The Acadiana Advocate 10-12-2025 by The Advocate

Oscar-winning star Diane Keaton dies at 79 9A

THETIESOF CULTURE

French,Belgian dignitariescelebrate start of FestivalsAcadiensetCréoles in Lafayette

BY JOANNA BROWN |Staff writer

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles is all about the music, dancing and food that make southwest Louisiana’sFrench culture come alive —and it’salso about the longstanding ties that sustainthe culture. Friday night,the festival kicked off in Lafayette’sGirard Park with the ceremonial cutting of the boudin, from Johnson’sBoucanière. Dignitaries from Mayor-President MoniqueBoulet to Laurent Bili, theFrench ambassador to theUnited States, were present for abreezy Louisiana fall evening as Louisiana singer,writer andFrench language activist Zachary Richard prepared to steponstage. It’sthe start of aspecial week in Acadiana,with

ä See more photosfrom Festivals Acadienset Créoles. PAGE 1B

anumber of free events focused on the region’sLouisiana French culture taking place across thearea. Under Saturday’ssunny skies, the music schedule featured amix of French-influenced acts, including Jourdan Thibodeaux et Les Rôdailleurs, Pine Leaf Boys, Chris Ardoin &Nu-Step Zydeco and Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole.

AmbassadorBilialsoplannedtoattend theopening of Le Grand Réveil Acadien, or Great Acadian Awakening, Saturday in Abbeville.

As they welcomed an excited Friday night crowd to Festivals Acadiens, Boulet and Charlotte

ä See CULTURE, page 5A

Cajunsingershineson‘TheVoice’

DustinDaleGaspard blends hisheritage into performances

BY JOANNA BROWN |Staffwriter

Cajun singer DustinDale Gaspard enthralled America on Monday nightwith his blind audition on “The Voice,” where the Cow Island native incorporated French into his soulful (yet swampy) renditionofSam Cooke’s“Bring It On Home To Me.” He opened with the harmonicaand a conﬁdent vocal performance that caught the coaches’ attention. But when he tran-

sitioned into singing in CajunFrench, the stars couldn’tturn their chairs around fast enough All fourcelebrity coaches —Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé and Niall Horan —wanted Gaspard on theirteams this season. They were fascinated by his unique sound andauthenticity,straight from the bayous of Vermilion Parish Horan called it “one of the best auditions I’ve ever seen or heard on this show in three seasons.” Gaspard ended up selecting the Irish singer (and former One Direction star) as his coach for the season. Gaspard is excited to see where theshow

ä See SINGER, page 5A

Supreme Court to hear voting rights case

Ruling coulddramatically change‘tests’ used in redistricting

BY MARK BALLARD |Staff writer

WASHINGTON On Wednesday, the nation’sattention willbeonarguments before theU.S Supreme Court in acase that, on the surface, is aboutwhether Louisiana should have two majority-Black congressional districts, one or maybe none.

But manylegal observers say the court, with its 6-3conservative majority,could use Louisiana v. Callais to ﬁnd the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional or to dramatically changeits “tests” that judges havefor decades used to require states to draw congressional districts in which minorityvoters make up a majority.Such achange could affect elections all over the country Louisiana is arguing that Section 2ofthe Voting Rights Act and its tests forwhen majorityminority districts could be usedhas allowed states to draw mapswith race in mind, which contradicts the constitutional idea of equal treatment under the law

“Race-based redistricting under Section 2is principally unconstitutional because it inherently rests on aracial stereotype: that all voters of aparticular race must —byvirtue of their membership in their racial class —think alike, share the sameinterests, and prefer the same political candidates,” thestateattorney general argued in an Oct. 3brief

High temperatures are stretching into fall

BY SAM KARLIN |Staff writer

Louisiana summers are not only getting hotter.They’re also getting longer

Temperatures of 90 Fare lasting as much as threeweekslongerincities across Louisiana, according to data from the nonproﬁt Climate Central.It’sthe latest exampleofhow Louisiana summersare growing increasingly hot and dangerous, posing deadly health risks and raising electric bills to unaffordable levels for America’spoorest state.

Baton Rouge is seeing the most additional days with summer temperatures in the state, as the city’ssummershave gotten 21 days longer between 1970 and 2024, according to the report.Lafayette is seeing 17 extrasummer daysand New Orleans is experiencing 11 more days of hot temperatures each year

“Research shows and tells us if heat-trapping pollutionkeepsrising, summertemperatures will keep stretching later and later,” said Shel Winkley, aweatherand climate engagement specialist at ClimateCentral and aformer

PHOTO PROVIDEDByNBC

Cajun swamppop singer Dustin Dale Gaspard, anativeofCow Island, will appearoncoach Niall Horan’steam on ‘The Voice.’

ä See CASE, page 4A

STAFF PHOTO By BRADKEMP Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.gets the crowdreadyfor the 4Generations of the Dopsie Family band on theScène Ma Louisianeduring Festivals Acadiens et Créoles at GirardPark in Lafayette on Saturday.

Biden receiving treatment for cancer

WASHINGTON Former President Joe Biden is receiving radiation and hormone therapy as part of a new phase of treating the aggressive form of prostate cancer he was diagnosed with after leaving office, a spokesperson said Saturday “As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” said Biden aide Kelly Scully The 82-year-old Democrat left office in January after he had dropped his bid for reelection six months earlier following a disastrous debate against Republican Donald Trump amid concerns about Biden’s age, health and mental fitness. Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris, who was Biden’s vice president. In May, Biden’s postpresidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bone. The discovery came after he reported urinary symptoms.

Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what is known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

Sudanese paramilitary attack kills at least 53 CAIRO A shelling and drone attack by the Sudanese paramilitary forces hit a shelter in a besieged city in the Darfur region, killing at least 53 people, a doctors’ group said Saturday The onslaught was the latest in Sudan’s more than two-year war The Sudan Doctors’ Network, a group of medical professionals tracking the war, says at least 14 children and 15 women were among the dead in the attack late Friday by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of el-Fasher The attack also left 21 people wounded, including five children and seven women, the group said. Most of the wounded suffered serious injuries, it said. The attack targeted al-Arqam Home, a shelter for displaced families in el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, the group said. The shelter is located at the Omdurman Islamic University

“This massacre represents a continuation of the scorchedearth policy practiced by the Rapid Support Forces against civilians, in flagrant violation of all international norms and laws,” the medical group said The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Floods, landslides kill at least 37 in Mexico

MEXICO CITY The death toll from landslides and floods set off by incessant rainfall in central and southeastern Mexico rose to 37 people on Saturday authorities said, a sharp increase as thousands of soldiers cleared blocked roads to rescue the missing nationwide.

Mexico’s National Coordination of Civil Protection reported that as of Saturday, the heavy rains had killed 22 people in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City, and cut off power to 150 communities there. At least nine people were killed in the state of Puebla, east of Mexico City and over 16,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

There were also ﬁve deaths in the state of Veracruz, where the army and navy were helping rescue residents from 42 communities left isolated by landslides on roads and flooded streams. Across the Gulf coast state’s 55 municipalities, another 16,000 homes were damaged. Earlier, in the central state of Querétaro, a child died being caught in a landslide. Across the country, over 320,000 users were affected by power outages caused by the heavy rains, authorities said. Authorities have attributed the deadly downpours to Tropical Storm Priscilla, formerly a hurricane, and Tropical Storm Raymond, both off the western coast of Mexico.

Ceasefire holds in Gaza Strip

Palestinians return to ruins; U.S. expects hostages freed Monday

BY ABDEL KAREEM HANA, SAM METZ, SARAH EL DEEB and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip The Gaza ceaseﬁre held in its second day as tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to their neighborhoods Saturday and Israelis cheered Monday’s expected release of remaining hostages.

“Gaza is completely destroyed. I have no idea where we should live or where to go,” said Mahmoud al-Shandoghli in Gaza City as bulldozers clawed through the wreckage of two years of war A boy climbed debris to raise the Palestinian ﬂag.

Israelis applauded President Donald Trump, and some booed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner addressed a weekly rally in Tel Aviv that many hoped would be the last.

To the hostages themselves, our brothers and sisters, you are coming home,” Witkoff told the crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Kushner said they would celebrate on Monday, when Israel’s military has said the 48 hostages still in Gaza would be freed. The government believes around 20 remain alive Kushner also noted the “suffering” in Gaza.

Israelis hugged and took selfies. Many waved U.S. flags. “It’s a really happy time, but we know that there are going to be some incredibly difficult moments coming,” said one person in the crowd, Yaniv Peretz.

About 200 U.S. troops arrived in Israel to monitor the ceasefire with Hamas. They will set up a center to facilitate the ﬂow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance.

“This great effort will be achieved with no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the U.S military’s Central Command. Israel said Witkoff, Kushner and Cooper met with senior U.S. and Israeli military ofﬁcials in Gaza on Saturday

A copy of the signed ceasefire says Hamas must share all information related to any bodies of hostages that are not released within the ﬁrst 72 hours, and that Israel will provide information about the

remains of deceased Palestinians from Gaza held in Israel.

The photo of the document was obtained by The Associated Press and its veracity was confirmed by two officials, including one whose country was a signatory Both requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks The U.S. did not confirm whether it was authentic.

Hamas and Israel will share the information through a mechanism supported by mediators and the International Committee of the Red Cross It will also ensure all hostages are exhumed and released.

The agreement says mediators and the ICRC will facilitate the exchange of the hostages and prisoners without public ceremonies or media coverage.

Israel is to free some 250 Palestinians serving prison sentences, as well as around 1,700 people seized from Gaza the past two years and held without charge

The Israel Prison Service said prisoners have been transferred to deportation facilities at Ofer and Ktzi’ot prisons, “awaiting instructions from the political echelon.”

Aid groups urged Israel to reopen more crossings to allow aid into faminestricken Gaza. A U.N ofﬁcial, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public said Israel has approved expanded aid deliveries, starting Sunday

The World Food Program said it was ready to restore 145 food distribution points Before Israel sealed off Gaza in March, U.N. agencies provided food at 400 distribution points.

Though the timeline remains unclear, Palestinians will be able to access food at more locations than they could through the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operated four locations after taking over distribution in May

Some 170,000 metric tons of food aid have been positioned in neighboring countries awaiting Israeli permission.

Questions remain about who will govern Gaza after Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in the ceaseﬁre agreement.

Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended the previous ceasefire in March, has suggested Israel could resume its offensive if Hamas fails to disarm. He has pledged that the next stage would bring Hamas’ disarmament

The scale of Gaza’s destruction will become clearer if the truce holds. And the death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are found.

Court: Guard troops sent to Ill. can stay, but can’t be deployed for now

By The Associated Press

CHICAGO National Guard troops sent to Illinois by President Donald Trump can stay in the state and under federal control, but can’t be deployed to protect federal property or go on patrol for now an appeals court ruled Saturday

The decision comes after federal Judge April Perry on Thursday ruled to temporarily block the National Guard deployment for at least two weeks, ﬁnding no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in Illinois during Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The appeals court on Saturday granted a pause in the case until it can hear further arguments. The on-again, off-again deployments stem from a political and legal battle over Trump’s push to send the Guard to several U.S. cities. His administration claims crime is rampant in those cities, despite statistics not always supporting that.

If a president invokes the Insurrection Act, they can dispatch active duty military in states that fail to put down an insurrection or defy federal law However Perry said she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is

Trump directs troops be paid amid shutdown

President tells Pentagon to use ‘all available funds’

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has directed the Defense Department to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops are paid Wednesday despite the government shutdown, a short-term ﬁx that will not apply to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed.

check on Wednesday after the government shut down on Oct. 1, the start of the federal budget cycle. The U.S. has about 1.3 million active-duty service members, and the prospect of troops going without pay has been a focal point when lawmakers on Capitol Hill have discussed the shutdown’s negative impact.

Trump did not say where he’s getting the money

Trump said in a social media post that he was acting because “our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.”

The Republican president’s directive removes one of the pressure points that could have forced Congress into action, likely ensuring that the shutdown now in its 11th day and counting — extends into a third week and possibly beyond. But no similar action seems forthcoming for federal employees also working without pay while thousands are now being laid off during the lapse in government operations. The White House budget office started the layoffs on Friday Trump blamed Democrats and said he was exercising his authority as commander in chief to direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th.” The Republican president added, “We have identiﬁed funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”

U.S service members were in danger of not receiving their next pay-

One pos si ble source would be the billions of dollars that were pumped into the Defense Department under Trump’s big tax and spending cut bill that he signed into law in July The Congressional Budget Ofﬁce said such a move was possible.

A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget said Pentagon research and development funds would be used to pay the salaries. Federal workers typically receive back pay after a shutdown ends, as now required by a law that Trump signed during his first term. He recently floated the idea of not making up the lost salaries. It was unclear if the president’s directive applies to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces but is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. The nation’s third shutdown in 12 years has again raised anxiety levels among service members and their families as those in uniform are working without pay. While they would receive back pay once the impasse ends, many military families live paycheck to paycheck. During previous shutdowns, Congress passed legislation to ensure that troops kept earning their salaries, but discussion of taking a similar step by lawmakers appeared to have fizzled out.

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brewing in Illinois during Trump’s immigration crackdown.

She followed up Friday with an opinion that cites a mix of law and history, including the Federalist Papers, which were written in 1787-88 to support ratiﬁcation of the U.S. Constitution.

“There has been no showing that the civil power has failed,” Perry said. “The agitators who have violated the law by attacking federal authorities have been arrested. The courts are open, and the marshals are ready to see that any sentences of imprisonment are carried out. Resort to the military to execute the laws is not called for.”

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMILIO MORENATTI

People take part in a rally Saturday in support of hostages kidnapped by Hamas at a plaza known as hostages square, in Tel Aviv Israel, ahead of the expected release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy Illinois State Police stand guard Saturday as people gather outside a U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview,

Trump

TENNESSEE

No survivors in blast at explosives factory, sheriff says

BY ADRIAN SAINZ and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

McEWEN, Tenn. — The blast in rural Tennessee that leveled an explosives plant and was felt for miles around left no survivors, authorities said Saturday

The total number of dead was unclear, as was the cause of the Friday blast. By the weekend the devastation came into focus, with ofﬁcials saying they had found no survivors.

“There’s a gauntlet of emotions there,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference, pausing to clear his throat before he asked for prayers for the families of the victims in a shaky voice.

“We’ve recovered no survivors,” he added.

State ofﬁcials brought in a “rapid DNA” team to help identify the remains of people recovered at the site. The explosion left a smoldering wreck of twisted metal and

with explosions. And I would say at this time, we’re dealing with remains,” he said.

Guy McCormick, a supervisory special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said explosive specialists and bomb technicians are trying to make the area safe before national ATF investigators arrive. He said the nature of the scene can change because of the heat and pressure caused by the explosion.

Davis said it could be days, weeks or even months before foul play is ruled out.

He said he knows people who worked at the site and are missing. “I don’t know how to explain it Just a lot of grief.”

burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant, which supplies and researches explosives for the military Davis said about 300 responders are working in a “slow, methodical method” as they deal with explosive

6 killed in 2 separate Miss. homecoming celebration shootings

BY KATIE ADKINS and JEFF MARTIN

Associated Press

LELAND, Miss. — High school homecoming celebrations in Mississippi ended in gunﬁre, with two separate shootings on opposite sides of the state Friday night that left at least six people dead and many more injured, authorities said.

Four of the dead were killed in downtown Leland, after a high school football homecoming game in the Mississippi Delta region on the state’s western edge, a state senator said Saturday. On the east side of the state, a pregnant woman was among the dead, Mississippi Gov Tate Reeves said.

In Leland, about 20 people were injured in the gunﬁre after people gathered in the downtown area following the game, state Sen. Derrick Simmons said. Of the 20 who were hurt, four were in critical condition and ﬂown from a hospital in nearby Greenville to a larger medical center in the state capital city of Jackson, Simmons told The Associated Press. He was being updated on developments from law enforcement authorities in the Delta.

On Saturday pieces of tattered, yellow crime scene tape were wrapped around a

pole in the city’s tiny downtown area. The police tape could also be seen in front of a boarded-up storefront, tangled up at the base of a sign commemorating the late soul singer Tyrone Davis, who was born nearby

No arrests have been announced, and Simmons said late Saturday morning that he had not heard any information about possible suspects. Meanwhile police in the small Mississippi town of Heidelberg in the eastern part of the state are investigating a shooting during that community’s homecoming weekend that left two people dead.

Both of them were killed on the school campus Friday night, Heidelberg Police Chief Cornell White said. He declined to say whether the victims were students or provide other information about the crimes.

“Right now we’ve still got a subject at large, but I can’t give specifics,” White said Saturday morning.

An 18-year-old man was being sought for questioning in the Heidelberg shooting, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said in a statement. The sheriff asked that anyone with information contact the police chief or sheriff’s ofﬁce

material that has been damaged and remains volatile. An ambulance and a helicopter used for air evacuations were brought in, for the safety of ﬁrst responders.

“It’s not like working an accident. It’s not like working a tornado. We’re dealing

The site is located in a heavily wooded area of middle Tennessee, between the economically vital Tennessee River to the west and the bustling metropolis of Nashville to the east Modest homes dot the wooded landscape, residences belonging to “good old country people,” as local man Terry Bagsby put it.

Bagsby, 68, is retired but he helps out working the

On Saturday afternoon inside a church in McEwen, about 30 people prayed together with a pastor for the victims of the explosions and their families. As they prayed, music played and mourners bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Some knelt at an altar, placing their hands on each others’ shoulders. Some wept softly, among the whispered prayers.

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK Lawyers for Lu-

igi Mangione asked a New York federal judge Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he could face the death penalty, from a federal indictment brought against him in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive.

In papers ﬁled in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using

at trial his statements to law enforcement ofﬁcers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found.

They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a post on social media on Friday that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families and community impacted.

“We extend our gratitude to all ﬁrst responders who continue to work tirelessly under difﬁcult conditions,” the post said.

The company has been awarded numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply different types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. The products range from bulk explosives to land mines and small breaching charges, including C4.

When the explosion occurred, residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake, and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.

The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. It’s not immediately known how many people work at the plant or how many were there when the explosion happened.

meteorologist for the College Station, Texas, CBS afﬁliate. “And that heat matters …for kids and outdoor workers when it comesto health risks. We have increased energydemand for air conditioning.”

The rising temperatures are largely theresult of decades of greenhouse gas emissions, which Louisiana’soil and petrochemical sectors have contributed an outsized share, according to climate scientists and reports by the state. Louisiana makes up about 1.4% of the U.S. population but around 4.1% of its greenhouse gas emissions, according to the most recent state inventory That report, from 2021, found overall greenhouse gas emissions were slightly declining in Louisiana. Thestate developed aclimate action plan to reduce emissions under Gov.John BelEdwards,thoughthe fate of the effort to reduce emissions has becomeless clear amid President Donald Trump’srollback of climate action and Gov.Jeff Landry’selection to the state’s highest ofﬁce.

And, paradoxically,recent cuts in air pollution are likely making it even hotter

Particles that polluters released, known as aerosols, masked some of theeffects of climate changefor years by reflecting sunlight. In other words, the releaseof these aerosols into the atmosphere has cooled the planet over the past century,and recent regulations tamping down on them have reversed that trend.

CASE

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But the law’sdefenders say the state is trying to gut one of the most important civilrights laws protecting minority voters from disenfranchisement.

“The upshot of Louisiana’s burn-it-all-down approach is that it wants relief from any congressional or judicial scrutiny of its voting laws,” wrote the Robinson litigants, acoalition of Black voters in their Oct. 3brief. “Let there be no mistake: That was the situation that prevailed in Louisiana andnationwide for the 100 years before the VRA.”

The Callais litigants, a group of “nonminority”voters who are challenging the state’scurrent map, wrote in their Sept. 17 brief: “Thirty yearsofsuch whipsawing arguments and decisions have aggrieved voters, states, and the judicial system. As Louisiana’sexperience shows, the process is the punishment.”

The brief continued: “Racial gerrymandering, even for remedial purposes, may balkanize us into competing racial factions.”

Voting Rights Act’shistory

The Supreme Court’srul-

In Louisiana, the consequences of risingheatare stark. Residents, often elderly, are dyingintheirhomes without adequate air conditioning,outside mowing the lawn or under overpasses in acity whereubiquitous concrete creates aheat islandeffect that makes New Orleans sweltering. Areport by theEnvironmentalProtection Agency found heat wavesare getting longerin NewOrleansthanany city in the nation. And the city’s tree canopyisstruggling to cool it down amidhurricanes, damaging construction and ambivalence among residents.

“Things are getting worse,” said BarryKeim, director of the environmental health, climate and sustainabilityprogram at LSU Health SciencesCenter NewOrleans. “It’slikely to continuetoget worse.”

Emissionsbring heat

The primary cause of hotterand longer summers is greenhouse gas emissions, which have raised global temperaturesbymore than 1degree Celsius,according to the mostrecent report of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change These gases trap heatinthe atmosphere, warming the globe and causing more intense hurricanes,rainfall, drought,wildﬁres and more.

“Decreasingcarbon emissions is paramount to minimizingthe severity of global climate change, and itsimpact on Louisiana residents,” according to ahazard mitigation plan released last year by theGovernor’s Ofﬁce of HomelandSecurity and Emergency Preparedness.

ingonthe case will be the culmination of along and winding legal battle. Congressin1868passed the 14th Amendment that guarantees “due process” and“equal protection” of thelaws for all U.S. citizens. Ratiﬁedin1870, the15th Amendment guaranteesa citizen’sright to voteregardless of “race, color,or previous condition of servitude.”

Without legal oversight, White majorities for acentury passed laws that kept African Americans from registering to vote.

The Voting RightsAct of 1965 waspassedtoforbid practices such asliteracy tests andpoll taxes that kept Blackpeople off voter rolls. But some states continued to drawvotingmaps that isolatedBlackcommunities into districts with largeWhitemajorities, an efforttodilute their voting power

The1982 renewal of the VRA added “tests” that judgescoulduse to determine whetherstateshad a history of discriminatory votingmaps. Forexample: Didthe state have ahistory of racially polarized voting? Didthe state have cohesive minority communities that couldreasonably ﬁt in asingle district?

LONGER SUMMERS

emissions. Under ahigh emissions scenario,“historically unprecedented warming” is projected for Louisiana by the end of the century,according to the report.

As reﬁneries, coal plants anda host of other industrial processescausedanexplosion of greenhouse gases over thepast century,they produced acurious,unintended consequence.

Pollutionparadox

caused temperatures to rise, the aerosols that came from them also masked that effect, agrowing body of researchsuggests. That made temperatures cooler,aphenomenonknown as “global dimming.”

Greeta Persad, assistant professor at the Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences at the University of Texas, saidthe particles counteracted about onethird to one-half of allwarming fromgreenhouse gases during the industrial era. Without those pollutants, temperatures couldhave increased by up to 50%, Persad said.

In recentdecades, improved air quality lawshave led to adramatic decline in some of the pollutants that mask the effects of climate change.

It’s“very well established that we’re seeing warming because of this,” Persad said.

Health experts widely agree that regulating air qualityand removing pollutants is wellworth the tradeoff, noting that improving air quality strengthens healthoutcomes andsaves lives for people near emitters.

Theplan notes thattemperature increases depend, in large part, on howmuch humans continue torelease

In states wherethose tests identiﬁeddiscrimination, the law allowed minority voters to file lawsuits asking judges to order the creation of districtswhere minorities madeupthe majority of voters.

Thelast census count found that about athirdof theLouisiana’sresidents are Black. Louisiana is a state where aWhitemajority has never elected a Black candidate.

Complicatedcourt battles

AGOP-majorityLouisiana Legislature in March 2022 approvedelection mapsthatensuredfive WhiteRepublicansand one BlackDemocrat went to Congress, as hadthe map approved adecadeago

“It was aclear dilution of Blackvotingpower to crack Black voters from around the state and pack them into one district,”said SarahBrannon, deputy director of the ACLU’sVotingRights Project.

AgroupofBlack voters led by Press Robinson, a formerEast Baton Rouge ParishSchool Boardmember, ﬁleda legalchallenge arguing the Legislature should create aseconddistrict with enough minority voters togive Blacks an opportunity to elect one of their own to Congress.

TheRobinson litigants include an activist with Together Louisiana, aPublic ServiceCommissionmember,the Power Coalition forEquity andJusticeand theNAACP Louisiana State Conference.

Sevenfederal districtand appellatejudgesagreed andgavethe Legislature a deadlinetodraw newmaps —orthe courts would. Under that threat, Gov Jeff Landry and the Legislature went back to the drawingboard Wanting to keep enough Whitevoters in thedistricts that elected House Speaker MikeJohnson, R-Benton, and Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge and amember of theHouse Appropriations Committee, legislators approved the current map in January 2024, which redrew thenRep. GarretGraves’ 6th CongressionalDistrict into one thatlinked Black communities from BatonRouge to Lafayette to Shreveport. Twoweekslater,adozen voterswho described themselves as “nonblack” ﬁleda lawsuit in Monroe arguing that the Legislature’smap is raciallygerrymandered.

Phillip Callais, of Brusly, is the first name on alist of adozen litigants who includea conservative publisher and columnist,

Many of theparticles polluters released, aerosols, lingeredinthe atmosphere and reﬂected sunlightaway from the earth. In somecases, the aerosols absorbed it. This hada paradoxical effect on global temperatures. While the greenhouse gases

aTrumpdelegate at the Republican Party National Convention, an Ascension Parish GOP leader and a former congressional candidate from Lafayette.

Twoofthe three judges on afederal panelinApril 2024 ruled that the two Black majority districts amounted to aracial gerrymander that “violates the EqualProtection Clause” in the 14thAmendment. The third judge said the maps hadallowable political motivation.

The Supreme Court stayed proceedings in May 2024,thereby allowing the election of Rep. Cleo Fields, D-BatonRouge,in the disputed second majority-Black district.

In March,the nine justicesheard argumentson how to balance Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection clause,whichforbids government taking actions basedonrace. Originally Louisiana wasdefending the map.

But, rather thanruling on that question, thehigh court took the rare stepof asking fornew arguments on whether the Voting Rights Act violated the 14th or 15th Amendments of the Constitution. Louisiana AttorneyGeneral LizMurrill said that opened thedoor

“Weknow these aerosol pollutants are detrimental to public health,” Persad said. “They cause millions of deaths each year.” Still, the dynamic is raising theprospect that climatechange will accelerate in the coming decades, even as governments around the worldworktoreduceemissions.

“That’sa huge lurking beast in how rapidly these climaterisks are goingto accelerate goingforward,” Persad said.

for Louisiana to make its original argument, which is that judges shouldn’tbe able to order states to redistrict in the ﬁrst place.

Thearguments

Submitted briefs indicate the points the three parties wanttomake before the court this week. The Robinson litigants argue that Section 2’s“genius is its ﬂexibility” in that it does not demand racial targets but allows states “leeway” to create compliant districts using traditional redistricting criteria. Louisiana counters that theVRA unjustlybroadened the idea of intentional discrimination to include vote dilution, which it argues is not based on aﬁnding that prejudicialtreatment occurred, such as beingdeniedthe righttovote. And the Callais litigants contend that the “tests” associated withSection 2entrench race-based thinking “long after intentional discrimination withers away.” After Wednesday’s hearing, it is not clear how long the Supreme Court will take to issue aruling. But it should render adecision before June.

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate. com

Staffgraphic by DANSWENSON

Bazelaire, the mayor of Lafayette’stwin city in Namur, Belgium, exchanged ahug

The two mayors share a charge to strengthen the ties of friendship between their cities in Louisiana and Belgium, and arecent development will enshrine those tiesina new neighborhood in Namur

Frédéric Laloux, the Namur commissionerfor international relations, shared that Namur is planning anew residential development in the city that will have street names inspired by Lafayette, such as Parc de Vermilionville, Sentier des Créoles and Rue de l’Acadiana.

“It’sa brand-new neighborhood, where there were only cattle fields before,” said Laloux,who mentioned that the neighborhood, designed for families, will also have sports infrastructure.

Last year,Namur also

SINGER

Continued from page1A

takes him, remembering that just last year he was stranded in Austin with a broken van, feeling like he had hit the end of the road. He had driven from Louisiana to Nova Scotia, playing gigs allthe way. Gaspard wasthere forsix weeksof French immersion at Université Sainte-Anne, an intensive course popularwith LouisianansofAcadian heritage who want to reclaim their language and culture.

He then toured all theway backdown to Texas, where the van gaveup. That was more than abump in the road, said Gaspard —itwas a moment of serious doubt and reckoning about his future

“I remember thinking ‘This dreamisover.’I can’t ﬁx my car.Ihave to go get an offshorejob. This is where it runs itscourse,” said Gaspard.

“Right where I’m feeling my lowest low,Iget the call.” Gaspard had started the applicationprocess for “The Voice,” and they called to offer to ﬂy him to Los Angeles for auditions. He had planned to head to Montreal after leaving Austin, but fate took him to Hollywood instead.

“I remember telling Michelle, the casting director, I couldn’tevenhandle having theconversation in apublic place. She said, ‘Come to Hollywood, come be on “The Voice,”and let’ssee what happens.’ Now,I get to continue the dream,” he said Behind hissongselection

The experience so far has been full of surprises and serendipitous moments for Gaspard, who came to “The Voice” with agoalbiggerthan winning asinging competition. He wants to share the best of Louisiana culture through his musical inﬂuences, from swamp pop to Southern roots music, while shining alight on the language andheritage that shaped him. Said Gaspard: “‘Bring It On Home To Me’was my grandfather’sfavorite song. It was actuallythe last song Isangtohim before he passed, and at the time, Ididn’thave aFrench version. Iwish Idid.”

After working with producers toselect the Sam Cooke tune as his choice for the blind audition, he went

unveiled amural that celebrates its ties to Louisiana through art.

“The relationship between thepeopleofNamur and Lafayette is verytrue, very sincere, almost like afam-

ily,” Laloux said. Charlotte Bazelaire agreed,saying that Lafayette andNamur’s shared French culture is the foundationofthe relationship.

“Wehavethatcommon

base in language,but we can still understand the differences that makeus unique,” the Belgian mayor said. “It’slike magic to ﬁnd some of ourculture here in theUnited States.”

As Zachary Richard steppedonstage, theFrench languagecelebration continued. The singer,who performed at the second Festivals Acadiens et Créoles 51 yearsago,isjust as passion-

ate today aboutadvancing the French language and identityinthe state, arguing that Louisiana writers, singers and creatives of all kinds should see themselves as part of an active, global Francophone tradition. Richard has sat at the top of thattraditionfor decades now, creating music,stories and books of poetry in French that show thecontinuedvibrancyofthe Louisiana French culture. In the middle of his setonFriday, the artist stopped singing for amoment to speak to the crowd, saying that he hates to use English at allatFestivals Acadiens et Créoles.

“I don’twanttoalienate those of you who haven’t had the privilege of learning to speak French,” he said, charging them to learnin time for next year’sfestival. “Frenchdoesn’tmake you abetterperson,” he said. “It deepens your connection to your heritage.”

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

to work craftinga version that would be hisown,working with Louisiana French speakers and cultural advocates such as Barry Ancelet, Drake LeBlanc and BeccaBegnaud (Gaspard’s own French teacher) to rework the lyrics using amix of French and Cajun vocabulary

“Wecame up with ahybrid version, and Ithink it really translatedmusically.That’s what Iwanted. Iprepared for that moment speciﬁcally (introducing Cajun French on ‘TheVoice’) because that’swhat themoment was aboutto me.It’sgiving credence to theCajunlanguage andthe Cajun people.”

WhyhepickedHoran

Niall Horan has appeared as acelebrity mentor on “The Voice” for three seasons now.Hepreviously coached and won the competition with singers Gina Miles and Huntley in seasons 23 and 24, proving the star has what it takes when it comes to putting his musiciansonthe path to success.

Of course, Horanalsohas personal experience with navigating reality TV.One

Directionformed on the British singing competition show “The XFactor,” with judge Simon Cowell taking credit for propelling the group to boy band stardom

in the 2010s.

“He hasthe most legitimate experience because he was on asinging competition show when he was coming up. If I’m not mistaken, it wasn’t the easiest path to the top for them, and they navigated thatwell. Iknew he was going to be able to offer me that experience,” said Gaspard.

But for him,the connection to Horan as amentor went beyond thesinger’srésumé. Gaspardhad entered thecompetitionplanning to select Michael Bublé as his coach, if the crooner gave him achair turn —orpotentially Snoop Dogg, who emphasized his Louisianaroots when trying to woo Gaspard to his team.

However,one of Gaspard’s mostformative experiences as an artist was when he had the opportunity to tour in Ireland in 2019 withsongwriter BrianDeady.Itwas the Irish connection —in addition to Horan’sgenuine excitement about Gaspard’s voice —that sealed thedeal between Horan and Gaspard.

“Thattour wasthe jumping off point for my career, truly.Thoseguys are my brothers. So Ifeel really connected to (Horan’s)musical inﬂuences, and the fact that we have so much crossover between our cultures.

“I mean, he also knows howtobeaheartthrob. So maybe Ican takeacouple of lessons from that book as well.”

Gaspard already has the lessons in charismadown. He’s gotten to thispoint through “100% luck and

100% work,” as he puts it, honing an abilitytoforge genuineconnectionswith people through his music.

At this pointinhis career, Gaspard’sseasoned talent is well on display—and now, he hasanopportunityto show the world what aCajun boy can do.

“It’sjust so great to have your people be proud of you,” said the singer.“Ilove Cow Island so much. Ilove allofVermilion Parish. I hope they feelinspired by this wild ride.Iloveyou guys.”

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

Health care subsidiesdriving government shutdown

WASHINGTON —Heading into its thirdweek, the federal governmentshutdownisfast turning into another test of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’sleadership of Republicans

Saying their work was done, the Benton Republican sentthe House home in September and the chamber hasn’tconvened since. That left the majorityRepublican Senate to approve the House-passed resolution that would continue government operationsuntil Thanksgiving

Mark Ballard

Despite daily votes, the Senate can’tdrum up enough Democratic support to pass the continuing resolution that would reopen government. In the meantime, ﬂights are being canceled and Wednesday’s paychecks for the troops may not be sent.

“I’m avery patient man,but Iamangry right now,” Johnson toldreporters.

Democrats want Republicans to negotiate on several issues, but primarily on an extension of the tax credits millions of lowerincome workers use to buy health careinsurance.Democratssay they don’ttrust Republicans to negotiate in goodfaith, absent their leverage to close agovernment in which the GOP holds all the levers of power Republicans counter that no negotiations are possible until the government reopens.

“If the Speakerdoesn’trelent and these credits expire,people go bankrupt, people will get sick, some will die. Inaction would be reprehensible, and the Speaker needs to realize that,” said MinorityLeader Chuck Schumer,of New York, and head of the Senate’sDemocratic members.

House Majority LeaderSteve

Trump nominees from Louisiana confirmed

Capitol Buzz STAFF REPORTS

The government may beshut down, but the U.S. Senate this week confirmed agroup of President Donald Trump’snominations for offices in his administration, including three from Louisiana. Among the 107 nominees confirmed en masse was James S Baehr,ofNew Orleans, to beGeneral Counsel at the DepartmentofVeterans Affairs and David A. LaCerte, of Baton Rouge, to be amember of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees wholesale power markets that utilities use as well as the transmission of electricity and natural gas.

Kurt L. Wall, of Livingston, was also conﬁrmed U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana basedinBaton Rouge.

The vote was 51 to 47. With the conﬁrmation last month of New Orleans lawyer Peter Thomsonasthe Central Intelligence Agency’sinspector general, Tuesday’sactionbrings to four the number of Louisiana

Scalise, R-Jefferson, responded:

“Real lives of real people are being disrupted so that Chuck Schumercan show the far-left Marxists in hisparty that he’s having somekind of tantrum and ﬁghting Donald Trump.”

Thestakesofthe fight

If Congress does not takeaction, the price of health insurance would double for many families, which could cause 3.8million households to drop their policies, accordingtothe Congressional Budget Ofﬁce.

Health care insurance premiumsthat cost anaverage of $888 in 2025 will cost policyholders $1,904 in 2026, according to a KFF analysisreleased last week, unless Congress acts to extend

residents conﬁrmed to postsin theTrump administration.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committeelastweek forwarded the nomination of Metairie lawyerDavidCourcelleasthe U.S Attorneyfor theEastern DistrictofLouisiana, basedinNew Orleans.His nomination now awaits aconﬁrmation vote by the full Senate.

The U.S.Senate Republican majority used the “nuclear option” to breaka partisan logjam in conﬁrmingTrumpnominees.

TheDemocratic minority insisted on strictly following Senate rules, which slowed the process, as away to protest what they called extreme ideological positions taken by some of Trump’s nominees andfor Republicans refusal to allow Democratic input on other issues.

Changing theprocess, for the ﬁrst time, allows the Senateto conﬁrm groupsofnominees with asimple majority rather than by 60 votes.

Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said hewould use thenew process on different groups of nominees assoon as practical to ﬁnish theconﬁrmation process andget thecandidates on the job.

Baehrisafounder of the Pelican Center for Justice, an arm of

credits for health care insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Johnson argues there is time to address those concerns.

“That’s aDec. 31 issue.”

Republicans contend that extending theACA premium tax credits is acomplex task with a lot of moving parts that need to be addressed.

ButDemocrats point out that those bills are already in themail. Enrollment begins on Nov.1

The amount of tax credits allotted to each ACA policyholder is set individually through acomplex formula that includes household incomeand policies chosen.

Very generally,households of four making more than $41,152 annually —those making less

thePelican Institute, aconservativeadvocacy group based in New Orleans. Alieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, he deployed to theMiddle East in 2018. He also was aspecial assistant to Trumpduring thepresident’s ﬁrst termonthe Domestic Policy Council. Baehralso worked in theU.S. Attorney’sNew Orleans ofﬁce.

LikeLaCerte, Baehrwas involved in Project 2025, the920page conservative manifesto to change how thefederal governmentoperates.

Aformer Marine who was involved in theAfghanistan conﬂict, LaCerte joined thestate veterans’ departmentin2010 and was appointed secretary by Gov.Bobby Jindal in June 2014.

