The Advocate 08-04-2025

AN UNLIKELy JOURNEY

Teacher of the year Regena Beard learned to share love of science

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

When Regena Beard was recently named Louisiana Teacher of the Year, her mother was the most surprised.

“If you had told me that you were not only going to be a teacher, but state teacher of the year,” she recalls her saying, “I would have sworn you were lying.”

In a career that has spanned 21 years, Beard has taught science to thousands of fifth and sixth graders in Zachary It was not how she imagined her future.

“I was not one of those kids who played class,” Beard said.

Despite good grades, she was not energized by school, particularly science, the subject she later came to love so much.

“It’s not that I didn’t have great teachers,” Beard recalls. “It just wasn’t my thing.”

Growing up in Central, Beard — then known as Regena Hartley — had no immediate family members who’d graduated from college, much less any teachers in the family Her plan was to get married and become a stay-at-home mom like Renee, her own mom.

“Absolutely not,” she recalled her mother telling her “You are not going to do that.’”

Enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, young Beard tried to sort out her future. She recalled taking career quizzes and the results kept pointing toward teaching

She decided to give the profession a try, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She immediately continued her studies, earning a master’s degree in education from LSU-Shreveport.

ä See TEACHER, page 4A

Regena Beard visits Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge to receive the keys to a new Mercedes on Tuesday. It’s one of the perks of becoming Louisiana’s Teacher of the year It’s only for one year She gets to keep it until the yearlong lease runs out.

Senate leaves with no deal on confirmations

Irate Trump blasts Schumer

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Senate left Washington on Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it

Medicare Advantage under scrutiny

Critics say plan exaggerates health conditions, overcharges

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Medicare Advantage, the privately run insurance on which roughly 500,000 older Louisiana residents rely for health care, is facing calls for change in Congress. Though hugely popular, critics say Medicare Advantage programs exaggerate patients’ health conditions to receive more money from the federal government. They argue that it is draining the Medicare Trust Fund, which will run out of money in 2033, according to the fund’s report released two weeks ago.

“Medicare is going insolvent, and our budget deficit is expanding. We need to stop overpaying where we can if we’re to preserve Medicare for Americans who rely on it,” said U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge. Cassidy has proposed changes he says would limit the practice called “upcoding.” The Congressional Budget Office estimated that changes to upcoding would save about $124 billion over 10 years.

AARP, the nationwide interest group that advocates for seniors, backs Cassidy’s push. “Upcoding leads to both inflated payments and higher premiums,” said Denise Bottcher, state director of AARP Louisiana in Baton Rouge. “You’re just driving up the costs of health care.” But America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Washington-based trade association that represents the health insurance industry, opposes the bill.

ä See MEDICARE, page 6A

Woman alleged that universities mishandled reporting accused rapist

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!” Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules

Schumer Thune

when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Tr ump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each

one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee. “I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Senate rules Saturday after negotiations with Schumer and Trump broke down. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will

ä See SENATE, page 6A

A woman was set to have her day in court this week in an effort to prove that institutional failures at two state universities allowed an accused serial sexual predator to swap schools, despite multiple reports of sexual misconduct, and transfer in the fall of 2018 to Louisiana Tech, where she said he raped her weeks after stepping foot on campus. But the woman reached a settlement with the University of Louisiana System late Friday, according to U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana filings. Terms of the settlement were undisclosed as of Sunday. But the plaintiff’s attorney, Monica Beck, gave notice to the court Friday that the two sides have agreed in principal to a settlement and are working toward finalizing the agreement ahead of a stipulated dismissal of the civil case.

ä See SETTLEMENT, page 4A

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Regena Beard, the Louisiana Teacher of the year, stands in her classroom on Thursday at Copper Mill Elementary in Zachary Beard is a fifth and sixth grade science and robotics teacher

PROVIDED PHOTO

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.N.: 68 African migrants killed in boat capsize

CAIRO A boat capsized Sunday in waters off Yemen’s coast, leaving 68 African migrants dead and 74 others missing, the U.N.’s migration agency said.

The tragedy was the latest in a series of shipwrecks off Yemen that have killed hundreds of African migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in hopes of reaching the wealthy Gulf Arab countries

The vessel, with 154 Ethiopian migrants on board, sank in the Gulf of Aden off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan early Sunday, Abdusattor Esoev, head of the International Organization for Migration in Yemen told The Associated Press.

He said the bodies of 54 migrants washed ashore in the district of Khanfar, and 14 others were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan on Yemen’s southern coast.

Only 12 migrants survived the shipwreck, and the rest were missing and presumed dead, Esoev said.

In a statement, the Abyan security directorate described a massive search-and-rescue operation given the large number of dead and missing migrants. It said many dead bodies were found scattered across a wide area of the shore Chilean rescuers recover bodies of 5 miners

BOGOTA, Colombia The bodies of all five miners trapped in a collapsed shaft in the world’s biggest underground copper mine for three days have been found and identified, an official said Sunday Aquiles Cubillos, the lead prosecutor in Chile’s O’Higgins region, said the body of Moises Pavez, the last miner to remain missing, was found at 3:30 p.m. by rescue teams. They had drilled through dozens of feet of rock to reach the stranded workers.

“We deeply regret this outcome,” Cubillos said.

The five miners were trapped deep inside Chile’s El Teniente mine on Thursday after a section of the mine collapsed following a 4.2 magnitude earthquake that instantly killed another miner and injured nine other workers

The trapped miners were located by using GPS devices but rescue teams were not able to communicate with them.

Authorities are investigating whether it was a naturally occurring earthquake or mining activity at El Teniente caused the tremor Chilean prosecutors also launched a criminal investigation to determine whether any safety standards were violated. Man falls to his death at London Oasis concert

LONDON Oasis said Sunday that its members are “shocked and saddened” after a man fell to his death during a concert by the band at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The Metropolitan Police force said officers and paramedics responded to reports of an injured person just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday and found a man in his 40s “with injuries consistent with a fall.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show last night,” Oasis said in a statement, offering “sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.”

The Britpop icons’ first tour in 16 years kicked off July 4 in Cardiff, Wales.

2-year-old in suitcase stowed on bus found alive

WELLINGTON, New Zealand A New Zealand woman was arrested on a child neglect charge Sunday after a bus driver found a 2-year-old girl alive in a suitcase that was stowed in the vehicle’s luggage compartment, authorities said.

The bus driver noticed movement inside the bag during a planned stop at the settlement of Kaiwaka, north of Auckland, Detective Inspector Simon Harrison said in a statement.

When the driver opened the suitcase they discovered the 2-year-old girl, who was very hot but otherwise appeared physically unharmed, Harrison said.

The child was taken to a hospital. The woman was charged with ill treatment or neglect of a child and was due to appear in court Monday.

House Democrats leave Texas

Members

aim to block Republicans’ bid for new congressional maps

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press

Texas Democrats left the state Sunday in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

The dramatic move could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties with the state’s attorney general having previously threatened to arrest them if they took such an action. Refusing to attend legislative session is a civil violation, however so Democrats legally could not be jailed and it’s unclear who has the power to carry out the warrants.

Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans who hold full control of the Texas govern-

ment from pushing through a rare middecade redrawing of the congressional map at the direction of President Donald Trump.

“This is not a decision we make lightly but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement.

To conduct official business, at least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the majority-Republican chamber At least 51 Democratic members are leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus.

“Apathy is complicity and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” he said.

The move marks the second time

in four years that Texas Democrats have fled the state to block a vote. In 2021, a 38-day standoff took place when Democrats left for Washington, D.C., in opposition to new voting restrictions. Republican Gov Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort, as well as to respond to flooding in Texas Hill Country that killed at least 135 people in July Trump has urged Texas Republicans to redraw the map to help the party net a handful of seats in the midterms next year

“For weeks, we’ve been warning that if Republicans in Texas want a showdown if they want to delay flood relief to cravenly protect Donald Trump from an inevitable midterm meltdown — then we’d give them that showdown,” Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “That’s exactly what Texas Democrats did today: blowing up Republicans’ sham special session that’s virtually ignored the plight of flood victims in Kerr County.”

Volcano erupts in Russia’s Far East

Russia far east.

By The Associated Press

A volcano on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula erupted overnight into Sunday for what scientists said is the first time in hundreds of years, days after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake. The Krasheninnikov volcano sent ash 3.7 miles into the sky according to staff at the Kronotsky Reserve, where the volcano is located. Images released by state media showed dense clouds of ash rising above the volcano.

“The plume is spreading eastward from the volcano toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path, and no ashfall has been recorded in inhabited localities,” Kamchatka’s emergencies ministry wrote on Telegram during the eruption

The eruption was accompanied by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake and prompted a tsunami warning for three areas of Kamchatka. The tsunami warning was later lifted by

Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services.

“This is the first historically confirmed eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years,” Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, based in the U.S., however, lists Krasheninnikov’s last eruption as occurring 475 years ago in 1550.

The reason for the discrepancy was not clear

The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team said late Sunday that the volcano’s activity was decreasing but that “moderate explosive activity” could continue.

The eruption occurred after a huge earthquake struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday an 8.8-magnitude temblor that caused small tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand.

Speaker Dustin Burrows said the Texas House would meet as planned on Monday afternoon

“If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table ...,” he posted on X.

Attorney General Ken Paxton on X said the state should “use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.”

“Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately,” he wrote.

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday afternoon Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned new U.S. House map that would create five new Republican-leaning seats. Republicans hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats. By leaving the state, Democrats are looking to block Republicans from the needed quorum to hold votes on the map set for Monday

Boeing workers plan Monday strike

BY CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press

NEW YORK Boeing workers who build fighter jets were set to go on strike at midnight Monday

About 3,200 workers at Boeing facilities in St. Louis; St. Charles, Missouri; and Mascoutah, Illinois, voted to reject a modified four-year labor agreement with Boeing, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said Sunday

“IAM District 837 members build the aircraft and defense systems that keep our country safe,” said Sam Cicinelli Midwest territory general vice president for the union, in a statement. “They deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise.”

The vote followed members’ rejection last week of an earlier proposal from the troubled aerospace giant, which had included a 20% wage increase over

four years. At the time, union leaders had recommended approving the offer, calling it a “landmark agreement” and saying the offer would improve medical, pension and overtime benefits. Then there was a coolingoff period of a week, followed by the union members rejecting Boeing’s latest proposal.

“We’re disappointed our employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved their primary issue on alternative work schedules,” said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, and senior St. Louis site executive. “We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.” On Tuesday, Boeing had reported that its secondquarter revenue had improved and losses had narrowed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO PROVIDED By ARTEM SHELDR

An image from video on Sunday shows an aerial view of the eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano of the Eastern volcanic belt, about 125 miles northeast of the regional center of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,

Video offers new vantage of arrest

BY JEFF MARTIN Associated Press

A video that captured the brutal arrest of a Black college student pulled from his car and beaten by officers in Florida has led to an investigation and calls for motorists to consider protecting themselves by placing a camera inside their vehicles.

William McNeil Jr captured his February traffic stop on his cellphone camera, which was mounted above his dashboard. It offered a unique view, providing the only clear footage of the violence by officers, including punches to his head that can’t clearly be seen in officer body camera footage released by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Because McNeil had the foresight to record the encounter from inside the vehicle, “we got to see firsthand and hear firsthand and put it all in context what driving while Black is in America,” said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, one of several lawyers advising McNeil

“All the young people should be recording these interactions with law enforcement,” Crump said. “Because what it tells us, just like with George Floyd, if we don’t record the video, we can see what they put in the police report with George Floyd before they realized the video existed.”

McNeil was pulled over that day because officers said his headlights should have been on due to bad weather his lawyers said. His camera shows him asking the officers what he did wrong. Seconds later, an officer smashes his window, strikes him as he sat in the driver’s seat and then pulls him from the car and punches him in the head. After being knocked to the ground, McNeil was punched six more times in his right thigh, a police report states.

The incident reports don’t describe the officer punching McNeil in the head. The officer, who pulled McNeil over and then struck him, described the force this way in his report: “Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground.” But after McNeil posted his video online last month and it

of the car, where deputies later found the knife. Crump, though, said McNeil’s video shows that he “never reaches for anything,” and a second officer wrote in his report that McNeil kept his hands up as the other officer smashed the car window A camera inside a motorist’s vehicle could make up for some shortcomings of police bodycams, which can have a narrow field of view that becomes more limited the closer an officer gets to the person being filmed, Mercado said.

Popular 1980s actor Loni Anderson dies

BY CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

went viral, the sheriff’s office launched an internal investigation, which is ongoing. A sheriff’s office spokesperson declined to comment about the case this week, citing pending litigation, though no lawsuit has been filed over the arrest.

McNeil said the ordeal left him traumatized, with a brain injury, a broken tooth and several stitches in his lip. His attorneys accused the sheriff’s office of trying to cover up what really happened.

“On Feb. 19, 2025, Americans saw what America is,” said another of McNeil’s lawyers, Harry Daniels. “We saw injustice. You saw abuse of police power But most importantly we saw a young man that had a temperament to control himself in the face of brutality.”

The traffic stop, he said, was not only racially motivated but “it was unlawful, and everything that stemmed from that stop was unlawful.”

McNeil is hardly the first Black motorist to record video during a traffic stop that turned violent Philando Castile’s girlfriend livestreamed the bloody aftermath of his death during a 2016 traffic stop near Minneapolis.

But McNeil’s arrest serves as a reminder of how cellphone video can show a different version of events than what is described in police reports, his lawyers said.

Christopher Mercado, who retired as a lieutenant from the New York Police Department,

Mont. officials warn

agreed with McNeil’s legal team’s suggestion that drivers should record their police interactions and that a camera mounted inside a driver’s car could offer a unique point of view

“Use technology to your advantage,” said Mercado, an adjunct assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “There’s nothing nefarious about it. It’s actually a smart thing in my opinion.”

Rod Brunson, chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, said he thinks it’s a good idea for citizens to film encounters with police as long as doing so doesn’t make the situation worse.

“I think that’s a form of protection — it’s safeguarding them against false claims of criminal behavior or interfering with officers, etc.,” Brunson said.

Although the sheriff’s office declined to speak to The Associated Press this week, Sheriff T.K. Waters has spoken publicly about McNeil’s arrest since video of the encounter went viral. He pushed back against some of the allegations made by McNeil’s lawyers, noting that McNeil was told more than a half-dozen times to exit the vehicle.

At a news conference last month, Waters also highlighted images of a knife in McNeil’s car The officer who punched him claimed in his police report that McNeil reached toward the floor

murder suspect

at large is

‘unstable’

BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE Associated Press

The former U.S. soldier suspected of killing four people at a Montana bar was still at large early Sunday and may be armed after escaping in a stolen vehicle containing clothes and camping gear, officials said. Authorities believe 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown killed four people on Friday morning at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, about 75 miles southeast of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news conference Sunday that Brown committed the shooting with a rifle that law enforcement believes was his personal weapon. The victims ranged in age from 59 to 74 and were a female bartender and three male patrons. Knudsen warned residents in the town of just over 9,000 people that Brown, who lived next door to the bar where he was a regular, could come back to the area.

“This is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever So there absolutely is concern for the public,” Knudsen said. The four victims were identified on Sunday morning as Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. All four lived in Anaconda.

David Jabarek, 70, said that a mass shooting in a place as small as Anaconda is baffling to many He said that he regularly saw both the shooter and the victims over the course of the 20 years that he has lived in Anaconda.

“We only have 9,000 people, so it’s like, what the hell just happened? Everybody

MONTANA

PHOTO Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen speaks to the media Sunday in front of the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Courthouse in Anaconda, Mont., about the ongoing search for shooting suspect Michael Brown.

knows everybody here,” he said.

Jabarek was headed to Owl Bar less than 30 minutes before the shooting happened, about 10:15 a.m. On an impulse, he went to run an errand nearby instead. When he came back to the area, he saw the bar was surrounded by police.

“If I’d have been in there when I was supposed to be, you wouldn’t be talking to me Somebody be talking to you about me,” he said The close call is keeping Jabarek up at night. But he said he isn’t afraid of the prospect of Brown returning.

“Everybody around here has two dozen firearms in their house, and right now they’re within hand’s reach,” Jabarek said.

Suspect’s past Investigators are considering all possible options for Brown’s whereabouts, the attorney general said That includes searching the woods where Brown hunted and camped while he was a kid. But Knudsen noted that during peak tourist season in western Montana some law enforcement officials would have to return to their local

jurisdictions for their regular responsibilities.

Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, said Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said, and left military service at the rank of sergeant.

Brown’s niece Clare Boyle told The Associated Press that her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years, and she and other family members repeatedly sought help.

“This isn’t just a drunk/ high man going wild,” she said in a Facebook message.

“It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”

Appeals to the public

Knudsen said on Sunday that Brown was known to local law enforcement before the shooting. It was widely believed that he knew at least some of the victims, given how close he lived to the bar

Law enforcement released a photograph of Brown from surveillance footage taken shortly after the fatal shootings. He appeared to be barefoot and in minimal clothing.

But law enforcement now believes Brown ditched the vehicle he escaped in and stole a different one that had camping gear, shoes and clothes in it — leaving open the possibility that Brown is now clothed.

The last time that law enforcement saw Brown was on Friday afternoon, but there was “some confusion” because there were multiple white vehicles involved, Knudsen said. There is a $7,500 reward for any information that leads to Brown’s capture.

However after the police murder of Floyd, some states and cities debated how and when citizens should be able to capture video of police. The Constitution guarantees the right to record police in public, but a point of contention in some states has been whether a civilian’s recording might interfere with the ability of officers to do their job. In Louisiana, for example, a new law makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet of a police officer in certain situations.

Waters acknowledged those limitations at a news conference last year, as he narrated video of a wild brawl between officers and a fan in the stands at EverBank Stadium during a football game last year between the universities of Georgia and Florida.

The sheriff showed the officers’ bodycam videos during the start of the confrontation near the top of the stadium. But when the officers subdued the suspect and were pressing against him, the bodycam footage didn’t capture much, so the sheriff switched to stadium security video shot from a longer distance away

In McNeil’s case, the bodycam video didn’t clearly capture the punches thrown. If it had, the case would have been investigated right away, the sheriff said.

For the past 20 years, Brunson has been interviewing young Black men in several U.S. cities about their encounters with law enforcement. When he first began submitting research papers for academic review many readers didn’t believe the men’s stories of being brutalized by officers.

LOS ANGELES Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.

Sunday.

“WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978 to 1982 and was set in a flagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music. The cast included Gary Sandy Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman, Frank Bonner and Jan Smithers, alongside Anderson as the sexy and smart Jennifer Marlowe.

As the station’s receptionist, the blonde and high-heeled Jennifer used her sex appeal to deflect unwanted business calls for her boss, Mr Carlson Her efficiency often kept the station running in the face of others’ incompetence.

The role earned Anderson two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

Anderson starred on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983 comedy “Stroker Ace” and the two later married and became tabloid fixtures before their messy breakup in 1994.

Their son, Quinton Reynolds, was “the best decision that we ever made in our entire relationship,” she said during the unveiling of a bronze bust at Reynolds’ Hollywood grave site in 2021.

Anderson detailed their tumultuous marriage in the 1995 autobiography, “My Life in High Heels,” which she said was about “the growth of a woman, a woman who survives.” She married four times, most recently to Bob Flick in 2008.

Anderson is survived by Flick, her daughter Deidra and son-in law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick and wife Helene, and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.

AP FILE PHOTO Loni Anderson died

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PAUL BEATy

William McNeil Jr., center, looks on during a news conference in July in Chicago.

For her student teaching, Beard was assigned to work with a science teacher at Southside Junior High in Denham Springs. Not expecting much, she soon found herself entranced by how her mentor made science come alive. She felt like a student all over again.

“It was so much fun,” Beard said “I grew to love (science) through her.” In her classroom at Copper Mill Elementary in Zachary, Beard makes it her mission to inspire skeptical children in the same way

“If a kid comes in not loving science,” she said, “I’m like, ‘I got you, dude.’” Professional recognition

As a mentor teacher, Beard helps other young educators in the way she was helped. She serves on both district- and state-level teacher advisory councils. She also served on the state’s Let Teachers Teach workgroup established in 2023 by state Superintendent Cade Brumley Beard’s skill in the classroom has led to many accolades.

In 2023, she was one of five teachers named Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association.

In January she earned one of the nation’s most prestigious teaching honors — the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching She had first sought the award in 2022. By

SETTLEMENT

Continued from page 1A

According to claims of Title IX violations alleged in the lawsuit, Victor Daniel Silva sexually assaulted the Indiana woman when she was an undergrad at Louisiana Tech. The incident allegedly occurred during a house party at Silva’s off-campus apartment. By then, Silva was enrolled in his third school in less than four years and, according to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, he was allowed to cycle through public universities in Louisiana despite multiple reports that he sexually assaulted female students on or near the college campuses he attended.

Louisiana Tech in Ruston is part of the UL system. So is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Silva spent time at both schools after first attending LSU, which is a public university but not part of the UL system.

Silva has been accused of sexually assaulting six women at the three universities between 2014 and 2020. He’s never been formally charged or convicted in any of the assaults.

The full array of accusations against Silva first came to light in a USA Today investigative report that illustrated how he repeatedly switched schools despite allegations of sexual misconduct. Louisiana Tech officials began scrambling to put a hold on Silva’s academic records the day the article was published in May 2021, court records show

The plaintiff’s name has been kept under wraps to protect her identity She’s listed as “Jane Doe” in court filings.

“I’m so fortunate that the years following my assault have been marked by journalists and lawyers who have advocated for me even when it felt like no one else would,” she said in a statement Sunday “Moreover while I spent so much

the time that it was announced in January that she’d won, she’d forgotten about it.

“When I got it, it was just an email,” she recalled.

The Teacher of the Year honor was much different. It was announced at a July 26 gala held at

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans in front of a large crowd

“It has been a whirlwind,” Beard said “I’m even kind of losing my voice at this point It has been fantastic to say the least.”

Beard’s first job was teaching science at Northwestern Middle

of the past seven years haunted by the shame that so often accompanies sexual assault, I have been sustained by the other women who, despite the horrific things that happened to them, dared to speak even in the face of not being believed. I hope that the progress made by my case will go on to sustain others who may feel alone, ashamed, or afraid to speak.”

Jury selection was set to begin Monday morning at the federal district courthouse in downtown Baton Rouge for a civil trial that was expected to last at least two weeks.

An affidavit Beck filed Friday indicates a slate of pivotal pretrial rulings the presiding judge made leading up to what would have been Monday’s trial date. The judge’s rulings reignited settlement negotiations between the plaintiff and UL system’s respective attorneys.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson dismissed a motion for dismissal by the system’s attorneys and found that the university system knew about Silva’s history — knowledge that is a key component of the plaintiff’s Title IX claims. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at federally funded institutions.

Last Thursday, Judge Jackson ruled portions of a May 26, 2021, email inadmissible for trial. Louisiana Tech administrators discussed the hold on Silva’s transcripts in the chain of emails. One of the university’s registrars cited a system policy for withholding students’ academic records if those students are under investigation for sexual misconduct or violence.

Following the ruling, the plaintiff’s attorneys reduced their demand amount for a monetary settlement to less than a third of what was originally asked, Beck’s affidavit says.

Cycling through campuses

The plaintiff filed her lawsuit

School, part of the relatively new Zachary community school district. The year was rough, so rough it made her think twice about her career choice.

“There were many late nights up until midnight, just trying to figure out what I would do,” she said.

Each year since has gotten better

“I don’t have any year where I am going to do the exact same thing. I wish I did,” she laughed.

Changing practice

When she started, Beard stayed mostly at the front of the class-

in federal court in May 2022. She was a junior at Louisiana Tech when she befriended Silva, who was also a student there at time. Silva is not listed as a defendant, but he is mentioned by name as the offender that the woman claims raped her repeatedly over the span of several hours after she passed out during the September 2018 house party and slipped in and out of consciousness.

The settlement follows more than three years of legal wrangling that saw state and federal judges dismiss the plaintiff’s negligence claims against LSU and Lafayette Consolidated Government. What was left for a federal jury to decide were a pair of Title IX claims against the two UL schools.

The panel would’ve determined whether Louisiana Tech and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette were deliberately indifferent in failing to act before Silva allegedly raped the plaintiff by allowing him to transfer to Louisiana Tech with the knowledge that he posed a threat to female students. Jurors would’ve also mulled the UL schools’ response after the plaintiff reported the alleged rape to university officials in December 2018.

Louisiana Tech released Silva’s transcripts to UL-Lafayette weeks after the plaintiff made the report That allowed Silva to transfer in January 2019 and he graduated from UL-Lafayette with a clean academic record in 2020.

Silva attended LSU in 2014 and had an uncorroborated report that he raped a student while he was enrolled there. He transferred to Lafayette in 2015, but returned to LSU the following spring to attend a frat party with friends. During the visit, he met Mayumi Dickerson, then an LSU freshman, and she alleged he raped her multiple times in her dorm room. Campus police arrested Silva, but state prosecutors never sought charges. Dickerson, who’s spoken out publicly in opposition to rape cul-

room in the traditional fashion: lecturing, going page by page through prepared presentations full of scientific facts. These days, she spends much of her time sitting on the floor at the back of the room, brainstorming with her students. Their questions and curiosity shape what’s taught that day

“Now, we have flipped that script. We ask them to look around and wonder and notice things,” she said. “Every day is a mystery How did this happen?”

She credits Louisiana’s science standards, which were unveiled in 2017, for much of that shift. The new standards slashed the number of required concepts that she had to teach to just 12, but allow her to explore them more deeply And it pivoted away from memorization to inquiry-based instruction.

“(Students) get to unlock those secrets and figure it out, and it sticks so much better,” Beard said. “It’s such a different way of teaching.”

Robot time

A decade ago, Beard was asked on the eve of a new school year to take on a new challenge: robotics.

“I had never touched a robot in my life,” she said. “I was going to learn about it with the kids.”

In that initial robotics class, her students ended up doing the teaching as much as she did, as they figured out these strange things together

“It’s amazing what you can learn from a 10-year-old or an 11-yearold,” she said. Against the wall of her classroom, the computer lab at Copper

ture on college campuses, was among three women who filed a separate federal lawsuit against Silva in 2022. A judge dismissed the women’s claims March 31, U.S. Western District Court of Louisiana records show LSU banned Silva from the campus after Dickerson’s report in 2015 and a school administrator emailed University of Louisiana at Lafayette dean of students Carl Tapo a news article of the arrest. Tapo placed Silva on two years of disciplinary probation, but during that period he was accused of sexually assaulting three more college students between 2016 and 2018.

Silva then transferred to Louisiana Tech, where he is accused of raping the plaintiff during his first semester there. He withdrew from the school three days after the woman reported him to Louisiana Tech’s Title IX coordinator according to the lawsuit. University officials stopped investigating the claims and told the woman they would get her testimony if Silva re-enrolled.

