The Bonnet Carre Spillwaywhere it meets the MississippiRiver, upriver fromNew Orleans
Last in aseries
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
Beside the murky waters off Pass Christian, shrimp boats docked in the distance, David Gautier is worriedabout athreat many miles away that he cannot control.
Gautier,64, runs aseafood business on the waterfront of this historic town along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But his concern has less to do with his home state than with neighboring Louisiana —or, more precisely,the flow ofthe water from the mighty river that runs
THEMISSISSIPPI’s RISING PRESSURES
through it.
“Wedon’tcontrol that Mississippi River,” says the owner of Gautier’s At The Harbor.Headdslater: “Ifit’snot managed correctly,itcan be catastrophic.”
Gautier went years without oysters andonly recently began to emerge from that hit to his business. The reason? They were killed off in 2019, theresult of high Mississippi River water diverted through theBonnet Carre Spillway near New Orleans.
The fresh water and nutrient pollution that eventually inundated theMississippi Soundwreaked havoc on the region’s ecosystemand tourism industry.Itisa dilemma thatisonly expected to worsen
FEMA changes couldimpactLa.
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON —The struggle overthe federal government’srole when disaster strikes is coming toa head as President Donald Trump grapples with whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency should continue —and in what form.
Trump’sHomeland Secretary chief Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA, has adramatically smallervisionofthe
“Wedon’tcontrol that Mississippi River If it’snot managed correctly,itcan be catastrophic.”
DAVID GAUTIER, ownerof Gautier’sAtThe Harbor
in the decades aheaddue to projections showing more extreme weather,and its implications range far beyondthe Mississippi Coast Aseries of giant safety valves along theMississippi River have helped pro-
tect the New Orleans area from catastrophic flooding fornearlyacentury But now there’saproblem —several of them,infact, and they’re converging all at once.
TheMississippi Gulf Coast’sprotests over the use of one of those valves, the Bonnet Carre Spillway,have grown louder and led to lawsuits, particularly after recordopenings in 2019. The Morganza Spillwayonthe opposite side of the river has been rarely used, but opening it more frequently draws concern from landowners, residents and port operations in its path.
gath-
every
the
Within 45 minutes on Nov. 20, 76 people areservedahot meal like pork roast and gravy over grits or barbecue ribs, with side dishes, dessert, water,asnack and fruit, all forfree.The prior week, more than 90 people were fed.
“This is ablessing. They’re wonderful,”Amber Burr,ahomeless woman,said on Nov.20. Several years ago, acollege student, Lianne Dick, concerned that Lafayette’shomeless people were going hungry, loaded abackpack
PHOTO By ROBINMAy
in the parklet behind
Lafayette Parish Library.
MEAL, page 9A
Missing coach wanted on criminal charges
BIG STONE GAP, Va A Virginia high school football coach who disappeared days before his undefeated team’s playoff game is being sought on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material and using a computer to solicit a minor, Virginia State Police said Tuesday Police said Travis L Turner 46, of Appalachia, Virginia, is wanted on warrants obtained Monday for five counts of each charge, adding that additional charges are pending as an investigation continues. They did not share details about what prompted the charges Turner has been missing since last Thursday, when state police special agents from a Bureau of Criminal Investigation office were sent to his home, not to arrest him but to talk to him as part of an investigation. As officers traveled there they were notified that he was gone, police said. The subsequent search nearby has included drones, dogs and rescue teams, police said. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Tuesday at a phone number associated with Turner The court did not yet have a case docket that would list any attorney for him, and records connected to his charges were not made available by the court or state police.
Turner is the football coach at Union High School in southwest Virginia’s Wise County Union has strung together 12 straight wins to remain undefeated this season and advance to a regional final this Saturday Before coaching Union’s team, Turner was a quarterback at Appalachia High School, which merged into Union High School in 2011. His father, Tom Turner, was also his high school football coach Tom Turner was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 2005.
Online records indicate Travis Turner was in Virginia Tech’s 1998 recruiting class alongside future NFL quarterback Michael Vick, and also went on to play football at University of Virginia Wise in 1999.
U.S. climber among 2 killed in N. Zealand fall
WELLINGTON New Zealand A U.S. climber was among two people killed in a fall on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, authorities said Wednesday The men were part of a fourperson group climbing near the summit of Aoraki, also known as Mount Cook, on Monday Two members were rescued by helicopter after authorities received a distress call late that night. The other two couldn’t be found. Searchers in helicopters looked for them through the night before their bodies were discovered on Tuesday morning local time.
Specialists from rescue organizations and government agencies recovered the men’s bodies later on Tuesday, Police Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said. None of the climbers has been publicly identified, but Walker said one of the dead men was from the U.S. Authorities, she said, were working with the U.S. consulate A coroner in New Zealand will investigate the deaths.
Jesse Jackson leaves hospital after treatment
CHICAGO The Rev Jesse Jackson has been released from a Chicago hospital where he was treated for a rare neurological disorder, his son said Tuesday
The 84-year-old civil rights leader was discharged Monday from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, his son and family spokesperson Yusef Jackson said.
In 2013, Jackson, who now receives round-the-clock care at home, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The diagnosis was changed last April to progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, a neurodegenerative disorder which can have similar symptoms to Parkinson’s.
Yusef Jackson thanked “the countless friends and supporters who have reached out, visited and prayed for our father,” as well as the medical and security staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Origins of X accounts come under scrutiny
New feature shows where users are based
BY BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writer
They go by names like @TRUMP_ ARMY— or @MAGANationX, and their verified accounts proudly display portraits of President Donald Trump, voter rallies and American flags And they’re constantly posting about U.S. politics to their followers, sounding like diehard fans of the president.
But after a weekend update to the social media platform X, it’s now clear that the owners of these accounts, and many others, are located in regions such as South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Elon Musk’s X unveiled a feature Saturday that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts posting in support of the MAGA movement to thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the U.S — raising concerns about foreign influence on U.S. politics.
Researchers at NewsGuard, a firm that tracks online misinformation, identified several popular
accounts — purportedly run by Americans interested in politics –that instead were based in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa.
The accounts were leading disseminators of some misleading and polarizing claims about U.S politics, including ones that said Democrats bribed the moderators of a 2024 presidential debate.
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced Saturday that the social media platform is rolling out an “About This Account” tool, which lets users see the country or region where an account is based. To find an account’s location, tap or click the signup date displayed on the profile.
“This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X,” Bier wrote.
In countries with punitive speech restrictions, a privacy tool on X lets account holders only show their region rather than a specific country So instead of India, for instance, an account can say it is based in South Asia.
Bier said Sunday that after an update to the tool, it would 99.99% accurate, though this could not be independently verified. Accounts, for instance, can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to mask their true location. On some accounts, there’s a notice saying the location data may not be accurate, either because the account uses a VPN or because some internet providers use proxies automatically, without action by the user Some of the accounts supported slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk as well as President Donald Trump’s children. Many of the accounts were adorned with U.S. flags or made comments suggesting they were American. An account called “@BarronTNews_,” for instance, is shown as being located in “Eastern Europe (Non-EU),” even though the display location on its profile says “Mar A Lago.” The account, which has more than 580,000 followers, posted on Tuesday that “This is a FAN account, 100 % independent, run by one guy who loves this country and supports President Trump with everything I’ve got.”
Death of Fla. teenager on cruise ship ruled homicide
BY KATE PAYNE and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press
The death of a Florida teenager on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month has been ruled a homicide, the latest development in a case that has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.
Anna Kepner’s cause of death was “mechanical asphyxia,” according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by ABC News, which said the 18-year-old “was mechanically asphyxiated by other person(s).”
Mechanical asphyxia is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing, according to Stephen Nelson, a chief medical examiner in Central Florida who is not involved in the case.
“In some way shape or form, your airway has been cut off,” said Nelson, a former chair of Florida’s Medical Examiners Commission.
Vacation that ended in tragedy
A high school cheerleader from Florida’s Space Coast who was set to graduate next year, Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship with her father, stepmother, her stepmother’s two children and her grandparents.
The night before she was found dead, Kepner had spent time with her grandparents in the ship’s casino, her grandmother Barbara Kepner told ABC News.
“She said, ‘Meemaw, I love you guys.
I’ll see you. I’ll see you later’,” Barbara Kepner recalled. “We never saw her again after that.”
The next morning, a medical alert blared out over the ship’s broadcast system, directing first responders to the room Kepner was sharing with two other teens, including a younger stepbrother
A room attendant found Kepner’s body “concealed under the bed,” according to her grandmother “I just screamed. I couldn’t stop screaming,” Barbara Kepner said. Stepbrother identified as a suspect
Kepner’s death aboard the ship that sailed from Miami has remained shrouded in mystery with the FBI and medical examiner’s office in South Florida refusing to disclose any information about the case for weeks.