He worked at the Ofﬁce of Personnel Management during the ﬁrst Trump administration

He was acting managing director at theU.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and joined Houston-based Baker &Botts law ﬁrm, providing regulatoryadvice to large corporations.

Most recently,LaCerte was the WhiteHouse liaison and senior advisor to the director for U.S. Ofﬁce of Personnel Management,

would qualify forMedicaid —and up to $128,600 can receive some sort of offset formany policies.

Johnson has 40,773 constituents who have bought insurance through the ACA marketplace, according to KFF, anonpartisan thinktankfocusing on health care issues. That accounts forroughly 5% of his congressional district.

That’sasmallpercentage compared to the38% of the 767,466 people Johnson represents who are signedupfor Medicaid —one of the nation’slargest concentrationsofpeople on the state-federal insurance forlow-income and disabled Americans, according to KFF

Apart from the cost —about $350 billion over the next 10 years —conservatives argue that the

where he helped shepherd candidates through the nomination process andadvised on personnel policy for the agency that administers employment forthe 2million federal workers.

Haynie to receive award from Ogden Veteran BatonRouge lobbyist Randy Haynie will be honored at ablack-tie dinnerbythe Ogden Museum of Southern Art on Oct. 18.

He and multimedia artist Dawn DeDeaux are receiving the 2025 Opus Award for their“signiﬁcant impact within the arts and culture of our region.”

Haynie

The event will take place at the Patrick F. TaylorLibrary,which theOgden owns Haynie wasa founding member of the museum’sboard and helped secure about $7 million in state dollars 23 years ago to construct its building in New Orleans’Warehouse District. Haynie, who works with his son Ryan and his daughterDayna, has lobbiedthe governor and

subsidies drive up premium costs foreveryone, including those whobuy insurance through their employer

Additionally,the tax credits that were part of President Barack Obama’sAffordable Care Act were greatly expanded by President Joe Biden in his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, which was passed with only Democratic votes in 2021.

Biden broadened the income eligibility ceiling on the theory that manywould be ousted from Medicaid rolls that had increased during the COVIDpandemic. Millions shifted from Medicaid to the ACA marketplace. Those tax credit subsidies were set to expire in 2023. The expiration date was then extended in 2022, when Democrats held majorities in both chambers, to the end of this year

However tangled the premium tax credit issue, someargue the looming price increases complicate Johnson’sposition of ending the shutdownbefore any meaningful discussions can begin on health care.

MAGAcheerleader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, is but one Republican whosupports extending ACA subsidies before GOPleadership talks through the matter with Democrats.

“I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiumsfor 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district,”she wrote last weekon X.

Even President Donald Trump hinted last week: “Weare speaking with the Democrats, and some very good things could happen with respect to health care.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

Legislature since1980 for abevy of heavyweight clients, including the New OrleansSaints, NFL, CaesarsEntertainment, the city andparish of Lafayette and Altria,the tobacco company Haynie,70, is also being honored for his decades of work for the arts community He currently chairs the Louisiana Endowment forthe Humanitiesand is the past chair of the Hilliard Art Museum in Lafayette. He hasbeenhonored by the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts andthe Acadiana Center for the Arts.

Fordecades,Haynie hasbeen an avid collector of state ﬂags (he hastwo of the four existing Louisiana ﬂags with 18 stars), Louisiana currency(he hasmore than5,000 Louisiana-issued notes going back to 1812 when Louisianabecame astate) and watercolorsand paintings by Louisiana artists.

“I just believe in the culture of Louisiana,” Haynie said. “It’s who we areasa state. It’sthe food, culture,the art, the music —it’sthe quality of life that sets us apart. Otherstates spend millions of dollars trying to replicateorcreatewhatwehave. We alreadyhaveit. And it needs to be protected.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Speaker of the House MikeJohnson, R-Benton, holdsa news conference to mark the seventh dayofthe government shutdown on Oct. 7atthe Capitol in Washington.

-Amy G.

EDUCATION

La. community colleges see enrollment boost

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

Long considered Louisiana’s “best-kept secret,” the state’s community college system has seen a post-pandemic enrollment resurgence.

Nearly a third of Louisiana’s 280,000 college students last year attended one of the state’s 12 community and technical colleges, working toward a two-year degree or a technical certiﬁcation that costs less and offers a faster path to a job than a fouryear college degree. And the number of community college graduates has nearly tripled over the last decade, reaching about 38,000 graduates last year

The students, who tend to be older and more racially diverse than traditional college students, can train for jobs in everything from welding to nursing and hospitality They can also take adult education classes in English language, reading and other core subjects. Often an overlooked facet of the higher education ecosystem, community and technical colleges have gained traction in recent years as state education ofﬁcials have emphasized career paths to high-demand, high-wage professions. Last year, enrollment across the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, which oversees the state’s community and technical colleges, exceeded pre-pandemic numbers. Chandler LeBoeuf, the system’s vice president of education, has worked at several of its campuses, including South Louisiana Community College, Delgado

Community College and Fletcher

Technical Community College.

He said the system’s schools have adapted to make it easier for students to access training in high-demand industries, like health care and IT

“We believe our mission is a part of the bigger picture in Louisiana’s economy and workforce development and we identify ourselves as a key player,” he said. “We still have the best kept secret and it shouldn’t be.”

The Times-Picayune and the Advocate spoke with LeBoeuf about the system’s recent enrollment boom, uncertainty over federal funding and how the state’s community college system ﬁts into Louisiana’s economy

This interview has been edited for clarity.

What role do community colleges play in Louisiana?

We know that we are essential in the marketplace for workforce

development. We’re focused purely on getting individuals into good jobs faster through the quality of training that we do. Our institutions are aligned to the needs of their local region and more so aligned to the overall state’s workforce plan.

How has enrollment changed over the past five years?

Just like the nation we saw a dip in enrollment during the pandemic. Two of our colleges had an additional dip because of hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. But today we are up 3.8% in enrollment from fall 2018 to fall 2025 and up 3.5% in credit hours.

We’re trying to make sure our programs meet demands that industry and local employers are hiring for and that programs are not only offered during the day, but also on weekends and evenings to meet students where they are.

We’ve also been looking at ways in which we can make our schools more affordable for individuals. We have not increased tuition in about the last 10 years. How are programs changing to meet demand?

The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council identiﬁed ﬁve industry sectors as high wage, high demand: health care, construction, manufacturing, transportation and logistics and IT Those sectors are where a lot of our institutions are expanding programs and course offerings. Local industries are also saying we need those programs.

For example, a college might expand a CDL commercial truck

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THE STATE HOW TO TACKLE THE BIGGEST

driving program from a day program to an evening program and weekend program because it’s important for our institutions to meet individuals where they are. We also have CNA programs that are being delivered in rural communities at community centers and through mobile training units. An individual may live an hour to two hours away from the local community college and lack the resources to get there, but if we can bring them a CNA program that’s eight weeks in their local community and get them trained and get them employed at the local health care facility or nursing home, that’s transforming the community Have any federal cuts impacted Louisiana’s community or technical colleges? There is a lot of uncertainty in higher education across the board and we are monitoring the potential impacts daily We have funding this current ﬁscal year but are concerned about future funding for our adult education programs. There are 24 centers across our state that offer programming for individuals who need help with math skills, English skills, English as a second language or pathways toward earning a high school equivalency diploma Those programs are funded largely through training funds that come from Department of Labor Those dollars have been in question over the last six months. We did see a two-month window where they were paused. The whole time we were still delivering on the mission and telling our

24 centers, “Keep delivering and doing what you’re doing, we will use the state funds that we have to help cover.”

Those funds have been in question, and we’re unsure if they’re going to remain in question in the future. But what we do know is we will ﬁgure out how to deliver that part of the mission, no matter what happens. It may look different in terms of how we deliver it, but it’s too important not to deliver it for the state of Louisiana.

Is there any remaining uncertainty with cuts given the current federal landscape?

We were tapped to assist with rapid training and apprenticeships and credentials for individuals to help with the broadband expansion across Louisiana As they were trying to lay ﬁber to get broadband access to communities that didn’t have the access or the resources, they called upon our local community colleges to train individuals in trenching and splicing and laying ﬁber and other things.

We committed to train more than 10,000 individuals and originally got $10 million from the federal government to do this work, but we exhausted that $10 million. We were slated to get an additional $40 million in funding but it has been paused at the federal level

Anything else you want readers to know? We believe our mission is a part of the bigger picture in Louisiana’s economy and workforce development, and

Oscar-winningactor DianeKeatondiesat79

Star known for‘AnnieHall,’

‘The Godfather’ filmsand ‘Father of theBride’

BY LINDSEY BAHR AP film writer

Diane Keaton, the Oscarwinning star of “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather” films and “Father of the Bride,” whose quirky,vibrantmanner and depthmadeher oneofthe most singular actorsofa generation, has died. Shewas 79 People Magazinereported Saturday that she died in California with loved ones, citingafamily spokesperson. No otherdetails were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediatelyrespond to inquiries from The Associated Press.

The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.

“She was hilarious, acomplete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star.What you saw was who she was …oh, la,lala!,” Bette Midler said in apost on Instagram. She and Keaton costarredin“TheFirstWives Club.”

Keatonwas the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da,la-dee-da”phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in that necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family Her star-making performances in the 1970s, many of which were in Woody Allen ﬁlms, were not aﬂash in the pan either,and she would continue to charm new generations for decades thanks in part to along-standingcollaboration with filmmaker Nancy Meyers.

Sheplayed abusinesspersonwho unexpectedly inherits an infant in “Baby Boom,” themother of the brideinthe beloved remake of “Father of the Bride,” anewly single woman in “The First Wives Club,” and adivorced playwright whogetsinvolved with Jack Nicholson’s music executivein“Something’s Gotta Give.”

Keatonwon her ﬁrst Oscar for “Annie Hall” and would go on to be nominatedthree more times, for “Reds,” “Marvin’sRoom”and “Something’sGotta Give.”

In her very Keaton way, uponaccepting her Oscar in 1978 she laughed and said, “This is something.”

Keaton was born Diane HallinJanuary 1946 in Los Angeles, though herfamily was not partofthe ﬁlm industry she wouldﬁnd herself in. Her motherwas ahomemaker and photographer, and her father was in real estate and civilengineering.

Keaton was drawn to theater and singing while in school in Santa Ana, California, and she dropped out of college after ayear to make a go of it in Manhattan. Actors’ Equityalreadyhad aDiane Hallintheir ranks,and she took Keaton, her mother’s maidenname, as her own. She studied under Sanford Meisner in New York and hascreditedhim withgiving her the freedom to “chart the complex terrain of human behaviorwithin the safetyof hisguidance.Itmade playing with ﬁre fun ”

“More than anything, Sanford Meisner helped me learn to appreciatethe darkersideofbehavior,” she wrote in her 2012 memoir, “Then Again.” “I always had aknackfor sensing it but not yetthe courage to delveinto such dangerous, illuminating territory.”

She startedonthe stage as an understudy in the Broadway productionfor “Hair,” and in Allen’ s“Play It Again, Sam” in 1968,for whichshe would receive aTony nomination. And yet she remained

deeply self-conscious about herappearance and battled bulimia in her 20s.

Keaton made her film debut in the 1970 romantic comedy “Lovers and Other Strangers,” but herbig breakthrough would come afew years later when she was cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s“The Godfather,” which won best picture and become one of the most beloved ﬁlms of all time.And yet even she hesitated to return for the sequel, though after reading the script she decided otherwise. She summed up her role as Kay,a“roleshe never related to” even though she savoredmemories of acting withAlPacino.

The 1970s were an incredibly fruitfultime for Keaton thanks in part to herongoing collaboration with Allen in both comedic anddramatic roles.She appeared in “Sleeper,” “Love and Death,” “Interiors,”Manhattan,” “Manhattan Murder Mystery” and the ﬁlm versionof “PlayitAgain, Sam.” Allenand thelate Marshall Brickman gave Keaton one of her most iconic roles in “Annie Hall,” the infectious woman from Chippewa Falls

whom Allen’sAlvy Singer cannot get over.The ﬁlm is considered oneofthe great romantic comediesofall time, with Keaton’s eccentric, self-deprecating Annie at itsheart.

In The New York Times, critic Vincent Canbywrote, “As Annie Hall, Miss Keaton emerges as WoodyAllen’s Liv Ullman.His camera ﬁnds beauty andemotional resources that somehow escape the notice of other directors. Her Annie Hall is a marvelous nut.”

She acknowledged parallels between Annie Hall and real life, while also downplaying them.

“My last nameisHall Woodyand Idid share asigniﬁcant romance, according to me,anyway,” she wrote. “I did wanttobeasinger. I was insecure, andIdid grope for words.”

Keaton and Allenwere also in aromantic relationship, from about 1968, when she met him while auditioning for his play,until about 1974. Afterwardtheyremained collaboratorsand friends. “He was so hip, with his

thick glasses and cool suits,” Keaton wrote in hermemoir “But it was his manner that got me,his way of gesturing, his hands, his coughing and looking down in aself-deprecating way while he told jokes.”

She was also romantically linked to Pacino, who played her husband in “The Godfather,” and Warren Beatty who directed her andwhom she co-starred with in “Reds.” She never married but did adopt twochildren when shewas in her 50s: adaughter,Dexter, anda son,Duke.

“I figured theonly way to realize my number-one dream of becoming an actual Broadway musicalcomedy star was to remain an adoring daughter.Loving aman, aman,and becominga wife, would have to be put aside,” she wrote in the memoir

“The names changed, from Dave to Woody, then Warren, and finally Al. Could I have made alasting commitment to them?Hard to say.Subconsciously Imust have known it could never work, and because of this they’d never get in the way

of achieving my dreams.” Not allofKeaton’sroles were home runs, like her forayintoactioninGeorge RoyHill’sJohnleCarré adaptation of “LittleDrummer Girl.”But in 1987 she’d beginanother long-standing collaboration with Nancy Meyers, which would result in four belovedfilms.Reviews for that first outing, “Baby Boom,”directed by Charles Shyer,might have been mixedatthe timebut Pauline Kaeleven described Keaton’s as a“glorious comedyperformancethatrides over many of the inanities.” Their next team-up would be in the remake of “Father of the Bride,” whichShyer directed andco-wrote with Meyers. Sheand SteveMartin playedthe flustered parents to the bride whichwould becomea big hit and spawn asequel. In 2003, Meyers would direct herin“Something’s Gotta Give,” aromantic comedyinwhichshe begins arelationship with aplayboy womanizer, playedbyJack Nicholson, while also being pursuedbya youngerdoctor,playedbyKeanu Reeves. Her character Erica Barry, with her beautiful Hamptons home and ivory outfits was akey inspiration for the recent coastal grandmother fashion trend. It earned her whatwould be her last Oscar nomination and, later,she’d call it her favorite film. She also directed occasionally,with works including an episodeof“Twin Peaks,” a Belinda Carlisle music video and the sister dramedy “Hanging Up,” whichshe co-wrote with Delia Ephron and starred in alongside Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow. Keaton continuedworking steadily throughout the 2000s, with notable roles in “The Family Stone,” as adying matriarch reluctant to give herring to herson,in “Morning Glory,” as amorning news anchor,and the “Book Club” films.

By The Associated Press

Power was restored to over 800,000 residents in Kyiv on Saturday,a day afterRussia launched major attacks on the Ukrainian power grid that caused blackouts across much of the country,and European leaders agreed to proceed towardusing hundreds of billions of frozen Russian assets to supportUkraine’s war effort.

Ukraine’slargest private energycompany,DTEK,said “the main work to restore the power supply”had been completed, but that some localized outages were stillaffecting the Ukrainian capital following Friday’s“massive” Russian attacks. Russian drone and missile strikeswounded at least 20 people in Kyiv,damaged

residentialbuildings and triggeredblackoutsacross swaths of Ukraine earlyFriday.

Prime MinisterYulia Svyrydenko described the attack as “one of the largest concentratedstrikes” against Ukraine’senergy infrastructure Russia’sDefense Ministry on Friday said the strikes had targeted energy facilities supplying Ukraine’smilitary.Itdid not give details of those facilities, but said Russian forces used Kinzhalhypersonic missilesand strike dronesagainstthem.

Ukraine’sair force said Saturday that itsair defenses intercepted orjammed 54 of 78 Russian drones launched against Ukraineovernight, whileRussia’sdefense ministry said it hadshotdown 42

Ukrainian drones over Russianterritory.

At least twopeople were killed andfivewoundedin airstrikes on Kostiantynivka, acity in Ukraine’sDonetsk regionSaturday,regional Gov.Vadim Filashkin said.

Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskyy said Saturday that he had a“very positive andproductive” phone callwithPresident Donald Trump.

In apost on X, Zelenskyy said he told Trump about RussianattacksonUkraine’s energy system, and that the two discussed opportunities to strengthen Ukraine’sair defense. “Thereneeds to be readiness on theRussian side to engage in real diplomacy —this can be achieved through strength,”Zelenskyy wrote.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By CHRIS PIZZELLO

Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning star of ‘Annie Hall,’‘The Godfather’ films and ‘Father of the Bride,’has died at age79, according to reports.

THE GULF COAST

Emeril’s Coastal restaurant on Fla. Panhandle to close

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

For the past eight years,

chef Emeril Lagasse has brought a taste of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle with his seafood restaurant, Emeril’s Coastal, known for specialties like barbecue shrimp and gumbo.

But on Oct. 26, the restaurant — Lagasse’s only venture along the Florida Gulf Coast — will serve its ﬁnal meals. The closure marks the end of one of the region’s few spots for Creole cuisine, an establishment that drew both locals and New Orleanians vacationing at the beach.

“This community holds a special place in my heart.

Coastal has been a true labor of love, and it’s been an honor to share it with all of you,” Lagasse said in a social media post, describing the closure as a “difﬁcult decision.”

The announcement drew dozens of comments bidding farewell to the restaurant, including one from the beloved vacation spot Scenic Highway 30A, which thanked the chef and his team, adding “We have had some wonderful meals and great family memories!”

Emeril’s Coastal — originally named Emeril’s Coastal Italian opened in 2017 in Destin’s Miramar Beach, joining a cluster of restaurants and shops in the Grand Boulevard town center Lagasse called Miramar Beach a “unique” and convenient location for his restaurant in his opening announcement.

“Part of the appeal of

PROVIDED PHOTO By ANDREW COHOON

Emeril Lagasse, owner of Emeril’s Coastal in Destin, Fla., said his restaurant will close Oct 26.

opening in Miramar Beach and at Grand Boulevard is the proximity to my home and the ability for my whole family to be involved,” Lagasse said.

When the restaurant opened, the kitchen was led by Shane Quinlan, a Destin native who served as chef de cuisine. The brunch and dinner menus were eclectic, offering a range of Italian, Creole and seafoodcentric fare: stuffed pasta shells, shrimp and andouille gumbo, yellowﬁn tuna poke bowls.

During the restaurant’s reopening phases after the pandemic, Lagasse was a daily presence at Emeril’s Coastal, working closely alongside his son E.J. Lagasse. That experience, he said in an interview fueled him to reopen his Warehouse District restaurant Emeril’s with a fresh culinary approach, including a new tasting menu.

Email Poet Wolfe at poet. wolfe@theadvocate com.

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

When Joseph Miron dives into the Gulf or combs its hot sands with a metal detector in search of a lost ring he doesn’t ask for money in return, even when the search stretches on for days.

His days spent scanning the beaches along Florida’s coast for strangers’ lost jewelry an $800,000 watch, a gold chain, an engagement ring — are rewarded not with payment, but with their reactions once he ﬁnds the missing piece buried in the tide or beneath sand, after hope has faded to doubt.

Miron has been choked by tight hugs, invited to oyster bars and houses for home-cooked meals, and sometimes offered a generous tip.

“There’s so many different reactions. I’m thinking of hundreds of people right now,” he said recently

His favorite recoveries, though, are the ones tied to love stories — when he returns a wedding ring to a couple married for decades, minutes after they thought they’d lost “a piece of them” forever, he says. Or when he ﬁnds an engagement ring just days after a young couple gets engaged a recovery that often ends with the ﬁancee in tears and the suitor exhaling a sigh of relief.

People have long debated whether money buys happiness. For Miron, happiness is returning something lost to its owner and watching their expression soften. That feeling, he says, is similar to winning the lottery

Becoming a ring finder

Before it was his livelihood, metal detecting was a hobby for Miron, a Fort Walton native and veteran.

Miron began spending his free time sweeping beaches with a detector. Within a few months, strangers were approaching him on the beach, asking for help ﬁnding their lost jewelry It happened so often that eventually, in 2020, Miron decided to turn it into

a business, naming it Lost Rings of Destin, Fla.

That same year, Miron joined The Ring Finders — an international network of ring ﬁnders scattered across the globe, including the United States, Europe and South America. He is one of 69 in Florida, and the only ring ﬁnder in Destin.

But Miron says only 10% of his calls come from that network.

The rest are from his own business, built by word-of-mouth approaching condo associations and lifeguards about his mission — and by posting his ﬁnds on social media nearly ev-

ery day

His Facebook account is followed by 5,000 people. His posts often include a storied caption and photos of him ﬂashing a Hawaiian shaka hand sign — thumb and pinky fingers extended — beside a happy client proudly showing off their recovered jewelry

The account especially gained traction after Miron recovered an heirloom belonging to the Capone family at Blue Mountain Beach along Scenic Highway 30A.

In less than an hour, he found the gold pendant engraved with the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

How Miron finds the rings

For Miron, a search can take anywhere from 30 seconds to three days. But it always starts with a phone call.

“I’m pretty good at asking the right questions,” he says. “I think that’s something that’s also kind of helped me in doing what I do.”

He asks the client what they were doing before they lost it. Usually, the answer involves something active — throwing a football or swimming in the surf — that causes the jewelry to slip away

With a military background in GPS and coordinates, Miron then asks if they can drop a pin where it happened.

About 40% of the time, he says, the client can’t remember When that happens, Miron studies photos or videos taken that day and searches those spots instead.

A successful recovery, he says, “really boils down to them having their location services on their phone,” even on crowded beaches like Crab Island.

Out of about 500 calls, Miron says he’s recovered 415 pieces.

He’s mailed more than 100 of them — cleaned himself with an ultrasonic machine and polishers to vacationers who had already left town.

He reminds clients each time that it isn’t about the money: “I tell them that we do it for the reactions, the emotions, the people.”

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

Joseph Miron searches for jewelry along the Florida coast.

PROVIDED PHOTOS By JOSEPH MIRON

Joseph Miron scans a Florida beach with a metal detector, searching for lost jewelry.

Tax renewal election called for April

Millage would help fund libraries

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Staff writer

Lafayette Parish residents will have the chance to vote in a special tax election on April 18

The Lafayette Parish Council on Tuesday announced a tax election for the continuation of a parish library tax.

The 3.12 mill tax is expected to generate $8.9 million annually and will be collected over 10

years, starting in 2027. It represents a 7% increase due to property value reappraisal.

The tax is one of two millages that fund the library’s operations Combined, the millages generate about $12.2 million annually

In 2018, voters refused to renew a third property tax for public libraries, costing the system $3.5 million annually

This special tax election is one of several that Lafayette voters

Study: Cancer risk in industrial areas high

Louisiana Chemical Association questions accuracy of findings

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Cancer risks in parts of Louisiana’s industrial area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge are up to 11 times higher than estimates by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a study by scientists at Johns Hopkins University

In a peer-reviewed study that aimed to measure the prevalence of 17 pollutants and compare that to measurements used in EPA models, researchers deployed a mobile air monitoring lab across Ascension, Iberville, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes. They then used the concentrations of those chemicals in the air to estimate cancer risks in 15 different census tracts.

In all but one of those tracts, cancer risks from air pollutants outweighed the estimates from the EPA’s models. All of the census tracts had “unacceptable” levels of cancer risk, the researchers found. The Johns Hopkins researchers attribute the differences in the two models to differences in how the pollutants were measured. They used real-time data on air pollutants over a monthlong period in February 2023.

The EPA model is based in part on emissions data from state agencies and industrial facilities.

Much of this data is self-reported from

Hurricane season sees growth trend

Storms exploded in size, strength

BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has been blissfully uneventful so far, at least for us here in south Louisiana With just two months left in the season, a hurricane has yet to form in the Gulf. Only one of this year’s 10 named storms Tropical Storm Chantal, has hit the U.S. And earlier this fall, as the Atlantic entered what is historically its peak for tropical activity, the ocean was entirely void of named storms. But the few storms that have reached hurricane strength have experienced an explosive kind of growth, with the ﬁrst three hurricanes of the year bursting to

will face over the next six months. On Nov 15, two previously failed millage renewals will return to voters for reconsideration. The March renewals, which were not widely publicized by Lafayette ofﬁcials, may have suffered from being on the ballot with four statewide constitutional amendments that were soundly defeated across the state and in Lafayette Parish. A 4.47-mill property tax that was expected to produce about $12.7 million a year for Lafay-

ette Parish government to build, improve and maintain roads and bridges was rejected.

A 3.81-mill property tax was expected to generate about $10.8 million a year for parish drainage, ﬁre protection in unincorporated areas, roads and bridges, public health units, mosquito control, animal control and the Coroner’s Ofﬁce also was defeated.

Both taxes are currently being collected. The 4.47-mill tax expires at the end of 2026. The 3.81-mill tax was previously authorized to be collected through

2025. If the November millages fail again, the parish has one more chance to bring them back to

ers. Early voting for the Nov 15 election is from Nov 1-8, excluding Sunday, Nov 2. All three

Attendees dance to the music of Horace

and

during Festivals Acadiens et Créoles at Girard Park

Acadiens et Créoles

ABOVE: Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express play under the Salle De Dance tent.

LEFT: Big Wil & The Warden’s Terrence Fernell ﬁxes up some chicken on a stick.

Special session could disrupt La. Book Festival

Organizers make contingency plans

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

While they wait for Gov Jeff Landry potentially to call a legislative special session, organizers of the Louisiana Book Festival are preparing to move programming out of the State Capitol.

“We don’t

Landry told lawmakers two months ago that he planned to call a special session starting Oct. 23 so they could pass a new congressional map in the aftermath of a key Supreme Court hearing Wednesday Justices will hear a challenge to Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the law that was cited in ordering Louisiana to draw two majority-Black congressional districts.

That idea appears to have been dropped, with legislators instead focusing on moving back the election schedule for House and Senate races during the special session. This year marks the 21st year for the Louisiana Book Festival, which regularly holds sessions and discussion panels inside state government buildings, including the State Capitol. The festival’s logo depicts the Capitol surrounded by books. Calbert said the Nov 1 festival will still be held in Capitol Park and nearby government buildings, including the State Library of Louisiana. Additional tents will be set up to accommodate the loss of access to the Capitol if legislators convene in a spe-

cial session. Festival organizers know as much as the public currently about a special session, Calbert said.

“We just need to have a game plan in case the Capitol building itself is not available,” he said.

More than 20,000 attendees are expected to attend the festival this year, Calbert said. Along with discussion panels and workshops featuring a variety of Southern authors, there will be vendors selling books.

Email Haley Miller at haley miller@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Trahan

the Ossun Express on the Salle De Dance stage

on Saturday in Lafayette

Bondholdersthreatenarchdiocese bankruptcy settlement

Groupofcreditors is owed nearly $30M

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Whilesupport from survivors of clergy sexual abuse appeared to be coalescing around the settlement proposal in the long-running ArchdioceseofNew Orleans bankruptcy case, agroup of bondholders is now threatening to upend the plan.

The bondholders are owed nearly $30 million by the local church and have argued in courtﬁlings that thearchdiocese has negotiated with them in badfaith.Theysay the proposed settlement, which would pay them$3million, or 10% of what they are due, is unfair

Last week, their attorneys questionedArchbishop Gregory Aymond and several of his top financial advisers under oath, seeking to learn more about the value of church assets. More depositions are scheduled in the coming days.

It’sunclear if the bondholders want to derail the settle-

CANCER

Continued from page1B

industry,said Peter Decarlo, aprofessor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins who led the research.

“I think what our results really highlight is that we can’t rely on self-reported emissions data from facilities to estimate the health risks from air pollutants,” he said.

The study itself said that there is an “urgent need for comprehensive measurements of key carcinogenicair pollutants,especiallyinareas with ahistory of disproportionate environmental health burdens.”

David Cresson,the president of the Louisiana Chemical Association and Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance, which advocates for the industry,questioned whether

HURRICANE

Continued from page1B

Category 4strength or higher after undergoing rapid intensiﬁcation.

The last time an Atlantic season’sfirst three hurricanes were major storms of Category 3strength or more was 90 years ago in 1935, according to Phil Klotzbach, a hurricaneresearcheratColorado State University

The unusual phenomenon is indicative of alarger trend this season of “low quantity high quality” storms, Klotzbach said. While many of the markers hurricane researchers use to quantify aseason’s severity are nearing historical norms, he said, “the way we got to them was very strange.”

Rapid intensiﬁcation is deﬁned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a35mph increase in maximum wind speeds in less than 24 hours. Hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle and Humberto all reached that threshold and then some. Erin became the year’s firsthurricaneonAug.15, and, by the next morning, it had reached Category 5 strength. Its maximum sustained winds had more than doubled to 160 mph. Alittle more than amonth later,HurricaneGabrielle formed on Sept. 21 after struggling for days out at sea. Despite that, Gabrielle reached Category 4strength by the end of the following day

Humberto followed closely behind, reaching hurricane strength by Sept. 26 and intensifying into amajor Category 5storm with winds of roughly160 mphthe next day

Klotzbachsaid inhospitable environmental conditions in the tropics are surprisingly at least partiallytoblame for this year’sexplosions in hurricane intensity

ment altogether,whichcould forceU.S. BankruptcyJudge Meredith Grabill to dismiss the case, or whether the latestmaneuvers arepart of the continued negotiations in the yearslong bankruptcycase.

Either way,close watchers of the case say theobjections are complicating matters ahead of an expected conﬁrmation hearing, scheduled for late November

“They have the ability to stop the plan confirmation, whichisa signiﬁcantbit of leverage,”said Marie T. Reilly,a law professor at Penn State Dickinson Law,who has tracked more than 40 church bankruptciesaroundthe U.S. “Couldthey be posturing?

Yes. We will see.”

Attorneys forthe bondholders declined to comment.

The archdiocese also declined to comment,but Aymond has recently said he is praying for aswiftresolution to the case.

“I remainvery hopefuland committedtobringing this bankruptcy to aconclusion that benefitsthe survivors of abuse,”hesaid lastmonth.

“I know there remains much work to be done, and Icontinue to holdthiswork in prayer.”

themeasurements by researchers, whichwereconducted during asingle month accurately capture the full picture.

In an email, he argued thatthe monthlongmobile measurements “can capture peaksthatare not representative of year-round community exposure” and said that the pollutants can have multiple sources in additiontoarea plants, and so “it is not scientiﬁcally sound to assign total risk to any single sector.”

Comparing the study’smeasurementstoself-reported industry figures,hesaid, overlooksothertools “that underpinfederal and state emissionsreporting.”

Joe Robledo,apress officerfor theEPA region that includes Louisiana,saidthe EPAcannotcomment on studiesperformedoutside theagency Census tracts in Iberville and Ascension parishes had

Apattern of “sinking motion,” which is associated with dry air and other hurricane-killing conditions, over Africahas made it difﬁcult for systems movingoff the coast to develop, Klotzbach said. Those waves are often theseeds of hurricanes to come.

But the systems that have been abletosurvive the tropicshaveerupted once they’vemadeitfar enough north to get into amore hurricane-friendly environment, Klotzbach said.

And the path north is one that avast majority of this year’snamed storms have followed, starting off east of theCaribbeanand then curvingupand away from the U.S. Hurricane forecasters and researchers widely predicted that theAtlantic’s 2025

Throughoutmuch of the five-and-a-half-year-long bankruptcy case, most of the opposition to thearchdiocese, itsproposals andcourt ﬁlings camefromattorneys representing more than 600 survivorswho have ﬁled abuse claims.

That allchangedinJuly, when the official court-appointedcommittee thatrepresents theinterestsofall abuse survivors announced it had agreed to aproposed settlement with the archdiocese

Theplan, since updated several times, would create atrust thatwould pay survivors$180 million over several years. It wouldbefunded by the archdiocese, threeof its insurers and its afﬁliated parishes and charities.An estimated$50 millionwould be added to thesettlement following the sale of Christopher Homes, thechurch’s low-incomesenior apartment complexes.

Theplan would alsoestablish stricterprotocols and reporting measures designedto protect children from future abuse

In early September,avocal group of trial attorneys that represent as many as

some of thehighest cancer risk levels, according to the researchers’ findings. The tract with the highest rates is an Iberville Parish tract with acancer risk of 560 per 1million people. The EPAestimate for this area, by contrast, was around 50 per 1million.

Thesubsequentthree tracts in Ascension Parish similarly hadcancer risks around500 or higher per 1million, based on the researchers’ ﬁndings, and EPAestimates under 100 per 1million.

The EPAstates on its website that “air toxics have no universal, predefined risk levelsthat clearly represent acceptable or unacceptable thresholds” but notes a“general presumption” that sets an upper level of acceptable risk at 100 per 1million lifetime cancer risk for the most exposed person.

Forenvironmental advocates living in an area they often refer to as Cancer Al-

season would seeslightly above-average tropical activity,with NOAA projecting 13 to 19 namedstorms, including six to 10 hurricanes and threetofive of Category 3 strength or more.

After aslow start, NOAA tweaked itsforecast in August,reducingits projections to 13 to 18 named storms, ﬁve to nine hurricanes and two to ﬁve major hurricanes.

Based on 30 yearsofdata collected between 1991 to 2020, an averageAtlantic hurricane seasonhas 14 namedstorms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes,according to NOAA. Theﬁrst named storm typically forms in mid- to late June, the first hurricane tends to form in early to midAugust,and theﬁrstmajor hurricaneforms in late August or early September

one-third of the abuse survivors individually,dropped their opposition to the settlement. Their supportall but ensures the necessary supermajority of survivors will vote to accept it

Another key group in the case, the “commercial committee” that represents vendors and small businesses, also supports the plan.

Bondholders, meanwhile, have been increasingly vocalintheiropposition.They lent thechurch $40 million througha municipalpublic bond offering in 2017,when Aymond was seeking to restructure church debt.The debt was notsecured.

In bankruptcycases, secured creditorsare typically paid first, andoften in full, while unsecured creditors aremoreatriskofonlyreceiving aportion of what they are owed. Under the proposed settlement, thebondholdersare beingoffered 10 cents on the dollar.

In recent months, they have filedcourt documents accusing the archdioceseof securities fraud, negotiating in bad faith and treating them unfairly under theplan, arguingthatthe church “is solvent and has the ability to

leydue to health risks attrib-

uted to industry pollution, the study’sfindings add anew level of concern.

“I thought it wasextreme before, but this is even beyond what Iimagined,” said Jo Banner,who co-leads the St.Johnthe Baptist community group The Descendants Project. “I say it’sawake-up call, but Iknow many people won’tregister it.”

While the EPAmodel accumulates data from across the country,Decarlo said states have theabilitytogather more data and better assess cancer risks. The EPAwebsite notesthatthe federal screening tool, called the AirToxScreen, can spur state and local agencies, “inform monitoringprograms”and “focus community efforts.”

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality declined to comment on the study Theresearch, releasedin

Basedonthose stats, we’re on track to have afairly normal year.This season’saccumulated cyclone energy,or ACE, wasalsoinlinewiththe historical averagefor this time of year as of Wednesday NOAA ranks hurricane seasonsbased on their ACE score, which takes into consideration the duration and intensity of eachnamed storm to form in aseason.

Ahurricaneseason’s overall ACE index is calculated by adding each storm’sindividual score together.Anearnormalseason would endon Nov.30withanACE score of 73 to 126, according to NOAA’s deﬁnition. Aseason with an ACE of 159.6orhigher is considered extremely active.

As of Wednesday, the 2025 season had accumulated a scoreof93.2, justbelow the

payits proposed settlement with the survivors and allof its other creditors including the bondholders in full.”

The escalating argument couldleadtowhatisknown in bankruptcy law as a“cramdown” scenario.Inorderfor abankruptcysettlement to be confirmedbythe court, at leasttwo-thirds of each group, or “class,” of creditors must approve it. Already,the abuse survivors andtrade creditorsappear likely to reach thatthreshold. The bondholders do not, which means the planproponents will ask the court to force the bondholders to accept it.

At the confirmationhearing, Grabill will have to determine whether theplan meets several criteria that would justifya“cramdown” over the bondholders’ objections, Reilly said. Those criteria include whether the plan has been proposed in good faith, satisfiesthe financial interests of the bondholders and is “fair and equitable.”

ThedepositionsofAymond andothers currently areintended to gather information in preparation forthe hearing to help determine “whether the plan does or doesnot satisfy the ‘cramdown’ conﬁrma-

apeer-reviewed journal of theNational Academy of Sciences, arrives as advocacy organizations are embroiled in alegal fight over astate air monitoringlaw thatlimits groups’ ability to allege environmental violations.

The law requires community groups to use the latest federal airmonitoring equipment in order to allegeviolationsofthe Clean Air Actorotherlaws. The air monitoring tools the researchers used in their new study do notﬁtthose federal requirements. Supporters of theruleinthe state’schemical industrysay it standardizes airmonitoring standards, but advocates say the rule“effectively bans” community groups from their sharingair pollution ﬁndings or advocating for redress.

Decarlo, whose work on air pollution has inﬂuenced community organizers in Louisiana, saidthatthe scientiﬁc

30-year average of 102.4, accordingtodatacollected by Colorado State University

ButKlotzbach saidother features of this season have been unusual.

Alull in the tropics at what is usually the height of tropical activity,arepeat of asimilarly quiet peak last season, caught the attention of researchers around the globe.

“Two years is notanew normal,”Klotzbach said, “but it’s something we’re certainlygoing to be looking at.”