Final round of pretrial rulings

Judge Jackson, in his ruling against UL’s motion for dismissal last month, noted that Tapo and several other UL-Lafayette officials testified in depositions that they’d never heard of, received training on or simply weren’t following protocols of the Campus Safety Accountability Act. The policy for responding to sexual assault at public universities was adopted by state lawmakers in 2015 and mandates institutions communicate with each other about transfer students who’ve been disciplined for sex-related offenses.

If such a student tries to transfer to a new university in state, the school they’re leaving is required to notify the destination school about the student’s misconduct.

According to Jackson, Tapo testified he doesn’t keep track of disciplined UL-Lafayette students to

Mill, are two rows of kits filled with the makings of Lego’s EV robots. Students will soon painstakingly turn these parts into robots. When they finish each day they leave their robots under a sign that says Robot Parking Garage At the end of each year, students deconstruct their creations and return them to the plastic box.

At their computer terminals, students learn how to code instructions to direct the robots. Beard leads a computer coding club at the school. One of the activities that Beard likes to do is an “Uber ride” where students have to figure out how to get their robot to pick up and transport a passenger

As her class has evolved, she’s branched beyond robotics. For instance, using 3D printers that she keeps in the back of the room, students construct trusses for bridges and then test them to see how they hold up when something heavy moves atop.

Beard said her biggest joy is when students take what they learn in the classroom and continue outside of school.

“When they’re going home and trying stuff on their own, and they figure something out on their own, that’s the jam,” she said.

She said she hopes her students are inspired to pursue sciencerelated fields as adults, though she’s not aware to what extent her former students have. They have, however followed Beard’s lead in another way: “I’ve had several that have become teachers.”

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate.com.

learn if they’re trying to transfer “I have no reason to,” Tapo testified, according to the judge’s order “We offer very good education at UL-Lafayette. I would assume any student who comes to us would want to stay.”

The plaintiff’s original complaint included negligence claims against LSU, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the University of Louisiana system. A 19th Judicial District Court judge removed LSU from the state lawsuit in October 2023, determining Silva was no longer an LSU student when he was alleged to have raped the plaintiff and that the school wasn’t legally obligated to notify UL system officials of Silva’s alleged assaults that occurred on the Baton Rouge campus before he transferred to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana Tech.

In a July 28 order, Jackson dismissed the negligence claim against Lafayette government officials in the federal lawsuit. The city-parish signed a 2017 memorandum of understanding where they pledged to share information about sex crimes against students at UL-Lafayette with the Lafayette Police Department in accordance with state’s Campus Accountability and Safety Act. The plaintiff alleged the Police Department breached its duty to her as a thirdparty by failing to notify UL-Lafayette school officials about the sexual assault reports three different women lodged against Silva during his initial stint in Lafayette.

“Although, perhaps, the plaintiff could have established that the MOU was intended to benefit students generally, not solely ULL students, plaintiff has made no effort to do so,” Jackson wrote in his order dismissing the negligence claim against Lafayette government. “Without more, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to meet her burden of establishing that the Campus Safety MOU manifested a clear intention to benefit plaintiff, a Tech student.”

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Regena Beard, the Louisiana Teacher of the year, pulls out a LEGO robot kit Thursday used by students in her robotics class at Copper Mill Elementary in Zachary.

Ukraine anti-corruption agencies uncover scheme

4 arrested on accusations of inflating military procurement contracts

BY ELISE MORTON and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after Ukraine’s parliament voted to restore the agencies’ independence In a joint statement published Saturday on social media, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office accused the suspects of taking part in a scheme that used state funds to buy drones and other military equipment at in-

flated prices.

“The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,” the statement said, adding that offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of the contracts’ value

Four people have been arrested so far, they said. The anti-corruption bodies did not identify the detainees but said a Ukrainian lawmaker, local district and city officials, and National Guard servicemen were involved The Interior Ministry said the National Guard personnel implicated in the case were removed from their positions.

Drones have become a crucial

Israeli minister prays at flashpoint holy site

Visit comes as officials say 33 aid-seekers killed in Gaza

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIRAL-BALAH,Gaza Strip — A far-right

Israeli minister visited and prayed at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Sunday, triggering regional condemnation and fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions. The visit came as hospitals in Gaza said 33 more Palestinians seeking food aid were killed by Israeli fire.

With Israel facing global criticism over famine-like conditions in the besieged strip, Itamar BenGvir‘s visit to the hillside compound threatened to further set back efforts by international mediators to halt Israel’s nearly twoyear military offensive in Gaza.

The area, which Jews call the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary Today it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

Visits to the site by Israeli officials are considered a provocation across the Muslim world and openly praying violates a longstanding status quo. Jews have been allowed to tour it but are barred from praying, with Israeli police and troops providing security Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said after Ben-Gvir’s visit that Israel would not change the norms governing the site.

Ben-Gvir visited following Hamas’ release of videos showing two emaciated Israeli hostages.

The videos caused an uproar in Israel and raised pressure on the government to reach a deal to bring home the remaining 50 hostages who were captured on Oct. 7, 2023, in the Hamas-led attack that triggered the war

Ben-Gvir called for Israel to annex the Gaza Strip and encourage Palestinians to leave, reviving rhetoric that has complicated negotiations to end the war He raged against a video that Hamas released Saturday of 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David showing him emaciated in a dimly lit Gaza tunnel, and called it an attempt to

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Itamar Ben-Gvir a far-right Israeli minister triggered regional condemnation Sunday after praying at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

pressure Israel.

Ben-Gvir’s previous visits to the site have prompted threats from Palestinian militant groups. Clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators in and around the site fueled an 11day war with Hamas in 2021.

Sunday’s visit was swiftly condemned as an incitement by Palestinian leaders as well as Jordan, the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s custodian, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Houthi rebels in Yemen said they fired three drones at Israel; Israel’s military said a “suspicious aerial target launched from Yemen” was intercepted.

The videos released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza — triggered outrage across the Israeli political spectrum after the hostages, speaking under duress, described grim conditions and an urgent lack of food. Tens of thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling on Israel and the United States to urgently pursue the hostages’ release after suspending ceasefire talks.

Israel’s mission to the U.N. said it requested an emergency meeting of the U.N Security Council on the hostages, which will take place Tuesday.

“They do not want a deal,” Netanyahu said of Hamas. “They want to break us using these videos of horror.”

His office said it spoke with the Red Cross to seek help in providing the hostages with food and medical care. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was “appalled by the harrowing videos” and called for access to the hostages.

Hamas’ military wing said it was ready to respond positively to Red Cross requests to deliver food to hostages, if humanitarian corridors are opened in a “regular and permanent manner” in Gaza.

asset in modern warfare for both Ukraine and Russia, enhancing military reconnaissance, precision strikes, and strategic flexibility on the battlefield. The majority of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian forces, including manpower and heavy weaponry, have been targeted by drones. Drone production is also a key aspect of Kyiv’s hopes to expand domestic military production and export markets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the development in his nightly address on Saturday calling the graft scheme “absolutely immoral” and thanking the anti-corruption agencies for their work.

“Unfortunately these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones. There must be full and fair accountability for this,” he said in his address, posted to X.

In an earlier post, which also included photos of him meeting with the agency heads, Zelenskyy said it is “important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently,” adding that “the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.”

The exposure of the graft scheme by NABU and SAPO came just two days after Ukraine’s parliament voted to restore their independence.

Ukraine’s Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved

the bill presented by Zelenskyy reversing his earlier contentious move that curbed their power and sparked a backlash, including street protests, a rarity in wartime.

Last week’s measure to place the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general prompted rebukes from Ukrainians, the European Union and international rights groups. It raised fears that the government could meddle in investigations and potentially shield its supporters from scrutiny Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars of vital Western aid in the all-out war, now in its fourth year It’s also an effort that enjoys broad public support.

Fresh clashes break out in Syria

Interim government struggles to ease tensions

BY KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press

BEIRUT New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday

rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country

In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdishled forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups.

The outbreaks come at a time when Syria’s interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swaths of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country

The Syrian government under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, ending the Assad family’s decadeslong autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa’s de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups.

State state television said clashes between government forces and militias belonging to the Druze religious minority rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defense Ministry has not issued any formal statement.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor said in addition to the member of the security forces killed, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in the in the western part of Sweida province. The Observatory said the clashes took place at the strategic Tal al-

Hadeed heights that overlook Daraa province next door

Difficult conditions in Sweida

State media says that aid convoys continue to enter Sweida city as a part of a tense truce after over a week of violent clashes in July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin clans backed by government forces However, humanitarian conditions remain dire, and residents of Sweida have called for the road into the city to be fully opened, saying the aid that has come in is not enough.

The clashes that displaced tens of thousands of people came after months of tensions between Damascus and Sweida. The fighting led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze minority, who are now skeptical of peaceful coexistence Druze militias retaliated against Bedouin communities who largely lived in western areas of Sweida province, displacing many to neighboring Daraa.

Elsewhere, in the northern Aleppo province, governmentaffiliated fighters clashed with the SDF The Defense Ministry said three civilians and four soldiers were wounded after the SDF launched a barrage of rockets near the city of Manbij “in an irresponsible way and for unknown reasons.”

SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami on the other hand said the group was responding to shelling by “undisciplined factions” within government forces on Deir Haffar, an eastern city in the same province.

The eastern part of Aleppo province straddles areas controlled by

By The Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia Police in Haiti have arrested a former senator charged with conspiring against the state and financ ing criminal organizations for allegedly supporting gang members. Nenel Cassy was arrested Saturday at a restaurant in Petionville, a wealthy district of the capital, Port-au Prince, Haiti’s National Police said in a post on Facebook. The police shared photos of the former senator in handcuffs next to heavily armed officers wearing ski masks. Arrests of high level offi-

cials are rare in Haiti, where the government is also struggling to control neighborhoods and villages that have been taken over by gangs. Cassy was designated as a corrupt actor by the U.S. State Department in 2023. He was accused by Haiti’s police in February of backing gang members who launched deadly attacks on Kenscoff, a neighborhood 6 miles outside Port-au-Prince that is home to much of the nation’s elite. Kenscoff had been largely untouched by Haiti’s gang violence until February’s attacks in which dozens of people were killed. The neighborhood is now being targeted by gangs that are trying to seize more territory from Haiti’s government. On Sunday, Kenscoff’s

mayor told The Associated Press that nine workers were kidnapped from an orphanage in that neighborhood by armed men, including a foreign citizen whose nationality has not been confirmed. Mayor Massillon Jean said the attack happened around 2 a.m. The orphanage that came under attack on Sunday is run by Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, an international charity with offices in Mexico and France that is also known as NPH. It shelters more than 240 children, according to the organization’s website.

In a statement published on Sunday, NPH said that seven staff members and one youth were taken from its home for vulnerable and at-risk children in Kenscoff.

the government and by the SDF. Though the two are slowly trying to implement a ceasefire and agreement that would integrate the areas under Damascus, tensions remain.

“The Ministry of Defense’s attempts to distort facts and mislead public opinion do not contribute to security or stability,” Shami said in a post on X, formerly Twitter

Raids bordering annexed area

In Quneitra province, in the south, the Israeli military announced it conducted another ground operation in the area that borders the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. It said its troops questioned several suspects they accuse of involvement in weapons trafficking in the village of Hader, and raided four areas where they found weapons being trafficked. Since Assad’s ouster, Israel has conducted numerous strikes and military operations in southern Syria, saying its forces are taking out militant groups that they suspect could harm Israelis and residents in the Golan Heights.

Damascus has been critical of Israel’s military activity, and the two sides have been trying to reach a security arrangement through U.S.-mediated talks. Syria has repeatedly said it does not intend to take military action against Israel.

Those talks intensified after Israel backed the Druze in Sweida during the earlier clashes. Israel struck military personnel near the southern city and most notably launched an airstrike targeting the Defense Ministry headquarters in the heart of Damascus.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OMAR SANADIKI

A Syrian security checkpoint sits near a burned-out vehicle Sunday as forces deploy in Mazraa village on the outskirts of Sweida city, in southern Syria.

Cassy

be some good robust conversations about that.”

Schumer said a rules change would be a “huge mistake,” especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward.

“Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names, but he got nothing,” Schumer said.

The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have gradually escalated their obstruction of the other party’s executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan.

In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large

MEDICARE

Continued from page 1A

“We oppose cuts to Medicare Advantage, including the No UPCODE Act, and urge Congress to keep the promise to America’s seniors,” AHIP President Mike Tuffin said in a statement.

Louisiana has more than 932,000 residents who are part of Medicare, 59% of whom are enrolled in one of the 112 Medicare Advantage plans available in the state. In the largest metropolitan areas, the percentages are higher — 69% in Baton Rouge, 75% in New Orleans; a little less in the smaller cities — 42% in Lafayette and 54% in Shreveport.

President Donald Trump, his backers and many enrollees praise Medicare Advantage, which has 33 million beneficiaries. And Project 2025, the conservative blueprint that has guided much of the administration’s actions, advocates making Medicare Advantage the main option for senior health care

Still, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving to revamp not just the way private insurers calculate payments but the procedures they use, such as pre-authorization of some medical services. How it works

For 60 years, traditional Medicare has been available to every American on their 65th birthday and some younger people who are disabled. It directly pays medical care providers for the cost of treatments. While more expensive for many, patients can go to any physician, clinic, hospital and hospice they like that accepts Medicare and most do.

Seniors who choose Medicare Advantage generally pay lower

tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration’s spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues.

The Senate held a rare weekend session on Saturday as Republicans held votes on nominee after nominee and the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media that night and told Republicans to pack it up and go home.

“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!”

Trump posted on Truth Social. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.”

Thune said afterward that there were “several different times” when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end, “we didn’t close it out.”

It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.

But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they, too, were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation.

“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,” Schumer said.

premiums and can receive some services not offered in the government program, such as dental and vision coverage But patients are limited to providers in the insurer’s network.

In Medicare Advantage, private insurers pay providers for services rendered and the government pays the companies per patient, based on that person’s health status. Higherrisk patients net the company more money.

The insurers themselves are responsible for diagnosing how sick the patients are Critics allege the private insurers are upcoding those diagnoses, including possible, perhaps likely, ailments to show the patient’s condition as more severe and thus require higher payments.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurer, on allegations of upcoding and for denying too many claims. The company denies the allegations and states that it is cooperating.

Reining in ‘upcoding’

On Capitol Hill, both the House and Senate are looking at changing the upcoding system, which they argue incentivizes Medicare Advantage companies to over-diagnose

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission — experts charged with advising the federal government on policy — reported that the Medicare Advantage plans cost taxpayers about 22% more than traditional Medicare in 2024. Limiting upcoding would save $124 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which calculates the financial impacts of legislation. Some experts espouse figures up to $270 billion, maybe more.

That’s a large part of the roughly $470 billion the federal govern-

San Diego crews clear encampments

BY BLAKE NELSON

San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)

The

Two groups of people assembled Friday morning on a dirt hill overlooking a freeway On one end were more than a dozen individuals in reflective vests. They stood holding shovels and rakes and eyed several mattresses lying on the ground. Closer to the bedding were Maria Garcia, 55, and a man in his 20s. Garcia ignored the crew as she picked up a jug of water and poured it on the man. The flow ran off his bare chest and dripped down toward disintegrating shoes Garcia used her hands to scrub his back.

When Garcia began sleeping at that spot around a month ago, on the northern edge of San Diego’s Grant Hill neighborhood, she was somewhat insulated from encampment sweeps. Camping bans and other ordinances barred her from living on sidewalks in San Diego, yet city crews weren’t allowed on state-owned land near freeways.

That changed last month.

As of July 16, San Diego police officers, outreach workers and cleaning teams are allowed to clear a roughly 5-mile stretch of property running through downtown, Little Italy, Sherman Heights and Barrio Logan, the result of a contract with the California Department of Transportation,

ment paid private Medicare Advantage insurers last year according to KFF, a San Francisco-based nonpartisan organization that researches health policy Cassidy joined four senators in December asking the Department of Health and Human Services to act against overpayments.

This year Cassidy teamed with Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, to propose legislation that would change how upcoding operates.

Their No UPCODE Act would use two years of diagnostic data instead of one to develop a patient’s risk assessment. The bill also limits the ability to use old or unrelated medical conditions when determining the cost of care for individual beneficiaries.

Cassidy attempted to attach the bill’s language to the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but was rebuffed by conservatives who felt Trump’s budget reconciliation measure already was too unwieldy They were also concerned that the addition of upcoding changes would attract ire enough from insurance companies to stall passage.

Cassidy now is negotiating inserting the legislation into a potential health package that some in Congress are trying to hammer out Change is not that easy Opponents of the legislation counter that the proposed changes in patient diagnosis processes are fraught with problems.

For instance, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services would have to establish procedures to provide for identification and verification of diagnoses, “but it does not give any other details, so it is unclear how these processes will be defined moving forward,” wrote Matthew Sprankle, Jason E. Christ and Teresa A. Mason of Epstein Becker & Green,

or Caltrans. The 17-page delegated maintenance agreement lasts for one year and says San Diego can be reimbursed up to $400,000 for removing campsites on Caltransmanaged land.

“The homeless encampments along our freeways are not only unsightly but they are unsafe,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. “After months of negotiations, I am excited to see this innovative partnership come to fruition.”

Officials said they’ve already visited around two dozen locations, thrown away more than 18 tons of material and gotten at least 10 people into shelters or designated camping areas, often known as safe sleeping sites. (Caltrans also clears encampments, although the process can be slow.)

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom told state agencies to speed up sweeps. The directive, however, didn’t come with any extra funding, hampering its effectiveness. One proposal working its way through the Legislature, Senate Bill 569, would now push every city in the state to make deals with Caltrans.

San Diego’s agreement “serves as a model for how the state can partner better with local governments,” state Sen Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, said in a statement. “By cutting red tape and letting local cities use their processes, we can speed up our response to homeless encampments and more quickly move unsheltered people to safer places where they can get the support they need.” A comparable deal exists in Los Angeles.

There’s no question that sleeping near speeding cars increases the chance of accidents, and dozens of possible encampment fires have been reported in recent months near roadways. At the same time, the new arrangement increases pressure on the thousands of people sleeping outside in San Diego County There is nowhere near enough shelter for everybody asking — fewer than 6% of all requests for a bed in the city recently succeeded — even as municipalities boost penalties for pitching tents on public land. Federal policy is similarly becoming more aggressive: President Donald Trump issued an executive order in July that said “shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment” is the way to “restore public order.”

P.C., a Washington law firm, in an analysis for The National Law Review

A little more sanguine was Mike Hoak, vice president of public policy at Humana, another large Medicare Advantage insurer, on a panel at the AHIP 2025 Conference in Las Vegas that was covered by Fierce Healthcare, a New York City trade publication.

“There is a really bipartisan feeling amongst policymakers: ‘I love the program,’ and — for some of them, at least ‘I’d like to see it grow, but it is time for some nips and tucks’,” Hoak was quoted as saying. “I think Medicare Advantage is at that inflection point right now.”

Bill Sweeney, AARP senior vice president for government affairs, says Cassidy’s bill would make Medicaid Advantage more fair

“If someone comes in and they’ve got a heart condition, treat the heart condition, get paid fair for what that costs. But don’t diagnose them with additional things that people who have heart conditions would have so that you can make it look like that person is sicker.”

Plans still popular

Medicare Advantage plans remain popular

Better Medicare Alliance, a Washington-based coalition that promotes Medicare Advantage, conducted a poll in June. The survey found 70% of voters thought the proposals would raise costs and reduce benefits. The survey included testimonials from seniors.

“Together, the polling and these real stories make clear: Medicare Advantage is not just the most popular coverage option for seniors — it is indispensable,” the group concluded.

A JD Power study in 2024 found similar customer satisfaction results.

But the results of a February

analysis that surveyed 76,557 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries found many did not fully understand their policies.

The study determined that Medicare Advantage enrollees often don’t use the additional services offered and many aren’t aware they exist, according to Mass General Brigham of Boston, the nation’s largest hospital-based research enterprise. For instance, only 54.2% of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were aware of having Medicare Advantage dental coverage, the analysis concluded.

“Medicare Advantage plans receive more money per beneficiary than traditional Medicare plans, but our findings add to the evidence that this increased cost is not justified,” said author Dr. Christopher L. Cai.

Other concerns

Congress is looking at more than upcoding in the health package being negotiated.

Other bills in the health care mélange would address prior authorizations — advance reviews to ensure proposed care meets coverage guidelines and is medically necessary — that lead to denial of claims and pharmacy benefit managers that lead to higher prices for drugs.

Each piece of legislation has different constituents.

For instance, the Louisiana Hospital Association and Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham are concerned about delays caused by Medicare Advantage’s prior authorization processes.

“When used appropriately, prior authorization helps patients receive safe, timely, and affordable access to evidence-based care, but when used inappropriately, patients face delays that can jeopardize medical outcomes,” Abraham and Paul Salles, head of the Louisiana Hospital Association, wrote in a letter to the Trump administration.

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Police: Parking dispute leads to shooting

CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

An argument over parking fees at a trail riding event in Modeste turned deadly Saturday evening when a Zachary man fatally shot his acquaintance, resulting in his arrest on a second-degree murder count, officials say Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said Sunday that detectives had arrested Anwar McKenney, 43, of Zachary, in the fatal shooting of Brandon Cayette, 40, of Donaldsonville.

Deputies responded to the shooting outside a residence along La. 405, next to the Sportsman Lounge in Modeste, about 5 p.m. Saturday There, they found Cayette unresponsive and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office. He was pronounced

dead at the scene. Investigators said the altercation began when several people outside a house started arguing over paying to park on the property, located near a long-standing local trail ride event for ATV riders. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said the residence belongs to McKenney’s family As tensions escalated, McKenney and Cayette — who authorities say had known each other for several years — got into a fight. McKenney then shot Cayette multiple times before fleeing, police said. He was detained later Saturday night, and after being questioned, admitted to killing Cayette, the Sheriff’s Office said.

McKenney was booked into Ascension Parish Jail early Sunday morning, and faces charges of second-degree murder and illegal use of weapons.

The Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing.

2 killed in apparent murder-suicide

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies are investigating an apparent domestic murder-suicide that occurred Sunday morning. Authorities received a call around 9:30 a.m to a residence near the intersection of Arleen Avenue and Watson Drive, and found Paul Varnardo and Alanna Singleton, both 54, dead from gunshot wounds

Preliminary evidence indicates Varnardo shot his girlfriend, Singleton, before shooting himself, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

No further information has been released by the Sheriff’s Office, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Man dies after standoff with driver

A Baton Rouge man struck by a vehicle on Friday died in a hospital from his injuries the next day, according to a release from the Baton Rouge Police Department. Montrell Green, 35, was in an argument around noon Friday with another man that escalated into Green firing a gun at him, police said The man then entered his vehicle and attempted to leave, but Green reportedly stood in front of the car holding the weapon, according to a spokesperson for the Police Department. The driver struck Green, who was transported to a hospital and died the following day

The driver was detained and questioned but later released. Baton Rouge police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

Acclaimed Youngsville boxer dies at 64

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

Kenneth “Kenny” Vice, one of the best professional boxers to come out of the Acadiana area, has died. He was 64 years old. He died from complications secondary to chronic traumatic encephalopathy that occurred from a boxing career that spanned 25 years, according to his daughter Courtney Vice Habetz. The Youngsville native had a successful amateur career in the Golden Gloves ranks, turned pro in 1983 and actively fought until 1995. In 1988, Vice’s opponent, Brian Baronet, died three days after being hit by Vice and falling into a coma in the

10th round of a super-lightweight match in Durban, South Africa. In January 1995, he fought Alvin Patton and secured the World Boxing Federation title. Upon his return home, he was chosen to be the grand marshal of the Youngsville Mardi Gras parade, Habetz said. He carried the Olympic torch through Lafayette as it made its way to the Olympic ceremonies in Atlanta in 1996. Vice built a gym and with Beau Williford trained some of Lafayette’s finest boxers over the years.

Growing up, Vice suffered abuse and was told he would never amount to anything, Habetz said. She said he never held grudges or felt

sorry for himself and even credited his home life for his fortitude.

“He worked 10 times harder than anyone else,” Habetz said. “Up at the crack of dawn, he’d run 10 miles in the morning, head to work, come home and train, and then finish his side jobs in the evenings, which he worked to support his six children.”

Habetz said, “We want people to remember him as more than a champion. When Youngsville flooded, he helped neighbors pull their cars out of rising waters. He served as a handyman for my mother’s friends who couldn’t afford to fix things around their houses. His gym was a place where young men could escape the streets. Once, when

UNO president says outlook is

‘so much better’

Changes include cost-cutting and school shifting to LSU system

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

At the University of New Orleans, the last year and a half has been rough.

First, there were reports of a gaping budget deficit after years of declining enrollment, followed by announcements of layoffs and furloughs, building closures and, just last week, plans to cut adjunct professors and cancel some classes. Those changes have stirred concern about the future of UNO, a beloved institution that is largely credited with educating and building New Orleans’ middle class.

But UNO President Kathy Johnson, who took the helm of the university in 2023 and was given the unenviable task of righting the ship, views the situation very differently

In an interview this week, Johnson said the recent spending cuts, while painful in the short term, were a necessary corrective to get the university back on financial track. Now with the university’s spending in check, its debt nearly paid off and its planned move to the LSU system in the works, Johnson said UNO is stabilizing and its future is looking much brighter

“We are so much better than we were,” she said. “I’m anticipating one more challenging year, and then I’m really excited about the future, starting off on a fresh note.”

Just six months into her tenure as UNO president, Johnson discovered a startling fact: The university had for years been spending more than it took in and had accrued significant debt.

Annual spending exceeded revenues by $10 million to $15 million, but federal pandemic aid has masked the structural deficit, Johnson said. The overspending, coupled with about $15 million in debt, spelled financial trouble for the university Then state lawmakers threw UNO a lifeline: They passed a bill this year to shift the school from the University of Louisiana system to LSU. The change in oversight came with more than $20 million in state aid.

“Because of the state’s incredible generosity,” Johnson said, “the monies that we received this fiscal year have enabled us to essentially eradicate the vast majority of that debt.”

Meanwhile, Johnson’s team has tried to rein in spending.

cancel, will be required to take over courses taught by adjuncts.

“Before paying an adjunct,” Johnson said, “I should make sure that my current full-time employees are appropriately helping to deliver the curriculum.”

Rather than take a knife to the academic budget, which is at the core of UNO’s mission, critics say the university should slash spending on athletics. They note that UNO partially subsidizes sports programs with money from its operating budget. Johnson called that argument misleading, saying that only $250,000 of UNO’s $85.5 million general budget goes toward athletics. Most of the department’s funding comes from ticket sales, donations and other revenue sources, and a new sports-gambling law could net the university an additional $1 million to $2 million per year Johnson added.

Still, Johnson said she has curbed athletics spending and made the department “live within (its) means.” UNO is also looking to its students to help balance the budget Those who owe more than $750 are now blocked from registering for classes.

“We can’t continue to just let everyone in and stay on without paying any tuition,” Johnson said.

