 1. Schefﬂer leads by four strokes on Li, who is alone in second place at Royal Portrush.

Here are some things to know about the Chinese golfer In short he’s quite a character Li is a 29-year-old from Hunan, China. He started out caddying for his father, who played golf while also owning a car dealership in their home city. His parents now travel the world with him as he splits his time between playing on the PGA Tour and European tour

He turned pro in 2011 and ﬁrst got on the European tour in 2016.

This is Li’s 15th appearance in a major and his best ﬁnish was a tie for third at the British Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017, when he shot a ﬁnal-round 63. He was six strokes behind the winner, Jordan Spieth.

In 2020, Li was the ﬁrst Chinese player to hold the lead after any

Li was involved in one of the most bizarre incidents in the history of the European tour

While playing the French Open in 2017, Li threw his club into the water out of frustration after bogeying the par-3 11th hole at Le Golf National. Moments later, his mother rolled up her shorts and waded through the muddy pond to recover it. After she grabbed it, she returned to dry land, realized it was broken — her son had snapped it and threw it back in the water

After the incident, Li played the ﬁnal seven holes at level par using a sand wedge as a putter Li once had the following in red capital letters on the back of his 60-degree wedge: “HAOTONG IS THE MOST HANDSOME MAN IN CHINA.”

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sports writer

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Rory

McIlroy picked up the ball from the thick rough, held it out in front of him and burst out laughing.

It was one of the most bafﬂing things to have happened to him on a golf course.

Maybe one of the most frustrating, too.

McIlroy was on a third-round charge at the British Open on Saturday, making birdies and generating roars from the deep galleries that could be heard from a halfmile away in this corner of his native Northern Ireland.

What derailed him was almost a trick of the mind.

With one swish of his wedge, McIlroy not only hit his designated ball out of the rough to the right of the fairway on the 11th hole but also dug out another ball that had been buried underneath the turf, unbeknownst to him.

The second ball popped out of the ground and settled between his feet, much to McIlroy’s surprise.

“I have another golf ball,” he said with a confused smile to those around him after picking it up.

“That is the most weird, ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” McIlroy said later

It was just part of a roller-coaster round of 5-under 66 that McIl-

round in a major championship thanks to a bogey-free 65 in the second round of the PGA Championship. That left him two shots clear He wound up ﬁnishing 17th.

Li’s last major appearance came in 2022 when he missed the cut at the British Open at St. Andrews. Li is a four-time winner on the

European tour, most recently at the Qatar Masters in February when he holed a birdie putt from 15 feet at the last hole to secure a one-shot victory and wept in the arms of his caddie.

His ﬁrst was nearly a decade earlier at the China Open in 2016, the year he joined the tour

roy described as “incredible” and an “absolute pleasure.”

Three birdies in the ﬁrst four holes. That bizarre trick shot on No. 11 that led to his only bogey A bounce-back eagle from 55 feet on No. 12 — producing, in his words, “one of the largest roars I’ve ever heard on a golf course” and a birdie on No. 15 when his approach hit the ﬂagstick and stopped dead, a foot from the pin.

It was classic McIlroy But likely not enough.

At the end of a wild day on the links off the North Atlantic, McIl-

roy trimmed just one shot off his deﬁcit to leader Scottie Schefﬂer

The gap was now six shots to a guy McIlroy labeled “inevitable.”

“The only thing that I can hope for is I get off to the same start that I got off to today, get the crowd really going,” said McIlroy, who was in a four-way tie for fourth place, “and then hopefully he (Schefﬂer) might be able to hear that a couple groups back and maybe feel some pressure.”

At times, it felt like McIlroy — wearing Tiger Woods red — had the support of the whole of North-

Club in Northern Ireland.

“I played well enough today to at least feel like I have a chance tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, it’s going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he does. But if I can get out tomorrow and get off to a similar start to what I did today get the crowd going you never know.”

“I’m just trying to execute, not overthinking things,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I’ve been doing the right thing so far, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow.” After his ﬁrst three-putt of the tournament — making par after reaching the par-5 second hole in two shots — Schefﬂer made a 10foot par putt that was as big as any In deep trouble behind the 11th

green, he hacked out to 10 feet to save par, then saved another par from the deep grass left of the 14th fairway Royal Portrush has a nasty par 3 at No. 16 known as “Calamity Corner.” Schefﬂer made birdie for the third straight day this time a 3-iron that settled 15 feet below the cup. Each shot helped him pull away from the ﬁeld. Each shot moved him closer to the claret jug, to go along with the PGA Championship he won in May and the two Masters

Oh, and Li also follows an English soccer team — Sunderland. Well, kind of. He was guided down that road by an ex-caddie, who was a fan of the team from northeast England.

While no man from China has captured a major title, two women have. The ﬁrst was Shanshan Feng, who won the LPGA Championship in 2012. Ruoning Yin won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.

ern Ireland on a gorgeous day when the locals came out in force to cheer on their favorite son. He got a throaty, rock-star reception at every tee, even pats on the back as he emerged from the trouble to the right of the fairway on No. 17.

This was Rory-mania in full swing, the latest and most thrilling chapter of a homecoming three months in the making after winning the Masters to join the career Grand Slam club.

“It’s almost a celebration of what I’ve been able to accomplish,” McIlroy said. “I want to celebrate with them, too. I’ve just really tried to embrace everything this week I’m having an incredible time. I’m really enjoying myself, and I feel like I’ve given myself half a chance now.”

Six years ago, the British Open returned to Royal Portrush for the ﬁrst time since 1951. McIlroy shot 79 on the ﬁrst day and himself out of the championship, failing to even make the weekend as he struggled to handle the expectation of a home crowd.

This week, he’s welcomed the pressure.

Too bad for his many fans here that Schefﬂer is spoiling the party

A second claret jug would be amazing for McIlroy But whatever happens, it’s been a lot of fun coming home.

“It’s absolutely incredible to play in front of these fans,” McIlroy said. “I’m just so excited to get one more day to be able to experience it.”

green jackets he has won in two in the last four years.

McIlroy had the most bizarre moment of the championship when he went to gouge out a shot from the rough right of the 11th fairway and a second ball emerged from the turf.

“It’s never happened to me before,” McIlroy said. “It could never on any other course but a links course.” It led to his lone bogey He responded with that eagle putt and probably needed more.

“Scottie is it’s inevitable,” McIlroy said. “Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s become a complete player.”

Fitzpatrick did his best to keep pace, but he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 13th, got a bad bounce on the 17th that led to another bogey and wound up ﬁve shots behind.

“Just didn’t make any putts. I didn’t hit it close enough,” Fitzpatrick said. “Drove it well enough, didn’t hit it close enough. Just made way less putts than Scottie.”

Scheffler will be paired in the last group with Li, who made history in 2020 at the PGA Championship when he held the 36-hole lead, becoming the first player from China to lead in a major Li didn’t make his first bogey until the 13th hole, and he dropped another shot on the 18th by driving into a pot bunker Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, in his first appearance in the British Open, had a 68 and joined the group at 8-under 205 that included McIlroy Harris English (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (68).

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON SUPER

Scottie Schefﬂer plays off the ninth tee during the third round of the British Open on Saturday at the Royal Portrush Golf

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANCISCO SECO

Li Haotong of China taps hands with members of the public as he walks to the 18th tee during the third round of the British Open golf championship on Saturday at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PETER MORRISON

Li Haotong of China taps hands with members of the gallery as he walks to the 18th tee during the third round of the British Open on Saturday at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland Li is in second place entering Sunday.

AP PHOTO By JON SUPER

Matt Fitzpatrick looks at the lie of his putt on the 5th green during the third round of the British Open on Saturday at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

14th Stage A 113-mile mountain ride from Pau to Superbagneres 1. Thymen Arensman, Netherlands, Ineos Grenadiers, 4:53:35. 2. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:54:43. 3. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 4:54:47. 4. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 4:54:54. 5. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 4:55:00. 6. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 4:55:44. 7. Ben Healy Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 4:56:21. 8. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 4:56:21. 9. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 4:56:34. 10. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 4:56:43. Also 22. Sepp Kuss, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 5:01:49. 34. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 5:12:31 85. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 5:29:19 118. William Barta, United States, Movistar Team, 5:31:09. Overall Standings 1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 50:40:28. 2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 50:44:41. 3. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 50:48:21.

4. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 50:49:46. 5. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 50:50:49 6. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 50:51:02 7. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 50:52:28

8. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 50:53:01. 9. Ben Healy, Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 50:59:09 10. Carlos Rodriguez, Spain, Ineos Grenadiers, 51:03:25 Team Standings

1. Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 152:43:39

2. UAE Team Emirates XRG, 152:57:27

3. Decathalon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 153:27:07. 4. Arkea-B&B Hotels, 153:27:08

5. Red Bull — Bora — Hansgrohe, 153:29:38 6. Ineos Grenadiers, 154:13:41 7. Movistar Team, 154:20:59

8. Groupama-FDJ, 154:22:00 9. XDS Astana Team, 154:34:57 10. Team Picnic PostNL, 154:46:22 0. Tennis

Hamburg European Open Results Saturday At Am Rothenbaum Rot-Weiss Tennis Club Hamburg, Germany Purse: $275,094 Surface: Red clay HAMBURG, GERMANY Results Saturday from Hamburg European Open at Am Rothenbaum Rot-Weiss Tennis Club (seedings in

parentheses): Women’s Singles Semiﬁnals Anna Bondar

LIVING

When my wife and Ivisited England for aweek in 2019, we tried hard to ﬁt everything in. Each day,wewanted to see as much of the country as we could. But on acouple of evenings, we were reminded that true joy doesn’tcome from a race with the clock. The end of aday can be an occasion itself,somethingtobe embraced rather than evaded That idea is behind evensong, an end-of-day religious service with deep roots in Anglican tradition. The service typically includes choral songs andbrief prayers that invite reﬂection on the richness of the day that’spassing, the comingcalm of night. During our stay in England, my wife and Iattended evensong services at Bath Abbey and Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. We wereheartened when someone handed us a printed program at Bath Abbey that announced, “All are welcome.”

That afﬁrming message pointed to the wisdom of stillness at the end of aday as an ideal shared among many of us regardless of our faith.

Bath Abbey has had aplace of worship at its site for more than 1,000 years. ChristChurch in Oxford was founded in 1546. Sitting in the shadow of centuries as we attended evensong in these grand old places, my wife and Iwere humbled by our smallness in the vast reach of time.

At its best, evensong is about turning inward, an idea underscored in the booklet we were given at Christ Church Cathedral. As we learned, there’snot as much activeparticipation from the congregation at evensong as at other services “As the congregation, our participation is by prayerful, attentive listening,” the booklet noted.

Attentive listening is no small thing, as Ithought aboutrecently when my wife and Iwere invited to attend an evensong service in Louisiana. Our friend Catherine Harrell knew how much evensong had meant to us when we ﬁrst learned about it in England. She let us know that St. James Episcopal Churchin Baton Rouge was havingaservice one Sunday in May

The 5p.m. service began with aprocession of the choir into the sanctuary.Itwas moving to see all the singers ﬁling in, asharedwitness to the beauty of aday dimming toward twilight. While theservice unfolded, the light behind the church’sstained glass windows slowly mellowed as the sun sank lower outside. The program notes for the

HAPPIER DAYS

Belovedcafeteria startedinWWIIinBaton

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Whatdoyou thinkof when you think of Piccadilly? BabyBoomersmightthink of traysbursting full of shrimpcocktail, crawﬁsh étouffée or chocolate cake. Maybe even remember the ageoflive organ musicorrushingtoPiccadillyonThird Street after church? Louisiana GenXers mayremember going with parents andgrandparents. Those younger than that might not go at all.

Piccadilly was foundedindowntown Baton Rouge by T. H. Hamilton in 1944. Over the last 80-plus years, therestaurants have been the site of manycherishedmemoriesfor people in the city —and beyond. However,since itsfounding, the times have changed.Dining habits across thecountryand locally have shifted. Locally,the restaurant scene hasgrown signiﬁcantly And, Piccadilly has changed.

Piccadilly in itsheyday

For many in Baton Rouge,the cafeteria-style restaurantisa part of their core childhood memories withsomany memories of the restaurant on Third Street and in sinceshutteredmalls. Goingto“the Piccadilly” was an elevated cafeteria experience: there were cloth napkins, live music, commissioned murals

and home-cooked food. The Westmoreland mall location hadchandeliers in its dining room.Many wentthere regularly enough for staff members to know their names.

Jeannine Gerald Schutte, 70, grew up going to the Piccadilly at Bon Marche Mall in Baton Rouge. Her familydidn’tgoouttoeatsuperoften in the 60s, but if theywere shopping or running errands, they’dswing by as atreat.During herhigh school years (1968-1972),she was hired to play organ at the restaurant. As part of her payment, she got to eat ameal

there during each shift forfree. Her favorite meal wasmac and cheese andchocolate pie fordessert.

The restaurants were busy Schutterecalls soldiersstoppingin by thebus-full, andreaders wrote into the newspaperabout their baseballorbasketballteams stopping there formeals travelingtoor from away games. According to Brian VonGruben, former executive vice president of Piccadilly whoworkedinthe

Apackage line of mouthwash at the Dr Tichenor plant in New Orleans

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

PHOTO

JAMES CHANCE

Hope Group

Members of Hope Group from Broadmoor United Methodist Church gathered for lunch at Jasminesonthe Bayou. Theyare planning to bring canned meats to theirAugust meeting to help the food pantry. Shownare, from left, seated,JudyBurch, BeverlyGrant,Charlotte Fitzsimons, Judy Wallace, MartyBajon, Charlette Hill and Gerri Cornette; standing,Teenie Bajon, JoyD’Armond, Bonnie Kemp, CarolWiltz, JudyZollinger, Joyce Hazleton, Jenola Duke, Janis Mayeux andLinda Crane.

BRDCC presents debutantes

The Baton Rouge Delta Development Corporation hosted its annual Debutante Presentation Tea, “Curating Elegance,AnAfternoon with the 2025 Coterie of Debutantes,” on June15 at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center Twenty-one debutantes were introduced to community signaling the beginning of the cotillion season.

The debutantes are Carmen AleciaRose Alfred, Jiselle Elizabeth Anthony, Kaila Michel Anthony, Peighton Nicole Ashley, Alexandria Nicole Bellanger, CarmiMalay Burnett, Bailee Rene’ Butler, Makenzie Lynn Fisher, Kaleigh Suzanne Garner, Anailah Rochelle Henderson, Loriana Clayna Barrow Jackson, Dynastee’ A’ariyanah Jacobs, Terranique Corianna Johnson, MadisonDeshea Lathers Danni EliseMorris Kierra Mackenzie Parker, Dyllan Lee Robertson, Laila Deon Robertson, Ainsley BrielValliere, Addison JanineValliere and Kirsten RelynnYoung

The evening beganwith greetingsfrom Alexis RayRussell,co-chair of Baton Rouge Delta Development Corporation. Yoursheka D. Butler,Presentation Teaco-chairperson, delivered the mediation for the afternoon. Kalonda J. Carmouche,co-chairperson, 56th Debutante Cotillion, introduced the cotillion leadership, and IngaQ.Collins,acquisitions chair,introduced the debutantes. Tiffany N. Robinson, chairperson, 56th DebutanteCotillion, delivered remarks regarding the 2025 cotillionseason. Ashley Cox Coates,BRDDC chairperson, thanked thecommunity for attending and announced that the 21 debutantes will be presentedatthe 56th Debutante Cotillion at 5:30 p.m. Aug.2 at theHilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center

Afterclosingremarks, thedebutantes andtheir mothers greeted their guests. Areception immediately following the receiving line topped off the event. Yoursheka D. Butler,Lauren Clark, Shadonna Phenix and D’ShawnValery servedasco-chairpersons of this year’sPresentation Tea.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

The Community column runs Sundays in theLiving section and accepts submissions fornewsofevents that have taken place with civic, philanthropic, social and religious auxiliary organizations, as well as academic honors.

Submissions should be sentbynoon Monday to runinthe upcoming Sunday column. Because of space limitations, organizationsthat meet monthly or more arelimited to one photo permonth. If submitting digitally,weprefer JPG files 300KB or larger.Iftaking aphotoof agroup, have them stand or sit shoulder-toshoulder.Ifmore than sixpeople are in the photo, arrangethem on multiple, distinct rows. Avoid strong background light sources.

Identify those pictured by firstand last names as viewedfrom left to right, rowbyrow.Weprefer emailed Community column submissions to features@theadvocate.com.We also accept submissions by mail at P.O. Box588,Baton RougeLA70821.Aphone number must be included.

BRDDC Co-Chairs

The 2025 Baton RougeDelta Development Corporation Presentation Teaco-chairs are, from left,Shadonna Phenix, D’Shawn Valery and yourshekaD.Butler director,BRDDC

BRDDC Debutantes

The Baton RougeDelta Development Corporation 2025 Coterie of Debutantes are, from left, bottom row, AlexandriaNicole Bellanger,KaleighSuzanne Garner,Anailah Rochelle Henderson, Lorianna Clayna BarrowJackson, Addison Janine Valliere, Laila DeonRobertson, Kierra Mackenzie Parker,and Madison Deshea Lathers; middle row, Peighton Nicole Ashley,Kirsten Relynn young,Dynastee’ A’ariyanah Jacobs, Terranique Corianna Johnson, Carmen AleciaRose Alfred, Kaila Michel Anthony and Makenzie Lynn Fisher;top row, Danni Elise Morris, CarmiMalayBurnett, Bailee Reneé Butler,Ainsley Briel Vallere,Jiselle Elizabeth Anthonyand DyllanLee Robertson.

Attic Trash& Treasure

The past presidents of Attic Trash &Treasure held their quarterly luncheon at Mansurs on the Boulevard on July 8. The group celebrated its 10thyear of fellowship for past presidents. Shownare, from left, front row, Miranda Papizan, Virginia Bogan, Bobbie Stiglets, Keigh Ballard, Aleta Lester and Chris Jackson; back row, Melissa de Generes, Beverly Turner,Iris Eldred, Alice Greer,Kathleen Howell, Mary‘Moo’ Svendson, Sandra Campbell and Linda Montagnino.

Phi Mu Alumnae Chapter

Members of the Phi Mu Alumnae Chapter gathered for lunchand ashortbusiness meeting on June 25. Shown are, from left, seated, Jennie Chatelain, Alana Templet, Carol Little, Tricia Merrick and DebbieHarvill; standing,Kate Cook, Sheila yellott, Laura Collet, Leah Paternostro, Diane O’Connor and Hannah Heltz

Baton RougeNavy Club

The Navy Club of Baton Rouge, Ship 661, USS Kidd, heldits monthly luncheon at Piccadilly Restaurant on July10. Shown are, fromleft, Jack Laws, Bus Di Palma,ChickStreat, Rick Munch, TomHirscheyand Doc LeCompte.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

ARTS &CULTURE

ExhibithighlightsJewishorphanage

at thetime.

NewOrleans had the ﬁrst purpose-built Jewish orphanage in America because New Orleans hadyellow fever,anindiscriminate orphan-maker On view at theMuseum of theSouthern Jewish Experience throughJan. 25, the changing exhibit “Most Fortunate Unfortunates: The Jewish Orphans’ Home of New Orleans” travels througha near-century of history

The exhibit’stimeline starts in 1855 withthe founding of an institution that deﬁed orphanage stereotypes of the day,offering much more than shelter for its residents and initially housing widows as well as “inmates,” as child residents were thencalled. Religious educationwas, of course, an important part of life there, but so was secular education: Isidore Newman School was founded in the early 20th century to educate students from the home.