Thenthere’sthe near-total lack of tropical development in the Caribbean and Gulf, despite unusually warm waters that usually help to fuel hurricane growth. That, though odd, has helped to keep impacts on people, property and land to aminimumthisseason, Klotzbach said.

tion criteria,” Reilly said Amongthe specificissues bondholdersare focused on is how the plan proponents andtheir financial advisers arrived at the value of church real estate. Thebondholders have said in recentcourt documents they are still struggling to “understandthe debtor and its affiliates’ complex financial web.” The bondholdersare also challenging the way financial consultants determinedthe value of an abuse claim. The Archdiocese of New Orleansbankruptcy has been noteworthy among the dozens of church bankruptcies for a number of reasons, including its cost, duration and anumberofcontentioussidearguments. If Grabill confirms the plan over theobjection of the bondholders later this year, it will notch another first. Though there have been other proposedcramdowns where abuse survivors objected to the settlement, this would be the first time a“non-sexabuse unsecured creditor” objects, Reilly said. Bondholders canappeal a cramdown to the U.S. District Court.

tools theJohns Hopkins team employed are better thanthe monitors required by federal regulators. “We’ve got the Ferrarisand Lamborghinis to do the measurementsand they’reusing police cruisers,” he said. On the federal level, President Donald Trump recently exemptedadozen Louisiana industrialfacilitiesfrom following aBiden-era rule aimed at lowering pollution andcancer risk in mostly poor,minority areas.

Trump’sJuly proclamation citestechnological limits, costconcerns andnational security to put offcompliance until2028 for major petrochemical companies in the Baton Rouge to NewOrleans industrial corridor andLake Charles area. TheEPA rule was expected to reduce cancer risk by 96% forthose livingwithin6 miles of pollution facilities, accordingtothe Federal Register

But the season isn’tover,he warned, and withoutstorms to stir up thewater,Klotzbach said the Caribbean is hot, with sea-surfacetemperatures nearing 90 degrees in some areas.

“So if something were to form in the Caribbean, there’sa lotoffueltowork with,” Klotzbach said.

LOTTERY

FRIDAY, OCT.10, 2025

PICK 3: 7-7-0

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ALLAIN, CHRISTOPHER JOHN

ALLEMAN, PADEN JOSEPH

ALLEN, BRIAN JOSEPH

ANDERSON, KIARA ADAWN

ANGELLE, TOMMI SHEETS

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ARMSTRONG,CHRISTOPHER TODD

ARNAUD, MYLENDA KAE

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AYALLOORE, SIBY GEORGE

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FERNANDO, THANTHULAGESASHENDANANJAY

FEUER,GUY A

FINDLEY,JEFF JUSTIN

FLOTT,MICHELLE ELIZABETH

FLOWERS, DONNA Y FOREMAN, DANIEL COLE

FOREMAN, TERRYROY

FORESTIER, MARYKATHRYN FOX, YVONNE SUZANNE

FRANCIS, LETREISHA FAYE

FRAZIER, CHRISTOPHER WAYNE

FREY,CONRAD F FUENTES, KARINA HERRERA

FUSELIER, WILLIAM G

FUSILIER, EVERETTE JAMES

GALLIEN, MEGHAN LOPEZ

GANTT,COLBY ALLEN

GASPARD, TYLER ANTHONY

GAUTHIER, PETER

GAUTREAUX, ALLEN DALE

GILLIS, CHARLOTTE R

GONZALEZ, PRISCILLA

GOODBEIR, DANIELISAAC

GRANGER, JANE F GREEN,CRAIGANTHONY GREEN,INDIA NICOLE GRIFFIN, ALBERT

GROSSIE, DOLORES V GUIDRY,SCOTT JOHN GUIDRY,RACHELLYNNE GUIDRY,REBEKAH ASHLEE

GUIDRY,SYLINDA RACHEL

GUILBEAU,MEAGAN MARIE

GUILBEAU,DAVID ANTHONY

GUILBEAU,MARCUS JOHN GUILLORY,MICHAEL JAMES

GUILLOT, JOYCE M

HANDY, KATHYA

HANLEY, KELLYLYNN

HARMON,MARIASAVOIE

HARMON,CHARLES DARBY

HARRINGTON, KENDAL W

HARRIS, JOANNEPARKER

HARRIST,DONNA M HARVISON,AMALIE SHEA

HAWKINS,KAREN BROOKS

HAYNES, CHLOEELON MARIE

HEBERT, LESTER SYLVAN

HEBERT, KENNETH KONNOR

HEBERT, JULIA ANN

HEBERT, JOSEPH PATRICK

HEBERT, MYLES ANTHONY

HEBERT, ROBERTDALE

HEINEN, MOLLIECLAIRE NICHOLA

HENAGAN, SEAN

HENDERSON,KIANDRE LASHUN

HENRY, JESSIE JAMES HENRY, SHELIAMARIE

HERNANDEZ, STEPHANIE

HERNANDEZ, KANSAS A

HERRON,JONATHANADAM HIGGINBOTHAM,SETH ALEXANDER

HOLLIER, BRANDON JOSEPH

HOLLOWAY,STARLA MARIE

JACKSON, SONYA RAYNELL

JACKSON, MICAELA SHANTA

JACQUES, VICKI J JOHNSON,BRAM THOMAS

JOHNSON,PAMELA G

JOHNSON,LARRYWAYNE

JOHNSON,HENDERSON

JONES, DAMIAN TYLER

JONES, MICHELLE DENISE

JONES, ARNOLD KEITH JONES, ROCHELLE MITCHELL JONES, MELVINJUNIUS

JORDAN-LAWRENCE, MARCIAANNMARIE

JOSEPH, BROOKE MELIA

JUNCA, DONNA

JUNEAU, LILYCATHERINE

KEELING, STEPHANIE RENEE

KELEHER, CYNTHIA ANN KELLY, BRIAN PATRICK

KELSO, JAYME SCOTT

KENNEDY,PAIGE MARIE

KENNEDY,ESTHER

KENNERSON, CASSANDRA MONETTE MILTON

KENNERSON, JAMIE J KERSTETTER, SCOTT E

KHAMPHILAVONG, ASHTON KAI

KILLEEN, DANIEL FRANCIS

LACLAIR, JONATHAN ALLEN

LANDRY, RICARDO FLETCHER

LANDRY, CHASE MICHAEL

LANDRY, LARRYM

LANGLINAIS, WYNNEC

LATIOLAIS, BRENDA C

LEDAY, SHERDRIKA

LEGER, SHELLEY HEBERT

LEMEUNIER, FRANCIS N

LENNIX, LORI LANAE

LEVIAS, JONOVAN J

LEVIER, TONYARENEA

LIMUEL, TANYALYNETTE

LINDON, SAILOR ANN

LINDSEY,BRIAN JOSEPH

LIPPS, ELEANOR BOUTTE

LOGAN, GREGORYJESSE

LONDON, SHEMETHIA RUFFIN

LONG, TORI RAMONE

LONG, ANDREW C

LOUIS, MARCUSAKEEME

LUMPKIN, ORELIA MARIE

LUMPKIN, TAMMY T MAGLALANG, GLENIVAN

MAHFOUZ, NADINE C

MALVEAUX, CALEB M

MANNTING, HALEY P

MANUEL,LUCASROBERT

MARCANTEL, DAVIDB

MARSHALL, KAITLINELIZABETH

MARTIN, RAHIM ABDUL

MARTIN, BLAYKE

MASON, RAYMONDS

MICHAEL

MASON, WILFRED J MASON, BRITTANYNICOLE

MATURIN, NOLAN JOSEPH

MCCHESNEY,JESSICA DONIELLE

MCCLAIN, CRAIGROBERT

MCCOLLUM, JACK MILES

MCLEMORE, JUDITH DIANE

MCMANUS, WILLIAMBERNARD

MCQUAT, ALEXANDRIA

MEDINA,JOSE ANTONIO

MELANCON,SARAH KATHERINE

MENDOZAGAMEZ, ANDREA ISABEL

MERTELL, JENNIFER D

METOYER, KATELYN DANIELLE

MEYERS, DAWN WALSH MICKENS, RONNICA CARLISHA

MILLER, JESSE

MILLER, CHRISTIANNE JULIETTE

MILLON, MICHELLOUIS

MITCHELL, SANDRA A MITCHELL, DAVIDHENRY

MOHAMMED, HOUSSEINNASSER ALI

MONTGOMERY, STEVEN R MOON,BRADLEY R MOORE, MARGARET GABOUREL

MORGAN,LESLIEANNE

MORGAN,LUCILLE GAULTHIER

MORRIS, ASHLEY WALTON

MORVANT, CONNIE L

MOSES, JEREMYWAYNE

MOSS, ALASHAJANAE

MOTT,BERNARD MOUTON,RUSSELL JOSEPH

MOUTON,DENETRA LEWIS

MOUTON,STEPHEN TODD

MOUTON,BRANDON LEONARDCHARLES

MULLEN, CHELSEA S MUNSON, JOY SUZANNE

MURRAY, MARQUESA LAKENYATTA

MUTHANNA,ALI MOHAMED

MYERS, WILLIAMM NAVARRE, LAWRENCEJ NEWMAN, ROBERTBRUCE

NEWTON,EMMAM NGUYEN,QUYNH THI NGUYEN,CRISTIAN NHAN

NORMAN,CRAIGELDRIDGE

O’NEAL, LINDSEY RAE

OBRIEN, FRANCIS ALFRED ORELLANA, HOLLYANN ESTOPINAL

PARFAIT, GREGORYJOHN

PATE, JAMES L PATEL, TARABEN DALUBHAI

PAUL, RACHEAL TEZENO PAYNE,TAMMY ELIZABETH PELLERIN, BRANDON JOSEPH

PEREZ, JERSHON PEREZ PERKINS,WILLIAMB PETE, RAVEN SYMONE PETERSON,CIERA

ALEXANDRA

PHILLIPS, TAYLOR JOSEPH

PHILLIPS, ROBERTA

PIETRYKOWSKI,NATHANA

PILGREEN,KAREN B

PIRVU,MICHAEL PORTER, ALLENEUGENE

PREJEAN, GLENN DALE PREJEAN, BRENDA FRANCIS PRIMEAUX,WENDY M PRIMEAUX,CONNIE BERTHELOT PUERTO-SEVILLA,KARENFAVIOLA PYLANT,CHESTERD RACCA, TROY C RAMIREZ, DANIELLE RAMIREZ, TOMMY LEE RAMIREZ-GUILLEN,IVAN RANDOLPH, TESSIE NICHOLE RANSONET, IAN JACOB RATCLIFF,TREYLON DESHAWN REES,CHARLESA REEVES,JAMES W REGAN, AMANDA RENEE REIS, JESSICA M RICHARD, SCOTT GERARD RICHARD, LASHANTE SIMONNE RICHARD, KIRSTIN KOHL RICHE,ANDREA MARIE RIVETTE, LAYNIE ANN ROBERT, CYRIL J ROBERTS, VERONICA LEWIS ROBINSON, DANIELLEMARIE ROBINSON, JOSEPH ASHLEY ROCHON, MARK ANTHONY RODRIGUE, JOSEPH WILLIAM RODRIGUE, ANDRE GEORGE RODRIGUEZ, BLANCA MARTINEZ ROMERO, CYNTHIA DENNETTE ROMERO, MATHEW H ROREX, ABBIE BARONET RUE, KAREN RAUCH RUSSO, MAMIE H SALTZMAN,KEITH PAUL SAM, BRITTNEY NICOLE SANDERS,LINDSAYELIZABETH SAVOY,SHANTELLEMARIE SCARDINO, SOFIA MAE SCHACHT,ROBERTA SCHEXNAYDER, CATHERINE C SCHRAM, TOMMY LUKE SEAUX,EMMA CARRIE SELLR,JODESSA JANEA SENEGAL,STEPHANIE MARIE SHARMA, ARUNKUMAR SHIPMAN, MARGARET J SHOEMAKER, DAVID JAMES SIMON, CODYJUDE SIMON, BONNIE LYNN SIMON, NAVIKA IRENE DB SINEGAL,ALFRED SKIPPER, ANGELA MARIE SLAGLE,HAILIE SANFILIPPO SLEDGE, ISABELLA JP SMITH, SANDRA COMBS SMITH, JENNIFER L SMITH, CUEDETTE M SMITH, ERICKA PORTLOCK SMITH, VICKI A SMITH, BRANDON CHAYCE SMITH, JANE M SMITH, DEBRA ELLENDER SONNIER, GAIL SONNIER, ANGELA GIRARD SONNIER, KAITLYN JADE SOUKSAN, KYLIA G SPELL, DAVID G SPLAWN, TIMOTHY A STCYR, ANNA CLAIRE STELLY, MICHAELA STELLY, KAITLYN STELLY, DUSTIN JAMES STEVENS, LATASHA MARIE RENEA STEWART,JAMESLONNIE STOOT,DEREK T STROTHER, KATHRYN G STUTES, HAROLD JOSEPH TAYLOR, MELISSA RENEE LALANDE TAYLOR, CRAIG J TAYLOR, REGINALD TAYLOR, PHILLIP MATTHEW TAYLOR, DILLAN MICHAEL TEJEDAOROPEZA, ANA BELKYS TEZENO, MALIKV THIBODEAUX, LISA MARIE THIRUMAL, HARIKRISHNAN THOMAS, JOHNNY L THOMAS, ANNETTE MCZEAL THOMAS, KHADEN JOSENE THOMAS, LORITAMARIE KING THOMPSON, CARNELJACOY TONEY,BRANDON MARKELL TOUCHET,TANNERLUKE TRAHAN, BRODRICKD TRAHAN, MIGNON BREAUX TRAHAN, JEREMY PAUL TRAN, MARYHONG NHI TRICHE, ANTHONY DRAKE TROSCLAIR, MICHAELJOSEPH TURNER, CHANCE JACOB TURNER, JEANNETTE H VEAD, CINDYMARIE VENABLE,LISA M VENABLE, KHLOE CLAIRE VERON,BRIAN DYER VIATOR, BARRYJOHN WAYNE VICE, ALOZIA JANE VOLKMANN, CHRISTINA DEBORAH WAGER, ERICA KAYE WALKER, VIRGINIA LANE WALKER, THOMAS KERVIS WALKER, BLANCHE CONQUES WARNER, DHARMA CHERIE WARREN,KLAIRE LANE WASHINGTON, QUENTIN PAUL WASHINGTON, FELICIA ANN WATKINS, TRAMELL MICHAEL WATTS, THERESA CARR WEBER, DANA DANETTE WEBER, HOLLY M WEBSTER, KIMBERLYROSE WETZEL, DEBORAHH WHITE, BLAISE MICHAEL WHITNEY,RACHELANN HADDEN WILES, FRANK JOSEPH WILLIAMS, SANDRA L WILLIAMS, PRECIOUS TINA MARIE WILLIAMS, LEON WILLIAMS, EVERJANE MONIQUE WILTZ, ROXANNE M WORRELL, MICHAELRYLAN WAYNE ZHOU, SOPHIA PATRICIA

OPINION

Caesars Superdome gets several votesof confidence

Our state got some good news last week when ofﬁcials announced that college football’sbiggest ticket would be returning tothe Caesars Superdome in 2028. The College Football Playoff title game is always ahuge event,bringing in fans from around the country,or, if acertain Louisiana team makes arun, fans from all around thestate.

College football expanded its playoffs to 12 teams last year,and it will be the ﬁrst time theSuperdome hosts atitle game underthat format. The CFP National Championship game will be played on Jan. 24, 2028, as the capstone of the 2027 season.

It was another welcome shot in the arm for the Dome after anew lease for the Saintsﬁnally got signed. The state and the Saintsagreed to a10-year dealwill keep the team in New Orleans through 2035. Thehighly contentious negotiations to reach an agreement resulted in the Superdome missing aSeptember deadline for bids to host the 2031 Super Bowl. We are hopeful that those missteps can be smoothed over,however,and that the Dome will be under consideration.

The CFP title game and the Super Bowl, falling as they do in the midst of the Carnival season, always make it alot more crowded in New Orleans in January,but the hotels and restaurants don’tmind. And whenwesee ourstate featuredprominently on the national, or even global, stage, it makes it all worthwhile. There’snoquestion football is huge in our state, and these events cement New Orleans’ and the Superdome’splace in that sport’slore. It’sahistory that includes hosting ﬁve collegiate national champion games. The 2028 game will be only the second one in the Dome in the CFP era, the previous one being in 2020 when LSU defeated Clemson to claim the title.Then there’sthe Sugar Bowl, one of college football’s premier bowl games. It has been held in the Superdome since moving from Tulane Stadium in 1975. And with 2025’sSuper Bowl in the Superdome, New Orleans served as host of the big game for the 11th time. Miami is the only other city with an equal number of Super Bowls. It seems natural to us that organizers of some of thenation’smost popular sporting events want to come to New Orleans. We have an atmosphere like no other.But it really doesn’t happenwithout alot of behind-the-scenes work from the businesscommunity, civic organizations and state and city leaders. We are glad they continue to do what it takes towin these events. The Superdome has long been central toour image as astate, andweare glad to see that even as it turned 50 this year,it’sasbeloved as ever. We hope, in its golden anniversary year, the best is yet to come.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME.

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

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

SellingLa.’s waterabad idea fornow

It’snot often that Louisiana balks at an offer to sell its natural resources for cash.

That’swhy it’s apleasant surprise to see two statelegislators warn the Sabine River Authority that any attempt to sell water from the Toledo BendReservoir is anonstarter.It’seven better that the two legislators, Rep.Brett Geymann, R-LakeCharles, and Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, chair committees that would need to bless any such sale.

For thosewho have not spent time on the bucolic, 186,000-acre, 65-milelong reservoir located on Louisiana’s western border,let me explain. Toledo Bendwas created when the Sabine River was dammed in the1960s. It’s becomeextremely popular as arecreation and ﬁshing spot for thousands from both Louisiana and Texas.

It’sgoverned jointly by Louisiana andTexas, through two different authorities, one on each side of the border.Water that ﬂows through thedam on the reservoir’ssouthernend is used to generatehydroelectric power; each side has theauthority to sell some of thewater,though theproceeds must be split

Butfor several years,there have been discussions aboutselling aportion of Louisiana’sshare of the water to acompany called Aqueduct Partners,which would pipe it to water-starved cities in Texas. Proponents argue that this sale could be done with little to no impact on lake levels and generate far more revenue than hydroelectric generation. Butthe idea has drawnopposition from many locals, whoargue that such asale could cause water levels to drop and makethe reservoir less amenable to recreation.

Earlier this week, Geymann and Hensgens sent aletter to Louisiana’s Sabine River Authority,urging them to reject any proposed sale.

“Weurge you to abandon these plans and safeguard thelong-term interests of our people, economy and environment,” Geymannand Hensgens wrote. “Toledo Bendisvital to Louisiana residents, businesses and wildlife.”

They are right about that. But more important is something Hensgens told this newspaper’sDavid Mitchell.

“I just believe that in the next century,water is going to be the most important natural resource we’ve got, and it is Louisiana’swater.Itbelongs

to the state taxpayers, and Ijust don’t believe we should be selling it,” Hensgens said.

Hensgens is absolutely right about this. Water is an increasingly valuable natural resource. Fortunately forLouisiana, the state is blessed with plenty of it both on the surface and under it. But there is little statewide impetus to take an accounting of just how much, despite increasing demands from industry,agriculture and, potentially, moredata centers, which use alot of water In other words, Louisiana is obviously water rich, but we have no idea exactly how rich we are. And until we know how much we have, we shouldn’t be selling what we do have, no matter how tempting the dollar signs dangled by rich Texans. Thankfully,Geymann and Hensgens’ letter seemstoindicate, at least for now,that no such deal will go forward. It maybe, at somepoint in the future, that selling Toledo Bend water is an idea that makes sense from a ﬁnancial and resource-management perspective.

But that timehas not yet come.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Ourjobs as journalists are constantly evolving. What is the job of one person today was probably thejob of ﬁve people when Istarted my career decades ago.

Although you may look at your favoritewriter as aperson who gathers and reports news, that person is often writing headlines, copy editing, selecting photos, posting stories on theweb and circulating those stories online. While it’s true that many small newsroomshave been one-man or onewoman operations, it is truly amazing how much reporters and editorsat mostnews outlets must know about all aspects of news gathering. There are some beneﬁts to this change. The more reporters and editorsknow how to do, themore they can makesure thewords and images associated withtheir stories are relevant and the more quickly they can get

stories online. Butthere are also somedownsides. With attention spreadtomanyother tasks, it can be easy to lose sight that readers care about thebasics most. We get plenty of outraged letterswhen readers spot typos in stories or obvious factual mistakes that they feel should have been caught by editors. Ihave to say Iunderstand.Nothing erodes trust in what you are reading more than catching aglaring error.“Did anyone read this?” readers sometimes ask. Andyes, while editors do read all copy before it is published, we do sometimes miss things in the rush of the day.Whenwesee mistakes, we vow to correct them as soon as possible, and we try to be as transparent as possible about that. Of course, there are someways to minimizethe chance of errors, including having moreeyeballs on astory

As an editor,when I’mracing through copy,I sometimes remind myself to slow down. Even the best stories can be undermined by sloppy editing. We hear you, dear readers, and we want to give you the best product possible.

Turning to our letters inbox, forthe weekofSept. 11-18, we received 65 letters. The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and its aftermath was the topic that prompted the most letters, with eight people weighing in. These included letters about the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel for his remarks about the events following the murder.Then twotopics got four letters each: the National Guard being deployed in U.S. cities and changes in access to the COVID vaccine.

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

Arnessa Garrett

Faimon Roberts

COMMENTARY

La.mustreplace canceled wetlands projects

Gov.Jeff Landry’sadministration seems far more eager to cancel wetlands restoration projects than to say what shouldbe done instead.

For the second time this year,the administration on Thursday canceled a Mississippi River diversion program, this time the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion on the river’s east bank, across from Delacroix. In July,the state canceled the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion on the west bankofthe rivernear Myrtle Grove. The state already had spent some$619 million on MidBarataria and some $70 million on Mid-Breton. The former was slatedtocost atotal of $3 billion while GordonDove, chairman of the state’sCoastal Protection and Restoration Authority,said thelatter’scost had grownfrom an estimated $800 million to $1.8 billion. Both projects had attracted

spirited opposition from seafoodindustryinterests, while MidBarataria also found enemies amongthose worried about hundreds of dolphins the freshwater diversion was projectedtokill. Before the Mid-Barataria project was nixed,I had written twice that it was awell-meaning but illadvised endeavor.Asa decadeslong advocate for coastal wetlandrestoration, though,Ithought it crucial to identify numerousother options for marsh replenishment to replacethe massiveMississippi River diversion. Among themany optionswere (and are) smaller diversion projects, backﬁlling of oil pipelinecanals, use of dredged material from the Mississippi River and elsewhere, and major efforts to seed new oyster reefs. So far,at least, that concern aboutalternate strategies for coastal salvation seems stunninglyunemphasized by Landry

and Dove. Andeven where Dove has madenoises in that direction, speciﬁcityhas been notably lacking. Almostall the administration’s verbiage has been about how thetwo diversion projects had becometoo expensive —but not about how expensive, in manifold other ways, it will be to keep lettingthe wetlands erode at afurious pace.

More than seven weeks have passed since thecancellation of Mid-Barataria was announced, and that decision had been in the works for monthsbefore that Those seven weeks alone, not to mention thelong run-up to the decision, should have been plenty long enough for ofﬁcials tohave indicated progress toward alternative arrangements Likewise, Dovesaid publicly as early as May that the cancellation of Mid-Breton was likely.Why weren’tofﬁcials ready,the very day they announced the project’s death, to say what elsethey hope

to do to preservethe state’scoastal heritage? Or,for that matter, how theﬁnances will work out, with tens of millions of dollars apparently downthe drain and with hundreds of millions potentially available —but also potentially forfeitable if the federal governmenttries to claw the funds back. Dove did say the state would seek toreprogram the money slated for Mid-Breton forarange of projects, including the use of dredged sediment in the Barataria Basin. Good. But what else? Where are the details? What are themetrics forsuccess? How will he guarantee accountability? Ihave no idea if the abandonmentofthe Mid-Breton project was the right call. Perhaps it was. Butitisfoolhardy to say,asDove did, that much smaller-scale, existing projects mean “you don’t have any need for” sediment ﬂow of the sort Mid-Breton was intended to produce. The existing projects arecreating apittance of the marsh restoration needed

to counteract the 20 square miles, at the very least, that the state is losing each year.Louisiana’s citizens deserve plans much more comprehensive than the administration is offering.

Frankly,ifnoannouncements of farmore substance are soon forthcoming, the silence will be a major example of governmental malpractice. Toomuch work, for decades, has gone into attracting too much money,tohelp combat too big aneed, foritall to be frittered away

The administration should be giving asense of urgency here, not of torpor.Ofenergy,not of sloth. Of speciﬁcity,not vagueness. And of transparency,not obfuscation.

Unless something changes soon, the administration’sreputation forgood stewardship of Louisiana land and ﬁnances will disappear even faster than the wetlands.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin hillyer@theadvocate.com

Voting Rights Actcounterspartisangames

It’snot astretchto say that Section 2ofthe Voting Rights Act —the part of the landmark 1965 civil rights legislation at the center of aLouisiana case that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear this week —gave us much of modern American politics. It created asystem in which minority voters could ﬁnallyelect representatives from districts drawntomake sure their voices werenot intentionally minimized. We’veseen the effect in Washington,where the CongressionalBlack Congressgrew to apowerful force, and also closertohome, where districts drawn under theVRA’s terms routinely elect politicians who represent the majority of their constituents’ political preferences. That’sthe visible part.

that overwhelmingly Democratic districts —think Troy Carter’s New Orleans-based 2nd Congressional District, which is majority Black frequently abut districts such as Steve Scalise’s suburban 1st, which is overwhelmingly largely Republican and White. Pols in both types of districts tend to have very easy reelections. There’sahuge upside to better representation, butthe system has adownsidetoo, in that it relieves politiciansofhaving to listen to constituents who don’t share their views androbs voters of areal choice when it comes to philosophy.Ifyou’re seeking answers to whyour country’s politics have become so toxically polarized, this is deﬁnitely one place to look.

But the practice has also given us the homogenous districtsthat border these voting rightsdistricts,which too elect politicians who reﬂect an area’sdominant political opinion.

In acountry where racial voting and residential patternsoften track political party,thatmeans

Whichwould make for aperfectly good argument in favor of the plaintiff’s side in the Callais case, achallenge to Louisiana’s newlydrawn 6th District alleging that it resulted from arace-based gerrymanderthat violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution —ifnot for theobvious fact that reducing partisan-

ship is not remotely the point

Gaining still morepartisan advantage? Now that is.

The underlying truthisthat districting through thelegislative process is about the most political act there is, and is just about always about creating winners and losers.

In fact, it’simpossible to view thechallenge to Louisiana’scurrent map,which features two Black majority and Democratic districtsand four Whitemajority and Republican ones, as separate and apart from theRepublican drive to use whatever levers they can ﬁnd to keep control of a narrowly divided Congress next year It’swhy Texas and other Republican states —atPresident Donald Trump’sovert urging —are takingthe rare tack of redrawing districtsmid-decade, to scratch and scrape for any possible district they can pick up. It’salso why California is trying to change its law so that Democrats there can counter the effort.

Andit’snot far-fetched to think thesympathetic SupremeCourt majority,which has in recent years weakened other partsof theVRA, might help out by using

theLouisiana case to minimize or eliminate the requirement that districtsbedrawnwith race at least somewhat in mind. Until the last election, the state had ﬁve majority White Republican districts to one majority Black Democratic one. By the numbers, that’san83%-17% advantage, despite the fact that thestate’spopulation is about a thirdBlack according to the last census, and that Democratic candidates for president —probably theeasiest measure of overall partisan leanings —typically get close to 40% of Louisiana’svotes. The state Legislature’sRepublican majority has long resisted efforts to even things out, including amove to create amore closely split district in the state’snorthwest corner that either party might win When courts ordered asecond minority district to be drawn under theVRA, lawmakers carved out asafe space forHouse Speaker Mike Johnson and drew adistrict, eventually wonbyCleo Fields, that seemed designed to invite achallenge which, the high court is indicating, could lead to a broader diminishing of Section 2.

This is allincredibly compli-

cated and messy.There are no strict numerical standards for determining Voting Rights Act compliance, and there are conﬂicting rules on what factors can be considered. And admittedly,there’d be advantages to having morecompetitive districts —something Texas might wind up ﬁnding out if enough of the Democrats that lawmakers there split up among Republican districts wind up making them less reliably Republican. The best idea on the table is having districts in all states drawnbyindependent commissions —areform, ironically,that California adopted and is now attempting to reverse so as to not unilaterally disarm against states like Texas.

Ideally,these would offer true equal protection foreveryone, including those whose voices have historically been minimized and marginalized. Getting rid of this key part of the Voting Rights Act and giving the politicians carte blanche sure isn’tthe solution.

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@theadvocate.com.

DerrickGrovesmadefinding him‘to easy’

Derrick Groves clearly likes taking risks.

And he’spretty good at it.

Groves was captured in arespectable, middle-class Black neighborhood in Atlanta on Wednesday after being on the run for ﬁve months.

Groves is abad man, according to his long rap sheet and law enforcement ofﬁcials who had been chasing him. He was convicted of using an AK-47-style riﬂe to murder two men on Mardi Gras in 2018. He also was convicted of two counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder

The convicted killer was behind bars when he escaped —orwas “let go” to use Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s preferred phrase —onMay 16. “ToEasy LOL”was the now-infamous, misspelled New Orleans taunt the 10 Orleans Parish jail inmateslefton acell wall before leaving the jail.” Groves was found in aone-story home with abasement near Campbellton Road and Honeysuckle Lane. There were othersinthe home, according to DistrictAttorney Jason Williams,who made the comments Thursday during an interview on WBOK’s“Good Morning Show,” which Ihost.

He saidneighbors saw someone wholookedlike Groves peeking outofthe windows from time to time during whatmight have been astay of severalweeks to a month there.The AtlantaPolice Departmentworked with the U.S. Marshals Serviceand otherstodeploytear gas canistersand aK-9 ofﬁcertohelpand found Groves in acrawl space. He’ll be heading to Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola where the other nine escapeesare being held. Apparently,Groves likes the goodlife. The house where he was found is located in SWATS, the SouthwestAtlanta area —roughly

including neighborhoods like Ben Hill, Adamsville, Cascade, Oakland City,Campbellton Road and Greenbriar.MyHotlanta peeps in the know call that area the SWATS, as in ‘Southwest Atlanta TooStrong.” Locals, especially my younger GenX friends, started calling the area SWATSand the term took off when OutKastand Goodie Mob startedusing it just as folks weremaking Atlanta hip by calling the cityThe ATL. Campbellton, which is on the edge of the SWATS, has seen better days, but the nabe is hanging on. SWATSisn’tone neighborhood. It’s agroup of neighborhoods

and an ATLculture. Think the French Quarter,but Black. Think Treme whenitwas Black. It’s part city,part suburb because the SWATSincludes College Park, which sits in Clayton and Fulton counties and East Point, which is in Fulton County The SWATSissigniﬁcant in Atlanta culture, history and politics. Every Atlanta mayor since Mayor Maynard Jackson has lived in the SWATS. Others who have lived there include baseball great Hank Aaron; U.S. Rep. John Lewis, he of “good trouble;” and the Rev.Joe Lowery, co-founder of the SouthernChristian Leadership Conference withMartin Luther King Jr Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens lives in the SWATS. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms grew up there. Former United States Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, aNew Orleans native, lives there. If you’re on the lam, why choose Atlanta rather than Des Moines, Hilton Head or Long Island? Or Cleveland? If Atlanta, why choose themostprominent Black neighborhood? “Trying to hide in Atlanta was apoor choice for Groves,” said Jim Joyner, U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force Commander We know whenGroves and the othersleft the city jail. We don’t know where Groves went from there —orhow long he’sbeen

hanging out in Atlanta. Dayby day and week by week, his colleague escapees were recaptured, but Groves became atemporary criminal legend.

Five months is far from life with law enforcement wondering where youare, but Groves built a bad boy fan club that was rooting for him while he was gone and even after his capture.

“You had agood run Derrick,” one person posted. “It was agood run my boy!” another posted. “Homie gone be rich in jail. Lifetime movie gone be fire,” wrote another Really? We should want bad guys off the street. I’m not sure I’d head to aprominent neighborhood like the SWATS if Ididn’twant law enforcement to find me.Seems“to easy” to me Idon’tknow muchabout how the film industry operates, but I’m sure there are movie people buzzing about ascript about aman on the lam who blew akiss to onlookers upon his capture. If that movie is made, Iwonder whetherhe’ll get to watch it and Iwonder whetherhe’ll cash in while living along life behind bars. Five months? “Toeasy.” Not strong. Bad boy off the streets. Good. Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

Stephanie Grace

Will Sutton Quin Hillyer

Derrick Groveswas recaptured in Atlanta on Wednesday

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Back in April, Brandon Staley had completed alate-night workoutat theNew Orleans Saints’ facilitywhen, rather than shower or go home,the defensivecoordinator studied more prospectsfor the NFL draft.

Stillsweatyand gross— or “fresh,”ashecalledit—Staley went down alistofsafeties and studied them onebyone.Hestarted with theirtackling tape, moved to theirplaysonthe ball, shifted to how they performed in the slot andﬁnishedbywatching entire games.

LSU-SouthCarolina endedafter this edition went to press. For complete coverage,visit theadvocate.com

Staley was there for hours. Months later, he stillvividly recalls this night because it wasthe ﬁrst time he watched Jonas Sanker “Histackling tape was as good as any safetyinthe draft,” Staley said. Sanker’s tackling wasn’talways noticed Longbefore he wasdraftedbythe Saints in the third round, he was used to being ignored. Growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia, Sankerplayed eight-man football at TheCovenantSchool —and because of it, colleges were slow to pay attention. Perhapscollege coaches were quick to dis-

miss the level of competition, as each week Covenant would steamroll its opponent. Perhaps they scoffedateight-man football, where three fewer players on each side of theballcreates loadsofspace anda trackmeet pace. Perhapstheywere too busyattending normal high school games. Butthose whobotheredtolookcould have discovered aplayer whosent opponents ﬂying off the ground with violent hits, anda playerwho handleda variety of rolesand had the capacity to thrive in each of them. Theycould have discovered Jonas Sanker. No one on the Saintsunexpectedly has been asked to handle more than the

See SAINTS, page 5C

BOOKENDED

PROVIDED PHOTOByBENJAMIN R. MASSEy/UL ATHLETICS

UL wide receiver Dale Martin breaksintothe open for a69-yard touchdown catch during Saturday’sroad game at James Madison.

BYKEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

HARRISONBURG, Va In many ways, UL’s 24-14 road loss to James Madison at Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday centered aroundtwo plays. They were back-to-back plays from scrimmage but separated by the20-minutehalftime session.

On theﬁnal playofthe ﬁrst half,the Cajunshad it on the JMU 1up14-7with only four secondsleft to play.ULcoach Michael Desormeaux electedto go for it and run the ball withBill Davis, but he wasstuffed to end the half.

“Wecame here, we came here to win thegame, and we came here to be aggressiveand …Ididn’tthinka

ﬁeld goal was going to be enough,” Desormeaux said.

“We’re down there on the 1, and we said we were going to play aggressive.

“Obviously in hindsight,you love to take them back. You’d love to put pointsonthe board, but the realityofitisthe ﬁrst quarter and third quarter,we were just never really able togenerate any offense.”

UL quarterback LunchWinfield saidthere was never adoubt about whether to go for it

“Weall knew,” he said. “Everybody knew we were going for it.There was no doubt.”

On theﬁrstplay from scrimmageinthe second half,the Dukesran adouble-reversepassfor a62yard touchdown pass to Landon Ellis to tie the game at 14-14.

The Cajuns never led again.

“It’sthe beginning of the third quarter,but Ifelt like that was them kind of saying, ‘You know,we gottoﬁnd away to getsomething done here,too,’

”DesormeauxsaidofJames Madison’strick play. “Obviously,you never wanttogive up atouchdown. It waswell-executed. It’s atough one to defend.”

Ellis later caught his third touchdownofthe game

—a4-yarder with 12:33 left in the fourth quarter to put the Dukesahead for good.Itwas ahuge gamefor Ellis, whoﬁnished with six receptions for 120 yard and three touchdowns.

The Dukesoutgained UL 477-288 and limited the

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Tiger Woods undergoes his seventh back surgery

Tiger Woods has gone through a seventh back surgery, this time to replace a disk in his lower back that had caused pain and mobility issues.

Woods said in a social media post he had the surgery in New York and said it was the right decision for his his health.

He did not mention how long it would keep him out of golf, though it was unclear whether he was going to try to play in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas or the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie. Both tournaments are in December

No. 8 Alabama edges No. 14 Missouri

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

COLUMBIA,Mo.— Ty Simpson threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns, including the clincher on fourth down to Daniel Hill with 3:16 to go, and eighth-ranked Alabama held off No. 14 Missouri 2724 on Saturday to give the Crimson Tide their fifth consecutive win.

Jam Miller added 85 yards rushing before leaving with a concussion in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Riley and Isaiah Horton also had TD catches for Alabama (5-1, 3-0 SEC), which has won seven straight over Missouri dating to Sept. 8, 1975.

“Nobody ﬂinched,” Simpson said afterward, scanning over the ﬁnal box score. “We’re going to keep punching.”

Beau Pribula kept punching for the Tigers (5-1, 1-1), too, hitting Donovan Olugbode for a touchdown with 1:39 left. And after the Crimson Tide pounced on the onside kick, Missouri forced a quick punt to get the ball back with 1:17 still on the clock.

Pribula connected with Olugbode again on fourth down to get close to midﬁeld, but he followed with two incompletions. Then on third down, Pribula overshot his target and was picked off by Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee to put the game away. The loss ended the Tigers’ 15game home winning streak, the second-longest nationally.

“We had an opportunity,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Proud of the way our defense fought. Proud of the way our offense fought. Ultimately we just had too many critical mistakes in critical situations.”

Pribula ﬁnished with 167 yards passing with two touchdowns and

two interceptions, and he also was the Tigers’ most effective runner with 61 yards and another score. The nation’s leading rusher, Ahmad Hardy, was held to just 52 yards.

“We did the job. Got the job done,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Each side of the ball, we covered for each other.”