Still, the university is doing what it can to help students with limited means, she added, noting that many UNO students have unmet financial needs even after receiving state and federal aid. The university raised its tuition by just 3% this year, less than the 10% allowed under a new state law The UNO Foundation donated $200,000 to support students whose unpaid bills have prevented them from registering for classes And the university hired workstudy students this summer to power-wash buildings and help landscape the campus.

Even as UNO leaders seek to cut costs, they’re also trying to catch up on longdeferred building repairs, including roofs that leak whenever it rains.

“There’s some predictable pails and buckets that I would love to get rid of forever,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she is confident that UNO’s enrollment, which was down by about 2,000 students this month compared with last fall, will rebound.

one of the fighters was arrested, he went to the jail and slept there with him, so he wouldn’t have to be alone. The next morning, he brought him home and made him run laps around our pasture until he couldn’t go anymore. That person credits him for his sobriety today

“When I think of him, I remember a husband sweeping the floor who would grab his wife’s hand as she was washing the dishes and slow dance with her to a song on the television, a father who rushed to Acadiana Park in his steel-toed boots and torn up jeans to run three miles with his boys and the Comeaux cross country team, and the grandfather who sobbed as his first grandson was placed in his arms.”

After projected spending on academic affairs for the next school year came in more than $1 million over budget, Johnson announced last week that UNO would slash the number of adjunct professors and cancel underfilled classes. The union representing UNO employees decried the “large-scale firing” of adjuncts, saying it would lead to overcrowded classes and overburdened faculty members.

In the interview, Johnson defended her request that tenured faculty teach one extra class per semester She said it was “not an unreasonable ask” given that faculty were exempt from recent layoffs and furloughs and only 40% of faculty members — namely, tenured professors who are not conducting research and teach three or fewer courses — will be asked to pick up an extra class. In addition, professors who taught classes with low enrollments, which the university plans to

The university focused its recruitment efforts this year on Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes, where most UNO students come from. The university now expects to enroll about 6,000 students by the start of the semester just a few hundred less than last year Beyond that, Johnson said, UNO must update its academic offerings to ensure students are “prepared to enter the workforce that needs them tomorrow.”

For example, the school might allow students to earn project management or leadership credentials as they pursue degrees in history or English literature.

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Casey Ferrari, dressed as Waluigi, winds up an attack against his nemesis Mario during Louisiana Retro Con at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center on Saturday

Enrique Miles, dressed as Bowser, roars fiery taunts at opponent Marcus HarperWilliams after defeating him in a game of

PHOTO By CHARLIE NEIBERGALL

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Voters wait to receivetheir ballots at apolling placeinNovember 2024 in Dearborn, Mich. Over the pastthreemonths, thedepartment’svoting sectionhas requested copies of voter registration lists from state electionadministrators in at least15states, according to an Associated Press tally

DOJasksstatesfor voter, election information

BY ALI SWENSON and GARYFIELDS Associated Press

NEW YORK The requests have come in letters, emails and phone calls. The specifics vary,but the target is consistent: The U.S. DepartmentofJusticeis ramping up an effort to get voter data and other election information from the states.

Over the past three months, the department’s voting sectionhas requested copies of voter registration lists from stateelection administrators in at least 15 states, according to an Associated Press tally.Of those, nine are Democrats, five are Republicans and one is abipartisan commission In Colorado, the department demanded “all records” relating to the 2024 election and any records thestate retained from the 2020 election.

Departmentlawyers have contacted officialsin at leastseven states to propose ameeting aboutforging an information-sharing agreement related to instances of voting or election fraud. The idea, they say in the emails, is for states to help the department enforcethe law

The unusually expansive outreachhas raised alarm among some election officials because states have the constitutionalauthority to run elections and federal law protects the sharing of individual data withthe government. It alsosignals the transformation of the Justice Department’sinvolvement in elections under President Donald Trump. The departmenthistorically has focused on protecting access to the ballot box. Today,itistakingsteps to crack down on voter fraud and noncitizenvoting, both of which are rarebut have been the subject of years of false claims from Trump and his allies.

The department’sactions come alongside abroader effort by theadministration to investigate pastelections and influence the 2026 midterms.The Republican president hascalledfor a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election thathelost to Democrat Joe Biden and continues to falsely claim he won. Trump also has pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps to create moreHouse seats favorable to the GOP The Justice Department doesnot typically“engage in fishing expeditions” to find laws that may potentially have been broken and has traditionally been independent from the president, said David Becker,a former department lawyer who leads the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research.

“Now it seems to be operating differently,” he said The department responded withanemailed no comment” to alist of questions submitted by the AP seeking details aboutthe communications with state officials.

Funerals Today

Baudry, Lucy

St.Alphonsus Catholic Church, 14040 Greenwell Springs Road,at1 p.m

Cowart,Joyce

FirstBaptistChurch of Zacharyat 10:00 am

Daigle,Anne Grace Life Fellowship, 10210 BaringerForeman Road,at11a.m

DeCongé Watson, Mary Sacred HeartCatholic Church in BatonRouge at 11 a.m. Guerin Jr., James St.John theEvangelistCatholic Church at 11 a.m.

Kinchen, Earl

Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, 12012 Highway 190 West in Hammond, at 1p.m

Krieger, Dorlane ResthavenGardens of Memory Cemetery, 11817 JeffersonHwy,Baton Rouge at 11am

Mackie,Antonia Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 4415 Groom Road in Baker, at 5:30 p.m.

McCain,Marian Rabenhorst FuneralHome, 825 Government Street,at7 p.m.

Wolfe, Bridget St.Thomas More Church,11441 Goodwood Boulevard, at 11 a.m.

Obituaries

Fletcher,Floyd

Requests vary

Election offices in Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York,Utah and Wisconsin confirmed to the AP thatthey receivedletters from thevotingsection requestingtheir statewide voterregistrationlists. At least one other,Oklahoma, received the request by phone.

Manyrequests included basicquestions aboutthe procedures states use to complywithfederal voting laws,suchashow states identify and remove duplicate voterregistrationsor deceased or otherwise ineligible voters.

Certainquestions were more state-specificand referenced datapointsor perceived inconsistencies from arecent survey from the U.S. ElectionAssistance Commission, an AP review of several of theletters showed.

TheJustice Department already has filed suit againstthe state election board in NorthCarolina alleging it failed to comply witha part of the federal HelpAmericaVote Act that relatestovoter registration records.

More inquirieslikely

There aresigns the department’soutreach isn’t done. It toldthe National AssociationofSecretaries of State that “all states would be contacted eventually,” said Maria Benson, a NASS spokesperson.

The organization has asked the departmentto join avirtual meeting of its elections committeeto answer questions about the letters, Benson said. Some officials have raised concerns about how the voter data will be used andprotected Election officialsinat least fourCalifornia counties —Los Angeles, Orange, SanDiego and San Francisco—saidthe Justice Departmentsent them letters askingfor voterroll records. The letters asked for thenumber of people removed from the rolls for being noncitizensand for their voting records, dates of birth and ID numbers.

Officials in Arizona, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsinconfirmed to the AP thatthey receivedan email from two department lawyersrequesting acall about apotential “information-sharing agreement.”

Thegoal, according to several copies of the emails reviewed by the AP,was for states to provide thegovernment with information aboutinstances of election fraudtohelpthe Justice Department“enforce Federal election laws and protect theintegrity of Federal elections.”One of those sending the emails wasa senior counsel in the criminal division.

The emails referred to Trump’sMarch executive order on elections, part of which directsthe attorney general to enter information-sharingagreements

withstate election officials to the “maximum extent possible.”

Officialsassessreply

Election officialsinseveral states that received requests for theirvoter registrationinformation have not responded. Some said they werereviewing theinquiries.

Officials in some other states provided public versions of voter registration liststothe department, with certain personalinformation such as Social Securitynumbersblacked out. Elsewhere, state officialsanswered procedural questionsfrom theJustice Departmentbut refusedto provide thevoter lists

In Minnesota, the office of Secretary of State Steve Simon, aDemocrat, said the federal agency is not legally entitled to theinformation

In aJuly 25 letter to the Justice Department’svoting section, Simon’sgeneral counsel, Justin Erickson, said the list “contains sensitive personalidentifying information on several million individuals.” He said theofficehad obligations under federal and state law to not disclose any information from thestatewide list unlessexpresslyrequired by law

In arecent letter, Republican lawmakersinthe state calledonSimon to comply with thefederal request as away “toprotect thevoting rights of thecitizens of Minnesota.”

Maine’s secretaryofstate, Democrat Shenna Bellows, said the administration’s request overstepped the federal government’sbounds and that thestate will not fulfill it.She said doing so would violate voter privacy

The department“doesn’t gettoknoweverything about you just becausethey want to,” Bellows said.

Lawyershavequestions

Thereisnothing inherentlywrong with theJustice Department requesting information on stateprocedures or the states providing it, said Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general who teaches at Loyola Law School.

Butthe department’s requests for voter registration dataare moreproblematic, he said. Thatis because of thePrivacy Act of 1974, which put strict guidelines on data collectionbythe federal government. Thegovernment is required to issueanotice in theFederal Register and notify appropriate congressionalcommittees when it seekspersonally identifiable information about individuals.

Becker said thereis nothing in federal law that compels states to comply withrequests for sensitive personal data about their residents. He added that whilethe outreach about information-sharingagreements was largely innocuous,the involvement of a criminal attorney could be seen as intimidating.

“You can understand howpeople would be concerned,” he said.

ter, Betty GuillotLaGrange; nieces, Debbie Daze Foret, GinaDaze Fox, LaurieLaGrange Boudreaux; nephew,David LaGrange He wasprecededin death by his parents,Alex A. Guillot and NoraDelaune Guillot; sister,Dot Guillot Daze

Alex wasa U.S. Army Veteran, retiredfrom SouthCentral Bell, and whileattendingLSU,was a member of theLSU Tiger Band. Landry's Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

FloydFletcher, age87, a residentofZachary,LA, passedawayonJuly31, 2025. He wasbornonJuly 8,1938, in Melville,LA. Visi‐tationwillbeFirst Baptist Church of ZacharyonTues‐day,August5,2025, from 10:00 am until service11:00 am, conductedbyDrEddie Wren. Burial will follow at Greenoaks Mem-orialPark & MausoleuminBaton Rouge.Floyd is survived by his children,CindieCogh‐lan of Jackson, Sherry FletcherofBaton Rouge and Steve(Dianne)FletcherofZachary,Shirleys children, Wesley Kent Robertson (Stacy), Anne Robertson Nash (Blake), ThomasWilsonRobertson (Celeste),brothers, George Fletcher(Linda) andJohn Fletcher, sisters, AnnieBell Smith (Glenn) &Ruby LeBlanc,10grandchildren, 32great grandchildren, 2 great -great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews,and extended family. He is preceded by his partnerShirley Corco‐ran Robertson, hisparents, Eddie& Lillie Fletcher and brother JimmyFletcher. Familywas everything to him.Hecherished every momentspent with loved ones, andnothing brought him more joythangather‐ing fora game of cards, his way to connect, to unwind and to sharetimewith those he lovedthe most Floyd dedicatedmany years of hislifetothe skilled tradeofpainting, proudly servingasa mem‐ber of thePaintersUnion Throughouthis career,he was knownfor exceptional craftmanship, astrong workethic anda deep commitmenttoquality and safety on everyjob.He took greatpride in mentor‐ing,sharing knowledge and helpingtoupholdthe highstandards of thepro‐fession.Pallbearers will be his grandsons. In lieu of flowers, please make memorialdonations to First BaptistChurch Zachary or St Jude’s Chil‐drens Hospital.Share sym‐pathies,memories, and condolences at www.Cha rletFuneralHome.com.

Larkin, Constance Marie 'Connie' In LovingMemoryofour Sister, Constance "Connie" Larkin. We are heartbrokento announce thepassing of oursister,Connie, wholeft us on 7/29/25 from Life PathHospice HouseinSun CityCenter, FL. Connie was akindand compassionate soul whose warmth,laughter, andlove illuminated thelives of everyoneshe knew. Hergentlespirit and generousheart willbe deeply missed but forever cherished Connie is survived by hersiblings, JaniceLarkin Owens andGinger Larkin Moniotte from Baton Rouge,LA, andmany friends wholoved her dearlyinApolloBeach, FL whereshe lived heradult life. Connie opened her ownbusiness manyyears ago in Apollo Beachcalled "Connie'sClassic Touch" massage therapy clinic andwas averyactive member in the localChamberOfCommerce. Her legacyofkindnessand her vibrantspirit will continue to inspireuseveryday. ACelebrationOfLife will be held in Apollo Beach in September. Connieloved to dance, andwetake comfortin knowing shewill forever be "dancing in the sky"...

grandson, Garrett- to whom she wasfiercelydevoted. Sheisalso survived by twobrothers, JamesD Thibaut(Valerie)and Charles L. Thibaut(Barbara); herbrothers-in-law KevinCauseyand Ward Scott; several nieces and nephews; andher loving companion, David Sanchez Beth wasprecededin death by herhusband, WalterI.Scott, III;her parents JamesH.Thibautand ShirleyMunsonThibaut; andtwo siblings, William H. Thibautand Mary ThibautCausey. Beth spentthe majority of hercareerworkingwith herbrother BillatGeneral Computer ServicesinDonaldsonville.Upon retirement, shemoved to Covington to be near Debra andother family. Although Beth always hada passion for gardening,birdwatching, andthe LSUFighting Tigers, witha later-acquiredaffinityfor the game of Mahjongand a ride to thecoast with David, nothingprovided hermorejoy or filledher heartwith more pride than being"Grammie" to Garrett.Beth'sgenerosity, loyalty, andjoiedevivre left an indelible mark on a host of extendedfamily andfriends.She will be sorely missed.

Relativesand friends are invited to acelebration of Beth's life to be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at OursoFuneral Home, 134 HoumasStreet, Donaldsonville, LA.Visitationwill be from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., followed by a shortmemorial service Burial will be at alater date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of VivianScott may be made to theAmericanHeart Association.Donation information is found at www.heart.org., under Ways to Give, Honor a LovedOne

Vivian "Beth"Thibaut Scott, age 80, of

Scott,Vivian Thibaut 'Beth'

Immigration action shatters church community

AbilioDeLeon, Angel DeLeon andAbner Valasquez are names of longtime members of St. Anthony of Padua. Abilio and Abner came here after Katrina to help rebuild ourparish and city

Unfortunately,their names and contributions do notseem as important as alabel: illegals. On June 12, they and their cousin, Ever Valasquez, were arrested and detained by U.S. ICEagents in Lafayette for doing what they have done since arriving here: working. None has acriminal record. Angel has already been deported.

Our church community is devastated. We have seen our family of faith torn apart. We do not discriminate between those born here and those who came for a better life. We are allborninto one faith in Christ.

The Catholic Church recognizes three principles of immigration. First, people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives andthose of their families. This is at the heart of why our parishioners came here

The Church also recognizes that acountry has the right to regulate its borders. However that must be weighted by the third principle, which says a country must regulate itsborders with justice and mercy

Our parishioners are not experiencing mercy at this time. It remains to be seen if they will experience justice.

The current practices of ICE do not reflect the values of scripture, the traditions of the faith or the historical practiceofthis nation.

This grave issue transcends partisan politics. Recently, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise,a faithful Catholic, noted that Congress needs to change immigration laws regarding undocumented immigrants without criminal records.

Iimplore faithleaders and faithful everywhere to contact elected officials. Let themknow that the immigrants arrested in Lafayette and so many others are part of your family: your family in Christ. THE REV. AUGUSTINE DeARMOND Metairie

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

AREWELCOME.HEREARE

YOUR VIEWS

Second Harvest Food Bank volunteers prepare meals at 700 Edwards Ave., in NewOrleans on May2,2024.

Goodbye, with gratitude, to Second Harvest supporters

It is with afull heart that Iannounce thatI will take the reins as CEO of the Community Food BankofSouthern Arizona on Aug. 4. Nineteen years ago, when Iwas thinking about howbest Second Harvest could serve southLouisiana in the wake of the devastation left by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Ilooked for inspiration in other places. Tucson was ahead of other food banks; it was deeply rooted in communitypartnerships, running farmers’ markets, anonprofit grocery store, afarm and akitchen program long before other food banks. It feels good to pay forward the debt their vision inspired in Second Harvest’s work,especially at this challenging timefor all food banks.

Second Harvest has been so proud to be anonpartisan organization, supportedby every member of our federal delegation,

theadministration and our state andlocal leaders. When the administration stopped all discretionary funding at USDA, food banks immediately lost half of the USDA food that madeupathird of their total distribution, and farmers left crops to rot in the fields. The incredible program helping local disadvantaged farmers, as well as the nutrition education program, was also ended.

The mostinnovative food banks are thinking through how to best serve in this new reality.Itwill take all our stakeholders —the public sector,the for-profit supporters and theindividuals and foundations whovolunteer and donate to come together,but Ihave absolute trust that we will find solutions, and Ilook forward to engaging in the work again.

While my heart is full, Iwill also be leaving apart of it here. Thank you to this communityIlove, and which has given me so much. Pleasecall on me if Ican ever be of service.

NATALIEJAYROE formerCEO,Second Harvest

Compelling case forschoolchoice

ImagineLouisiana passed alaw forcingyou to see only theclosest doctor —no matterthe quality.Imagine being told that, because you arealow-income family,you can only buygroceries at one governmentapproved store. Wealthier families remain free to shop anywherethey like.

or religious. It puts parents back in charge, where they belong.

Downsize military basesto eliminate waste, invest in other priorities

Anew report waspublished by the global peace group World BEYONDWar,exposing the harm and scale of military bases worldwide. Of 1,247 foreign military bases in the world, the United States operates 877 bases across 95 countries and is rapidly adding more, not a single one of them asked forbythe U.S. public or the local “host” population.

Here in Louisiana, we have four of those 877 military bases, and having worked as amilitary subcontractor,I have seen the waste and misappropriations of congressional funding firsthand. Overall, military bases fuel the industrial warmachine, heighten tensions and provoke war-making. Bases occupy stolen Indigenous lands and cause massive environmental damage. Instead of spending billions on propped-up money pits that serve as launchpads forwars, our tax dollars should be redirected toward our community’sreal needs: housing, health care, green energy and education. In our state especially, these needs are woefully underfunded. We need to downsize and eliminate the glut on military base infrastructure that facilitates disastrous war-making and invest in alivable future instead. Existing military bases should be converted to useful purposes, like affordable housing and green energy facilities, creating jobs while benefiting our local community.Numerous studies have shownthat spending on domestic priorities vs. the same amount spent on the military would create substantially morejobs than these bases produce. This issue does not get enough coverage and has such wide-ranging effects that it warrants further public exposure and discussion. We deserve better as acountry ALEX WEINGARTEN Metairie

TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

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

Most Louisianans would be outraged and rightfully so. That is exactly how thecurrent public education system operates. In Louisiana today,most families lack access to educational choice. They cannot afford to opt out of thepublic school assigned by government zoning —often not even the closest school, assigned instead through decades-old school boundaries drawn by some bureaucrat. Wealthy families escape thesystem. Poor andmiddle-class families remain trapped. That is not fairness. That is amonopoly Changeiscoming. In 2024, theLouisiana Legislaturepassed agroundbreaking law: LA GATOR. Once fully funded, this program will allow every student in Louisianatoattend the school that is best for them —public, private

We already make choices about our doctors, our groceries and our colleges. Why not theschool where our children spend 35 hours aweek, nine monthsayear during themost crucial phase of their life? Agood school can set achild up for success. Afailing school can set them back foryears. Somecritics argue that school choice is too expensive. Butthe numbers tell adifferent story

Louisianacurrently spends $14,822 per public school student,according to the U.S. Department of Education. Many of the state’stop-performing private schools operate at significantly lower cost:

n LakeCastle: approximately $5,000.

n Our Lady of the Lake (Mandeville): approximately $9,000.

n St.Margaret Mary (Slidell): approximately $8,000.

n St. Paul’sSchool (Covington): approximately $12,000.

DON GALLATY II Mandeville

Irecently had surgery at alarge hospital in theNew Orleans area. The care Ireceived was excellent, and Iwant to thank the many doctors, nursesand other health care workerswho caredfor me. There is one person Iwant to thank whose name Idonot know.Itisthe person who donated theunit of blood that Ireceived the day after mysurgery.Ihave donated blood myself in thepast and never thought much about it. Butitiswith profound gratitude that Ithank thedonor of my blood and all blood donors. Ithank God each day foryour generosity.

BARBARA HEBERT River Ridge

We cannolongerlook away from what Israel is doing in Gaza

Idonot understand how we as anationcan continue to support the actions of Israelagainst the Palestinian people,killing dozens anddozensand more every day in the shrinking spaces into which they’ve been driven, usually as the crowds gatherinhopes of securing water andfood Often, the reason given is that there areterrorists among them Occasionally,it’smore like “Oops, we’ll look into it.”

No more the noble nation of Israel,its current actions are those of apowerful bully,capable of great devastationwithout compassionorconcernfor the hundreds of innocenthuman beings they’re destroying.

JEAN WALL Baton Rouge

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Jayroe

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

It’sscorching hotoutside and this lovable poochishaving ablast coolingdown. but it lookslikethe cool cats in the air conditioning have athing or twotosay about all this.

So, what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtellme. Be witty,funny, crazy, absurd or snarky —just trytokeepitclean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Monday,Aug. 11 in our print editions and online.

In addition, the winner will receivea signed print of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt!

Some honorable mentions will alsobelisted. To enter,email your entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com. DON’T FORGET!All entries must include your name, homeaddress andphone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline is midnight on Thursday,Aug.7. Have fun with this one, everyone!— Walt

I’mpickin’ up good vibrations/ She’s giving me excitations —The Beach Boys,1966

“When we Americans are done with the English language,” wrote Finley PeterDunne(18671936), “it willlook as if it had been run over by amusical comedy.” Let’ssurvey some recent damage.

its “iconic boardwalks.”Hulk Hogan, a professional wrestler,was, astoryon hisdeath said, iconic. Meaning he was somewhat famous and somewhat distinguishable from otherprofessional wrestlers, every one of whom strains to be very unique.

vibe shift”ofaconservative backlash against progressive overreaching.

The cancellationofthe Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversionfrom Louisiana’s CoastalMasterPlan is adevastating setback for ourcoast, ourcommunities and ourfuture

As the largest coastal restoration project in U.S. history,the MBSD was designedtorestore up to 27 square miles of vitalwetlands in the Barataria Basin, a regionsuffering fromsomeofthe highest land loss ratesinthe world.

Its cancellationjeopardizesthe progress made over the past two decades to protect Louisiana’sworking coastand the communities that depend on it. The commercial, political andculturalcapitals of our state areparticularly vulnerable to the cancellation of this project

During my more than36 yearsrepresenting Louisiana in Congress, one of my proudest moments waswhenPresident George W.H. Bush signed into law legislationIsponsored, the CoastalWetlands Planning, Protection and RestorationAct (CWPPRA), commonly known as “The BreauxAct.”

Championed by politicians on both sidesofthe aisle in ourstate and in D.C., it passedbecause we all agreed scienceinformed policyisnot apartisanissue

The initialstudy that helped identify the conceptfor the MBSD was conducted using CWPPRA funding and allowed the state to begin research and to perform feasibility planning forthe project.Under the BreauxAct,federal dollars have been andcontinue to be provided for the state to address critical coastal issues by supporting projectsapproved in Louisiana’s CoastalMasterPlan.

In fact, the MBSD andthe sciencesupporting it have been studied and modeled for decades

The proposed alternative project, the Myrtle Grove diversion, has not been researched or modeledinover 15 years. It will direct only about25% of the sediment for land building thatthe MBSD would have brought in but will freshen the water of Barataria Baytoalmost the same level. This decrease in salinity is what opponents object to, whichboth plans would do at the same level.

The fifth-most misused word in what remains of the tattered language is “massive.” It is an adjective applied to anything big, even ifthe thing hasnomass. There cannot beamassive increase in consumer confidence. Similarly,itwould be wrong to say there is massive illiteracy in many uses of “massive.”

The fourth-most shopworn word is “unique. It is applied to any development that has happenedsincethe person misusing “unique” was in highschool As in, “There is unique polarization in America today,” ajudgment that cannot survive evenacursory reading about the1850s. Often themisuse is compounded by tacking “very”onto it. Saying that something is “very unique” is saying that something merely unique is less so than something “veryunique,” with uniqueness varying bydegrees.

The third-most gratingly misapplied word is “only,” but only in thephrase “one of the only.” As in, Mickey Mantle is one of theonly switch-hittersinthe Hall of Fame. One of the only is awordyway of avoiding “few.”

The second-most worn-out word in contemporary discourseis “iconic.” This adjective is, it seems, applicable to anything or anyone well-known in away differentfrom the way anything or anyoneelsehas become well-known.New Jersey urges tourists to come and enjoy

Today’smost promiscuously usedword is “vibe.” It probably is used so often by so many because trying to decipher its meaning is like trying to nail applesaucetosmoke. Having no fixed meaning, “vibe” cannotbeused incorrectly So,it resembles the phrase “social justice,” which includes anoun and amodifierthatdoes not intelligibly modify the noun. From the American EnterpriseInstitute: “Zohran Mamdani Wonthe Vibe War.”Vibes at war? Supporters of the New York mayoral candidate like “the ideaofmood.” City Journal on “Mamdani’s Vibes Campaign”: The candidate “didn’tjust run acampaign; he curated an experience,” blending “culture and politics into alifestyle brand” featuring “aspirational consumption,”whatever that is. Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill: “Vibe Shift in House.”Somemembers ofCongress were changing their votes TheWall Street Journal: “Luxury BrandsAre Hit by aVibe Shift.” Wealthyshoppers are skimping. Maybe.The Financial Times:“Unapologetic brands lean into the vibe shift.” No more “quiet luxury,” more “maximalism, conspicuous consumption, opulence.” The New York Times: “Can Walmart Drop Its Discount Vibe?” National Review on “The Land Wherethe Vibe Doesn’tShift,” a.k.a. Ireland,whichhas mostly missed “the

ATimes obituary of aphotographer: “Marcia Resnick, Who Captured 1970s New York Vibe, Dies at 74.”A Times columnist asks: “Should YouBeAble to Copyright aVibe?” (“Should stealing someone’svibe be against the law?”) The Wall Street Journal: “‘Vibe Coding’ Arrives for Businesses.” This has something—the story is murky —todowith artificial intelligence. Shakespeare used 28,827 different words without resorting to “vibe.”He could have written that Lear gave off abad vibe while raging on the heath, and that Falstaff’s vibe was fun. But the Barddid as well as he could with the limited resources of the Elizabethan English he had.

Modernitymeans being constantly blindsided by progress. Most Americans sailed through grade school without the benefit of what some pupils can enjoy in third grade these days: classroom discussions about gender fluidity. Now Americanswho want to be journalistically literatemust master the taxonomy of the various vibes. Andpitythe senior citizens who began receiving Social Security payments beforerealizing that all their lives they have been living surrounded by people emitting vibes,and in vibesoaked situations. These seniorshave been radiating theirown vibes. They are like the startled character Jourdain in Moliere’splay “The Bourgeois Gentleman” who exclaimed: “MyGod! I’ve been speaking prose for over forty yearsand didn’teven know it.” Talk about excitations.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

The otheralternatives proposed, dredging androck wall barriers, are short-term Band-Aids to the almost century-old destruction of ourwetlands brought about by riverlevees andindustrial abuse. Modelssuggest thatsea levelrise,saltwater intrusionand awarming planetwill submerge the newbarriers and dredge land within adecade.