Newman’sinaugural enrollment counted 102 children from thehome as well as 23 tuitionpaying classmates from the community Nutrition and health care were also emphasized. The home pioneered vaccinating its children against scarlet fever and diphtheria in the 1920s.There are imagesin the exhibit of residents at play at asummer camp in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

“When you really think of these orphanages, you think of like maybe Annie or Oliver Twist,” said Michael Jacobs, the museum’s collections and exhibits curator.“But really,here it’s a totally different idea.These children were really given some of the best possibleaccommodations

Irish film fest

Tickets areonsale for the Baton Rouge Irish Club’s 15th annualBaton Rouge Irish Film Festival on Aug. 2 in the Manship Theatreinthe Shaw Center for the Arts, 100Lafayette St. All daypasses areavailable, giving visitors access to both featureﬁlms, the shorts and the reception dinner. On theschedule are: n 12:30 p.m. —Opening Film: “Four Mothers”

n 2:30 p.m. —Wee IrishShorts

n 5p.m. —F’eisDinne’ar —More than meat and potatoes. Theevent will include livemusic and Irish dancing. Food will be providedby Bacon and Fig.

n 7p.m. —Featurefilm: “The Spin” The festival continues on Military Dayatthe U.S.S. KiddVeterans Museum, 305 S. RiverRoad,with a viewing of theBaton Rouge-filmed movie, “Greyhound.” Visit theIrish Film Festival website, batonrougeirishfilmfestival.com, for aposting of the specific time. The festival wraps up at 6:30 p.m.Aug. 4withafree PubNight at Phil Brady’s, beginning with several shorts,followedbythe comedy, “Babs &Buns.”

“They had baths, they had dining rooms, they hadkitchens. They had just incredible dormitories wheretheyfocused on cleanliness and being clean and orderly.

The home wasn’t exclusively for New Orleanskids, eventually drawingresidents fromthroughoutthe Southand Southwest. Enrollment peaked at 173 children in 1915

Residents remained an average of seven years. The home, which occupied acouple of locations (the last of which stood where the Jewish Community Center thrives today), survived the CivilWar,two world wars and the Great Depression,but closed in 1946 when theJewish Children’s Regional Service assumed nonresidential services for Jewish children andtheir families.

By thebook

“Most Fortunate Unfortunates” is basedonabook of thesame title by Marlene Trestman, which has been sold in themuseum’s gift shopsince its 2023 publication. Trestman was orphaned at age11and grewupasa foster care clientofthe Jewish Children’sRegional Service, successor to the Jewish Orphans’ Home.

“MarleneTrestman did an incredible job uncovering so much information,” Jacobssaid. “Before her,noone really had written much on the home. Iwould call herthe historian onthe home, and without her this never would have been done.”

Forher book, Trestman conductedmore than 100 interviews with residents and descendants of residents. There is huge archival supplement to the book (and now exhibit) at marlenetrestman.com.

“As an author,with my co-authors out in theworld, you dream

Individual Manship ﬁlm tickets are $16.05. Allday passes are$82.35. Call (225) 344-0334 or visit manshiptheatre.org.

‘Singin’ in theRain’

Tickets areonsale for Christian Youth TheatreBaton Rouge’s production of the musical, “Singin’ in the Rain,” opening July31inthe Shaver TheatreinLSU’s Music andDramatic Arts Building on Dalrymple Drive.

Tickets are$19-$25. Visit cytbatonrouge.org.

‘NoisesOff!’

Tickets areonsale for Sullivan Theater’s production of thecomedy “Noises Off!,” opening Aug.15atthe theater,8849 Sullivan Road, Central.

Tickets are$23-$29. Visit sullivantheater.com.

At Glassell Gallery

LSU’s Glassell Gallery in the Shaw Center of the Arts,100 Lafayette St., is showing work by 31 artists in its “2025 SummerContemporary: FELT, running through Aug. 23.

This year’s showwas juried by NewOrleans-based curator Emily Wilkerson from morethan 300

The Jewish Orphans’ Home, NewOrleans, c. 1915. The back of the imageincludes ahandscripted note, ‘Our Babies,’possibly written by Rabbi LeonVolmer,ofLittle Rock, Ark., whoservedasthe home’ssuperintendent from 1911 to 1926.

of having movies madefrom (your) books, which you know, that’d be wonderful,” Trestman said. “Very few have an entire museum exhibition on abook. AndI thinkitjust speaks tothe depth of the story to be toldmuch more than the storyteller.”

Keyobjects andfeatures

n Ahandwritten registration book dating to 1855 shows the intake entries for abrother and sister.The record shows that she had “a very pleasant disposition.” Her brother,not so much

n Annie Schneider’sscrapbook of photos saved when she wasa resident in the early 20th century “I would argue this is probably one of the mosthistorically important artifacts in this exhibit,” Jacobs said. “It’sanincredible look into the daily lifeofthese children.”

n Video displays in the exhibit present alumni proﬁles and oral history interviews. One voice there, resident Ralph Beerman, recalls the novelties of adaily shower andclean clothes. “And that was quitearevelation to me, because Ididn’tlive like that

THEARTS&CULTURE SCENE

submissions. Taking an expansive approach to feel,feeling and felt. The selected work embraces the sensuous —touch, temperature, vibration, aura—and connectsthe haptic, emotional and somatic. Hours arenoon-5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday,Tuesdayand Wednesday and noon-7 p.m. Thursdayand Friday. Admission is free. Call (225) 389-7180.

‘Footloose’tickets

Tickets areonsale for Playmakers of Baton Rouge’sproduction of the musical “Footloose,”opening Aug. 15, in the Reilly Theatre, TowerDrive, LSU campus. Tickets are$20-$30. Visit playmakersbr.org.

‘Annie’tickets

Tickets areonsale forAscension CommunityTheatre’s productionof themusical “Annie,” which continues on July 20 and 24-27,inthe theater at 823 N. FelicityAve Gonzales. Tickets are$20-$35. Visit actcgonzales.org.

At BatonRouge Gallery

Baton RougeGallery center for con-

temporary art,1515 Dalrymple Drive is showing work by artist members April Hammock, MarcusMcCallister, HyeYeon Nam and NonneyOddlokkenthrough July 27.

Hours arenoon-6 p.m.Tuesday through Saturday.Admission is free. Formoreinformation, call (225) 3831470 or visit batonrougegallery.org.

‘DanielTiger’atthe Manship

The Manship Theatreinthe Shaw Center forthe Arts, 100 Lafayette St will also hostafreeviewing of the PBSKidsProduction of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” at 10:30 a.m. July 23. Though admission is free, viewers mustregister for aseat by calling call (225) 344-0334 or visiting manshiptheatre.org

At thePoydras Center

The PoydrasCenter,500 W. MainSt., New Roads, is showing “Plein Wild,” acollaboration exhibit between L. Charleville and EllenOgden,through Sept. 30.

Hours arefrom9 a.m. to 2p.m. Mondaythrough Wednesday. Formore information, call (225) 638-6575 or visitpointecoupeehistoricalsociety org.

before that time,” he says. “And I loved it.”

n Acardboard suitcase thatresident David Testa,admitted from Houstonin1920, carried when he left the home in 1934. “I think this really personalizesthe story alot,” Jacobssaid. “WhenIsay cardboard, Iliterally mean cardboard. It is light as afeather.” Dave Walker focusesonbehindthe-scenes coverage of the region’s many museumshere and at www.themuseumgoer com. Email Daveatdwalkertp@ gmail.com.

Choirenrollment

Enrollment is open for thefall semester of theGreater Baton Rouge Children’sChoir, avibrant and inclusiveyouthchoir dedicated to artistic excellence and community engagement Forinformation about times, fees and requirements, call (225) 4123021. To enroll, visit gbrccmusic.org. Workshop Show

The Art Guild of Louisiana’s members“Workshop Show”will open July 10 at Independence Park Theater, 7800 Independence Park Blvd Baton Rouge.The show runs through Sept. 11. Hours arefrom10a.m. to 5p.m. Tuesdaythrough Friday.Admission is free. Visitartguildlouisiana.org.

‘SleepyHollow’ auditions

Auditions for theIberia Performing Arts League’s production of “The Legend of SleepyHollow” will be from 4to6p.m. July27atthe Iberia Performing Arts League, 126 Iberia St., NewIberia. Fordetails and requirements, visit ipal.com.

Dave Walker

PROVIDED PHOTO

PICCADILLY

Piccadilly corporate ofﬁce from 1971-2001, Mother’s Daywas the biggest day of their year “Speed was always top priority,” said John Ward,a former manager at various Piccadilly restaurants throughout his 39 year career.“They(owners and upper level management) expected to have 90 customers go down the line in ten minutes.”

The restaurants saw thousands of customers aday “Forty yearsago,” he said, “it was awhole different company”

What happened to Piccadilly?

The story of the rise and nearfallofPiccadilly is long and intertwined with larger trends and events. Regardless of the reasons, the chain has amuch smaller footprint now bothin terms of number of stores and number of patrons. After acquiringMorrisonRestaurants Inc. in 1998,Piccadilly had about 270 locations.

According to the Piccadilly website,the chainonlyhas 30 locations left across the country today, mostly concentratedin Louisiana or Memphisand Atlanta. By the time Ward retired in 2023,hesays therestaurants rarely saw long lines anymore. On the business side, there aremanyreasons forthe shift. The company madeseveral bad investments. They bought Morrison’sCafeterias, their main competitor,with locations concentrated in Floridain1998 and converted their spaces to Piccadillys. According to Peter Ricchiuti, business professor at Tulane where he and studentsworked to study and track numerous public companies, including Piccadilly in the 90s, this purchase was ahuge blunder for the companybecause people had loyalty to theirbrand of cafeteria.

took the companyprivate after 27 years of being apublic company and 69yearsinbusiness.

“Once it became private, it kind of fell offeverybody’s radarbecauseitwas astock that alot of people owned in Louisiana,” said Ricchiuti.

Thecompanyfiled for bankruptcy again in 2012. In 2014, it was purchased by Falcon Holdings, which is known for revitalizing struggling businesses.

Piccadilly andFalcon Holdings did notrespond to multiple requests via phone, email andwebsite contact form for comment for this article.

“The menu was completely the same, or at leastalmost completely the same,” he said. “People didn’t go there anymore because now it’sa differentrestaurant.”

The company ﬁled forbankruptcy in 2003 duetopoorperformance. It was purchased by Piccadilly Investments,a partnership between LosAngelesbased Yucaipa Companies and DiversifiedInvestment Management Group.The purchase

Changing times

The decline of Piccadilly is also astory about changing times.Cafeteria-style dining hasfallenout of vogue,and thechain haslong struggledto court ayounger demographic.

“If you’re not from the South, you associatecafeterias with theworst times in your life —like being hospitalized or being in middle school,” said Ricchiuti. “That’swhat they’re

fighting against ” In the ’70s and ’80s,fastfood became amuch larger part of theAmericandiet, andsince Piccadilly’sheyday, dining out in general has become abigger thing.Withrising food and labor costs, Piccadilly is competing both with fast food restaurants which are able to provide an onthe-go experience for approximatelythe same cost andfast casual restaurants whichhave less overhead and the benefit of serving alcohol. In an attempt to cut costs, keep up withthe times or adapt to the economy,Piccadilly also lost alot of itsdefining features: in the early 2000s,they did away with cloth napkins. When Schutte graduated high school, they replaced the organ she used to playwith three booths and alarge TV Piccadilly also doesn’tmake everything from scratch anymore. Even so,ofthe seven longtime regulars interviewed for this article, none of them thought it was just Piccadilly Timeshave just changed. The food is still good,theysaid, maybe not exactly the samebut

pleasantand fairly reasonably priced. What’s next forPiccadilly?

Piccadilly people have aloyalty for the business that’shard to replicate.

“Whenyour parents getolder, that’swhere they want to go. So maybe, when that generation dies off, Idon’tknow what’ll happen,” Ricchiuti said. “I think it’ll deﬁnitely stay in business. It’s got enough repeat customers.”

“When you’re aPiccadilly person,”hesaid. “You’re likely to be theretwo or threetimes aweek.”

But many people went to Piccadilly largely because it was already right by something else: church, the mall. When malls closed or they stopped going to church, they stopped driving out of theirway to go to Piccadilly

Even die-hard Piccadilly fans visit thecafeteria less fora variety of reasons: they’re older now. Thepandemic changed many people’srelationship with dining out,but even if they only visit once or twice amonth, the memories live on.

Chan Willis,69, visits once every fewmonths. He said that what he missesabout Piccadilly isn’treally about the restaurant or the food.

“Piccadilly is all about family,”hesaid. “It’sabout places that youwent with your parents, with your children, maybe your extended family.”

It was aplace he could go with those he loved and spend qualitytime together.Theydidn’t even have to waitfor the food; they just satdown andstarted chatting and eating. He misses the timeinhis lifewhen getting together with his three kids over ameal waseasy

“Now,they all have their own children, their own families, their own lives, their own towns that they live in,” he said.

It’snot that Piccadilly has changed —Willis experiences it mostly the sameashealways did. The maindifference is that he’s notthe same anymore and no amount of friedcatﬁsh can bring back the past.

Email SerenaPuangat serena.puang@theadvocate. com.

CURIOUS

Continued from page1D

salesman,” said Michael Trotter,aretired vascular surgeonliving in Houma

“He was amedical doctor, but he didn’tget his training in medical school.” Trotter is the foremost expert on Tichenor, having written two extensively detailed articlesonthe doctor’slife, both published in 2010 issues of the Mississippi Journal of Medicine

Tichenor is said to have perfected his antiseptic mixture while living in Liberty,Mississippi, in Amite County,which borders Louisiana at East Feliciana and St. Helena parishes Trotter was also living in Mississippi, working in Greenville, when he wrote the articles. His interest in Tichenor was piqued during his medical training with John Ochsner, co-founder of what is now Ochsner Health in New Orleans. “John was really interested in medical and surgical history,asamI,” Trotter said. “One of his favorite subjects was Dr.Tichenor and he was really good friends with the president of the TichenorAntiseptic Co. at the time.”

In 1993, Ochsner gave Trotter his notes from a previous presentation of Tichenor’slife and work, to which Trotter returned 15 yearslater and started his own research.

ALouisianaconnection

Answering the second part of the question about Tichenor’sconnection to Louisiana —starts at the end. Tichenorisburied in Baton Rouge.

Yes, Baton Rouge, where he’sburied in Roselawn Cemetery next to hiswife, in-laws, son and daughterin-law in afamily plot marked by alargemonument marked “Tichenor.” To ﬁnd the answer,Trotterbacks up tothe beginning.

“When Istarted researching Tichenor,Iwanted to ﬁndout howmuch of his story was true, how much was hypeand how much was legend,” Trottersaid. “Was he adoctor? Washea salesman?”

Trotter saysitwas evident earlyonthatTichenor didn’tgotomedical school, but he hadpractical training as achemist—orwhat today peoplewould think of as apharmacist Tichenor was born April 17, 1837, in Ohio County in

western Kentucky.Hehad harbored agreat interest in chemistry and continued studying it after leaving home.

“By1859, at age 22, he had moved to Franklin, Tennessee, and was involved in manufacturing explosive guncotton,” Trotter wrote in his ﬁrst article for the Journal of the Mississippi StateMedical Association.

“Atthe outbreak of the Civil War, thebusiness was commissioned by the Confederate government to manufacture gunpowder.”

Ayear later,Tichenor ran aphotography business in Nashville. He served with the22nd Tennessee Cavalry,which fought in Mississippi.

“Reportedly,hespent two years studying during his time of active service and applied to take the Medical BoardAppointmentExamination,”Trotter writes. Passed themedical test

Tichenor apparently passed, because he was appointed an acting assistant surgeon in the Confederate States Army,making his “doctor” titlelegitimate.

However,Tichenor’smain interest was in developing an antiseptic liquid to facilitate wound healing.

He left Mississippi for Red River Landing in Pointe Coupee Parish, where, Trotter says, the good doctor ﬁrst bottled and sold his antiseptic.

“Today,Red River Landing is achannel mile marker in themiddle of theriver,” Trotter said.

“There’snomoreRed River Landing. If you look it up, you’ll get some GPS coordinates, and that’sit.

It’sacross the river from Wilkinson County in Missis-

sippi and near Angola, both across the river.”

In 1884, Tichenor moved his family to Baton Rouge, where he practiced medicine. The following year, he formed apartnership with the Sherrouse Medicine Co., to manufacture Dr.Tichenor’sAntiseptic.

The Sherrouse side of the business, named for business leader William John Sherrouse, of Monroe, was in charge of selling the antiseptic while Tichenor was listed as the manufacturing chemist.

When Tichenor opened theDr. G.H. Antiseptic Co. in New Orleans in 1905, his story of agangrenous leg injury during the war that he treated and healed with his concoction proved to be asuccessful advertising ploy —though Trotter pointsout that there is no written proof of the injury Opened on CanalStreet

Tichenor and Sherrouse opened aplant at 230 Canal St.inNew Orleansin1905. Today,that location is home to Harrah’sCasino. However,Dr. Tichenor’sisstill bottled in New Orleansat 4200 W. PocheCourt. Tichenor not only was inventor of the concoction but amaster marketer.He hired local musician Louis Blaketocompose the “Dr Tichenor’sMarch” and “Dr Tichenor’sWaltz,” the sheet music for both published in 1895. In theend, Tichenor really didn’tneed gimmicks to sell his goods. The antiseptic sold itself. More than acentury later,itstill does —using thesame ingredients as when it started: 70% alcohol and 1% peppermint oil, along with inactive ingredients arnica, Saccha-

rum carbonate and puriﬁed water

The ingredients combine to treat sore throats through gargling, sterilizing cuts, scrapes, minor wounds and, forsome, it’s agreat topical forinsect stings and bites.

“My son was3or4years old when he got into ahornet’snest,” she said. “The couple next-door told us to put someDr. Tichenor’son his stings. It helped him so much. It’s magic —almost instant relief.” Congress, flood control

Meanwhile, Tichenor was popular in Louisiana.

“He considered running forCongress, and he hit the nail on the head with his solutions forﬂood control,” Trotter said. “He spoke to anyone whowould give him apodium, but his ideas weren’tput into place until after the ﬂood of 1927, when the Federal Flood Control Act waspassed in 1928.”

That would be ﬁve years after Tichenor’sdeath on Jan. 14, 1923. Trotter believes he’sburied in Baton Rouge because he bought the family plot in Roselawn while living there.

“I would say that his advocacy forﬂood control wasprobably his greatest accomplishment,” Trotter said. “He may not have had all the kinks worked out, but his solutions wereexactly right.”

Do you haveaquestion about something in Louisiana that’sgot you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include yourname, phone number and thecitywhere you live.

Continued from page1D

St. James evensong heralded it as “a poetic, deeply spiritual service rich with symbolism and mystery.”

Earlier this month, St. James had a“bon voyage” evensong service to wish its choir members well on their own trip to England to begin abrief residency at Worcester Cathedral. It wasnice to know that someofmyLouisiana friends would be experiencing evensong in England, too. Ihope it touches them as much as it touched me.