The teen’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been identified as a suspect in her death, according to court documents filed by his parents.
The disclosures contained in motions filed in an ongoing custody dispute — offer the clearest public indication that federal investigators are scrutinizing a member of the victim’s own blended family
As of Tuesday, a final autopsy report had not been released and the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office has not responded to messages left by the AP.
Kepner’s time of death was 11:17 a.m. on Nov 7, according to the medical examiner’s office, and the ship returned to PortMiami on Nov 8 as scheduled.
Carnival Horizon cruises the Western Caribbean with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, according to itineraries posted on the company’s website.
Lawyers who practice maritime law say they’re not surprised that nearly three weeks have passed with no charges filed in the case.
“When I’ve had international marine deaths — deaths on a vessel in international waters in the high seas — it can take quite some time to get the final autopsy reports,” said Houston attorney Marcus Spagnoletti “It’s not unusual.”
Caribbean leaders
BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Assoc
Press
iated
WASHINGTON Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, and meet Wednesday with the country’s top leaders, including President Luis Abinader, Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre and other officials, the Pentagon said Tuesday
The announcement came the same day that Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump’s primary military adviser met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
They “exchanged views on challenges affecting the Caribbean region, including the destabilizing effects of illicit narcotics, arms, and human trafficking, and transnational criminal organization activities,” according to a summary released by Caine’s office.
The U.S. military has built up its largest presence in the region in generations and has been attacking alleged drugsmuggling boats since early September To date, the military under Hegseth’s command, has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people. The actions are seen by many as a pressure tactic to get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. The visits by Hegseth and Caine this week come as Trump evaluates whether to take military action against Venezuela, which he has not ruled out despite raising the possibility of talks with Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.
The Trump administration added extra pressure by officially designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday
headquarters in downtown San Francisco in 2023. The company
SlenderMan attacker won’tfight extradition
BY TODD RICHMOND Associated Press
MADISON, Wis.
The Wisconsin woman who won release from amental institutionafter almostkilling her sixth grade classmate in the name of horror villainSlender Manonly to flee the state weeks later won’tfight extradition from Illinois.
Morgan Geyser agreed not to contest her transfer from jail in CookCounty,Illinois, to Wisconsin during ahearing Tuesday,acourt spokesperson said. Wisconsin authorities now have 30 days to pick her up.
Wisconsin health officials could revoke Geyser’sconditional release and send her back to the facility where she spent most of thepast eight years. She also could face new charges in connection with her escape.
According to police, Geysercut off her GPS monitoring braceletonSaturday evening and fled her Madison group home with a43-yearold companion. Police found them Sunday evening sleeping onasidewalk outside a truck stop in Posen,Illinois,a
village of 5,300 people about 25 miles south of Chicago, andarrested them
Policehaveidentified Geyser’sfriendasmale, butGeyser can be heard on officers’ body camera footage during their arrestssaying that the individualistransgender and refers to thepersonas“she.”
Her friend hasbeen chargedwithtrespassing and obstruction,but The Associated Press isn’tnaming the companion because the personhasn’t been charged with aiding Geyser’sescape. The AP’sattemptstocontact that personhavebeen unsuccessful.
The companion did call WKOW-TV on Monday, however, saying thetwo became friends at churchand had seen each other daily for the past month. Geyserdecidedtoflee becauseshe was afraid her grouphomewould no longer allow them to see each other,the person said.
“She ran because of me,” the friendtold the television station.
Geyserand hercompanion took abus overnight into Illinois, the friend said. The Posen officers’body camera
footage shows Geyser and herfriend shivering in the cold outside the truckstopas officerstry to ascertaintheir namesand wherethey’re from. Geyser does most of thetalking while her friend gathers their belongings and places them in abackpack, sayingonly“south” when asked where they’re from and giving officers afake name. Her companion initially refused to give aname.
As officersthreaten to arrest them, Geyser clutches a stuffeddog toy and clings to her companion’sarm.When officers separate them, she insists that her friend doesn’t know Geyser’sname or what she’s done.
When Geyser refuses to give her real name, an officer asks her:“You’renot wanted for murder,right?”
Geyser repeatedly begs the officerstolet her companion go. Pressed by officers, Geysersays:“Idid something really wrong.”
Geyser finally writes her real name on an officer’s notepad. As they’re running herfor warrants, she tries to go to her friend, but an officer pushes her back.
Rescuersfindgrandmother, kids whowentmissing on hike
By The Associated Press
Rescuers
CLEVELAND,S.C.
on Tuesday found agrandmother and three grandchildren who reported the prior eveningthat they had got lost while hiking in aSouth Carolina state park, prompting amassive search with drones, helicopters, offroad vehicles and dogs.
The GreenvilleCounty Sheriff’s Office said the four had parked avehicle near one trailhead at Caesars Head State Park in Cleveland but were discoveredon adifferent trail altogether.
Ahelicopter evacuated them from rough terrain that was slickened further by rain, saidGreenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis. They were no injuries immediately found and the hikers were beingreunited with family, he said. Emergency responders were set to assess their healthfurther
“Everything has gone fine and everybodyshould havemadetheirreunionup there,” Lewis told reporters Tuesday
Aboy called 911 on Monday evening saying he and three family members had been lost for about three hours in the area of the state park, the sheriff’s office said in astatement.
The sheriff’s office identified the hikers as Tonda Michelin, 53; Melody Bangs, 14; Michael Lawton, 11; and Dale Moser,9.Authorities have not said whether they live locally,orwhy the grandmother did not place the call.
During the 911 call, the child said hisphone battery had almost run out but was able to stay on the phone for 10 or 12 minutes, the sheriff said. The boy was coherent and knew what wasgoing on, he said.
“We’ll talk to the grandmother and kids and figure out what they might have done last night,” Lewissaid
The search beganMonday
and at least50 people from half adozen agencies includingthe National Guard were involved.
Caesars Head StatePark is about 30 miles northwest of Greenville,South Carolina,and is aprotected environment for rare animals and plants. The hikers had parked nearthe start of the Ravens CliffFalls trail, which is a4-mile round trip,
leading to Caesars Head, a dramaticgranite overlook atop the BlueRidge Escarpmentthat provides views of manywaterfalls. All the CaesarsHead trails are rated as advanced and areinawilderness setting, accordingtothe website. They werediscovered on theBill Kimball trail, which is aparticularly difficult hike.
BY JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press
NEW YORK Anotorious 1979 missing-child caseis headed to trialathird time after New York prosecutors vowed Tuesday to retry the manwhose murder conviction wasrecently overturned in thedisappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
In acase thathas long been gnarled by time and uncertainty,anew set of prosecutors now will need to bring back witnesses, elicit memoriesand try to persuade another jury that Pedro Hernandez lured and killed theboy as he walked to his school bus stop in New York City
“Afterthorough review, thedistrict attorney has determined that theavailable, admissible evidence supportsprosecuting” Hernandez on murderand kidnapping charges, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney SarahMarquezwrote, addingthatprosecutors “are prepared to proceed.”
Hernandez’s lawyerssaid they were deeply disappointed by prosecutors’ decision.
“Weremain convinced that Mr.Hernandezisaninnocentman.But we will be preparedfor trial andwill present an even stronger
defense,” attorneysHarvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier saidina statement.
Hernandez is due in court Monday for adiscussion of next steps. Underfederal court rulings, jury selection forhis retrial mustbegin by June 1, or he must be released from prison.
Etan’sfather,Stan Patz, declined to commentwhen reached by phone Tuesday
He had hailed Hernandez’s now-overturned conviction as “somemeasure of justice for our wonderful little boy, Etan.”
Hernandez, now 64, workedatanearbycorner
store when Etan disappeared on May 25, 1979. It was the first day his mother let him make theroughly blocklong trip to the bus stop by himself. The first grader’s body wasnever found, but he was legally declared dead in 2001, at his family’s request. His case fueled anational focus on child disappearances andabductions. Etan was oneofthe first to appear on milk cartons, and his parents helped successfully advocate for anational hotlineand othersteps to help report and rescue vanished youngsters.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By MARK LENNIHAN Aphotograph of Etan Patz hangs on an angel figurine as partofamakeshift memorial in the SoHo neighborhood of Newyork in 2012.
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
WASHINGTON A health care proposal circulated by the White House in recent days is running into the reality of Republican divisions on the issue — a familiar struggle for a party that has been trying to scrap or overhaul the Affordable Care Act for the past 15 years.