Meanwhile, the coastal land that exists will erodefurtherwithout river sediment thatwould sustain and expand its current footprint.

The fact thatscientific research is not being consultedinthis cancellationis problematic.Add in the fact that community members and other experts have been left outofthe secret negotiations thatled to this decision and the result is astriking departure from the progress we’ve made both in substance and reputation.

Iurge this administrationtoreverse this cancellationbeforeit’stoo late John Breaux served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1972 until 1987 and the U.S. Senate from 1987 until 2005.

John Breaux GUEST COLUMNIST

George Will

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Awidedirtpath marks the location of the Mid-BaratariaSediment Diversion project as it beginsconstruction near Myrtle Grove in 2024.

BY ALEXAST. JOHN Associated Press

Arelatively mild, 3.0 magnitude earthquake shook the New York metropolitan area Saturday night.

The earthquake hit in the New Jersey suburbof Hasbrouck Heights about 10:18 p.m. at adepth of about 6.2 miles. It was felt fairly widely in northern parts of the state, southern New York and eveninsouthern Connecticut.

There were no initial reports of serious injuriesor significant damage in New Jersey or acrossthe Hudson RiverinNew York City. City officials said that as of late Sunday morning they had not been called to respondto any building-related issues. The Big Apple has more than 1million buildings.

Many posts on socialmedia reported the ground rumbling, andthe U.S. Geological Survey reported more than 10,000 responses to its “Did YouFeel It?” website.

Though people in the United States might associate earthquakesmore often with the West Coast, scientists say these types of incidents on the East Coast are not unlikely How frequent are earthquakes in the New York area?

The area feels an earthquake about once every couple of years.

“The northeast part of the United States does not see large earthquakesvery often,” said Jessica Turner, ageophysicistwith theNational Earthquake Information Center,which is apart of the USGS. Since 1950,only43other quakes of this magnitude and larger haveoccurred within 155 miles of Saturday’sevent, according to the USGS. Amuch larger,4.8-magnitude quake that struck in Tewksbury,New Jersey,a little farther west of the city,

Earthquake shookN.Y., N.J. areasSaturdaynight

in April 2024 was felt as far away as Bostonand Baltimore. Some flights were diverted or delayed after that quake, and Amtrak slowed trainsthroughout thebusy Northeast corridor.

Asmaller, 1.7magnitude earthquakethat hit the Astoria section of Queens, New York, in January 2024 stirred residents.

The region sees amore damaging one only acouple times acentury,ifthat.New York wasdamagedin1737 and 1884 by earthquakes, according to USGS data. How do East Coast earthquakes compare withWestCoastones?

The difference between East Coast and West Coast quakes lies in the“mechanism,”saidseismologist LucyJones. California is at the edge of theSan Andreas faultsystem,which has two tectonic plates: thePacific Ocean plateand theNorth American plate. Twoplates move andpushtobuild up stress, meaning earthquakes happenrelatively frequently New York falls in themiddleofaplate, far from the nearest boundariesinthe center of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea resultinginresidualstresses and making itdifficult to predictwhere earthquakes will

occur.

The area is alsohome to thewell-known Ramapo Fault line.Geologistshave not seen evidence that would suggest it hashad alarge earthquake in some time, butthere have been smaller ones. Saturday’squake cannotnecessarily be associated with this fault, experts say.

Thesame size earthquake is felt over amuch larger area in New York than it would be in California.

“The rocks on theEast Coast are particularly cold andhard andtherefore,do abetterjob of transmitting the energy,” said Jones. In California,the various faults aremoreakin to abroken bell,which doesn’ttransmit energyaswell.

Does this signal more to come?

Everyearthquakemakes anotherone morelikely,but within arange,scientists say “At just 3.0, thechances are there will notbeanother felt event,” Jones said, estimating abouta50-50 chance there will be no activity that can be recorded.“Most

ROOKIE RANKINGS

Alookathow Saints 2025 draftclass is faring 10 days into training camp

It will go downasone of the most important draft classes of the Mickey Loomis era. Thenine players Loomisand hisstaff selected in April could go along way in defining thedirection of the franchise. The Saints need to hit on some of these picks. We won’t be able to give atrueevaluation of this class until afew years down the road. But that doesn’tmean we can’t tell you what we have thought about theclass so far.

So here’saranking of thisyear’sdraft picks based on what we have seen after 10 days of training camp on Airline Drive.

1. Kelvin Banks: There’snoother player you would wanttosee at the top spot on this list morethan the tackle from theUniversity of Texas drafted withthe No.9 overall pick. The Saints needed to getthis pick right, and the early returns say they did. Banks’ one-on-one rep against Chris Rumph in the Saints first practice in padsdrew ravereviews on social media. Left tackle is the most importantposition on the line, and Banks has looked the part so far

“It’sbeen ahuge adjustment that Ihad to make, especially having to be technically sound every play,” Banks said. “Obviously

LSU’s O-line looksto be gold standard

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

New faces will define LSU’s offensive line in 2025. After the departures of four three-year starters to the NFL, the Tigers enter the 2025 season witha newlook up front. But that hasn’tstopped the group from bonding as aunit.

“We’re the bombsquad. So we take each guy in as like they’vebeen here, like we learn about them,” redshirt sophomore Tyree Adams said. “Weknow everything about them.”

So how have they grownthis close so suddenly?

“Wegoeat almost every day,” Adams said. “We’re big guys, we’re fat. We love food.”

With so manynew faces in front of him, fifth-year senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has also recognized the importance of his bigger teammates getting closer as aunit.

Twoweeks before the start of preseason camp, Nussmeier took the offensive line, sophomore runningback CadenDurham andredshirtjuniorwidereceiver Aaron Anderson out to lunch at Walk-On’s.

“WewenttoWalk-On’sand spent$800,” Adamssaid. “Weran thebillupand it was amazing.”

Aclose-knit group on the line will be essential for LSU’sunit to pickupwhere it left

ä See LSU, page 4B

nobody is going to be afinished product, so there’s alot Iwantto work on anda lotIfeel like Ican do better at. But just me coming in here and giving100% of my all, Ifeel like that’sanother big step forme. Ifeel like I’vebeen doing pretty good so far,soI’m just making sure Istay focusedonthe little things.”

This time ayear ago, theoffensive linewas abig questionmark. Now it might be astrength. Banks hasalot to do with that.

2. DannyStutsman: The Saints haven’t hit on afourth-round draft pick since drafting defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in 2019. Stutsman, the linebacker drafted out of Oklahoma, may endthat drought.He’sbeen impressive (including an interception) and may be abig part of the future at aposition where theSaintsneed to start developing talent. Demario Davis won’tplay forever

ä See WALKER, page 3B

Despiteweather delay, fans turn outfor historic game

BY TERESA M. WALKER Associated Press

BRISTOL, Tenn.— Arecordcrowd of 91,032 fora regular-seasonMajor League Baseball gamegot to see all thepomp and pageantry with the MLB Speedway Classicbefore the rain washed out the game itself in the bottom of the first inning.

Fansreturning Sunday only wanted to watch theAtlanta Braves andCincinnati Redsplay ball. They enjoyed enough of star TimMcGraw andPitbull in therain that suspendedthe first MLB regular-season game in the state of Tennessee.

“Wegot to see all of that (Saturday), so as long as we seegame today Ithink we’ll be good,” Cindy Lowe of Mount Airy,North Carolina, said before thegame. Craig Marcum agreed. He and his family, with three children, were readytosee baseball even if Marcum is the Reds’ fansur-

roundedbyrelativesrooting forthe Braves. They had agood timeseeing McGrawand country singer Jake Owen. Sundaywas dry at BristolMotor Speedway withovercastskies.The sunactually broke through in the ninth inning on what wound up aperfect day for baseball. The Braves trailed 1-0 when the gameresumed Sunday, andEli White hit two home runs leading Atlanta over the Reds 4-2. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said it was ashamethe rain ruined abeautiful evening Saturday,though both teamscame through Sunday with agood gameand no complaints. “Kudos to all the fans who cameback,” Snitker said. “I mean after the weather and getting soaked and everything yesterday,it was great. Ithought it was agreat production. Youlook back, it’skind of cool to be a part of this.” Organizers also got to show off the fun planned during the game. Fans passedcar cutouts of

Rod Walker

HILARy

Saints tackle Kelvin Banks, center,runs adrill alongside tackle Trevor Penning on Sunday during training camp at the team’spractice facility. STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

GOLF ROUNDUP

Yamashita wins Women’s British Open

The Associated Press

PORTHCAWL, Wales Miyu Yamashita of Japan captured her first major title Sunday when she withstood a charge by Charley Hull by not making a bogey until the outcome of the Women’s British Open was no longer in doubt She closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory Yamashita holed two big par putts on the back nine at Royal Porthcawl, the last one when Hull had closed to within one shot of the lead.

Her final test was the 401-yard 16th, one of the toughest on the course. Yamashita who turned 24 on Saturday, drilled her drive down the middle and found the green, nearly holing a 45-foot putt. That gave her a three-shot lead with two holes to play

Her final act was a tap-in for par to finish on 11-under 277, and she raised both arms to celebrate. Yamashita wiped away tears as she headed to the scoring trailer

“To be part of such a moment in history is something very, very special,” Yamashita said through an interpreter at the trophy presentation

Hull gave it her best shot. She started the final round three shots behind, made three birdies in a four-hole stretch to get into the mix and then holed a 20-foot birdie on the 14th to get within one shot of the lead. Behind her on the course, Yamashita hit into a bunker off the tee at the par-5 13th, blasted out and still had a long way for her third, missing the green to the left

She chipped weakly to 18 feet and buried the par putt. She also poured in an 8-foot par putt to stay at 12 under, right after Hull got to 11 under

The English star blinked first Hull didn’t get any help from the wind on her tee shot on the 16th which found a pot bunker and left her no chance of reaching the green. Her third shot bounded off the back of the green, and she had to make a 20-footer to escape with bogey Hull runner-up again

Hull bogeyed the 17th, and her chances were done. She closed with a 69 and finished as a runnerup in a major for the fourth time.

Minami Katsu was never seriously in the mix, but her closing birdie gave her a 69 to tie for second.

“I felt pretty good about how I fought back over the weekend,” said Hull, who was 11 shots behind after two rounds.

“I don’t feel like I’ve actually

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIN CHEUNG

Miyu yamashita of Japan poses with her trophy after winning the Women’s British Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club on Sunday in Porthcawl, Wales.

mucked it up by mishitting any shots, which I think everybody can probably agree, you know what I mean? Like I played so solid.”

A Lim Kim, the 2020 U.S Women’s Open champion, hit wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the second hole to tie Yamashita for the lead. But she made a series of blunders, starting with a three-putt on the third hole, and fell back. She had six bogeys in her round of 73 and tied for fourth with Rio Takeda (71)

“I love the challenge because still now a little pain in my heart, but that is good motivation for me,” Kim said.

“So I’m going to keep working on it.”

Japan’s success

Four players from Japan now have won the past nine majors in women’s golf, and this was the second year there were two Japanese major champions.

Yamashita became a first-time winner on the LPGA Tour extending a streak in which there has not been a multiple winner through 20 tournaments to start the year

There also is likely a change in the world ranking Nelly Korda closed with a 75, and projections indicate she will fall to No. 2 behind Jeeno Thitikul. Korda had been No. 1 since March 2024. She tied for 36th and now has gone 14 tournaments without a win dating to last November

This would be the second time

Thitikul is No. 1 in the women’s world ranking. She also was No. 1 for two weeks in the fall of 2022. Yamashita didn’t have the best birthday, at least inside the ropes, when she struggled off the tee and on the greens in a round of 74 that left her clinging to a one-shot lead. But she stayed on the range with her father until late into the evening, and she found a fix.

PGA

YOUNG WINS FIRST PGA TITLE AT WYNDHAM: In Greensboro, North Carolina, Cameron Young finally got his first PGA Tour victory Sunday after seven runner-up finishes, and he made it look easy He had five straight birdies early to build a nine-shot lead and coasted home to a 2-under 68 to win the Wyndham Championship by six shots. He became the 1,000th player to win a recognized PGA Tour event, dating to Willie Park in the 1860 British Open. It must have felt like it took Young 165 years to win as many chances as he has had since his rookie season in 2022.

“I’ve been waiting for it for a while,” Young said, his voice steady as tears welled in his eyes. “I never thought I’d be that emotional about it But it’s the end of my fourth season.

I’ve had my chances and I wasn’t going to let it get away from me.” There was no doubting this one.

He followed those five straight birdies with nine straight pars, a pair of meaningless bogeys toward the end only cost him a chance at the tournament scoring record He finished at 22-under 258, tying the record held by J.T Poston (2019) and Henrik Stenson (2017).

“Where do I go? I’ve never done this before,” Young said when he walked off the 18th green.

Mac Meissner won the B-flight. He shot 66 to finish alone in second, worth $893,800 and enough to move him to No. 86 in the FedEx Cup. He won’t be advancing to the postseason, but it gives him a huge boost for staying in the top 100 by November to keep his full card.

Auburn junior Jackson Koivun shot 67 and tied for fifth, getting him into the next PGA Tour event in September He has deferred his PGA Tour card from the accelerated PGA Tour University program until next year

The victory could not have come at a better time for Young, the 28-year-old New Yorker whose biggest goal this year was to be in uniform at Bethpage Black for the Ryder Cup.

The victory only moves him to No. 15 in the Ryder Cup standings, but he gets two more FedEx Cup playoff events to make his case and his power is an ideal fit at Bethpage Black, where in 2017 he became the first amateur to win the New York State Open.

“That team is a goal of many of us,” Young said “Obviously, I would love the chance to play I’ve got some more opportunities to earn my way on the team.”

There was plenty of drama at Sedgefield Country Club, but not at the top of the leaderboard. Young had a five-shot lead and wobbled on the opening hole, making bogey But he poured in an 8-foot birdie putt on the next hole, the start of five straight birdies. Most telling was the third hole, when Nico Echavarria let out a yell and a fist pump when he made a birdie from just inside 30 feet. Young calmly responded with a 25-foot birdie putt and the rout was on.

The Wyndham Championship is the final tournament of the regular season that determined the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who advance to the lucrative postseason that starts next week.

Ultimately, only Chris Kirk moved into the top 70 with his tie for fifth, and Byeong Hun An (missed cut) was the only one to fall out.

U.S. women set medley relay record at worlds

BY STEPHEN WADE AP sportswriter

SINGAPORE The United States, which had a frustrating swim world championships, ended on a high note Sunday with a world record in the women’s 4x100 medley relay in the last event of the eightday championships

The Americans swam a time of 3 minutes, 49.34 seconds, breaking their own old mark of 3:49.63 set a year ago in the Paris Olympics. The United States finished with nine gold medals and 29 overall, ahead of Australia with eight gold and 20 overall France and Canada were next in the goldmedal count with four gold medals. The 18-year-old Canadian star Summer McIntosh won all four golds.

The Americans battled a case of “acute gastroenteritis” picked up at a training camp in Thailand

The malady clearly affected the team’s up-and-down performances in Singapore

“This is the best way to end the meet,” Gretchen Walsh said. “And I feel like we have such a good opportunity when you have this stacked group of women closing it out on a relay like this

“We’re going to leave Singapore with a smile on our faces,” she added. Regan Smith, Kate Douglass and Walsh swam the first three legs with Torri Huske taking

the anchor

The Americans had only five gold medals through six days, but won four in the last two as team health clearly improved.

Finke defends his team

American Bobby Finke, the Paris Olympic champion at 1,500 meters, took a bronze in that event on Sunday But he also had a message for critics back home.

They included former American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in a critical social media post.

Three-time Olympic gold-medalist Rowdy Gaines called for changes at USA Swimming, in an interview with The Associated Press. The governing body has been without a CEO for a year

“I’m proud of the USA team and what we’ve been able to accomplish despite all the people back at home saying whatever they want to say,” Finke said. “But you know, I’m proud of these boys. If some-

one’s angry, my DMs are open.”

“Do whatever you want,” he added. ”But you know I’m proud of the team and what we’ve been able to do here. It’s a big stepping point for the 2028 LA Olympics.”

Sunday’s closing day featured eight finals and victories for seven different teams.

But there were two clear stars throughout the week.

Leon Marchand of France left the worlds on Sunday with what he came for – two individual

gold medals.

McIntosh came away with four individual golds – one shy of her quest to win five Still, she is only the second woman at a world championships to win four individual golds. Her only blip was finishing third to American Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle on Saturday And 12-year-old Chinese Yu Zidi, in an astounding performance, finished fourth in all three of her individual races. She, however, did pick up a bronze medal in a relay, where she swam in the prelims but not in the final She swam the 200 fly and both IM races.

Sunday’s results

Kliment Kolesnikov of the Neutral Athletes won the men’s 50 backstroke in 23.68 Kolesnikov holds the world record (23.55). Pieter Coetze of South Africa and Pavel Samusenko of the Neutral Athletes tied for silver (24.17).

Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, the world record holder, claimed the 50 breaststroke (29.55) with silver for Tang Qianting of China (30.03) and bronze to Benedetta Pilato of Italy (30.14). Meg Harris of Australia took the women’s 50 free (24.02). Harris was also the silver medalist in the same event in the Paris Olympics. China claimed the next two places with Wu Qingfeng (24.26) taking silver and bronze for Cheng Yujie (24.28). Ahmed Jaouadi of Tunisia, win-

Lynx acquire guard Carrington from Wings

WNBA-leading Minnesota acquired DiJonai Carrington in a trade Sunday from the Dallas Wings for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and the Lynx’s secondround pick in 2027. Carrington averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20 games for the Wings, who acquired her from Connecticut in February as part of a four-team trade. This is the fifth WNBA season for the 5-foot-11 guard/forward. Miller, the No. 2 overall pick by the Lynx in the draft two years ago, is averaging 4.1 points a game this season. Since scoring 12.1 points a game as a rookie in 2023, the forward from Maryland has averaged only 3.5 points in 47 games the past two seasons. Minnesota is 24-5 this season. The Wings are 8-21.

Raiders safety Johnson breaks fibula at practice

HENDERSON, Nev Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson broke his right leg in Las Vegas’ scrimmage on Saturday, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the specifics of the injury were not announced.

That person said more information was needed to determine how long Johnson, who fractured his fibula, would be sidelined. Johnson has been competing on the second team in practices, but has been with the starters when the Raiders have gone to nickel defenses. This is his seventh season in the NFL. Johnson signed as a free agent after playing last season in Carolina He started once for the Panthers and played in 15 games.

Osaka routs Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in 49 minutes

MONTREAL Naomi Osaka advanced to the National Bank Open quarterfinals Sunday with the second-fastest victory of her career, routing Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in 49 minutes in windy conditions. Osaka, the Japanese star who was once No. 1 in the world, had a 42-minute victory in a 2016 event in Brazilin a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ana Sofia Sánchez.

Osaka reached the final eight of a WTA 1000 or Grand Slam event for the first time in 19 months. On Tuesday, she will face the winner of a match between fifth-seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States and 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Sixth-seeded Madison Keys of the United States also advanced, topping 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova of Czechia 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

With starter Jackson out, Dolphins sign OL Ifedi

ner of the 800 free, added the 1,500 title on Sunday (14:34.41) with silver for Sven Schwarz of Germany (14:35.69) and bronze for American Finke (14:36.60).

Marchand won the 400 IM but didn’t break his own world record. Marchand won in 4:04.73, just off the world mark he set two years ago in Fukuoka, Japan (4:02.50). Tomoyuki Matsushita of Japan took silver (4:08.32) with bronze for Ilia Borodin of the Neutral Athletes (4:09.16).

Marchand, earlier in the championships, shattered the 200 IM mark in 1:52.69. The old mark was 1:54.00 set 14 years ago by Lochte. McIntosh picked up her fourth gold medal, winning the 400 IM in 4:25.78. It was just off her world record of 4:23.65 set in June. Jenna Forrester of Australia and Mio Narita of Japan tied for silver (4:33.26). Although she won gold, McIntosh came up just short earlier in the meet in an attempt to break the 200-meter butterfly mark, perhaps the record she had been most intent on claiming. McIntosh also won gold in the 200 IM and the 400 freestyle. And she took bronze Saturday in the 800 freestyle, which went to Ledecky The Neutral Athletes won the men’s 4x100 medley relay (3:26.93), followed by France (3:27.96) and the United States (3:28.62). It was the second gold of the night for the Neutral Athletes.

MIAMI GARDENS,Fla.— Dolphins starting offensive tackle Austin Jackson will miss several weeks with a leg injury after being stepped on at practice but is expected to return by Miami’s season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 7. Coach Mike McDaniel said the injury isn’t related to the knee injury that sidelined Jackson for the final eight games in 2024. Jackson was injured toward the end of practice Friday during an 11on-11 rep. He got up slowly after a play and that ended up being his last rep of the day

With the injury, the Dolphins signed veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi on Sunday Ifedi, who was a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2016 NFL draft, has 90 starts with Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle.

Rodman scores winning goal in return from injury

Trinity Rodman scored in stoppage time of her first game since April to give the Washington Spirit a 2-1 victory over the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League on Sunday Rodman was on the bench to begin the game before entering to the roar of the crowd at Audi Field in the 76th minute. Rodman had not played since April 12 because of a nagging back issue. Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Olympics last summer buried her head in her hands and sobbed after the goal, her first for the Spirit since last Sept. 15.

Saints getlonglookatQBs in Sunday scrimmage

n Haener:19-of-26(60-85)

Everybody in the New Orleans Saints building was gearing up toward Sunday.

Billsmountinglistof injuries growsto15

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

PITTSFORD,N.Y Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott put aside his concernsover the team’s growing injury list, which now includes starting receiver Khalil Shakir,bysaying he has no choice but to moveforward in returning to training camp on Sunday McDermott followed the Bills day off by opening his pre-practice news conference listing 15 members of Buffalo’s 91-player roster as either being limited or not practicing. Shakir was amongthe latestadditions and listed weektoweek with ahigh ankle sprain after he washurt during theBills annual Red and Blue scrimmageattheir homestadium on Friday

Also injuredFridaywerereceiverJosh Palmer (groin), one of theteam’sprizedoffseason free agent additions, and linebacker Shaq Thompson (groin).

table forhis return.

“It’sgoing to take some time. He’sweek to week,” McDermott said of the first-round draft pick who was competing for astarting job opposite Christian Benford.

“Here’sayoung player that is not only missing just the moving around, but also themental part of theexperienceyou getwith throughthe reps,” he added. “So there’snoway to avoid it, he’sgoingtobebehindwhenhecomes back.”

Linebacker DannyStutsman said defensive coordinator Brandon Staley apparentlytold his defense that they were goingto take “the war path” during Saturday’s defensive meeting. The first ninepractices of training camp were meant to build toward Sunday’screscendo, aroughly two-and-a-half hour scrimmage that featured some live contact and the closest thing to agame atmosphere yet. Every competitive portion of Sunday’spractice was off-script, meaning play callers Kellen Moore andStaley were callingplaysin game-like conditions. And perhaps because of that, we saw our clearest glimpse yet of where the quarterbacks stand in relation to one another: Which is to say they are all still bunched very close together

Each of the three quarterbacks vying for the starting jobhad strong moments in Sunday’spractice, and all of them also had some concerning moments. Rookie Tyler Shough has clearlyimproved since the start of camp but is still playing abit slow at times. Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler continues to play decisively while sometimes trusting his arm toomuch. Jake Haener clearly has an excellent handle of the offense but is the most physically limited of the bunch.

The Saints ran 126 plays from scrimmage during Sunday’speriod, and the overwhelming majority of them were passes. Here is how the numbers broke down (plus aquick note: There maybe some discrepancy betweenthese andother reporters’ numbers, because it is not always clear in practice when aplay is blown dead).

n Rattler: 16-of-26 (66-97 overall)

n Shough: 26-of-40(59-94)

Continued from page1B

3.Quincy Riley: Also drafted in the fourth round, the cornerback out of Louisvillehas made some noise in practice.Hehas two interceptions, both against Spencer Rattler.He almost had athird one Sunday,but couldn’t quitekeep his feet in at the back of the end zone.

“He finds the football andattacks the football,” said head coach Kellen Moore.

WhileKool-AidMcKinstry,Alontae Taylor and Isaac Yiadom are getting the first-team reps at corner,Riley gives some much-neededdepth.

4.Tyler Shough: There are 90 players on the training camp roster Nonehave been under the microscope quite like Shough. Ideally, you’d want to see your secondround selection (No. 40 overall pick) higher on this list. Especially when it’sthe highest drafted quarterback by the Saints since Archie Manning in 1971. Many of us (myself included) projected Shough to be the Week 1starter But early on, Rattler holdsthe edge. Shough is stillmakingthe always tough adjustmentfrom collegetothe pros. He hashad some good moments, like his firstdrive in Sunday’spractice. But he’s also had some blunders,

Rattlerhandled most of the firstteam reps Sunday, but for the first time in training camp, the Saints rotatedShough in to take acouple serieswith the starters. Typically the Saints kept the quarterbacks lockedinwith the first-, second- or third-team units throughout the course of apractice.

And while it was not by any means astandout day for Shough, there were some notable positives to take away from Sunday’s practice.

When the rookiehas struggled so far in camp, it haseither been because of pressureinhis face or because he appears to be operating astep slow within therhythm of theoffense. Sunday,heopened practice by completing each of hiseight passes on atouchdown drive (theonlyone of the day by the offense).

Shough kept most of his passes short, most (if not all) traveling lessthan 10 yards pastthe line of scrimmage. But he was operating with good tempoand hitting receivers in stride. His touchdown came on arun-pass option play where he rolled right and tossed an easy completion to tight end Michael Jacobson in the flat.

He wasn’t able to keep that goingthroughout the whole practice. On asimilar typeofplay to histouchdown,Shough made an ill-advised throw back toward the middleof thefieldwhile rolling left and Nephi Sewell intercepted the pass in the endzone. There were also several instances where Shough went for the easycompletion rather than themore aggressive option on ahigh-low read —that maybeacoaching point, but it he has taken noticeably few shots downfield throughout camp.

Shough wouldhave hada secondtouchdown pass on his final series, throwing abeautiful touch pass to tightend Seth Green in the endzoneover theunderneath coverage, butGreen dropped the pass.

Rattler’shigh moments have

like his interception to Nephi Sewell. It’sstill way too early to determine how good Shough will be. Butfor now,he’sright there in the middle of thepack of this Saints draft class.