Email Danny Heitmanatdanny@ dannyheitman.com.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByTRAVIS SPRADLING

Guestassistant LaKisha Chatman, left, builds to-golunches for customer Holly Annison, right, and Becky Caire at the Piccadilly To Go location at 216 Lee Drive, near Highland Road,which closed in 2019 after six months open. The location wasthe second one of its kindfor the chain with no inside seating

Ricchiuti

LOUISIANABAKES

Scones aredelightfuloneithersideofthe pond

Smith, and Southern Living 1 3 cup granulated sugar

1tablespoon grated lemon zest (or orange zest)

2cups all-purpose flour

Olivia Regard

The first time Iate ascone,I found it to be dry and uninteresting, but over time I’ve come to learn that my first experience was an aberration Scones are believed to date back to the 1500sin Scotland. The word scone originates from the Scottish word “skonn,” which means “to cut, slice or break off.” Another etymologytraces the word to Middle English “schoonbrot,” meaning “fine cake or bread.” These early versions were usuallymade with oats and fruit, or sometimes just oatmeal.

The English beganmaking sconesinthe 18th century and added currants or raisins to the recipe. It was notuntil the1840s, when the Duchess of Bedford started what would later become the tradition of afternoon tea, that the popularity of scones took off. On this side of the pond, American bakers again tweaked the recipe andincorporated baking powder in place of yeast andadded sugar to sweeten the scones. Fortunately,mymore recent experiences with scones have been delightful and presented sconesasthey should be —light and crumbly at the edges, moist on the inside. The recipe below providesagoodstarting point for experimenting with scones and presents theoption to bake with different fruit and citrus combinations. The ﬂavor combinations are endless and afun way toexperiment in the kitchen. Serve warm with salted butter, clotted cream, lemon curd or jam along withmorning coffee or afternoon tea.

Fruit Scones

Serves 6 Recipe is by Olivia Regard, adapted from her mother, June

1tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

8tablespoonsunsaltedbutter (cut into small pieces; keep cold until ready to use)

11/2 cups fresh blueberries (or 1cup fresh strawberries, halved or quartered if large)

1/2 cup sour cream(keep cold until ready to use)

1/4 cup heavy cream (keep colduntil ready to use),plusmore forbrushing Turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place zest and granulated sugar in abowl. Using your ﬁngers, rubthe zest into thesugar until fully incorporated and fragrant

3. Sift together the ﬂour,baking powerand salt.

4. Incorporate thebutter into theﬂour mixture using your ﬁngers orapastry cutter until the mixtureiscrumbly and pea-size butter pieces remain.

5. Toss fruit into ﬂour mixture to combine.

6. In aseparate bowl, whisk together the sour cream and heavy cream.

7. Gently stir wet ingredients into ﬂour mixture until dough forms.

8. Place dough on alightly floured surface and flatten into acircle approximately 12 inches in diameter Fold in half and repeat the process of flattening and folding two or three more times until dough comes together

9. Shape the dough into acircle that is approximately 6inches in diameter and1inch thick. Cutthe dough into six wedges.

10. Arrangethe wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze uncovered for 30 minutes

11. Before baking, brush the topsofeach wedgewith heavy cream andsprinkle with the turbinado sugar.Bakefor approximately 20 minutes until golden brown andedgesare crisp.

PHOTO By OLIVIA REGARD

TRAVEL

Geta tasteofAustin’sweird,wonderful offerings

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Austinisdeﬁnitely not asee-itall-in-a-weekend kindof city, but overafew days, one can get a taste of all the Texas capital has to offer

Situated in the central part of the state about 21/2 hours past Houston, Austin is within the greater Texas Hill Country Visitors will ﬁnd hills and ﬂat stretches, depending on the section of the city they’re in. Unlike other “concrete” metropolises, approximately 34 million trees provideacanopy overabout 31% of the city

Visit Austin reports that the city attracts around 30 million visitors ayear,many fromits reputation as “The Live Music Capital of the World,” and on top of that for its unofﬁcial motto, “KeepAustin Weird.”

The music scene is vibrant from the blues spillingout of the legendary Antone’sNightclub to the rock, jazz, country and more you can catch when PBS’“Austin City Limits” is ﬁlmed live each week at the Moody Center.The city plays host to musicians and music lovers at several festivals during the year,among them SouthbySouthwest, the Austin Reggae Fest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

And the part about Austin beingweird? Well, let’sjust call it eclectically charming.

Yes, people do surround the Ann W. Richards Congress AvenueBridge daily around sunset to watch the colony of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailedbatstake theirevening ﬂight. And yes, there’seven amuseum dedicated to the strange, appropriately called, Museum of the Weird. But there are also artsy attractions suchasthe Blanton Museum of Artand the Harry Ransom Center—and outdoorsy activities like ﬂoating the San Marcos River on atube or swimming afew laps in theBarton Springs Pool.

When it’stime to dine, there’s barbecue, ramen, Japanese-Texas fusions, Southern, Thai, Italian, Ethiopian, pizza and, abig thing in these parts, breakfast tacos.

It’salways been said that when you’re visiting anew place, it’s wise to getsome inside intel from alocal. With that said, former Louisianans Maya Blitch and husband Thomas Hakim,both27, werehappy to point us to thefun they’ve found since moving to Austin two years ago.

“If someone Iknew were tovisit,I would plan aday that would startwith breakfasttacos, then we would hike one of the beautifultrails in West Lake. Iprefer the Little Fern Trail,” Blitch said Following the hike, she recommends asnack and coffee at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters. From there, the views of Lake Austin are unbeatable, Blitch said “Often, Mozart’swill feature live music or other events, ensuringeach visit remains fun and new,” she said.

Next, she’d suggestpaddle boarding at Lake Travis or taking aswim in Barton Springs(Pool) during the warmer months.

“Alternatively,I’d recommend walking along South Congress during thecoolermonths,” she added “If the weather wasn’tgreat and thetiming worked out,I’d

By ChristopherElliott

take themto the Blanton (Museum of Art) or the Canopy (an art center) toviewsuch amazing art.”

There are,ofcourse, endless options for dinner

“For dinner,we’d recommend one of the many restaurants in EastAustin,” she said. “At the moment,I really love OKO (Filipino),Birdies(New American) and SourDuck Market (American).”

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

Isent the airlinemydigital boarding pass, proof of an in-flight Wi-Fipurchase, and atimestamped photo of me onthe plane. Ieven escalated the matter to my credit card companyand the European Commission. But still, nothing.Can youhelpmeget my money back? —Lauren Stokowski, Utrecht, Netherlands Ican’tbelieveKLM refused to acknowledgeyou wereonthe ﬂight after you provided so much proof. Didthey evenread what yousent them?

This is an obvious error.KLM switched your seatsonthe outbound flight to SouthAfrica but then somehow lost therecord of your seat reservation. That’s probably why the flight attendantskept interrupting you and asking for your ID. Problem is,that meant the airline had you as a“no show” for your outbound flight.KLM,like other airlines, automatically cancels your return flight when you missthe first leg of your flight Youshould never have been forced to pay for anew ticket. If you’dshown aticket agent the digital boarding pass and picture of you on the flight at the airport in Cape Town, KLM might have been able tofixit. Better yet,

you might have called the airline before your return flight leftto ensure all waswell with your tickets. Youcould have also appealed to an executive at KLM once you returned. Ilist their names, numbers and email addresses on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. Regarding your missing vegan meal, Irecommend you bring snacks in case theairline does not have thevegan meal you ordered. Airlines often forget their meal orders. KLM didn’twant to talk about your case. “This file will now be closed,” acustomer service representative told you in an email. “Any further correspondence will be filed and will remain unan-

swered.” That wasthe wrong answer.I reached out to my contact at KLM and asked them to have another look.

“After extensive investigation, we have come to the conclusion that we charged Ms. Stokowski erroneously,” arepresentative told me. “Our customer service department has contacted her and will reimburse the $550 that she wascharged.”

Christopher Elliott is the founderofElliott Advocacy,a nonproﬁtorganization that helps consumers solvetheirproblems. Email himatchris@elliott.org or get help by contacting himon hissite.

The TexasState Capitol was designated as aNational HistoricLandmark in 1986. It houses the Senate and Housechambers, courtrooms, a library, an agriculture museum and more.

The Blanton Museum of Art, on the University of Texas’ main campusindowntown Austin, features artinside and out.

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,July 20, the 201st dayof 2025. Thereare 164 days left in the year

TodayinHistory:

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin“Buzz”Aldrin became the ﬁrst mentowalkon themoonafter reaching itssurface intheir Apollo 11 lunar module.

Also on this date:

In 1917, America’sWorld WarI draft lottery began as SecretaryofWar Newton Baker,wearing ablindfold,reached intoaglass bowl and pulledout acapsule containing thenumber 258 during aceremonyinside theSenateofﬁce building.

In 1944,anattempt by agroup of Germanofﬁcials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with abombfailedasthe explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.

In 1951, Jordan’sKing Abdullah Iwas assassinated in Jerusalembya Palestinian gunmanwho wasshot dead on the spot by security

In 1976, America’sViking 1robot spacecraft made a successful, ﬁrst-ever landing on Mars.

In 1977, aﬂash ﬂood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of thecourt’smost liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.

In 1993, White Housedeputy counselVincentFoster Jr., 48,was found shot to death in aparknear Washington, D.C.; it was ruled asuicide.

In 2006,the Senate voted 98-0 to renewthe landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another quarter-century

In 2007,President George W. Bush signedanexecutiveorder prohibitingcruel andinhuman treatment, includinghumiliation or denigration ofreligiousbeliefs,inthe detention and interrogationof terrorism suspects

In 2012,gunman James Holmes openedﬁre inside acrowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado,during amidnightshowing of “The Dark Knight Rises,”killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. (Holmes was later convicted of murder and attempted murder, and sentencedtolife in prison withoutthe possibilityof parole.)

In 2015, the United States and Cuba restoredfull diplomatic relations after more than ﬁve decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War. Today’sbirthdays: Former Sen.Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 89. BaseballHall of Famer Tony Oliva is 87. Artist Judy Chicago is 86. Country singerT.G. Sheppard is 81.Singer KimCarnes is 80.Rockmusician Carlos Santana is 78. Author andcommentator Thomas Friedman is 72. Rock musician PaulCook (Sex Pistols) is 69. Actor Frank Whaley is 62. Conservationist and TV personality Terri Irwin is 61. Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 59. Actor Josh Holloway (TV:“Lost”) is 56. Singer Vitamin Cis56. Actor Sandra Oh is 54. Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Forsbergis52. Actor OmarEpps is52. Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen is 50. Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk is 47. Supermodel Gisele Bündchenis45. Actor Percy Daggs III is 43. Actor John Francis Daleyis40. Dancer-singer-actor JulianneHough is 37.Former MLB pitcherStephen Strasburg is 37.

Case of thehungryoperagoers

refreshments; B. with no waste receptacles in the vicinity,set our items down on the ﬂoor to resumeour seats; or C. take the items in with us and ﬁnish them before the performance resumed.

during intermission, as an alternative to the pricierfare.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Dear Miss Manners: Oneofthe highlights of our trip to Paris was an opera performance at the Palais Garnier The opera, “Medee” by Cherubini, is in excessoffour hours, with two brief intermissions. We were seated in the two front seats of abox in theﬁrst loge with three pairsofseats behind us.Without an aisle, thebox occupants must seat themselves in order from front to back to avoid climbing over one another.Weneeded to be seated ﬁrst, and conversely, were the last to exit the box.

During the ﬁrst intermission, we were not able to traverse the distance to theconcessionsintime to get any refreshments. At thesecond intermission, we rushed to purchaseune gorgee de Champagne et un petit sandwich just in time for the“return to your seats” bell to ring.

We hurried back to ourseats, carrying our treats, only to ﬁnd our box mates waiting for us to takeour seats so they could do likewise. Our choices seemed to be: A. have everyone wait while we consumed our

With no ushers or signage available for guidance, we selected option Cas themost sensible. This apparently was incorrect, as almostimmediately, ayoung man from an adjoining box leaned over the railing to shout at us, “This is theopera! This is not done!”

What would Miss Manners suggest as the best course of action? Obviously,eating before the performance is an option, but dining quickly in aParis restaurantiseasier said than done.

Gentle reader: The chiefexample of rudenesshere is shouting admonishments at other opera patrons.

Butalthough Miss Manners does not believe in starving for art, she agrees that an opera house is not a movie theater.Even though Handel himselfplayed for parties, you would not want to be surrounded by an audience chomping away on popcorn.

However,she is notabove smuggling provisions into opera houses. Even in Paris, it is possible to buy takeoutfood that maybeconsumed

DearMissManners: Is it OK to comment on aco-worker’snew hairstyle or fashion choices?For context, Iam aman andworkmostly with women. Iwould only ever share positive comments, suchas, “I like your new hairstyle”or“Ilovethat jacket.” I would never share anegative opinion, norwould Iuse my remarks as a way to showromantic interest in the otherparty

Gentle reader: Thendon’t

Perhaps there will be ladies who arecharmed. And perhaps there will be ladieswho feel that they are there to work, not to have their looks appraised, even favorably.Dothey commentwhen you get ahaircut? Miss Manners suggests you use your charm to comment favorablywhen your colleagues do especially good work.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO64106.

Dear Heloise: Why do people send flowers to afuneral? The person they’re sent to is dead and can’tappreciate their beauty.After the funeral, the flowers are usually dumped on topofthe grave or thrown out.I believe it’sfar more important to send flowers while someone is alive and can look at themorshow themoff to friends.

receiving ﬂowers or aplant. —Heloise Evergreens

Gregory F.,Greenville,North Carolina

To thatend, Iusually send flowers when someone in my family graduates school, when someone getsengaged, or because it’ssome kind of holiday.It’smainly to let them know I’m thinking of them. —MarthaD., Southfield,Michigan Martha, it’sa great idea to send flowers to people who can appreciate the thoughtful gesture. While flowers at a funeral are nice, and the family usually enjoys them, it’salso nice to seesome type of recognition for other eventsby

Many Americansare fortunate to havedental coverage fortheir entire working life, through employer-provided benefits.Whenthose benefits end with retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to putoff or even go without care. Simply put —without dentalinsurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

When you’re comparingplans ...

 Look forcoveragethat helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe numberof procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundredsout of pocket before benefits are paid.

 Shop forcoveragewithnoannual maximum on cash benefits. Some planshaveannual maximums of $1,000.

yourodds of having adentalproblem only go up as you age.2 Treatment is expensive— especially theservicespeople over 50 oftenneed. Consider these national average costs of treatment. $222 fora checkup .$190 for afilling. $1,213 fora crown.3 Unexpected bills likethis can be arealburden especially if you’re on afixed income.

Ask about the

Dear Heloise: We have alarge lot, several acres in fact,and at the back of our property are some beautiful evergreens (Christmas trees).LastChristmas, someone came ontoour property and helped themselves to three of them These were perfect pines that we loved. Now they’re only stumps! How can we prevent this from happening againthis year?

—Carol and Kevin,in Montana Carol and Kevin, you can spray orange, purple and yellow tempera paint on the trees. It will wash off duringthe next rainfall, but it will also discourage poachers from stealingyour trees. The pines will look odd forashort time, but at least you’ll have your trees. Youcan ﬁnd the paint in any art store. —Heloise Mulchthickness

Dear Heloise: How thick shouldmulchbe to protect plants through thewinter?

Gregory,ﬁne,organic mulch such as sawdustcan be about2 inchesthick. For coarser material such as straw or leaves, mostgardeners recommend about4inches. Abag of commercial mulch found in ahardwarestore or a garden shop usually needs to be at least 3inches thick. —Heloise Tung oil

Dear Heloise: What is tung oil? We just refinishedthe floors of an oldVictorian home, anda historian toldustorefinish thefloors in tung oil. —AvaT.,inSan Francisco Ava, it is afinish forfloors that many people use instead of polyurethane. Most oils forfloors are actually amixture of differentproducts to help them dryfaster and remaindurable.However,agood tung oilwill last foralong time between reapplications and give youa deep luster —Heloise Sendahinttoheloise@heloise.com.

Our staff suggests 5 summer books

Staff report

“Cult Classic” by Sloane Crosley

Recommended by Deanna Narveson, Baton Rouge regional editor

In this book, for a month straight, the protagonist, an unmarried woman in her mid-30s, runs into each and every one of her ex-boyfriends in the same neighborhood of New York City Through the course of these meetings, she ﬁnds out that there is more going on than she thought there’s a secret society involved — and things are not quite what they seem. She also has to reckon with her own habits and choices with friends and relationships. It blends genres with elements of magical realism, thriller and rom-com. The plot was fun with the magical elements and the setting of New York City, but the way the main character was forced to confront her past and her own behaviors was really interesting to read, the kind of thing that makes you think. The twist at the end made it all even better

“James” by Percival Everett

Recommended by Mike Smith, New Orleans environmental reporter/editor

The book is a retelling of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” through the perspective of Jim but that comes nowhere close to describing the depth and brilliance of the novel. Parts of it amount to an inves-

tigation into identity and perception that reveal the layers of how we perceive ourselves and others. One section on minstrelsy was stunning. That said, it’s all done with a light touch, the story ﬂowing along like the river It’s the best new novel I’ve read in a while.

“The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough

Recommended by Scott Rabalais, The Advocate columnist and sportswriter

This story follows the pioneers of powered ﬂight and how they got from their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, to the birth of the aviation age. I love McCullough’s work, especially “Truman,” which he won a Pulitzer Prize for along with “John Adams.” This book isn’t in that category but considering the

we all know Orville and Wilbur Wright, we know little about the people around them. I loved the details on their con-

temporaries and competitors, and learning about what a supportive soul their sister Katharine was. It’s a quick read (the main text is well under 300 pages), perfect for summertime page turning by the pool or the lake.

”Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Recommended by Stephanie Riegel, New Orleans business reporter

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s “Abundance” is a thoughtful look at the regulatory, political and socioeconomic reasons that have made it increasingly difficult for the United States to move forward with major projects that would benefit society as a whole, like middle-class housing, energy efficient mass transit and new medicines.

It is so insightful, so well written and simpliﬁes through clear, concise analysis, without dumbing the subject down, so many important challenges facing our country I want to be Ezra Klein when I grow up!

“The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi” by Shannon Chakraborty

Recommended by Rich Collins, New Orleans business reporter

This is an adventure novel about a former pirate who leaves her daughter to embark on a mission to save a teenager from a powerhungry sorcerer It’s well-written and a heavily researched historical fantasy with memorable set pieces and characters. Siraﬁ’s ex-husband — who’s also a demon — is a scene stealer

Step inside the world of African masquerade artists

BY RIEN FERTEL

Contributing writer

“New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations,” New Orleans Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 264 pages.

The New Orleans Museum of Art’s “New African Masquerades” exhibition, which closes on Aug. 10, is, so far, the city’s must-see show of the year It showcases the work of four contemporary West and Central African masquerade artists, each representing a distinct culture and creative style. African masquerade ensembles are recognizably Carnivalesque, yet not aligned with Carnival as we know it. The exquisite, multifaceted ensembles at times carry an uncanny aesthetic resonance with the suits of New Orleans’ Black Masking Indians.