Missouri got off to a good start, seemingly stunning Alabama on its opening drive. It took just six plays to march 78 yards, and Pribula threw a nifty lob to tight end Brett Norﬂeet down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead

Yet the Crimson Tide not only regained their composure, they

regained control. Simpson was nearly perfect on an answering TD drive. And after Missouri went three-and-out, the junior QB drove the Crimson Tide downﬁeld again, zipping a pass to Horton on third-and-long for a 16yard touchdown pass that made it 14-7. After each team added a field goal before halftime, Missouri took advantage of Simpson’s fumble — his only big mistake — on the ﬁrst play of the second half. Pribula juked his way into the end zone three plays later to tie the game 17-all.

Yet the Tigers were never able to regain the lead. Conor Talty added a go-ahead

COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25 ROUNDUP

field goal later in the third quarter for Alabama, and the Crimson Tide stopped Missouri on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter, shoving Jamal Roberts out of bounds just shy of the marker; replays appeared to show the running back reaching the ball far enough for a first down, but the spot was upheld by the officials. Alabama took over and, after Simpson converted on fourthand-8 with a throw to freshman Lotzeir Brooks, the SEC’s top passer found Hill in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the Missouri 2 with just over three minutes remaining to put it out of reach.

No. 7 Indiana topples No. 3 Oregon in tight battle

By The Associated Press

In Eugene, Oregon Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown and No. 7 Indiana remained undefeated with a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon on Saturday Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for the Hoosiers (60, 3-0 Big Ten), who frustrated the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) with stout defensive play Dante Moore threw for 186 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. He had two interceptions and was sacked six times. Both sides were coming off weeks off. In their last game, the Ducks beat Penn State 30-24 in double-overtime on the road in the annual White Out game. The Hoosiers beat Iowa 20-15 on the road No. 1 OHIO STATE 34, No. 17 ILLINOIS 16: In Champaign, Illinois, Julian Sayin passed for two touchdowns, C.J. Donaldson ran for two more scores, and the Ohio State defense forced three turnovers that resulted in 21 points as the Buckeyes defeated Illinois. Sayin completed 19 of 27 passes for 166 yards in leading Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten). Donaldson rushed for 44 yards. Jeremiah Smith had ﬁve catches for 42 yards and a TD. Illinois’ Luke Altmyer threw for 248 yards and a touchdown with an interception Aidan Laughery ran for 50 yards and a TD. Collin Dixon had four catches for 46 yards and a TD. No. 4 OLE MISS 24 WASHINGTON STATE 21: In Oxford, Mississippi, Trinidad Chambliss threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead Ole Miss over Washington State.

Ole Miss (6-0) trailed 14-10 late in the third period before Chambliss scored on a 17-yard touchdown scramble. Chambliss threw

a 35-yard touchdown pass to Cayden Lee to build a 24-14 lead with 6:51 remaining.

Chambliss went 20-of-29 passing for 253 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright to take a 10-7 halftime lead. Kewan Lacy had 24 rushes for 142 yards. Ole Miss ﬁnished with 439 yards of total offense.

PITTSBURGH 34, No. 25 FLORIDA STATE

31: In Tallahassee, Florida, Mason

Heintschel threw for 321 yards and connected with Desmond Reid on a pair of touchdown passes as Pittsburgh defeated Florida State.

A true freshman, Heintschel completed 21 of 29 passes and tossed a pair of second-quarter interceptions. But he has surpassed 300 passing yards in both of his starts, building off a rout of Boston College last week with a road upset of the Seminoles.

Reid had eight catches for 155 yards and 10 carries for 38 yards for Pittsburgh (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference)

No. 13 GEORGIA TECH 35,VIRGINIA TECH 20: In Atlanta, Malachi Hosley ran for 129 yards and a touchdown, Haynes King had two scoring runs and Georgia Tech used a strong start to beat short-handed Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won its first six games for the first time since 2011. The Yellow Jackets scored the game’s first 18 points. No. 13 NOTRE DAME 36, N.C. STATE 7: In South Bend, Indiana, C.J. Carr passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns, and Notre Dame pulled away from N.C. State in the second half for a victory Carr connected on 19 of 31 passes, including TD tosses of 18 yards to K.K. Smith and 12 yards to Will Pauling in the third quarter

Jeremiyah Love rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame (4-2), which has won four in a row

TEXAS 23, No. 6 OKLAHOMA 6: In Dallas, Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown

in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed win over Oklahoma in their annual Red River Rivalry game. Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.

COLORADO 24,No.22 IOWA STATE 17: In Boulder, Colorado, Kaidon Salter tossed two touchdown passes and Colorado’s defense came up big in the fourth quarter with an interception and a fourth-down stop to help the Buffaloes beat Iowa State. Salter threw for 255 yards, including a 70-yard TD strike to Omarion Miller, as the Buffaloes (34, 1-3 Big 12) snapped a two-game skid. Salter took a knee to close out the game and threw the ball high into the air. The students rushed the field despite warnings from the public address announcer No. 12 TENNESSEE 34, ARKANSAS 31: In Knoxville, Tennessee, DeSean Bishop rushed for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown to lead Tennessee to a victory over Arkansas in the Razorbacks’ first game since coach Sam Pittman was fired. The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) got 221 yards passing and a touchdown from Joey Aguilar Peyton Lewis rushed for two touchdowns. Under interim coach Bobby Petrino, Arkansas (2-4, 0-2) lost three fumbles and Taylen Green was sacked five times. Mike Washington rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Tennessee was flagged for 10 penalties for 78 yards. Green threw for 256 yards and two TDs and ran for 63 yards and a score

He hasn’t played since a playoff loss in the PNC Championship last year

Vacherot beats Djokovic to set up all-cousins final SHANGHAI Two cousins will meet in the final of the Shanghai Masters after qualifier Valentin Vacherot stunned a hobbled Novak Djokovic and relative Arthur Rinderknech fought back to beat Daniil Medvedev on Saturday The 204th-ranked Vacherot earned the biggest win of his career by downing Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to become the lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Masters 1000 history, the ATP said. A couple of hours after beating Djokovic, Vacherot walked back onto the court and hugged Rinderknech to help celebrate his cousin’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback win over Medvedev and relish the rare moment. Sunday’s final will be the first time the cousins have played each other on the ATP circuit. Vacherot was an alternate in qualifying but is having a career week.

Gauff knocks off Paolini, to face Pegula in finals

Coco Gauff overcame seven double faults to beat Jasmine Paolini and will meet compatriot Jessica Pegula in the Wuhan Open ﬁnal after the 31-year-old American ended top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak at the tournament. Gauff defeated Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday after both top-10 players struggled with their serves.

The third-ranked Gauff fought back from three breaks in the second set, which included her run of five consecutive double faults, and won the final four games to advance to the final.

“I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

The 21-year-old Gauff, who changed her serving coach in August, leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, over 120 more than the next player

MLB disciplines Padres players for ump dispute

San Diego Padres infielder Jose Iglesias was suspended Friday for one game and fined for unprofessional conduct toward the umpires during the final game of the club’s Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs, MLB announced.

Infielder Xander Bogaerts was also fined an undisclosed amount for his conduct during the interaction that followed the final out at Wrigley Field on Oct. 2 when the Padres were eliminated from the postseason by Chicago.

The Padres had a pointed shouting match with the umpiring crew as it left the ﬁeld after the Cubs’ 3-1 victory Home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn called a third strike on Bogaerts for the ﬁrst out in the ninth inning on a pitch that appeared to be below the zone. An infuriated Bogaerts argued with Reyburn.

Lafayette area boy golfer qualifies for Masters trip

A young golfer from the Lafayette area is going to the home of the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, for a special event. Greer Rowell of Broussard was one of 80 regional winners to qualify for the 2026 Drive, Chip and Putt competition. The event will be held April 5 at Augusta National Golf Club, the day before the start of Masters week. Rory McIlroy is the reigning champion after completing the career Grand Slam this year Rowell qualiﬁed in the boys 7-9 age group, the youngest allowed to compete He won his age group Oct. 5 at a regional at PGA Frisco outside Dallas.

Forty girls and 40 boys ages 7-15 will take part in the event which began in 2013.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By L.G. PATTERSON Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson throws a pass over Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride during a game on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LyDIA ELy

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza slides with the ball during the first half against Oregon on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.

SCOREBOARD

Rehak; Right, Chris Guccione; Left, John Tumpane. T_4:58. A_47,025 (47,929)

Golf

Baycurrent Classic Saturday At Yokohama CountryClub Kanagawa,Japan Purse: $8 million Yardage: 7,315; Par: 71 ThirdRound Max Greyserman 67-63-71—201 -12

Xander Schauffele

71-63-67—201 -12

Byeong Hun An 69-69-66—204 -9

Nicolas Echavarria 70-65-69—204 -9

Garrick Higgo 71-65-68—204 -9 Si WooKim 71-64-69—204 -9

Michael Thorbjornsen 69-69-66—204 -9

MinWoo Lee73-65-67—205 -8

Sahith Theegala 68-67-70—205 -8

Beau Hossler69-68-69—206 -7

Alex Noren 69-65-73—207 -6

Camilo Villegas 71-66-70—207 -6

Rasmus Hojgaard72-68-68—208 -5

Sungjae Im 71-70-67—208 -5 Takumi Kanaya 68-70-70—208

Mac Meissner73-68-67—208

Hideki Matsuyama 72-68-69—209

McGreevy 70-69-70—209

Ryan Gerard70-72-68—210

Nicolai Hojgaard68-70-72—210

Mitchell 75-62-73—210

Jin HeeIm67-70-69—206 -10

Auston Kim 71-68-67—206 -10

Pauline Roussin 68-68-70—206 -10

Sarah Schmelzel 66-72-68—206 -10

Shiyuan Zhou 70-66-70—206 -10

HyeJin Choi 70-68-69—207 -9

Nanna KoerstzMadsen 70-71-66—207 -9 Arpichaya Yubol 64-71-72—207 -9 AriyaJutanugarn 70-68-70—208 -8

-8

Hataoka73-69-67—209 -7

-7

-7 Carlota Ciganda 69-75-66—210 -6 Esther Henseleit 73-67-70—210 -6

LucyLi70-69-71—210 -6 Rio Takeda 69-70-71—210 -6

Lilia Vu 71-70-69—210 -6

RobynChoi 69-74-68—211 -5

Gemma Dryburgh 71-70-70—211 -5 Stephanie Kyriacou70-71-70—211 -5

MaryLiu 69-74-68—211 -5

YanLiu 72-67-72—211 -5

Julia Lopez Ramirez 69-69-73—211 -5

HiraNaveed 71-70-70—211 -5

Yijia Ren75-69-67—211 -5

Paula Reto 74-70-67—211 -5

Ruoning Yin 71-68-72—211 -5 Ashleigh Buhai68-71-73—212 -4

71-70-71—212 -4

De Roey 74-71-67—212 -4

He 70-69-73—212 -4 Gurleen Kaur 71-70-71—212 -4 GabyLopez 72-71-69—212 -4 Cassie Porter70-72-70—212 -4

Tavatanakit 69-70-73—212 -4 Leona Maguire72-72-69—213 -3

Gabriela Ruffels 69-71-73—213 -3

Albane Valenzuela 71-69-73—213 -3

Yuri Yoshida 73-69-71—213 -3

Weiwei Zhang71-73-69—213 -3

Aditi Ashok 70-70-74—214 -2

Saki Baba71-70-73—214 -2

Karis Davidson 70-72-72—214 -2

KristenGillman 73-72-69—214 -2

NataliyaGuseva70-73-71—214 -2

JenniferKupcho 66-75-73—214 -2 Yu Liu 71-70-73—214 -2

Emily Pedersen 69-71-74—214 -2 Yuai Ji 70-75-70—215 -1

Na Rin An 70-72-74—216 E

BrookeMatthews76-72-68—216 E

Anannarukarn73-71-73—217 +1 Haeji Kang 72-75-70—217 +1 Shuying Li 69-76-72—217 +1 Runzhi Pang 72-71-74—217 +1

Yujie Liu 76-73-69—218 +2

Benedetta Moresco 75-72-72—219 +3

Miranda Wang 70-75-74—219 +3

Zining An 72-74-75—221 +5

Yu Yuan Jiang 73-77-71—221 +5

Chang 74-76-75—225 +9

Angel Yin 78-75-76—229 +13

Yahui Zhang 80-75-75—230 +14

College football

Friday’s games

Kodaira73-72-75—220

Naoto Nakanishi 73-77-74—224 +11

Sami Valimaki72-76-76—224 +11

DannyWalker 80-69-75—224 +11

DavisRiley75-79-71—225 +12

Buick LPGAShanghai

Saturday At Qizhong Garden GolfClub Shanghai Purse: $2.2million Yardage: 6,703; Par: 72 ThirdRound Minami Katsu 70-61-68—199 -17

Minjee Lee65-71-65—201 -15

Jeeno Thitikul 65-70-66—201 -15

JennyBae 65-69-68—202 -14

Somi Lee68-67-67—202 -14

00 00

Kirbypitched to 1batter in the 6th, Brash pitched to 2batters in the 8th, Gilbert pitched to 2batters in the 12th. HBP_Kirby(Keith), Vest (Arozarena), K.Montero(Robles), Kahnle(Arozarena). Umpires_Home, Alan Porter; First,Nate Tomlinson;Second, Alex Tosi; Third,Jeremie

Lindy Duncan 67-67-70—204 -12

Sei Young Kim 69-69-66—204 -12

ALim Kim 71-65-68—204 -12

JennyShin 65-73-66—204 -12 Ying Xu 66-73-65—204 -12 Miyu Yamashita 67-70-67—204 -12 Ina Yoon 65-68-72—205 -11

Mariners advanceinlongest winner-take-allMLB game

Polancodelivers game-winning single in 15th

BY LUKE OLSON Associated Press

SEATTLE Jorge Polanco hit agame-ending single in the 15th inning, and the Seattle Mariners advancedtothe American League Championship Series by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday night in thelongestwinner-take-all postseasongame in baseball history With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P.Crawford with aliner to right on afull-count changeup from Tommy Kahnle. Crawfordheld his arms in the air as he touched home plate while the Mariners poured out of the dugout to celebrate in front of afrenzied crowd of 47,025. Crawford hit aleadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by apitch and Julio Rodríguezwas intentionally walked beforePolanco’sbig swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game5 that clocked in at 4hours 58 minutes. It was the third one-run game —all with a3-2 score —inatightly contested AL Division Series.

“I know we played along game, butthis teamnever gave up,” Polanco said. “I know there is alot of emotion, but we are always trying to keep it simple.I’m

justtrying to go out there and play and trying toget the win.”

TheMariners left 12 runners on base and still managed to advance to theALCS for the ﬁrst time since 2001. Next up is amatchupwith the AL East champion Blue Jays, beginning on Sunday night at Toronto.

“Just an incredible ballgame from top to bottom,” Marinersmanager Dan Wilson said.

Luis Castillopitched11/3 innings for the win in his first majorleague relief appearance. Logan Gilbert, another member of the Seattle rotation, worked two scoreless innings in his ﬁrst relief outing sincehis collegedaysatStetson in 2017.

“It was such atough night,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said. “Everyone put their other stuff aside anddid everythingfor the team, including Logan and Luis.” Detroit wasted astellar performance by Tarik Skubal, who struck out 13 while pitching six innings of one-runball. TheTigers went 1for 9with runners in scoring positionand left 10 on base.

“Wehad an incredible game today that, unfortunately,somebody had to lose,and that somebody was us, and ithurts,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.

Kerry Carpenter put Detroit in front when he hit atwo-runhomer offGabe Speierinthe sixth inning.

Carpenterhad fourhitsand walked twice, becoming the ﬁrst player to reach ﬁve times andhit ahome run in awinner-take-all postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1926, according to STATS.

TheMariners tied it at 2-2 on Leo Rivas’ pinchhit single off Tyler Holton in theseventh. Rivascelebrated his 28thbirthday with his first postseason hit.

“He was up to the tasktonight,” Wilson said. “It was a huge hit.”

The Mariners had a runner on second withno outs in the 10th, 12thand 13th inning —and came up emptyeachtime. Arozarena and Eugenio Suárez both grounded into adoubleplayinextra innings.

The Tigers threatened in the12th, putting runners on second andthird with one out. Zach McKinstry was cutdown at home when he attempted to score on Javier Báez’s grounder to third. AfterCarpenter waswalkedintentionally, Gleyber Torres ﬂied out to right

Dillon Dingler hit aoneout double for Detroit in the 14th,but he was stranded therewhen Parker Meadows struck out looking against EduardBazardo and Castillo retired Báez on apopup to ﬁrst

“Guys just kept battling. There were opportunities on both sides after the ninth inning,” Hinch said.

EAST Brown29, Bryant 19 Harvard34, Cornell 10 Penn 28, Marist 9 SOUTHWEST South Florida 63, North Texas36 FARWEST Washington 38, Rutgers 19 Colorado St. 49, FresnoSt. 21 Saturday’s scores EAST Army24, Charlotte 7 CCSU 24, Robert Morris 12 Dartmouth 17, Yale 16 Delaware St. 70, S. Connecticut23 Duquesne 52, St. Francis (Pa.) 7 Lafayette 62, Bucknell 24 Lehigh 31, Columbia 7 Maine 20, Merrimack13 Marshall 48, Old Dominion 24 Mercer 38, Princeton14 Mercyhurst 19, Wagner7 Monmouth (NJ) 42, Towson 31 Morgan St. 44, Va.Lynchburg6 Navy 32, Temple 31 Nebraska34, Maryland 31 New Haven69, W. Connecticut0 Northwestern 22, Penn St. 21 Rhode Island 38, NewHampshire27 Richmond 24, Colgate 19 Sacred Heart 32, Howard 14 SOUTH Abilene Christian 30, West Georgia13 Alabama A&M

JorgePolanco reacts after hitting the game-winning singlefor Seattle in the 15th inning in Game 5of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers on Friday in Seattle.

AP PHOTO By LINDSEyWASSON

Banks’ under-the-radar play what Saints ordered

games andhas allowed just one sack in 199pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Banks is coming off his best game of the season. Going against eliteGiants edge rushers Abdul Carter and Brian Burns, he allowed zero sacks and just onepressure in 32 pass-rush snaps.It wasthe kind of performance the Saints were hoping they’d get from Banks when they selected him withthe No. 9overall pick in the 2025 draft

“He’sjust steady ”Saintscoach Kellen Moore said. “He’squiet,and he does his work. He’svery detailed in what he does.

Ijust thought he had sometremendous sets in pass-rush situations in this past game. It was just really clean.” For what it’sworth, Banks’ block-

of thetop edgerushers in the league, including Carter, Burns, Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa. For the most part, he’sbeen left on an island to block them.Banks hashad one-on-one blocking assignments 72%ofthe time, more than any tackle in theleague so far,according to PFF

“He has some things you can’tcoach, and he plays to his strengths really well,” veteran guard CesarRuizsaid of the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Banks. “I just love watching him excel right now.”

Banks said he is looking forward to seeing fellowrookie left tackle Campbell this weekendwhenthe Saints entertain the Patriots. Campbell, the former LSU All-American,and Banks traveled similar paths to the NFL.Both were rankedamong the top tackle prospects

tackle

sive) to see as arookie. He and Taliese Fuaga are very impressive as ayoung tackle tandem.”

Some fans criticized the Saints for taking Banks so highly in the draft. Despite winning the Outland and Lombardi trophies as the top offensive lineman in college football, he lacked name recognition for many casual fans. After seeing the Saints select offensive or defensive line-

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByTyLER KAUFMAN

Saints offensivetackle Kelvin Banks,right, blocks Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

Jeff Duncan

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

22-year-old rookie. When starter Julian Blackmon went down with aseason-endingshoulder injury after Week 1, New Orleansturnedtothe hard-hitting Sanker.And aheadofSunday’s game against the New EnglandPatriots, no one —atleast on the defense—has exceeded expectations more than Sanker

The Saints aren’tjust asking Sanker to make the kind of thudding blows that wowed Staley allthose months ago.They’vetasked the Virginiaproduct to be the last line of defense, a ball-hawking, back-end safety who canreadand react to what opposing offenses are doing.

He hasbecomesoimportant to thedefense that coaches no longer use Sanker on special teams —anaspect of Sanker’scollegetapethat Staley also found “unbelievable.”

His ascension is areminder that good players can come from anywhere,Staleysaid. Evenif they have to play eight-man football ﬁrst.

“Probably in the recruiting process, (eightman football) might hurt you,” Saints defensive pass-game coordinator Terry Joseph said, “but in thelong run, it probably helpsyou out.”

Areasontostay

When he coached Sanker at Covenant, Seth Wilson insists opposing coaches would go to the referees at halftime of lopsided games and threaten to have their teams walk out if Covenant didn’tsit Sanker and his brother Nic for the rest of the game.

Wilsonsaid he offeredacompromise.

“I’m like, ‘All right, I’m going to take them off offense,but I’m goingtoput them on defense, and you guys are notgoingtoget anotheryard for the rest of the game,’ ”Wilson said.

In high school,Sanker primarily played quarterback and linebacker.Hewas agifted athlete, someone who could jump over an oncoming tackler or sprint downhill to crushanoncoming ball carrier.Sanker’srecruiting ﬁnally pickedupafter his junior season, whichproved to be fortunatesince the pandemiccanceled his senior season.

DEFENSIVELEADERS

home.Not when his younger siblings and mother needed him.

“Jonaswas here, and he was justlike, ‘I will be that guy,’ ”Wilsonsaid. “‘Iwill be that person with car rides in the morningtoschool. Iwill helpget them to practice. I’ll helpdoall that. I will come help take care of dad.’”

Wasthat alot to place on akid’sshoulders?

“Yeah, but he wasbuilt for it,” Wilson said.

“The whole family is.”

‘The Messiah’

Curome Coxliked to tease Sankerwhenhe coached him at Virginia.

The safetyoften would shower his coaches with feedback and ask for certain changes. So Cox, the defensivebacks coachand defensive pass-game coordinator,coined anickname for Sanker.

“Weused to jokearound and call him ‘The Messiah,’ just because in Jonas’mind— rightfully so —hewas the chosen one to comeand save UVAfootball,” Cox said.

Therewas a“glow” that Sanker had in meetings, and Cox said he alwaystoldSankerhe needed to take that energy onto the ﬁeld and dominate.

ThemessagetookholdinSanker’sﬁnalseason. In an upset over No. 23 Pittsburgh, Sanker wrecked thegame with an interception and ﬁeld goal block off the edge. He routinely pinned Pittsburgh in challenging field position as agunner in punt coverage.

“That was the growth andthe jokeofThe Messiah really coming to fruition,” Cox said.

TEAM STATS

Forme, it’s like, I’m able to have alittle bit of success,but at thesame time, I’m also able to see, ‘Wow,I have so muchmore to grow.’ ... Ihaveso manythings that Iwant to work on and continue to getbetter at.”

At Virginia,the Cavaliers expanded Sanker’sgame. As well as he tackledinhigh school, the Virginia coaches reﬁned his technique furtherinhopes of keeping apattern of shoulder injuries from bothering him They also madehim asafety Boston College recruited Sanker as alinebacker,and the 22-yearoldsaidhehad other offers to play quarterback, running back and cornerback.

“I don’tthink Iwould have been an NFLplayer”ifnot for theposition change, Sanker said. “Safetyisthe right ﬁt for me.”

JONAS

He enjoyed astandoutjunior campaign that included one of his hits landing on USA Today’s tophigh school plays of the week. On that play,Sanker’ssudden impact lifted his opponent off of his feet and ﬂatonto his back.

SANKER Saints safety

It’salsothe rightfit for the Saints. Through the ﬁrst month of theseason,Sankerhas had several big moments. Against theBuffalo Bills,hecame ﬂying in to pick off MVPquarterback Josh Allen. Aweek later against theNew York Giants, Sanker recovereda fumble that Demario Davis forced.

STAFF PREDICTIONS

“I enjoy tackling,” Sanker said.“Ienjoy those big moments.That’sjust howI’ve alwaysbeen.” Joseph has atheory.Withthe extraspacing eight-manfootball provides,Sankergot achance to hone his tackling by having therunwayto hit a higher rate of speed. It also helpedhim become comfortable covering in theopenﬁeld— even though Sanker didn’tplaysafety then Sanker did not intentionally play eight-man football. Covenant was forced to downsize its program duringSanker’ssophomore andjunior years because the school didn’t have enough students willing to ﬁeld awhole football team. The switch was “the only way to savethe sport at our school,” Wilson said At times, Wilson wondered whether Sanker would have been better off transferringtoa Washington, D.C., powerhouse such as Gonzaga. He even broached the topic with Sanker’sfather His father, George, was the headmaster at Covenant. As one of seven children, Jonas didn’t want to leave his other siblings. It wasapreviewofwhatwas to come.When he finally received interest from colleges, Sanker initiallycommitted to Boston College. He flipped his recruitment to Virginia after hisfatherwas diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Sanker didn’t— more like wouldn’t —leave

The rookie alsoismaking less noticeable plays. The Giants, for instance, tested Sanker with adeep shotnear the sideline,but he held hisown in coverage by noticing theway the receiver was looking for the ball.

Even on that sequence, Sanker sees ways to improve. If he hadn’tbeen stuck as close to the wideout, he said, he could have had achance to intercept the pass.

“Forme, it’s like, I’m able to have alittle bit of success, but at the same time, I’malso able to see, ‘Wow,Ihavesomuch moretogrow,’ Sanker said. “I have so manythings thatI want to work on and continue to get better at “Itisencouraging to see theceiling Ihave but I’m really ready togrow and get better.”

His coaches would agree with that assessment.IfBlackmon was a“10 out of 10” as arunning mate acrossfromstarterJustinReid, Joseph estimates Sanker is an “8.5” when it comes to complementing theveteran. The coaching staff loved the way Reid could wreak havocin thebox while trusting Blackmon to play deep.

Butthe Saints areencouraged by theprogress Sanker alreadyhas made.

“For us, it was ano-brainer when he was still on theboard at our pick,” Joseph said.

Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate.com

JEFF DUNCAN

SAINTS 24,PATRIOTS23: TheSaints catchthe Patriots at theright time —in thewakeofanemotional Sunday night upsetovera division rival. Nowthe Patriots travel to play an unheralded andunfamiliar opponent.The Saints won’tget five takeawaysinthisone,but they won’tneedthem.

LUKE JOHNSON

PATRIOTS 26,SAINTS20: Thereare some compellingreasons to pick the Saints forthe second straightweek, butultimatelythisone feelslikeit will come down to quarterbackplay. NewEngland QB DrakeMayeisone of theNFL’s bright youngstars,and that should be thedifferenceinthis game

MATTHEWPARAS

PATRIOTS 28,SAINTS21: ThePatriots have said allthe rightthingsabout taking theSaintsseriously this week, andIdon’t expect them to have a letdownevenafter theirhugewin over theBuffalo Bills. ButI likethe Saints to hang around in this onebeforeDrake Maye proves to be toomuch.

RODWALKER

PATRIOTS 20,SAINTS17: I’ve changedmymineonthisone since theseasonbegan.There is achance thePatriotswill be

STAFF FILEPHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Saints safety JonasSanker tackles SanFrancisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffreyduring the first half of agame on Sept.14at

Carson Gurzi, Carencro

The sophomore quarterback set the school record for single-game passing yards with 412 yards on 19-of-22 passing and four touchdowns. He also ran it six times for 27 yards and a fifth touchdown in a convincing 63-7 win over Lafayette High.

PREP REWIND

FIVE STARS OF THE NIGHT

De’Maurion Cormier, Kaplan

The Pirates running back embodied the definition of a workhorse running back with 41 carries for 327 yards and five touchdowns to help Kaplan survive a 51-42 shootout win over Patterson, whose quarterback threw for 420 yards and five TDs in the loss.

Justin Williams, Southside

Speaking of workhorse backs, the Sharks’ leading rusher enjoyed a powerhouse performance of his own with 242 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in a district win over Sam Houston.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Luke Green, Lafayette Christian

The Knights’ senior safety and UL commitment came up big in a blowout win. He had two interceptions — one he returned for a score — and added a blocked punt return for a second touchdown.

Jaden Celestine, Comeaux

It was yet another huge night of rushing for the Spartans’ dynamic running back. Celestine exploded for 265 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries to push Comeaux to a 4-2 record on the season.

Lafayette Christian crushes LRCA

Knights score in all three phases in rout

BY BRANDON COMEAUX

Contributing writer

In a game featuring two of the top teams in Lafayette, it was the Lafayette Christian Knights who reigned supreme as they beat neighborhood rival Lafayette Renaissance 48-7 to open District 6-2A on Friday night at Knight Field.

The Knights scored in all three phases: four touchdowns on offense, two interceptions returned for touchdowns on defense and a blocked punt returned for a

touchdown on special teams.

Senior safety Luke Green, a UL commitment, scored the ﬁrst of two pick-sixes as his 62-yard return gave the Knights a 12-0 lead in the second quarter

“I just read the quarterback’s eyes (Kennan Brown) as he stared down his receiver, and I just jumped the route,” Green said.

Green later scored on the ﬁrst play of the fourth quarter as he caught a blocked punt and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown and the final points of an

LCA rout.

“Luke Green had a great game, and he really sparked us,” LCA coach Matt Standiford said.

“Special-teams touchdowns are always huge, and that gave us another spark as well.”

The Tigers keyed in on stopping sophomore sensation running back Caiden Bellard early on, forcing the Knights to go threeand-out on their ﬁrst two drives.

Quarterback Braylon Walker, also a UL commit, eventually got the Knights on the scoreboard

ﬁrst as he ran it in from 35 yards

out. He added another 9-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a touchdown pass to wide receiver Brayden Allen, an Oklahoma commit. Walker ﬁnished the game with 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries and 143 yards passing and one touchdown on 12-of-18 passing.

Bellard ﬁnished with 28 rushing yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and ran in a successful 2-point conversion attempt.

“Offensively, we struggled a little bit in the first half, but it turned around later in the game and we had some explosive plays,” Standiford said.

Defensively the Knights were near dominant. They held the Ti-

gers to 189 yards of total offense to go along with the two pick-sixes, one of them returned 44 yards to the end zone by senior two-way standout Draylon August. LCA only gave up one touchdown, a 49yard touchdown pass from Brown to wide receiver Ja’Courey Duhon in the third quarter after the Knights had built up a 27-0 lead.

“The defense was phenomenal,” Standiford said. “I thought our linebackers played great, and our secondary probably had their best game of the year.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Joseph Adams led the Knights with eight tackles and a sack while Green added seven tackles to go with his pick-six.

St. Thomas More cruises to blowout win over Northside

BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

The zero on the scoreboard looked mighty good to Jim Hightower The legendary St. Thomas More football coach was greeted with a round of soft laughter as he spoke to his defense, which knelt in the end zone in the shadows of the scoreboard after a 42-0 win over visiting Northside in a District 4-4A game on Friday

“We were trying to count the turnovers,” Hightower said when asked about the postgame discussion with coordinator Terry Tidwell’s unit. “It took us a while We had ﬁve: three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.” Northside (4-2, 2-1) came into the game having scored 47 or more points in three wins with one quarterback (Kaleb Joseph) among the area’s top passers, another (Chace Dugas) who has rushed for over 200 yards in a game, and two of the area’s top receivers in Jai Joseph

and Javante Broussard.

But junior defensive back John David and senior linebacker Landon Bienvenu each had an interception for the Cougars, who held Westgate to 18 points last week.

Linebacker Walker Pugh, who has been extremely active, continued that trend, while defensive back Landen Orte forced and recovered a fumble. Senior William Moses ran the ball in on a 17-yard fourth-quarter scoop-and-score, and senior defensive end Connor McAtee had an exceptional effort in holding the Vikings scoreless.

“I’m just proud of our defense,” Hightower said. “They kept the shutout up there and played hard throughout the game. We’re still gaining momentum, I think.”

With leading rusher Carter Melancon out with an injury, quarterback Cole Bergeron and running back Owen Bailey stepped up by combining for four touchdowns on the ground

Bailey scored from 45 yards on the second play of the game and

rushed for 75 yards on six carries. He also had a 14-yard reception from Bergeron, who ran for three scores.

“That’s absolutely a career high,” Hightower said of Bergeron’s rushing-TD total. “Some of it was the way they were setting their defense. A lot of it was Cole making good decisions.”

At one point in the first half, STM (4-2, 2-0) had three touchdowns, and the Vikings had run four plays Northside fumbled it away on their first play after Tavion Arceneaux’s 69-yard kick return gave them good field position.

Bergeron, who came into the game as the area’s passing leader, threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to senior Christian Breaux for a 14-0 lead. Alex Manuel had a 12-yard carry on the drive.

“We had a lot of guys that made plays for us tonight,” Hightower said. “Hopefully they’re going to make that a habit.”

Raﬁ Tammariello, Carter Meaux, Jacques Christie, Jackson Pere

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Lafayette Christian defenders swarm Lafayette Renaissance quarterback Kennan Brown for a sack during the Knights’ 48-7 win on Friday.

PHOTO By LEE BALL

St. Thomas More’s defense posted a shutout in the district win over Northside on Friday.

PREP REWIND

Acadiana survives Barbe for third straight victory

BY NICK FONTENOT

Contributing writer

Acadiana was tested in every way Friday night before escaping with a 49-42 win over Barbe.

The Rams had cruised through the past two weeks against New Iberia and Sulphur, winning with 60- and 63-point shutouts But Barbe refused to be another blowout. The Bucs traded punches, led at halftime and pushed Acadiana deeper than any district opponent so far “I want to take my hat off to Barbe,” Acadiana coach Doug Dotson said. “They came in with a great game plan, and they’re a tremendous football team. Their coaches did a great job getting them ready That was a knockdown, drag-out ballgame, man I’m just glad we came out on the good end of it.”

Dotson said he’d warned his players all week that this one would be different.

“Our battle cry was simple: You’re going to have adversity in this game, so how are you going to handle it?” he said. “We had two kids go down, and that’s hard Those are your brothers. But we came together, prayed on the sideline, and they handled it.”

Acadiana lost two players to injuries in the first half, adding emotional weight to a game already teetering on chaos. Meanwhile, Barbe quarterback Jelandon Gray kept the Rams defense on its heels, spreading the field and finding ways to exploit coverages before halftime. Barbe lead 28-21

at the break

“(Gray) is one of the most explosive players I’ve seen in a long time,” Dotson said. “I give all the credit to (defensive coordinator Matt) Morreau and his staff. They made great halftime adjustments and did what they had to do to hold them down.”

Once the defense settled in, Acadiana leaned on its identity: the punishing veer offense. Quarterback Ty Lamartina once again proved to be the steadying force, even throwing for a pair of touchdowns.

“Ty wouldn’t even come off for kickoffs,” Dotson said. “He’s making tackles inside the 20 If

we asked him to play guard, he’d probably get out there and block the crap out of somebody He’s just answered the call and is playing really good football.”

Despite the win not being how Dotson drew it up he wasn’t apologizing for the result. Dotson said he knows how the Rams beat Barbe wasn’t pretty, but they needed to win a game like the one Friday night.

“There’s no such thing as an ugly win,” he said. “That was the test we needed Our kids fought, they responded to the adversity, and they earned every bit of it. This is the kind of win that pays dividends down the road.”

Westminster tops Opelousas Catholic on game-winning FG

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

For much of the week, Westminster Christian Crusaders kicker Mac Proffitt had been dealing with a groin issue. And while it was something to monitor as the week progressed, it became even more worrisome when he aggravated the injury during a kickoff in Thursday’s game against parish rival Opelousas Catholic.

“My groin had been bothering me since Tuesday,” Profﬁtt said. “It is something that I struggled with all week. Then on that kickoff, I kind of could tell something was wrong.” Nevertheless, if the opportunity presented itself for him to be needed for a big kick, Profﬁtt was determined to not allow the injury to hinder him.

“I have one job. I told my teammates, if my snapper and holder do their jobs, I’d do mine,” Proffitt said. “If everybody did their job, we would win this game.” And Proffitt was right. With the Crusaders trailing 2221 with mere seconds remaining in the game, Proffitt nailed a 30yard field goal to give Westminster a 24-22 win over the Vikings.

“This is the biggest win of the year for sure,” Proffitt said. “Playing against a school that is right down the street from us and is a rival, it doesn’t get any better than that.” Proffitt had two attempts at the game-winning kick after the ﬁrst one appeared to be partially tipped and ultimately fell short of the goalpost. However, the Vikings were ﬂagged for a disconcerting penalty due to members of the defense saying “go-go” and “hut-hut” to induce a false start by

by Royce Butler to take a 22-21

lead with 1:31 left in the fourth.

However, on the ensuing kickoff, Damien Thomas ﬁelded the ball for the Crusaders at the WCA 22-yard line and returned it 25 yards to the 47. But an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Vikings moved the football up 15 yards to the Vikings 38-yard line with 1:24 left on the clock.

A handful of plays later, and the Vikings moved into ﬁeld-goal range to set up Proffitt’s gamewinner

the Crusaders offensive line.

“Our goal was to get in a range where he would be comfortable and his leg wouldn’t be affected that much,” Crusaders coach Byron Porter said. “We felt comfortable with where we were on the ﬁrst attempt, and the penalty on them got us even closer for the second shot.

Proffitt’s kick thwarted an impressive comeback by the Vikings, who overcame a 21-10 deficit with 5:20 remaining by scoring two touchdowns in three minutes and 49 seconds to take a 22-21 lead The first touchdown was a 73yard pass on the first play of the drive from quarterback Kross Gillen to USC commit Roderick Tezeno to pull the Vikings within five at 21-16 with 5:05 remaining in the game.

After their defense forced a three and out to get Opelousas Catholic the football back, the Vikings went 59 yards in seven plays, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard touchdown run

“We had to develop some poise,” Porter said. “We are always talking about having to overcome adversity, and (Thursday) we had to overcome adversity And our kids didn’t ﬂinch. We played solid in all three phases of the game.”

Offensively, the Crusaders were led by Kyle Horde, Stephen George and Cayden Brown. Horde rushed for a game-high 154 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, George ﬁnished with 72 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and Brown, who ﬁlled in admirably when Horde left the game late in the third quarter, recorded 46 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

“Kyle did great,” Porter said. “He got a little banged up, but he ran really hard. He also played really well on defense. That’s what we expect from him. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

In the losing effort, the Vikings were led by Butler, who ﬁnished with a team-high 147 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, and Tezeno, who had three receptions for 107 yards and a score.