5. Jonas Sanker: The safety position sure has changed since the end of last season. The Saints signed Justin Reid in free agency. Tyrann Mathieu retired. Then the Saints signed JulianBlackmon. Sanker athird-round pick out of Virginia, is known for hisphysical play Safeties don’tget to showcase their hard hitting in training camp, so the preseasonopener against the Chargerscan’tget here soon enough for Sanker.Itmay help him move up in theserankings. But so far,Sanker has shown anose forthe football. His versatilityon special teamsshould help him get plenty of playing time.

6.Vernon Broughton: The Saints heavily investedinbeefing up their defensive line this offseason. They brought some experienced players like Davon Godchaux andJonathan Bullard. They used athirdround draft pickonBroughton, a defensive tackle from theUniversity of Texas. It maybehardfor Broughtontocrack therotation on gameday,but there have been flashes ofhim adding depth.

7. Devin Neal: Outside of thequarterback battle, there is no competitionmoreintriguing than theone

pretty easily been thebest of the Saints’ quarterback trio through thestartofcamp, and there were morenice moments Sunday.He ripped apair of longer completionsnear thesidelines to Rashid Shaheed, bothofwhich set up field goals. His mobility has also been aplus in training camp, though it has sometimes been hard to separatefact from fiction when he takes off as defenders are not allowed to hit him. Would those be positive plays in alive environment?

ButRattler’strust in his ability sometimes getshim into trouble. He madeapair of turnoverworthy throws while trying to fit passes intotight windows Sunday, one of which was intercepted by camp star Kool-AidMcKinstry.

It took awhile for Haener to get on the field with the third team Sunday.When he finally did (on thesixth drive), he opened by completing his first 11 passes, the first five of which cameagainst thefirst-team defense. Haener also trustshis arm, but he has agood feel for when to take his chances. He ripped apass up the seam totight end MolikiMatavao on an RPO play,then dropped adeep pass in thebucket to Kevin Austin later on the drive that should have been caught Haener was also the onlyquarterback to lead ascoring drive during atwo-minute drill —one that was helped by apairofquestionable defensive pass interference calls. He showed nice touch on a sideline throw to Jacobson to convert athird-and-10 but also made a coupleofturnover-worthy throws wherehewas bailed out by areceiver making aplay on the ball. So every quarterback had high and low moments in Sunday’s practice, but the sample size was much larger than what the Saints had seen to this point. The first preseason game is looming, game prep will soon be underway,and it’s possible the Saints will soon trim theQB1 competition down to two players soon.

to seewho will be Alvin Kamara’s backup. It’s acrowded field that includes sixth-round pick Neal. We’ll get abetter gauge once the preseason games start. Dating back to his final season at the University of Kansas, Neal has placed an emphasis on picking up blitzes. It’s askillset thatcould help him climb in these rankings.

8.Moliki Matavao: Theseventh-round pick from UCLA hasn’treally taken advantage of the opportunitiesattight end. FosterMoreau and Taysom Hill are both sitting out of campwith injuries, and Dallin Holker retired. But mostofthe plays by tight ends have been made by Juwan Johnson, Jack Stoll and Michael Jacobson.

9. Fadil Diggs: TheSyracuse defensive end was the Saints’ last pick, also chosen in the seventh round. He just happens to play aloaded position that also has Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cam Jordan and Rumph.

Moore’sthoughtsonwhat he’s seen so far from this draft class?

“High character,high football IQ,really tough players,” Moore said. “They’ve all played alot of football. That was one of the things we really valued. These guys are all ready to contributein some capacity this year.Sothat will be agreat advantage for us.” How much of an advantage? Time will tell.

The injuries have particularly hit Buffalo’s receivers, with Curtis Samuel (hamstring)and backupKadenPratheralsosidelined. That leaves KeonColeman as the only projected starter still healthy with Buffalo preparing to open the preseason by hosting the New York Giants on Saturday “What we’ve tried to do is pull back on somethings in hopes of gettingsomenumbers back. And that hasn’thelped,”McDermott added, in referencetocutting back on the number and length of padded practices. “We’re moving forward. It’stime for us to go and we gottoget some work done and movethis team forward.”

The mostserious injury has been to rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston, whoisout indefinitelyafter spraining aligamentinhis right knee last week. Hairston is watching practice on crutches with no definitive time-

Injuries have been an issue for the five-time defending AFC East champions since opening training camp with four playerson injured lists, including tight end Dawson Knox (calf) andright tackle Spencer Brown(back). Of those four,backup center Sedrick VanPran-Granger(calf)remains sidelined with McDermott hoping the player will be available to return in time for Buffalo’s preseason finale at Tampa Bay on Aug. 23. Brown resumedpracticing on Sunday as did starting linebacker Terrel Bernard, who misseda week with ahamstring injury

The rash of injuries hasalso affected Buffalo’sspecial teams unit with kicker Tyler Basssidelined with apelvis issue.

Lions’ Hooker,Allen lookingfor better results in backup QB competition

BY DANA GAURUDER Associated Press

ALLEN PARK,Mich. Hendon Hooker provideda blunt assessment of his first preseasonperformance.

“A zero outof10,” theDetroit Lionsquarterback said. “It wasn’ttomystandards, it wasn’t to the team’s standards of just being productive and controlling thehuddle and making plays.” Hooker and Kyle Allen, who are competing for the No. 2spot on the depth chart behind starting quarterback Jared Goff, are both lookingfor vast improvement in the offense’sperformance when the Lions play at Atlanta on Friday Detroitcommitted five turnovers and generatedjust197 yards in a34-7loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame gameonThursday.Allen, whostartedthe game, was 9of14 for 91 yards but was intercepted twice. Hooker was 3of6 for18 yards andwas picked off once. They’ll switch roles on Friday withHooker playing the first half andAllen taking over after halftime.

Durability hasn’tbeen an issue for Goff since he was acquired from the Los AngelesRams in 2021.Hehasn’tmisseda game thepast three seasons. If that streak ends this season, theLions will need to have areliable option. They’re looking for either Hooker or Allen to establish themselves as the clear backup.

“I can tell you both of those guys are, it goes without saying, they’re frustrated with the way that went and they both want to improve and get better,” coach Dan Campbell said. “And they will.” Hooker wasselectedinthe third round of the 2023 draft despite aknee injury suffered late in his college career that turned his rookie season essentially into aredshirt year Hooker had 58 touchdown passesand five interceptions in two seasons at Tennessee. The 27-year-old Hendon also spent three seasonswith Virginia Tech. Hooker made three brief appearances last season, going 6of

9for 62 yards. This preseason is pivotal to show he was worthy of his draftstatus.

“Very key.Every play is important,” he said. “So just taking advantage of every play,every throw,every decision and just putting my best foot forward every time.”

Allen, 29, has bounced around theleague sincemaking Carolina’sroster as an undrafted free agent in 2018. TheLions are the sixth organization he’s suitedup forand fifth in thepast five seasons. He appeared in onegame with Pittsburgh last season. Allenhas made 19 starts,including 12 of 13 appearances during the 2019 season with the Panthers when he passed for 3,322yards with 17 touchdowns and16interceptions.Hewas sacked 46 times.

TheLions signed him to a one-year,$1.27 millioncontract witha $100,000 signing bonusin March. The second half against the FalconsgivesAllen another extended opportunity to secure his spot on the depth chart.

“Obviously (looking to)correct the interceptions and the mistakes,playa littlecleaner football,”hesaidafter Sunday morning’spractice. “Just keep executing the offense,getting more comfortable in it and take it play by play.”

Hendon has similar goals on Friday “We’ve just gottocome outand execute,” he said. “Point back, period. No excuses and leave it at that.”

AP PHOTO By ADRIAN KRAUS Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir catches apass during practice at the team’straining camp on Sunday in Pittsford, N.y.

AP PHOTO By RyAN SUN DetroitLions quarterbacks Jared Goff, left, and Hendon Hooker rundrills during training camp on Sunday in Allen Park, Mich.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough gives directions before asnap on Sunday during training camp.

Luke Johnson

PARR

Sha’Carri Richardson competes in the first heat of thewomen’s 200-meter semifinal at the U.S. Championships on Sunday in Eugene, Ore.

Richardson misses out on 200 final

The Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. Sha’CarriRichardson narrowly missed qualifying forthe 200-meter final Sunday at the U.S. track and field championships, concluding what’s beena tumultuous week for the sprinter in the Pacific Northwest

The former LSU standoutwound up fourth in her heat in atime of 22.56 seconds. The top twofinishers in each heatadvance along with the next three fastest times. MadisonWhyte edged her out on time by running 22.55seconds in the same heat.

Aweek ago, Richardsonwas arrested on afourth-degree domesticviolence offense forallegedly assaulting her boyfriend,sprinter Christian Coleman, at the SeattleTacoma International Airport. She was booked into South Correctional Entity in Des Moines,Washington, for more than 18 hours. Days later,Richardson, 25, ran the opening round of the 100 meters at nationals before withdrawing from the event. She has an automatic spot to worlds next month in Tokyo as the defending100-meter champion.

This was Richardson’s first 200 race of the season. She won a bronze medal at the distance during the 2023 world championships in Budapest It was part of astellar showing at worlds that season, as she also won the100 and helped the 4x100 relay to agold. Ayear later,Richardson finished withthe silver medalin the 100 at the ParisGames. Richardson had apositive marijuana test at the 2021U.S. Olympic trials and didn’tcompete at the Tokyo Games.

LSUreceivergetskneetreatment

KellysaysAnderson to return to practice on Wednesday

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

LSU wide receiver Aaron Anderson had some work done to address inflammation in his left knee, coach Brian Kelly told The Advocate, but it’snot expected to affect hisavailability this season.

Anderson, aredshirtjunior from New Orleans, missed LSU’s past threepractices after participatingonthe first day of preseason camp. He hasbeen wearing asleeve on his left leg. Kelly said Anderson would return to practice Wednesday

“Hereally hasanarthritic knee, generally speaking,” Kelly said. “You wouldn’tcallitarthritis, but it’sa crankyknee that we needed to calm down. We cut him back. He has gotten some medicinefor it. He feels really good, and there was no need for us to have him be ahabitual guy that has asore knee.”

Kelly spoke Sunday afternoon during LSU football’sannual service dayatthe Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. As he did, Anderson was in front of him dancingand packing boxeswith the rest of LSU’swide receivers.

LSU wide

South

for inflammationinhis leftknee.

Kelly said the issue stemmed from a“cartilage injury” thatlimited Anderson his freshmanyear at Alabama in 2022. Anderson had MCL andmeniscus issues, which required offseason surgery.After transferring to LSU, Anderson missed time his first spring in 2023 as he recovered.

Twoyears later,Kelly suspected “probably all that volume pissed it off” after Anderson worked out all summer.Anderson had an “infusion,” Kelly said, to address the

inflammation.

Anderson will be evaluatedafter everypractice, and LSU might manage his workload at times.

ButKelly does not expect the issue to affect how much Anderson can play this season. He appeared in all 13 games with nine starts last year

“Wewentback andtook another MRI,” Kelly said. “Wedid abonescan.Wewanted to leave no stone unturned. So,this was really about, let’sgoback and do this

alloveragain andmakesure we haven’tmissed anything. “It’sclean. There’snothing on theboneline.There’snochips. Thecartilagehas been repaired. There’snobone on bone.Sonow, we think we have takencareof him forthe rest of the year.” Andersonhad abreakoutseason last fall with 61 receptions for884 yards and fivetouchdowns. He’s expected to be an important part of LSU’s receiving corps along with senior Chris Hilton, senior ZavionThomas, Oklahoma transfer Nic Anderson and Kentucky transfer Barion Brown.

Kelly hasalsobeen impressed early in camp with Florida State transfer Destyn Hill and redshirt sophomore Kyle Parker,who took Anderson’splace in the slot in the meantime.

Parker,who’s5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, began to emerge last year with three catches for 55 yards and atouchdown before suffering atorn tricep tendon that ended his season after four games.

Kelly described him as, poundfor-pound, the strongest wide receiver on the team.

“Every day,hebrings his best,” Kelly said. “Whetherit’sinassignments, execution, catching the ball —he’sjust been really consistent.”

For more LSUsports updates, signupfor ournewsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Ex-Tiger Taylor impressesatJetscamp

BY DENNIS WASZAK JR Associated Press

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.— Mason Taylor remembers running around the fields asawide-eyed kid at New York Jets training camp, visiting his famous father and rooting him on at games.

He’sback, 15 years later.And now, it’shis turn.

Therookie tight end, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor,has been one of thestandout performers through theJets’ first nine camp practices. Taylor,a second-round pick out of LSU, is making plays andimpressing his coaches andteammates.

“Mason, he doesn’ttalk alot. He doeswork alot, though,” quarterback Justin Fields said. “From the moment he got here,he’sbeen working, his head down working. Hedoesn’t make really any mental mistakes, at least from what I’ve seen.He’sagreat route runner,he’ssmooth, has natural hands, so he’s been great so far.”

The 21-year-old Taylor,whose

uncle is Hall of Famer Zach Thomas,receiveda text from his father thenight before camp opened, offering him some sound advice.

“Really just stay where your feet are,” Taylor recalled. “I mean, we always say that in our family —day by day,you know,attack theday,get better every singleday and reallyjust be where your feet are. Don’tlook into the future, don’tlook intothe past and just take advantage of every momentyou get.”

Jason Taylorwould certainly know all about that.

Recognizedasone of theNFL’s greatest pass rushers with 1391/2 sacks, the elder Taylor made a name for himself during 11 outstanding seasons playing for Miamiand then one in Washington before joining Rex Ryan’s Jets in 2010.

New York was one of the league’s best teams that season, reaching the AFC championship game —one winawayfrom theSuper Bowl. TheJets kicker was Nick

Folk,who just re-signed with the team —and nowhas thedistinction of having been teammates withboth Jason and Mason Taylor “It’s acrazy,crazy world,” MasonTaylor said with abig smile.

“I mean, it’scrazy to think about, and now that he’sonmyteam, it’s ablessing, forsure.”

Taylor is in position to have a major role on the Jets offense as arookie. He was listed Sundayonthe team’sfirst unofficial depth chart as abackup to Jeremy Ruckert, but the 6-foot-5, 251-pound Taylor is expected to seehis fair share of snaps —especially if he continues with his impressive summer

“The receiving skills, listen, that doesn’tsurprise me,I know he candothat,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “His blocking, Iknow he canblock, but Ididn’tthink it was going to be this good. So, I’mexcited to see how he matures when it comes to camp on how we want to do things as far as that is concerned.”

In three seasons at LSU, Taylor

had129 catches for1,308 yards and six TDs, establishing himself as the most productive tight end in school historyand oneofthe best at his position in the country

“I think it’sbeen pretty good,” Taylor said of his progress. “Things have been flying around in the installs andeverything like that,but Ithink I’ve kind of grasped onto it pretty quickly And with the help of my teammates and coaches, I’ve been getting on the playbook pretty fast.” Taylor hasalsoput extra emphasisonhis blocking,working on his hand placement and pad level as he aims to be an all-around tight end in the NFL.

“I seegrowth anddevelopment out of Mason,” offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “He’s on thepathtobecomingwhatwe expected andhoped he could be And he’sdonea really nice jobthis camp in the pass gameand in the run gameaswell. So, again, daily improvement by him, and we’re excited to see where that continues to go.”

Doncic’s extensionraisesquestions aboutJames’role

BY DYLAN HERNÁNDEZ Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES Near the conclusion of the news conference to address his contract extension with the Lakers, Luka Doncic detailed the training program that contributed to his striking weight loss.

When he was finished talking about how he lifted weights and refrained from playing basketball for a month, general manager Rob Pelinkamade it apoint to offer some thoughts.

“Luka’sdoneall the work,” Pelinka said, “butit’simportant to have asupport system around you to help you do the great work.” Pelinka went on to praise Doncic’strainer,Anze Macek, and

physiotherapist,Javier Barrio. He remarkedhow Macek and Barrio have “worked seamlessly” with the Lakers staff. He namechecked Doncic’sagent, Bill Duffy,and business manager, Lara Beth Seager These weren’t garden-variety compliments.

This was apledge of allegiance.

Shortly after Doncicwas traded by theDallas Mavericks to theLakers last season,stories emerged about tensions between hisinner circleand formerteam.

Pelinka’swords containedanindirect message: We will support you theway the Mavericks didn’t.

This is your team

Thecommitment wasformalized on Saturday with theLakers signing the 26-year-old Doncic to athree-year,$165 million contract extension Thenews conference ended

withseven Lakers players and coach JJ Redick emerging from the back to takea picture with Doncic as he held up his jersey. A couple of theplayers, center Deandre Ayton and guard Marcus Smart, were personally recruited to the team by Doncic.

Doncic is nowofficially the center of the Lakers universe,and as inevitable as that seemed from the moment Pelinka acquired him, the dynamicintensifiesa questionthatwas initially raised last season:Whatdoes this mean forLeBron James?James is undercontractfor just onemore seasonand Doncicfor at least three more, and howwill James deal with notbeing the focal point of his franchise?

While the Lakersoncehad visions of Anthony Davis replacing Jamesasthe face of their franchise,the imaginary batonwas

neverpassed

There’s an uneasy feeling aboutthe situation,inlarge part because James hasn’tclearly communicated his thoughts. WhenJamesexercisedhis player option forthe upcoming season, his agentsaidthatbecause James wanted to playfor championships andthe Lakers were“building forthe future,” theircamp wanted “to evaluate what’sbest forLeBron at this stageinhis life andcareer.”

The 40-year-oldJames will have asay in what happens, as his deal includesa no-tradeprovision.

Asked how James viewedthe Lakers’summerand whetherhe thought James would retire with the team, Pelinka replied, “So,all the interactionswe’vehad with LeBronand his camp,(agent Rich Paul) in particular, have been positiveand supportive.So,

very professional,and Rich has been great. The dialogue with him hasbeen open andconstant.

“Interms of LeBron’s career, Ithink theNo. 1thing we have to do there is respect he andhis family’sdecision in terms of how long he’s going to play. If he hada chance to retire as aLaker, that would be great.”

In other words,there wasn’t enough clarity forPelinka to be able to say withany degreeof certainty, yes, he thought James would retire aLaker

Doncic accepted an offer from theLakers to be theirnext headliner. Thatwas an importantdevelopment for them. But forthemtobeable to properly showcasetheir next act, they will have to close theirprevious one, whetherit’sbyhim accepting a supporting roleordeciding to takehis talents elsewhere.

off last season as one of the best pass blocking frontsinthe country Will Campbell wasthe anchor at left tackle, becoming the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. Emery Jones at right tackle and Miles Frazier at right guard were mid-round selections. Left guard Garrett Dellinger was scooped up in the seventh roundand will reunite with Jones on the Baltimore Ravens. “Wehad fourguys get drafted last year.That’sreallyhard to do,” redshirt junior Bo Bordelon said. “Not alot of people can say they’ve done that.”

Their replacements have yet to be determined, but LSU has consistently rolled out the samefirstteam starters through theopening

The tackle spots have been occupied by Adams on theleft and redshirt freshman WestonDavis on the right. Adamsstarted at left tackle in the Texas Bowl and Davis impressed in camp on Saturday

But offensive line coach Brad Davis’ goal isn’ttofind thebest fivelinemen. He wants to have 10 linemen whocan step in andplay at any given moment.

things that he wants to put in or correct, and they work.” Bordelon andAdams have seen Davisand Atkinswork hand in hand as the new year has begun.

few daysofpreseason practice.

Redshirt sophomoreDJChester LSU’slone returning starter,slides from center to left guard. Virginia Tech transfer Braelin Moorefills in at center andNorthwestern transferJoshThompson hasbeen next to himatright guard.

“The guys who have comebefore us have setavery high standard,” Bordelon said, “and we want to exceed that.”

Despiterolling out the same starting unit through thebeginning of preseason, Kelly insists thatLSU hasn’tsettledonthem being the starters. He mentions Bordelon, redshirt freshman Coen Echols,freshmanCariusCurne and redshirt sophomore Paul Mubenga as contenders to crack thetop group.

“There’scompetitive battlesright nowonthat offensive line,” Kelly said, “so we havetoevaluate them as agroup at five, and then individually,who makesupthat best five?”

“You never know whocan go down or whocan rise to theoccasion,” Adams said. “So Ifeel like having those10guys whocould just go in andout is great.”

LSU’spersonnelupfront wasn’t theonly aspect of the line that changed thisoffseason. TheTigers also hiredformerFlorida State offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Alex Atkins as their new tight ends coach and rungame coordinator Atkins’ experience devising arun game that in 2023 led Florida State to anundefeatedseasonwascriticalfor an LSU line that struggled to move the ball on the ground ayear ago.

“He’slikeanevilscientist,” Adams said. “He always has his little

“Everseen, likeinDr. Seuss, Thing One and Thing Two? They kind of work as one,” Adams said. “So hey,I have no complaints about it. If it helps us wingames, that’s what we’re going to roll with.”

LSU’soffensive line has two jobs this season: protect the quarterbackand openuprunninglanes for therunning backs. If theTigers canaccomplish both,the losses of Campbell, Jones, Frazier and Dellinger won’t seem as daunting.

“Our job is to protect Nuss and run the damn football,” Bordelon said. “So that’swhatwe’regoing to try to do.”

Email Koki Rileyat Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU offensivelineman Bo Bordelon watches adrill during spring practice onMarch 22.

AP PHOTO By ABBIE

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

receiver Aaron Anderson celebrates a first down after a playagainst

AlabamaonSept. 28 at TigerStadium. Anderson recently received treatment

racetrack in Mogyorod,Hungary.

Norris holdsoff Piastrito winHungarian GrandPrix

By The Associated Press

BUDAPEST,Hungary— Sometimes, a Formula 1win is less about speed than strategy and gritty driving.

LandoNorrisheldoff McLaren

teammateOscar Piastri in atense

finish to winthe HungarianGrand PrixonSunday and boost his title chances.

Overtaking in Hungary is tough, but Norrishad to workhardto keep the win as Piastri loomed behind him in the final laps.

Norriscelebrated with adouble fist pump on top of his car after claimingMcLaren’s200th F1 win by less than asecond to cut Piastri’sstandings lead to nine points from 16. “I’m dead. It wastough,itwas tough,” Norris said. “The final stint, with Oscar catching, Iwas pushing flat out.” It was the fourth one-two finish in arow for McLaren, with Norris winning three of those headto-heads as the momentum swung back toward him ahead of thefourweek midseason break.

Making theright call

Ayear on from acontentious first win for Piastri overNorris in Hungary after awkwardradio messages, this was arace decided on the track.

Norris briefly dropped to fifth on the first lap but made his tires last to stop only once, while Piastri changed tires twice.

Piastri steadily cut into Norris’

SPEEDWAY

Continued from page1B

fans tried to hit balls from the apron over the track and fence, and two others had to put on NASCAR fire suits and race to four-wheelers for arace to the finish line.

The grounds crew even wore uniforms lookinglikeaNASCAR pit crew’sfire suits.

Andsomething that never could’ve happened before at Bristol took part during the seventhinning stretch: Fans sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

When White became the first MLB player to hit ahomerun at the historic racetrack, that allowed Bristol’s“Home Run” car to take a lapincelebration. When one foul ball bounced off the trackpast the outfield wall in right,the manwho failed to throw the ballover the fence to fans was booed.

White’s first homerofthe afternoon gave Atlanta a3-1 lead in the second inning at thehistoric racetrack. The ball hit the safer barrier after clearing the outfield wall and the track itself.

He added his sixth homer of the season on aleadoff shotin the seventh. Cincinnati went 1for 8with runnersinscoringpositionandleft12on base. Brent Suter (1-2) got theloss. Atlanta came in having clinched the season series, winningfour of the first six games. The teams split the first two in Cincinnatibefore coming to Bristol This MLB Speedway Classic was firstannounced nearly ayear ago as part of commissioner Rob Manfred’spush to take MLB to places where baseball isn’tplayed every day live. MLB playedagame at the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Iowa in both 2021 and 2022. Alabama and NorthCarolina, too. MLB didn’ttry to sell every tick-

leadinthe latterstages of therace but the British driverheld on with oldtires to take the win. Piastri nearly collided with his teammate when he locked up awheel while trying to pass on the second-tolast lap.Still, it was Norris who held on to have the lastword in their title fight

“Good racing. Good strategy. Good call,” was how Norris summed it up on the radio.

Piastri’stwo-stop approach happenedbecause, at the time, he and McLaren were morefocused on getting ahead of Ferrari’sCharles Leclerc, whose paceeventually fell away anyway

“It wasn’tobvious that we just had enough pace to blow past (Leclerc),” Piastri said. “For Lando, there was virtually nothing to lose by trying aone-stop race. For myself, potentially there was.”

GeorgeRussell took third for Mercedes after fighting his way past Leclerc in acontest that earned Leclercatimepenalty fornearly colliding with Russell while defending.

Defending champion Max Verstappen was only ninth after beingoff the pace all week. He stays thirdinthe standings, but drops to 97 pointsoff leaderPiastri in another heavy blow to an already unlikely title defense.

Ferrarifrustration

Leclerc started on pole position with hopesoflandingFerrari its first GrandPrixwin of theyear,

but ended up fourthafter aradio message of what he later admitted was misplaced blame aimed at the team.

“This is so incredibly frustrating. We’ve lost allcompetitiveness,”hetoldthe team over the radio. However, he later told broadcaster Sky Sports that the car actually hada chassis problem he only learned about later

Aday after calling himself “useless” andquestioningwhether Ferrari might need to replace him, Lewis Hamilton ended up 12th, exactly where he started Hiscommentsafter therace seemed set to fuel more speculation about his troubled first season with theItalian team.

“There’sa lot going on in the background that is not great,” Hamilton told SkySports, without explaining further Hamilton never seemed to have the pace to fight for pointsand was at one stage forced off the track by Verstappen as his old rival overtook him.

Aston’sday

Fernando Alonso took Aston Martin’s bestresult of theseason with fifth on aslowtrack that suited hiscar,with GabrielBortoleto asurprise sixth for Sauber and Lance Strollseventh in the other Aston Martin. Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls,withVerstappen ninth andKimi Antonelli 10th for Mercedes

ASSOCIATED

Fans gatherfor the SpeedwayClassic game betweenthe Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta BravesonSunday at Bristol Motor Speedwayin Bristol, Tenn.

et inside the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016 with aracing capacity of 146,000. The attendance was well above the previous paidattendance of 84,587 on Sept. 12, 1954, whenClevelandStadium hosted theNew York Yankees. Simply canceling this game wasn’tanoption.The Redsare in thechase for awild-cardspot,and this is the last time these teams meet this season.Teams hadpolice escorts to makesure they got back to Bristol on Sunday For fans, thecommute back to Bristol Motor Speedway,billedas “The Last Great Colosseum”with itshistory as ahalf-milebullring of aracetrack, was easierfor some than others. Steven Long ofAtlanta, Georgia, was on aparty bus to his hotel in Knoxville with abunch of distributors. He drove the110 miles back to BristolonSunday by himself even though he had hoped to be driving home. He couldn’tmiss thefirst MLBgame at aracetrack.