Though the transatlantic Carnival connections are never explicitly stated — and the exhibit is strengthened for not belaboring this kinship — it’s easy to imagine deep, cross-cultural ties among this diverse world of street parades. Fans of the exhibition will want to check out the accompanying catalog, which further illuminates the virtuosity of the four artists, who, despite working in deeply traditional mediums and often literally following in the footsteps of their fathers, bring innovative approaches to their work. In a series of essays, the exhibition’s four co-curators one artist pulls double-duty — also highlight the collaborative

nature of the show itself.

How do we redeﬁne, they ask, the complicated relationship that exists between artists and individuals who hope to capitalize on their art through scholarship, exhibition, photography and, yes, the almighty dollar? For locals interested in recent debates over the buying and selling of Carnival, especially Black Masking Indian culture, this turns out to be a question too close to home to ignore.

Take David Sanou, a secondgeneration woodcarver from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

His father, André, who passed away in 2015, sculpted masquerade headpieces and even carved a chair that Pope John Paul II used while receiving an audience of Burkinabé faithful in 1990. The pope blessed one of André Sanou’s carving blades, which he gave to his son.

“This was my diploma,” he proudly says. Despite running a successful woodworking atelier, David Sanou hesitated to take part in the exhibit. Burkina Faso custom dictates that masquerades are not to be sold to outsiders, cocurator Lisa Homann explains in an essay that outlines the ethical and logistic difﬁculties that arose when commissioning the woodcarver

“You should know that what we did here,” he tells her “it is not permitted; it is not allowed.”

He agrees to participate, with reservations. For his masquerade ensembles, David Sanou crafts only the wooden headpieces, leaving the thick, ﬂowing, brilliantly hued ﬁber body

suits, their strands dynamically extending in all directions during ritualistic dances, to other artisans. Adhering to tradition, however, their names are scrubbed from the record. In the exhibit, under David Sanou’s name, the museum labels read: “The maker of this body requests anonymity.”

Sheku “Goldenﬁnger” Fofanah, of Freetown, Sierra Leone, also inherited his father’s practice as a masquerade artist. Fofanah built his trade as a young teenager, taking commissions to design ensembles, colloquially called “devils.” Incorporating a wealth of materials cloth, beads, cowrie shells, gourds, wood and animal skins — he builds lavishly decorated, full-body outﬁts for several local masquerading societies.

The Sierra Leonean parades are “not unlike that of New Orleans Mardi Gras,” writes Amanda Maples, NOMA’s head curator of African art. “The crowd is thick with bodies and anticipation.” Of the 13 masquerade en-

sembles included in the exhibit, it’s Fofanah’s that most mirrors Mardi Gras Indian suits. The layered, beaded patchwork of both cultures is strikingly similar Eighty to 90% of masks made in Africa today are reproductions, Hervé Youmbi writes, leaving the continent’s art and artists “frozen in a colonial mindset.”

A Cameroonian artist who also acts as an associate curator of the exhibit, Youmbi collaborates with what he calls a “production chain” of working artisans to help realize his masquerades. He designs; they build. Sculptors, bead workers, dreadlock fabricators, costume designers: These collaborators often earn their daily living creating serial reproductions of classic African art for tourists and collectors.

His “hybrid masks,” as Youmbi calls them, “use Western ideas about authenticity of African masks against themselves.”

That’s some heady theorizing easily parsed with a glance at his masquerades on display.

The very American inspirations behind “Tso Scream Mask” and “Predator Ku’ngang Mask” will be immediately evident to anyone familiar with the popular action-horror ﬁlm franchises referenced in the titles of these pieces.

Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa, a third-generation artist from Calabar Nigeria makes ensembles for fellow members of the Ekpe Society, an organization based on ancestor veneration through public performance. These lovably outré masquerade pieces should be unforgettable to our local costume sensibilities.

Each of Chief Bassey Nsa’s ensembles features a thick, colorful, doughnut-shaped mane, made from stretched cloth or the fronds of the raffia palm, that encircles the wearer’s upper torso Meringue-like fluffs of ruffled cloth often sandwich the mane, making the whole ensemble look rather delectable.

Exhibit co-curator Jordan A. Fenton, who has built a close relationship with Chief Bassey Nsa after nearly two decades of ﬁeldwork research in Calabar, writes that tradition-based artists are often swept to the margins of African art history He advises researchers “to foster a sense of responsibility, of reciprocity” when seeking relationships with artists.

Three weeks remain to catch “New African Masquerades” at NOMA, after which the exhibit travels to museums in Nashville, San Antonio and St. Petersburg, before ending its run at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.

The exhibit will no doubt ﬁnd enthusiasts in each of those communities. But here in New Orleans, where our own homegrown costume culture reigns, “New African Masquerades” demonstrates that across nations and costuming cultures there are similar challenges to be addressed, familiar lessons to be learned, and, yes, maybe even a little inspiration for next Carnival season.

Rien Fertel is the author of four books, including, most recently, “Brown Pelican.”

CRUSHING IT

As itsnew glasspulverizing facility kicksintogear, aLouisiana recycling startuphas to balanceits missionand costsofgrowing operations

RIGHT: Glass bottles have markings and symbols indicating where theywere made. Max Steitz, co-founderand chief operating officer,saidhe’sseen glass bottles make the full circle: from creation, to recycling, and back to creation in the making of another product, then back again to him.

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

IDEAS INNOVATION &

STAFF PHOTOSByCHRISGRANGER

Crushed glassoutside Glass HalfFull in St. Bernard Parish will eventuallybe turned into sand.

The juxtaposition of the two scenes was jarring: heavy industry vs. nature’stranquility

But, takentogether, thetwo perfectlyillustrate themissionofGlass HalfFull, a5-year-old startupthat wasfounded to divert glass from Louisiana’slandﬁlls while creating material that can help restore its shrinking coastline.

Founded by Trautmann and Max Steitz whentheywere still seniors at

On arecent weekdaymorning, employeesatthe newGlass Half Full recycling facilityinChalmette were dumping thousands of empty boozebottles and spaghetti sauce jars into machinery thatpulverizes them into the consistency of gravel or sand It was acacophonous process, as thesound of glass smashing into metal joined the roaring of machinerytocreate an industrial symphony Afew yardsaway,justoff the banks of Bayou Bienvenue, the birds and ﬁsh were unconcerned with the commotion. There, balanced on anarrow wooden pier20feet from theshoreline, Glass Half Full co-founder Franziska Trautmannwas working with Tulane University researcher BekMarkel to pump some of the company’sfreshly made glass sand into the bayou to build aseries of 32-foot circular islands. The new land wascovered with cypress saplings and other greenery

See GLASS, page 2E

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

Louisiana coffee roasters are raising prices as tariffs makeitmore expensive to import coffee beans adding to recentchallenges for a local industry tied to the globally traded commodity

J.M. Smucker Co., which roasts coffee for Folgers, Dunkin’ and Café Bustelo at its facilitiesinNew Orleans and employs nearly700 workers, said in June that it planned to increase prices in response tothe 10% tax on all imports that President DonaldTrump announced in April. Baton Rouge-based Community Coffee said Wednesdaythat the rise in prices for green coffee beans, which it roasts before selling to consumers, forced it last month to increase whatitcharges. And French Truck Coffee, the New

Orleans-based chainwith locations in Baton Rouge and Memphis, Tennessee, told customers on Monday it was adding atemporary4%surchargeonall in-store coffee-related purchases

“Wechose thisapproach so that if the tariffs are lifted in thefuture, we can quickly adjust or remove this charge —something we wouldn’tbe able to do with permanent price increases,” FrenchTruck wroteinits email to customers. The well-known brands with big operationsin Louisiana echoed moves by other local and national ﬁrms in recent months. Americans’ coffee habitdepends almostexclusively on imported beans. Brazil, the world’stop coffee producer, supplies about 30% of the American market,followed by Colombia at roughly 20% and Vietnam at about 10%, according to federal data. Roasters often purchase beans

months, or even ayear,inadvance and many rushed to stock up before Trump’sApril tariffs wentinto effect.

Now,thosestockpiles arerunning low andimporters say many of their customers are bracing for even higherprices if Trump’sthreats of additional tariffs on major coffee producers likeBrazil go into effect.

“We’re starting to buy more, and now we’re seeing those tariff line items,” said Patrick Brennan,owner of Congregation Coffee, which operates aroastery on TchoupitoulasStreet and acafeonthe West Bank.

“I’ve been holding off on alot of price increases just to seewhatactually ends up happening,” Brennan said. “But we’re hitting thepoint soon, you know, where we’regoing to have to make adecision.”

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Lauren Fink,ofCherry RoastCoffee in Gretna, said she held offon raising prices on bags of roasted beans,but it became clear costs weren’t goingtosubside. ‘Nobodylikes to see pricesincrease, but we’re also abusiness.’

Franziska Trautmann, cofounder andCEO of GlassHalf Full, and Max Steitz stand on top of apile of glass thatwill be recycled into newglass products at the Glass Half Full facility on Paris Road in St. Bernard Parish.

ABOVE: Glass Half Full recently opened aprocessing facilityonParis Road in Chalmette. This machine is able to sort and process glass back intosand and also for use in newglassproducts.

Tulane University, the company is celebrating several milestones this summer

Its $5 million recycling facility, which opened in May reached full production capacity last month.

In early July, it was awarded contracts from Jefferson Parish to operate two recycling collection centers. And, last week, it delivered its ﬁrst order of “cullet” — glass chunks used to make new containers to a manufacturing customer in Oklahoma. At the same time, the recycler’s operations have spread into neighboring states.

These advances into the roughly $4 billion U.S. container glass recycling market shows how far Glass Half Full has come since 2020, when Trautmann, Steitz and another Tulane senior plugged in a small machine big enough to grind one wine bottle at a time — and made their own glass sand in the backyard of Zeta Psi fraternity house on Broadway Avenue.

But while Glass Half Full is crushing it, it’s still spending more than it’s making, underscoring the constant challenge mission-driven businesses face. Trautmann, Steitz and their supporters hope the venture can traverse the daunting “valley of death” that startups face as they strive for proﬁtability before running out of capital.

“We’re hippies forced to be entrepreneurs,” Trautmann said “But we want to be able to keep recycling and restoring the coast without having to rely on donations and grants, so we had to build a system to do it.”

Expanding footprint

Since its frat house origins, Glass Half Full has grown dramatically in size, scope and reputation earning social media buzz and international attention along the way Today, it runs the new Chalmette facility and a collection center in the Upper 9th Ward. It has about 25 employees.

The company gets paid to operate three drop-off locations in the French Quarter and two in Jefferson Parish. For free, it runs another 15 or so drop-off spots, mostly in New Orleans plus one in Baton Rouge.

A key part of Glass Half Full’s business is the thousands of customers across the Gulf Coast who

Recycled glass will eventually be turned into sand at the Glass Half Full facility in

“We’re

FRANZISKA

pay for pickups. Residential clients pay $20 per month; commercial rates are based on volume.

To make these pickups, the company has assembled a fleet of a half-dozen trucks and drivers, who visit homes, bars, restaurants, hotels, ofﬁces and even schools.

“At Sacred Heart, one of our drop-off locations, you’ll see 10-year-old girls dropping off their parents’ empty wine bottles,” Trautmann said.

Collection fees and contracts make up the bulk of Glass Half Full’s revenue, but they aren’t enough to cover the cost of the growing operation. That’s why the new cullet business and other potential income streams in Louisiana and elsewhere are essential.

Last year, Glass Half Full rented a 20,000-square-foot facility for glass storage and processing in Birmingham, Alabama, where it makes residential pickups.

“It’s the right distance away,” Trautmann said. “It’s also a sustainable-leaning city, and it doesn’t have glass recycling.”

There are plans to do the same in the Florida Panhandle.

Glass Half Full now accepts cardboard plastic and other forms of recycling at some drop-off locations and delivers the material to recycling partners. But at a time when roughly 70% of container glass ends up in U.S. landﬁlls, that highly recyclable material is still the focus.

Smashing glass

To visit Glass Half Full’s new processing facility is to quickly become accustomed to the feel of glass dust everywhere, including in the fabric of ofﬁce chairs and on tabletops.

On a recent weekday, Trautmann, Steitz and a visitor were dusting themselves off while workers in Day-Glo T-shirts, safety vests and hard hats received a truckload of material.

After four years of bootstrapping, the startup raised over $2 million and borrowed the rest to build the facility in the same parish where Trautmann and Steitz won a pitch competition in 2021. (They won another one two years later.)

Saints owner Gayle Benson led a group of Louisiana investors in the project. New Market Tax Credits helped sweeten the deal.

Glass Half Full leases the 3-acre Chalmette property a former landﬁll, from the Meraux Foundation.

Construction company RNGD built the new 10,000-square-foot metal building, where a glass processing line made from mostly refurbished equipment creates two products: glass sand and cullet.

“We start with a mountain of glass,” Trautmann said. “As it’s loaded into the hopper, we have a picker pulling out anything that would really mess up our machines. We get some really weird stuff, like crawﬁsh shells and dirty diapers.”

High-tech sorters, imported from Europe, use lenses and air jets to divide the glass by color and to remove contaminants like ceramic, stone and porcelain, which won’t melt in a furnace.

“It’s analyzing thousands of particles a second,” Steitz said. “It has 490 compressed air nozzles on it shooting precise bursts at pieces of glass. It’s pure genius.” In a corner of the building, the company’s ﬁrst little grinding machine sits as a reminder of how far the business has come.

70% of glass goes to landfills Decades ago, many bottles in the U.S. were collected, sanitized and reﬁlled. That still happens in many other countries.

But the U.S. moved away from bottle reuse at a large scale in the middle of the last century in favor of single-use plastic and aluminum containers. Then, for decades after reuse went out of fashion, glass recycling remained commonplace: containers would be collected, pulverized and used to make more.

But the recent rise of singlestream recycling — everything in one bin — means glass is getting left behind. That’s because when recycling trucks smash cardboard, paper, plastic and glass together, the glass breaks and contaminates the rest of the material, so many cities stopped accepting it.

In a recent report, the Glass Recycling Foundation, a pro-recycling nonprofit, said that despite glass containers being endlessly and completely recyclable, only about 33% are recycled in the U.S., with over 9 million tons of glass ending up in landﬁlls annually

But glass recycling is not nonexistent.

There are 49 U.S. container glass manufacturing plants employing about 18,000 people, and there are about 60 recycled glass processing facilities, although none in Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi. This is the market gap that Glass Half Full hopes to fill, and it’s counting on additional expansion and its new Oklahoma customer to ﬁre things up.

Trautmann and Steitz hope to send cullet by rail — 100 tons at a time — to generate income that will help offset more environmental projects with Tulane, the National Science Foundation and other partners. While she manages that and other projects, Trautmann will spend as much time as possible on the new land her company helped create. Said Trautmann: “We’re going to turn this ghost swamp into a thriving wetland again.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

TALKING BUSINESS

ASK THE EXPERTS

Is regional cooperation key to attracting companies?

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

For the past 30 years, William H. “Bill” Hines, managing partner at Jones Walker, has been as much a fixture in regional business and civic circles as in the legal community

Q&A WITH BILL HINES

The 69-year-old New Orleans native was founding board chair of Greater New Orleans Inc. and chaired the boards of the MetroVision Economic Development Partnership The Idea Village, the Downtown Development District and the Louisiana Committee of 100 For Economic Development

And he helped lead the effort to secure an NBA franchise for New Orleans, bringing the Hornets, now the Pelicans, to the state.

During those years, Hines was also busy growing Jones Walker into one of the 145 largest law ﬁrms in the U.S.

When first elected managing partner in 2006, Jones Walker had 200 attorneys in six offices Today, it has more than 350 in 17 offices across nine states and the District of Columbia. Clients include large corporations, banks and financial institutions, emerging enterprises, family-owned businesses, professional sports teams, and state and local governments. It also has a new equine law practice and is growing a national artificial intelligence practice.

Earlier this month, Hines was reelected managing partner for a ﬁfth consecutive ﬁve-year term, which begins in January

In this week’s Talking Business, Hines discusses the importance of regional cooperation and why he believes the business community has to do more to build bridges.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity

Why is civic engagement so important to

trina, when new investment came into the city But today it seems we have back slid. We have plenty of service providers but fewer large companies and even fewer smaller companies. You see smaller companies still headquartered here but their private equity ownership will be out of state.

So what do we need to do to address some of these problems?

We need leadership and regional cooperation. I would like to see this area reform the council of governments. It was a regional council with the mayor of New Orleans, Jefferson Parish president, at-large council members from each, plus the mayors of the ﬁve other parishes in the metro area. They all got together regularly to work on common problems. We need people to roll up their sleeves, think up projects and get them done. The silo thing doesn’t work.

Agreed. But, where is the business community? Where are the leaders that, when I was a young reporter, were a force to be reckoned with?

I think there is a younger generation that is engaged, but they need a group of elders that are connected and can help them pick projects to go after A lot of it is about just showing people how to do deals.

streets, drainage, crime and garbage pickup, that would go a long way with the business community and that would help attract new business and retain existing ones. Jones Walker created its own economic development consulting firm about two years ago. What was the thinking there? It’s called Avident Advisors and it’s headed by Tommy Kurtz, a New Orleanian and economic development professional, who had been away for several years and wanted to come home. So I said, “Why don’t you do site selection and economic development work for us?” That’s how we started and it provides high end legal and economic development services for our clients. It is a small piece of what we do but it is kind of fun. AI is a big topic in all sectors right now, and I know law firms are thinking a lot about it. What is Jones Walker doing around it? We have fully embraced it. It’s like the internet was 30

you?

When I left for college in the mid-1970s, New Orleans was blowing and going. When I came back after law school in 1982, we had the collapse of the oil industry, which caused all sorts of problems for real estate, coupled with tax changes and other things that were all related and bad for New Orleans. It was a perfect storm. And it culminated in the 1990s, when we had the most violent year on record. People lament some of the recent challenges we’ve faced with the pandemic, the economy They need to remember, it was really bad in the 1990s. So you got involved. We sort of hit rock bottom and it

motivated business, civic and political leaders to come together, people in their 30s and 40s at the time, Republicans and Democrats, men and women, Black and White We got the Hornets to come here. We renegotiated the Saints deal. We put together a regional package to save Avondale (for several more years). We got the amusement tax off of our live musicians. We formed the Idea Village with Tim Williamson in 2002. We created GNO Inc. to address regional economic development in 2004 We did a lot of meaningful things that have continued to pay off today No question there was a flourishing in those years and also after Hurricane Ka-

It’s harder now, though. The biggest difference between the early 2000s and now is social media and 24-hour cable news. It has caused so much polarization How often do you see Democratic and Republican ofﬁcials working together? Occasionally at a ribbon cutting, but it happens a lot less than it used to. I hope after this mayor’s election, we can sit down and break some bread.

What does New Orleans need in a new mayor?

We need someone who cares about business, who wants to build relationships with business. We are at the stage now that if someone could take care of

PROVIDED PHOTO Jones Walker managing partner Bill Hines, elected to his fifth consecutive five-year

earlier this month, said he would like to see a return to more regional efforts to address common problems.

When theprice isn’tlisted, ask

Idislike unexpectedexpenses. If an item doesn’thave aprice, Iwill makesure to ﬁnd out what it is. But, honestly,sometimes it’sawkward to ask.

“Noprice listed,” she said. “It was a$55 cocktail.”