“It’s a great win,” Porter said. “We hadn’t beaten them for a while, and now we have beaten them in back-to-back years. It feels great.”

(C-A-HI)

Punts-avg Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 10-84 6-65

SCORINGSUMMARY Loreauville 7 14 7 7 35 Delcambre 0 0 0 0 —0

LHS: Ridge Honore 5 run (Andrew Chambers kick)

LHS: Blake Delcambre Jr. 22 run (Chambers kick)

LHS: Blaise Romero 50 pass from Delcambre (Chambers kick)

LHS: Thomas Carter 6 run (Chambers kick)

LHS: Jamisen Kowalewski 3 run (Chambers kick) Northwest 42, Ville Platte 0

VillePlatte

Punts-avg 2-48 4-25

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 3-15 5-30

SCORINGSUMMARY Northwest 14 14 7 7 42

VillePlatte 0 0 0 0 —0

NWEST — Jayden Lazard 35 pass from Chaise Dupre (Gavin Fontenot kick)

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Acadiana running back Dion Simon runs as Barbe defender Trey Foney gives chase during the Rams’ 49-42 win on Friday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE Westminster Christian running back Kyle Horde, center, rushed for a game-high 154 yards in the Crusaders’ 24-22 win over Opelousas Catholic on Thursday.

JAMES MADISON 24, UL 14

THREE AND OUT: KEVIN FOOTE’S TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM THE CAJUNS’ LOSS AT JAMES MADISON

DEFENSE PLAYED GUTSY

1

The box score may not have looked as good as it seemed watching the game

The Dukes’ offense collected 21 first downs and 477 total yards, but it was a gutsy performance for UL’s defense.All things considered, it was the best defensive coordinator Jim Salgado’s unit has looked this season. It came up with key stops to give the offense a chance and produced enough turnovers for an upset.All of that despite the Dukes running 24 more plays than UL and controlling the clock for most of the game James Madison’s offense got off 81 plays to 57 for the Cajuns.That difference was too much to overcome.

STRANGE GAME FOR LUNCH

2

It’s difficult to truly gauge how well Lunch Winfield fared in his first start at quarterback for the Cajuns.The bottom line is he won’t face many defenses as good as James Madison’s in his career So while you’d expect his legs to produce more big plays against mere mortals in the future,Winfield showed the ability to produce big plays in the passing game. In addition to his 69-yard TD pass to Dale Martin, he had completions of 40 and 44 yards to Robert Williams.While the offense faltered late,Winfield led a two-minute offense to the JMU 1 to end the first half.When he’s able to run more against lesser defenses the rest of the way, UL’s offense might find more consistent success.

DIFFERENT FEEL TO LOSS

3

When the Cajuns walked off the field after a loss to Rice in the season opener and on the road against Missouri and Eastern Michigan, there was much more of an empty feeling It was still early in the season, but there weren’t a lot of positives to hang your hat on moving forward. There was something missing When UL walked off the field in Virginia on Saturday, there was a different feeling If the Cajuns had that kind of resolve all season, they might be 4-2.The grit the defense displayed with its backs against the wall was great to see. Many mistakes have to be cleaned up, but it doesn’t take much of an imagination to foresee how Saturday’s effort can win games in the second half of the season.

Cajuns safety Ja’Corian Norris and cornerback Brent Gordon, front, tackle James Madison

during their game on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg Va

CAJUNS

Continued from page 1C

Cajuns to 45 yards rushing on 28 carries.

Despite the lack of a running game, Winﬁeld passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-28 passing with one interception. He averaged 17.4 yards per completion with ﬁve plays of 30 yards or more.

“We knew those guys, they play low and try to get in the box,” Winﬁeld said. “We saw people running past them on tape, so we had to do the same thing. Big players are going to happen because everybody’s going for the ball.”

Winfield’s favorite target was senior receiver Robert Williams, who had ﬁve catches for 134 yards.

“We knew they were going tbe very aggressive, really just preparing, really all week, just preparing on the two-hand jam,” Williams said “Our scout team did a good job. So I felt like we knew it was going to be, we knew they would be aggressive.”

Dale Martin had two catches for 72 yards and his second career touchdown, but no other UL target had more than 17 yards receiving.

The lack of a running game for the Cajuns made life difﬁcult on their defense

“It’s hard to get in a rhythm whenever it’s second and 9 and second and 10 and second and 8, you know, the play-action stuff’s not as effective when you’re not running it very well,” Desormeaux said

The Dukes picked up three quick ﬁrst downs on their ﬁrst drive of the game, then fumbled it at the UL 35 Terrence Williams forced the fumble and Brent Gordon recovered it.

On its next possession, James Madison drove 71 yards in 16 plays in 8:06 to reach the UL 10, but the Cajuns allowed only 1 yard on fourth and 2 for a turnover on downs.

The touchdown was a 5-yard catch by Ellis that was set up by Wayne Knight’s 49-yard run to the UL 7. Knight ﬁnished with 111 yards rushing on 20 carries

James Madison 24, UL 14 UL 0 14 0 0 — 14 JamesMadison 0

pass from

—

(Sterner kick) 3:16. Third quarter JMU — Ellis 62 pass from Barnett (Suarez kick), 14:46. Fourth quarter JMU — Ellis 4 pass from Barnett (Suarez kick), 12:33. JMU — FG Suarez 24, 3:05. UL JMU First downs 11 20

Sacked-Yards Lost 2-14 0-0 Punts 9-40.111 4-41.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2

Penalties-Yards 6-53 10-102 Time of Possession 24:03 36:49

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING— UL, Winﬁeld 16-23, Davis 9-21, Blanco 3-1, D.Smith 1-0. James Madison, Knight 19-106, Fuller 12-50, Barnett 5-28, Sluka 1-4, (Team) 3-(minus 10). PASSING— UL, Winﬁeld 14-28-1-243, (Team) 0-1-0-0. James Madison, Barnett 27-41-1-295. RECEIVING— UL, R.Williams 5-134, Martin 2-72 J.Johnson 2-17, Jensen 2-5, Chappell 1-5, T.Miller 1-5, Robertson 1-5. James Madison, Wisloski 7-69, Ellis 6-120, Knight 5-23, Sanchez 4-39, Kyle 2-28, Dippre 2-12, Fuller 1-4.

MISSEDFIELDGOALS— UL, Sterner 51. James Madison, Suarez 47.

Over JMU’s next four drives in the ﬁrst half, the Cajuns allowed one touchdown but twice forced punts and got a break on a missed 48-yard ﬁeld goal with 41 seconds left in the half.

Later the Cajuns got an interception from Collin Jacob to halt another Dukes’ drive.

“We knew that coming in, we needed to take the ball away, give our offense some short ﬁelds, some good ﬁeld position,” UL linebacker Jake St. Andre said. “That’s where we try to really focus on, focused on punching the ball out.”

The Cajuns suffered through a trio of three-and-outs to open the game before picking up steam.

A 40-yard completion to Williams got things started on a drive that covered 80 yards on six plays in 4:02 for a 7-0 lead. It was aided by roughing-the-passer and

Cajuns tight end Brock Chappell runs into the end zone to score a touchdown on Saturday during a game against James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va

pass interference ﬂags on the Dukes.

Tight end Brock Chappell scored on a 4-yard touchdown catch with 8:33 left in the second quarter

UL’s next drive ended with a 51-yard field goal getting blocked, but then Winfield connected with Martin on a 69-yard touchdown catch on third and 4 for a 14-7 lead with 3:18 left in the first half.

UL drove the ball 69 yards to the JMU 1 before the end of the ﬁrst half. A 44yard connection with Williams ignited the scoring threat before a 14-yarder to Williams reached the 12.

The half ended after Winﬁeld’s scramble to the 1 and subsequent spike with four second left gave Desormeaux a huge decision with no timeouts left. He elected to run it, but the JMU defense stuffed it to end the half.

“We ride behind our coach 100%,” Williams said.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

coach

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Penalties have been an issue for James Madison all season long. Coming into Saturday’s game, the Dukes had been ﬂagged 43 times for 402 yards compared to 31 for 248 for the opposition. In the ﬁrst half, the Dukes had four penalties for 41 yards but they were critical.

James Madison was flagged for a roughing-the-passer call, and then a pass interferen ce ﬂag set up UL’s ﬁrst touchdown drive.

“The defensive (pass interference calls) were penalties,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “People can complain all they want I don’t care They have a bunch of (defensive pass interference calls) on tape They get called.

“That’s what they do, and they live with it and that’s ﬁne. So I thought the ofﬁcials did a good job on that end.”

The Cajuns were ﬂagged twice for 20 yards in the ﬁrst half and one was a 15-yard late hit on punter Nathan Torney The second half began with more flags. UL was penalized for a facemask violation on the second-half kickoff return to help set up a 62-yard reverse pass touchdown on the ensuing play to tie the game at 14-14.

“The ﬂags on us were ﬂags,” Desormeaux said. “The one on the kickoff cover, he grabbed the guy by the facemask You’ve got to have poise.

“The punter, he’s getting blocked. Well he’s part of the game. You don’t get to stand up and push them after the play I mean that’s poise that you’ve got to have. I thought it was a really well-ofﬁciated game.”

The Cajuns ﬁnished with six penalties for 63 yards, while James Madison had 10 for 102 yards including two pass interference calls on UL’s ﬁnal offensive possession.

Martin does it again

While Robert Williams was the star of the receiving corps Saturday with a career-high 134 yards receiving, it was a second straight game walk-on wide receiver Dale Martin scored a TD. Martin turned a slant on a third and 4 into a 69-yard touchdown pass from Lunch Winfield to give UL a 14-7 lead with 3:16 left in the second quarter No one was happier for Martin than Williams.

“I came in with Dale in ’21,” Williams said. “He came in ﬁrst as a quarterback. He’s ready when you call his name. I just get excited talking about it because I know how much he puts into it and how hard he practices.”

Special teams (meh)

There was plenty of good and bad to go around on special teams.

The game began with UL twice holding James Madison kickoff returns inside its 20. The punting had early bright spots, including a 56-yard punt by Torney The problem was UL had nine punts in the game (a 40.1-yard average).

“Special teams was hit and miss a little bit,” Desormeaux said. “We had penalties and things like that that blocked kick, shanked punt all things that don’t help ﬁeld position But offensively you’ve got to help yourself too.”

In the fourth quarter, UL made bad ﬁeld position worse with a 21-yard shanked punt from out of the end zone to give the Dukes possession at the UL 25. That set up a short TD drive that gave JMU a 21-14 lead with 12:33 left.

The special teams didn’t help midway through the second quarter The Cajuns recovered a fumble to give UL’s offense the ball at the 34. After gaining no yards, the 51-yard ﬁeld goal attempt was blocked to spoil the Cajuns’ chance to take a doubledigit lead.

PROVIDED PHOTOS By BENJAMIN R. MASSEy/UL ATHLETICS

wide receiver Braeden Wisloski

LIVING

From St.Landry Parish to thebig stage

Herman Fuselier

Besides winning two Grammys, Terrance Simien hasalso played zydeco music in 45 countries, performed at President Bill Clinton’sinaugural ball and shared the stage and studio with Paul Simon, Robert Palmer,Los Lobos,StevieWonder and other stars. His music was featured in the Disney animated classic “The Princess and the Frog,” along withits new spinoff ride at Disney World, “Tiana’sBayou Adventure.” Not bad for aCreole country boy from Mallet, acommunity in rural St.Landry Parish.

One of Simien’sfondest memories came during his ﬁrst European tour in 1988, while opening shows for Fats Domino and Sarah Vaughn. He sensed an unusual smellinthe hallway of his fancy hotel in Bern, Switzerland.

“When Iwalked down the hall, it was Fats Domino cooking red beans and rice in his room,” Simien saidrecently on my “Zydeco Stomp” radio show.“He called me ‘ecrevisse,’ crawﬁsh in French.

“He said, ‘Taste that.What you think it needs?’ It’sperfect,” Simien said. “He said, ‘I’m going to ﬁx you alittle plate, but don’ttell nobody. I don’thave enough for everybody.’ That will always be the best red beans and rice I’ve had in my life.”

Simien and his band, Zydeco Experience, will serve up arare home performance Saturday at Rock ‘n’ Bowl in downtownLafayette. Simien’s ﬁrst show in Lafayette in six years comes as thousands are in town for the 51stannual Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. Memories started early for Simien who, at the age of 19, was recording with Paul Simon. Twoyears later,a performance in the landmark movie “The Big Easy” followed. His national splashopened cultural doors. Simien, along with the Sam Brothers Five, fellow St.Landry Parishnatives, were the only teenagers playing zydeco.

“Everybody else was 20 yearsolder than us,” said Simien, who turned 60 on Sept. 3. “What happened is what you wanted to happen. Now,there

ä See SIMIEN, page 4D

PROVIDED PHOTO

Besides winning twoGrammys, Terrance Simien hasalso played zydeco music in 45 countries and performed at President Bill Clinton’sinaugural ball.

Didactress

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

At the beginning of Taylor

Swift’ssecond track on her celebrated new album, “The Life of aShowgirl,” she asks, “ElizabethTaylor Do you think it’sforever?” Swift parallels her life with that of the legendaryactress —another Taylor —comparing their timelinesofwhirl-

performs at the 2018 NewOrleans Jazz&HeritageFestivalonthe Gentilly Stage.

‘TOGO BEYOND’

What French meanstoZachary Richard, oneofAcadiana’smostcelebratedmusicians

BY JOANNABROWN Staff writer

Cajun artist Zachary

Richardhas been writing, singing and working in French for over 50 yearsnow

For him,the language is more than away to celebrate southwest Louisiana’suniqueculture —it’sa vital connection to the global Francophone community.Thatconnection ensures that theculture will continue to grow and thrive,according to Richard.

No language, or people, can ﬂourishwhen kept under glass.

“A lot of my professional life since the mid-’70s has been in Quebec, andbeing part of aFrench languageculture has encouraged me to develop my writing skills,” said the75-year-old musician and poet from Scott. He has aplace in Montreal, andsplitsthe year between Canadaand Louisiana.

Since the1970s,Richard has been aprolific recording and touring artist in both French and English, with amusicalstyle rootedintraditional Cajunand zydeco sounds fusedwithblues,rock‘n’ roll and global Francophone inﬂuences.

In November he’spublishing his sixthvolumeofFrenchpoet-

ZacharyRichard interacts with FrenchImmersion students aftera2019 ceremonyinwhich he waspromotedtothe rank of officer in the French Academic Palms at Myrtle Place ElementarySchool in Lafayette. The French Academic Palms honors those whofurther the growth of the French languageand culture.

ry (Richardwas Louisiana’sﬁrst French poet laureate), and he is currently working on his second French language novel.

“It’sall taken me beyond the conﬁnes of Louisiana culture,because in my view,the value of the French language in Louisiana is not

parochial,” he said. “It should not remain in Louisiana.

“When we begin to create in French in whatever genre, be it poetry or literature or music, we should considerourselvestobein

ä See RICHARD, page 4D

“That musical culture is something thatweshouldbe incredibly proudof, becauseitcould wellhavedisappeared as well. …THERE’SSTILL HOPE.” ZACHARY RICHARD

wind fame and stormy lovelives. But does that superstardom last forever?

ElizabethTaylortrends

According to Google Trends, “WhoisElizabeth Taylor?” searches wereup 9,000%, as Swifties rush to discover the work of theactress, whose glowseems to have fadedamong theyoung.

Now,that doesn’tmean themasses have forgotten Taylor.It’sjust that most Swifties don’twatch Turner Classic Movies. So, naturally,they wouldn’t know that Taylor was aregular visitor to New Orleans long before Swift’s“Eras Tour” conquered the Superdomefor three nights last October Still, Dee Jeffers has some

questions. She’sdeﬁnitely not aSwiftie, but she keeps up withthe news, and she’s noticed how Swift put the other Taylor back intothe spotlight

“It mademestartthinking about Elizabeth Taylor’smovies,” the Baton Rouge resident said. “I know she made somemovies that were set in

Apromotional photo of Elizabeth Taylor from the 1957 film ‘Raintree County,’ which was shot nearbyinMississippi.The filmingwas supposed to continue in St. Francisville afterward but was canceled.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByBRAD BOWIE

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

ZacharyRichard

TRAVEL

History, nature converge at PovertyPoint

Hike,swim, camp near statepark’s ancientmounds

BY CATHERINE S. COMEAUX

Contributing writer

Catherine S. Comeaux

and her family spent three summers exploring state, national and provincial parks —from Louisiana to Alaska then Nova Scotia and along the Mississippi River in between. This year, she turns her attention to our Louisiana state parksto discover the natural beauty of the South less than a day’sdrive from home.

Despite alifetime of road tripping, nearby north Louisiana has been unexplored territory for me. That detail changed witha visit to Poverty Point Reservoir State Park and the nearby Poverty Point World Heritage Site in Richland Parish, where my family and Iencountered bald eagles and hidden volcanoes as we enjoyed the state park and learned about one of the most signiﬁcant archaeological sites in the world.

The 2,700-acre Poverty Point Reservoir,built in 2001, is encircled by state park boat launches, picnic areas and cabins alongside ascattering of residential development and agolf course. The park’scampsite and hiking trails offer a more natural feel, tucked away in awooded area near Bayou Maçon. An early evening hike exploring the woods led us through frog-infested territory (a sure sign of snakes) and alongside the Marsden Mounds—ﬁve earthen mounds built thousands of yearsago and so worndown they could be mistaken for golf course hills if it

weren’tfor theeducational signage.

Archaeologists tell us that this area has beenintermittently inhabited for 3,000 years, with itscurrent inhabitants being nomadic RV andtentcampers.

Jumpingover asnake, making our waythrough the campground,a tent with an exhaust ventcaught our eye. Jim from Florida explained that it was part of theair conditioning system that cooled his bell tent(powered by thesite’s electrical hookup )Having camped all over theUnited States, he wasonhis sixth trip to Poverty Point Reservoir,whichheconsiders one of thebest stateparks for campingbecause of its shaded tent sites, wellmaintained tent pads, clean bath houses (withlaundry facilities) and anice buffer zone between tentsand RVs. The campground was well occupied in July,but thereservoir itself seemed abandoned —perhaps owing to the heat. Thesmall sandy beach on the north

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

end was apopular spot for swimming, but therest of the public shoreline, secured by rocks, is forbidden to foot trafﬁc. In theearly evenings, acouple of party barges

ventured out,and boaters pulled kids on tubes. Few people were ﬁshing —word among anglers is that the bass are biting in thefall and springtime, but all we caught off our cabin’sporch

was ahotdog-sized catﬁsh. In addition to ﬁshing, we did alittle birding. Over morning coffee, we saw abald eagle and watched swallows catching their breakfast. In the woods, we spotted abright yellow Baltimore Oriole, not surprising since the park is within the Mississippi Flyway —amajor route for migrating birds which followsthe Mississippi River watershed.

For thousands of years, people have also used this watershed route —aphenomenon we learned more about on our visit to the Poverty Point World Heritage Site about 15 miles north of the park.

Abird’s-eye view of Poverty Point showswhat looks like arainbow of earthen ridges (slightly obscured by tree growth) coming off of Bayou Maçon’swestern bank.

To better appreciate what, from the ground, looks like lumpy farmland, visitors will want to stop at the museum to see stylized images of how the earthworks would have looked in the era when they werebuilt around 1700 B.C.

The museum houses artifacts, like the bird-shaped pendants distinctive of this site, madeofvarious materials indicating it was once the hub of an expansive trade network. Educational displays and ashort ﬁlm tell the story of the unique people who moved tremendous quantities of earth to create ridges and mounds, including the largest ancient earthworks in the Western Hemisphere. Known as the Bird Mound, it is the only mound that visitors are allowed to climb.

The guided tram tour offered abreezy shaded view of the site in mid-July

The interpretive ranger

Bookingerror strandsfamily, buttheystill hadtoget

enthusiastically answered questions and told stories based on over acentury of archaeological ﬁndings. He challenged us to renamethe site since “Poverty Point” was unthinkingly borrowed from arelatively short-lived plantation, so named because of the difﬁculty of farming in the area. But the ancient inhabitants weren’tfarmers; they were hunter-gatherers whotypically don’tsettle downin one place.

Aquestion archaeologists continue to grapple is, “Why did they settle here?” Until recently,the answer wassimply its location within the Mississippi watershed with its river connectivity.Newly acquired data using electrical resistivity tomography suggests another reason —mud volcanoes which would have been unique in the area, attracting attention with their gaseous, bubbly and potentially ﬁery spewing. Didthe inhabitants somehow harness the energy of these geological features, or did they hold supernatural signiﬁcance?

This short visit to nearby north Louisiana was relaxing and also surprised me with the world-famous wonders that lay less than a day’sdrive from home.

Know before yougo

n The state park is in black bear territory,sobe prepared to stow your food if tent camping.

n Groceries are available in Delhi.

n Allow twohours to a half day forexploring the Poverty Point World Heritage Site.

n Tram tours of Poverty Point World Heritage Site are offered at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1p.m. and 3p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays in March through October,weather permitting.

Christopher Elliott

Ibooked a flight from Buenos Airesto Puerto Iguazú,Argentina, for my family.I bought the tickets on Flybondi, an Argentinelow-fare airline, through FlightHub.Despite carefully entering our flight details, the airlinesaid our passportnumbers were random characters.We had to buy newtickets for $1,114 on Flybondi.

FlightHub blamed the airline, but Flybondi confirmed FlightHub enteredfake passportdata. FlightHub has refusedto give us arefund, claiming the tickets are nonrefundable. How can Iget FlightHub to takeresponsibility for thiscostly error? Emily Day, Brookline, Massachusetts

FlightHub should have ensured its system accuratelytransmit-

ted your passport information to Flybondi. Under U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines, ticket agents must provide complete and correct booking details. FlightHub’sfailure to do so —and its use of placeholder passport numbers —breached that responsibility

Could you have avoided this?

Possibly.Ifyou had checked your Flybondireservations online, you mighthaveseen thegibberish passport information sooner.You tried to do that, butthe airline advisedyou to check in at thegate. Keeping athorough paper trail, as you did, was critical. You reached outtoFlightHub’scustomer service viachat and spoke to arepresentativeonce you were in Puerto Iguazú. He opened a case andeventually acknowl-

edged that this was not your fault and agreed to resolve theproblem for your return ﬂight.

Youemailed FlightHubphotos of your passports. Unfortunately, FlightHub couldn’tmodify your flight records in time for your return flight,but you were able to resolve thediscrepancy directly with Flybondi for your return flight —so, no need to buy asecond ticket to get back to Buenos Aires

Even after FlightHubadmitted that it screwed up, it still wouldn’t refund your tickets, arguing that they were nonrefundable.

Of course, they were nonrefundable —but you couldn’tuse them because of FlightHub’sbooking error

All it would have taken to get you arefund was for someone

at FlightHub to review your paper trail. If Ihad to guess, I’d say FlightHub is processing its customer service cases using artiﬁcial intelligence. But there’sno question aboutit, this was obviously aFlightHub mistake. Youmight have been able to bypass this nonsense. By escalating your case to FlightHub’sexecutivesusingthe executive contacts on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org, you might have gotten a quick resolution. Yousay you tried to do that, but no one responded. Icontacted FlightHub on your behalf.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

“Upon reviewing the situation,weidentified that the issue stemmed from atechnical error on our end,” arepresentative told me. “The customer contacted us theday before their return flight to request acorrection to their passport information. We promptly submitted the request to the airline, but the airline was able to assist the customer directly before they responded to us. FlightHub issued afull refund of your original flights plus a$100 voucher as agoodwill gesture, which you accepted. If there’salesson here, it’s never to assume your third-party booking site got it right. Always check your flight directly with the airline, and well in advance of your flight.

PHOTOSByCATHERINE S. COMEAUX Statepark cabins areavailable for rent at PovertyPoint Reservoir State Park.

Mound Aisknown as the Bird Mound at PovertyPoint World HeritageSite.

AT THE TABLE

Acousin’scooking yields alobster bisque recipe

Family ties rekindled over thetable

BY CATHERINE COMEAUX

Contributing writer

My grandmother was one of 17 children born to Oscar and Eliza Daigle. Ioften unexpectedly run into distant cousins around Lafayette —atthe grocery store,at church and recently,atthe table. Having put acall out to friends asking them to connect me with talented home cooks, Iwas sent Mike Moncla’snumber.His wife, Catherine, happens to be my second cousin. He agreed to my request for arecipe and responded with an invitation to afour-course meal and achance to reconnect with family.(As aspecialsurprise, he included his neighbors, my brother and his wife. Yes, thebig town of Lafayette is that small.)

Inspired by his grandfather Leon Moncla who had aspecial talent for preparing tongue and stomach, Moncla has takenhome cooking to another level. More accurately described as acreative gourmet, he prepared aseafood focused meal complete with a printed menu decorated with photos of the great-grandparents. Honoring his wife’sgrandmother and my grandmother (close-in-age sisters), it included esoteric fruit, homemade drizzles and crunchy sweetness to bookend the meal.

We started the eveningwith Moncla’ssignature old fashioned (a drink he famously mixes at events to beneﬁt Catholic Charities).

“I love sweets,” he saiddropping two sugared pecans and acandied orange peel swizzlestick in my drink.

He comes from the land of sugar cane, his family hailing from Patoutville, home of the United States’ oldest continuously operated family-owned sugar mill, M.A. Patout &Son. What adelight to sip and nibble acocktail, the sweetness laid back whilethe nut and citrus ﬂavors blended beautifully with the Bulleit Rye whiskey

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,Oct. 12, the 285th day of 2025. There are 80 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Oct. 12, 2002, bombsblamed on al-Qaida-linked militants destroyed two nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, many of whom were foreign tourists. Also on this date:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus’s ﬁrst expedition made landfall on what is now San SalvadorIslandin the Bahamas.

In 1870, Gen. Robert E. Lee, former overall commander of theConfederate States Army in theCivil War, died in Lexington, Virginia, at age 63.

In 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev protested remarks at the United Nations by pounding his shoe on his desk.

In 1968, Mexican track andfield athlete Enriqueta Basiliobecame the first woman to light theOlympic flame at the opening ceremonies of the Mexico City Summer Games.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing ﬁve people.

In 2000, the destroyer USSCole was attackedbyboat-bornealQaida suicide bombers duringa refueling stopinYemen’sport city of Aden, killing 17 on board

In 2019, Eliud Kipchogebecame the ﬁrst person to run amarathon in less than two hours,crossing the ﬁnish line of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, witha time of 1:59:40.

Today’sbirthdays: NASCAR Hallof Famer Ned Jarrett is 93.Broadcast journalist Chris Wallace is 78. Singer-songwriter Jane Siberry is 70. Actor Hiroyuki Sanada is 65. Jazz musician Chris Botti is 63. Actor Hugh Jackman is 57. Country musician Martie Maguire (The Chicks) is 56. Actor Kirk Cameron is 55. Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller is 48. Actor Josh Hutcherson is 33.

MikeMoncla’sold fashioned is servedwithcrystallized orange peel andcandied pecans.

With the help of their daughter, the Monclas served thebeautifully platedcourseswhilemiraculously simultaneously staying in the ﬂow of conversationasweall enjoyed ourselves at thetable. Dining beganwith atreathecalled Tuna Crudo with MirlitonMignonette and PassionFruitGranita —the tangy icypassionfruit and vinegarychoppedmirliton delivered the salty tuna with acymbal crash of bright ﬂavor in the mouth.

Following the lightness of the tuna was abuttery smoothlobster bisque,elevatedwith chili and scallionﬁnishing oils It brought acalm ﬂavorful warmth to thetable as we settled into our remembrances of old nun aunts in their habits, grandparents andtangentialfamily connections from Iberia Parish to North Africa.

Moncla’s useofdrizzles and saucesnot only added beauty to the plate but brought an exciting taste dimensiontohis home cooking. This was most apparent in his crabcakes,delicately ﬂavored thick pattieswhich weremore crab than ﬁller

He placedthem onacitrusy tartar sauce,drizzled the tops with atangy greenconcoction (made with parsleyand garlic),then accented with Sriracha. Best crab cakes ever,but when Iaskedfor the recipe,hegraciously ducked outand returnedwitha crackly cremebruleecovered in fresh berries

From drinks to dessert,the

conversation that night was sweet and warmaswedug around in the memories of our shared family’s past.I came away with an excellent recipe for lobster bisque, a small box of leftoversand gratitude for having reconnected with family

MikeMoncla’s

Lobster Bisque

Serves 8. RecipeisbyMike Moncla

3live lobsters Forscallion finishing oil:

1cup avocado oil

1bunch scallion (green onion) tops, roughly chopped 1yellow onion, peeled and rough chopped

6wholecarrots, rough chopped 6celerysticks, rough chopped

6-ounce can tomato paste

1quartheavy cream

1/4 cup sherry

1-2 tablespoons cornstarch

2-4 tablespoons cold water

1stick (4 ounces) butter Red chilioil for finishing

1. In apot large enough to boil 3 lobsters, add water to ﬁll about 2⁄3 full, bring to aboil, then drop the lobsters in for 15 minutes.

2. While the lobsters are boiling, makethe scallion ﬁnishing oil. In asmall pot,heat one cup of avocado oil. Addthe scallion topsto thehot oil and let cook for afew minutes toinfuse the onion ﬂavor Set aside tocool slightly then blend in ablender.Using amesh colander pour thescallion oil into asqueeze bottle.

3. Removethe lobster from the pot,reserving the boiling water in thepot. Cool lobsters in ice water until manageable then pick the meat from theclaws and tail. Set themeat aside.

4. Return all the claws and shells to theboiling water for 45 minutes tomake lobster stock. Using acolander,pour the stock into another large pot,separating out the shells. Put10cups back into theoriginal pot to makethe bisque (freeze any remaining stock for future use)

5. Addthe onion, carrots and celery to the stock. Stir in the tomato paste andcook for30minutes over medium heat.

6. Use an immersion blender to blend thestock with vegetables until smooth,and once again pour through acolander to makesure there are no chucks of vegetables. (Alternatelyuse ablender and a second pot, working in batches.)

7. Addthe heavy cream and sherry to the stock and cook on medium heat for20minutes. If a thicker bisque is desired, make acornstarch slurry by combining 1tablespoon cornstarch with 2tablespoonscold water.Stir in the cornstarch slurry,adding

moreuntil desired consistency is reached.

8. Lower heat to simmer then add astick of butter.Once butter melts in, stir and add salt to taste.

9. Divide the lobster meat between serving bowls. Pour the bisque on top, and drizzle with the chili and scallion ﬁnishing oils. Notes:

n Red chili oil can be found in the Asian food section of most grocery stores.

n Squeeze bottles can be found on the kitchen supply aisle of mostgrocery stores.

n Set aside about 2hours cooking timefor this recipe.

n Leftovers freeze well.

Just writethe darn thank-younotes,already

Dear Miss Manners: What do you do when the dutyto write thank-you notes overwhelms any genuine sense of gratitude?

In my own upbringing, reciprocity and eagerness to give were prized over the ﬁnerpointsofexpressing gratitude, and I confess that my gratitude muscle has suffered as a result.

Iamtrying to strengthen it by practicing writing thankyou cards, startingwithlarge events, such as my wedding and baby shower Theendeavor has now lasted a couple of years, and Istill have not ﬁnished with the thank-yous for either one. Meanwhile, other holidays, birthdays and events have come and gone, and while Idotry to thank each gift-giver verbally, whether in person or on the phone, writing notes for each

gift just seems liketoo much to be done during an already busy phaseof life. This is alsousually immediately following atime of upheaval due to planning, gift shopping of my own and major life changes.I am already exhausted, and the condition of my home is suffering for it

On top of this, Istill try to give to others what Ican of my time, love, energy and resources, as Iwas raised to do. It seems like there is not time or energy left in the day to write.

Iammost concerned about thetask becomingabitter chore and source of anxiety,crushing any real gratitude. How do you manage thetask so that the expressions are genuine? Or is this adifﬁcultyyou have not encountered?

Gentle Reader: It is clear to Miss

Manners thatyou can, in fact, manage to pena heartfelt and genuine letter. Because you took three paragraphs to insist that your life is busier and more exhausting thanthose of the people who took the time to give you apresent. Youwill be relievedtohear that agood thank-you letter need only costyou abouthalf that space andenergy Dear MissManners: I’m afairly new motherofone child. After working hard to clear my work schedule and afford afamily vacation, we’re finally here! Theissue is all the other parents. Everytime Igraba cocktail and head to an expansive lawn to toss aballtoour dogorkick aball to my daughter, four or five otherkids descend. Iwould love nothing more than for my daughter to find aplaymate, but it seemsthatIjust end up running playtime

Gentle Reader: As soon as the childrenstart descending, look around forparents —orloudly askthe childrenwhere they are. (If the childrenare not oldenough to respond, just get louder.)

Oncethe parents have been located,say to the kids, “You might want to tell your parents thatyou arehere, because I’m notsure howlongwewill stay And we don’twanttoabandon you.” Thatlastpart, Miss Manners feels certain, will put the parents on high alert—that they should eithercollect their childrenquickly or be prepared to take over playtime.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners to heremail, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St Kansas City MO 64106.

Dear Heloise: Jane, in Virginia, mentioned that all the colors are thesame with furniture: gray, white and beige! Avery simple and inexpensive way to get pops of color is with throw pillows, colored glass jars, and artwork. Lotsofstores offer these items at great prices instead of your having to pay for asofa or chair in alimited color or print. Plus, the color themes can bechangedthis way —Kathy N., in Montgomery,Texas Swab thedoor

Dear Heloise: I’ve discovered a greatuse forcotton swabs. Iuse them to clean the very narrow rubber crevices on our refrigerator door.Itworks great in onesweep with alittle vinegar or water Also, Iuse them to clean small moving parts in my single-brew

coffee maker —A Reader,via email Raisingaproperpuppy

Dear Heloise: We got anew puppy, and she’ssocute! Butwewant her to be friendly and not timid or afraid. So, we are socializing her alittle bit every day We takeher out to meet other dogs and people at the park. Not for too long—maybe an hour at most. —BrittanyB., in Texas

Brittany, this is agreat way to introduce your pup to socialization!Kudos to you. —Heloise Sunscreen101

Dear Heloise: With thesun out and more people getting active outdoors, can you give us the411 on sunscreen? —David E. in Kentucky David, I’d be happy to do so! Not using sunscreen can potentially damage your skin and lead to wrinkling, sagging and worse. Be sure to apply asunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor)of15orhigher about 15 min-

utes before you go outside. How much to apply? The average-sized person needs about an ounce (a shot glass size) of sunscreen. Cover your face (avoid your eyes) andbody.Don’t forget your ears, your neck, the backs of your hands, and the topsofyour feet. Other sun-safety suggestions? Stay indoors during peak hours (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), wear lip balm, and cover exposed skin as much as possible. Aﬂoppy hat is not a bad idea either —Heloise Sour bottle smells

Dear Heloise: If your baby’sbottle has afoulsmell, try ﬁlling it with warm water and 2teaspoons of baking soda, then shake vigorously.Leave it overnight. The next morning, just wash as usual. —Bonnie T.,inBeaverCreek, Colorado Getitinwriting

My hint is to always get awritten estimate before any work is done and makesure that it is signed by you and the shop. If you have any questions, show the estimate to aknowledgeable friend, or get asecond estimate at another shop. —Dave, in Waco, Texas Aquick Latinlesson

Dear Readers: If you’re applying forajob, especially in the medical ﬁeld, you may come upon the term “pro re nata,” or “PRN.” But what does it mean? It’s Latin, and it translates to “as needed” or “as necessary.” Youmay also see this term on aprescription bottle, which meanstotake the medicine as needed. Conﬁrm this with your doctor —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@heloise com.

Dear Heloise: My wife said that women routinely are given high car-repair estimates, which are saddled with unnecessary repairs, and they have been upsold unknowingly

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

PHOTOSByCATHERINE S. COMEAUX

MikeMoncla works in his Lafayette kitchen, readying tuna crudo.

MIND YOUR MANNERS

A fading art, etiquette is still important in these modern

times

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

At our home in Covington, my Cuban mother taught me to chew with my mouth closed. And that was the extent of my table manners. My mom cooked every night, mostly American or Cuban food and we only went to restaurants for special occasions.

Now don’t get me wrong — I’m no heathen at the dinner table, but I didn’t know until recently that placing a napkin on your lap is the ﬁrst thing to do once sitting for a meal.

In my new role as a food writer I recognized that my etiquette knowledge needed a refresh.

April Palombo Setliff is the pinnacle of grace. She started Red Stick Reﬁnement in 2018 in Baton Rouge, a business teaching lads and lassies like me the ins and outs of etiquette. She started the venture inspired by her interest in entertaining.

“I started thinking,” Setliff said, “‘How do I teach the next generation to be good hosts and hostesses?’ So Red Stick Reﬁnement stems from that. How to throw a good party is the bottom line and make people feel comfortable and make a memorable experience.”

At its essence, having good etiquette is the ability to adapt to social situations, she said, while also being a conﬁdence builder for

CURIOUS

Continued from page 1D

Louisiana, but did she ever ﬁlm any here?”

Did she film in Louisiana?

Well, no. But she came close. Taylor along with fellow Hollywood legends Montgomery Clift and Eva Marie Saint, came to Natchez, Mississippi, for the 1956 ﬁlming of “Raintree County.”

Natchez is directly across the Mississippi River from Vidalia, 60 miles north of St. Francisville on U.S. 61. Louisiana newspapers, including The Advocate’s afternoon sister paper, The State-Times, and The Times-Picayune sent photographers and reporters to the filming, most of which took place at Windsor Ruins, which stand along Mississippi Hwy 522, the same road that leads to Alcorn State University Alcorn figures into this story, because the ornate cast-iron stairs fronting the ruins, on which Taylor, Clift and Saint were both filmed and photographed, now lead to the front doors of Alcorn’s Oakland Memorial Chapel.