Byronhas enough fuel to winrace at Iowa Speedway

BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP Associated Press

NEWTON, Iowa William Byron foughtoff fuel worries in the closing laps to win the NASCAR CupSeries race Sunday at Iowa Speedway Byron went thelast144 laps of the 350-laprace without astop en routetohis secondvictoryofthe season —hewon the Daytona 500 in February —and 15th overall. He also took the season points lead fromHendrickMotorsports teammateChase Elliott. Byron lost gambles on fuel twice this season, at Michigan and Indianapolis, but held on with thehelp of acaution-filled finalstage to win by 1.192 seconds over pole-sitter Chase Briscoe.

“Weneeded one to go our way,” said Byron, who led 141 laps.

BradKeselowski, whocame into the race needing awin to get into the playoffs, was third. Keselowski, who hasn’twon since the May race at Darlington last season, won the first two stages for his first stage sweep since 2019.

RyanBlaney,who won the inaugural Cupraceatthe 0.875mile oval last season, finished fourth, Ryan Preece wasfifth.

Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, CarsonHocevar,Joey Logano and Austin Dillon roundedout the top 10.

There were 12 cautionflags.

The first stagewas caution-free, and the first yellow flag for any on-trackincident didn’tcomeout untilShane VanGisbergen’s spin on Lap169. Fromthat point, the race became acascade of caution flags as the carsbegan to stackupand driversscrambled forposition

Briscoe’sbumps

Briscoe wasinvolved in two late incidents.

Briscoe madecontact with Erik Jonescomingout of Turn 4 on lap243, causing Jones to spin. Nine laps later,Briscoe bumped TylerReddick, who then hit Christopher Bell, causing Reddickand Belltospin.

Wallaceovercomes

Wallace admitted Saturday that after winning last week at Indianapolis to secure aplayoff spot, he would be able to relax over the last four races of the regular season.

This race wasn’t relaxing he fell downbyasmuch as two laps before finishing sixth.

John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Wallace on Lap242, forcingthe rear-end of Wallace’scar to hit the wall near the start/finish line.Wallace headed to the pits after Jones’ spin to have aright-rear toe link repaired.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom throws against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday in Seattle.

RangersRHP DeGrom sets historic strikeoutrecord

The Associated Press

SEATTLE Texas Rangers righthander Jacob deGrombecame thefastest pitcherinmajor league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings on Sunday In the second inning against Seattle, deGrom got Mariners shortstop J.P.Crawfordtoswing througha98.7 mphfour-seam fastball forhis fourth Kofthe game. With the strikeout, deGrom became the fastedto1,800career strikeouts in games (240) andinnings pitched (1,493 1/3). The 37-year-old right-hander beat the marks of two left-handers. Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson needed 243 games to record 1,800 strikeouts. It took the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale 1,498 innings

DeGrom, who entered thegame with a10-3 record and 2.55 ERA, worked fiveinnings andfinished with five strikeouts and three walks. He allowed four hits, including three home runs, and five earned runs.

RedSox

“I had to come back,”said Long, who worehis Braves jersey hoping for awin.

MLB will be announcing an attendance figurelater Sunday. Officials already knew this event would draw arecord crowd with 85,000 tickets sold as of Monday

Thebig question Sundaywas how many people would return for baseball itself after thebig party that MLB and Bristol threw for fans Saturday.For Lowe and Jason Lawson, thisisa moment they couldn’t missafter buying ticketsinMay

“The history,the nostalgia of Bristol Motor Speedway combined with MajorLeague Baseballall in one Ithink,”Lowe said. Long was being joined by acouple of friends. He saw one benefitofreturning even if others chose not to “We’ll have more space around us, so we won’t be on top of each other,” Long said. Indeed. Fans had plenty of room to spread out, dance and enjoy the capping event of the MLB Speedway Classic.

BOSTON PITCHER HOUCK TO UNDERGO TOMMY JOHN SURGERY: Boston Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck’s attempt to come back this season is over Manager Alex Cora said Saturday that Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery An All-Star last season, the 29-year-old Houck went on the injured listinmid-May with aright flexor strain after going 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA in nine starts.

“Tanner’sgoing to have Tommy Johnsurgery,” Cora said before theRed Sox beat the HoustonAstros 7-3 at Fenway Park.

“He went to seeDr. Meister thereinTexas and that was the recommendation,” Cora said. “We don’thave adate yet, but he’s going to have it.”

Houck had astrong 2024 season, finishing seventh in theAmerican League with a3.12 ERA in 30 starts, butwas onlyabletomake five rehab appearances after going on the IL.

“Tough year for him, tough year for us,” Cora said of the seasonending news. “But he’ll kill the rehab, he’ll do his job, and whenhe comes back, he’s going to be OK.” Houck earned his first All-Star

appearance by going 8-6with a2.54 ERA in the first half. He struggledafter thebreak,going 1-4 with a4.23 ERA.

Brewers

MILWAUKEEROOKIEMISIOROWSKI PLACED ON IL: MilwaukeeBrewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski has been placed on the 15-day injured list with aleft tibia contusion. The team made theannouncement Sunday aheadofthe All-Star right-hander’sscheduledstart against theWashingtonNationals. The designation wasretroactive to Thursday,a few days after Misiorowski took aline shottothe shin in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs.

Misiorowski (4-1, 2.70 ERA) struggled to close that inning, including aplaywhere his knee appeared to buckle as he fielded a dribbler and threw wildly to first base,but he settleddown andretired 10 consecutive batters while throwing 40 pitches over the next three innings.

Misiorowski told reporters Sundaythatheanticipates missing abouttwo starts andbeing ready to go after the 15 days.

Right-hander Logan Henderson was recalled from Triple-A Nashville and expected to start in his place in the seriesfinale with the Nationals.

Rockies

ELBOWSTRAIN LANDSCOLORADOCLOSER HALVORSEN ON INJURED LIST: The Colorado Rockies have put closer Seth Halvorsen on the 15-day injured list with aright elbow strain after he had to leave Saturday’s win overPittsburgh.

Interimmanager Warren Schaeffer said at the timethe injury didn’tlook good —after the right-hander left after throwing five pitches in theninth inning. Halvorsen leads the Rockies with 11 saves.

Colorado also recalled righthanderNick Anderson and catcher Braxton Fulford from Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday,and the RockiesoptionedinfielderMichael Toglia to Albuquerque.

The25-year-old Halvorsen is 1-2 with a4.99 ERA this year.He made hisbig league debut in August of 2024.

PRESS PHOTO By GEORGEWALKER IV

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANNA SZILAGyI

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain crosses the finishline to win the Hungarian Formula OneGrand Prix race on Sundayatthe Hungaroring

AP PHOTO By LINDSEyWASSON

ON THERISE?

center left, and herdaughter, Blue Ivy Carter,performduring

game on Christmas Dayin2024.

As Beyoncé’sCowboyCartertourdraws

BY SARAH JONES-SMITH Associated Press

“Who they came to see?” Beyoncé asks as she performs her 2023 single “My House” during the Cowboy Carter tour.For many,the answer has been BlueIvy Blue IvyCarter, theGrammywinning artist’s13-year-old daughter,ismore present than ever on stage, and fansare impressed by the growth from herfirst performance years ago to now.

Isabella Kerr,15, has admired Beyoncéfor years,but saidshe attended the Cowboy Carter tour specifically to experience Blue Ivy’smoves in person.

“Peopleare saying,‘Oh, she’s amini Beyoncé.’ But, no, Ithink she’sthe first Blue. Everything about her when she’sonstage is electrifying,” said Kerr

The Cowboy Carter tour concludes Saturday in Las Vegas. The tour’s30previous showshavehad fans buzzing that Blue Ivy is well on her way to beinga nextgenera-

BY HANNAH LEVITAN Staff writer

“Even the difference between the Renaissance Tour and now, you cantell she’s(Blue Ivy) really grown in her confidence. Youcan tellshe has adifferent vibe about her.”

OLIVIA ELLIS,fan and artist

tion powerhouse.

Growingstage presence

Blue first graced the stage at 11 yearsold during her mother’s 2023 Renaissance tour, appearing during thelegacy-celebrating anthems “MyPower” and“Black Parade.”

Supporters anticipated her performance at each stop.

She performed again during “Beyoncé Bowl,” theNFL Christmas Day Halftime Show that was just nominated for fourEmmy Awards. She danced alongside the icon as she performed songs from the “Cowboy Carter” album for the first time.

“Even the difference between theRenaissance Tour andnow, youcan tellshe’s really grown in her confidence,”said fan and artist Olivia Ellis. “You can tell she has a different vibe about her.”

On the Cowboy Carter tour,she canalmost be mistakenfor oneof Beyoncé’sprofessional dancers. Sheisonstage fornearly every songand has asolo recreating her mother’s choreography from her 2006 “Déjà-vu” music video, anod to the undeniable similarities between thetwo.

An inheritedprofessionalism

Online videos of Blue display professionalism comparable to her mother’sduring the Cowboy Carter tour.During arainy New Jersey stop, she brought out towels to dry her area of the stage before nailing her “America Has aProblem” choreography In another unexpected moment during aChicago show,her earring

What is the DementiaCare Specialist Program in Louisiana?

The Louisiana Legislature recently appropriated $824,000 targeted to fund the Dementia Care Specialist Program. The program establishes a fundamental structure to provide services and support to those diagnosed with dementia or experiencing memoryconcerns and their caregivers. The funding forthis program within the Governor’sOffice on Elderly Affairs will help create one program manager within the office and the Aging and Disability Resource Centers network, as wellaseight dementia care specialists who will serve as the mainpoints of access forolder adults and caregivers seeking long-term support and services.

Alzheimer’sisapublic health crisis that not only affects those with the disease (95,000+ in Louisiana alone), but also the close to 200,000 unpaid family caregivers in the state. Among the goals of the Dementia Care Specialist Program are: n To help individuals with dementia stay in their homes and remain active in their communities longer; n To facilitate local efforts to build dementia-friendly communities; and

n To strengthen the Aging and Adult Services network and support family caregivers so they can continue to help their loves ones with Alzheimer’sdisease and other dementias.

As of 2025, it is expected to cost the state of Louisiana’s Medicaid program $1.2 billion to provide care forLouisianans living with dementia. With Medicare not covering long-term care, fewindividuals living with dementia have adequate resources to cover the cost of their care, having to spend downtheir incometobe eligible forMedicaid. And with morethan 95,000 Louisianans 65+ living with Alzheimer’s, the Medicaid program will take ahit.

The Dementia Care Specialist program will save state dollars by slowing the entrance into costly supportive services and deterioration into nursing level of care, and also slowing

ä See PROGRAM, page 2C Chelsea Appiah, center,from the Netflix show‘Love Is Blind,’raises her arms after throwing aceremonial first pitch alongside fellowcast member and husband KwameAppiah, right, and Zack and Bliss Goytowski, back left, in 2023 in Seattle.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID J. PHILLIP

Beyoncé,

halftime of the Ravens andTexans football

Newdatalinkcannabisuse andheart disease

Dear Doctors: Cannabis is legal where Ilive. I’m not aheavyuser, but Idoenjoy it now and then.I just heard about astudy that ties using cannabis to heart disease. There’snot alot of information about howusing cannabis affects your health, and Iwouldlike to knowmoreabout that study.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

Dear reader: We should begin with the fact that, despite changesto regulations in agrowing number of states, cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Commonly knownasmarijuana, it is classified as aSchedule Isubstanceunder theControlled SubstancesAct Possession or distributionofcannabis is afederal offense.Atthe state level, acomplex patchwork of laws allows cannabisuse for medical or recreational use. Limits vary on the typesand amounts of cannabis productsallowed, as well as thelegal age fortheir use. It’struewedon’t know much aboutthe health effects of cannabis. Federal druglaws have limited research opportunities for alongtime. Now,the loosening of restrictions in the United States

and other nations is providing moredata from national surveys, epidemiological studies and clinical research. We are in asteep learning curve about the drug’s possible healtheffects.

Lastspring, thejournal Heart published astudy from researchers in France. The focus of the study was how regular cannabis use may affect thecardiovascular system.The researchers looked at health data collected from 24 studies. The data covered 200 million adultsfrom ages 19 to 59. They separated thedata into two groups, regular users of cannabis and nonusers. Analysis found that cannabis users had a29% higher risk of aheart attack and a20% higher risk of astroke.

Putwedding grudge to rest

Dear Miss Manners: When my husband and Igot married over adecade ago, there was no bridal shower or wedding reception. We started to plan a reception, but it was canceled by his aunt and my mother; they did not ask me or my husband. They promised to plan areception for us later,but neverdid. All we wanted was asimple potluck, and we were willing to make most of it because my husband is an excellent cook and Ican bake. It was embarrassing for me, because it made me the only woman in my church, and in my family, to be denied awedding reception and abridal shower.But it hurt my husband more. He feels like my familynever really welcomed him, and it’sabig reasonwhy he doesn’twant anything to do with my mom.

As with all observational studies, this research can only point to apossible link between cannabis use and cardiovascular events. It doesn’tproveorexplain the connection. But it does echo previous research noting the burden cannabis use places on the heart. This includes heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure and increased heart rate. This applies to smokingthe drug and edibles as well. Astudy from researchers at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, published last spring, found that regular users of edibles had reduced vascular function, by morethan 55%, compared with nonusers. Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause

of death in the U.S. With cannabis use growing (around 15% of adults by current estimates), these newest findings are concerning. Older adults and those with existing heart conditions are at particular risk of adverse outcomes. All of this makes it important to consider the potential risks before using cannabis. At the very least, discuss cannabis use when you see your health care provider

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

ding fantasy/grudge.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

and embarrass me all over again.Wecould do avow renewal ceremony,but that would also just make the situation worse, Ifear.He’s an atheist andIam without areligion at themoment, and bothofour families are fairly religious. We would have to have amember of theclergy involved to avoid hearing the riot act from our families.

Woulditberude to have anykind of celebration of our wedding this late? Woulditberude to do it withoutinviting either family? Should Itell my momwhy my husband really hates her? How do Ifixthisso my husband feelslike ourwedding has been properlyrecognized?

Idon’tknow how to fix this. If Itried to hold a “reception” now,myfamily would only show up out of obligation, which would just hurt my husband more

BLUE IVY

Continued from page1C

got caught on Beyoncé’s hair.Blue remained calm, removed the jewelry and motioned to the singer that it was safe in her hand as they both seamlessly continued “It’sthe family business,” said Kinitra D. Brooks, an academic and author of “The Lemonade Reader,” a collectionthatexploresthe nuances of Beyoncé’s2016 visual album, “Lemonade.” The‘IvyLeague’

In “Renaissance: AFilm by Beyoncé,” fans were given abehind-the-scenes look at thedecision-making process the first time Blue was allowed to perform. Beyoncé expressedhow nervous she was about her child being in front of thousands of people made her,revealing she initially said no. “I did not think it was an appropriateplaceforan11-yearoldonastadium stage,” she said in the documentary.“I made adeal with her,and Isaid, ‘If you practice and you show your commitment,

Continued from page1C

the rise of statewide health care costs related to those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Additionally,the program will support family caregivers so loved ones with dementia can remaininthe least restrictive setting for as long as possible. The Dementia Care SpecialistsProgram will support individuals living with dementia and their caregivers to ensure the highest quality of life possible while living at home. Dementia Care Specialists are acommunity-based resource, ensuring Louisianans living with dementia and their caregivers are connected to vital services

Gentle reader: Oh, dear.Itis unfortunatethatyourrelatives behavedirresponsibly when you got married. And MissManners understands theimportance of ceremonialtraditions. So you will perhapsforgive her for saying that it is high time to let go ofawed-

I’lllet you do one show.’” Blue Ivy fulfilled her end of the deal,and afan base was formed: the “Ivy League.” Kerr says Blue’saccomplishments inspire her to work harder to achieve her own dreams. “Sheworked to be onstage, and look at her now.IfIwork to what Iwant to be, Ican be killing it like her. At last month’sCowboy Carter Parisstop,members of theBeyhive and Ivy League finally got what they had been asking for —BlueIvy merchandise. Shirts with the teen’sface and the phrase “Déjà Blue” plastered on the front were available for purchase.

At the MetLife Stadium show,Ellis wore acustom corset top she painted, showcasingBlue Ivy and her 8-yearold sister,Rumi Carter, on stage with Beyoncé during “Protector,” atrack from the “Cowboy Carter” album that Rumi is featured on.

“I thought that would just be areally fun moment to highlight on acorset,” she said.“It’s just reallycoolto see her as amom because we’ve allgrown up with Beyoncé, and now it’s like her

and supports. Dementia Care Specialists provide community outreach,raise awareness, provide training, conducteducation for caregivers, and connect families to local resources, like respite, transportation andadult day services, as well as providing essential support in care navigation with local resources. Dementia Care Specialists can help ensure individuals with dementia are able to remain in their home longer,ifthatisthe most appropriate setting Results haveshownthat caregivers whowere more engaged in program activities hadgreaterhospital andrural ambulance cost savings. Caregivers whoreceived support from aDementia Care Specialist were more likely to complete important dementiacare-

You’ve had asuccessful marriage for more than 10 years —oryou wouldn’tbe thinking of renewing your vows! Why aren’tyou celebrating?

Throw yourselves an anniversary party in whatever style you like. If you maintain alighthearted atmosphere, you can get away with adding whatever wedding trimmings you want —awhitedress, a tiered cake and some newly written vows, now that you know moreabout each other

Just, please, no bridal shower

As for thefamilies: Invitethem or not,asyou like. This is not awedding, where it would be pointed to omit them. If they have treated your husband badly all these years, you will not want them there anyway Conversely,ifthe canceled reception is your only complaint, including them may finally makepeace among you.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

show is kind of like afamily affair.”

Mother-daughterduo

Blue Ivy’sconfidence and professionalism are not only atestament to her hardwork, but Beyoncé’smotherhood. Mother-daughterduos around the globe filledstadium seats, excited to watch Beyoncé andher daughter display their strongbondfor the world to see. In many cases, themothers have been Beyoncéfansfor yearsand are excited for their daughters to growupwith Blue Ivy,a highflyer for their generation.

Tanazha Baylis took her now 11-year-old daughter, Aria Brown, to the Renaissance tour,whereshe did not missa beat dancing along to Blue Ivy’s“My Power” choreography

Brown was so determined to attend the Cowboy Carter Tour that she started selling populartoys, such as slime andSquishmallows, andsaving her money “She literallywas like, ‘Mom, Idon’t knowwhat you’re going to do,but Ihave to go to thisconcert,’”said Baylis.“Ijust had to makeit happen after that.”

related tasks including establishing apower of attorney and instituting health care directives. Caregivers who received program services were twice as likely to either delay nursing home placement or decrease their likelihood of placement. For moreinformation about the program, contact TatianaGonzalez Quiroga, public policy director,Alzheimer’sAssociation, Louisiana Chapter,tgquiroga@ alz.org; (504) 662-9314, ext. 1965.

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

Today is Monday, Aug. 4, the 216th day of 2025. There are 149 days left in the year

Todayinhistory

On Aug. 4, 2020, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitratethat had been improperly stored for years in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, exploded, killing more than 200 people, injuring morethan 7,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods; it was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

Also on this date:

In 1790, theU.S. Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed ameasure authorizing agroup of revenue cutters toenforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling.

In 1936, Jesse Owens, of the United States, won thesecond of his four gold medals at theBerlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German LuzLong, who was the first to congratulate him.

In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frankwas ar-

rested with her sister,parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for twoyears inside abuilding in Amsterdam.(Anne and her sister,Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)

In 1964, 44 days after their murders, the bodies of missing civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed ameasure establishing the DepartmentofEnergy

In 1984, the album “Purple Rain,” by Prince and the Revolution, began its 24week run at the top of the Billboard 200 record chart.

In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.

In 1993, afederal judge sentenced Los Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2½ years in prison for violating

Rodney King’scivil rights. In 2019, amasked gunmanfired on revelers enjoying summer nightlife in apopular entertainment district of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine people dead and 27 wounded; policesaid officers shot and killed the shooter within 30 seconds of the start of his rampage. Today’sbirthdays: Actor-singer Tina Cole is 82. Football Hall of FamerJohn Riggins is 76. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 70. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thorntonis70. Actor Kym Karath (Film: “The Sound of Music”) is 67. Hall of Fame track star Mary DeckerSlaneyis67. Actor Lauren Tomis64. FormerPresident Barack Obama is 64. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 63. Actor Crystal Chappell is 60. Author Dennis Lehane is 60. Actor Daniel Dae Kim is 57. Actor Michael DeLuise is 56. Formerrace car driverJeff Gordonis54. Rapper-actor Yo-Yois54. R&B singeractor Marques Houston is 44. Britain’sDuchess of Sussex, the former actor Meghan Markle, is 44.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Get out, network andofferyourskills, knowledge and assistance to people who have somethingtoofferinreturn. Inspire others to commit and follow through.

VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) Preparation is everything if you want to avoid criticism and emotional interference. Time spent with someone heading in the same direction as youwill bring you closer together.

LIBRA(sept.23-oct.23) Engageinevents that are informative and addressyour concerns. Stop procrastinating and put your energywhere it counts. Choose discipline and control over excessand indulgence.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Yourbest returnwill come from whatyou actually do,not fromwhatyou talk about doing. Pushy or aggressive actions or words will be metwith resistance. Choose peace over discord

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec.21) Call, visit or helpsomeone whorequiresassistance. Your kind gesturewill offer valuable insight into aviable solution. Reach outand getinvolved.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Rash decisions will leave you in avulnerable position. Protect your possessionsand personal information from scammers. Mixedemotions will lead to doubt about someone close to you.

AQuARIus(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make positive changes in your home. Makeadjustments that will help you navigate your schedule better. Two-way conversa-

tions areamust if you want to please everyone, including yourself PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Make schedule adjustments to ensure you can attend an event that could opendoors for you. Greater involvement will encourageyou to incorporate asystem that offers more control andfewer interruptions ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Research,organize and plan beforeinitiating achange that is likely to encounter resistance. Being resourceful and taking the time to think beforeyou act will make abig difference.

TAuRus (April20-May 20) Playtothe audience that loves you. Trying to win over people whoare oblivious to what you bringtothe table is awaste of time. Utilizeyour skills and time to make an impact.

GEMInI (May21-June 20) Achange will be upliftingand thought-provoking. Change is nevereasy,but it will involve youinsituationsthatcan lead to improvement. Your happiness is your responsibility,sotake the first step cAncER (June 21-July 22) Fixing up your space to encourage you to start new projects or entertain more is in your best interest.Broadenyourhorizons, andyou'll gain access to personal growth and fulfillment.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature,isnot based on scientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

ToDAy'scLuE: WEQuALs M

FAMILYCIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Thomas Mann, aGerman author who won the1929 Nobel Prize in literature and livedinthe United States from 1939 to 1952, said, “Order and simplification arethe first steps towardthe mastery of asubject.”

The declarershould step through the order of the tricks in his mind. Today’s South is in five clubs. West leads the heart king. When East signals enthusiastically with his nine, Westcontinues with alow heart. East wins with his ace and shifts to aspade. How should South continue?

North’s redoubleshowed 10 or more high-card points. East jumped to two heartstoindicateatleast afive-card suit.Hewasnotpromisingastronghand, because he wasmarked withweakness.

IfSouthhadopeningvalues,Westenough for atakeoutdouble, andNorth 10-plus points, how could East have much?

South tookthe opportunity to show he had long clubs.Then North bidwhathe hoped his partnercould make.

Should South finesse in spades at trick three?

Well, suppose thefinesse wins. What would happennext?

Declarer draws trumps and must take thediamond finesse for his contract. But if thediamond finesse is winning, the spade finesse is an unnecessary risk. Southshould win the thirdtrick with his spade ace, cash the club ace, play a diamond to dummy’s jack,returntohis hand with atrump, repeat the diamond finesse, discardthe spade queen on the diamond ace and claim ©2025 by NEA, Inc dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

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be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at CentralCommunity School System Office,lo‐catedat11576 Sullivan Road,Baton Rouge, LA 70818. Attendance at this Pre-BidConferenceis MANDATORYand bidders must be presentfor the entire conference in ordertosubmita bid. A site visittothe school will be availableimmedi‐atelyfollowing thePreBidConference. TheContract, if awarded, will be on thebasis stated in theInstructions to Bidders. TheNon-Col‐lusion Affidavit, theAffi‐davitcertifyingcompli‐ance with R.S. 38:2212.10 regardinganemployee verification system,the No ConvictionsAffidavit required by R.S. 38:2227, andother required affi‐davits/documentation as specified in theBid Docu‐mentsmustbehandde‐livered by theapparent lowbidderwithin10cal‐endardaysofthe bid opening. No bidmay be withdrawnfroma period of 45 days afterthe bid openingexceptaspro‐videdbylaw.Bidders must meet therequire‐mentsofthe Stateof LouisianaContractor’s Licensinglaw,R.S 37:2151 et seq.