The tentative proposal from President Donald Trump would extend expiring ACA subsidies for two years while adjusting eligibility requirements for recipients. The plan has so far been met with a stony silence on Capitol Hill as Republicans debate among themselves whether to overhaul the law, tweak it or simply let the subsidies expire.
It’s unclear now when the White House plan might be released, or if it will be released at all.
The Republican indecision comes as the COVID-era tax credits are set to expire Jan. 1, creating sharp premium increases for millions of Americans. Democrats who shut down the government for six weeks over the issue are demanding a straight extension with no changes, though some indicated they could support a plan similar to the one circulated by the White House. But support may be harder to find in the GOP conference, where many lawmakers say costs are still too high and have been eager to make another run at repealing the ACA. The last effort in 2017 failed when Republicans couldn’t decide on how to provide coverage to millions of Americans who depend on government-run marketplaces for their health care. It’s a dilemma that persists for the party after record numbers signed up for coverage this year Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised a group of moderate Democrats a vote on the ACA tax credits by mid-December in exchange for their votes to end the government shutdown. But it’s unclear, so far, whether that arrangement will lead to a solution.
Bipartisan compromise?
Health care has long been one of the most politically fraught topics on Capitol Hill, so a bipartisan compromise seems unlikely But the coming price spikes have motivated some lawmakers to look for points of agreement
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said last week that he hopes the subsidies are extended.
“I’m sure some of my colleagues will be mad at me for saying this — if we don’t address the subsidies issue in December, I don’t think it’s going to get addressed next year,” Tillis said, adding that Democratic campaigns will be “just churning up all the very sympathetic stories” if it isn’t fixed.
The draft White House proposal would put new income limits on the tax credits at
700 percent of the federal poverty level, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal who requested anonymity to discuss it. The White House would also require those on Obamacare, regardless of the type of coverage, to pay some sort of premium for their plans. That would effectively end zero-premium plans for those with lower incomes, addressing a concern from Republicans who say the program has enabled fraud.
Some Democrats have suggested they are open to those ideas as a part of broader negotiations. “I’m glad the president is reportedly considering a serious proposal,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen,
one of the Democrats who voted to end the shutdown.
Some Republicans have signaled support as well. Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood, the chairman of the businessoriented Republican Main Street Caucus, said in a statement that the group supports “President Trump’s ongoing efforts to address the ACA tax credit cliff with an extension.”
Several bipartisan bills in the House would extend the ACA credits for two years, with changes such as income limits for the enhanced credit. “I think two years is really the sweet spot where everybody is OK,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
If seasonalriver flowsincrease as some projections indicate, in part duetoclimate change, the nation will have to figure out where to channel all the water —another illustration of how much of the country’sfateis tied to the river at the center of theworld’sthird-largest watershed.
Mississippi officials are careful to stress that they do not want New Orleans or anywhere else to flood.But they say solutions can be found, and the burden can be shared.
“This is anational problem, and it calls for anational solution,” said Gerald Blessey,the former mayor of Biloxi now helping lead acoalition seeking to draw greater attentiontothe issue.
‘Can’t afford it’
The long reach of the river is not always readily apparent, but its complex connections to surrounding communities, the restofthe nation and even the world are central to Louisiana’s existence
The need for areliable shipping channel, as well as the obligation to protect cities from flooding, has created alargely man-madesystem of managing the Mississippi, and any change to it can reverberate elsewhere.
The current system is now nearly acentury old, and it has worked largely as designed. Built in the wake of the epochal 1927 Mississippi River flood, the modern network of levees, floodwalls and spillways has prevented the lower river frombreaking its banks and allowed shipping to flourish, including for grain exports from the country’sMidwestto ports around the world. Arecent analysis by the Army Corps of Engineers determined that overallsystem, known officially as the MississippiRiverand Tributaries project, has reduced or prevented$114indamage for every $1 invested —anextraordinarily high number for aCorps project
The Bonnet Carre has in particular been vital to south Louisiana. To keep the river from rising above 1.25 million cubic feet per second —ormore than 550 million gallons every minute —the Corps opens it. It is asurprisingly analog process, with cranes removing wooden beams —or “needles” —set across350 bays to allow river water to gush through.The number of bays opened depends upon the amount of water that must be diverted.
The water then tumbles through the spillway itself, guided by levees through a channel for nearly 6milesto Lake Pontchartrain. It eventually reaches the Rigolets, the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf.
For decades, the system did not pose aserious problem. It was expected that Bonnet Carre would have to be opened roughly once a decade, with the occasional influx of fresh water and nutrients actually helping replenishcoastal ecosystems over the long term, as formerly occurred when the river ran wild and free.
Forthe first decadesofthe spillway’sexistence,that prediction proved roughly accurate, though, as always, with lots of variation in weatherpatterns. Bonnet Carre was opened eight timesbetween the completion of construction in the 1930sand theend of the century
But since 2000, it has been opened seven times, and it looked as if it would again be necessary earlier this year.Inthe end, it remained closed thanks to river levels remaining just below the trigger TheCorps hadcomeunder heavy pressure from Mississippi officials to use Morganza before opening Bonnet Carre. That did not happen, but, farther upriver,the flow of water diverted from the MississippiRiver through
THE RIVER’S RECKONING
ROUT NG THE RIVER ROUTINGTHE
R UTING
the Old River Control complex to theAtchafalaya jumpedsignificantly around that time, records show Corps spokesman Ricky Boyett said Old River,aset of structuresthatkeepthe Mississippi from changing course to theAtchafalaya, was operated as it normally would be regardless of the state of Mississippi’sconcerns. The record 2019 openings were the last straw for Mississippi. For the first time, Bonnet Carre had to be opened twice in ayear,for a
consult with federal fisheries officials on Bonnet Carre openings. The organizationleading the charge on the issue, the Mississippi Sound Coalition, has signaled its fight will continue. At arecent meeting in Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulf Coast leaders spoke of theirongoing strategyto engage politicians and the public on the problem
But addressing Mississippi’sconcerns is not so simple.
total of 123 days. An estimated 10 trillion gallons rushed through it
The muddy,brown waterdrained from partsof 31 states andtwo Canadian provinces broughtwithit harmful algae bloomsand nutrientpollution.Thatwas amplified by increased flow from the Pearl and Pascagoula rivers. The result was afederally declared fisheriesdisaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Essentially all oysters that growinthe westernMis-
sissippi Sound died, shrimp landings were down sharply, andeggs andlarvae from species suchasspeckled troutwereharmed, said Kim de Mutsert,a coastal scientist at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dolphin andsea turtle deaths were up significantly,Mississippi officials say Skin lesions were alsofound on dolphins. Many tourists optedto stayaway.Atone point, tourism was down along the coast by around47% from thepreviousyear,according
to somemeasurements.
“Coast tourism tax revenue represents over 30% of thetotaltourism taxrevenue of the entire state,” said Linda Hornsby,executive director of the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association. “Wecan’t afford it. We’ve got to makesure it doesn’thappen again.” Mississippi communities filed twoseparate lawsuits against the Corps in the flood’swake. Onewas dismissed, andthe otherresulted in only apartial victory,requiring the Corps to
‘Findsomeway’ Back in Louisiana, down Cajun back roads and far away from the Mississippi Coast, Ed Boyd sits on the tailgate of apickup truck andrecalls whenthe water rose. It was in 2011, the last time the Morganza Spillway was opened, requiring the entire communityofButte La Rose to evacuate and hope forthe best. The tiny outpost of fishing andhunting camps, signs out front carrying nicknames like “Dad’sPad When Mom’s Mad” and “Recovery Room,” sits within the spillway Boyd and his wife packed up whattheycould and headed to Lafayette, but, in theend, it wasn’tasbad as feared. The Mississippi water channeled through the Morganza and into the Atchafalaya Basin submerged Boyd’sdock,but did not reach the house.
Boyd, now 76 and aformerpastor at the Lafayette-based Asbury United Methodist Church, reflected on how attempts to manage Mother Nature always cause unintendedconsequences He said he’snot opposed to seeing the Morganzaopened more if reasonable calculations could be made to limit damage.
“Aslongastheycould find some way of being able to estimate how muchthey could put in here without destroying people’sproperties,” said Boyd. “But you see, the way it is now,everybody wants somebody else to get hurt besides them.”
TheMorganza Spillway could be considered asibling of Bonnet Carre. Located farther upstream at thetownofMorganza, not farfrom the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola,it funnels water to the river’s west bank, directing it to the Atchafalaya Basin and eventually down to the Morgan City area. It has only been used twiceinits history,in1973 and 2011, but every year the Corps must notify by mail theroughly 2,500 landowners within the floodway of the possibility.The federal government purchased “flowage easements” from thelandowners when the spillwaywas built, but they
THE RIVER’S RECKONING
Continued from page 6A
continue to own the land.