Back in 1956, they still stood at what would have been the entrance to Windsor Plantation As for Windsor its 12 Corinthian columns still stand From 1861 to 1890, the mansion’s three stories once overlooked the Mississippi River from a distance. It was destroyed by ﬁre after a party guest tossed a lit cigar in the trash on Feb. 17, 1890. The ruins are now maintained as a historic site by the Mississippi State Department of Archives and History The site was also used in the 1996 ﬁlm Ghosts of Mississippi.” Back to “Raintree County,”

Edward Dmytryk directed the MGM Civil War epic love triangle among John Wickliff Shawnessy, played by Clift; his hometown sweetheart, Nell, played by Saint; and the irresistible New Orleans Southern belle, Susanna Drake, played by Taylor

The story begins in Shawnessy’s home of Raintree County in Indiana, and it’s where he returns with a pregnant Susanna at the outbreak of the Civil War The cast and crew stayed at the Natchez Eola Hotel during ﬁlming, and according to reporter-photographer Charles East’s Aug. 1, 1956, feature in The State-Times, ﬁlming was supposed to move to Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville afterward but was canceled Elizabeth Taylor in New Orleans

But that doesn’t mean Taylor never spent time in Louisiana. She was a frequent visitor to New Orleans, often staying at the Audubon Cottages at 509 Dauphine St. in the French

entered from the chair’s right side per Setliff’s instruction.

“What’s the very ﬁrst thing we do when we sit down at the table?” Setliff asked.

I learned the answer to that question when I grabbed lunch with my editor Jan Risher for the ﬁrst time in August. I told her I didn’t know much about table etiquette and genuinely asked for pointers. She told me about the napkin tip and had the idea for this article.

Flash forward to sitting in Setliff’s dining room. I felt a burst of excitement because I knew an answer I blurted out, my excitement making me forget proper grammar, “It’s napkin, right?” Close enough.

wrong. More was to be learned.

The motion of dipping a spoon into the soup bowl is done a particular way scooping the soup away from yourself and then bringing the spoon to the mouth.

When eating bread, the correct way is to tear off a small piece, butter it with the correct knife and then eat it. (I’m not sure how I’ll implement this rule at Texas Roadhouse, a place where survival instincts say to shove as much bread and whipped butter into the mouth as possible.)

those who practice it.

“If you treat other people with kindness, you’ll make the right etiquette decision ” she said.

Setliff welcomed me to her home recently for a private lesson on table etiquette.

Utensils, napkins and flashbacks

First, I learned how to set the table using her grandmother’s silver, which included soup, salad, dinner and dessert utensils, plus a butter knife. I asked Setliff to quiz me a couple of times as I pointed to each utensil and named its function. I’m an enthusiastic student, and she let me know that she appreciated my cheering when I got answers right. Setting the table took about 20 minutes. As I placed the items, Setliff explained certain details, like how the teeth on forks are called tines and how they’re longer on a dinner fork than a salad fork.

When it was time to sit down, I

Quarter

“She stayed here 27 times,” said Shawn Gray, the boutique hotel’s manager “She always stayed in cottage No. 3.”

Audubon Cottages built in the late 18th century, once were home to ornithologist, naturalist and painter John James Audubon and now operate as an intimate cottage-style hotel retreat in the French Quarter

“All cottages have their own private courtyards,” Gray said.

“And I think that’s probably one of the big hits for stars, because they don’t have to interact with anybody Once you walk into the alleyway you can go into your cottage, and you can close the entrance door to your cottage and close the entrance door to your courtyard.”

Gray said actress Kathy Bates recently stayed at Audubon Cottages.

The hotel hasn’t marked cottage No. 3 with a brass plaque or any other kind of commemoration of Taylor’s stay, but its website does note her preference for the cottage.

Taylor’s name remains big at Audubon Cottages, just as it is in Hollywood history

For Swifties still searching

“Who is Elizabeth Taylor?” on Google, she was born on Feb. 27, 1932, to socially prominent American parents in London, England. Her ﬁrst starring role was at age 12 in “National Velvet,” opposite a 24-year-old Mickey Rooney

She would move on to adulthood to star in such iconic films as “Giant,” opposite James Dean in 1956; Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” opposite Paul Newman in 1958; “Butterfield 8” in 1960 opposite her fourth husband, Eddie Fisher; the epic “Cleopatra,” opposite her fifth husband, Richard Burton, in 1963; Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” again co-starring with Burton in 1966; and “The Sandpiper,” again opposite Burton in 1967.

And as mentioned in the lyrics of Swift’s song, Taylor did, indeed, have violet eyes. Later in life, she maintained a friendship with the King of Pop Michael Jackson, and she cofounded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991.

Outside of her movies and philanthropy, she was constantly pursued by the paparazzi through her eight marriages, which included twice to Burton. She died in 2011 at age 79. And now, thanks to Swift, her name and her legend are trending once again.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

Setliff said I was correct, and, once again, I cheered.

She gave me more details about exactly how to fold the napkin in half and place it longways across my lap, up to my bellybutton, using the inside corners of the napkin to dab my mouth throughout the meal.

Lunch time

Once seated, I folded the napkin as instructed, feeling like I was getting strapped into a roller coaster It was time to eat.

I’m a soup enthusiast. It’s my favorite kind of food to cook and eat. Yet, I learned I’ve been breaking just about every single soup etiquette rule there is.

There’s a correct utensil to eat soup with, a more rounded, short and stout-looking spoon. Setliff and I spent several minutes learning how to properly hold the utensil.

Once I grasped the spoon correctly, I thought we were ready to rock and roll with eating, but I was

RICHARD

Continued from page 1D

that big pool of French creators worldwide.”

At this point in his career, Richard said he feels more passionately than ever about the need to advance and expand Louisiana’s French language cultural output. He pointed out that when he published his ﬁrst work of French historical ﬁction in 2023 (“Les Rafales du carême,” a novel about a 19th century murder on the prairies of Scott) it had been over 100 years since a Louisiana writer had published a novel in French.

“There was a literary culture in Louisiana that had resonance all over, and especially in France,” he said. “All of that was basically swept under the rug with the assimilation of culture. It’s unfortunate that we can’t appreciate what we have created, and what we can contribute to international French culture.”

As a young man performing with his band at the second Festivals Acadiens et Créoles concert in 1975 (then called “Hommage a la Musique Acadienne”) Richard was moved to frame Cajun French music as an act of resistance. He waved an Acadian flag the band had made the night before with the words “solidarity” and “pride,” and he raised his fist in a political gesture of defiance inspired by Vietnam War protests and the generational upheaval that deﬁned the era.

He said, “I had just been to Quebec and ran headlong into the militant political culture there, because the project for sovereignty was really on full speed. I found myself discovering this passion for my heritage and the very disturbing history of my Acadian ancestors. So it was 1975, and I was ready to rock.”

That moment is now immortalized in the poster for the 51st Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, which features a black and white photograph of Richard’s galvanizing performance. He opened for the festival Oct. 10, celebrating the enduring appeal of southwest Louisiana’s French language and culture. But Richard doesn’t want to see his life’s work conﬁned to a stage — even one that draws crowds.

“It’s very curious, because the music has never been so vibrant,”

SIMIEN

Continued from page 1D

are more young people playing the music than us old dudes.

“I’m so proud to see that happen, to know that the music is going to live on. And they keep coming.”

Throughout his 45 years of touring, Simien has also been an advocate for Louisiana music, tourism and his native Creole culture. He and his wife/manager Cynthia

When eating the main course, Setliff told me to grip the fork like a pencil and switch hands between cutting food and putting food in my mouth — according to American style. She also explained the continental style of using utensils, and I practiced both on a slice of lasagna.

She advised I place the fork and knife down after every four bites to sip water or dab my mouth. She also told me how to properly hold teacups versus coffee cups. Pinkies down, she said. And when the meal is over, the napkin is placed loosely to the left of the plate.

A dying art

Mid lasagna, I had a burning question.

“Where are you with elbows on the table?” I asked. It depends, she said. She personally chooses to never rest on the table.

“I don’t think elbows are ever an option at the table,” she said “It may be forearms depending on who you ask and what country you’re in.”

“I always encourage people just to go with the flow of the vibe, whatever the circumstances,” she said. “Sure, if you’re at The Chimes, I think it’s fine. But if you’re at Ruth’s Chris, maybe not.” Setliff’s approach to etiquette is more casual than regimented That’s the buy-in, she said. It has to be wanted by people to do it. Today, etiquette is all about convenience and many etiquette traditions aren’t practiced as much as they were in years past. For example, many people keep their family’s china boxed in the attic and don’t use it, Setliff said. Growing up, Setliff didn’t practice much table etiquette in her house, and her mother still jokes about which utensil to use. Her grandmother’s house was a different story, where there’d be all sorts of pretty things to set the table with, Setliff said. That’s where she developed an admiration for the practice.

“I use this silver every day,” Setliff said about her grandmother’s silver “That’s what we use. I’m not the norm anymore.”

Many people use paper plates, which there isn’t anything wrong with, she said, and it’s more work to clean normal plates Thankyou notes are another example of something not practiced as much, especially since people can send a quick thank-you text. Lots of young people don’t know how to address an envelope either It’s sad but it’s the times, according to Setliff.

“I’m trying to do my little bit to preserve those little details of life to make someone else’s day better,” she said.

Richard said. “They say music is the international language, so the music has been able to transcend assimilation in a way the language has not It’s easier to learn how to play accordion than to learn a new language, which French has become, in most cases, for people in south Louisiana.”

He’s pleased to see younger generations of artists, like musicians Louis Michot and Jourdan Thibodeaux, invest in learning French and centering Louisiana music as part of Francophone culture. He said that he and Michot played together this summer for a French audience in Prince Edward Island, and the Lost Bayou Ramblers front man remarked on how different it was playing to an audience who knew what he was singing.

“The musical culture and the linguistic culture are actually healthier than they were 10 or 20 years

lobbied the Recording Academy for seven years to establish a Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album category from 2008 to 2011.

“Creole for Kidz and the History of Zydeco,” Simien’s interactive, education program, has been presented to more than 250,000 K-12 students across the globe. Simien still averages 50,000 miles on the road each year He has no plans to park his touring van yet. “I love my job to where it doesn’t even seem like a job,” he

ago,” Richard said. “Cajun music, in and of itself, is very, very seductive. People are seduced by the rhythm, the sonority, the energy, the joy — but it’s been a struggle to maintain creativity in a language that fewer and fewer people speak

“That musical culture is something that we should be incredibly proud of, because it could well have disappeared as well. The challenge is to go beyond that, and make it appealing enough to a younger generation to actually make the effort to speak the language. Because once we’ve lost the ability to conceive of ourselves as our ancestors did, then our culture will just head towards folklore and no longer be something vital and vibrant.

“But, the jury’s still out,” he said “There’s still hope.”

Email Joanna Brown at joanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

said. “After all these years, I’m in condition. As long as I have my health and God is pointing me in that direction, I hope I can play music until I can’t do nothing else.”

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

The 2025 festival poster for Festivals Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette was revealed during Artwalk on Sept. 13. The artwork was created by Nova Scotia artist Francois Gaudet, using a photograph of Cajun musician Zachary Richard at the 1975 festival taken by Louisiana photographer Elemore Morgan Jr

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

April Setliff, founder of Red Stick Refinement, hands cutlery to reporter Maddie Scott during an etiquette lesson at Setliff’s home.

Gaines Awardwinner‘talksacrosstime’ in debutnovel

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

To honor celebrated Louisiana

writerErnest Gaines,the Baton Rouge Area Foundation presents one of the most prestigiousliteraryprizes given to Black American writers, the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. The award serves to inspireand recognize rising African American ﬁction writers of excellence at a national level.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation willgive the 18th annual honor to Essie Chambersfor her novel “Swift River”at6:30 p.m Oct. 21, at the ManshipTheatre at the Shaw Center,100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge. Community members can attend the event by registering at ernestjgainesaward.org/rsvp.

The book award, initiated by donorsofthe Baton Rouge Area Foundation, comes witha monetary award of $15,000 to support and enablethe writer to focus on their craft.

From SwiftRiver to the MississippiRiver Chambers’ debut novel features teenagerDiamond Newberry as she navigates the summer of 1987 in her hometown of SwiftRiver, Massachusetts. Set in aforgotten mill town, the book acknowledges ahaunted place where industry has died, Chamberssays Diamond is the only Black girl in arural town, and she lives with her White mother.They are both ostracized, harassed and mocked for being “other” in the town. Then, Diamond receives aletter from alost cousin who was close to her father.Through this connection, Diamond learns about the strong Blackwomen who came beforeher,helping establish a rootedness and conﬁdence which shapes her character.Through letters and ﬂashbacks, Chambers

weaves amultigenerational tale of trauma and resilience. She illustrates aplace where people are suffering, struggling and haunted bythe former industry and its remnants, but thetown still has ariver running through it. Chambers says that it’s the right setting for astoryabout a family and agirlwho are haunted by past trauma.

‘The greatest honorofmylife’ Massachusettsnative Chambers hadasuccessful career in television andﬁlm production,includingproducingthe award-winning

2022 documentary,“Descendant,” but writing anovel was her earliest and mostpersistent dream. She says “Swift River” took 10 years to write andchanged as she changed through the years.

“I had this wonderful creative job,and Ihelped other people tell their stories, but Iwas neglecting my own story,” Chambers said. “I really wrotearound the edges of my life. The story came to me in pieces. Ithink thecharacters were always with me, but it didn’t come together until Icommitted myself to being awriter ” Chambers expresses gratitude

PROVIDED PHOTO

Essie Chambers is the author of ‘Swift River’ and winner of the 2025 ErnestJ.Gaines Award for LiteraryExcellence.

and humility when it comes to being apartofthe distinguished community of Ernest Gaines award winners.

For her,though, the award is really apush to keep going and to keep writing.

“Mr.Gaines had such aprofound impact on me as areader and awriter,sotobepart of his legacy and join this community of writers who Iadmire so deeply,it is the greatest honor of my life,” she said.

“There’ssomething so beautiful aboutbeing honored, not just for the book, but formy promise as awriter,and it feels like an investment in the person I’m going to becomeand the future stories that I’mgoing to tell. Andit’sjust the mostgenerous kind of encouragement and motivation.”

Chambers’ narrative voice is clear and direct in “SwiftRiver,” yet she integrates moments of poetry and fantasy into her prose. There is arichness in the language that imbues the story with depthand substance.

Chambers will visit Baton Rouge andobserve another town that ariver runs through.

‘Talking across time’

The judging panel forthe Ernest J. Gaines Award is comprised of poets, professors, short story writers and novelists. Anthony Grooms, Edward P. Jones, Opal Moore, Francine Prose and Patricia Towers read many submissions this year,but “Swift River” wasthe consensus winner Moore, apoet and retired literature professor from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, says “SwiftRiver” resonated with her because of the three interlocking stories told through letters and ﬂashbacks.

“You have these women talking across time, and that’ssuch a great subject because, no matter what we do, it’svery difficult for manypeople to take their imagination beyond the era that they’re living in,” Moore said. “I felt like that was areally powerful wayto talk about how women find each other —how younger womenfind these stories of older women. Their story seemssoremote until you live with them foramoment.” Moore also appreciated how the characters in “SwiftRiver” represented the ways Black people came through time, working toward things forupcoming generations, but those sacrifices and stories often aren’tseen by the descendants.

She noted that Chambers captured the important workthat is necessary in ﬁguring out who came before us. Another appeal of “SwiftRiver” was the engaging storytelling. Moore says the storytelling has manydoors forpeople to enter into it —through alove story,a mother/daughter relationship, asearch forracial identity or a journey to discover your heritage. Moore will facilitate the conversation with Chambers at the Ernest J. Gaines Award forLiterary Excellence presentation on Oct. 21 at the Manship Theatre. For moreinformation, visit ernestjgainesaward.org.

Email Joy Holdenatjoy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

N.O. bookshop areminderofhow fun readingcan be

On the last Saturday of August, Ibegan my morning with The New York Times, which carried yet another story about the decline of reading across the country Over the past two decades, the share of Americans who read for pleasure fell 40%, as The Times reported. It’sasobering trend witha lot of potential implications forthe future. Reading has many social benefits, and our connectionswith each other can grow weaker when fewer of us find the common ground that books often provide. But civic engagement wasn’t the first thing Ithought about after reading The Times’ story Instead, while mulling over the prospect of thoselegionsof nonreaders out there, Iworried about all the fun they’re missing. Fun was topofmind that day because my wife andI were planning aweekend drivetothe French Quarter,where ourfirst stop wasBeckham’sBookshop, a longtime Decatur Street destination for those in search of vintage volumes.

I’d ﬁrst visited Beckham’s in 1990,picking up an 1858 edition of “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table” by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Steve and Katrina Lacy bought Beckham’sfrom Carey Beckham and Alton Cook last year.Steve

hasoperatednearby Dauphine Street Books, which sells old and new titles, since 1994.

“I had often thought how wonderful it would be to buy Beckham’s,” Steve told me.“We ﬁnd that we’redoing pretty well so far.”

On an upper ﬂoor of Beckham’s Katrinahas been developing MadameLacy’s Retreat as acommunity gatheringplace. It recently hosted ayoga program, and other plans are in the works. But books have been thestar of Beckham’s since it opened many years ago, andthattradition is continuing with the Lacys

Theshop’stall windows and high ceilings create an open feel that brightens thebrowsing experience, though visitors might have to walk aroundJoni, the shop feline. Ifoundher napping by ahistory shelf, decorating the space likeathrow rug.

“Wesay she’sthe real owner,” Steve mentioned. While huntingfor another volume ofVirginia Woolf’s diaries, I foundinstead“TheJourney Not

theArrival Matters,” amemoir by Woolf’s husband, Leonard, about their life together.Myodyssey to ﬁnd somemedical essays by Oliver Sacks brought another happy accident when Ispotted “The PatientHas the Floor,” acollection of speeches by one of my favorite writers, Alistair Cooke.

Spying acopy of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s “A Time of Gifts” made me feel even luckier

I’d loved “A Time to Keep Silence,” his account of visits to European monasteries, and I knew this other Old World travelogue would be just as good. Ialso nabbed “At Homeand Abroad,” a collection of travel pieces by V.S. Pritchett, an English author I’ve cherished foryears.

I’msorry that fewerpeople are reading these days. They really don’tknow what they’re missing. Email Danny Heitman at danny@ dannyheitman.com

Dan an AT RANDOM ny Heitm DannyHeitman

Gaines

PHOTO By CATHERINE HEITMAN

Steve Lacy and his wifeKatrina bought Beckham’sBookshop in 2024. Steve Lacyisholding acopyofSusan Larson’s‘The Booklover’sGuidetoNew Orleans.’

‘LIVING THE DREAM’ AND SPLITTING THECOST

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Miriam Belblidia loved her pale pink and blue house in New Orleans’ Holy Cross neighborhood. But in 2022, after seven years there, she decided she wanted to be closer to the action, alittle farther upriver in Faubourg Marigny

At the time, Belblidia’sfriends, Thom Smith andClaireMehling, were renting half of ashotgun double in the Marigny when they learned the place was going up for sale, possibly putting their living situ-

rulesthataren’ttypical for ahome loan

Mississippi Rivercompanies making deals, changing handsin-stateand out

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

New Orleans-based Bisso Towboat Co., aﬁfth-generation family-owned business that services ocean-going vessels alongthe Mississippi River,has been purchased by Connecticut-based MoranTowing Corp., the latest of more than half adozen deals in the south Louisiana maritime industry in thepast six months. Moran, which has aﬂeet roughly

10 times the size of Bisso’s, will secure alarger share of the Gulf Coast marketthrough theacquisition. It has operated in New Orleans since2006 andwill now be betterableto“serve the growing needs of

ation in jeopardy The solution thethree friends found to solve their twin challengeswas once rare but has become more common:They pooled their money andbought the North Rampart Street house together, splitting thedown payment and monthly mortgage in half. With help from their real estate agent and title company,the three homebuyers all signed their names to the mortgage documents, taking sharedownership of thehome— and they inked a“prenup” agreement of sorts that laid outground

larger ﬁrms headquartered out of state. Othertransactions have been between in-state companies —like therecentpurchase of Houmabased Atlas Marine Services by Baton Rouge-based Loadstar Product Handling Service. And in somecases, locally based companies have been theones doing the buying. In June, Metairie’s Maritime Partners acquired a

ä See MARITIME, page 2E

When they closed theirloaninMay 2022, they were ahead of thecurve of what has become anationaltrend. In 2024, nearly 15% of homebuyers purchased theirhome witha friend or relative who wasn’taromantic partner.Buying this way means each buyer pays only apercentage of the down payment andmakes it easier to put down the 20% required to avoidprivate mortgage insurance, which could save hundreds of dollars amonth.

PROVIDED PHOTOByMORAN TOWING

The sale of Bisso Towboat Co. to Connecticut-based Moran Towing Corp. is the latest of more than half adozen dealsinthe south Louisiana maritime industryinthe past six months STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Julien Kyle-Rivière, left,and his husband, Brent, right, hang out and cookintheir kitchen with fellowhomeownersACand KenKabukuru. The twocouples jointly boughtashotgun double on Constantinople Street in NewOrleans with each occupying oneside

Campground sells for nearly $2.8 million

A 33-acre campground the northeast corner of Lafayette Parish has sold for almost $2.8 million.

Tim and Katlyn Ayers, of South Carolina, closed on a deal recently to purchase Bayou Wilderness RV Campground, 201 St. Clair Road, officials with Elifin Realty announced.

A limited liability company registered to Timmy Landry was the seller

The campground has 121 pullthrough spots for RVs along with a swimming pool, natural trail and pickleball and basketball court. It last changed hands four years ago when Landry bought it from the Decou family, records show Burton Richard, of Eliﬁn Realty, represented the buyer and the seller in the deal.

Mama’s Fried Chicken to open New Iberia location

Popular Opelousas restaurant

Mama’s Fried Chicken will open a New Iberia location.

Mama’s, which has two locations in Opelousas, is expected to open at 101 E. Admiral Doyle Drive by early next year, operator Ryan LaGrange said.

The building most recently housed a Louisiana Fried Chicken & Seafood location but for years was a Hardee’s restaurant

The original Mama’s Fried Chicken opened on St. Landry Street in Opelousas in 1977. It has earned regional recognition for both highquality Southern fare and reliably friendly customer service.

Lafayette to host travel writers conference

The International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association Convention will be held in Lafayette this week.

The three-day convention will begin Sunday and bring travel writers from across the country for an immersive experience in the heart of Cajun and creole country, ofﬁcials with Lafayette Travel announced. It is presented by the Louisiana

HOMES

Continued from page 1E

Over time, having multiple buyers share the costs of maintenance, insurance and taxes can create signiﬁcant savings, experts say “This was an incredible opportunity that fell in our laps,” Smith said. “We didn’t think we could ever afford to buy a historic house with all these great features in the heart of the action. We solved it by having ‘multiple unmarried persons’ on the mortgage, which is a hilarious phrase.”

Setting ground rules

Increasingly this decade, millennial and Gen Z homebuyers have been eschewing the traditional path to equity common for Gen X, boomers and previous generations: a married couple buys a house, paints the picket fence white and lives in it as a traditional family unit.

Instead, young buyers are getting married later, postponing kids and devising novel solutions to increased costs of living and wages that haven’t kept up with inflation. That means they are more open to nontraditional approaches to buying a home, still one of the most proven strategies for building long-term wealth. In a region of the country where sky-high insurance premiums add to challenges for homebuyers Belblidia, Smith and Mehling are among those learning the power of pooling resources.

Three years in, the North Rampart Street home ownership experiment is going well, the group says, in no small part due to careful planning and good communication.

Office of Tourism and will offer attendees activities, tours, panels and exclusive tastings. They will also experience Lafayette’s live music scene, historic sites and distinctive landscapes during private day tours.

The convention is an annual gathering, providing writers and content creators a platform to network, learn and deepen their understanding of destinations worldwide.

Trader Joe’s gets permit for Lafayette store

Popular specialty grocer Trader Joe’s has been granted a building permit for construction of a Lafayette store.

The specialty grocer was approved by Lafayette Consolidated Government for a location at the corner of Camellia Boulevard and Bluebird Avenue.

The project is valued at $6.5 million.

The company has still not bought the land at 1710 Camellia Blvd. but is expected to do so soon, a source close to the deal indicated.

It’s the latest location for the popular grocer which recently opened a New Orleans store. Trader Joe’s is known for its low prices, organic and specialty items, its wine and cheese selections and quirky culture.

LEDA hosting regional job fair

More than 60 regional employers and resource providers will participate in the 21st annual Acadiana Opportunity Job Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 22 at the Heymann Convention Center

The event is planned and hosted by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority Acadiana Society of Human Resource Management, Louisiana Works, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services and other community partners.

The Acadiana Opportunity Job Fair is free to job seekers. Job seekers should dress professionally and bring copies of their résumés.

Visit lafayette.org/opportunity for a list of participating employers and their job openings.

MARITIME

Continued from page 1E

marine transport company based in Seattle A month later, Host, which relocated its corporate headquarters from Virginia to Avondale Global Gateway in 2023, purchased a West Coast shipping agency and port operations ﬁrm to add to its growing presence at the former shipyard site.

“There is a lot going on in industrial services, and especially in the marine and logistics sectors,” said Gay LeBreton, managing director of Chaffe & Associates, a local investment banking ﬁrm that tracks mergers and acquisitions.

While each deal is unique, LeBreton said a couple of common factors are behind much of the recent activity One is a growing petrochemical sector across south Louisiana, which is fueling interest in maritime transport and logistics companies connected to it.

The other is pent-up demand from investors who held on to their cash in the early months of President Donald Trump’s administration and are now looking for deals.

“There is a lot of dry powder out there,” LeBreton said. “Investment funds that have been held, or not deployed as quickly as they usually are, need to get out in the market.”

Legacy business

Like the Canal Barge sale, the Bisso deal marks the end of an era in a local maritime industry that once was home to global powerhouses like Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., International Shipholding Corp., Transoceanic Shipping and Tidewater

Since the 1990s, the shipping companies have gradually sold, gone out of business or moved away Until recently, however, the tug and barge operators that serviced the massive oceangoing vessels were still based in New Orleans.

Bisso Towboat was among them and is the oldest continuously operating tugboat company on the Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 in New Orleans by Capt. Joseph Bisso, great-great-grand-

Smith and Mehling, who got married in 2023, have “semiregular meetings” with Belblidia to plan any repairs or discuss problems. They have a shared spreadsheet and an active group text thread to handle day-today issues. They have referred to their notarized co-ownership agreement from time to time It covers big questions: Who’s responsible for maintenance? Who beneﬁts from the increase in value if someone remodels a kitchen?

What happens if one owner wants to sell?

“Anybody doing this will want to have everything in writing,” Belblidia said.

Like most owners of centuryold New Orleans houses, the trio has had to spend thousands of dollars on upkeep over the last three years, including repairs to plumbing, exterior walls and the home’s foundation. They share responsi-

father of the company’s current president, Scott Slatten. At the time of the sale, the company had a ﬂeet of 10 “tractor tugs,” superpowerful tugboats capable of helping massive ships maneuver on the swift-moving river While the sale is the end of local ownership of the company, it doesn’t mean the loss of jobs or towboat activity along the lower Mississippi. Slatten said in a prepared statement that selling his family’s company was the best way to ensure “a continuous investment in the long-term health and growth of the business.”

He did not return calls seeking comment.

Like Bisso, Moran is a familyowned business with roots dating back to the 19th century. It has a ﬂeet of more than 100 barges and towboats that service 17 ports along the East and Gulf Coast and seven liqueﬁed natural gas terminals. It also has an environmental and industrial services division and does marine construction.

Tregurtha said Bisso was a “perfect complement” to the company’s existing operations in New Orleans and “allows us to advance to a far more modern combined ﬂeet in New Orleans more rapidly than just adding one tug at a time.”

New Orleans as a logistics hub

The recent spate of M&A activity in the local maritime sector is part of a larger national trend In the early months of the Trump administration, deal volume was down due to uncertainty around tariffs, trade and the effects of immigration on the national economy, national reports show While it’s still off about 10% compared with last year at this time, LeBreton said local activity is picking up.

“Now that they have passed the Big Beautiful Bill, there is a tax cut coming and a lower effective cost of capital and people are looking at that,” said LeBreton, who predicts deal volume will continue to increase through the ﬁrst half of 2026. “Our ﬁrm has been incredibly busy.”

Deals in the manufacturing and industrial sector, including maritime and energy, are particularly attractive, according to a report

with one another “We see each other several times a week, coming and going at the same time, or hanging out in the backyard,” Smith said.

From L.A. to La.

A few miles upriver from the North Rampart Street house, another group of friends is nearly three years into co-ownership of a shotgun double near the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street.

Judging by the festive atmosphere during a communal dinner earlier this week, the arrangement is paying off.

As one of the four homeowners chopped ingredients for chicken curry, others showed off the home’s new features, including a stylish new half bathroom, several pieces of restored furniture and a custom-built pool out back surrounded by tropical foliage.

by PMCF, a national investment banking ﬁrm.

“Across capital-intensive sectors like industrials, oil and gas, and chemicals buyers are focusing on transactions that offer geographic expansion, product diversiﬁcation, and cost efﬁciencies,” the report says.

David DeLaureal, managing partner of private equity firm Carr’s Hill Partners, said New Orleans’ location and transportation infrastructure create fertile ground for growth in industrial subsectors such as maritime logistics, energy services and transportation.

In July, his ﬁrm purchased a majority stake in Freedom Intermodal, a local company that provides tank and rail services for bulk liquids customers.

The deal, though different in many respects from the sale of Bisso or Canal Barge, was driven by some of the same factors that made both of the legacy companies attractive targets.

“New Orleans is only one of just two cities in the U.S. that all six Class 1 railroads connect to, with Chicago being the other,” he said. “When you think of that in the context of our existing port activity and the new port activity coming online, there is an opportunity to play a role in critical supply chains.”

LeBreton also sees opportunities in emerging sectors. One of the deals this year that her ﬁrm tracked was the acquisition of Gulf Craft, a Franklin shipyard, by Saronic.

The Texas-based startup plans to manufacture autonomous vessels for military and commercial clients at the site, creating hundreds of jobs in the process.

“I think there is an interesting trend to watch in the defense and maritime industries in Louisiana, with transactions like Saronic and some of our traditional companies that are making unmanned vessels and drones,” she said. “I think that is going to change the nature of what our shipyards are doing and reverberate back to our suppliers.”

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

stores. They wanted to live close to each other but to have some level of independence and, especially, to have their own kitchens.

“We didn’t even know a double shotgun existed before this,” Ken Kabukuru said. “But this is exactly what we were looking for.”

The only way the deal could work for everybody is if they teamed up to buy the place together paying $595,000. Julien Kyle-Rivière was the ﬁrst to move to the city, so the others gave him power of attorney

All four contributed to the 20% down payment and because they were splitting it, were able to cover the entire amount As a result, they have saved nearly $700 a month in private mortgage insurance payments.

They split the monthly mortgage and share expenses, including the cost of the new gutters and fence and a remodeled backyard.

bility for the property’s exterior and structural repairs but pay for interior renovations individually

In some cases, they have decided not to split the cost three ways, but to recoup investments if and when the house is sold.

“We will cross that bridge when we get there,” Mehling said.

Smith, who was initially skeptical about the idea, said there were early challenges to getting the paperwork done because the system is largely designed for single homebuyers or romantic couples. Real estate agent Katie Witry, who has sold several houses to groups of friends, and Crescent Title helped make the deal happen. Now, the three buyers have fallen into a rhythm that is both comfortable and comes with builtin advantages. They take care of each other’s pets, take turns scheduling and meeting with contractors and still enjoy socializing

On the kitchen ﬂoor, an oversized faux marble bust served as a conversation piece. Three wellbehaved dogs enjoyed the commotion from beneath the kitchen island.

As the pandemic was winding down, the two couples — Ken and AC Kabukuru, and Brent and Julien Kyle-Rivière — decided to leave Los Angeles and make a new home base in New Orleans, using a job offer for Julien KyleRivière as an excuse to start over in a more affordable city

“We always thought it would be a dream to get a place together but the prices in L.A. are high,” AC Kabukuru said. “We chose New Orleans because of its culture.”

The friends selected the Constantinople Street house for its ﬂoor plan and near-perfect “walkability score,” meaning it’s close to many restaurants, bars and

“It makes it a lot easier to live the dream when you can split it four ways,” AC Kabukuru said.

What they didn’t do was sign any extra paperwork.

“We just put our names on the title,” Kabukuru said. “It’s not an inexpensive house, so the mortgage is real If someone was not able to pay, it would be a problem, but we’ve known each other for so long that we trust each other.”

Now the friends joke about adding a passageway in the wall that separates their kitchens so it will be easier to share ingredients when they’re cooking on their own.

Kabukuru said that, overall, there have been far more pros than cons.

“It’s been smooth sailing so far,” she said.

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By By RICH COLLINS

Miriam Belblidia, Claire Mehling and Thom Smith chat on the front porch of their shared home in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans.

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

When restaurateurs need to resupply,they call on companies like S&W Foods.

The familyowned food service distribution company counts local resta urants, regional coffee shop chains and public school districts among its 1,000clients

Second-generation owner Paul Spalitta has led the 47-year-old Tangipahoa Parish business through two decades of growth— morethantripling its revenue to $80millionduringthattimeand expanding its clientelebeyond southLouisiana along theGulf Coast into Florida.

Despite amassive drop in business during the height of the coronavirus pandemic,Spalitta managed to broaden S&W’s customer base, in part, by buying his employees’ lunches from local restaurants andthenpromoting them on social media.

More recently,heoversaw S&W’s$25 million move into a Hammond facility ﬁve times the size of prior headquarters. Today, he runs the company with his two daughters. In this week’sTalking Business, Spalitta explains how he’sguided the 125-employee business’sgrowth while staving off competition from “Goliaths” in the industry

This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity

What led you to realize you need to expand, and then, what were the challenges?

We really started scaling up the company back in 2016-17. Almost daily,myoperations manager would come into my ofﬁce, “We

TALKING BUSINESS

ASK THEEXPERTS

againstgiants’

good food is agiven in arestaurant—you have to have that thething that you have to understandwhenyou open arestaurant: It’sabusiness. Iremember Iusedtoride on trucks making deliveries, and someofthe things that Isaw years agocertainly would never ﬂy today,and so Ithink the level of professionalismofthe independent operators has certainly increased.

How much do you think theCOVID pandemic changed theindustry? Alot of restaurants scaled back theirmenus, with not as diverse of aproduct offering as theydid before. Alot scaled back their hours, and those things have stuck.

management team. So Iquickly realized that Igot to have some help, andsoI started hiring people to help me with that. And throughoutthe years, we have built atremendous leadership team.

I’m very blessed that Ihave strong people around me.Fortunately,I’ve gotpeople alot smarter than me around me, and that’s what Ineed. Ioften say it, but if I’m the smartest guy in the room, we’re allintrouble

What do you think is differentabout working with family members, being their boss or having them be your boss?

won’thave enough space at the warehouse.” He said,“You’ve got to slow down.” I’m like,“We’renot slowing down. Figure it out.” Iknew we had to do something, so back around 2018-19, we found some property and got allthe plans done for abrand-new facility.Bythe time we got allthat done, it was mid-2020. Iwas anticipating acostofabout $15million. Thecontractor comes back and says, “Oh, this is gonna be $27 million.” We couldn’tdothat, so I tabledit.

Overthe next year,abig retail distribution center in Hammond went out of business, andwe started negotiating with them. Thefacilitythat was 21/2 times the size of what Iwas going to build waymore space than we needed —but Iknew we would ﬁgure it out. And that’swhat areal focus is now: How do we continue to push forward and grow thebusinessto use the capacitywehave here?

How do you see your business changing in

the coming years? As part of this new facilityand thenew capacity that we have, we’relooking at increasing our presence withnational chains

To do that, there are certain requirements and one of the ones that most national chains require is athird-party audit —you have to have someone come in andinspect your facilitytomakesure that it’soperating in asafe, food safety mannerand your business practices are clean and sanitary. We are very excited and pleased that we recentlywereaccredited by theAmerican Institute of Bakers, whichisgoing to allowusto do business with the bigger national chains and to rapidly scale andgrow Separately fromhow your businesshas changed, how has the industryatlarge evolved over the years?

So many times I’ve seen people open restaurants because they think they makeagreat gumbo or barbecue or whatever it is. While

Ithink operatorsrealize,“Ican do this, and Idon’thave to work 90 hours aweek,” andsothey certainly realize that quality of life is important. Andthe negative side of that is the fact thata lotof their employees realized the same thing, and it’sbecome arealchallenge in the restaurant industry

Employeesare achallengeeverywhere, but it’s an entry-level employeejob for most of them, andmaintaining proper stafﬁng levels is achallenge. Sometimes thewait timesare longer,and you don’tget quitethe serviceyou usedtoget. Ithink that’spart of thepermanent change.

Do you find yourself working 90 hours aweek? How do you balance business responsibilities withneeding time and space for yourself?

Well, the good thing about our business is thatit’sfive days a week, it’s Monday through Friday So Iget the weekends off, and I enjoy and cherish that time off with my family Back in 2006, basically my mother,myfatherand myself ran thecompany.Whentheyretired, there just walked out66% of the

I’m blessed to have two of my daughters involved in the company with me,grooming them to take over this business in the future. They,like myself, grew up around thebusiness.Our family vacations were plannedaround businesstrips wherewewould go to conventionsand things like that.

It’salot of fun and good times, but it also hasits challenging moments. Sometimes family members don’tsee eyetoeye, andthat presents challenges, but you work through it.

Ithink there’sanadvantage to being afamily business andanindependent company because most of ourcompetitors are big national companies, and so we compete against giants. We’redefinitelythe David in this Goliath story —and whatour customers like is the fact thatwe are muchmore nimble andﬂexible,weprovide outstanding customer service. And most of my customers are friends of mine, people thatI’ve been knowing for many yearsand just have agreat time doing business with. EmailJonah Meadows at Jonah.Meadows@theadvocate. com.

Building the Future of Energy Logistics.

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

The Port of New Orleans and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development have signed an agreement to advance the long-discussed St. Bernard Transportation Corridor — a proposed elevated highway that would link the planned Louisiana International Terminal in Violet to the interstate system.

The project, expected to cost around $1 billion, is seen as critical to handling the thousands of trucks that will serve the new container terminal, which is sched-

uled to open in 2028 if it overcomes permitting hurdles.

Port and state officials say the new road would also improve local traffic flow and provide a hurricane evacuation route.