COFFEE

Continuedfrom page1E

Michelle Singletary

THE COLOR OF MONEy

Recently,Iwas eating lunch with a friend. Iwas going to surprise her and pay for her meal. Iasked theserver about the daily specialsand decidedtoorder a branzino dish. My friend liked it as well and mentioned shemight order it, too.

The server,however,never disclosed the price.So, of course, Iasked.

She looked through her notes. It was$38. Without aword, Iwent back to the menu, scanning for acheaper option. My friend followedmy lead.

“Thank you, Lord,” Ithought to myself.

We didn’tdiscuss the change in our lunch choice. Iwould have still paid for my friend’smeal, but I wassorelieved. Ihadn’tbudgeted to spend nearly $100 on lunch, including tax and tip.

That lunch came to mindafter Iread acomment adiner sent to my paper’sfood critic, TomSietsema, during his weekly online chat. This person was celebrating her husband’sbirthday with two others. They ordered thebranzino special, which was meant to be shared by two people.

“Tosay we were stunnedwhen we received the bill,which contained a$155 charge for the branzino, wouldbeanunderstatement,” she wrote.“We thought it was amistake; it wasn’t. Shame on us for not asking the market price for ﬁsh that evening.”

Icompletelyagree with her following points: “Hoping this serves as areminder to customers to always ask the market price, but also the responsibility of restaurants to make diners aware of prices not on the menu, particularly when they are so wildly out of the norm.”

Aco-worker shared asimilar experience.She was visitingSouth Beach in Miami and ordered a drink at brunch.

Istarted to think: Why do people make purchases without fully understanding the costs?

Embarrassment: Have you been in a boutique, perhaps on vacation at a swank resort, where there are no prices on the tags? Youmight recall this adage: “If you have to ask, you can’tafford it.” Whetherinan expensive shop or upscale restaurants, surrounded by seemingly afﬂuent patrons, the last thing you want to do is appear out of place by inquiring about the cost.

Concernabout being seen as too cheap: This feeling can be surprisingly strong. It makes people hesitant to inquireabout the cost of an item, particularly when they suspect it maybebeyond their ﬁnancial reach.

Butitis prudent to ask, even if youget odd looks. Once, while we were dining at aMichelin-star restaurant, the sommelier suggested some wines to pair with our meal. After hearing the prices, we decided to stick with water.The sommelier glared at us the entire evening.

Sometimes asurprise charge is not your fault because, intentionally or unintentionally,it’snot disclosed

Another co-worker said that when she ordered apastadish at a D.C. restaurant, the waiter asked whether she wanted “shaved trufﬂes with that.”

She assumed it was free, like Parmesan cheese. In fact,the shavings cost $35, which was more than the priceofthe pasta entree.

Peer pressure: Twowords can strike ﬁnancial fear in potential guests: destination wedding. A close friend or relative is getting married. It’sthe couple’s“big day,” you are repeatedly told. The expectation is that you shouldn’t “put aprice on your presence.”

So you RSVP “yes,” trying to put out of your mind the full cost of attendance.

Or,you are out with agroup, and nobody is asking what things cost. Youdon’twant to be the sole spending spoiler,soyou stay silent.

Anxiety about money:Perhaps your family neverdiscussed money,or you grew up in ahousehold where conversations about ﬁnances al-

ways ended in arguments. Your ﬁnancial back story can make you hesitant to check prices because it makes you anxious.

FOMO: Social media, especially platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, have amplified “FOMO,” or the fear of missing out.There is aconstant stream of posts withpeople boasting about their designer outfits, luxury cars and gourmet dining. Youfigure fun means not worrying about aprice tag. Youspend first and worry about the cost later

Do you see your behavior in this list?

Alot of personal finance starts withcontrolling your feelings. Here’swhy you should always ask about price before apurchase, even if it makes you uncomfortable: You’re livingpaycheck to paycheck: An unexpected cost can upend your budget, especially with the latest inflation figures showing arise in consumer prices. It is far less embarrassing to inquire about aprice beforehand thantoface abill you can’tcomfortably pay

“Ask what the marketprice is, followed by ‘Oh,OK, I’ll have the burger,please,’”one of my followers wroteonThreads.

Youhaveother financial priorities: When Istart to feel embarrassed that people might think I’mbeing too cheap, Ireplace those thoughts withalist of my ﬁnancial goals. Knowing how muchanitemcosts allows you to make aconscious choice about how and when to spend.

Youwill have more savings and less stress: Iamalways urging people to live their ﬁnancial truth.

Can you afford a$155 ﬁsh special when you have outstanding credit card debt and/or an insufﬁcient emergency fund?

Make it ahabit to ask: “What is all this going to cost,including any add-ons?” Never assume anything is free.

“I don’twant to be surprised when Ireceive the check, so I don’tcare what theythink if Iask the price,” one Instagram follower wrote. “I’mpaying for it.”

That’s exactly right

Email Michelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost com

Lauren Fink, owner of Cherry Coffee Roasters, aspecialty coffee roastery withcafes in both Gretna andNew Orleans, saidshe was hopeful that tradenegotiations would ultimatelyspare coffee beans. She held off on raising prices on bags of roasted beans until May, when it became clear that the rising costs to run herbusiness weren’tgoing to subside

“Nobody likes to see prices increase, but we’re also abusiness,” Fink said. “It’sunfortunate we can’t eat that.”

Brazil tariff threats

Trump administrationofficials have argued that tariffswillultimately result in better trade deals and bring industries like manufacturing back to the U.S.

Thus faronly ahandful of trade dealshave been reached. Earlier this month, Trumpthreatenedto imposea 50%tariff on Brazilian goods beginningAug. 1, citing the country’streatment of its former president, JairBolsonaro,who is facing chargesoftrying to overturn an election loss.

“You cannot understate the effect thatitwill haveoncoffee,” said Drew Cambre,sustainability manager at International CoffeeCorp., agreen coffeeimporterbased in Metairie. “Itwill be unfeasible for most coffee companies to purchase Brazilian coffee if the 50% tariff is charged.”

“Chances are peoplewon’tseen increases in price at the register for amonth or two because it takes timefor acoffee to get on aboat at itscountry of origin and make the voyage,” Cambre said.

Coffee is the largest containerized import commodity at the Port of NewOrleans,amounting to about 16,000 containers ayear Around 42% of those imports come from Brazil, saidKimberlyCurth,a spokespersonfor Port NOLA. Coffeeimportshavebeenslowing in recent months, Curth said, noting thatportselsewhere are experiencing similar drops.

Even before tariffs,coffee prices have been at historichighs, primarilydue to weather conditionsinBraziland Vietnamthataffected the crop in thosecountries.

Clarke Cadzow,ownerofHighland Coffees in Baton Rouge, which has yet to raise itsprices, saidinan

STAFFPHOTO By

Moss Lelko,lead roaster at Cherry RoastCoffee, sorts coffee beans from Mexico.Lelkosaidthe coffee purveyorhas been using more Mexicanbeans in itsblends due to the higher tariffs on coffee from central and south American countries.

emailthat“tariff concernsjust add anotherlayer of stress andanxiety to coffee importers, roasters, and retailers in the US as we try to keep our prices low but ﬁgure out what we need to charge to cover our costs.”

Only afraction of the coffee offered at Highland comes from Brazil. Still, Cadzow said, it is “popular among customers,” and if the cost of Braziliancoffee goes up considerably,itwill cause demand for beans from other regions to spike, raising prices.

Higher prices couldpushmore customers to try and roast theircoffeeathome, Cambresaid.

Catherine Mansell, director of products andprogramsatCurrent CropRoasting ShoponMagazine Street, a“retail store focused on at-home, do-it-yourself coffee education,” said they’ve seen an uptick in recentmonths in customers interestedinhomeroastingasaway to savemoney

The shop has around 75 different beansfrom alloverthe world, and roasting stationsthatallowcustomers to roast beans themselves. Green coffee typically is around half theprice of roasted coffee.

“It gives you achance to play around withdifferent roastlevels andplayaround with regions or countriesthatyou haven’thad before to really ﬁnd your perfect cup of coffee,” Mansellsaid. Still, the shop isn’timmune to marketchanges.

Mansellsaidtheyusedtobeableto purchase coffee beans on 12-month contracts.Now,the furthestout they can buyisthree months. TheAssociated Press contributed to this report Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate.com.

Proudly American: HowTwo Louisiana Companies Anchor U.S. Leadership in the Gulf Menhaden Fishery

Thisarticle is brought to youbythe Louisiana CommercialFisheriesCoalition LLC.

Along Louisiana’scoast, ﬁshing is morethan ajob,it’saway of life.Atthe heart of this tradition aretwo U.S.-owned and operated companies,Westbank Fishing and Ocean Harvesters, whichtogether powerone of the most sustainable ﬁsheriesinthe world and help keep jobs,innovation, and investment righthereinAmerica.

Local Companies with Deep Roots Westbank Fishing, based inEmpire,LA (Plaquemines Parish), has operatedin southern Louisiana fordecades.Itdelivers its catchtothe Daybrook Fisheries plant and supports hundredsoflocal jobs while focusing on safety,efficiency,and environmental stewardship

Founded in 2017, Ocean Harvestersoperates out of Abbeville, LA (Vermilion Parish) and provides ﬁshing services exclusively to OmegaProtein. Ocean Harvestershas invested heavily in sustainability,safety, and professional training.

Both Westbank Fishing and Ocean Harvestersoperate MARAD-compliant

ﬂeets,meaning their vessels areU.S built

U.S.-owned, and U.S.-crewed in accordance with the U.S. Maritime Administration’s standards.This designationreﬂects astrong commitmenttonational maritime security

and domestic workforce development. This complianceisn’tjust alabel—it ensures these vessels areavailable fornationaldefense sealift if needed and keeps maritimejobsin the U.S.

American Jobs,American Values Westbank and OceanHarvesterssupport over 800 direct jobs and more than1,200 indirect jobs across32Louisiana parishes From deckhands and welderstomechanics, dockworkers, andtruck drivers, thesecareers offer wagesand beneﬁts thatsupportfamilies and sustain entirecommunities

Most of theseroles don’trequirea college degree but provide rare opportunities for upward mobilityinrural Louisiana.The income earned circulatesthrough local economies—not outsourcedoverseas—ata time when manyindustries areautomating or offshoring.

Thesecompanies don’tjust create jobs— theyuphold American values of hardwork, communityinvestment, and local accountability.

Economic Impact: Fueling Communities, Feeding the World

The Gulf menhaden ﬁsherygenerates more than $419 million in annual economic output, contributing $60 million in wagesand beneﬁts and$25 million in stateand local tax revenue.

In 2024alone, the industry procured over $62 million in goods andservices from Louisiana-basedbusinesses—a powerful economic engine forwelders, fuel suppliers, electricians,and other small businesses acrossthe state

Beyond the local economy, menhaden is vital to national andglobal food systems.These small, nutrient-rich ﬁsh areprocessedinto omega-3 oils,protein-richfeeds,and other essentialingredients used in:

•Pet food

•Aquaculture and livestock feed

•Nutritional supplements

Major U.S. companies such as Nestlé Purina Petcare, BlueBuffalo (General Mills), Mars,Purina Animal Care,and Cargill rely on Louisiana’s menhaden ﬁshery for high-quality,domestically sourced inputs Withoutthis supply,theywouldbeforced to importfromoverseas, increasing costsand weakening U.S. supply chainresilience. Defending aDomestic Resource As pressure mountstorestrict accessto working waters,Westbank Fishing and Ocean Harvestersare on the frontlines defending America’sabilitytoharvest its own renewable resources sustainably

The menhaden ﬁsheryiscertiﬁed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)—

the global gold standardfor fisheries sustainability—and is one of onlytwo Gulffisheries to hold this distinction. The companies thatoperate it areproving daily thatresponsible management, jobcreation, and environmentalprotectioncan coexist. Their leadership also helps protect domestic supplychains.Menhaden is afoundational input foreverything from livestock feed to crawfishbait to nutritional oilsupplements Keeping this fishery in American hands is vital forbothfoodsecurityand economic security.

AProud Future for American Fishing In Louisiana,ﬁshing is more thana business—it’sa birthright. Westbank Fishing and Ocean Harvestersare helpingtoensure thatthis legacy continues forthe next generationofAmerican ﬁshermen.

By investing in people, staying rooted in local communities,and leading with sustainability, theyare proving whatU.S.leadership in global seafood can—and should—look like.

In an uncertain world, Louisiana’smenhaden ﬁshery remains astory of American pride, ruralstrength, and long-term success— thanksinlarge part to the commitmentof thesetwo homegrowncompanies

CHRIS GRANGER

La. satellite company, Army partner on research

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Covington-based Globalstar is partnering with the U.S Army on research that could position the upstart satellite company to play a larger role in the nation’s nearly $1 trillion defense industry

In an announcement Tuesday, Globalstar said the Army will research the ability of its satellites to support covert surveillance, drone operations, location targeting, logistics tracking and other missions.

The technology under development focuses on lightweight communications devices that require little power to operate and are hard to detect. They are engineered to operate in austere and remote environments, where traditional communications infrastructure is limited, undesirable or unavailable.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Paul Jacobs is CEO of Globalstar, based in Covington, which has announced a partnership with the Army to research its satellite capabilities.

announced it had inked an agreement with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX — its third since 2022 — for a 2026 launch that will put nine more of its low earth satellites into orbit.

A separate launch, previously announced, planned for later this year will launch eight satellites.

“The launch services agreement with SpaceX represents another important milestone as we continue to execute on our construction and launch plan,” Jacobs said.

signiﬁcant move that signiﬁcantly boosted its relevance in the tech, communications and private space industries.

Next week, T-Mobile will unveil its own T-Satellite emergency phone service in partnership with the Musk-owned Starlink, a development that prompted at least one industry watcher to describe Globalstar as being in a “satellite war” with Musk’s competing service.

ton in a stroke of good luck for local economic developers.

Baton Rouge

Brad Johnson and James Houtman have been hired by Bally’s Corp. to lead food and beverage services at their Baton Rouge casinos.

Johnson manages all restaurants, bars and catering at The Queen Baton Rouge.

Johnson ha s more than 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry He has held jobs from server to leading front- and back-ofhouse operations for national and local restaurants

Houtman oversees preparations for the opening of restaurants and lounges at Bally’s Baton Rouge casino entertainment complex, which is slated to open later this year He also manages food and beverage

The announcement is the second in as many weeks for Globalstar, which operates low earth orbit satellites that provide communication and monitoring capabilities in remote areas.

Earlier this month, the company

“This collaboration reflects our growing engagement with defense and federal partners,” Globalstar CEO Paul E. Jacobs said in a prepared statement. “We’re proud to bring our decades of satellite expertise and emerging terrestrial innovation to support the Army’s evaluation of next-generation satellite capabilities.”

The markets reacted positively to Globalstar’s two announcements. Its stock closed higher on nine out of the 10 trading days in July to reach a new six-month high. In February the company moved from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq and executed a reverse split to boost per-share prices.

Satellite war?

Globalstar’s announcements come amid a race among private companies for space superiority

In 2022, the company signed a deal to provide emergency communications services for Apple’s iPhones, a

PEOPLE IN BUSINESS

operations for the newly opened Bally’s Baton Rouge Hotel.

Houtman has more than 25 years of experience working in casual and ﬁne dining, university and hotel dining services and quick-service franchise restaurant ownership and management.

Lawson Nguyen has joined Breazeale Sachse & Wilson Nguyen focuses on commercial litigation.

He earned a bachelor’s from LSU and a law degree from the University of Houston.

Jared Watkins has been hired by Currency Bank as chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer Watkins previously served as chief financial officer for a local community bank.

He earned a bachelor’s in accounting and a bachelor’s in the entertainment industries, both from the University of Southern Mississippi. Watkins is a graduate of the LSU Graduate School of Banking.

Heather Roemer has been promoted by b1Bank to executive vice president and chief administrative ofﬁcer

Roemer has been with b1Bank for 16 years, most recently serving as chief of staff. She has been president of the b1Bank Foundation since 2020. She earned a bachelor’s from LSU. Roemer is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, where she served as class president New Orleans Allison Marrero has joined Cypress

Since the early 2000s, Globalstar has operated low-orbit satellites that power a network of communication and monitoring devices used by hikers, ﬁrst responders, offshore energy workers, ranchers and others living or doing business in remote areas. The Apple partnership in 2022 was a game-changer

After its initial $450 million investment to launch the service, Apple last year announced an additional $1.5 billion commitment to Globalstar for expansion.

That change in fortune came more than a decade after the company moved from California to Coving-

Planning Group as vice president of business development and operations.

Marrero has more than 26 years of experience in the hospitality industry She held a variety of roles within the Hyatt brand including sales manager, director of sales and global sales director

Marrero most recently worked for the Savannah College of Art and Design and the American Society of Interior Designers. She earned a bachelor’s in business administration and management from Baylor University

Maj.Dwayne and Maj Marion Durham are the new leaders of The Salvation Army in New Orleans The couple have 28 years of experience as Salvation Army ofﬁcers. They have served in Maryland, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.

Globalstar began in the 1990s as a joint project between semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm and defense contractor Loral, but high costs and consumers’ lukewarm response to satellite phones sent the company into bankruptcy In 2004, Denver-based private equity ﬁrm Thermo Capital Partners purchased Globalstar’s assets and, later moved the headquarters to Louisiana The idea for the relocation came from Thermo’s managing partner, Jay Monroe, who saw an opportunity to lower operating costs and take advantage of Louisiana’s digital interactive media incentives and tax credits.

Monroe, a Tulane University graduate who met and married a New Orleanian, has split time between Colorado and Louisiana for decades. In March, Globalstar said it had about 400 employees worldwide, including 160 or so in Louisiana.

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

In their new roles, the Durhams will be responsible for all programs and social services in addition to supervising disaster relief, social services, Angel Tree and Christmas campaigns. The couple will also serving as pastors to the local Salvation Army congregation.

David Favret has been hired by Compass Inc. as the new regional vice president for Louisiana and Mississippi.

Favret has more than two decades of residential real estate experience, including extensive leadership experience with Latter & Blum.

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INVITATION TO BID Sealed bids will be re‐ceived by thePurchasing Department, GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY,Gram‐bling, La.On August 5, 2025 at 2:05,P.M.for: 50018-260004” Electrical Labor andRepairSer‐vices. At which time andplace thebidswillbepublicly openedand read aloud. Anybid received after closingtimewillbere‐turnedunopened. Copies of thespecifica‐tions maybeobtained in electronicformatbyvis‐itingthe Stateof Louisiana,Office of State Purchasing, LaPACWeb Site https://wwwcfprd. doa.louisiana.gov/osp/ lapac/dspBid.cfm?sea rch=department& term=53 Copies of specifications areon file in theOffice of theDirectorofPurchas‐ing,GRAMBLINGSTATE UNIVERSITY,Grambling, La. To obtain acopyof the specificationsfrom GramblingState Univer‐sity,call(318)-274-3280 or e-mail walkere@gram edu. Bids must be returned to thePurchasingOffice at purchasingbids@gram. edubythe duedateand timereferenced. Bids must be submittedon the formsenclosedwith the bidspecification,and instrictconformitywith

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YOUNG INSPIRATION

Louisiana child inspired ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ episode and advocates in Congress

BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

Denver Coleman is 2 years old, but she’s already inspired an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” and helped blaze a trail for other children and families, a feat she accomplished before she was even born Kenyatta Breaux Coleman, Denver’s mom, is a human resource professional at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. Coleman has a passion for patient and family advocacy

Three years ago, Coleman could not have predicted that the patient and family she was advocating for would be her own.