Cattle can be seen grazing in the shadow of the Morganza structure, where the water flows when it is opened. Before opening it, the Corps must also work with local and state officials to encourage wildlife to relocate, including black bears. Releasing water gradually helps signal to wildlife to clear out.
‘You accept the risk’
The trigger for opening the Morganza 1.5 million cubic feet per second — has only been reached once, during the floods of 2011 The 1973 opening was necessary because of the collapse of a wall at the Old River Control structures upstream, requiring emergency measures to keep the Mississippi from shifting course to the Atchafalaya.
The Corps can open Morganza based on a forecast of river levels reaching the trigger — and, in fact, could be obligated to do so. That’s because the spillway gates cannot be opened after they are overtopped. In 2019, the trigger for Morganza was almost reached, but it ultimately fell just short. Mississippi officials point to that with bewilderment and disappointment, questioning why so much water must be funneled through Bonnet Carre while the Morganza stays closed.
Are there potential solutions? There may be, but politics and federal government cost-cutting are preventing them from being explored at the moment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been engaged in a sweeping, five-year $25 million “mega-study” on the future of managing the lower river The issues are so multilayered and complex that the plan was to have the “mega-study” open the door to other related inquiries or “tiered studies” to delve even deeper.
The mega-study was paused in June due to a lack of funding from the federal government. Corps officials hope it can eventually be restarted, and political leaders in both Mississippi and Louisiana have been pushing for funding for it.
“We consider this a generational opportunity for us to look at how we manage the lower Mississippi River and to make actual recommendations for improving how we manage it over the next 100 years,” Rick Raynie, Corps project manager, said recently at a gathering of scientists and other experts.
One key change that was being looked at involved altering the amount of wa-
ter allowed to be diverted through the Old River Control complex to the Atchafalaya River The amount of flow through the complex on an annual basis — 30% of the combined flow of the Mississippi and Red Rivers — is locked in place by congressional mandate. It is unclear whether altering Old River flows would be enough to adequately address the dilemma of the Bonnet Carre. Corps officials say a later “tiered study” could look at how to best operate Bonnet Carre, Morganza and Old River as one system. Any change will draw controversy The Port of Morgan City, for example, where water funneled through Old River and Morganza eventually ends up, is concerned that the accompanying buildup of sediment will prevent deep-water access to its docks, requiring costly expensive dredging and jeopardizing billions in business.
Other potential solutions have been proposed in the past from scientists In one example, a study by Tulane scientists Ehab Meselhe and Chia-Yu Wu explored the possibility of building river diversions upstream from Bonnet Carre that could both replenish wetlands and ease pressure on river levels They found that such a plan could be beneficial, though money and political will would be needed for it a challenge at a time of budget cuts.
While not a solution, De Mutsert, the USM scientist, is at work on modeling that could determine the potential effects of future spill-
way openings on fisheries
In Butte La Rose, feelings are mixed. There is a sense among some that additional water could actually help the Atchafalaya Basin’s troubled conditions.
But picking up and evacuating for more Morganza openings could be problematic, especially if the water rises high enough to flood houses.
“You accept the risk when you come out here,” Jules Langla, 79, who moved to Butte La Rose in 2020 with his wife for the Atchafalaya Basin’s tranquility and bass fishing, said from his living room overlooking Bayou La Rose.
“We would have enough time to get out. But if it gets as high as our second floor here, that’s catastrophic.”
Farther north, Jacques LaCour drives his truck over a levee and past soybean crops growing in the fertile ground between the gates of the Morganza Spillway and the Mississippi, one portion of his extended farmland.
He tells the story of how when he was younger, he talked his father into allowing him to plant corn there, known as Morganza’s forebay, which can flood when the river is high. They would usually wait until June to decide whether to plant there to allow enough time to know that year’s conditions. But the river seemed low enough in March, and LaCour wanted to get the corn growing. His dad told him it was a bad idea, but allowed him to go ahead and try to plant 200 acres. By June, the corn crops drowned.
“He was right. You never know what Mother Nature is going to do,” said LaCour, 62.
These days, he still plants in the forebay but understands the risks. He also has about 400 acres on the other side of the spillway’s gates, which floods when Morganza is opened, but he only grows timber there. He grows sugar cane on other sections of land.
LaCour also serves as a commissioner for the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District and was part of a recent delegation that met with Mississippi Coast officials to discuss ways forward. LaCour said one question being posed is whether the Wax Lake Outlet, which connects to the Atchafalaya River near the coast, could be widened to more efficiently pass water through.
“Of course, our preference
would be that we never need to open it again,” LaCour said of the Morganza while sitting on the back deck of the Old River Landing and boat launch he owns in the town of Batchelor “But it’s there for a purpose that serves the greater good of the nation and the community here.”
‘Can’t fight each other
At his spot on the dock in Pass Christian, Gautier describes his long family history in the seafood business. Originally from Pascagoula, the grandson of a state senator and entrepreneur, he grew up in the industry and learned it the hard way, doing the dirty work of unloading boats and supplying them with ice.
After college, he rejoined the family business and, along with his brother, even-
tually bought out his father, a World War II vet with degrees from Tulane and Harvard, but who chose to “work in a shrimp plant.”
“He always had a buttondown with a tie on,” said Gautier “He needed to go weld something in the back, he would just throw his welders over it.”
Gautier eventually left the family company for a time, but still dealt in seafood, particularly shrimp. He says he has always made special efforts to maintain the quality of the product, ensuring customers know the difference between fresh, local catch and cheap imports.
“If it’s produced and packed from the boat to the loading dock to the processor if you do everything right, it can be as precious as the nicest shrimp in the world,” he said. “If you don’t take care of it, it’s just another commodity.”
Gautier, who had been living much of the time in Florida, bought the current business in Pass Christian in 2021 and moved back, giving him more time to see his two daughters, both of whom went to LSU and live in Baton Rouge.
He didn’t give the Bonnet Carre much thought, believing the oysters would be back relatively soon. It wasn’t until the fall of 2024 that he was able to bring in any oysters at all. The shrimp business was also difficult for a variety of reasons over the past few years.
Gautier, who runs the business with his wife Ashley, said he has had to dig into his own money to maintain the company, keeping faith that it will eventually turn around.
He argues that more planning is needed when it’s clear a high-river year is on the way Routing so much water through one outlet makes no sense to him.
“Everybody’s got to work together on it. We can’t fight each other on it,” said Gautier “And that’s what’s going on.”
GRUNFELD
The Bonnet Carre Spillway is pictured upriver from the Mississippi River, with Dow Chemical and Entergy Waterford nuclear power plants located across the river.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
The Morganza Spillway has only been used twice in its history, in 1973 and 2011.
Workers pull needles from bays in the Bonnet Carre Spillway flood protection structure in St Charles Parish after the U.S Army Corps of Engineers ordered the opening to stem the rise of Mississippi River in 2019.
Dismissal of Comey, James cases not final word
BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
WASHINGTON A federal judge’s dismissal of criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney Letitia James, two political foes of President Donald Trump, won’t be the final word on the matter
The Justice Department says it plans to immediately appeal a pair of rulings that held that Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. It also has the ability to try to refile the cases, though whether it can successfully secure fresh indictments through a different prosecutor is unclear as is whether any new indictments could survive the crush of legal challenges that would in-
variably follow A look at the possible next steps:
What the rulings said At issue is the slapdash way the Trump administration raced to put Halligan in charge of one of the Justice Department’s most elite offices. A White House aide with no prior experience as a federal prosecutor Halligan was named interim U.S. attorney in September after the veteran prosecutor who held the job, Erik Siebert, was effectively forced out amid Trump administration pressure to charge Comey and James.
U.S attorneys, top federal prosecutors who oversee regional Justice Department outposts across the country, are typically nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, though attorneys general do have the au-
Congressma housing offi
BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell accuses the Trump administration’s top housing regulator of abusing his position to misuse private mortgage records belonging to Swalwell and other Democratic critics of the Republican president.
Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte less than two weeks after Pulte formally referred the California Democrat to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution on mortgage fraud charges.
Swalwell is seeking a court order for Pulte and his agency to withdraw the criminal referral. His lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified monetary damages, accuses Pulte of violating federal laws and Swalwell’s First Amendment free speech rights.
Pulte didn’t immediately respond to a text message and telephone call seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Swalwell, who is running for governor of California, served as a House manager in President Donald Trump’s 2021 impeachment trial. His lawsuit claims Pulte has played “an integral role in supporting President Trump’s campaign of retribution against his political foes.”