“This project addresses both the economic and safety needs of our state,” said DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet, calling it a “strategic link between our international trade system and our communities.”

The agreement comes five months after the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission released its long-awaited feasibility study outlining several potential routes, all involving an elevated expressway over the Central Wetlands. The most favored option would connect directly from the Violet terminal to Paris Road and

onto the interstate.

Port NOLA President and CEO Beth Branch said the partnership with DOTD marks “an important milestone” in moving both the terminal and corridor forward “with one unified vision for our region’s future.” Still, the road — like the multibillion-dollar terminal project it would serve — remains controversial. The new terminal has long been considered crucial if New Orleans wants to continue to compete for international container ship business as vessels grow ever larger. Advocates also have said the facility is

needed to attract new manufacturing and distribution investment to the region.

Many St. Bernard Parish residents and leaders, however, continue to oppose the terminal’s location, warning it will bring truck congestion, noise and wetlands destruction.

St. Bernard Parish President Louis Pomes has said he is “firmly opposed” to the terminal but wants a say in which road alternative is chosen if it moves ahead. “If we lose that fight, we refuse to leave our people exposed,” he said in May The terminal itself is still await-

ing key federal approval. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers held a public hearing in May as part of its environmental review under the Clean Water and Rivers and Harbors acts, taking written comments through early June The Corps is now reviewing those submissions and could issue a decision later this year, according to Port NOLA officials. Until the Corps signs off, construction on the terminal — and any related road work — cannot begin. Port officials plan to seek a private partner to finance and operate the elevated road as a toll facility, with DOTD providing technical support and oversight of required federal environmental studies. Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

NATION & WORLD

Consumers get surprise sticker shock ordering imports online

BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN Los Angeles Times

Every year, Ventura County, California, resident Carlos Soto buys a Liverpool Football Club jersey for his son to celebrate the start of the soccer season. This year it was delivered with an additional bill of $107.

“The UPS guy said he couldn’t release it unless I paid more,” Soto said. “Until this tariff thing started, I’ve never, ever had a bill on top of my purchase.” Soto declined the payment and requested a refund for the jersey, which he bought from the team’s ofﬁcial website for around $150.

Since President Donald Trump reversed a decades-old tariff policy in August known as de minimis, online shoppers like Soto are sometimes getting hit with high, unexpected extra charges. De minimis used to allow goods valued at less than $800 to enter the country duty-free. The tariff exception applied to more than 1.3 billion packages sent to the U.S. from overseas in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Social media is full of reports of individuals struggling with surprise bills for their deliveries. On Facebook and elsewhere, buyers are venting about hundreds of dollars due on mouse pads, makeup and bridesmaid dresses. One person on Reddit faced a $4,700 fee on a specialized desk chair from Bulgaria.

While the new fees are often already baked into product prices, some goods land in America without the tariffs being paid. That’s when the person receiving the package is expected to fork over the difference.

Package delivery companies have been scrambling to educate consumers about the new tariff regime, but still, some are surprised. UPS, FedEx and DHL have each posted frequently asked questions and resources online to support customers who may owe tariffs on their items. Large numbers of customers are calling with complaints

“If you import anything to the United States, you most likely have been impacted,” he said in July “These changes can be very difﬁcult to understand.”

“There’s not a lot of clarity on who’s collecting them and where they’re going.”

Since President Donald Trump reversed a decadesold tariff rule called de minimis in August allowing shoppers to buy goods valued at less than $800 to enter the country duty free, some package delivery companies have been having to collect the balance at the door

PROVIDED PHOTO

or confusion when presented with unexpected bills — UPS said it is working through a backlog of brokerage-related issues.

“Our brokerage services are designed to ensure shipments comply with regulations (and) pay necessary duties and taxes,” UPS spokesperson Jim Mayer said. “If the shipper or receiver have not paid these costs, UPS generates a bill so the shipment can be released by Customs and Border Protection.”

Mark Hartlidge, a small package compliance manager at UPS, called the changes this year a “rollercoaster ride” in one webinar hosted for customers.

While large companies and online retailers have the staff and infrastructure in place to make the transition smoothly, smaller businesses that export directly to the U.S. are sometimes failing to inform consumers about the extra costs and when they are due.

Washington, D.C., resident David Herr, who restores classic cars, recently ordered an auto part from Belgium for about $200.

“I knew I was going to have to pay some import fee, but I had no idea what it was going to be,” Herr said. “I didn’t know if that was included in the price, or if that was going to be collected by customs or somebody else.”

When Herr’s package arrived via UPS, the delivery driver presented him with a hefty charge of $493.

“It’s kind of awkward how the fees are collected,” he said.

The popular fast fashion website Shein, which is based in Singapore, advertises a guarantee that the price at checkout is the ﬁnal price for the product.

“There’s lots of chatter about tariffs, but here’s why you don’t need to worry about paying anything extra after checkout,” the Shein website says.

Temu, another low-cost online retailer that previously relied on de minimis, states on its website that for its customers, there are “no import charges for all local warehouse items and no extra charges upon delivery.”

De minimis, which is Latin for something of little importance, dates to 1938 when Congress passed the exception to boost trade and save the time of inspecting and calculating taxes on every package.

Lawmakers increased the dutyfree threshold from $1 to $5 in 1990

and again to $200 in 1993. Under the most recent threshold of $800, the number of packages entering the U.S. duty-free had skyrocketed.

Trump has called the rule a “scam” that weakens American businesses and allows dangerous goods to enter the country without oversight. Packages that claim the exemption are not inspected as thoroughly by U.S Customs personnel.

Trump ended the loophole for goods sent from China in May before eliminating the practice for goods from all other nations in August Documents and gifts under $100 are still exempt from import taxes.

Soto in Thousand Oaks decided to search for a Liverpool jersey in California. But he’s still waiting for the refund on the jersey he sent back.

“When it comes to politics and government, I’ve always kind of turned away from it,” he said. “But this time it actually hurt my pocket.”

Helen Dwight was named senior director of health policy at The Picard Group. Dwight will work in the ﬁrm’s federal practice in Washington, D.C., along with Hunter Hall, Catherine Lenz and Trè Nelson on behalf of health care clients.

She has more than 15 years of experience working in Washington as a governmental affairs and health care leader

Dwight spent seven years in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently leading the federal affairs team for Otsuka America Pharmaceutical.

Amy Courville was named director of business development for Acadian Federal Resources, an initiative of Acadian Cos.

Courville has 24 years of experience working in disaster response and emergency management, including more than a decade leading large-scale projects with a private firm and operating her own consulting company She has worked closely with federal, state and local government clients as well as nonproﬁt and privatesector partners.

In her new role, Courville will work to grow Acadian’s partnerships with federal, state and local agencies while introducing the company’s emergency response,

Issued Oct. 1-7

Commercial alterations

OFFICE: 913 S. College Road, description, build out of second-ﬂoor space for an ambulatory infusion suite for Option Care Enterprises; applicant, Burnham Nationwide; contractor, Singleton Construction; $200,000

RETAIL: 1304 W. Pinhook Road, description, change use of historical structure from a restaurant setup as Café Vermilionville to a retail occupancy for formal wear and gowns; applicant, Park Lane Stylist & Consultant; contractor, Terry

safety and medical services to new markets.

Fontenot Kaser Guidroz Ethan Guidry and Aslynn Heilman-Walker

The National EMS Academy, a sister company to Acadian Ambulance, announced 21 graduating emergency medical technicians from its Lafayette program.

The graduates completed a training program and are now equipped with the skills to provide critical care in their communities.

Graduates include Ethan Arena, Wyatt Barrar Braeden Clark Maile Clement, Caley Doyle, Conner Felarise, Nyssa

James Voisin; $100,000.

RETAIL: 529 Fortune Road, Youngsville; description, demolition and removal of existing home and trailer and other work including installation of gas pumps and building construction for Grab N Geaux; applicant, SPEC LLC; contractor, Singh Petro Solutions; $800,000.

OTHER: 2429 W. Congress St., Suite L; description, interior renovation of customer area and restroom for BEP Lafayette in former China Wok space; applicant, BHA; contractor, LADNB; $55,000. RESTAURANT: 101 Liberty Ave.,

Others include Logan Lockwood, Gary Mouton, Amar Narcisse, Dylan Norse, Maggie Prados, Kaden Romero, Kelsea Romero, Hailey Seymour Annaka Shiryaev Caleb Snody and Elanor Waldon

Ben Berthelot, CEO and president of Lafayette Travel, was named chair of the Southeast Tourism Society’s executive committee, making him the principal volunteer leader for the organization that represents the tourism industry across 13

BUILDING PERMITS

description, cosmetic remodel of dining room and minor remodel of building exterior for new Off The Hook seafood restaurant; applicant and contractor, Chart Construction; $500,000. AVIATION: 217 Tower Road, description, work to existing hangar; applicant and contractor, JB Mouton; $136,123.

New commercial

RETAIL: 1710 Camellia Blvd., description, single-story structure with closed-in delivery area in rear of building for Trader Joe’s; applicant,

states and Washington, D.C. He will preside over board and committee meetings, guide the organization’s strategic direction and be a key spokesperson for Southern Tourism Society at industry events. It is his second stint on the organization’s board of directors.

Abigail Benoit was named director

Ritter Maher Architects; contractor, Thomas Grace Construction; $6.5 million.

Commercial demolition

OTHER: 301 E. Willow St., description, none listed; applicant and contractor, L Michaud Construction; $7,500. New residential 804 SUMMER ST., BROUSSARD: DSLD, $128,928.

1002 N. PIERCE ST., LOT B: Reliance Real Estate Group; $75,000. 209 RUTHWOOD DRIVE: Tommy Pul-

of business development for Louisiana West for Acadian Ambulance. A native of Franklin, Benoit returned to Acadiana after graduate school and has over 18 years in health care operations and business development, including 13 working with skilled nursing facilities before transitioning into hospice care. In her new role, Benoit will focus on expanding and improving emergency medical services across Louisiana West, which comprises Lafayette and 18 other parishes.

Noor Tariq, who specializes in psychiatry, will join the medical staff at Opelousas General Health System this month. Tariq earned a doctorate from the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio and completed her psychiatry residency at Texas Institute for Graduate Medical Education and Research in San Antonio where she served as chief resident in academics and was named Resident of the Year

She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and American Osteopathic Association.

Christopher McFarlain, a former tax auditor for the Louisiana Department of Revenue, has become a partner at EisnerAmper

lig, no amount given. 117 ORCHARD PARK AVE.: Overton Homes, $400,000. 201 WAKELY COURT: DSLD, $253,000. 510 JUDICE LANE, DUSON: DSLD $284,750.

406 JUDICE LANE, DUSON: DSLD $292,250.

905 SAINT CHARLES ST.: Reliance Real Estate Group; $75,000. 227 TATUM LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $87,780. 304

MADE IN LOUISIANA

Hovercraft of the future being built in N.O. East

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

From its shipyard just past the floodwall in New Orleans East, Textron Systems designs, builds and tests the latest in hovercraft technology

Workers there take in 40-footlong sheets of raw aluminum, cut them into components build up subassemblies and put together watertight hulls before flipping them over and adding the modules on top The whole process takes about two years before the hovercraft head outside and undergo the rigorous set of trials required by their U.S. Navy purchaser.

Over the past ﬁve years, Textron has completed 15 next-generation hovercraft — called Ship-to-Shore Connectors — with plans to build another 54 at its 47-acre Chef Menteur Highway plant The company also operates in Slidell and at the Michoud Assembly Facility

The division of Rhode Islandbased Textron Inc., a publicly traded multi-industry conglomerate with nearly $14 billion in annual revenue, also produces armored personnel carriers, unmanned vehicles and various weapons systems. But the focus for the more than 600 workers at its New Orleans shipyard is building the high-tech, air-cushioned amphibious landing crafts at a rate of four per year

The Textron plant’s location outside the levee protection system in Bayou Sauvage provides distinct advantages — the ability to easily “ﬂy” the amphibious military vehicles to Lake Pontchartrain to conduct simulated missions or out onto the Gulf for delivery to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City Florida.

The environment also comes with some hazards, including storms and ﬂooding.

Then there’s the threat of alligator intrusion. Gators can regularly be found sunning themselves outside the plant, according to Ryan Schaffernocker, senior vice presi-

dent of marine systems.

One such reptilian trespasser traipsed into the shipyard late one Sunday last year after most workers had gone home.

“We caught him on security camera walking into one of our buildings,” Schaffernocker said.

“Our morning shift came in on Monday and started working and hearing that hissing sound that they make when they feel threatened.”

The occasional surprise alligator is a small price to pay for direct water access, engineering tal-

Beyond.

Beyond isn’taplace —it’samindset. Andit’sabelief that haspowered us forover80years.Weare Jones Walker LLP,aﬁrm driven by an entrepreneurialspirit, a deepsense of community, andaﬁerce determination to deliver exceptionalservice andvalue forour clients.

Since1937, our ﬁrm hasbeencommitted to workingwith communityleaders to develop business opportunities across thestate.Weare steadfastincontinuingour dedicationto go beyond in advising clientsand supporting initiativesand organizationsthatmake Louisiana abetterplace to live andwork.

WilliamH.Hines

Managing Partner bhines@joneswalker.com 504.582.8000

201St. CharlesAvenue NewOrleans,LA70170-5100 joneswalker.com

Attorney Advertising. No representation is made that thequality of legal services to be performedisgreater than thequality of legalservices performedbyother attorneys. LA-25-19274

ent and a supply of skilled tradespeople like shipﬁtters, machinists, electricians and welders, of which there are 100 working at the New Orleans plant.

The new generation of hovercraft replaces the Landing Craft Air Cushion, the decades-old model of amphibious vehicles — also made in Louisiana by Textron — used by the Navy to deliver Marines and their equipment to shore.

Since 2012, Textron has received more than $2 billion in government contracts to develop and build the next-generation hovercraft. Its most recent contract, awarded in June, called for three craft at a cost of $118 million each, not including the cost of components like the engines, skirt and other composites that the government provides prior to assembly

What does that buy? A 92-footlong vessel capable of carrying 74 tons, enough for an M-1A1 Abrams tank equipped with a mine plow, the heaviest cargo the Marines ever need to land. An SSC can also carry up to 150 fully

equipped troops when it has a personnel transport module installed.

“What’s great about having a hovercraft is you can access over 70% of the world’s coastlines, because you’re flying,” Schaffernocker said. “You’re flying a very small amount over the surface of the water You go right up on the beach, drop your ramps, offload your cargo, and then go back to the ship for another load. You don’t have to worry about things like coral reefs or obstacles.”

That versatility is especially valuable for logistics in humanitarian assistance, disaster response or resupply missions.

While the SSC comes equipped with mounting points for weapons, its primary role is a noncombat one.

Schaffernocker said Textron designers swapped in a more corrosion-resistant aluminum composite, as well as a new electronic ﬂight control system to address one of the biggest problems with the previous generation of hovercraft: training pilots to operate the craft.

“There was a very high fail-out rate, so the new ﬂy-by-wire computer system takes a lot of the guesswork and a lot of the challenges that came along with training those sailors,” he said “Essentially, a computer does a lot of the work for you.”

Future versions of the hovercraft will likely have the ability to pilot themselves, although selfdriving is not yet a requirement of the Navy’s hovercraft procurement program, Schaffernocker said.

“We have a lot of engineering background, a lot of heritage, a lot of intellectual property around what it takes to uncrew a vehicle,” he said. “I certainly see that as part of the future for the program.”

Email Jonah Meadows at Jonah.Meadows@theadvocate. com.

Drivingregionaleconomicgrowththrough legalknowledge,strategic guidance, andindustry-focusedpartnerships.

Ourﬁrm is optimisticabout Louisiana’seconomicfuture, particularly in oiland gas, sustainableenergy,digital healthcare,and technology.As thestate advances in energy transition andinnovation, businesses must navigate evolving legal landscapes.Our affiliate, AvidentAdvisors,supportsthistransformation by providingstrategic site selection andinvestment guidanceacrosskey sectors, includingcarboncapture, ports, sustainableenergy, andadvanced manufacturing. With strong momentum andexpanding opportunities, Louisiana is poised forsigniﬁcanteconomicgrowth—and we areproud to help lead theway forward.

PROVIDED PHOTOS By TEXTRON SySTEMS

The newest generation of hovercraft, the Ship-to-Shore Connector or SSC, is made in Louisiana by Textron Systems, formerly known as Textron Marine & Land Systems.

Textron Systems employs 615 workers at its shipyard in New Orleans East, about a dozen at a secure storage space it leases at Michaud Assembly Facility and about 70 at its vehicle production and administrative facilities in Slidell.

WilliamH.Hines

PROVIDED PHOTOS

FINDING ADAM’S VOICE

NewOrleans momspeaksfor her children with rare geneticdisease

BY MARGARETDeLANEY Staffwriter

When Adam started kindergarten, histeacher could tell he was behind The other kids could color inside the lines. The other kidscould identify redobjects. Adam could not.

“He was my first child,” said Adam’s mother,Missy Ward.“I had no one to compare him to.”

Then,Adam started having bathroom accidents. He started falling.

After the liver transplant in February 1995, Amanda tested positive for Niemann Pick Disease type C, arare, inherited genetic disease that affects the body’sability to transport andprocess cholesterol and other fatty substances inside the cell.

“It’sbeen special to tell our family’sstory.

We hope itcan help others heal and know that they’re not alone.”

MISSy WARD

“He would trip over in the mall,” Ward said.“Likeamarionette —withoutthe strings, thepuppet just falls. It would be like that.”

At the same time, the newest addition to the Ward family,Amanda,was in and out of the hospital.

Amanda was born withcystic ﬁbrosis and an enlarged liver,a condition that required her to have aliver transplant when she was 4monthsold.

Niemann PickCis progressive andneurodegenerative, presenting as delayed child milestones andlossof muscle quickly.Other symptomsinclude clumsiness, learning difﬁculties,difﬁcultyswallowing, slurred speech and seizures.

At 6, after ayear and a half of symptoms, frustration and developmental declines,Adam was also diagnosed withNiemann Pick C.

“Each child is different,” saidDr. Hans Andersson, apediatric professor and director of the HaywardGenetics Center at Tulane University in New Orleans.

ä See VOICE, page 2X

started writing ‘Adam’s Voice’ after her son’sdeath in 2000. The memoir of her son Adam’slifewas printed and published in 2025.

BY SHANTELL GOMEZ Contributing writer

Around age 40, most adults notice the need to hold aphone or book alittle farther away to read. Vision changes, which happen to almost everyone during midlife, mayfeel like another sign of aging, but the good news is that there are more options than ever to keep eyes healthy and sight sharp.

Dr.Erica Lukasko, an optometrist who treats patients daily at her practice in Lafayette, is also experiencing these same changes herself.

“Now that I’m wellinto my 40s,” Lukasko said, “I’m notjust speaking fromknowledge —I’m speaking from experience. Iget to try the treatments on myself and recommendwhattruly works.”

Vision changesafter 40

The most commonchange is presbyopia, which occurs when the lens in the eye loses ﬂexibility, making it harder to focusonobjectsupclose.That’swhenreading glasses —orprogressive lenses,ifswitching between different distances is needed —comeinto play.

Over-the-counter readers may work for some people, but Lukasko warns they aren’talways the best solution.

“Theydon’t account fordifferences between your eyes, andif you’re not looking through the optical centerofthe lens, they can actually create eyestrain, Lukasko said. Progressive lenses, or no-line bifocals, area good choice for those who frequently switchbetween near and far tasks, andthere are even ofﬁce versions designed speciﬁcally forheavyscreen time.

Contact lenses are also an option —even if correction is only needed up close. Multifocal contacts or monovision, where one eye is correctedfor distance and the otherfor near vision, canprovide freedom from glasses.

In addition, prescription drops, including Qlosi and Vuity, are now available that can improve near visionfor several hours aday Dryeyesinahumid climate Eveninthe humidityofsouth Louisiana,dry eyes arecommon —especially in midlife. Factors like ceiling fans, air conditioning andallergy medications can all contribute.

Symptoms include scratchiness, burning, redness, watering or blurry vision. Fortunately, there areplenty of ways to manage this condition:

n Fish oil(Omega-3s): About 2,000 milligrams aday helpsimprove theoily layeroftears, preventing them from evaporating tooquickly

AtOchsnerCancerCenterofAcadiana,webelievethateveryindividual’s journeywithcancerisunique.Withcompassionandexpertise,wecollaborate withyoutodevelopacomprehensivetreatmentplantailoredtoyourspeciﬁc diagnosis.Weunderstandthattheroadtoremissioncanbechallenging,but withusbyyourside,hopeandhealingconvergealongyourpath,and—inthe faceofcancer—youareneveralone Learnmoreatochsner.org/CCA

Missy Ward holds hernewborndaughter,Amanda. It was the last time Adam and Chelsea Ward would seetheirlittlesister until her return from aliver transplant in Dallas at 4months old.

ROVIDED

Missy Ward

HEALTH MAKER

CAR-T pioneertrainsbodytofight cancer

BY KAYLA YUP The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

Philadelphia’spioneering cancer scientist, Carl June, hasbeen honoredwith two awardsinthe last month for his seminal work engineering the body’simmune system to fight cancer June has spent decadesresearching CAR-T,animmunotherapy in which regular immune cells are geneticallymodified to becomecancer-killing super soldiers. And he says his lab’swork is far from finished.

June

The University of Pennsylvania scientist was chosen last week for the inaugural Broermann Medical Innovation Award for his decades of research on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) Tcell therapy, known as CAR-T.Toutedas“a living drug,” the therapy has revolutionized treatmentfor blood cancers, saving tens of thousands of lives since its ﬁrst use in a2010 clinical trial June co-led atPenn.

The treatment used in that trial, Kymriah, was developed in June’s lab and ultimately became the ﬁrst CAR-T cell therapy togain FDAapproval in2017.

He will share the award, worth more than $1 million, withColumbia University scientist Michel Sadelain, who worked on a similar technique at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Since June’sclinical success, several other CAR-T products have been approved, and more than 1,000 trials have been

“Wecan catch problems like glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration early We can also detect signs of systemic issues likehigh blood pressure, diabetes or thyroid disease —sometimes before other symptoms appear.”

DR. ERICA LUKASKO

EYE

Continued from page1X

n Warm compresses: Applyingawarm compress for 10 minutes daily keeps eyelid glands functioning properly

n Artiﬁcial tears: Choose preservative-free drops andskip formulas that claim to “get the redout.”

n Prescription drops: For stubborn cases, stronger treatments are available through an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

Simple daily steps make adifference in long-term eye health:

n Eat dark leafy greens, rich in antioxidants like lutein.

n Wear sunglasses —UVrays damage eyes just like theydamageskin.

n Avoid smoking, which raises the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

n Follow the 20/20/20 rule for screen breaks: Every 20 minutes, look 20 feetawayfor 20 seconds.

n Use adequate lighting.

n Get enough sleep —rest is vital for healthy eyes.

Eyeexams matter

After40, acomprehensive eye exam once ayear is key— even when vision seems ﬁne. “Wecan catch problemslike glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration early,” Lukasko said. “Wecan also detect signs of systemic issues like high blood pressure, diabetes or thyroid disease —sometimes before other symptoms appear.”

Certain symptoms call for immediate attention. Flashes of light, new ﬂoaters, or a“curtain” or shadow in vision can signal retinal problems. Sudden vision loss or eye pain alsorequires urgent care. Eyes will change with age, but that doesn’tmean living with poor vision or constant discomfort.

“I never want someone leavingtheir exam feeling like their vision is just falling apart,” Lukasko said. “I want them to leave educated and excited about their plan of action.”

launchedaround theworld. Interestincell andgenetherapies has also exploded throughout Philadelphia, turning thecity into a biotech hub thatsomehave nicknamed“Cellicon Valley.”

The Penn scientist has collected anumber ofprestigious honors over theyears, including a2023 Breakthrough Prize and, earlier this month, a2025 BalzanPrize forGeneand Gene-Modiﬁed Cell Therapy

While most of these recognize June’searlysuccesses in developingCAR-T,his labhas continued making advancesinthe lab and clinic.

Their recent efforts have involved optimizing the therapy and expandingits uses to other cancers anddiseases.

TheInquirer spoke with June, whohas been at Penn since 1999, to learn more about his lab’slatest research andthe future of CAR-T

Thefollowingconversation has been edited for length and clarity

What hasyour lab been up to recently?

What we’re focusing on in my lab is ﬁguring out what it will take to cure solid cancers.

There’s still alot of work needed in blood cancers, but Ithink that’smore of an engineering problem. It’sgetting theright targets.

I’m conﬁdent thatT cells can kill every blood cancer if they’re properly targeted. We may need to combine it with other things, but we’re not anywhere close to thatfor solid cancers like pancreatic cancer.Weknow in principle what we can do to tackle solid cancers, but we still need a lotof science to be uncovered to

VOICE

Continued from page1X

“Bothin theseverityand the time their symptomsappear.”

Adam,who was ﬁve years older than hissister,declined rapidly after his diagnosis.Henever progressed in hisspeech or motor skills. He lost his ability to ride a bike and to eat food that he liked.

“At thetime, there wasnothing,” Ward said.“No treatment.Nocure. When our kids werediagnosed, there was onlyone known case in Louisiana.”

As Amandagot better, hitting childhoodbenchmarks, Adam got worse

He was soon conﬁned to awheelchairand fed through atube.

Four years after his diagnosis, Adamdied in June 2000. He was 10.

“Hewas just goofy,” Ward said. “Hewould just laugh and play at all kinds ofthings.”

Shortly after his death, however Amanda begantomirror her brother’spattern of decline.

At 5years old, Amanda started to lose her fallreﬂex —just like Adam.

“Her falling was precipitated by laughter,” Ward said. “But everything wasfunny to Amanda.Our living room —our house —for years wascovered in blankets and beanbagstocatch her fall if she laughed too hardatsomething.”

Amanda hada grand malseizure in 2004 and never regained herability to smileortolaugh. And, in December 2004, she died at 10 years old —just like Adam.

Afuturefullofgenetics

When Adam and Amanda were diagnosed, gettingthe genetic test results took several weeks. There was only one laboratory in the country that was running the genetic testsnecessary to diagnose their rare disease.

Now,genetic diagnosis takes a few days.

Technology and awareness for rare diseases have come along way in thepast 20 years.

Back then, Andersson treated both Adam and Amanda for Niemann Pick CatTulane. He diagnosed Adam usinga skin biopsy, andhe helped treat Amanda after herdiagnosis Although technology is improving, and more people are dedicated to finding treatment options for patients,there is no cure forNiemann PickC

However,the Federal Drug Administration has approved arimoclomol, or Miplyffa, in combination with the enzyme inhibitor miglustat to treat neurological symptoms associated with Niemann Pick Cinadults and children 2years of age andolder

make it reproducible.

We just had apaper published afew weeks ago where we used CAR-T cells for pancreatic cancer,and we found out that the CAR-T cells in the patients were completely exhausted within two weeks.

They just stopped working. That doesn’thappen in blood cancer,sowe’re studying themechanismsofwhat makes that happen andwhat we can do to overcome that.

That involves thingslike either genetic editing the Tcells to knock out the molecules that allow exhaustion to happen, or overexpressing other molecules. That’sa very large area of research in mylab.

Youfound that these cells were only active for two weeks. How long are they usually active in blood cancers?

The ﬁrst patient that we treated still has active CAR-T cells 10 years later.Sowecall them aliving drug. And then Emily Whitehead, who’sa junior now at Penn, was7 years old basically when we treated her,and she still has CAR Tcells.

With blood cancer,asubset of patientshave them pretty much indeﬁnitely,and we haven’tseen that in solid cancer

This summer,your labalso published research on enhancing CAR-Tcells for lymphoma. Can you talk about that work?

In 2017, we made in mice CARTcells that we called “armored.” They secreted the cytokine interleukin 18 (IL18), which we showed, in mouse tumor models, madeitmuch morepotent. So then we started the trial in humans, and our ﬁrst patientshad complete responses. It was shock-

ing. The Tcells were basically 100 times more potent than what is currently FDA-approved.

How does IL18 boost the fighting abilities of these CAR-Tcells?

Oneofthe answers, forsure, is it activates the innate immune system,sothings like natural killer cells andmonocytes.

We also think it can act as a growthfactor forthe CAR-T cells themselves. So it may have more than one mechanism of action.

We still have ongoing trials looking at that here at Penn. Are there other ways your lab is enhancing CAR-Tcells?

We’reusing screening strategies like CRISPR and base editing to screen fortargets. We’ve identiﬁed manythat right now are being tested in mice as ways to enhance the function of the T cells in asolid tumor

We have onepostdoc whocould knock out 20 genes at one time. It’samazing. That’sgoing to be an ongoing project, identifying ways to either prevent or slow down this exhaustion in solid tumors.

In June, astartup you cofounded to treat autoimmune diseaseswith CAR-Twas acquired by AbbVie for$2.1 billion. Can you talk about uses forCAR-Toutside of cancer?

Autoimmunity was ahuge surprise. Everyone was afraid that maybe there would be too many side effects with CAR cells in patientswith autoimmunity.But two German professors, George Schettand Andreas Mackensen, did very carefulstudies in Germanyover several years.

They treated 15 patients with three differentautoimmune diseases, and found a100% response

rate. It wasextraordinary.They published it initially on one patient, aVietnamese womanwho has now been in remission for three years. She had lupus and got asingle infusion of the CARs. They also treated scleroderma and myositis, these horrible autoimmune diseases.

Ijust taught acourse two days ago at Penn, where we looked on the government data website clinicaltrials.gov and there were 140 trials now in the world treating autoimmune disease with CAR cells.

There are manymore patients with autoimmune disease than there are cancer.And this is something we are looking at through both academic trials here at Penn and in the biotech/pharma industry

Are there anyapplications of CAR-Tfrom other groups that youreally admire or that you find most promising?

Probably the mostdisappointing thing is how long it takes to go from preclinical experiments in animals to human results. It just takes too long. It’s ageneral problem we have.

But there’sexciting work with natural killer cells. And people at MD Anderson (in Texas) have been using umbilical cord blood, that would normally be thrown away when babies are born, to grow CAR cells.

That’sexciting. It’s another approach rather than starting with peripheral blood from acancer patient. And the advances with lipid nanoparticles and in vivo viral delivery have happened much faster than Ithought it would.

“It’s not acure,”Andersson said. “But it may slow theprocess.” Andersson, as the director of HaywardGenetics Center and the Karen Gore Chair forHumanGeneticsatTulane,has seen almost all of the patients in thestate with rare disorders. If Louisianadoctors ﬁnd abnormal resultsinnewborn screenings —which now test for approximately 30different diseases and conditions,including cystic ﬁbrosis —children will likely be sent to Andersson. Andersson sees over 500 patients in thestate each year for genetic disorders.

“This state is massively underresourced,” Andersson said. “We only have seven clinical geneticists andtwo biochemical geneticists who handle this type of disease. Many patients are notreferred or seen.”

In his career,hehas seen monumentalshiftsinthe ﬁeld of genetics.

“Wecan nowdiagnose children who are at risk even if they don’t have symptoms,” Andersson said. “Andwedon’t have to do invasive

biopsies; we can just take asample of saliva or blood to do full genome sequencing.” Andersson said he and his team at Tulane are part of acollective sharing in genetics research who are discovering diseases no one knew existed before exomeor whole genome sequencing.

“Wedidn’tknow what we were looking for,”Andersson said. “But nowwehave apopulation of 100 with thesamemarkers. That is a disease. Thereare many of those cases in the last decade.”

FindingAdam’svoice

The Ward family attends the National Niemann PickDiseaseFoundation conference each year,providing care for people and children diagnosed with the samecondition that Adam and Amanda had while parents, caregivers and doctors meet in conferencerooms about thelatest on the disease.

“We’restill ﬁghtingfor acure,” Ward said. “We’ve made alot of progress in this disease.The wheelchair comes in alot later than previous years and cases.”

Ward and herhusband, Jim, have lived in the same house in Metairie for 37 years. They watched, laughed and cried withtheir

I’mjust astonished at how fast the ﬁeld is moving forward.

children Adam andAmanda during theirbrief lives. They also watched theirmiddlechild,their daughter Chelsea, grow up and becomea neonatal intensive care unit nurse.

“Wehave to remember our whole family,” Ward said. “And thepeople we meet every year,the families we speak to every year, they are our family too.”

After Adam’s death, Ward started anew venture: looking through the eyes of her son whobecame nonverbal.

Ward began writing.

And writing and writing.

Soon,she hadstoriesofwhat Adam mayhavebeenthinking. Whathemight of said when he wasinthe delivery room meeting Amanda for the ﬁrst time. When he was in that kindergarten class. When he tried to sing Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock.” What would he say to his sister who was also suffering?

“I always wondered what was going on in his brain. What did he think of all of this?” Ward said. “It must have been so incredibly frustratingthathecouldn’t say what he wanted to say.”

Ward’shusband would often read the words she wrote fortheir son.

“We’ve gotta get this published,” Jim Ward said to her one evening.

In 2024, 20 years after the death of their second child to Niemann Pick C, Missy Ward started to write again. She also edited and designed amemoir about Adam

The Wards found Christian Faith Publishing and, in May,“Adam’s Voice was set, bound and in their hands.

“It’sbeen special to tell our family’s story,” MissyWardsaid. “We hope it can help othersheal and know that they’re not alone.”

“Adam’sVoice”byMissy Ward is available on online book stores including Barnes& Noble, Amazon, Kindle and more.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

TheLouisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and re-examining tried and true methods on ways to livewell.

Health editions will also profile people whoare advancing health forthe state of Louisiana. Do youhavea health story? We want to hear fromyou. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Adam Ward, whowas diagnosed with Niemann Pick Cat6years old, lovedtoride his bike.

Adam Ward wasconfined to awheelchair and restricted in his movements as his disease progressed.

FEat Fit LiveFit

What is “ﬁbermaxxing,” and should youtry it?

iberisnotparticularlyexcitingtotalk about,anditrarelytrendsintheway weseewithketo,intermittentfasting orcollagencoffee.Allofasudden,though, ﬁberishavingamoment,atleastonsocial media.TikTokusersare“ﬁbermaxxing.”

Thisfiber-richdiettrendfocuses ongraduallyincreasingfiberintaketo decreaseuncomfortabledigestiveside effects,suchasbloating,andlowerthe riskofcertaincancers,includingcolorectal cancer.Videosofinfluencerscramming chiaseedsintojars,loadingbeansonto saladsandsharingdetailsabouthowtheir digestionhasimprovedareallpartofthe “fibermaxxing”movement

Andyouknow,I’mhereforit.TheU.S. DepartmentofAgriculturerecommends thatyougetabout14gramsoffiberper 1,000caloriesconsumed.Thattranslatesto about25gramsoffiberperdayformost womenand35gramsformen.Mostofus fallshortonfiber,averagingjustaround15 gramsdaily,soifTikTokiswhatittakesto spotlightthisunderappreciatednutrient,I’ll takeit.

BeyondtheBasics

You’velikelyheardtheusualnarratives: Fiberhelpswithdigestion,lowers cholesterol,supportshearthealthandhelps withweightloss.Alltrue—butforthose alreadynutrition-savvy,thesebasicsdon’t exactlystopyouinyourtracks.Here’swhere thingsgetmoreinteresting:Fiberisn’tjust aboutanumberonanutritionlabel;It’s aboutwhatelsecomesalongwithit. Takeraspberries,forexample.Onecup hasabout8gramsoffiber(nearlyathird ofawoman’sdailyneeds)forjust65 calories.Alongsidethatfiber,we’realso gettingvitaminC,antioxidants,waterand volumethatfillsourplateandourbelly. Compareraspberriestoafiber-fortified icecreamorcookiethatalsotouts8 gramsoffiber.Thenumbersmatch,but it’snotquitethesamepackagedeal.

IsolatedFibers

Chicoryroot(inulin)isoneofthemore commonisolatedfibersonthemarket.It’s naturallypresentinvegetablesandgrains andcanbeextractedfromfoodorcreated synthetically.Becauseit’ssuchafinewhite powder,foodmakerscaneasilyincorporate chicoryrootintobars,shakesanddesserts —cuttingcalorieswhileboostingthefiber count.Theproblem?Itmakesless-healthy foodsseemmorevirtuousbysplashing “withfiber”onthelabel.

Isolatedfibershavevalue:They’re prebioticsthatfeedgoodgutbacteria, whichproducecompoundsthatsupport immunity,lowerinflammationandmay evenbenefitmood.Butwhentheyshowup inacookieorcandybar,it’snotthesameas gettingfiberfrombeans,berriesorbroccoli.

Solublevs.Insoluble: TheOriginalFiberDuo

Wholefoodsnaturallycontaintwomain typesofﬁber:

Solubleﬁberdissolvesinwaterand formsagel-likesubstanceinthegutthat helpsusfeelfullerlonger,regulatesblood sugarandlowerscholesterol.It’sfoundin foodslikeoats,beans,lentils,apples,citrus fruits,chiaseedsandﬂaxseeds.

Insolubleﬁberdoesnotdissolve;itadds bulkandhelpsmovefoodthroughthe digestivesystemtosupportregularbowel movements,preventconstipationandkeep thedigestivetracthealthy.It’sfoundin wholewheat,brownriceandtheskinsof fruitsandvegetables

Mostplantfoodscontainamixofboth Together,theymakewhole-foodﬁberfar moreeffectivethanisolatedadd-ins.

BacktoFibermaxxing…

Here’saquickrefresher: Guthealthandregularity:Addsbulk, keepsthingsmovingandfuelsamore diversemicrobiome,whichresearchties tobetterimmunityandevenimproved mentalhealth.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsner’sEatFit nonproﬁtinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

Metabolicperks:Slowstheabsorption ofsugar,stabilizesbloodsugar(andenergy) reducescholesterolabsorption.

Weightsupport:Filling,lowerincalories andkeepshungerhormonesbalanced. Theseclaimsaren’tnew—butthe approachis.Insteadofrestriction, ﬁbermaxxingfocusesonaddingmore plantsandwholefoods,versuscutting somethingout

ProceedWithCaution

Takeitslowly:Morefiberisn’talways better,especiallyallatonce.Suddenly doublingortriplingyourintakecanbackfire (literally)withgas,bloatingorconstipation Fluidsarekey:Waterhelpssolublefiber formthegel-likeconsistencymentioned above.Wateralsohelpsinsolublefiber supportregularity.