TheCentral Community School System reserves theright to awardthe projectonwhatever basisisinthe interestof theOwner andtoaccept or rejectany or allbids andtowaive technicali‐ties andinformalities Roxanne Atkinson PresidentCentral CommunitySchool System JasonFountain, Superintendent Central CommunitySchool System AdvertisementDates: Monday,July21, 2025 Monday,July28, 2025 Monday,August4,2025 150368 July 21, 28, Aug. 4, 3t $174.99

g Construction.Bidder is required to comply with provisions andrequire‐mentsofLAR.S 38:2212(B)(5). No bidmay be withdrawnfor ape‐riod of forty-five (45) days afterreceipt of bids,exceptunderthe provisions of LA.R.S 38:2214. Bids mayalsobesubmit‐tedbyelectronicmeans viawebsite www.central auctionhouse.com.Free registration is required to submit abid viathe CentralBidding website. TheOwner reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause.Inac‐cordance with La.R.S 38:2212(B)(1), theprovi‐sionsand requirements of this Section; andthose stated in thebidding documentsshall notbe waived by anyentity. When this projectis fi‐nanced either partially or entirely with StateBonds or financed in wholeorin part by federalorother fundswhich arenot readilyavailable at the time bids arereceived, theaward of this Con‐tractiscontingentupon thegrantingoflines of credit,orthe sale of bondsbythe Bond Com‐missionorthe availabil‐ityoffederal or other funds. TheState shall incurnoobligationtothe Contractor until theCon‐tractBetween Ownerand Contractor is fully exe‐cuted. Act751- LouisianaCom‐munity andTechnical CollegeSystemisa par‐ticipant in theSmall En‐trepreneurship (SE) Pro‐gram (the Hudson Initia‐tive)and theVeteranOwnedand Service-Con‐nected Disabled VeteranOwned (LaVet)Small En‐trepreneurshipsPro‐idd

rwegen@dcc.eduor(504) 671-6230 as soon as pos‐siblebut no laterthan48 hoursbeforethe sched‐uled meeting. ACT751- LOUISIANA COMMUNITY ANDTECH‐NICALCOLLEGE SYSTEM VICE PRESIDENTOFAD‐MINISTRATION TOBY R. COMEAUX, MPA OCTOBER2024 150661 July 21, 28, Aug. 4, 3t $1,511.86

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO BIDDERS SP#825

S447,HeadquartersAd‐ministration Building BatonRouge,LA70802, Telephonenumber (225/379-1444) on date(s) shownbelow until 10:00 A.M. No bids will be ac‐cepted afterthishour. At 10:00 A.M. of thesame dayand date,theywill be publicly opened and read in Headquarters Ad‐ministration Building,4th Floor,EastWingS-447. Evidence of authorityto submit thebid shallbe required in accordance with R.S. 38:2212 (A)(1)(c) and/or R.S. 39:1594 (C)(2)

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be opened andpubliclyread by Department of Public Safety &CorrectionsPrison Enterprises, 604 Mayflower Street,Baton Rouge, LA 70802 at 10:00 a.m.,August12, 2025 for thefollowing proposal: RFX# 3000025181 Sale of timber on the landsofthe Stateof Louisiana, Department of Corrections, Prison EnterprisesatWinn Correctional Center locatedinSection 15 & 16, Township 10 North, Range4 West,Winn Parish,Louisiana containing approximately537 clearcut sale acresand 119 thinning sale acres. Bids,proposalforms,in‐formationand specifica‐tionsmay be obtained from DylanReamesat 225-501-5700. No bids will

Sealed bids will be re‐ceived by theProcure‐ment Sectionofthe Divi‐sion of Administration 1201 N. 3rd. St., 2nd. Floor,Suite 2-160, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at 10:00 A.M. forthe follow‐ing: RFxNo. 3000025224, *Mand*Site Visit* Pest ControlSvcs- LDH, 8/14/25 RFxNo. 3000025231, Ice CreamPints forDOC –LSP, 8/19/25 RFxNo. 3000025191, Fish Attracting Device Buoy –LDWF,8/20/25 RFxNo. 3000025215, *Mand. SiteVst* HVAC & GeneratorMaint –SOS 8/20/25 RFxNo. 3000024927, WoodsBNAgricultural Equipment, 8/27/25 RFxNo. 3000024928, New HollandBNAgricultural Equipment, 8/27/25 Bidproposalforms,in‐formationand specifica‐tionsmay be obtained by accessingthe bidnum‐berinLaPac at www.doa Louisiana.gov/ospor from theprocurement sectionlistedabove.No bids will be received afterthe date andhour specified.The right is re‐d j d

CITY OFST. GEORGE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MONACHELLO:

ORDINANCENO. 2025-033

TO ESTABLISH AGENERAL FUND RESERVE AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS

WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the importance of implementing measures for prudent fiscal management and long-term financial stability for the City;

WHEREAS, the Council has determined the best interests of the City would be served by adopting aGeneral Fund Reserveto ensuretransparency,accountability,and fiscal prudence;

WHEREAS, maintaining General Fund reserves will assist in providing available funds during periods of unforeseen economic downturns whereanticipated revenues areless than anticipated and to cover expenses for preparation and recovery from weather-related events and other emergencies necessitating the expenditureofunbudgeted funds while supporting continued budgeted operations for services and investments in infrastructure;

WHEREAS, the City’sAccounting Manager,incollaboration with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA,) utilized the GFOA Reserve Calculation Worksheet to analyze and determine an appropriate target reserve percentage for the General Fund; and

WHEREAS, the Council seeks to establish and maintain a General Fund Reserve for the accumulation or reserve funds.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the St. George City Council, State of Louisiana as follows:

Section 1. Enactment. Chapter 8General Fund Reserve of Title 1City Organization is hereby enacted as follows: Title 1. CITY ORGANIZATION Chapter 8. GENERAL FUND RESERVE

§801. General Fund Reserve

The “General Fund Reserve” is hereby established.

§802. Implementation

The Mayor and Finance Director, or their designees, are hereby directed to take all necessary actions and to establish and maintain aGeneral Fund Reserve.

§803.Applicability

The General Fund Reserve shall apply to the General Fund

only.Nofunds dedicated to Special Revenue Funds shall be subject to this Chapter.For the purposes of this Chapter, reserves shall be defined as the excess of assets over liabilities in the General Fund. Reserves shall be categorized as:

1. Non-spendable (in form)

2. Restricted (limitations on use imposed by thirdparties)

3. Committed(imposed by the City of St. George on itself by formal action at its highest level of decision-making authority,which is by duly adopted resolution)

4. Assigned (imposed by the City of St. George on itself to earmark funds for an intended use, usually by amajority vote of City Council members present)

5. Unassigned (residual fund balance remainingafter considering the other four categories)

§804. Purposes

The purposes of the General Fund Reserve areto:

1. Plan for contingencies, such as natural disasters, unpredicted one-time largeexpenditures, revenue shortfalls, or other events or service needs that were unanticipated during budget development;

2. Provide stability and flexibility to respond to unexpected adversity or opportunities;

3. Maintain good standing with bond rating agencies;

4. Avoid interest expense by building reserves and then using them for intended purposes or to cover short-term cash shortfalls;

5. Generate investment income by investing reserves; and

6. Ensurecash is available to sustain services when revenues areunavailable.

§805.Minimum Fund Balance

A. The following general fund minimum fund balance levels shall be maintained:

1. 33% of the current fiscal year budgeted operating expenditures plus other financing expenditures.

2. Any amount remaining after deducting non-spendable, restricted, or committed amounts and reserve minimum amount as calculated above is to be assigned for major construction projects.

B. At the time any fund balance amounts become restricted, committed, or assigned, or the formulas or amounts assigned or unassigned arechanged, the City Council shall reestablish the priority level for funding purposes and review reserve target levels.

§806.Funding and Replenishing Target Amount

Funding of general fund balance targets will generally come from excess revenues over expenditures or one-time revenues. The reserves will be funded and replenished in the priority order provided in paragraph 3of this policy

§807. Conditions for Funding Reserves

A. The fund balance amount assigned for major construction projects is the residual amount and thus fluctuates monthly; therefore, the fund balance shall be used first to fund reserves, beforeunassigned amounts

B. Operating deficits will be deducted from amounts assigned for major construction projects, thereby reducing funds available for major construction projects. Once the specific amount of the fund balance which may be used for major construction projects is determined, those funds shall be transferred from the general fund to acapital projects fund in the budgeted amount approved by the City Council.

C. In the event no reserves exist that areassigned for major constructionprojects, the unassigned fund balance will be spent.

§808.Authority Over Reserves

A. The City Council shall maintain authority over fund balance reserves and shall approve both the assignment and use of reserves.

B. The reserve levels and the results of operations shall be reported to the City Council at least quarterly and shall be included on income statements and balance sheets.

Section 2: Conflicts.The specificterms and conditionsofthis Ordinance shall prevail against other ordinances to the extent theremay be any conflict.

Section 3: Severability.Ifany section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this Ordinance is declared by acourt of competent jurisdictiontobeinvalid, such declaration of invalidity shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as awhole, or parts thereof, other than the part declared invalid. The remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected by the declarationofinvalidity and shall remain in force and effect.

Section 4. Effective Date.This Ordinance shall be effective upon publication.

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote, the vote thereonwas as follows: Ayes: Cook,Delucci, Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello,Murrell, Talbot

Nays: None

Absent: None

Introduced on June 24, 2025 and voted on July 22, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Delivered to MayoronJuly 25, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor

Received from Mayoron, Ordinance published in The Advocate on the day of _________, 2025

CITY OF ST.GEORGE

BY COUNCIL MEMBER COOK:

ORDINANCE NO. 2025-032

TO AMEND TITLE 9, CHAPTER 4AND ENACT TITLE 10

RELATIVE TO SPECIAL EVENTSAND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS

WHEREAS, the City of St. Georgewishes to establish a predictable and structured special event application process and to ensureadequate advance notice of permitted Special Events in order to mitigate potential negative impacts to the community. It is the specificintent of the City to regulate only the time, place, and mannerofspecial events, notthe content of any speech or expressive conduct.

WHEREAS the City of St. George, through Ordinance No. 2024-020 adopted Title 9, Chapter 4torequirepermits for any carnival, street fair,circuses, or other similar activity in the City of St. George; and WHEREAS the City of St. Georgeseekstorepeal Chapter 4ofTitle 9and adopt Title 10, Special Events to providea comprehensive process for all special events in the City ofSt. George.

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, the St. GeorgeCity Council, State of Louisiana, herebyrepeals Chapter 4ofTitle 9, and enacts Title 10 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of St. George, as follows:

Section 1. Repeal.

Title 9, Chapter 4, Carnival, Street Fairs, Circuses, or Other Similar Activities, as adopted through Ordinance No. 2024-020, is hereby repealed.

Section 2. Enactment.

TITLE 10, SPECIAL EVENTS

CHAPTER 1. GENERALPROVISIONS

Sec. 10:101. Definitions.

As used in this Title 10 of the St. GeorgeCodeofOrdinances, the following termsshall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates adifferent meaning is intended:

Amusement attraction means any building or structure around, over,orthrough which people maymove or walk, without the aid of any moving device integral to the building or structure that provides amusement, pleasure, thrills, or excitement. “Amusement attraction” does notinclude any enterprise principally devoted to the exhibitionofproducts of agriculture, industry,education, science, religion, or the arts.

Amusement ride means any mechanized device or combination of devices which carries passengers along,around, or overa fixedorrestricted course for the purpose of giving itspassengers amusement, pleasure, thrills, or excitement.

Application shall mean the form supplied by the office which sets forthinformation required for the permit.

Attendee means aparticipant, an athlete, or the event staff present during aspecial event. This term includes avendoror volunteer

Blockparty means asocialgathering of agroup of neighbors or businesses living or working in proximitytoeach other,utilizing a certain portion of apublic street for their activity,whereseventyfive (75) percent of the neighbors or businesses on the affected block or blocksconsent in writing to said event.

Charitable organization means anonprofitveterans’, eleemosynary,benevolent, educational, religious, fraternal or civic and service association or corporationdomiciledinthis state in good standing with the Louisiana Secretary of State which has qualified with the Internal Revenue Service for an exemption from federal incometax under Section501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Commercial purpose.The sale, exchange, or distributionof anything of value by any person, group or legalentity to another person, group,orlegal entity

Diversion means the act of redirecting material from disposal for ahigher or best use.

Event Organizer means any person who conducts, manages, or organizes aspecial event.

Fair means an enterprise offering amusement or entertainment to the public in, upon, or by means of amusement attractions or rides.

Festival means an enterprise offering amusement or entertainment to the public in, upon, or by means of amusement attractions, but notincluding amusement rides.

Impact means to impede, obstruct, impair,orinterfere with normal vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Interested Person means the property owner, property management, or tenant of each property that frontsa portionof the proposedClosureArea.

Legacy Event means aspecial event that has been held in the same location in the City of St. Georgeinsubstantially the same form for aminimum of 20 years.

Moving Event shall have the meaning and apply to aprocession of pedestrians and/orvehicles along or upon adedicated street, road or highway under the control of the City of St. George, but shall not mean afuneral procession, wedding processionora government or military motorcade, or an elementary or high school motorcade, provided such school motorcade has a police escort.

Neighborhood Association means aneighborhood association registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State whose boundaries include all or part of aright-of-way closurearea.

Operator means aperson, organization, or association, or the agent of aperson, organization, or association, which owns or controls, or has the duty to control, the operationof an amusement or ride. “Operator” does not include aperson, organization, or associationthat does not ownorcontrolan amusement attractionorride but which permits or allows the operationofanamusement attractionorride on the premises of or in the name of the person, organization, or association.

Outdoor SpecialEvent Venue means aSpecial Event Venue that is not fully enclosed by permanent, solid walls, and roof.

Police-Escorted Bubble means aprocessionwhereindividuals proceed within aperimeter of police officers or police vehicles.

PreliminaryRecommendation means the initial review of a special event application.

Public Facility means apublicly owned, controlled, or maintained park,building, facility,orproperty that is not astreet, sidewalk, right-of-way,orspaces not open to the general public for rental.

Right-of-way.Any portion of ground dedicated for public use as astreet and shall include that portion of the ground between the paved portion of adedicated street and the property line of the adjacent landowner within the City of St. George.

Right of WayClosureArea means acity street, sidewalk, alley walkway,orright-of-way that is part of aSpecial Event Venue.

Sound Equipment means aloud speaker,microphone, public address system, amplificationsystem, turntable, or other similar digital or analogdevice that amplifies sound.

SpecialEvent means an event that: (a) Impacts aCity street, sidewalk, alley,walkway,orother City public right-of-way; or (b) Is temporary,involves 50 or moreattendees at any time; and (i) is inconsistent with the permanent use to which the property maylegally be used, or the occupancy levels permitted on the property; and (ii) includes one of the following: set up of temporary structures, including, but not limited to,tents, stages, or fences; use of sound equipment as described in Section10:406; or provision for sale or consumption of food or beverages, including alcohol.

SpecialEvents Impact Area means the geographic area surrounding aspecial event venue that is subject to the requirements in Section10:205 (Special Event Impact Area).

SpecialEvents Venue means the property wherethe special event will occur

Waste Management means collection of solid waste, recyclables, organics, and hazardous waste for disposal or diversionand includes litter control and street cleaning

Sec. 10:102. City Services.

(a) The City Services (“City Services”) shall review applications for Special Event permits and shall approve or deny applications in compliance with this Title and with rules, policies, and procedures adopted under this Title.

(b) The Office mayestablish aSpecial Event Impact Area in the geographic area surrounding aSpecial Event Venue.

(c) In carrying out its duties, City Services may:

(1) set reasonable boundaries for the Special Event Venue and Special Event Impact Area;

(2) impose reasonable conditions on the Special Event based on public health, safety,and welfare;

(3) coordinate permit issuance or authorizations for the Special Event with other City Departments, the East BatonRouge Sheriff’sDepartment, and other public agencies;

(4) requireconsolidated applications;

(5) consult with public agencies that have ownership or jurisdiction overland within aSpecial Event Venue or district; and

(6) adopt rules governing the administration and enforcement of this Title, including application requirements and provisions for interdepartmental review

Sec. 10:103. Categories of Special Events

ASpecial Event Permit will be designated into one of four tiers in accordance with this Title.

(1) ATier 1event is aSpecial Event that does not include the consumption of alcohol and:

a. is stationary,impacts only one block of asidewalk or a city right-of-way that is not astreet, or

b. is aMoving Event and consists exclusively of people in aPolice-Escorted Bubble; or

c. is an assembly at aPublic Facility that lasts less than five hours, and does not include food or beverages, or arequest to increase the permanent occupancy limit.

(2) ATier 2event is aSpecial Event that:

a. is an assembly at aPublic Facility that estimates attendance at less than 2,500 attendees at one time; or b. is an assembly that is held primarily on private property,and that estimates attendance at less than 2,500 attendees at one time; or

c. is stationary and impacts up to two blocksofa street, sidewalk, or city right-of-way

(3) ATier 3event is aSpecial Event that is not covered by Tiers 1or2

Sec. 10:104. Conflicts withthis Title.

To the extent aconflictexistswith other provisions of the St. GeorgeCodeofOrdinance, this Title controls.

CHAPTER2.PERMITS

Sec. 10:201. Permit required; Exceptions

(a) Except as provided in Subsection(b), aSpecial Event Permit issued under this Title is required to conduct, manage, or operate aSpecial Event.

(b) ASpecial Event Permit under this Title is not required for aTier 1event or aTier 2event, which mayinclude food or non-alcoholic beveragesale or service, conducted entirely: (1) on parkland that uses only the Recreationand Park

Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) and/or St. George Parksand Recreation facilities, personnel, and equipment;

(2) in apublicly-owned auditorium or meeting room that requires only the facilities, personnel, or equipment associated with the facility;

(3) use aRight-of-Way whereless than 20 people will gather;

(4) Nothing in this Title shall be construed to restrict rights under the First Amendment. Spontaneous events that arisefromnewsorcurrent affairs may proceed without apermit, but areencouraged to notify the Chief of Police to ensurepublic safety

(5) on private property that does not requireextraordinary services, other licenses/permits, or an entry fee;

(6) Students at or below grade12going to and from school classes or participating in educational activities, provided that such conduct is under the immediate direction and supervision of the proper school authorities;

(7) Agovernmental agency acting within the scope of its governmental functions.

(c) Special Event Permit shall be issued for no morethan three consecutive days within aone-week period and shall not be for morethan one consecutive two-week period. No Special Event Venue may conduct morethan four Special Events in any single calendar year without approval of the City Council.

(d) If aSpecial Event Permit is completely or partially canceled due to inclement weather,the Special Event Permit may be amended by City Services to allow the Special Event to be held on any alternate date. The number of alternate days granted for the conduct of aSpecial Event cannot exceed the number of originally permitted days canceled due to inclement weather.Alternate days must be scheduled within thirty (30) days of the canceled original days.

(e) No Tier 2or3Special Event shall be held in an area which is less than three hundred (300) feet from aresidential area,except for Special Events held by aNeighborhood Association, church, or school entirely on its own property

(f) ASpecial Event Permit is non-transferable andisonly applicable to the Special Event Venue described in the application. ASpecial Event Permit shall be null and void for any other location.

Sec. 10:202. Requirements for aSpecial Event Permit.

(a) Except as provided in Section 10:201, an Event Organizer shall obtain aSpecial Event Permit issued by City Services beforeconducting, managing, or operating aSpecial Event.

(b) As acondition of aSpecial Event Permit, the Event Organizer or aperson who represents the Event Organizer shall:

(1) provide access to aSpecial Event Venue to aCity employee with inspection and enforcement duties related to Special Events;

(2) be present at all times during the operating hours for the Special Event;

(3) provide City Services with contact information for an individual who is responsible for the set-up and takedown of the Special Event;

(4) ensurecompliance with all applicable ordinances, regulations, rules, and the Special Event Permit;

(5) accept all notices of violation, citations, and closure orders.

(c) ASpecial Event Permit is only effectiveafter theevent setup has passed all required inspections.

Sec. 10:203. Other permits or licenses required.

Nothing in this Title shall be construed as repealing other sections of this Code or other ordinances requiring separate applications for permits or licenses for specificportions of the Special Event, such as alcohol licenses, building permits, or related permits. Those permits must be applied for separately in accordance with the laws or sections of this Code or other ordinances, specifically governing those activities.

Sec. 10:204. Notification of Councilmember

Upon receipt of each application for aSpecial Event Permit under this Title, City Services shall notify the Councilmember in whose District the Special Event is to be held.

Sec. 10:205. Limitations on the provisions of City Services; Costsand Fees

(a) Issuance of aSpecial Event Permit or the approval of aSpecial Event Permit Applicationdoes not obligate or requirethe City to provide services, equipment, or personnel in support of an event.

(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c), if the City provides services, equipment, or personnel in support of aSpecial Event, the City will charge the Event Organizer the actual cost of:

(1) the wages or salaries set by separate ordinance for city personnel involved in trafficcontrol, event security fire safety,medical safety,waste management, and other facilityorevent support;

(2) the use of city equipment, city-contracted services, and other non-personnel expenses; and

(3) any clean-up activity directly related to the Special Event, not provided by the Event Organizer,that is required to restorethe area to the same condition that existed prior to the Special Event.

(c) If the City is aco-sponsor of aSpecial Event, city services, equipment, or personnel may,with City Council approval, be provided to support a Special Event without charge.

(d) The City may also charge any other fees set by separate ordinances to recover costs associated with Special Events.

(e) If an Event Organizer requests an estimate of the charges or fees described in Subsections (b) and (d), City Services will provide an estimate within 30 days of the request for estimate.

(f) An Event Organizer shall pay to the City:

(1) within thirty (30) business days from the date of the Special Event, the estimated charges and fees described in Subsections (b) and (d); and (2) within 20 business days from the date City Services provides the Event Organizer with abill that identifies the actual charges and fees described in Subsections (b) and (d) and arefundorinvoice for amount still due.

Sec. 10:206. SpecialEvents Impact Area.

(a)Inthe interests of public health, safety,and welfare, City Services may designate aSpecial Events Impact Area that surrounds aSpecial Event. If aSpecial Events Impact Area is designated, City Services may limit the number of permits, applications, or approvals described issued within the Special Events Impact Area.

(b) City Services will set the durationand boundaries of a Special Events Impact Area after: (1) consulting with affected City departments and public agencies; and (2) balancing the needs of the Special event with public health, safety,and welfare.

(c) City Services will determine the maximum number of Special Event Permits or associated approvalsthat may be issued in aSpecial Events Impact Area.

(d) Abusiness or property,including avendorlicensed under Title 9, Chapter 3ofthe St. George CodeofOrdinances, located within the area of aSpecial Events Impact Area will not be required to seek additional permits if the business or property operates in amanner consistent with its existing permits.

Sec. 10:207. Insurancerequired; exceptions

(a) Except as provided in Subsection (i), the Event Organizer must possess or obtain insurance to protect the City against loss from liability imposed by law for damages on account of bodily injury and property damagearising from the Special Event that impacts or occurs on City property including City facilities and City streets, sidewalks, and other Right-Of-Ways. Apublic liability insurance policy not less than $100,000.00 for one personand $500,000.00 for any one accident shall be in force and effect for the Special Event Venue, during the operative time.

(b) The insurance shall name the City as an additional insured and must be maintained for the durationofthe special event. ASpecial Event permit shall not be issued without receipt from the insurer or itsagent of record of abona fide certificate of insurance which indicates that the City of St. Georgeisalso being insured and afforded coverage to the same extent as the named insured. Evidence of coverage showing a30-day notice of cancellationis required.

(c) If alcohol will be served on City property or if alcoholis served on non-City or Parish property and thereisapublic street closureinvolved, Alcohol Legal Liability coverage (ex: Bar-keepers liability) shall be provided.

(d) If automobiles will be used, Automobile Liability coverage shall be provided for any one Occurrence. Coverage to include all Owned, Hired, and Non-Owned Automobiles.

(e) If paid employees of Event Organizer will participate in Special Event, Workers’ Compensation and Employer’s Liability insurance, covering all employees in compliance with the laws of the State of Louisiana, shall be provided. If workers arethrough acompany other than Event Organizer,the company should furnish acopyoftheir certificate and waiver of subrogationfromthe carrier.

(f) Failuretomaintain insurance immediately preceding, during the Special Event, and until the conclusionofthe permit period is groundstorevoke the Special Event Permit.

(g) Unless otherwise stated in this section, City Services will determine the necessary amount of insurance coverage/

(h) The insurance required by this section is not asubstitute for insurance requirements that maybeimposedbyother required City permits.

(i) An Event Organizer is exempt from providing the insurance required by this section if: (1) the Special Event occurs exclusively on private property; or (2) The Event Organizer demonstrates that it is impossible or impractical to obtain insurance coverage.

Sec. 10:208. Bond.

(a) The applicant for aSpecial Event Permit shall furnish a cash or surety bond, conditioned upon saving harmless the City of St. Georgefromany and all liability or causes of action which might arise by virtue of the granting of aSpecial Event Permit, and conditioned further that no damage shall be done to the streets, sewers, sidewalks or other public ways, trees or adjoining property, and that no dirt, paper,litter or other debris will be permitted to remain upon the streets or upon any private property by the Event Organizer to whom the permit was issued. Such surety bond shall be canceled or the cash bond returned to the applicant uponthe satisfaction of CityServices that all the conditions of this Chapter have been compliedwith.

(b) The minimum sum for acash or surety bond shall be:

(1) $1,000.00 for Tier1

(2) $3,000.00 for Tier2

(3) $7,500.00 for Tier3

(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Title to the contrary the following events areexemptfromthe requirements of acash or surety bond.

(1) any Neighborhood Association, church, or school making application for aSpecial Event permit under this Title which is to be held on their own premises.

(2) The Greater BatonRouge State Fair

Sec. 10:209. Liability andIndemnification

(a) An Event Organizer who applies for aSpecial Event Permit shall be liable for all damagetoproperty or person(s) which may arise out of or in connectionwith the Special Event for whicha permit was issued.

(b) An Event Organizer who applies for aSpecial Event Permit shall execute awritten agreement to indemnify the City and its officers and employees against all claims of injury or damage to persons or property,whether public or private, arising out of alleged willful or negligent acts or omissions of the Event Organizer,its officers, agents, or employees in connection with the special event.

PART 2. CLOSURE PERMITS

Sec. 10:220. ClosurePermits.

(a) Apersonmay nottemporarily close any portionofa public street, sidewalk, or right-of-way to conduct, start, participate, or assist in aSpecial Event, unless the person obtains:

(1) aClosurePermit under this Title; (2) aSpecial Event Permit issued under this Title;and (3) any other permit or license required by the City Code or state law

(b) An Applicant must submit arequest for aClosurePermit to City Services with its applicationfor aSpecial Events Permit by the deadlines set forth in Section 10:301.

(c) Aparade, walk,run, or any other Moving Event that is within the street or street right-of-way requires aClosure Permit.

Sec. 10:221. General Restrictions for ClosurePermits.

(a) An Event Organizer maynot block offa street, sidewalk, or right-of-way in amanner that prevents the free movement of pedestrians into and out of the area included in the closurepermit.

(b) If City Services determines that an Event Organizer has violated or failed to comply with the termsofaClosure Permit approvedunder this Title, City Services may immediately halt the Special Event activities and reopen the public street, sidewalk, or right-of-way

Sec. 10:222. CostofCityService.

Unless City Services requires the Applicant to use aprivate barricade entity,anApplicant for aClosurePermit shall pay the actual costs of city-contracted services for barricades, signs, and devices to be used for redirecting trafficaround the area included in the closurepermit.

Sec. 10:223. Notice requirements

(a) An Event Organizer for aTier 3Special Event that requires aClosurePermit shall providenotice by mail to all Interested Persons and Neighborhood Associations in the proposedClosureAreaatleast 90 days priortothe start date of the Special Event if the Special Event: (1) has been held for 4years or less; or (2) has received aviolation or changed its character, nature, location or route.

(b) An Event Organizer for aTier 3Special Event that requires aClosurePermit shall providenotice by mail to all Interested Personand Neighborhood Associations in the proposedClosureAreaatleast 45 days priortothe start date of the Special Event if the Special Event: (1) has been held for five or moreyears; and (2) has not received aviolation or changed its character, nature, location, or route.

Sec. 10:224. Documentation requirements.

(a) In additiontothe documents required for aSpecial Event Permit under this Title, an Applicant applying for aClosure Permit must submit with its application: (1) the proposedclosureareas; (2) the proposeduse of the closureareas; and (3) the proposedclosurehours.

(b) City Services mayrequireanApplicant provide: atraffic control plan signed and sealed by aprofessional engineer licensed in the State of Louisiana that shows the location of all barricades, signs, and devices to be used for redirecting trafficaround the area included in the closure permit; or aletter from aprivate barricade entity stating that all devices to be used during the closurewill be set up and removedbythe barricade entity in accordance with the conditions of the ClosurePermit.

Sec. 10:225. Approval or denial of ClosurePermit.

(a) Except as provided in Subsection(b), the City Services shall approve aClosurePermit if it determines that the applicationcomplies with this Title.

(b) City Services must request Council actionona request for aClosurePermit if, within 14 calendar days from the date notice is provided, City Services receives objections from: (1) 20 percent or moreofthe Interested Persons who were provided notice; or (2) aNeighborhood Associationwithin the proposedClosureArea.