“Those efforts have resulted in the Department of Justice conducting a series of high-profile criminal investigations and prosecutions nakedly targeting some of the President’s most outspoken critics,” the suit says Pulte’s Nov 13 referral to the Justice Department alleges that Swalwell falsely claimed his Washington, D.C., home as his primary residence on a mortgage agreement to secure better loan terms. Swalwell denies
that subm that his but A tice Marti political frau mi hyped easily fici leads whether improperly gage
thority to directly appoint interim U.S. attorneys who can serve in the job for 120 days.
But lawyers for Comey and James argued that the law empowers only one such temporary appointment and that, after that, federal judges in the district have say over who fills the vacancy until a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney can be installed.
Since Halligan replaced an interim U.S. attorney who had already served for more than 120 days, the lawyers said, her appointment was invalid and the indictments she secured must be dismissed as a result.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie overwhelmingly agreed. Currie, an appointee of President Bill Clinton who was assigned to hear the dispute despite serving in South Carolina, not only dismissed the cases but also concluded that Halligan
had been serving illegally in her position since the day she was sworn in.
Justice Department appeal
Yes, and Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated that the department would do exactly that.
Any appeal would first be considered by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but theoretically could go all the way up to the Supreme Court and present a fresh constitutional test about the Justice Department’s appointment authority
Interestingly, Currie implied that her interpretation of the law might be wellreceived by at least one current conservative member of the Supreme Court.
In a footnote she cited a 1986 legal memo from Samuel Alito, then a deputy assistant attorney general
in the Justice Department’s
Office of Legal Counsel, that concluded that the Justice Department could not make another temporary appointment after a first 120-day period expired.
Can cases be filed again?
Since the cases were dismissed “without prejudice,” the Justice Department is clearly able to seek a new indictment against James using a different prosecutor with lawful authority to present to the grand jury
The question, however is much trickier in Comey’s case. It’s complicated by the fact that the five-year statute of limitations — or the limited time in which charges can be filed — expired at the end of the September, just days after Halligan raced to present to the grand jury
Federal law allows prosecutors to return a new indict-
ment within six months of dismissal even after the statute of limitations has passed. But Comey’s lawyers said they will argue the judge’s ruling makes the indictment “void,” and therefore “the statute of limitations has run and there can be no further indictment.”
The judge noted in her ruling that the deadline had passed and suggested that the statute of limitations is not tolled or paused in the case of an “invalid indictment.” Quoting from an earlier ruling, the judge wrote that “if the earlier indictment is void, there is no legitimate peg on which” to extend the deadline.
Regardless, the Justice Department in either case would have to convince a new grand jury to return new indictments, and that may be harder given the intense publicity around the cases.
WhenRobbyandRitaMartinputtheirLafayette home on themarket, they hada definiteplan in place: sell thehouse,finish downsizing and move to Rita’s homeland of Bali.Eversince Robby’sretirementfromthe oilindustry, the couple hadlookedforward to spending their lateryears closetoRita’sfamily, in acountry they both love
ThoseplanschangeddramaticallyonAugust5 It wasaround1 a.m. Robbywas up late watching television.Ritawas sleeping peacefullyinthe bedroombehindacloseddoor.
“All of asudden,I felt like somethingwas in my eye, so Iwenttorub it out. ThenextthingI knew,Iwas leaningoverlikeIhad neverdone before.Icouldn’t straighten up at all,”Robby said.“Ithought to myself,‘Ithink I’mhavinga stroke.’ Ihad neverhad astrokebefore. Ididn’t know what onewas like,but that wasthe first thoughtthatcametomymind.”
Robby’sinstinctswererightontarget.Doctors determined he didindeedhavea stroke.After alengthy hospital stay,hewas transferredto alocal rehabilitation facility.Meanwhile,the Martins’ housewas alreadyunder contract, meaningitwould have been costly to tryto undo thesale. But, theplanned move to Bali wassuddenlycompletelyimpossible.
TheMartins hadlived near TheVincent Senior Living andhad seen thecommunity buildand developovertime. They hadnever envisioned themselves living there, but after Robby’sstroke, it emergedasa strong option.Yet, Robbywas stillseverelylimited by thestroke. Rita speakslimited Englishand wasquickly overwhelmedbythe thoughtofhandlingthe logisticsofamove.
“The people at TheVincent made us feel special,”Robbysaid,citingCommunityRelations Director FrankieDabneyasa keypersonwho helped ease thetransition. “I wasfeeling pretty worthlessbecause therewas so much Icouldn’t do.Theyrecognizedthatandsteppedup.Frankie in particular filleda huge gap. Otherwise, I’m notsurewhatwewould have done.”
Rita wasabletomoveintoanapartment at TheVincent,and Robbyfollowedoncehewas
discharged from hisrehabilitationfacility. He’s stillparticipating in outpatientrehab multiple timesa week,but is able to do so at TheVincent, wherea full-timephysicaltherapist is on staff “She wantsthe bestfor me.She knowseverythingabout herjob.She motivatesmewhen sheknows Ineedit,”Robby said.“I’ve learned that thefirstsix months afterastrokeare key for therehabilitation. She’sconvinced me to put in thework.
Anothermajor advantageoflivingatThe Vincentisthe access to transportationservices that take theMartins on errandsand medical appointments.Thathas been crucial, sinceRita does notdrive andRobby cannolongerdoso afterthe stroke
“Theytakeuswhere we need to go in thevan with awheelchairlift, whichisthe only kind of transportation that worksfor me,” Robbysaid. “I’mnotsurehowwewouldmanagewithoutthat.” TheMartins’ move to Bali is nowonhold indefinitely. Rita stillhopes they caneventually make themoveonceRobby fullyrecovers althoughwhetherhewillbeabletodosoremains to be seen.While residing in aseniorliving community wasnever in theirplans,theyare starting to feel like TheVincent is home,no matter howlongtheyend up staying.
“The longer we stay here, thebetteritgets,” Robbysaid. “There’sa lotofreliefwhenyou don’t have to worryabout ahouse anymore. When you’re oldenoughthatyou’vedoneall of theyardworkand upkeep andyou don’t really look forwardtoitanymore,it’sagreat relief to notevenhavetothink aboutit. TheVincent has so much to offer andsuchhighstandards for all of it.Thatmeans Ican focusonmyrehab and nottending to everyneedfor myself andRita. In addition to physical therapy andtransportationservices, TheVincent Senior Living offershousekeepingand laundryservices, flexible
MEAL
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with sandwiches and bottled water and handed them out to those in need. That started a grassroots effort that eventually led to the creation of Hands Together Inc., a registered nonprofit
Every Thursday except Thanksgiving Day, volunteers put out tables and unload metal pans of hot meals under cypress trees. Before the serving begins, one of the unhoused individuals leads others in a prayer
Some take their meals to go. Others find a spot under the trees or on the grass or even on the sculpture nearby to eat in the company of others.
Liz Savoy, a leader in Hands Together has been serving the homeless so long she knows some by name and serves as the emergency contact for some who have no one else to rely on.
While the recipients are blessed to be fed a hot meal in the evening, Savoy said the volunteers are more blessed to be able to give to them.
“Without us, who?” she asked. “What would they do?”
The food, volunteer Jenny St. John said, comes from donations.
“Restaurants, catering companies, your next-door neighbor, whoever we beg,” she said.
Some of the food, Savoy said, is donated by a local event center It used to be thrown away
“This country throws away so much food,” she said.
Second Harvest provided the pork roast and ribs served Nov 20, Savoy said.
That evening, a young man pushing a friend in a wheelchair gathered with the group. He asked not to use his name, but said both are staying at St Joseph Shelter. He ended up there, he said, after losing $17,000 to a roommate through a lease issue. His friend,
he said, suffered a drug-related stroke and is confined to a wheelchair
“God was taking things away from me that weren’t serving me,” he said, “and the Lord was gracious enough to provide me with beautiful hospitality, loving people and the chance, not to start over, but to do it right.”
Gypsy Dion, who isn’t from the area, sat alone on the grass next to the library parking lot, eating her meal. She and her fiancé were living in a local park when someone found them and got them help, she said. They’ve been in the shelter about nine months as they try to straighten out their finances. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Dion said. “I’m glad they do this, or we wouldn’t know what to do.” To make monetary donations, visit the group’s Facebook page to scan a code to a Venmo account or visit @helping_handstogether on Venmo. For more information, email handstogetherinc8@gmail.com.
Continued from page 1A
federal government’s disaster response than a special task force set up by Trump. That group recommends a more expansive role for FEMA than Noem has Regardless of the final form, the efforts appear on track to shift much of the work to the states, with major changes in the way aid is given to home and business owners in a bid to speed getting money into communities after disaster strikes.