Timingforsupplements:Taking mineralsupplementsoramulti-type ofsupplements(particularlythose thatcontainmineralslikeiron,calcium, zinc)withhigh-fibermealscanreduce absorptionofthoseminerals.Ideally,space mineral-containingsupplementsandfiberrichmealsatleasttwotothreehoursapart. Isitrightforyou?Whilefibermaxxing canbesafeformostpeople,anyonewith conditionslikeirritablebowelsyndrome (IBS),inflammatoryboweldiseaseora historyofbowelsurgeryshouldcheck withahealthcareprofessionalfor personalizedguidance.

TheBottomLine

Fibermaxxingmightsoundlikejust anotherhashtag,buttheconceptissolid: mostofusneedmorefiber,andwe’renot gettingenough. Justremember,it’snotjustabouttallying grams.You’llalwaysgetmorewhenfiber comesfromrealfoodthatalsodelivers vitamins,minerals,antioxidantsand hydration.Soyes,goaheadandmaxxyour fiber—butdoitwithwholefoodsfirst.

BY THENUMBERS

Admissions into neonatal intensivecare unitshaveincreased among livebirths across the U.S.,withthe national average increasing by 13% from 2016 to 2023.

NICUswere established in the U.S. in 1960 as specialized medical facilities that provide intensivecarefor newborns, particularly those bornpretermorwith medical complications.

According to datareleased in 2025 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentageofinfants admitted to aNICU in the U.S. rose from 8.7% in 2016 to 9.8% in 2023.

In Louisiana, NICU admissions from live birthsincreased from 9.3% in 2016 to 11.2% in 2023 —that’sa 20% increase, CDCdata said.

Compared to other states, Louisiana’s admission ratesintoNICUs after births hasincreased.The state went from the 16th-highest percentageofNICU admissions in 2016 to the 9th-highest percentageofNICU admissions in 2023. These states had the highest increases in neonatal intensivecare admissions from 2016 to 2023, in descending order:

Mayo Clinic’s AI toolshelppredict asthma

tients sooner. Toll of childhood asthma

acute respiratory infections. The study,published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,found the tools can detect those risks as early asage 3. The work is part of Mayo Clinic’s precure strategicpriority,which aims to predict and prevent serious diseasesbefore they advance. Through innovative technologies andpopulation-based studies, precure is designed to bring prevention-focusedcare directly to pa-

Asthma affectsnearly 6million U.S. childrenand isa leading cause of missed school, emergency visits and hospital stays, according to theCenters forDiseaseControl and Prevention. Respiratory infections are the most common trigger of asthma attacks,but symptoms vary widely and change over time That makes it hard for clinicians to know which children are most vulnerable, agap these AI toolsare designedtohelp address. “Thisstudy takesusa stepcloser to precisionmedicine in childhood asthma, where care shifts from reactive care for advanced severe

asthmatopreventionand early detection of high-risk patients,” says Young Juhn, M.D., M.P.H., professorofpediatrics at MayoClinic and senior author of the study.Dr. Juhn directs several Mayo Clinic research programs,includingthe AI Program of Mayo Clinic Children’s, the PrecisionPopulation ScienceLab andthe HOUSES socioeconomic health program. NewAItools forearly detection

For the study,researchersexamined electronic health recordsfrom morethan 22,000 children born between 1997 and 2016 in southeastern Minnesota.Tointerpret thedata at scale, they developed multiple artiﬁcial intelligence tools

n Mississippi with a 37% increase, from 7.3% in 2016 to 10% in 2023; n NewHampshire with a 34% increase, from 7% in 2016 to 9.4% in 2023; n Alabama with a 32% increase, from 8.1% in 2016 to 10.7% in 2023; n Arkansas with a 31%increase, from 8.4% in 2016 to 11% in 2023; n Connecticut with a 27% increase, from 7.9% in 2016 to 10% in 2023; n Maine with a 27% increase, from 7.7% in 2016 to 9.8% in 2023; n and Missouri with a 27% increase, from 8.3% in 2016 to 10.5% in 2023. On the opposite side of the scale, these five states had adecrease in neonatal intensivecare admissions from 2016 to 2023 including,indescending order: n Rhode Island with a 31% decrease, from 6.7% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2023; n Massachusetts with an 8% decrease, from 10.2% in 2016 to 9.4% in 2023; n Delaware with a 3% decrease, from 14.7% in 2016 to 14.2% in 2023; n Idaho with a 1% decrease, from 10.6% in 2016 to 10.5% in 2023; n and Washington with a 1% decrease, from 8.4% in 2016 to 8.3% in 2023.

risksinchildren

that use machinelearning andnatural language processing to extract details from doctors’ notes. The tools captured information such as symptoms and family history,allowing theteam to apply two diagnostic checklists for asthmain youngchildren: thePredetermined AsthmaCriteria and the Asthma Predictive Index. The checklists are how clinicians assess signs such as recurring wheezing, coughs or allergic conditions. Children who met the criteria on both lists formed a distinct subgroup at higher risk for serious complications.

Asthma risk revealed by age3 Whenresearchers compared this subgroup with other children

in thestudy,the differences were clear.Byage 3, the subgroup members wereexperiencing pneumonia more than twice as often and influenzanearly threetimes as often. They also had the highest rates of asthma attacksrequiring steroids, emergencyvisits or hospitalization. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was also more common in this group during their ﬁrst three years of life. Children in this subgroup were more likely to have afamily history of asthma,eczema, allergic rhinitis or food allergies. Further, their laboratory tests fromaprevious study showed signs of allergic inﬂammation as well as impaired lung function.

BRO UGH TT OY OU BY Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

Formorethan100years,OchsnerLafayetteGeneralMedicalCenterhascaredfor Acadiana-notjustashealthcareprofessionals,butasneighbors,friendsandfamily. We’vegrownbutourvisionremainsthesame:todeliverexceptionalcare,closeto home.Now,forthethirdyearinarow,U.S.News&WorldReporthasrankedusthe No.1hospitalinSouthwestLouisiana-andnamedusBestRegionalHospitalfor CommunityAccess.Thisrecognitionreﬂectsthecompassion,expertiseand dedicationofourentireteam.Weareproudtocontinueraisingthebarfor healthcareinAcadiana-andhonoredbythetrustyouplaceinuseveryday.

Formoreinformation,visitochsner.org/lafayette

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LOUISIANA

Championing Louisiana

NewOrleans couple to spread culturetothe restofthe world

BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer

From the beginning, the couple behind NewOrleans’ Nous Foundation has joked thatthey’re bringing French back to the French Quarter. And when thedustclears, the nonprofit’s chic newheadquarters on ToulouseStreet will feature French music, Frenchletters and apetite French bookstore.

But the foundation’sambitions are bigger than the Quarter —bigger than New Orleans or even Louisiana.

The NewOrleansFoundation for Francophone Cultures, known as Nous, supports the revitalization of Louisiana’s heritagecultures,focusing on Cajun, Creole andIndigenous communities. Its small staff curates exhibits, produces ﬁlms, publishes books and records albums through the independent label, Nous.

In 2024, Nousfocused on HaitiLouisiana. In 2025, the theme was “Musique(s).”And, in its newseason, titled “L’Amérique selon la Louisiane,” or “Louisiana’sAmerica,” founders Scott Tilton andRudy Bazenet are making thecase that Louisiana containsthe keytothe United States. By looking at Louisiana, one can more clearly see the country

“What Ilike is the idea of reversing the narrative in Louisiana that we’re always viewed as almost an oddity,assomethingonthe periphery of this country,” said Tilton “You can see the imprintofour cultureeverywhere, from architecture to music to cuisine.”

“It’shad an indelible impact all over the country,” headded

The season, announced in September,istimed to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but it doesn’t feel dusty.Francophone culture“doesn’tjusthave to be adocumentarywith arocking chair,going on about the good old days,” Tilton, 33, said with asmile Anew space

The Nous Foundation, Frenchfor “we,” captures —and creates what’shappeningnow.This season is its biggest yet.

After hosting years of events at the BK Historic House and Gardens, this year theNous Foundation moved intoanold shoe shop in theheart of theFrenchQuarter,owned by the Historic New Orleans Collection.Renderings of the refreshed space, settoreopen in November, show arches clad in handsome cypress wood, a petite gallery for exhibitions and aworkspaceopen to thepublic via aglasswall.

Theduo made astrong case for themany things it could accomplish in 700 square feet, said Heather Hodges, director of institutional advancement for HNOC, which uses its collection to tell thestoryofNew Orleans.

“Whatwedon’t do —and what they do —isprovide aclearly marked door and point of entry into theFrancophone heritage,” she said. Over and over,Nous has shown thediversityofthatFrancophone heritageinboth their programs and their grantmaking.

When,lastyear, they recorded an album titled “Musique(s),” aproject backed by the Library of Congress, they included not only French folk musicbut also reached outtothe

Baby Dolls, Hodgessaid. The Baby Dolls,astalwart of Black Mardi Gras celebrations,resurrected and recorded old Creole songs, now preserved on the album.

In September,Nousbrought anotheract on the “Musique(s)” album, theduo SweetCrude,toNew York to perform for theUnited Nations General Assembly ‘Withcareand heart’

The Nous Foundation launched in Parisin2020, whereTilton andBazenet had met at aparty. They’ve been marriedsince 2021. Tilton, who grew up hearing his family speak French in New Orleans,was studying international relations there. Bazenet, whogrew up in France, was working for the French Foreign Service. Just weeks aftermeeting, the pair began workingonaprojectsomedoubted could be done —have the L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie recognizeLouisiana as amember. It wasn’tunheard of: The OIF gathersmore than 90 French-speaking countriesand regions. In addition to Canada, it recognizes Quebec and

Friendships keep flowing

Four years ago, Iorganized a six-daywhitewater rafting trip with 17 women. It wasthe kind of week thatﬁlls the soul —long days paddling, sharedmealsunderthe stars andlaughter echoing offcanyonwalls, again and again. We hadincredible guides who cooked gourmet food. They also setupour cotsand sleeping bags each evening on anew beach on the SalmonRiverinIdaho. The nights were cool. Iremember lying there in my long johnpajamas, looking up at the stars in some of the biggest skies I’ve ever seen. Iwas snuggled in a sleeping bag andthinking how the cool airfeltlike it does in the best hotelroom, but no hotelhad ever offered anight view like that.

The whole trip was one of those rare experiencessoperfect that we didn’tbelieve it was right to try to do it again. It will live in our headsasmagic from here on out. An adventure like that either fractures friendships or binds themdeeper.For us, it was the latter

Back then, before we headed home, we allsaidwewould gather again soon.

“Soon”turnedinto four years. Life hasa way of doing that, doesn’tit?

Jobs, moves, kids, broken bones, career changes, caring for others, illnessesand the steady march of obligations wedge themselvesbetween good intentions andreality

But last week,one of my friends invitedustoacamp on Cypremort Point. Thanks to her, we found ourway back to eachother andtothe water.

Granted, the whole group wasn’table to be there, but those of us who gathereddidn’tmiss abeat. We told the stories of the last four years of our lives. We laughed. We cried. We ate allthe good things. Being with oldfriends is restorative. We appreciated the chance to discuss the newlinesonour faces. We acknowledgedthe changes in us —some of them visible, some invisible.Childrengrown, jobs lost andfound, relationships shifting. But in this kind of company,the yearsdon’t feelsoheavy.They feellike part of the story Eventhough the time together was shorterand the water tamer, the joyofbeing together wasjust as strong —maybe stronger

One of the quiet gifts of old friends is thatthey don’texpect youtobeanyone but who youare Theyknowthe version of you who stayeduplate square dancing on asandbar. They’ve seen yousoggy,sunburnedwith hair thathadn’tbeen washed in ﬁve days —and they loved you just the same.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Nous Foundation founders ScottTilton and Rudy Bazenet, standing on aFrench Quarter balcony, areusing francophone culture to makethe case that Louisiana contains thekey to theUnited States.

PROVIDED PHOTO By WAyANBARRE

The ‘Musique(s)’ album and book can be found at the Nous Foundation’s space on Toulouse Street.

INSPIRED DISCUSSIONS

ASK THE EXPERTS

Researcher works toward waterfowl conservation

LSU graduate returns to department to help benefit Louisiana environment

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

Janice Pearson graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and ecology management with a minor in oceanography and coastal sciences. Now, she’s turning her passion into purpose as she steps into a role with LSU’s School of Renewable Natural Resources as a wildlife research technician.

For three years, Pearson was a student worker who assisted with waterfowl studies and wildlife distribution research at the Reproductive Biology Center at the LSU AgCenter’s Central Research Station. Today she works with that same department to visit state wildlife management areas to conduct ﬁeld work and collect data on Black-bellied whistling ducks, wood ducks and mottled ducks.

One of the most rewarding parts of her job is working with the next generation of conservationists.

What solutions does your research with the LSU AgCenter work toward solving?

On my various projects that I assist on, we’re working toward research for waterfowl conservation. We work hand in hand with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

One project I’ve been working on has to do with movement ecology, studying the movements of various species that migrate down here in the winter We’re looking at their sanctuary use and also taking autonomous recording units, ARUs, to analyze for gunshots in the area. We’re taking that data and overlapping it with transmitter data to put transmitters on the backs of northern pintails. The data gives us a better idea of how we can manage the species so that we’re not risking them not returning. Or

it gives us a better opportunity to do more studies on survival rates or population data.

Why is Louisiana an important place for this research to happen?

Louisiana is a critical point, especially in the winter, for waterfowl As birds are migrating south, most duck and waterfowl species converge at the base of the Mississippi River that feeds into the Gulf in the winter, and that’s where they winter

You see more species of waterfowl here than you do anywhere else in the United States that converge all at once. That’s what makes Louisiana super special.

For a hunter, you can go duck hunting and kill six or seven different species in one hunt. For research purposes, that gives other researchers the opportunity to come and start studies in Louisiana to get a better idea of these birds.

How do you catch and band birds safely?

The primary technique we use is called rocket netting. Basically, we use rockets that shoot nets out over the birds, and then it safely holds the birds.

We go out and take the birds out of the nets and put them in a crate. Then we age, sex and band them. We have a lot of safety protocols in place for rockets, and we take that very seriously, but it’s one of the best tactics to get as many birds possible. They also use walk-in traps that are similar to a snare, but it does not tighten. It doesn’t harm the bird, and it’s a little bit safer than rocket netting. Banding is important for us because it can tell us where that duck is, how long the duck survived and the age of the duck. We can use those things for survival rates That also gives us an idea of their movement

Then, we have a universal data sheet that we upload the data to so that we can track all of the birds that we band.

What’s the most rewarding part of working with waterfowl?

Getting hands-on experiences and learning about the species itself is rewarding. Being able to actually be a part of the solution

We’re looking for La.

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

The Louisiana Master Naturalist Association educates Louisiana citizens about the state’s ﬂora and fauna, as well as other as-

pects of the environment and ecosystems. Individuals go through training, and, once certified, the Louisiana Master Naturalists are required to use their talents to educate others or assist programs that

Q&A WITH JANICE PEARSON

LSU WILDLIFE RESEARCHER

and making contacts in the waterfowl world professionally is rewarding.

Seeing the birds converge is just a beautiful thing. It’s pretty amazing. With black bellies, they used to never be here. So seeing them now is just incredible, plus learning about them In my time assisting in research with LSU, I have been able to teach undergrad students how to band, and I’m teaching them the ropes. That was really rewarding to see them get excited about it, because that helps the whole conservation community

When they’re out there in the field, refueling that passion for them to stay in the ﬁeld, it’s really rewarding because we need people in our ﬁeld who want to work toward saving what we have.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@theadvocate. com.

Master Naturalists

promote and protect the state’s natural heritage. Are you a Louisiana Master Naturalist, or do you know an exemplary Louisiana Master Naturalist? Email the Louisiana Inspired team, joy.holden@

theadvocate.com or jan. risher@theadvocate.com, with your name and contact information.

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate. com.

Catherine

RISHER

Continued from page 1y

a soul. Four years melted away In the end, that’s the gift friendship brings it’s a reminder that time ebbs and ﬂows, but also that love holds the course.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

LOUISIANA

Continued from page 1y

New Brunswick. Over two years, Tilton and Bazenet sent hundreds of emails, lobbying for Louisiana to join the Francophonie. In 2018, it did.

The couple saw an opportunity to be of use They loved living in Paris, “but Paris doesn’t need anyone,” Tilton joked. In New Orleans, “you feel like you can make a difference.”

More than a century after French was banned from Louisiana classrooms, the numbers are bleak. There are perhaps 120,000 French speakers in the state, some data suggests, down from about 1 million just 60 years ago. Of those, perhaps 20,000 speak Cajun French, others traditional French.

Even a decade ago people who cared about French language and culture in Louisiana were “really worried,” said Evelyne Bornier, a professor of French at Auburn University

But in the past five years, she says they have really seen a strong revival of the Francophone culture. The revival is in part due to organizations across the state, including the Nous Foundation, said Bornier, author of “Parcours Louisianais,” a collection of Louisiana literature in French, from the 1680s to 1900.

“The amount of things they have done in such little time is nothing short of a miracle,” she said of the Nous Foundation. “They’re not just preserving the culture. They’re building something new and meaningful with care and scholarship and heart.”

At a time of shrinking resources, the Nous Foundation is growing.

The nonprofit raised $300,000 in fiscal year 2025, which wrapped up in June. It received 56% of the grant funding for which it applied, about twice the national average. But during a conversation in September, Tilton focused

on another number: 50. As in, the foundation’s operations in 2025 supported some 50 artists, musicians and creatives across the state. For a long time, “our cultures have been exploited, to a certain degree, for tourism purposes,” Tilton said. But that commodification often doesn’t lead to artists getting paid. Policies can help revive Francophone cultures, he continued.

“I think we, as a movement, focused on the policy side of this for a very long time, and it may have escaped us that there was this real importance to actually getting funds into the hands of artists, into the hands of musicians, into the hands of creatives,” he said.

To that end, Nous has launched a cultural accelerator program, Le Lab, to boost projects and start-ups with a hand in heritage culture. The program has raised some $235,000 to support 12 projects, a few of which have turned into nonprofits and businesses.

Next month, with the help of Le Lab, Mélange Dance Company will remount “Love Letters of World War II,” this time interweaving the story of how Louisiana’s Frenchspeaking Cajuns helped win the war It’s a beautiful show said Monica Ordoñez, the dance company’s artistic director, that reveals “how powerful we are if we join forces and preserve our culture.” The show is also costly to produce, said Ordoñez, who works as a paralegal. The nonproﬁt dance company pays the show’s 21 dancers for their rehearsal and performance time. It pays a live band, too.

“We hope we can break even,” she said. Already, though, the partnership with the Nous Foundation is paying off Bazenet and Tilton are helping the dance company connect with partners and possibilities, Ordoñez said.

“They’ve been selﬂess with their support,” she added.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

A black-bellied whistling duck takes off from a small flock bobbing along in Capitol Lake on March 18 in Baton Rouge.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Janice Pearson, a wildlife research technician with LSU’s School of Renewable Natural Resources, works in the field in Point-Aux-Chenere to conduct mottled duck banding with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Jan Risher, from left, Michele Ezell, Cherie Hebert, Angi Davis and

S. Comeaux sit on a pontoon boat in Vermilion Bay at Cypremort Point

Nomination period opensfor 2025 Inspirit Awards

Proposesomeone whomakes a difference

BY JANRISHER Staff writer

Louisiana Inspired is allabout shining alight on people and organizations who are working toward solutions in Louisiana neighborhoods, communities, towns, cities and throughout the state it’swork that takes extra effort by specialpeople, demonstrating the goodstuff of the human spirit.

We are announcing the 2025 Inspirit Awards. Webster says inspirit implies instilling life, energy,courage or vigorinto something.

We are looking for people who do just that —and to do so, we need you! By Nov.12, you can nominate thepeopleyou know or have watched make apositive difference in the lives of others at www.nola.com/site/forms/the_inspirit_award/.

We encourage nominations of peopleofall ages —those who systematically go about doing their best to make the world a better place.

We want generalists who do all sorts of things. We want those who are single-mindedlydevoted to one issue. We wantthe young and the old, people in cities and those in rural communities across Louisiana. We want people in schools, including students and teachers. We are looking for people who started trying to solve aproblem this year and those who have been workingatitfor years

We want to learn about business people who have made apositive difference in the lives of their employees or the world at large

We want to learn about teachers who developed an innovative ap-

proach to solvinga problem. We want to learn about musicians and artists of all kinds, nonproﬁt executives and volunteers—and unsung heroes and heroines who don’tﬁtinto any of those categories.

The Inspirit award winners from 2024 were:

n Julie Rabalais, of Lafayette, thefounder of For theBirds Acadiana,anonproﬁt bird rescue and rehab organization.

n Darryl Durham, of New Orleans, founder and director of Anna’s Place Nola, anonprofit that focuses on breaking thecycle of trauma for economically disadvantagedyouthinNew Orleans.

n Jennifer Richardson,ofBaton Rouge,organizer of Keep Tiger Town Beautiful, agroup of volunteers committed to cleaning up litter in Baton Rouge.

n Kathleen Cannino, of Covington, leader of astatewide campaign to get cameras in special ed classrooms.

n Rashida Ferdinand,ofNew Orleans, founder of anonprofit that runsapark, local market, food pantry and economic development initiativeinthe Lower 9th Ward.

n Libbie Sonnier,ofNew Orleans, CEO of Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.

n Warren Perrin, of Acadiana, advocateand activist for Cajun and Creolerecognitionand representation.

Thenomination process:

n Focuses on peoplewho are working toward solutions in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, communities and state

n Seeks stories of impact shared by nominators

n Lifts up detailsofpersonal stories that inspire change Awardrecipients will be announcedinthe Dec. 21 editionof Louisiana Inspired.

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com

Henry Kaufman IV,MD,manages morethan 40 different types of cancer cases each monthright hereinAcadiana, so patients are treated, not traveled. Dr.Kaufman, aboard-certiﬁed surgical oncologist, and theOur Lady of Lourdes JD Moncus Cancer Center team engage themost rareand complex cases withexperience and expertise. Here, cancer is morethan treatment. It’s wherethe power of skilland experiencemeets personalizedcarefromadedicated,trusted team that supports youevery step of theway.Because it allcounts here LearnmoreatLourdesRMC.com/cancer

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Kathleen Canninoisa special education advocate whohelped pass aLouisiana lawgiving parents the right to ask schools to install classroom cameras.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByBRETT DUKE

Darryl Durham, founder of Anna’sPlace NOLA,leadsachoir class during an after-school youth program in NewOrleans on Dec.5

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEWPERSCHALL

Rashida Ferdinand, founder of a nonprofitthat runs apark,local market, foodpantry, stands in Sankofa Wetland Park and Nature TrailinNew Orleans on Dec.5

PROVIDED PHOTO

Libbie Sonnier is CEO of Louisiana Policy Institute for Children

STAFFFILE PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Jennifer Richardson, founder of Keep TigerTownBeautiful,stands next to five bags of trash collected along the Siegen Lane and Interstate 10 FrontageRoad intersection on Dec.11.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRADBOWIE

Bird rescuer and rehabilitator Julie Rabalais holds apelican that is under her care on Dec.7 at For the Birds of Acadiana.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Warren Perrin hosts theCanadian band Les HayBabies at his cottage in the community of Henry.

FAITH & VALUES

Law school ﬁrst to have a space just for Hindus

BY RICHA KARMARKAR

Contributing writer

Law school’s notorious stress takes a toll on even the most determined students. But for a group of 20-somethings at New York University School of Law, an ancient tradition offers a framework for handling the pressure.

“Many parts of Hinduism are so well-suited to being able to handle such a high-stress profession,” said Roshni Yaradi, the co-chair of the new Hindu Law Students Association. “Like, many times, you’re handling literal life and death.

“Practices of Hinduism — including yoga, meditation, breath work things that are so fundamental to the faith, are very stress-relieving and focusing techniques that I think any practicing lawyer should utilize.” Yaradi and six other students, all of Indian origin, are the first members of the only Hindu afﬁnity group at any law school in the nation. HLSA was conceptualized by twin sisters Tanya and Megha Bansal three years ago, but ofﬁcially started last spring, after taking time to gain traction and the necessary approval signatures.

“If every other religious group has an organization at NYU Law, why don’t we?” thought Rachita Bommakanti, a fellow second-year student and Yaradi’s co-chair Indian students are the secondhighest population of international students at NYU, after those from China, with more than 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students coming from India to study at NYU in the 2023-2024 academic school year

“I think it’s a little bit of a reclamation project for us,” said Bommakanti, who hopes the HLSA will help grad-school-age Hindus, from India or the U.S., reconnect with their faith — and its resources for succeeding in the legal profession while studying in the city

In their younger years, Yaradi and Bommakanti, both from the DC-Maryland-Virginia area, felt reluctant to join existing Hindu student groups: partially due to what they said was a less developed relationship with their own faith, and partially due to the “very real insecurity” of being a proud, visible Hindu in the country which is the reason, they say, most young Hindu Americans identify with the cultural, but not necessarily the religious, aspects of Hinduism.

(“Diwali parties without the puja

(prayer ritual),” Yaradi offered by way of example.)

The co-chairs also felt that not enough spaces emphasized the diversity of perspectives in Hinduism, often because they were tied to a speciﬁc Hindu sect or lineage

“It was, like, really rigid, or there was less room for dissent,” said Bommakanti, who describes herself as being drawn more to the philosophy of Hinduism than to its ritualistic aspects. “Which is funny right? Because the whole point is that we are dissenting individuals.”

In these young women’s eyes, HLSA is not meant to be the largest Hindu student organization in the nation, but a specially meaningful one, in which anyone feels welcome to discuss their differing opinions, values, practices and experiences with the Hindu faith.

But the real project, they say, is changing the perception of what Hinduism can be for a young American. “You can be a Hindu and be cool,” said Yaradi. “You can be a Hindu and interpret it in a way that you eat meat, and you can interpret it in a way that you don’t eat meat. You can interpret it in a way that you do or don’t drink.”

Bommakanti continued “Whatever impediment people feel to exercising Hinduism that is caused by this idea that, like, ‘I’m going to be weird,’ or ‘I’m not going to be normal,’ I want to abolish that.

“All it takes is just to see one person being cool and a proud Hindu, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I can do that too,’” she said.

The group of about 30 students most of them part of the one-year Masters of Law program, with a few in the full three-year JD program — has thus far held a yoga class at SoHo’s Broome Street Ganesha Temple and a discussion about Indic spirituality with New School professor Gabrielle Williams.

But the Hindu perspective is not limited to yoga practice and “golden lattes.” The Bhagavad Gita the sacred Hindu text detailing Lord Krishna’s advice to warrior prince Arjuna in the midst of the Mahabharata war — has been a guiding light for these students studying the way of the law Particularly, they say, a verse in Chapter Two in which Arjuna is preoccupied with the possible results of the war, rather than his dharma, or duty in the present.

HLSA hopes to start weekly group Gita readings as members progress through demanding coursework and exams, as well as their future cases as attorneys.

“Krishna tells Arjuna to focus on what you do and do it to the best of your ability, and then, like, leave it there,” said Yaradi, “and what is meant to happen is going to happen. That is an incredibly valuable perspective, to just have faith that things will work out, while also prioritizing doing your duty, which is to work hard.”

“So much of the law is about the fruit of your action, right?” added Bommakanti. “And the attachment to that fruit, I feel like, is ultimately what leads people to burnout and dissatisfaction. It’s such a simple principle, but such an enduring one.”

For their own dharma, the students hope creating this club will open the doors for other students to take the initiative at their universities — no matter their own journey with Hinduism. And hopefully they say, being more “openly Hindu” will inspire existing Hindu lawyers and other professionals to share how their faith intersects with their job.

“Hinduism is so beautiful because if you want to do the work — if you want to read, if you want to think, if you want to have conversations — you don’t have to be old to be learned,” said Bommakanti. “I don’t have to be like, some monk or something, to chair this organization. I can just be someone who’s looking for answers.”

The group kicked off the school year last week with a welcome picnic, and the co-chairs say they hope to soon host Hindu traditional dance workshops, trips to Queens temples and holiday celebrations, making sure, Yaradi said, to “tie the religious and cultural aspects of Hinduism back together.”

Drones and AI are changing the ﬁght against wildfires

BY EMILY SENKOSKY

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Emily Senkosky for Grist is part of the Solutions Story Tracker from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities — solutions that can be adopted around the world. Earlier this summer, the Banana Lake Fire erupted near Plains, Montana, engulfing over 850 acres in flames within a day The “total suppression” response from firefighting officials included deploying at least 17 engines, two helicopters, and three bulldozers, as well as highly trained fire crews. But another newer piece of technology was also at play as firefighters worked to contain the blaze: drones.

Banana Lake was one of several early-season fires in the state this year As of this writing, there are over 20,000 acres burning across seven key wildfires in Montana, at varying levels of containment. And increasingly hot and dry conditions throughout the American West are making fire an ever more fickle foe As a new era with the natural disaster commences, both fire practitioners and researchers across the West are bolstering their arsenal with cutting-edge tools. Drones now fly above firefighters, private satellite companies monitor fire and smoke from above, and AI machine-learning models are helping to advance fire research. While these new innovations are not panaceas, ground operations crews and scientists are optimistic about the ways modern technology can help fight fire smarter, not harder.

Since 2018, drones sometimes referred to as unmanned aerial systems, or UAS have been flying under the radar as a new instrument for the United States Forest Service in the fight against wildfire. Thanks in large part to Dirk Giles, who launched and leads the agency’s UAS program, the number of drones deployed each year by the Forest Service has jumped from 734 flights in 2019 to over 17,000 in 2024.

“The program has really hit a new stride in the past three years,” said Giles “We are seeing UAS supplementing fire crews across all phases of response.”

“This UAS program is now being recognized as prolific,” said Ry Phipps, a division supervisor in Region 1 of the Forest Service, which includes Montana. “There was a time we wouldn’t have even thought to try and order a drone

for operations. They have become a fantastic tool that is changing the game.”

According to Phipps, drones are increasingly seen as a force multiplier by Forest Service employees. Drones equipped with infrared sensors can help detect lingering hot spots, pinpointing areas at risk for reigniting. Previously, firefighters had to meticulously hand-check burn scars, which could take days at a time and a ton of manpower depending on the size of the area With supervisors like Phipps reading a thermal map on a screen fed by drone data, firefighters with boots on the ground can be dispatched more safely and efficiently only going to spots that have high heat signatures.

“It saves a lot of time and risk for crews,” said Phipps.

For helicopter pilots, who help control wildfires by dropping water or fire retardant to suppress flames and creating fire lines for ground crews to control blazes, drones can also assist. Preprogrammed flight trajectories in combination with infrared sensors allow UAS to fly through heavy smoke or at night

This mitigates the need for “low and slow” reconnaissance missions, which require pilots to ﬂy close to the ground in tricky terrain and low visibility According to Giles, these missions are some of the most dangerous for wildland ﬁre pilots.

As their name would suggest, unmanned aerial systems offer a way to do surveillance without putting pilots in danger — which means that UAS can unlock new abilities for fire crews in extreme conditions.

“Basically, you can ﬂy drones so that nobody gets hurt,” said Phipps.

“You can replace a drone. You can’t replace a person.”

Although Giles, Phipps, and others believe that drones show great promise especially in shifting risk from firefighters to a machine the size of a small cooler they’re far from being a silver bullet. The machines have limited battery life and can only complete flights of about 15 minutes on average, meaning that deployments must be carefully planned. And since drones are still being studied in various fire management applications, manpower is still needed to check the “ground truth” of information that UAS provide.

Another limitation is simply availability According to Phipps, there aren’t as many drones as there is demand for them

Ironically, there’s also an emerging risk from privately owned drones getting in the way of official operations If hobby drones are in the airspace near a wildfire, it’s also a no-go for land management agencies to fly During a wildfire

Grayback Forestry firefighters working on the Banana Lake Fire walk through the forest in a line and kneel down to feel for hotspots with their hands. Although the wildfire already burned through the area, small fires can burn underground or in tree root systems. Ground crews work in conjunction with drone pilots, who can detect hotspots using thermal imagery.

in Montana in 2022, aerial crew operations came to a standstill as an unapproved drone buzzed right into an area with a temporary flight restriction. Officials were able to locate the drone’s owner in just about 15 minutes — but that’s precious time when a fire is raging. And just two weeks ago during a wildfire near Provo, Utah, fire operations were shut down by multiple drone incursions, impeding fire management on a high-profile fire near a densely populated community While UAS are becoming more critical in fire operations, officials must also work on educating civilians to ensure unauthorized drones don’t prevent them from flying their own. Another area of fire management that drones have shown

shown some promise in is lighting and managing controlled burns — intentional blazes set to clear dry brush and other fuels.

Fire management’s history of suppression disrupted the natural fire cycles that Indigenous communities once stewarded cycles that many ecologists now champion. As colonization spread across the West and settlers sought to control land and resources, racist assimilation programs criminalized all manner of Indigenous customs. Prescribed burning was one of them.

But as the consequences of this more aggressive, reactive approach to fire management have become apparent, Western science has increasingly caught on to the effectiveness of routine controlled

burning One recent Stanford-led study revealed that prescribed burns can reduce the severity of subsequent wildﬁres by an average of 16 percent and net smoke pollution by 14 percent. Fire professionals have also recognized their potential, with applications growing year over year

Enter another new breed of drones: UAS that can be equipped to carry “dragon eggs,” pingpong ball-sized clusters of a flammable potassium concoction that ignite on impact. This innovation helped the Forest Service burn around 189,000 acres in 2024 to reduce built-up fuels. While the use of prescribed burns is on the rise, in Montana and elsewhere, concerns remain about public safety risks, both from air pollution and the possibility of blazes getting out of control. Technology is helping to address those kinds of questions, too. Researchers in Montana are looking to clear some of the lingering haze of safety concerns around prescribed burns through a National Science Foundation-funded project titled SMART FIRES. (The project’s title is an acronym for Sensors, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence in Real Time Fire Science.) The group, specializing in fields from atmospheric chemistry to public health, will use the grant to conduct five years of study and fieldwork aimed at unpacking the environmental and social dynamics needed to scale prescribed burns as a preventative measure for wildfire The suite of custom gadgets that the project is utilizing includes some proprietary UAS.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Students take a group photo during a Hindu Law Students Association welcome picnic at New york University in September

PROVIDED PHOTOS By JOHN STEMBER

An unmanned aerial systems pilot from the U.S. Forest Service flies a drone using a handheld control system on the Banana Lake wildfire outside of Plains, Mont., on June 6. The pilot is looking for hotspot locations using thermal imagery, which are then passed onto firefighting crews on the ground.

SUNDAY, OctOber 12, 2025

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

todAY's Word — serenAded: seh-rihNAY-did: Performed vocally or instrumentally, especially outdoors to court a love interest.

Average mark 37 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 59 or more words in SERENADED?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

goren Bridge

Exuberance of youth

Today’s deal is from a youth competition in Europe. South was Marius Austad, from Norway. His jump to six diamonds, with no club control, was a big gamble. He was bluffing that he did have a club control. Even if West led a club, he might shift to a spade at trick two. Given Austad’s strong spades there would probably be nothing in dummy that would inhibit a spade shift. North raised to seven, reasoning that if partner could jump to six missing two aces, she could bid one more. Whew!

wuzzLes

super Quiz

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level,

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2025 Tribune Content Agency

Austad won the opening club lead with dummy’s ace and cashed the ace of hearts to discard his remaining club The trumps were likely to be breaking poorly after the pre-empt, so Austad led the 10 of diamonds at trick two and ran it So far, so good He could draw the trumps now, but he would then need a 3-3 spade split He reasoned that if the spades were 3-3, it would be safe to cash the high ones now An opponent who was short in spades might also be out of trumps. That is exactly what happened, so Austad was able to safely ruff his last spade with dummy’s remaining trump. He ruffed a heart back to his hand, drew trumps, and claimed. An exciting deal!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) It’s your choice; follow your heart and satisfy your soul Strive for perfection and engage in what’s real, tangible and withinyourbudget.Walkawayfrom drama and indulgent behavior

SCORPIO (Oct 24-Nov 22) Speak up; share your thoughts, emotions and intentions with someone special. Put your strengths on display, and don’t hesitate to lead the way. A partnership shows promise.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Don’t count on anyone but yourself. If you want to change, it’s up to you to put your goals into practice. Trust your instincts and turn your desire into a

lucrative affair. Let your actions be your voice.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Refuse to let what others do or say mislead you. It’s up to you to manifest opportunities and complete missions that can effectively showcase what you have to offer AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Exhaust your creative imagination, and you’ll come up with a plan that surpasses your expectations. Connect with people who appreciate what you do and can help further your interests. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) You’ll need an outlet for your thoughts. Attend

an event that promotes a platform and encourages conversations that can transform how you move forward. A little flirting will go a long way and could have long-term effects. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Be honest with yourself. It’s easy to conjure up scenarios that can lead to emotional mayhem. Engaging in a creative project or spending time with someone close to you is encouraged TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Make room toaccommodatesomethingorsomeone who matters to you. A kind gesture will help build strong ties. Making some home improvements

or hosting an event will put you in the spotlight. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You’ll engage everyone around you with your effervescent personality, constant activity and diverse way of dealing with people and situations. Reach out to someone from your past and catch up. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Your unique inputandthoughtfulnesswillprompt those you encounter to contribute interesting alternatives. Don’t hesitate to commit if you feel strongly about someone or something. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) An open mind will help you understand the reac-

tions of others. Charm and positive affirmation will help you navigate your way past any obstacles in your path. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Participate in something that resonates with you, and you’ll make connections with people who share your beliefs. Move forward with an open heart and mind and share what you have to offer

1. Cat. 2. Mice. 3. Mockingbird. 4. Lion

5. Penguins. 6. Caterpillar.7.Stallion or Swan. 8. Flies. 9. Duckling. 10. Bird. 11.Fish. 12. Bees. 13. Elephants.14. Hound.15. Dog

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: October was alwaysthe least dependable of months .fullofghosts and shadows. —Joy Fielding