At 35, Coleman was pregnant with her fourth child. With a high-risk OB-GYN, everything was going to plan. Leading up to her 28-week appointment, Coleman started to experience intense itching on her legs.

PROVIDED

ANDREW LEDERMAN AT BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

well as a mildly large heart Coleman met with other specialists who suggested Denver could have a vein of Galen malformation when multiple arteries in the brain connect directly with a large central vein, instead of connecting with capillaries.

This causes a rush of highpressure blood into the vein that causes it to enlarge like a balloon and the rapid blood return to the heart can lead to pulmonary hypertension, brain injury and congestive heart failure — often immediately after birth, sometimes leading to death.

IV therapy gains popularity

Doctors, regulators preach caution with services

BY TOM MURPHY AP health writer

IV therapy clinics are spring-

ing up around the country, touting quick ways to recover from a hangover or a hard workout. But doctors and regulators preach caution.

The services have been on a growth spurt since the COVID-19 pandemic, offering drips that promise to boost energy, gird immune systems or relieve joint pain. This is done from bags of intravenous ﬂuids normally seen hanging next to hospital beds.

Customers must be willing to fork over as much as couple of hundred dollars for each session — in some cases for a mixture of vitamins and supplements that would be considerably cheaper in pill form.

Proponents say this approach helps customers hydrate faster and absorb more of a vitamin or supplement than they would by swallowing pills.

But Dr Sam Torbati, co-chair of emergency medicine at CedarsSinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says the therapy mostly helps people create “expensive urine,” with the body clearing what it doesn’t use.

How many IV clinics are there?

They’re hard to count, partly because some businesses just provide IV therapy while others offer it as part of a medical spa.

The practice grew popular during COVID-19, when access to doctors became limited and people grew more concerned about their immune system health, according to the American IV Association, an industry group.

Regulators in Ohio are following the trend closely in their state, which now has around 200 clinics. These businesses were largely unheard of there before the pandemic, said Cameron McNamee, a spokesperson for the Ohio Board of Pharmacy

What should customers know about IV therapy clinics?

Doctors say there are some good questions to pose before any treatment starts.

Customers should ask the person starting the IV how long they have been doing their job and what sort of training they have, Torbati said. They also should know what’s in the IV drip. For instance, “Wonder Juice” treatment offered by the Restore Hyper Wellness franchise combines six vitamins and supplements that are available, in oral form, on the pharmacy store shelves.

“That was a red flag for me,” Coleman said. “As a mother of three kids, and now I’m expecting my fourth, I just felt like something was off.”

sis of pregnancy — a condition that affects the liver To monitor her progress, Coleman’s doctor recommended weekly ultrasounds.

“That information was all provided to us in one visit,” Coleman said. “We were also told that because Denver’s malformation was so large in size, there was a concern that it could possibly compromise her brain tissue.”

The doctors saw her that day When her lab tests came back, Coleman learned that she had intrahepatic cholesta-

Two weeks later, her first weekly ultrasound of little Denver revealed a large malformation on her brain as

In the family’s research,

Knowing all the ingredients comes in handy if someone has an allergic reaction.

Also ask where the company gets its drugs, if any are used. The answer should be a licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler, McNamee said.

See THERAPY, page 2X ä See CHILD, page 3X

PHOTO

Denver Coleman is surrounded by her parents and part of her extensive care team.

PHOTO PROVIDED By KENyATTA COLEMAN

Denver Coleman, 2, advocates for rare diseases on Family Advocacy Day in front of of the office of U.S Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, in Washington, D.C.

HEALTH MAKER

Specialist advocates for children in hospitals

BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

Hospitals can be overwhelming for adults and for children. A child life specialist’s job is to advocate for patients, families and children.

Olivia Bourgeois was born in Cutoff and graduated with an undergraduate degree from Nicholls University in childhood development.

”I’m a bayou girl all the way,” Bourgeois said.

After months of volunteering at various childhood development experiences, Bourgeois ended up at the Southeastern Child Life Specialist master’s program.

Training as a child life specialist involves volunteer hours, often completed through a hospital child life program (hours can also be done at medical camps or normative play experiences), a 600-hour internship in a child life program and observation or shadow hours of an acting child life specialist. Child life specialists are certiﬁed through the Association of Child Life Professionals and must recertify every ﬁve years. Child life specialists can also specialize or be delegated to one part of the hospital. Bourgeois works in the pediatric emergency

department at Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans.

What does a child life specialist do?

Our days consists of meeting families, patients and their children to provide support and coping.

Our role could be making the hospital a more normal and comfortable environment, which we can do through normative play in our playrooms with toys — or it’s understanding what this child’s immediate health care needs are. We try to approach them

in a way that they can better understand what’s going on to them, or around them, and provide coping support.

Because I’m meeting lots of people, I have to build trust and rapport very quickly with these families and get a little insight into what their child is like. Then, we come up with a care plan. Doctors will decide treatments or tests that need to be run but, where I come in, is advocating for the patient and the child’s needs.

For example, after getting to know the child, I’ll

tell the doctor, “I think they could beneﬁt from maybe a medicine that helps them stay calm.”

Sometimes I work with nurses saying, “Hey, I know we have to do this blood work, but I think this child could beneﬁt from sitting on their parent’s lap.”

Our work in the hospital is ﬂuid — it’s back and forth. We’re a member of the interdisciplinary team for a reason.

How do you build trust with patients? Where do you start? Well, everyone is different, and we learn a lot in school about temperament and child attachment. Sometimes we need to speak to a child, almost through a parent. We just get on their level. We make ourselves low We always ﬁnd ourselves seated, or sometimes I’ll even crouch down on the side of the bed. I want it to feel less like this medical ﬁgure walking in. I want to feel like a friend, and I talk to them as such.

I try my best to phrase things to where I’m also learning from them. I may know that we’ve got this list of tests coming up, but I’m still going to ask them, “What did the doctor say to you?” or “Have you done this before?” and “How was that last experience?”

I want to make sure they have the opportunity to tell

me what’s going on in their lives — not me telling them what’s going on. I also bring in something that makes it comfortable for children, like coloring stickers, a blanket. Those are simple things easy things to make hard conversations more comfortable.

Is there something, or an experience, that motivates you to continue your work as a child life specialist? The process of becoming a child life specialist can feel very daunting and can overtake your brain for several years. It’s highly competitive to try and get some of these experiences. I was fortunate enough to do some of my volunteering at Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans. I went from cleaning toys to observing specialists to actually being a child life specialist here.

One day, I was with a child I had built some rapport with. She was a chronic kiddo. We were giggling and laughing and talking about hard stuff. This was my ﬁrst year of working, and it was a stressful day We were talking about big things that are sometimes sad.

That day, sitting in the room I used to clean toys in as a volunteer, I realized that this experience was why I did this. This is what took an extra four or ﬁve years of school and driving,

commuting and ﬁnancial burdens to be able to make this impact. Every time I got to see that child, throughout her many admissions, we were able to smile and giggle and continue talking about the hard stuff.

We also have conversations with siblings about their sibling about to pass. We use our development background to approach conversations around bereavement and death to siblings a little more on their level, and based on their understanding. I had one mom after an evening with some tough conversations, I reintroduced myself when I entered the room — as I always do because I am the evening person and sometimes families get confused when I’m there during the day

That mom, she turned and she said, “Oh, Miss Olivia, we’ll never forget you.” That was a moment where I felt like I could cry It shows that even in the hard days, we as child life specialists, have moments where we can tell that all we’re doing is trying to leave families with something positive and lasting in their lives.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney @theadvocate.com.

Dopamine menus: Give your brain some space

Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS)

ROCHESTER, Minn. You likely are accustomed to encountering a range of menus in daily life, but there is one that may be new to you: a dopamine menu. Dr Robert Wilfahrt, a family medicine physician at Mayo Clinic and an expert in attention-deﬁcit/ hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, explains “A dopamine menu is a rebranding of what psychologists or health care professionals previously called behavioral activation — ways to get yourself to do what’s best for you, instead of what you feel like doing in the moment,” Dr. Wilfahrt says. In this case, the best route to getting that tough task done is to step away from it for a minute, do something else that feeds you energy and then dive back into the task. The purpose? To stimulate dopamine — a hormone and neurotransmitter in the brain involved in mood, attention, reward and motivation. It’s also known as the “feel-good hormone.” Dopamine comes in many forms reaching for your phone to doomscroll social media

THERAPY

Continued from page 1X

Otherwise, the drug could be counterfeit or substandard Ohio regulators have suspended the licenses of businesses that purchased drugs on Facebook. Customers also should make sure the clinic is in decent shape when they visit

“If the office isn’t clean, then the IV room’s probably not clean either,” McNamee said.

Why are regulators concerned?

They don’t like that a nurse or a paramedic often helps a customer decide on an IV therapy and then delivers the treatment. Rules can vary, but many state regulators say a doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner should be involved.

The clinics often run on standing orders which are issued by a doctor with the idea that they give the nurse or paramedic permission to treat patients according to certain protocols.

Hospital emergency rooms regularly operate on the same kind of orders, according to Dr Chris Seitz, an emergency physician and chairman of the American

IV Association’s scientific advisory board

“Many nurses saw patients before I ever could get to them in the emergency department and initiated care like IV ﬂuids,” he said Is there too much patient involvement?

Regulators also worry about the role customers play in picking their own treatments.

“A patient cannot enter a doctor’s office or hospital and demand an IV any more than a patient can direct his or her own appendectomy,” Kentucky ofﬁcials said in a March statement. But Seitz says there should be a partnership between any care provider and the patient, with the provider helping the patient make the right decision

“Patients have a requirement and a need to be the CEO of their own health,” he said.

Patient choice feeds another worry: the mixing of ingredients for speciﬁc treatments, a practice known as compounding South Carolina regulators said in a 2023 statement that this should result from a valid care provider order, “not from a patient-driven menu akin to a fast-food res-

taurant.”

However, proponents say the addition of vitamins or drugs to an IV treatment should not be confused with mixing prescription drugs in a lab.

“It’s just pretty simple low-hanging fruit in terms of clinical complexity,” said Jeff Cohen, a co-founder of the American IV Association.

What’s the big picture?

IV therapy clinics do provide some care. They can help cancer patients or pregnant women stay hydrated Some treatments offer relief from migraine pain.

But many drips require the creation of a sterile, soluble vitamin or supplement that is safe to put into someone’s veins. That’s more expensive to make than a vitamin that may cost a few cents a pill, Torbati said.

Customers will need to determine whether the added expense is worth it.

“Usually within eight hours, all that expensive therapy (is) peed out,” he said. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

is an easy and convenient way to get a bit of a lift, but that’s not the only option. What other accessible activities can bring you joy and a happy brain break?

Examples of healthy “dopamenu” activities include: n Going for a brief walk n Jamming out to your favorite song

n Making a cup of tea

n Petting your dog or cat n Lighting a candle n Reaching out to a friend or family member

“The idea is to break up what you’re doing,” says Dr Wilfahrt. And if the selected menu item is purposeful, you can feel a sense of reward for small progresses. When are dopamine menus most useful? If we’re not necessarily enthusiastic about the task we’ve been assigned, we struggle to maintain attention or interest. We then risk not meeting the expectation or obligation. We feel bad about it, get ﬂooded with remorse and have an even tougher time completing the task

due to that sense of anxiety

“It can become a vicious cycle,” says Dr Wilfahrt. “It can be easy to become avoidant when we’re in these sort of doom loops.” So how can you stop this cycle? Brainstorm Make a mental or physical list of things you can do to get recentered.

Dr Wilfahrt says the more recently rebranded concept tends to be targeted to people with ADHD, but anyone would beneﬁt: “It’s not a bad idea for anybody to know how to best manage energy Sitting still to labor over one idea isn’t healthy for anyone.” And while activities on your dopamine menu are meant to be enjoyable, don’t forget to go back to the hard task. A journey to the dopamine menu is meant to provide a burst of enthusiasm, not to be something that sucks you in. Consider setting a timer — perhaps for an unusual interval like 13 minutes and 17 seconds. Enjoy the boost and get back to the (real) to-do list.

WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and reexamining tried and true methods on ways to live well.

Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.

DREAMSTIME/TNS FILE PHOTO By MARy KATHERINE WyNN

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter in the brain involved in mood, attention, reward and motivation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

PHOTO By JULIE JACOBSON

patient is hooked up to an IV for a hangover treatment in Las Vegas.

PHOTO PROVIDED By OCHSNER HEALTH

Olivia Bourgeois, back row, third from the left, and the child life specialist team at Ochsner Health work to make the hospital a comfortable place for families and kids.

Eat Fit LiveFit

Special brew: Exploringthe roots and use of chicoryincoffee

Ifyou’veeversippedacaféaulaitin theFrenchQuarter,youhavetasted chicory’ssignaturenotes.Buthiddenin thatcupisahumblerootwhosestoryis biggerthanasinglesip

Tolearnmoreaboutchicory,Isat downwithFeltonJones,roastmaster andbrandambassadorforPJ’sCoffeeand NewOrleansRoast.(Youcanhearour fullconversationonmypodcast,FUELED WellnessandNutrition.)

Onethingyoumayfindsurprisingabout chicorycoffeeisthatchicoryisn’tcoffee atall.Chicoryisablue-floweredperennial plantwithataprootthat,whenroasted, addstheboldrichnessNewOrleanians havecometoexpectfromacaféaulait.A blendofcoffeeandchicorywithsteamed milk,atypicalNewOrleanscaféaulait thesedaysismadewithabout20percent chicory.Butsomeblendsareasmuchas50 percentchicory,Feltonexplained Alsoofnoteisthefactthatpure chicoryhaszerocaffeine.Backinthe day,itwassaidthatdrinkingcoffeeand chicorywould“puthaironyourchest.” Old-fashionedexpressionaside,thedark roastandrobustflavorsofchicoryonly seemliketheyshouldalsotranslateto morecaffeine.Inreality,chicorygivesusa naturallydecaffeinatedcoffeeadditive(or alternative)thatstillfeelslike‘real’coffee.

“Tastewise,there’ssomuchpotencyin straightchicorythatyoucanusejusthalf thegroundsyou’dnormallyuseforcoffee andstillgetarich,almostespresso-like shot,”saysFelton.

Abriefhistoryofchicory

ChicoryshowsupinancientRoman andEgyptianwritingsfromthousands ofyearsago,mostlyforitsuseasa digestivetonic.Seventeenth-and eighteenth-centuryDutch,Germanand Frenchcafésroastedittostretchtheir limitedsupplyofcoffeebeansduring tradeembargoes,includingNapoleon’s

Co Blockade 1814) crippling economy forb wit Europe. crossing Atla Europe thet New where nav made blen brew Orl

Taste Fel chicory half norm surprised slightly think of Isee by Pr Co experiment widely

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

BY THENUMBERS

WHAT ORGANS DO LOUISIANANSNEED?

There are currently 105,501 candidates wait-listed for organ donation across the United States as of July,according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network that updates data monthly

In Louisiana, there are 1,867 candidates on the waitlist for donated organs: n 1,656 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for kidneys,

CHILD

Continued from page1X

n 132 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for livers, n 4 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for pancreases, n 66 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for kidneys and pancreases

n 33 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for hearts, n 4 patients are on the Louisiana waitlist for lungs. There are no patients on the

they found aclinical trial at Boston Children’sHospital that treated Denver’sexact condition

“What are the chances ofthat?” Coleman said. “Wewere desperate for answers.” Coleman searched online for anyone remotely relatedtothe trial, and copied them on an email reﬂecting her conditionand herinterest. Boston Children’sresponded in 24 hours, and the Coleman family leapt at the opportunity.

Just onemonth afterDenver’s diagnosis, when Coleman was34 weeks pregnant, shecanceledher babyshower.She and her husband, Derek, left her three children in good care with her mother and boughtone-way tickets to Boston to enter anew in utero clinical trial at Boston Children’sHospital.

Theclinical trial

The Colemans knew there was only one documented case of a family undergoing this clinical trial in the world. They would bethe ﬁrst in the United States to have the groundbreaking treatment. If not diagnosed and treated early,accordingtoBoston Children’s Hospital, the malformation can causesevereproblems andmay even be life threatening Until now,babies have notbeen treated for vein of Galen malformation until they are born. Dr Darren Orbach, the lead author of the research, and his colleagues at Boston Children’sand Brigham and

waitlist for intestine, abdominal wall, head and neck, upper limb or uterus transplants in Louisiana, according to theOrgan Procurement and Transplantation Network.

In 2024, 618 donors participatedinthe transplant program in Louisiana (for all organs) 524 were deceased donors and 99 were living donors. So far in 2025, 284 donors

participatedinthe transplant program including 244 deceased and 40 living donors.

Organdonation candidates are counted as one patient waiting at more than one center,orfor multiple organs.

Dataonorgan donation registrations (counting each organ and center as one waitlist) is available at otpn.transplant. hrsa.gov

Women’sHospitaldesigned anew procedure aimedatintervening while infants are still in the womb. Because the malformation is so rare —and because theintervention is meant for fetuses with healthy brain tissue but at high risk for poor outcomes like heart failure— theteam has waited for several years to ﬁnd eligible candidates. With this condition and theclinical trial, themeasurement of the malformation is extremely important, according to Coleman.The smallest widthofmalformation allowed inthe trial was 7millimeters. At the time of herﬁrst MRI,

Denver’swas 12 millimeters, the width of asmall pea.

“Wewere in arace against time,” Coleman said. “Any additional growth to themalformation could have compromised her brain tissue,and in thatcase, we wouldn’t have been eligible for the procedure at all.”

Denver was ﬁrst of what Boston hospital hopes will eventually be 20 patients in this clinical trial. The clinical trial is still ongoing.

The procedure itself was about 20 minutes, andColeman was awake for the procedure. She was given an epidural and watched as theteam strategically placed 23

•Chooseamethod.Chicoryworks instandarddripcoffeemakers,also Frenchpress,pour-over,mokapots –evenespressobaskets.(Notethat thegrindistypicallyabitcoarser thancoffee.)

•Blendtotaste.Startwitha4:1 coffee-to-chicoryratioforeveryday sipping–orﬂiptheratioifyou’re lookingforalower-caffeinecup. •Addmilkorkeepitblack.Fora creamycaféaulait,chicory’ssubtle sweetnessworkswellwithdairyand nondairyoptions.

Funfact

Evernoticed‘chicoryrootextract’(often referredtoasinulin)listedasaningredient infiber-richbreads,wraps,nutrition barsandevenicecream?Thatextractis indeedfromthesamechicoryplant.But theprocessingofchicoryrootfiberis completelydifferentfromthatofchicory ‘coffee,’includingtheuseofmuchlower heattopreserveitssolublefiberandgutfriendly,prebioticbenefits.

Whenchicoryrootisroastedtohigher temperaturestobeusedascoffee,nearly alloftheinulincaramelizes.That’sgreat forﬂavor,butthebrewwon’tretainthe samenutritionalperksofﬁber-richchicory rootextract.