Fewer scuffles at the U.S. Capitol carry more meaningful stakes for Louisiana, where 57 hurricanes have made landfall from the mid19th century through 2023, according to NOAA, not to mention innumerable tropical storms and even more flood-inducing rainstorms
“Louisiana knows better than most just how badly FEMA needs serious reform,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said Tuesday
“As the Trump administration has said, the agency is a bureaucratic mess and too frequently fails to meet the needs of Americans during their darkest days. From delays in delivering relief to how they’ve made flood insurance unaffordable, I have heard from so many families, small businesses and elected officials who are deeply frustrated with FEMA in its current state.” Louisiana received roughly $49 billion in federal aid for 26 disasters since 2005
— $22.9 billion in public assistance, $8.7 billion for individual and household aid, $16.6 from the Department of Housing & Urban Development, and $892 million in low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration, according to the Carnegie Endowment, a Washington-based think tank.
Any dip in federal aid would have to be covered by taxpayers in a state where 1 in 5 residents lives in poverty.
FEMA also oversees the flood insurance relied upon by about 450,000 Louisiana home and business owners.
“I’ve been the first to say that FEMA isn’t perfect and needs to be reformed and strengthened,” said Demo-
cratic U.S Rep. Troy Carter, whose New Orleans-based district has weathered many storms and who, like others in the Louisiana congressional delegation, spends much time championing legislation on disasters.
“I hope the Trump administration starts taking this agency and the policy recommendations from experts seriously and will work with them to strengthen FEMA on behalf of hurricaneprone communities,” Carter added.
A much-anticipated report outlining the Trump administration’s position was due Nov 16 but has been postponed until mid-December
Meanwhile, the Republican-majority House teed up a FEMA revamp bill in early September for a vote, but it has not been scheduled — apparently awaiting a Trump decision on the future of the agency
“Whether that agency is called FEMA or something else doesn’t matter. What’s important is Louisianans are prepared and protected when the next hurricane hits,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy R-Baton Rouge. In January, Trump said he was leaning toward “getting rid of FEMA” and letting the states handle recovery from tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and other natural disasters. He created the FEMA Review Council, composed mostly of Republican officials and co-chaired by Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to come up with recommendations.
As recently as June, the president discussed “phasing out” FEMA. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 cost the federal government $41.6 billion, while Hurricane Maria in 2017 cost $74.8 billion. Those kinds of outlays have come in for harsh criticism from some policy groups.
“Trump’s instincts are right on the money: Decades of federal intervention in what has traditionally been a state-led process have produced slow inefficient disaster responses, poor mitigation, and wasteful boondoggles” the Cato Institute, a 48-year-old limited government think tank, said last week “In theory, the council’s report could still catalyze a smaller federal
role in disaster management by narrowing FEMA’s mission to truly catastrophic events, ratcheting down the federal cost share, and curbing subsidies that encourage building in harm’s way.”
Trump’s FEMA Review Council, after several meetings mostly behind closed doors, came up with a 160page recommendation that envisions more state involvement in disaster relief but also a more robust agency independent of Noem’s Homeland Security Department, with a seat at the cabinet table in its own right.
Noem is drawing her draft isn’t finished — a much shorter counterrecommendation, one in which Homeland Security would keep FEMA but the disaster agency’s functions would shift from providing direct help to issuing grants covering specific state projects approved at the federal level, according to The Associated Press. The grants would cover about half of the costs, as opposed to the usual 75% federal to 25% state matches now in place.
Noem also would lay off about half of FEMA’s staff, which already is down a third from last year at this time She proposes FEMA focus on disaster response, such as removing debris, and leave to other agencies tasks such as getting the lights back on and roads reopened.
Homeland Security spokesw oman Tric ia McLaughlin said in a statement that Noem is working “collaboratively” with members of the special review council.
Both Noem and the task force recommend that states receive grants up front instead of reimbursement after the work is done.
But from there the proposals head off in different directions.
The council, which hasn’t released its recommendations publicly wants to elevate FEMA to a Cabinetlevel agency and leans into detailed ideas to make it easier for individuals and local government agencies to receive assistance. That would include streamlined applications that change the decades of accounting practices that Congress has added to FEMA’s procedures. Whatever road Trump decides to travel as the ad-
ministration approaches its new December deadline, Congress will have to be involved because both plans require changes to the 1988 Stafford Act, which dictates FEMA’s actions.
The House legislation cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee in early September on a vote of 57-3. It is ready for a vote on the House floor
“This will be the most comprehensive FEMA reform since Hurricane Katrina,” said Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, R-Kansas City, who chairs the transportation committee and sponsored the bill along with Rep. Rick Larsen, of Washington state, the panel’s highest-ranking Democrat.
Called Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025, the bill would make FEMA a Cabinet-level agency directly answerable to the president and revamp agency operations to remove bureaucratic hurdles that slow the distribution of federal aid.
“We’ve got people on both sides bought into this process,” Graves said earlier this month. “I don’t think we’ll have problems with the Senate.”
Every Thursday, Elizabeth Savoy and friends serve meals to Lafayette’s homeless in the parklet behind the Lafayette Parish Library.
TulsaRaceMassacresurvivordiesat111
ViolaFord Fletcher oneof
BY JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press
DALLAS Viola Ford Fletcher,who as one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma spenther lateryears seeking justice for the deadly attack by aWhite mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as achild, has died. She was 111. Her grandson Ike Howard said Monday that shedied surrounded by family at a Tulsa hospital.Sustained by astrong faith, she raised three children, worked as a welder in ashipyard during World WarIIand spent decades caring for families as ahousekeeper Tulsawas mourning her loss, said Mayor Monroe Nichols, the first Black leader of Oklahoma’ssecond-largest city.“Mother Fletcher endured more than anyone should, yet she spent her life lighting apath forward with purpose.”
She was 7years old when the two-day attack began on Tulsa’sGreenwood district on May 31, 1921, aftera local newspaper published a sensationalized report about aBlack man accused of assaulting aWhite woman. As aWhite mob grew outside the courthouse, Black Tulsans with guns who hoped to prevent theman’slynching began showing up. White residents responded with overwhelming force. Hundredsofpeoplewerekilled and homes were burned and looted, leaving over 30 city blocks decimated in the prosperous community known as Black Wall Street “I couldneverforgetthe charred remains of our
once-thriving community, the smoke billowing in the air,and the terror-stricken faces of my neighbors,” she wrote inher 2023 memoir, “Don’tLet Them BuryMy Story.”
As her family left in a horse-drawn buggy,her eyes burnedfrom the smokeand ash, she wrote. She described seeing piles of bodies in the streets and watchingasa White man shot aBlack man in the head,thenfired toward her family
She told TheAssociated Press in an interview the year her memoir was published that fear of reprisals influencedher yearsofnearsilence aboutthe massacre. She wrote the book with Howard, her grandson, who said he had to persuade her to tell her story
“Wedon’t want historyto repeat itself so we do need to educate people about what happened and try to getpeople to understand why you need to be madewhole,why youneed to be repaired,”
Howard told the AP in2024.
“The generational wealththat was lost, the home, all the belongings, everything was lost in onenight.”
The attack went largely unremembered for decades. In Oklahoma,widerdiscussions began when the state formed acommissionin1997 to investigate the violence.
Fletcher,who in 2021 testifiedbefore Congress about what shewentthrough, joined her younger brother,Hughes VanEllis,and another massacresurvivor,Lessie Benningfield Randle, in alawsuitseekingreparations.The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed it in June2024, saying their grievances did not fall within the scope of the state’spublic nuisance statute
“Foraslong as we remain in this lifetime, we will continue to shinea light on one of the darkest days in Americanhistory,” Fletcher and Randlesaid in astatement at the time.Van Ellis had died a
year earlier,atthe age of 102.
AJustice Departmentreview, launchedunderthe Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights CrimeAct and released in January 2024, outlined the massacre’sscope and impact.Itconcluded that federal prosecution may have been possible a century ago, but there was no longer an avenue tobring acriminal case.
The city has been looking for ways to help descendants of themassacre’svictimswithout giving direct cash payments. Some of the last living survivors, including Fletcher,received donations from groups buthave notreceivedany payments from thecity or state.
“The factthatshe died without any meaningful redress —not for herself, her family,orher community —isn’tjust alegal failure. It’samoral one,” Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for thesurvivors and thefounder of the Justice forGreenwood Foundation, said in astatement.
“She would notwanther passingtobethe endofthe fight,”hesaid. “She would
most of her early years in Greenwood. It wasanoasis forBlack people during segregation, she wrote in her memoir. Her family had a nice home, she said, and the communityhad everything from doctors to grocery stores to restaurants and banks.