(c) BeforeCouncil considers arequest for aClosurePermit, City Services must prepareareport that:(1) summarizes the objections received; (2) describes any application modifications City Services will requiretoaddress the objections; and (3) states City Services’ recommendation, which must be based upon whether the application complies with this Title.

(d) In considering aClosurePermit, Council shall consider the City Services’ report and apply the same criteria used by the City Services in Section10:305.

(e) ASpecial Event that has been held for 5ormoreyears and has not received aviolation or changed its character nature, location, or route shall be approved.

(f)A ClosurePermit is not effective unless City Services approvesthe companionSpecial Event Permit.

(g)Ifa ClosurePermit is denied, an Applicant shall have a right of appeal as stated in Section10:306.

Sec. 10:226. Restoration after theSpecial Event.

It is the responsibility of the Event Organizer to restorethe street and the surrounding area to its originalcleanliness. Any banners, signs, streamers, or ribbons placed by the participants within the right-of-way must be removedwithin 48 hours of the event. No oil-based paint will be allowed on the street or the sidewalk. Only water-based paint maybeused, and this must be removed immediately after the Special Event PART 3. NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCKPARTY PERMITS

Sec. 10:230. Neighborhood BlockParty

(a) ANeighborhood BlockParty is an event on aresidential street for individuals who live in the immediate area of the residential street.

(b) For purposes of this Part, aresidential street is ablock of right-of-way that primarily abuts single-family dwellings.

(c) Neighborhood BlockParties on residential streets with the following land uses must be approvedbyCity Services: (1) multi-family; (2) schools; (3) places of worship; (4) commercial; or (5) other non-residential uses.

(d) ANeighborhood BlockParty cannotbelocated on a residential street that: (1) is controlledwith an automated trafficcontroldevice at either end of the block;or(2) includes any bus stops.

(e) Neighborhood BlockParty cannotclose an intersection with another street.

Sec. 10:231. Permit Required.

(a) Apersonmay not temporarily close aresidential street to conduct, start, participate, or assist in aNeighborhood BlockParty,unless the personobtains: (1) ablock party permit required by this Section; and (2) any other permit required by the City Code.

(b) Neither aSpecial Event Permit nor aClosurePermit is required for aNeighborhood BlockParty

Sec. 10:232. Application Required.

(a) Apersonmust submit an applicationfor aBlock Party Permit on aform approvedbyCity Services.

(b) An applicant shall pay an applicationfee set by aseparate ordinance.

(c)Anapplicant must submit proof to City Services that the minimum percentage of the occupants of the property impacted agree to the Neighborhood Block Party.This percentage will be set and published by the director

(d) An application must be submitted at least 10 calendar days beforeaNeighborhood Block Party

(e) City Services shall approve aBlock Party permit if it determines that the application complies with this Part.

Sec. 10:233. Appeal of denial of an application.

(a) If an application for aBlock Party Permit is denied, the applicant may appeal to the Director of the City Services.

(b) An applicant must submit an appeal within 5business days after the applicant is notified that the application has been denied. The Director may uphold or reverse the denial of the application.

Sec. 10:234. Barricades.

An applicant shall use trafficcontrol devices and barricades to close astreet as required by the City Services.

Sec. 10:235. Indemnification.

An applicant shall execute awritten agreement to indemnify the City as provided in Section 10:209.

CHAPTER 3. SPECIAL EVENT APPLICATIONS

Sec. 10:301. Special Event Application and deadline.

(a) An Event Organizer shall pay an application fee set by a separate ordinance.

(b) An application for Special Event Permit may be submitted no earlier than 180 calendar days prior to the first day of the Special Event.

(c) An Event Organizer must submit aSpecial Event Application no later than the following number of days prior to the first day of the proposed event: (1) 7calendar days for aTier 1event; (2) 45 calendar days for aTier 2 event; and (3) 60 calendar days for aTier 3event

(d) ANeighborhood Association, church, or school that applies for aTier 2orTier 3Special Event Permit Application to be held on its own premises shall submit its application no laterthan 7calendar days beforethe first day of the proposed event.

(e) ALegacy Event may submit anotice of proposed special event dates for up to a five-year period on aform approved by City Services. ALegacy Eventmust still comply with this Section and Section 10:302 each year of the Special Event.

(f) An application deadline for aSpecial Event Application may be waived by City Services if the following conditions aremet: (1) the Event Organizer can show good cause; and (2) no unreasonable burden on the City will be created by the waiver

Sec. 10:302. Contents of Special Event Application.

(a) An Event Organizer must submit an application for a Special Event on aform approved by City Services. The Event Organizer must be the applicant unless the Event Organizer designates another person in writing. Special Event applications, whereapplicable, shall include:

(1) The name or title of the special event;

(2) The anticipated maximum number of persons participating in the Special Event, distinguishing between the anticipated number of persons that will be employed or serving at the event from the anticipated number of persons attending the event.

(3) The date(s) and times during which the Special Event will be conducted;

(4) The exact location of the Special Event, and/or the route the Special Event will utilize;

(5) Whether amplified sound will be used;

(6) Whether artificial lighting will be used;

(7) Whether temporary static structures will be used, and if so, acomplete description (including measurements) of the structures;

(8) Whether vehicles will be used, and if so, adescription of the vehicles and how they will be used;

(9) If the street is to be closed, the signatures of all residents and/or businesses situated on the street, denoting approval;

(10) If applicable, written permission from the property owner allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold, when the applicant does not hold abona fide lease for the location wherethe Special Event will occur;

(11) Proof of insurance as stated in Section 10:207, any applicable bond as stated in Section 10:208, and awritten agreement to indemnify as stated in Section 10:209 must be submitted with an application;

(12) Sales Taxclearance letter. No permit will be issued if the applicant is delinquent in the payment of any tax, license or fee to the City of St. George;

(13) Adisclosureastowhether the applicant or entity for whom the application is made has previously conducted aSpecial Event within the City which has been subject to any civil, criminal, or administrative action; (14) Adisclosureastowhether the applicant or entity for whom the application is made has defaulted upon, or is in arrears to, any payments due to the City; and (15) The signatureofthe applicant.

(b) The Event Organizer or the Owner of the Special Event Venue shall provide proof of ownership or proof of lease with its application and specify with particularity the area to be used, providing aminimum of one (1) acreofground for every two thousand (2,000) persons, exclusive of any living accommodations and health and safety facilities.

(c) If the sale or service of alcoholic beverages is in any way associated with the Special Event, aSpecial Event Permit must be obtained through the Alcoholic Beverage Control Office and submitted no less than 30 days prior to the first day of the Special Event if the application does not include arequestfor aClosurePermit that requires Council action under Section 10:225.

(d)Ifthe Special Event involves aFederal orState Highway route, the Louisiana Department of Transportationand Development (LA DOTD) must be notified, and proof of notification must be submitted no less than 30 days prior to the first day of the Special Event. If the Special Event requires the closure of astate highway,permissionmust be obtained from LA DOTD and the Louisiana State Police Troop Aand provided with the application no less than 30 days prior to the first day of the Special Event.

(e) No Special Event Permit will be issued if the applicant is delinquent in the

violation.

(f) Except as provided in Subsection (c), (d) and (e), an application must contain all of the information described in this section to be deemed complete. Beforeapproval of apermit, an applicant must timely provideall documentation and information required in this section and section 10:303.

Sec. 10:303. Event Plan.

(a) Each Tier 3Special Event applicant must submit an Event Plan at least 45 days prior to the first day of the Special Event date. For Tier2 Special Events, an applicant must submit an Event Plan at least 30 days prior to the first day of the Special Event. For Tier1 Special Events, the Event Plan must be submitted with the application. City Services may consider an application for aTier 2or3 Special Event complete subject to approval of the Event Plan being timely provided, reviewed, and thereafter approved.

(b) The Event Plan shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) Detailed information concerning the activities included in the Special Event, including:

a. the number of bands or other musical units;

b. the number of theatrical performances;

c. the proposedsize, location, and orientation of speakers;

d. the ancillary activities that will be associated with the event;

e. the kindsofanimals anticipated to be apart of the event;

f. the types of non-emergency vehicles to be used for the event;

g. food and alcoholsold or consumed at event;

h. for any Special Event wherein activity will be conducted on Cityproperty,streets, or Right of Ways, adiagram of showing the location of vendors and tents. For sidewalk protection, all vendors serving food must use plastic beneath serving tables and metal sheets under grills. Drilling into pavers is never allowed to securetents.

(2) Public Safety Plan.APublic Safety Plan, based upon the anticipated number in attendance stated in the application, is required to be approvedbeforeany Special Event Permit is issued and, at aminimum, shall include:

a. On-site security for attendees and property that shall include:

1. The number of commissioned law enforcement officers based uponthe anticipated attendance.

The St. GeorgeChief of Police shall determine whether private security officers can be utilized in lieu of commissioned law enforcement officers based uponthe Special Event. Should the Chief of Police approve private security, the private security employed must:

a. be in uniform; b. be able to contact City police, fire,or emergency medical services if necessary; c. remain on-siteduring the Special Event; d. be licensed by the State of Louisiana; and e. notconsume an alcoholic beverageor participate in the Special Event.

2. At least one commissioned law enforcement officer or private security officer for every five hundred (500) persons shall be required for any Special Event.

b. On-site medical coverage that shall include:

1. the number of and level ofcertification of emergency medical responders and the 911-access that will be utilized for the special event;

2. awritten description of all non-public medical resources that will be used at the Special Event. All private medical resources must be licensed. Unless otherwise approved in the Special Event Permit, only medical service responders employed by St. GeorgeFireDepartment may respond to 911 requests within aSpecial Event or providemedical transport from aSpecial Event.

c. Firesafety plan that shall comply with all applicable National FireProtectionAssociation Life Safety Code (NFPA101), the National FireProtection Association FireCode(NFPA1)and St. George Fire Protection District No. 2requirements as adopted and amended in Title 6ofthe St. George Codeof Ordinances, including but notlimited to: (1) fire lanes and public safety access; (2) tents and temporary membrane structures; (3) fireworks, pyrotechnics, open flames; (4) theatrical flame or laser performances; (5) occupant loads, exiting, and egress; (6) use of decorative materials and finishes; (7) use, location, storage of propane or other fuel type equipment; and (8) crowd management.

d. Atrafficmanagement plan that includes:

(1) If applicable, provisions for queuing event attendees on streets, sidewalks, or other city right-of-ways; (2) Aparking plan, with amap of on-siteand any off-siteparking for the Special Event; (3) Property owner authorization for any offsite parking and information detailing how attendees will gettothe event site from the offsite parking area;

(4) Unless authorized by the Chief of Police, only peace officers who arecommissionedbythe Parish of East BatonRouge and areonduty and acting in an official capacity of their agency shall be used for trafficcontrolonCitystreets or in City Right-of-Way for Special Events.

(3) WasteManagementPlan that shall include:

a. Proof of acontract providing sanitary facilities that provideatleast one (1) unit for every two hundred fifty (250) persons based upon the anticipated attendance stated in the application.

b. Proof of waste management services contract to accommodate the anticipated attendance stated in the application.

c. Diagram showing location of sanitary facilities and garbagedisposal locations.

d. For aSpecial Event held at aCity facility or on City streets, sidewalks, or Right-ofWays, an Event Organizer shall not provide or distribute, or allowanother to provideor distribute glass containers and shall provide suitable protectionaround storm water inlets to prevent debris from entering the storm water system.

(4) City Services shall requirethe applicant for aSpecial Event Permit to furnish aletter or certificate of complianceorapproval from the following:

a. The State Health Department for the parish ensuring that adequate medical, first aid, and sanitary facilities areavailable in accordance with the guidelines for mass gatherings.

b. Chief of Police, attesting that adequate arrangements have been made for parking trafficcontrol, security,and law enforcement.

Sec. 10:304. Review of application.

(a) For aTier 3event, City Services will issue, within 10 business days of receiving acomplete application, a preliminary recommendation to approve the application, provided that the following conditions aremet:

(1) No other approvedorpending Special Events conflict with the event organizer’sproposed Special Event;

(2) Aprior Special Event Permit was not revoked by the City in the preceding 12 months;

(3) The applicant’sability to demonstrate it has the resources to address public health and safety concerns if the City does not have sufficient resources to devote to the Special Event;

(4) The Special Event will not cause an unresolvable conflict in the public Right-of-Way or at aPublic Facility

(5) For aMoving Event, the conduct of the Special Event will not: a. substantially interrupt the safe and orderly movement of other trafficcontiguous to its route; b. requirethe diversionofanexcessive amount of law enforcement officers to properly police the movement of the Moving Event and the areas contiguous.

(b) City Services is not required to process more than one applicationfor aTier 3Special Event per Event Organizer during any two-week period.

(c) Except as otherwise provided, when multiple Tier3 Special Events arerequested for the same day and location, City Services will prioritize applications based on the number of years aSpecial Event has been conducted in the City When two or moreSpecial Events have been conducted for the same number of years, the Special Event that has historically been held on the same date for the greatest number of years is givenpriority

(d) For aTier 3Special Event, City Services will take final actiontoapprove or deny an applicationnolater than 30 days beforethe first day of the Special Event. For aTier 2 event, City Services will take final actiontoapprove or deny an applicationnolater than 30 days after the application is deemed complete. For aTier 1, City Services will take finalactiontoapprove or deny an applicationnolater than the close of business one business day beforethe start of the Special Event.

(e) During the applicationreview period, City Services will engageinaninteractive process with applicants, which mayinclude an inspection of the facilities and grounds on which the Special Event is to be held. The applicant expressly acknowledges the ability of the City of St. George, through its departments or agencies, to conduct mechanical, electrical, or safety inspections on any premises on which apermitted event is to be held before and during the Special Event.

Sec. 10:305. Approval or denial of aSpecial EventApplication.

(a) If City Services determines that none of the conditions specified in Subsections (b), (c) or (d) apply,City Services shall approve aSpecial Event Application.

(b) City Services shall deny aSpecial Event Applicationifthe applicant fails to:

1. Timely providea complete application;

2. Tender any applicable fee;

3. Timely providea sufficient Event Plan as required in Section10:303;

4. Meet the requirements for submitting an application for aSpecial Event Permit;

5. Obtain the approvalofany other public agency within whose jurisdiction the Special Event or aportion of the Special Event will occur;

6. Obtain all other required City,Parish, or State permits or approvals;

7. Meet the conditions set forthinSection10:304; or

8. Timely make revisions to apending applicationor Event Plan that City Services requires.

(c) City Services shall deny aSpecial Event applicationifit determines that:

1. The Special Event will violate any local, state, or federal law or regulationoradministrative rule;

2. The Special Event would present an unreasonable danger to the health or safety of the applicant or others;

3. The resources required to ensurepublic safety within the special event venue or impact area will prevent the police, fire,oremergency medical services departments from providing reasonable protections to the remainder of the City;

4. The concentrations of persons, animals, or vehicles within the special event venue or impact area will unduly interferewith the movement of police, fire, ambulance, or other emergency vehicles;

5. The Special Event will substantially interferewith: (a) Any other Special Event for which apermit or applicationhas already been approved; or (b) The provisions of City services required to support scheduled or unscheduled government functions;

6. The Event Organizer demonstrates an inability or unwillingness to conduct an event in compliance with the requirements of this Title or of acondition to a permit issued under this Title; or

7. The Event Organizer conducted aprior Special Event in amanner that failed to substantially comply with City Code requirements or damaged public property on or adjacent to the right-of-way and has not paid in full for said damageorhas otherwise outstanding and unpaid debts ;or

8. The applicationcontains amaterial misrepresentation.

(d) City Services is not required to takeactiononan incomplete or untimely application, except as provided in Section10:302.

(e) City Services mayrequireapplicationmodifications. In exercising this authority,City Services will consider:

1. scope of events; 2. traffic; 3. parking; and 4. public safety concerns.

(f)IfCity Services denies an application, City Services shall notify the Event Organizer in writing as soon as practical, setting forthinwriting the groundsfor denial, and, wherefeasible, proposedmeasures to curethe defects in the application. Anotification sent by electronic mail complies with this subsection.

Sec. 10:306. Appeal of DenialofSpecial EventApplication.

If City Services denies aSpecial Event Application, the Event Organizer mayappeal the denial to the City of St. George DivisionofAdministration Adjudication, no later than 5business days after the Event Organizer is notified that the applicationwas denied.

CHAPTER 4. OPERATION

Sec. 10:401. Unpermitted Special Events prohibited.

Aperson may not conduct, operate, or manage aSpecial Event without aSpecial Event Permit required by this Title.

Sec. 10:402. Compliance with Permits, Approvals, and Plans.

An Event Organizer shall conduct, operate, or manage the Special Event in compliance with the Special Event Permit, other City permits and approvals, and approved plans. City Services may requiredocumentation on ticket sales, such as copies of ticket manifests, records, and books to aid in enforcement of this requirement.

Sec. 10:403. Maximum Attendance

(a) The maximum attendance at aSpecial Event shall not exceed the anticipated maximum attendance stated on the application. If the Special Event requires tickets, the Event Organizer shall not sell or print moretickets for the event than the anticipated maximum attendance stated on the application. If alarger turnout than originally expected is likely,arevisedapproval must be obtained from City Services

(b) If on the day of the Special Event or at any time prior, the anticipated maximum attendance exceed the number of persons which can be safely assembled exceeds the maximum number stated in the Event Plan, City Services shall so advise the Event Organizer,who shall have the obligation of advertising in areasonable manner that the event is at maximum capacity,and no further attendees shall be admitted nor shall any further tickets be sold.

Sec. 10:404. Display of Special Event Permit.

The Event Organizer shall display the Special Event Permit in the manner prescribed by City Services and shall provide the permit on request to aCity employee with enforcement or inspection duties relatedtothe Special Event.

Sec. 10:405. Obstructions blocking view

(a) No vehicle, sign, tent, building or any other obstruction connected with any Special Event shall be located on any corner lot so as to obstruct or obscurevision across atriangular area of the corner lot defined as follows: Starting from the corner of the lot at the street intersection, measure30feet along each lot property line from the corner and connect to two points thus obtained with a thirdline to form the triangle of vision. When corners are curved or not square, this rule shall be so interpreted as to provide not less clear sight distance than is obtained for squarelot corners.

(b) No portion of any vehicle, sign, tent, building or any other obstruction connected with any Special Event shall be closer than ten feet from the property line of the property or lot on which the facility is located without permission from the adjacent property owner

Sec. 10:406. Sound Equipment for Outdoor Special Event Venue.

(a) Unless approved by City Services as part of the Special Event Permit process, the use of sound amplification equipment is prohibited at an Outdoor Special Event Venue. If City Services approves the use of sound equipment during aSpecial Event, the following applies:

(1) Aperson may not operate sound amplification equipment must not adversely impact the quality of life of surrounding areas. Sound levels shall not exceed those established in the Event Plan;

(2) An Event Organizer must requireanindividual to be present and responsible for operating sound equipment during the operating hours for the Special Event; and

(3) No person shall operate an outdoor music and/or entertainment event that produces amplified sound which registers morethan 85 Db(A), as measured from any point within the boundary line of the nearest residentially occupied property at the street level.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Title 10, an outdoor special event venue located on BREC or City of St.George property is not subject to this Section.

(c) No OutdoorSpecial Event Venue shall continue the use of sound equipment past 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 p.m. on all other nights, with the exception of New Year’sEve. On New Year’sEve, the ending time will be no later than 1:00 a.m. The time limitation provided for in this section may be extended by resolution of the City Council.

Sec. 10:407. Water.The Event Organizer shall provide water at the Special Event in accordance with the standardofthe board of health for the State of Louisiana.

Sec. 10:408. Clean-Up and Park Damage For Special Events involving the use of City Facilities, streets, or right of ways, the Event Organizer will returnthe Special Event Venue to the exact condition under which the Applicant found the Property prior to event setup. All trash, signage, equipment, other debris, or any other physical evidence that aSpecial Event took place must be removed immediately following the event.

CHAPTER 5. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES

Sec. 10:501. Enforcement of Special Events Regulation.

(a) Responsible agency or department for enforcement. City Services, St. George Chief of Police, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’sOffice, and/orthe St. GeorgeFire District shall have the authority to enforce violation(s) of anyprovisions or requirements of this Title.

Sec. 10:502. Revocation of Special Event Permit.

(a) City Services may revokea Special EventPermit if it determines:

(1) City Services issued the Special Event Permit in error; (2) The Event Organizer is conducting the event in manner that does not comply with the Special Event Permit;

(3) The Event Organizer fails to maintain insurance as required in Section10:207;

(4) The Event Organizer or any person associated with the Special Event has failed to obtain any other permit required by the City Code or State Law; or

(5) The Special Event poses athreat to public health or safety

(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c), City Services may revoke aSpecial Event Permit after it issues anotice of intent to revoke. The notice of intent will be in writing; specifically set forth the reasons for revocation; specify the corrective measures required for compliance and to prevent revocation; and provide atime period for compliance.

(c) Verbal notification is sufficient if an emergency that poses

athreat to public health or safety requires immediate revocation. City Services may providea warning to the Event Organizer prior to an immediate revocation. A revocation that occurs during aSpecial Event is effective until the conditioncausing athreattopublic health or safety is remedied and the Special Event no longer poses athreat to public health or safety

(d) If an Event Organizer fails to takethe corrective measures identified in the notice of intent within the time period provided, the Special Event Permit is revoked without further action by City Services.

(e) If City Services revokes aSpecial Event Permit priortothe start of the event, the Event Organizer may appeal to the City of St. GeorgeDivision of Administrative Adjudication.

Sec. 10:502. Refusal to Vacate.

(a) If arevocationdescribed in Section 10:502(c) that occurs during aSpecial Event and the conditioncannotbecured or the Event Organizer refusestoremedy the condition, City Services may vacate aSpecial Event Permit. If a person refuses to comply with avacate order issued by City Services then such refusalmay be deemed aviolation for Disturbance of the Peace, and violator(s) may be subject to issuance of citation, arrest, and misdemeanorcharges. Upon conviction, any violation(s) may be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation or imprisonment for aterm notexceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, within the discretionofthe trier of fact. Each day any violationof any provision of this Code continues maybeconstruedas aseparate offense.

Sec. 10:503. Civil adjudication of violations; penalties.

(a) City Services is responsible for issuing all violations under this Title,which shall be adjudicated through the administrative adjudication proceedingspursuant to Title 4ofthe St. George CodeofOrdinances. Any person found in violation of this Title after an administrative hearing may be fined up to one thousand dollars ($1000.00) per offense. Each day any violationofany provision of this Title continues mayconstitute aseparate offense. City Services may also deny futureSpecial Event Permits to any Event Organizer found in violation of this Title after an administrative hearing. In addition, if any establishment or place of business shall repeatedly allowa Special Event to takeplace on its premises without having secured all necessary licenses or permits as provided herein, the operation of the establishment or place of business shall be deemed to constitute anuisance, and City Services mayinstitute any appropriate actionorproceedingsinthe name of the City of St. Georgetoprevent and prohibit the conduct of the business or establishment from occurring thereafter and/orrevoke the establishment or place of business occupational license

Section 2. Severability.Ifany section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision of this Ordinance is declared by acourt of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such declaration of invalidity shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as awhole, or parts thereof, other than the part declared invalid. The remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected by the declarationofinvalidity and shall remain in force and effect.

Section 3. Effective Date.This ordinance affecting the public peace, health, and safety shall be in full force and effect upon publication.

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows:

Ayes: Cook,Delucci, Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello,Murrell, Talbot Nays: None

Absent: None

Introduced on June 24, 2025 and voted on July 22, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Delivered to MayoronJuly 25, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor

Received from Mayoron_

Ordinance published in The Advocate on the day

•100%

&DISCOUNTS

•50% Discount: -Registered neighborhood associations -Legacy Events with no violations in the past 5years CITY OF ST.GEORGE BY COUNCILMEMBER COOK: ORDINANCE NO. 2025-034 TO AMEND 2025-2026 FISCAL YEAR GENERAL FUND BUDGET ENACTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 2025-025 AND TO PROVIDE FORRELATED MATTERS

BE IT ORDAINED by the St. GeorgeCouncil, State of Louisiana, that the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year General Fund Budget is amended as follows:

Section 1: 2025-026 Fiscal Year General Fund Budget Amendment No. 01.The 2025-2026 Fiscal Year General Fund Budgetenacted by Ordinance No. 2025-25 is hereby amended to increase expenditures for development of aComprehensive Land Use Plan, to purchase and renovate abuilding to serve as City Hall and to make related adjustments to the Capital Projects Fund Expenses and Debt Service Fund Expenses as shown on 2025-2026 BudgetAmendment 01.

Section 2: Conflicts.Budget Amendment 01 shall be incorporated into the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year General Fund Budgetenacted by Ordinance No. 2025-25.

Section 3: Severability.Ifany section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this Ordinance is declared by acourt of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such declarationofinvalidity shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as awhole, or parts thereof, other than the part declared invalid. The remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected by the declarationofinvalidity and shall remain in force and effect.

Section 4. Effective Date.This Ordinance shall be effective upon publication.

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote, the vote thereonwas as follows:

Ayes: Cook, Delucci, Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello, Murrell, Talbot

Nays: None

Absent: None

Introduced on July 8, 2025 and voted on July 22, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk Delivered to MayoronJuly 25, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor

Received from Mayoron_

Ordinance published in The Advocate on the day of _________, 2025

y lectual ability,measures of achievementorapti‐tude,athleticability race,creed,gender, na‐tional origin,religion or

OPEN ENROLLMENT

NOTICE Open enrollment forthe Willow academic school year ends on 2/27/2026 at 5pm. Applications can be obtained at theschool or by calling866-NHA-EN‐ROLL. Should thenumber of applications received during open enrollment exceed availableseats a random-selection draw‐ingwillbeheldvia live stream on 3/2/2026 at 5 pm Applications received after open enrollment will be accepted on a first-come first-served basisfor remainingopen seats. Waitinglists will be formed accordingly. NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS National Heritage Acade‐mies does notdiscrimi‐nate againstorlimit the admissionofany student on anyunlawfulbasis,in‐cludingonthe basisof ethnicity, national origin color, need forspecial educationservices, sex, gender, disability,intel‐l l bili

NOTICE theLa. Dept. of Energy andNatural Re‐sources, Office of CoastalManagement (OCM)has received the followingapplication(s) fora CoastalUse Permit (CUP)inaccordancewith theState andLocal CoastalResources Man‐agementAct of 1978, as amended, (La. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and the rulesand regulationsof theCoastal Resources Program.Applications forthe proposedwork maybeinspected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, BatonRouge,LAor on theOCM webpageat: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ index.cfm?md=pagebui lder&tmp=home& pid=591.Copiesmay be obtained upon payment of cost of copying. Writ‐tencomments, including i f difi PUBLIC NOTICE Willow CharterAcademy (K-8) 1818 Northeast Evangeline Thruway Lafayette,LA70501 WillowCharter Academy.org 337-534-8218