Onelastsip

ChicorymaydatebacktoancientRome, butitsrenaissanceisreal.Feltonshared thatit’sPJ’sCoffee’stopselleronAmazon. It’salsoabudget-friendly,all-naturaldecaf coffeealternative.And—ifourtastetest meansanything—wethinkit’ssurprisingly tastyonitsown. So,thenexttimeyoucraveaboldcup ofcoffeeafterdinner,rememberthatthe boldestbrewinNewOrleansdoesn’teven comefromabean.Givethishumbleroota try—andletusknowwhatyouthink.

organs do Louisianans need? Thenumber of organ donation candidates y,

coils inside of Denver’smalformation that slowed Denver’sblood flow and relievingthe stress on her heart

Doctorsnoticed asignificant change in her condition within the ﬁrst hour,according to Coleman.

“If there’satestament of how successful this procedure was, Denverisdefinitely that,” Coleman said.

Denver wasborn two days later She weighed 4pounds, 1ounce. She was six weeksearly,but the procedure worked so well that Denver did notexperiencecommon complications when babies are born premature.

At dayﬁve, Denver was eating and nursing. After 11 days at BostonChildren’s, Denver was transferred to aneighboring NICU at Brigham Women’s hospital in Boston.The Coleman family spent just under four weeksinMassachusetts to workonher preemie milestones

“I honestlyfeel like when it comes to rare conditions, there’s notenough that’sbeing done,” Coleman said. “I kind of vowed at thattime, that if there was any opportunitytobeanadvocate, I would make that apriority.”

Mother-daughteradvocates

Since surviving the groundbreaking clinical trial, the Coleman’shavenot been idle.Kenyatta andDenver together have worked in both theirLouisiana community and nationwide to advocate for rare diseasesand share Denver’s remarkablestory On Denver’sﬁrst birthday,the Colemans started an Amazon wish

listtoprovide blankets, toysand essentialsfor NICUs. Theygot so many responses, theyhad to keep adding to the list to keep up. With the extrafunds, from the wishlistand theproceeds from “Grey’sAnatomy,” Denver and Colemanwereabletodistribute the gifts and provide lunch for NICU caregivers at threeLouisiana hospitals. “Whatwas supposedtobeaday of service turned into aweekend of fun,” Coleman said. “Miss Denver was so tired and exhausted, but we were fulﬁlled.Wefeltreally good in the end.”

This year,for Denver’ssecond birthday,the mother-daughter duo hosteda community family affair and invited children with rare conditions and medically complex diagnosis to play at apark. Free snowcones,art activities, apetting zoo, Bluey cameos and more greeted the over 100 guests that came to the event.

More recently,the entire Colemanfamily made the trek to Washington,D.C., andU.S.Congress, for Family Advocacy Day

“Wewereable to collaborate and meet other families. It really put things into perspective forour family,”Coleman said. “Wewere able to understand thepower of our voice.”

Coleman, whonow serves on the Louisiana Rare Disease Advisory Council, is now looking for her next event in September forNICU awareness month.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

PHOTO PROVIDED By KENyATTA COLEMAN

Kenyatta andDenverColeman, center,and the Coleman family visit the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., for Family Advocacy Day.

BROUGH TT OY OU BY

Back tSchool Bestbets forahealthystart

1 in 5

11%

Packingschoollunchescanbeaweeklychallengeforparents, especiallywhenbalancingvariety,nutritionandpickyeaters.To keeplunchesexcitingandnutritious,herearethreecreativeideas: Notyourusualbrown-baglunch:Trysalmonortunasalad wrapsmadewithGreekyogurt,spinachandtomatoesfora protein-packed,veggie-ﬁlledoption.Pairwithcrunchysideslike TriscuitThinsorParmesanCrispsandlow-sugarGreekyogurtfora balancedmeal.

Tapas-to-go:Combineapplesliceswithnutbutter,stringcheese, hummussnackpacksandBeanﬁeldschipsforaprotein-andﬁberrichlunch.

Buildyourown“Lunchables”:Usewhole-graincrackers,cheese andleanproteinsliketurkeyorchicken.Addveggiestickswith high-proteinranchdipmadefromGreekyogurt. Involvekidsinplanningtoensuretheyenjoytheirmealswhile stayingfueledfortheschoolday!

children ages 8and younger in the United States arediagnosed with amental, behavioral or developmental disorder of

Noticethesigns.

Payattentiontoshiftsinyourchild’smood,behavior,orhabits.Stress, withdrawal,orsuddenchangescouldbesignsthatsomethingdeeperisgoing on.Butalsotaketimetovalueandrecognizewhatyourchildisdoingwell.

Identifywaystorelax,connectandhavefunwithyourchild. Spendtimedoingthingsyoubothenjoy.Whetherit’sawalk,agame,orjust talking,thesemomentshelpyourchildfeelsafe,supported,andloved.

Listenwithoutjudgment.

Letyourchildknowit’sokaytotalkaboutwhatthey’refeeling.Listenwith care,validatetheiremotions,andremindthemthey’renotalone.

Seekprofessionalinterventionwhenneeded.

Ifyou’reconcernedaboutyourchild’smentalhealth,turntotheexperts. Speakwithyourchild’spediatrician,counselor,oramentalhealthprofessional todesignatreatmentplanthat’srightforyourchildandyourfamily.

Sports injury prevention tips

AccordingtotheAmericanAcademyofPediatrics,sports participationisassociatedwithreductionsinstress,anxiety, depressionandsubstancemisuseinchildren.Ithasalsobeen showntoincreaseself-conﬁdence,self-esteem,socialskillsand academicachievement.

Toreapallthebeneﬁts,it’simportanttostartoffontheright foot.Theﬁrststepisaphysicalexam.Allathletesshouldvisittheir primarycaredoctorforayearlysportsphysicalbeforethestartof theirseason.

Inadditiontoprioritizingrestandhydration,studentathletes shouldadheretoproperstretchingandcrosstrainingroutines.

Yourchildshouldwearprotectivegearthat’sintendedfora speciﬁcsportandposition.Itshouldalwaysbeworncorrectly andinspectedregularlytomakesureit’singoodconditionand ﬁtsproperly.

TreatinjurieswiththeRICEmethod:rest,ice,compressionand elevation.Ifyoudohometreatmentandtheinjurydoesn’tresolve withinafewdays,it’stimetoseeadoctor.

ALAND’SLEGACY

Land Trustfor Louisianaholds unique events forconservation

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Not every legacy is built with concrete.

In astate where land carries deep meaning, more Louisianans are finding ways to protect the places they love. Through conservation easements, they’re ensuring theirwoods, pastures and wetlands will remain for generations to come.

Land Trust for Louisiana, aconservation nonproﬁt based in Covington, was formed 20years ago to help property owners protect Louisiana’snatural landscapes and resources. They now hold conservation easements on dozens ofproperties across thestate, preserving nearly15,000acres of forest,farmland, riverbanks, marsh and green spaces. These places range from a 100-year-old,family-runrice farm in Vermilion Parish,toold-growth forest near north Louisiana’s peach country

An easement is alegal agreement —typically between alandowner and an entity such as aland trust —thatspells outhow the owner can continue to use and beneﬁt from theproperty,while restrictingdevelopment andactivities that could harm theland.

‘Peoplewanttoprotect aplace they love’

Conservation easements can also bring income tax beneﬁts for thepropertyowner,especially for farmers and ranchers with agricultural land.

But that’sthe paperwork. At theend of the day,“people want to protect aplace they love. They want to see it thrive for future generations,” according to Land Trust for Louisianaexecutive director Cindy Brown.

This is what motivated agroupof friends in the Hammondarea, who started the landtrust in 2005 with thegoal of protecting old campground, Cherokee Beach,that had brought campers and tubers to the

JayAddison, left, CEOofLand Trust for Louisiana and owner of Pine Knoll Farm,stands withLand Trust for Louisiana executivedirector Cindy Brown at the organization’s

River for decades. “Our founder,Dr. Jay Addison, grew up near thecampground and got his start workingasthe farm manager at Pine Knoll Farm, just

Fake Facebook storiesare

LSU football coach Brian Kelly did not rescue 165 people in the Texas floods.Neither did he decide to cover all funeral expenses and provide compensation to the families of the victimsofthe flashfloods.Nor did he convince quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to join him on the mission.

The LSU Tigersfootball team did not donate $50 million to supportﬂood victims— despite the fake posthaving been liked by more than 4,000 people and shared by more than athousand. Country superstars Reba and Dolly didn’tride down the swollen Guadalupe River lastweek in matching orange rain jackets.

Peyton Manning didn’tchange the life of apoor 13-year-old girl named Nia by paying for her to attend math camp, leading her to win anational math awardseven yearslater

KingCharles didn’tcry at the French state dinner on July 8, speaking about Catherine, PrincessofWales.Instead, he spoke about England’slong and complicated history with France —and their hope for the future.

Allofthosefabricated stories appear to be artiﬁcial intelligence-generated stories pushed by Facebook pages,usually run by people in other countries, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines. Speciﬁcally,the LSUbased stories areshared from a Facebook fan page called LSU Gridiron Glory Why people make up this stuff —and what their endgameis —remains unclear.SoIstarted digging.

The LSU Gridiron Glory fan page says that eight of the page managerslive in Vietnam,two live in the U.S. and one lives in the Philippines. It alsosaid that it’sbased at 105 N. Main St., in Koosharem,Utah. The “about page” even includes aphone number

Icalled the number Awoman named Annette answered. She had no idea what I was talking about. She and her family runasmall farm. They used to accept wool and cotton from other people acrossthe countryand make yarn, but now they just farm. We chatted about my new loom.Then Iasked if she or her farmwere located on Main Street in Koosharem,population 310 people.

She said shewasn’t.

“I’m out of Koshurum,” Annette said. “That addressmight be the mercantile, or it might be achurch.”

She had no idea how her phone got associated with apage about LSU sports, but shewished she could help me with my new loom She’sthinking about getting one herself.

The hunt for other scam sites was on.

Ifound that there was asimilar SoonersGridiron Glory.Istarted digging into its “about” info and eventually learned that it uses the phone number and address for Ray’sBarbecue in Norman Oklahoma.

Icalled. The waitress whoansweredsaid Ineeded to talk to Ray. He, too, was confused and told me they were not afﬁliated with theFacebook page, but that they serveamean version of St. Louis-style ribs

The listofsites pushing these made-up stories is long.

These types of stories are called “glurge,” deﬁned as “stories,often sent by email or social media, that aresupposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental,” according to dictionary.com

See RISHER, page 2Y

Tangipahoa

PHOTOSPROVIDED By LAND TRUST FORLOUISIANA LandTrust for Louisiana holds yoga in the Sunflowers, an event that supports conservation across thestate, at PineKnoll Farm —a working horse farmand conservation easement in Tangipahoa Parish. yoga in the Sunflowersistaking placethis summer at PineKnoll Farm in Independence.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

CreekFlatwoods Preserve near Abita Springs in September 2022. The preserve,whichisa partnership of theLandTrust for Louisiana

ä See LAND, page 2Y

ASK THE EXPERTS

Mentoring organization wins national award

Chapter president proud of members

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

Originally from Lake Charles, Andre Harmon, a Southern University alumnus, is the current president of 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge, a nonproﬁt organization in which African American males step forward and assume roles of community leadership, responsibility and guidance. He is in his second year of his presidency and just last year celebrated the largest intake of new members at 84 men from all walks of life.

In 1993, 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge joined 100 Black Men of America with Brace Godfrey, Jr as its founding president. The chapter has grown from six founders in 1993 to 300 members in 2025. The organization fosters and develops programs that build community by enhancing the lives of the area’s African American youth.

This year 100 Black Men of America recognized 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge with the Large Chapter of the Year award out of 103 chapters in the country

How did you get involved with 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge?

I joined right about 10 years ago. I had a couple of friends who were doing some community service projects, and I was intrigued by what they were doing — mentoring young men. I’ve always had a zeal for mentoring as well, and so I decided to look into the organization. I saw they offered a lot of wonderful programs, so I decided to join right around that time.

What does winning the 100 Black Men of America Large Chapter of the Year award mean to you?

It’s one thing to do the work and try to make a difference in young people’s lives, but then when you’re recognized for your achievements, it’s really special. It motivates us as volunteers, as leaders, and then it also gives us a great talking point because

we’ve worked so hard to get them where they are. Which program are you most proud of?

I can’t say that I love all of them. I can tell you that the Project Excel, that’s the largest one. I don’t know how many children we’re going to have in August, but last year we had right at 150.

The good thing about the organization is that all of our other programs like the ﬁnancial literacy program, ACT prep and Young Investors Academy are available to the kids in the mentoring program. I love all of them, but the mentoring program is probably my favorite because those are the most kids that I interact with.

We have actually touched almost every public school, alternative school and charter school in Baton Rouge through our mentoring program.

What would you like people to know about the organization that can’t be found in a press release?

I’ve sat in meetings with School Board individuals, and we actually have members on the School Board as well. And one of the things that they stressed to me is, if you can get a child as early as the fourth grade and make sure that he can read, then the rest of his school career might really take off.

Q&A WITH ANDRE HARMON PRESIDENT OF 100 BLACK MEN OF BATON ROUGE

We do ACT prep and STEM We do these things in conjunction with the Project Excel mentoring program. It’s multifaceted. We just try to do what we can, when we can I always have to make sure I give a shout out to all the volunteers of the organization who put this thing together. We have a lot of moving pieces, but the reason why we do so well is because the volunteers that we have give 110% I always love to acknowledge my members.

How are people’s lives impacted through the mentoring and programming that 100 Black Men offers in Baton Rouge? When I ﬁrst started out, I remember one young man who was in middle school when I started He was shy wouldn’t talk and hid behind his mom at our ﬁrst meeting. He went through the programs, joined the Collegiate 100, and we followed him from middle school all the way through college He graduated from college, and we just inducted him into the organization.

PHOTO PROVIDED By LAND

FOR LOUISIANA Land Trust for Louisiana holds yoga in the Sunflowers, an event that supports conservation across the state, at Pine Knoll Farm — a working horse farm and conservation easement in Tangipahoa Parish. yoga in the Sunflowers is taking place this summer at Pine Knoll Farm in Independence.

LAND

Continued from page 1y

across the river,” Brown said. “In 2000, he purchased Pine Knoll and immediately started asking about protecting Cherokee Beach but he realized that if he wanted to conserve it, he would have to buy it, too.” Addison, an equine veterinarian specializing in Thoroughbred racing, helped found the conservation nonproﬁt so that Louisiana would have its own, locallybased land trust to conserve smaller, ecologically-signiﬁcant properties that may fall under the radar of larger groups.

The perfect place

Land Trust for Louisiana now holds conservation easements on both Cherokee Beach and Pine Knoll Farm in Tangipahoa Parish — a working horse farm where Addison also manages new stands of longleaf pine, as part of ongoing longleaf restoration efforts by property owners and conservation groups on the Northshore. Pine Knoll Farm is a private property typically closed to the public, but as part of their awareness work, Land Trust for Louisiana hosts events on properties where they hold easements — like a birding field trip at Live Oak rice farm in Acadiana, fall hikes at the Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve and a spring paddle

trip at Maurepas Swamp.

This month, Addison is opening Pine Knoll Farm for a special day of yoga next to a mature sunﬂower ﬁeld, where participants can pick their own flowers and take tours of the property following a gentle, all-skills yoga class.

“We’re in the heart of the Florida Parishes, surrounded by rolling hills and our native longleaf pine habitat,” said Addison. “This is something really unique for the area, in one of the most serene natural settings I can imagine.”

Brown added that the horse farm is the ideal place to unwind during the heat of summer, since the nearby river produces cool breezes across the property.

“Our goal for everyone

who participates is to leave feeling more connected to nature, themselves and to each other,” Brown said.

“One of the best ways to realize the true value of the nature that surrounds us is to immerse yourself in it.”

Yoga in the Sunflowers will be held 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 26, at Pine Knoll Farm, near Hammond. Tickets can be purchased at the Land Trust for Louisiana website Shade, refreshments and restrooms will be available.

Editor’s note: Staff writer Joanna Brown volunteers with Land Trust for Louisiana.

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

RISHER

He’s the ﬁrst mentee to be inducted as a member of the organization. And now he’s this entrepreneur working on his master’s degree.

Those type of things, to me, speak volumes because it’s not just about the work that we do. When you follow the kids from middle school to high school and through college, it’s a really big deal for us. It makes us feel good to know that the work that we’re doing is actually being received at that level.

Continued from page 1y

“Unfortunately, these types of posts are becoming more common on social media,” said Michael Bonnette, LSU sports information director

“We do the best we can to report them to whichever platform that they appear but other than that, there’s not much more we can do.”

Bonnette said LSU does not respond to the posts because they don’t want to give the generated posts any credibility

Why are people in Vietnam and the Philippines going to the trouble of creating these AI-generated images? Money

While the Facebook pages currently lack ads, commenters on “Country Nightfall” are often approached by proﬁles who appear to work with the page in messages — a setup likely to lead to money requests.

Beyond that, David Ponevac, an AI-expert with Luceon LLC, says the scammers who operate these pages do so with purpose and strategy

“Facebook is a platform they use for sharing and building up a following,” Ponevac said.

“It is extremely simple to grow an audience on Facebook with fake/ outrageous stories. Then they encourage you to read the whole article, and you end up going to a site where they run ads.”

How to recognize glurge:

1. Check the story’s credibility Is it from a reputable outlet, with a named and traceable journalist or photographer? If you can’t verify authorship or source history, be skeptical

2. Examine the details.

In stories, look for vague timelines, generic quotes or phrasing that seems too smooth. AI text often lacks specificity In photos, look closely at the lines where people and backgrounds meet. AI does something funny to those areas. AI is getting better, but it often distorts these subtly Extra fingers, warped glasses or melted jewelry are red flags. Check: n hands n eyes n teeth n text. (In the Peyton Manning/Nia story the wording in photos is garbled.)

3. Does the story pull at your heartstrings? While there are certainly real stories that are touching, AI-written stories often go to the extreme They mimic emotion, but they lack nuance or contradiction — a human story usually includes complexity, ﬂaws or unexpected details. If the story feels overly smooth, repetitive or emotionally forced, it’s likely AI.

4. Cross-reference facts. If you’re still not sure, Google names, places and events mentioned in the text. If you can’t ﬁnd independent conﬁrmation of key details, it is likely an AI-fabricated story 5. If you’re able, use reverse image search.

Drop photos into Google Images or TinEye to see where else they appear If the same image shows up with different contexts or no real origin, it is likely AI-generated. In the age of AI, not every heartwarming story is real. If it sounds too good to be true especially on Facebook — it probably is.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate. com.

Andre Harmon sits with Project Excel mentees as they work on vision boards.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Andre Harmon, president of 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge

TRUST

BY HANNAH LEVITAN Staff writer

Though violent crime rates have dipped both nationwide and in New Orleans, self defense experts say sharpening thesenses andpracticing strength training are still important tools for staying safe.

Whether you’re walking alone afterdarkornavigating unfamiliar streets, staying safe starts with staying aware, according to local black beltdojo instructors Sharon Davidson, Natsumi Sugiyama andKaty Ancelet.

For the three instructors, selfdefense starts long before any physical confrontation.And sometimes, taking basic safety precautions, like scanning your surroundings, can be just as powerful as learning other moves or techniques.

Ancelet, who is the lead instructor for the Judo Youth Program, said the mind can often shut down when presented with adangerous situation.

“But Ithink with continual (martial arts) practice,you can override that feelingofpanic so that your body reactsevenwhen your mind isn’tquitesure what to do.”

Mind andbody

At Shotokan Academy,where students train in karate,judo and aikido, Davidson, Sugiyama and Ancelet focus on empoweringindividualswho take their classes.

Martial arts trainingenhances strength, reﬂexes and coordination, along with othertechniques needed for self-defense.

“There’sasatisfaction and a

sense of well-being that comes with feeling strong,which Idon’t think women are necessarily encouraged to feel,” Davidson said.

Alarge part of Davidson’s introduction to martial arts wasthe desire to gain controlover potentially harmful situations.

After yearsofpractice, the karate instructorisnow conﬁdent in herabilitytodefendherself, though she saidshe hopestonever haveto.

“I deﬁnitely think thathaving someconﬁdenceinyour ability changesthe way that you carry

yourself,and people can recognizethatfor sure,” shesaid. Thephilosophy

Even withoutmartial arts experience, youcan stilldeploy preventativemeasures to diminish danger

“Your brain is your ﬁrst weapon for defense,” Davidson said. Sugiyamaadded that engaging in combat should be one’s last resort when encountering danger When leaving thedojolateat night, she often scans her surroundings and locates her car keys beforeheading outside.

“Martial arts is not just ﬁtness to me,it’smorelike aphilosophy,” Sugiyamasaid.

Howtoget involved

New Orleans Shotokan Academy offers avarietyofclasses forbeginnerslookingtolearn self-defense tactics

Otherspots likeNew Orleans Shaolin offer trauma-informed self-defense courses based on the art of kung fu. If you’re interested in practicing Krav Maga —ablend of martial art stylesthatfocusonreal-world situations— consider signing up for self-defense classes at DF6

Defense Academy,where training is informed “byreal-worldexperiences, encompassing insights from thebattleﬁeld, urban crime statistics, andcounter-terrorism strategies.”

The NewOrleansPoliceDepartment also offers afree seven-week Citizen’sPoliceAcademy program twiceayear that details theinner workings of thecriminaljustice system while offering safety tips. But above all, prevention is most important, Davidsonsaid. “A little bit more preparation and vigilance can go way farther than anything we can teach in two hours.”

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Krav Magaself-defense class participants learnthe best ways to punch and kick back at TriumphKravMaga.

Daryl Marx, MD Robotic Surgery

FAITH & VALUES

Volunteer ﬁnds pristine abolitionist-era documents

Baptist archive in Massachusetts sheds light

BY MICHAEL CASEY

Contributing writer

Jennifer Cromack was combing through the American Baptist archive when she uncovered a slim box among some 18th and 19th century journals. Opening it, she found a scroll in pristine condition.

A closer look revealed the 5-footlong (1.5-meter-long) document was a handwritten declaration titled, “A Resolution and Protest Against Slavery,” signed by 116 New England ministers in Boston and adopted March 2, 1847. Until its discovery in May at the archives in Groton, Massachusetts, American Baptist officials worried the anti-slavery document had been lost forever after fruitless searches at Harvard and Brown universities and other locations. A copy was last seen in a 1902 history book.

“I was just amazed and excited,” said Cromack, a retired teacher who volunteers at the archive. “We made a ﬁnd that really says something to the people of the state and the people in the country It speaks of their commitment to keeping people safe and out of situations that they should not be in.”

The document offers a glimpse into an emerging debate over

slavery in the 19th century in the Northeast The document was signed 14 years before the start of the Civil War as a growing number of religious leaders were starting to speak out against slavery Split over slavery

The document also shines a spotlight on a critical moment in the history of the Baptist church.

It was signed two years after the issue of slavery prompted southern Baptists to split from northern Baptists and form the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

The split in 1845 followed a ruling by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society prohibiting slave owners from becoming missionaries. The northern Baptists eventually became American Baptist Churches USA.

“It comes from such a critical era in American history, you know, right prior to the Civil War,” said the Rev Mary Day Hamel, the executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts.

“It was a unique moment in history when Baptists in Massachusetts stepped up and took a strong position and stood for justice in the shaping of this country,” she said.

“That’s become part of our heritage to this day to be people who stand for justice, for American Baptists to embrace diversity.”

A risky declaration

Deborah Bingham Van Broek-

hoven, the executive director emerita of the American Baptist Historical Society, said many Americans at the time, especially in the North, were “undecided” about slavery and weren’t sure how to respond or were worried about speaking out.

“They thought it was a Southern problem, and they had no business getting involved in what they saw as the state’s rights,”

Van Broekhoven said “Most Baptists, prior to this, would have refrained from this kind of protest. This is a very good example of them going out on a limb and trying to be diplomatic.”

The document shows ministers had hoped “some reformatory movement” led by those involved in slavery would make their action “unnecessary,” but that they felt compelled to act after they “witnessed with painful surprise, a growing disposition to justify, extend and perpetuate their iniquitous system.”

“Under these circumstances we can no longer be silent,” the document states. “We owe something to the oppressed as well as to the oppressor, and justice demands the fulﬁllment of that obligation. Truth and Humanity and Public Virtue, have claims upon us which we cannot dishonor.”

The document explains why the ministers “disapprove and abhor the system of American slavery.”

“With such a system we can have no sympathy,” the document states. “After a careful observa-

PROVIDED PHOTO

The document offers a glimpse into an emerging debate over slavery in the 19th century in the Northeast.

tion of its character and effects and making every deduction with the largest charity can require, we are constrained to regard it as an outrage upon the rights and happiness of our fellow men, for which there is no valid justiﬁcation or apology.”

Who signed the document?

The Rev Diane Badger, the administrator of the American Baptist Church of Massachusetts who oversees the archive, teamed up with the Rev John Odams of the First Baptist Church in Boston to identify what she called the “Holy Grail” of abolitionist-era Baptist documents. Her greatgrandfather was an American Baptist minister Since its discovery Badger has put all the ministers’ names on a spreadsheet along with the names of the churches where they served. Among them was Nathaniel Colver of Tremont

Temple in Boston, one of the ﬁrst integrated churches in the country, now known as Tremont Temple Baptist Church. Another was Baron Stow, who belonged to the state’s anti-slavery society Badger also is working to estimate the value of the document, which is intact with no stains or damage, and is making plans to ensure it is protected. A digital copy could eventually be shared with some of Massachusetts’ 230 American Baptist churches.

“It’s been kind of an interesting journey and it’s one that’s still unfolding,” Badger said. “The questions that always come to me, OK, I know who signed it but who didn’t? I can go through my list, through my database and ﬁnd who was working where on that and why didn’t they sign that. So it’s been very interesting to do the research.”

The Rev Kenneth Young — whose predominantly Black Calvary Baptist Church in Haverhill, Massachusetts was created by freed Blacks in 1871 — called the discovery inspiring.

“I thought it was awesome that we had over hundred signers to this, that they would project that freedom for our people is just,” Young said. “It follows through on the line of the abolitionist movement and fighting for those who may not have had the strength to fight for themselves against a system of racism.”

Once-extinct spring Chinook salmon back at Walla Walla

900 recorded in river result of decades of work

BY SUSAN SHAIN

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Susan Shain for Northwest Public Broadcasting, is part of the Solutions Story Tracker from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities — solutions that can be adopted around the world.

In a tiny cement room under a big steel-and-cement bridge, Jerimiah Bonifer stood at a rectangular window Through the plexiglass pane, he had an underwater view of the Walla Walla River, which ﬂows from the Blue Mountains to the Columbia River

A camera sat trained on the window, collecting data that would be hand-reviewed by staff at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, or CTUIR. Bonifer, who manages fishery programs for the CTUIR, was excited by what the camera had captured: more than 900 spring Chinook salmon swimming past this bridge in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, as of late June.

That number is a significant jump from past years: roughly 500 in 2024 and roughly 60 in 2023. The growing numbers of Chinook are the result of decades of work by the CTUIR, as well as extensive collaboration with the Bonneville Power Administration and the governments of Washington and Oregon.

The CTUIR, which is a union of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people, soon hopes to have a self-sustaining population of Chinook, with runs big enough to allow for tribal harvest.

“With spring Chinook actually returning in harvestable numbers, we’re gonna be restoring a connection to landscape that’s been missing for quite a while,” said Bonifer, who’s a CTUIR member “This relationship with the landscape, this relationship with the foods, is essential to our culture.”

A ‘First Foods’ mission Spring Chinook went extinct in the Walla Walla River about a century ago, after infrastructure built in the river caused it to run dry in the summers. Bonifer said other factors contributed to the extinction, too: overﬁshing, overallocation of water, and a lack of screens on irrigation systems, which meant salmon would pour

onto farmers’ ﬁelds.

The loss of the salmon was devastating to the CTUIR. For the tribes, the ﬁsh are more than just a food source; they’re an integral part of their culture. So much so, the mission statement of the tribes’ Department of Natural Resources is to “protect, restore, and enhance the First Foods” — water, salmon, deer, roots and huckleberry that represent the region’s Indigenous people.

So in 2000, the CTUIR began making a pointed effort to bring Chinook back to the Walla Walla Basin. It started by planting adults, and later juveniles, or smolts, from the Carson National Fish Hatchery into the river

But not many salmon returned in the following years. And besides, releasing salmon from a different location seemed incongruous with the tribes’ ultimate goal of a naturally spawning local population. So the idea for a CTUIR-owned hatchery was born. But ﬁrst, the water ﬂowing down the Walla Walla River which needed to be colder and more plentiful for the fish to survive their passage had to be addressed.

A groundbreaking new law

The tribes weren’t the only ones concerned about water in the Walla Walla Basin.

Brook Beeler, the eastern region director for Washington’s Department of Ecology, said that there had been “decades of frustration” because there wasn’t enough water to meet the needs of everyone: farmers, industry cities and tribes.

So in 2009, Washington’s Legislature developed a pilot program that gave those in the Walla Walla Basin more ﬂexibility in managing their water Despite some successes, the program didn’t result in more water in the streams — a necessity for ﬁsh migration. And after a decade, the CTUIR asked the state of Washington for more

help.

The Legislature directed the Department of Ecology to get involved again and this time, to include the state of Oregon, as well. The result was the Walla Walla Basin Advisory Committee.

Modeled after the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, which started in 2013, Walla Walla’s committee includes representatives from government, agriculture, business, recreation, conservation and more. The group also encourages the public to attend its monthly meetings.

“The overarching goal is to have that durable supply for everyone,” Beeler said. “People, farms and ﬁsh.”

In comparison to the pilot project, the new committee makes decisions by consensus rather than votes. Beeler said that’s been key to its success.

“Whereas before you could really just sit in your camp and vote how you wanted, now it really forces dialogue and understanding,” she said.

The committee’s biggest accomplishment, Beeler said, has been pushing for two new laws that allow the state of Washington to collectively manage water in the Walla Walla Basin with Oregon.

Now, when someone in Oregon adds more water to the proverbial water cooler that is the Walla Walla River, Washington’s Department of Ecology can preserve that water, too, ensuring it ﬂows all the way to the Columbia River and out to sea The laws that allow this were among the ﬁrst of their kind nationwide.

“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Dylan Hedden-Nicely, a professor and head of the Native American law program at the University of Idaho and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “I think that this serves as maybe an example or a precedent for better intergovernmental, transboundary water resources management.”

While Hedden-Nicely wasn’t

familiar with the speciﬁcs of the laws or their origins, he said the notion that states worked together and prioritized ﬁsh passage was noteworthy in itself.

“Usually states, pretty jealously protect state sovereignty over water,” he said. “So just the fact that these two states are engaging with each other on this level and making agreements that might limit one state’s or both states’ control over water resources, I really think is pretty groundbreaking.”

The first time water was protected through these news laws was in 2024, as part of a cooperative effort between the city of Walla Walla, the CTUIR and a nonproﬁt called the Washington Water Trust.

The city, which has some Oregon water rights despite being in Washington agreed to put some of its Oregon water into an aquifer during the winter, when demand for water is lower The city then diverts less water during the dry summer months using what’s stored in the aquifers instead — thereby preserving more stream ﬂow for ﬁsh in Mill Creek, a tributary of the Walla Walla River.

Greg McLaughlin works for the Washington Water Trust. In the West, he said there’s been a long history of litigation when it comes to water rights But that attitude has been changing, especially in this region.

“There’s a lot of places where water is this kind of place of conﬂict — and truly in the Walla Walla, this is a place where partners are working on behalf of one another,” he said “There’s a real spirit of, ‘We can do more together than we can separately.’”

Beeler echoed that sentiment. She brought up an old saying: “Whisky’s for drinkin’ and water’s for ﬁghtin’.”

“That has really been what water management has been, up until the last, probably, 10 to 20 years,” she said. “We’re learning that you’re much more successful when you have all the interests working together towards common goals.”

500,000 smolt

Back at the bridge in MiltonFreewater, Emily Meshke opened the lid of a big silver tank truck. About 30 salmon swam around, the water burbling around them.

Meshke, who works at the CTUIR’s Imtwaha Fish Hatchery, was collecting these adult ﬁsh from the Walla Walla River to use as “broodstock.” She’ll put the ﬁsh into a holding pond to mature and spawn, thereby providing the hatchery with smolts that can be released in future years. Imtwaha, the first hatchery that’s fully owned and operated by the CTUIR, sits on a 12-acre site on the South Fork of the Walla Walla River about nine miles from Milton-Freewater

The 33,000-square-foot building has dozens of tanks that see the salmon through their first two years of life.

The hatchery’s construction was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, as part of its legally-required efforts to mitigate the impact of hydropower dams. The company also covers the hatchery’s ongoing operating and maintenance costs. In 2023, the hatchery released 500,000 smolt the first group of fish that it had reared from eggs to juveniles into the Walla Walla River and Mill Creek. Now, those fish are returning as 4-yearold adults.

“I was just excited to see a lot of ﬁsh showing up,” said hatchery manager Thomas Tall Bull, who is Cayuse and an enrolled member of the Nez Perce tribe.

Imtwaha’s program has continued to release another halfmillion smolt every spring, with the eventual goal of having 5,000 return annually Those stark numbers reveal the limitations of these efforts: Surviving as a salmon is difﬁcult, even with lots of help. It’s especially difficult when they must pass through a system ﬁlled with dams and other infrastructure. And when climate change is bearing down on them, too.

“I’m kind of worried about drought, kind of worried about ﬁre, I’m worried about habitat — especially low ﬂows and warmer temps,” Tall Bull said. “The tribe is doing their best to make up for that.”

And if the CTUIR succeed, Tall Bull said the return of spring Chinook would beneﬁt far more than just the tribes.

Salmon “bring nutrients to the water from the ocean, not just to humans, but to all walks of life,” he said. “Everything flourishes with what salmon bring to the area, because they’re a keystone species.”

Earlier this spring, Bonifer thought there might be enough returning Chinook to have a harvest.

But the returns were about 100 fish shy of what the tribes’ Fish and Wildlife Commission was looking for The agency only opens ﬁshing after an adequate number of salmon have been captured for the hatchery and an adequate number have escaped to spawn naturally

Still, Bonifer is hopeful it’ll happen next year Or the year after that. Whenever it does, he will celebrate his people’s return to the river to catch spring Chinook, prepare them for ceremonies and feast together as they have for millennia.

“We’re not just thinking about today, we’re not just thinking about tomorrow,” Bonifer said. “We’re thinking seven generations ahead.”

PROVIDED PHOTO By SUSAN SHAIN

Jerimiah Bonifer, fisheries program manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, looks for salmon in Milton-Freewater, Ore.

SUNDAY, JUlY 20, 2025

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

grams

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

todAY's Word — sHiBBoLetH: SHIBoh-leth: A common saying or belief with little current meaning.

Average mark 41 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 62 or more words in SHIBBOLETH?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku

wuzzLes

The mighty five

North opened an off-shape one no-trump, which did not have much effect on the auction.

North-South reached the best game contract available to them.

West in today’s deal was Gunnar Hallberg. Hallberg is a native of Sweden, but he has lived in London for many years, playing rubber bridge for the highest stakes he can find. He has made occasional forays into the tournament world with notable success. All the world’s best players know exactly who he is.

Hallberg started by cashing his two top hearts. Not seeing anything better to do, he continued with a third round of the suit.

Declarer ruffed with dummy’s jack and discarded a low club from his hand. He led a spade to his queen, losing to Hallberg’s king. Hallberg led a fourth round of hearts. East ruffed this with the five of spades, promoting Hallberg’s trump holding into another trick. Down one after a lovely defense. It would not have helped declarer to ruff the third heartwithdummy’ssixofspades.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

super Quiz

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level.

SUBJECT: CLASSIC COMMERCIAL BLURBS

Provide the missing word to complete the commercial blurb. (e.g., Kodak: “Share moments. Share ” Answer: Life.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. The New York Times: “All the news that’s fit to

If he then overtook the jack of spades with the queen, Hallberg would win and a fourth round of hearts would achieve the same promotion. Should declarer run the jack, Hallberg would duck and South would not be able to get off the table effectively. There is a winning play. South has to win the first round of spades with his ace and continue with the queen. That would prevent the uppercut and bring home the contract.

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2025 Tribune Content Agency

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Knowledge will be crucial when making decisions that will have a lasting impact. Explain your intentions and offer incentives when dealing with opposition. Live by your word and honor your promises.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Do some research and make a change that will enhance your life. Be part of the solution and do what’s best for you It’s up to you to protect your rights and create opportunities

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) A tactful approach will help ward off opposition. Refuse to let your emotions

swing wildly if someone opposes you. Don’t share your secrets or fall prey to jealousy LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Jump into action, take control and make things happen. Use your flair, enthusiasm and connections to spread the word and make a difference. Proceed with caution.

SCORPIO (Oct 24-Nov 22) Explore the possibilities, travel, attend venues that interest you, expand your mind and try new things. It’s up to you to embrace life instead of waiting for things to come to you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) You will be confused by the choices available to you. Consider what you want to do and what you must do, and plan a schedule that helps you manage your responsibilities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look for financial opportunities while being leery of joint ventures or shared expenses. Don’t feel obligated to pay for someone else’s mistake or try to buy someone’s love.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Hosting an event or accepting an invitation will lead to interesting encounters. Embrace the possibilities and enjoy

the people you meet along the way Put yourself out there.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Look at and consider what interests you, but refuse to commit until you can verify facts and figures. Keep in mind that your happiness is your responsibility

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Articulate, pontificate and make yourself heard. Don’t hesitate to take an opportunity to speak your mind at a public forum. It’s in your best interest to do your part.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Gather information and facts to convince

others to see things your way Being armed with knowledge instead of relying on force will help you get your way

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) If you change, others will follow. Set the pace and lead the way A quest for knowledge will take you on a worthwhile journey that points you in a promising direction.

goren Bridge

Answers

to puzzles

super quiz

1. Print. 2. Upper.3.Diamond. 4. Finger. 5. Home. 6. Beef. 7. Break.8.Your.9.Eat. 10. Sing. 11.Wallet. 12.Neighbor.13. Bun. 14.Worth. 15.Waking.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

CryptoquoteAnswer

All waterhas aperfect memoryand is forever trying to getback to whereitwas. —Toni Morrison

word GAmeAnswer