Forced to fleeduring the massacre, her family becamenomadic, living out of atentastheyworkedinthe fields as sharecroppers. She didn’tfinish school beyond the fourth grade. At the age of 16, she returned to
where
got ajob cleaning and creating window displays in a department store, she wrote in her memoir. She then met Robert Fletcher,and they married and moved to California. During WorldWar II, she worked in aLos Angeles shipyard as awelder, she wrote.
wantittolight afire under all of us.”
Fletcher,born in Oklahoma on May 10, 1914, spent
Tulsa,
she
Experts have mixed reactions to U.N. climate talks
COP30 meeting in Brazil ends with no clear plan
BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer
BELEM, Brazil After an agreement from U.N. climate talks in the Amazon that fell short of many nations’ expectations, experts found some bright spots alongside weighty reasons for worry in the fight against global warming
The Associated Press asked 17 experts — diplomats, analysts, advocates and scientists — the simple question: After the talks, known as COP30, in the city of Belem, what’s next?
“We leave here with a clear signal, very very clear signal, that we have entered the era of implementation,” said U.N. Climate Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
“As we move forward, it’s about doing. It’s about rolling sleeves up.”
Others look at the key failure of not delivering a road map to phase out coal, oil and gas — the main causes of warming. The road map had the public support of Brazil’s president and more than 80 nations, but powerful opponents.
“This should have been the moment. A COP in the Amazon, a president calling for a fossil fuel transition road map, the science screaming for action. But the world blinked again,” Panama climate negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez said. “The next year will be harder on communities and ecosystems. Im-
pacts will intensify, because emissions are not slowing down.”
Building on specifics
Stiell pointed to seven different paragraphs in the agreements from Belem that could spur action for reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fewer fossil fuels. The COP presidency highlighted 117 “action agenda” items mostly for business to put pledges into real-life action.
That agenda includes a promise of $1 trillion for improving energy grids and infrastructure; ramping up the production of biofuels; industrial decarbonization plans in developing countries; $5.5 billion toward a fund to pay countries to keep their forests standing; and other pledges of funding, including from the private sector, for projects in areas like farming and adaptation. Among the most ambitious actions is a push to raise $1 trillion for renewable electrical grids and energy storage.
One specific action that Stiell and several others emphasized was a new “global implementation accelerator,” a voluntary and cooperative system designed to help nations that want to do more than they’ve previously proposed in their climate fighting plans. The emphasis is on getting money to where it’s needed.
“If the ‘ambition accelerator’ can help to do this it will make a massive difference to the global warming outlook,” said Bill Hare, CEO of the climate science and policy institute Climate Analytics.
ASSOCIATE
The COP30 meeting in Brazil highlighted some positive steps in climate change, like a $1 trillion promise for renewable energy and infrastructure. However, the lack of consensus on fossil fuel reduction remains a concern. Experts warn that without strong agreements, climate impacts will worsen
Outside of U.N. talks
Because they couldn’t get a consensus at the talks in Belem, the COP30 presidency promised to create two new “road maps,” one to guide the transition away from fossil fuels and another to stop deforestation. But those road maps won’t have the force of something agreed upon in UN talks.
COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago said his office will study both areas extensively and use science and economics to come up with those plans. He said they would be tailored to different countries’ needs.
Do Lago also promised that his office will join with Colombia and the Netherlands to organize a special fossil fuel phaseout conference scheduled next April.
“If they come with real timelines, accountability
and finance, they have the potential to shape global action and hold governments to their word,” said Mariana Paoli, of the anti-poverty group Christian Aid “They don’t have power on their own, but they can create the structure around which real change is built.”
Flawed process
COPs need consensus, which often means the weakest deals because they have to please everyone, experts said.
“In future negotiations, it will be essential to control the petrostates,” New Climate Institute founder Niklas Hohne said. “They have understood that this process can be dangerous for them and they put even more effort than ever into blocking any progress.”
“The outcome of COP30 reminds us once again that
Report: Rio Grande water basin in crisis
Water security threatened on both sides of the border
BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
One of North America’s longest rivers, the Rio Grande — or Rio Bravo as it’s called in Mexico — has a history as deep as it is long. Indigenous people have tapped it for countless generations, and it was a key artery for Spanish conquistadors centuries ago.
Today, the Rio Grande-Bravo water basin is in crisis. Research published recently says the situation arguably is worse than challenges facing the Colorado River, another vital lifeline for western U.S. states that have yet to chart a course for how best to manage that dwindling resource. Without rapid and largescale action on both sides of the border, the researchers warn that unsustainable use threatens water security for millions of people who rely on the binational basin. They say more prevalent drying along the Rio Grande and persistent shortages could have catastrophic consequences for farmers, cities and ecosystems. The study done by World Wildlife Fund, Sustainable Waters and a team of university researchers provides a full accounting of the consumptive uses as well as
evaporation and other losses within the Rio Grande-Bravo basin. It helps to paint the most complete and most alarming — picture yet of why the river system is in trouble
Unsustainable
The basin provides drinking water to 15 million people in the U.S. and Mexico and irrigates nearly 2 million acres of cropland in the two countries.
The research shows only 48% of the water consumed directly or indirectly within the basin is replenished naturally The other 52% is unsustainable, meaning reservoirs, aquifers and the river itself will be overdrawn.
“That’s a pretty daunting, challenging reality when half of our water isn’t necessarily going to be reliable for the future,” said Brian Richter, president of Sustainable Waters and a senior fellow with the World Wildlife Fund. “So we have to really address that.”
By breaking down the balance sheet, the researchers are hopeful policymakers and regulators can determine where water use can be reduced and how to balance supply with demand.
Warnings of what was to come first cropped up in the late 19th century when irrigation in Colorado’s San Luis Valley began to dry the snowmelt-fed river, resulting in diminished flows as far south as El Paso, Texas. Now, some stretches of the river run dry for months at a
time. The Big Bend area and even Albuquerque have seen dry cracked mud replace the river more often in recent years.
Irrigating crops by far is the largest direct use of water in the basin at 87%, according to the study Meanwhile, losses to evaporation and uptake by vegetation along the river account for more than half of overall consumption in the basin, a factor that can’t be dismissed as reservoir storage shrinks.
Vanishing farms
The irrigation season has become shorter, with canals drying up as early as June in some cases, despite a growing season in the U.S. and Mexico that typically lasts through October In central New Mexico, farmers got a boost with summer rains. However, farmers along the Texas portion of the Pecos River and in the Rio Conchos basin of Mexico — both tributaries within the basin — did not receive any surface water supplies.
“A key part of this is really connecting the urban populations to what’s going on out on these farms. These farmers are really struggling. A lot of them are on the brink of bankruptcy,” Richter said, linking water shortages to shrinking farms, smaller profits and less ability to afford labor and equipment.
The analysis found that between 2000-2019, water shortages contributed to the loss of 18% of farmland in the headwaters in Colorado,
36% along the Rio Grande in New Mexico and 49% in the Pecos River tributary in New Mexico and Texas. With fewer farms, less water went to irrigation in the U.S. However researchers said irrigation in the Mexican portion of the basin has increased greatly
The World Wildlife Fund and Sustainable Waters are working with researchers at the University of New Mexico to survey farmers on solutions to the water crisis.
action dependent on global consensus will never be enough to tackle the climate crisis at scale,” said Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy Yet Paoli said these conferences are not powerless. She said they are “slow and imperfect, yet they have still moved the world forward — sometimes in unexpected ways.”
A mixed future
“Over the next year, we are likely to see continued escalation of climate impacts alongside gradual progress on climate action,” said Mohamed Adow, director of PowerShift Africa.
“Renewable energy expansion will continue, but so will new fossil fuel investments in many parts of the world.”
Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, said all forms of extreme weather and climate events will increase, hitting the most vulnerable people hardest and threatening the survival of coral reefs and the very Am-
azon that hosted the talks.
“These are unacceptable outcomes of a solvable problem,” Rockstrom said.
Reasons for hope, action
With the United States’ federal government withdrawing from climate action under President Donald Trump, states, cities and businesses are cutting emissions in a way that will allow the U.S. to reach its climate goal, said former U.S. climate envoy Trigg Talley, now a representative of America’s All In.
“The COPs are only one part of a wide tapestry for action on climate change,” said World Resources Institute’s International Climate Director David Waskow
“We need to pull all the levers at our disposal to limit global warming.”
“The giant boulder of climate action is already rolling down the hill in the right direction,” Hayhoe said.
“It already has millions of hands on it. And as each of us adds our hand too, it goes a little faster.”
D PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOSHUA A. BICKEL
Disaster-related AI raises concerns
Louisiana prepares for challenges verifying online content
BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer
Kelesha Williams, a reporter for Television Jamaica, saw countless unbelievable scenes of destruction late last month as she rode out the worst of Hurricane Melissa’s wrath in St. Elizabeth Parish, a coastal county that was ground zero for the storm’s landfall.
There were the leaking walls of her Treasure Beach hotel room as the Category 5 storm inched over the tourist town on Oct. 28, packing 185 mph winds that tore whole sheets of zinc from nearby homes and a deluge of rain so intense that water seeped through Williams’ walls
Once she was able to venture out, she saw the waist-deep holes left in roads that had just recent-
ly been repaved and the decimated farms that, until recently fed much of the country
“Leaving the hotel and seeing all of that, I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Williams said from her home in Kingston about a week after the storm hit. “It’s still so hard to describe what I saw.”
But what about the sharks winding through flooded city streets? Or the cascading landslides that took out entire towns?
Those images, though they spread rapaciously across the internet and defined the scale of destruction for many who saw them, were the work of artificial intelligence.
Among the strongest Atlantic storms on record, Melissa brought widespread devastation to the Caribbean, killing nearly 100 people and displacing thou-
sands.
The reality of the storm was dramatic enough on its own. But in Melissa’s aftermath, social media was inundated with AI-generated photos and videos claiming to show scenes from Jamaica, forcing locals like Williams to wade through fake content to get to real information about impacts to their towns and ongoing recovery efforts. Misinformation on social media
GlowSens specializes in ammunition tracer tech
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
A Lafayette startup company that specializes in ammunition tracer technology landed a $1.5 million grant to grow its busi-
is housed at the Opportunity Machine, uses technology to address critical performance and safety issues with tracer ammunition. Traditional tracer rounds emit both light and heat, which can often cause wildfires that cause environmental damage and inhibit military training, company officials said. Its technology provides
Getting holiday ready
New faces can be found along Jefferson Street
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
Three city courses honoring discount
BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer
A
Council,
ordinance, unanimously
for
by the Lafayette
a 25%
at
fayette municipal golf courses. The 25% discount applies to weekday greens fees for veterans who present valid military identification. The discount took effect Monday and will be honored Mondays through Fridays at the following LCG-owned golf courses: n Jay & Lionel Hebert Municipal Golf Course n Les Vieux Chênes Golf Course Veterans get 25% off for weekday golf
Maybe the best thing about buying a local business that’s been around for years is that there’s a built-in awareness of your brand.
But that doesn’t mean the new owners of The Genterie are not nervous.
This Friday will kick off their first holiday shopping season as owners of the downtown Lafayette retail clothing store at 408 Jefferson St. It’s the day after Small Business Saturday — and every other one until Christmas that they hope for a big customer turnout.
“I mean, we’re nervous, but the support we’ve gotten from downtown has been incredible,” said Hollie White, one of the four owners who bought the building and the business in September “The ones who have shopped here for years and years are still coming back and welcoming us and accepting what our vision is.”
The Genterie, also owned by Jaque and Trish Guillot and Alison and Glen Moores, was the site of Tuesday’s Small Business Saturday news conference put on by Downtown Lafayette Unlimited.
Small Business Saturday is a national initiative to encourage consumers to shop local on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Along Jefferson Street, which was named
one of the top downtown main streets in the U.S. for fall shopping, there are boutiques, galleries, coffee shops and restaurants to make it a unique experience.
“You want to shop local because these are the people like you,” said Kevin Blanchard, president and CEO of the Downtown Development Authority
“The folks here at The Genterie and practically every other business we have in downtown, these are the people who are living out their dreams. When you come and shop with those people, you are participating in their lives in a meaningful way.”
Small Business Saturday stretches back to 2010 when American Express pitched the idea. The U.S. Small Business Administration came on board the next year, and since then it’s generated over $220 billion in sales for independent retailers, restaurants and service-based businesses, according to the SBA.
The 36 million small businesses across the country represent 99% of all businesses and are responsible for about half of the country’s total private workforce.
In Lafayette, several of those small-business owners get help from One Acadiana, getting the education, exposure and networking opportunities to thrive, said Andre Breaux, vice president of policy and strategic initiatives with One Acadiana.
“We’re encouraging everyone to shop small, shop local and shop Acadiana,” Breaux said. “Our small businesses are the heartbeat of our downtown and the heartbeat of our community.”
It’s a chance for people who don’t often visit downtown to see what’s new This will be the second shopping season for Cavalier House
that
the
and
STAFF PHOTOS
By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Store manager Andrew White hangs the ‘Open’ sign in the door Tuesday at The Genterie in downtown Lafayette.
ä See DISASTER, page 4B
ä See STARTUP, page 4B
Editor’snote:This editorial, withslight modifications,has appeared on previous Thanksgivings in the newspaper
In early October1863, President AbrahamLincoln issued aproclamation.
“I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, andalso those who are at sea and those who aresojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe thelastThursday of November next as aDay of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Fatherwho dwelleth in the heavens,” he wrote.
Lincoln’sproclamation,for thefirsttime, officially established the date of America’sannual Thanksgiving Day,though the traditionof giving thanks went back much further.Traced to aharvest feast shared by Plymouth settlers and Native American Wampanoag people in 1621, thecustom of thanksgiving had persisted in the colonies and states for decades before Lincoln’s time Lincoln’scall for unity was driven by his conviction that, despite whathecalled “a civil war of unequaled magnitude andseverity,” there were still blessings to be counted “by the wholeAmerican people.”
We find these words resonant. Awartime president, despised in large swaths of the countryto thepoint of armedconflict, called on allAmericans to join together and acknowledgethateven in the face of immense challenges, they had much to be thankful for Lincoln noted in his proclamation thateven amid thewar,manyplaces were peaceful,laws were respected and people lived in harmony. Additionally,crops were still being grown,towns and cities were expanding and American industry was healthy and robust.Freedom,heexpected,would continuetoincrease.
Those words are applicable today
We remain aland of plenty.Weare still aplace where,for many,everything weneed and most things we want are easily obtained.Thisisnot true for everyone, of course, and our gratitude should fuel our service to them.
Our abundance still draws thehuddled masses who, like those four centuries ago who risked a dangerous sea journey to arriveonthese shores, undertake perilous treks to the United States in the hopes of abetter life. It is worth it to remember that those firstpilgrims were immigrants to a new world, reliant on those they met here to treat them with kindness
Even our intense political differences can be cast in away that engenders gratitude. Onedoes not devote intensity to something about which onedoes not care. Apathywould beatruecause for concern.
We don’twish to whitewash our problems. We will certainly spend ahefty portion of the other 364 days of the year focused on those But on this one day,the fourthThursdayinNovember,wechoose to join with Lincolnand callon our readers to consider our manyblessingsworthy of being “solemnly,reverently,and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people.”
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE
WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence
TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
In 2023, as Louisiana celebrated securing Class VI primacy,Itold thenewspaper that Louisiana was “on theverge of anew golden age” of energy.With carbon capture and sequestration poised to take American energy dominance to new heights, we were years ahead of any other state.
As theTrumpadministration repealed manyofthe Biden-era tax credits, it doubled down on support for CCS in theOne Big Beautiful Bill because thetechnology is viable and has clear market demand. Since gaining primacy,industry announced $70 billion in new investmentcoming to our state, almost all with aCCS component. This investmentcan create more of the job opportunities that will keep our kids here in Louisianaand improve lives across our state.
Butaswe’ve had theopportunity to supercharge Louisiana’seconomy past other Southern states, we spent two legislative sessions debating whether to kneecap thebiggest economic advantage Louisiana has had in our lifetime.
Now,almost two years since gaining Class VI primacy,Louisiana has permitted only one project, and Texas is on the verge of surpassing us.
Earlier this month,the EPAannounced it has awarded Texas with Class VI primacy,erasing Louisiana’shead start.
My counterpart at the Texas Oil and Gas Association Todd Staples is saying, “Texas is now poised to lead the world in CCS, which means moreinvestmentand more jobs for Texans.”
While we no longer have the lead, the gameisnot over.Companies are deciding now whether to do business in LouisianaorTexas. They are looking at regulatory uncertainty,antibusiness litigation and hesitancy of astate to seize clear opportunities. We still have thepotential to take back the leadership position that is attracting so much opportunity to our state. We just need to grasp it.
TOMMY FAUCHEUX president, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
Louisianans work hard,pray hard and look outfor one another Buttoo manyfamiliesare one medical bill from broke, one tuitionhike from giving up. We don’t want socialism.
We don’t want rigged, winner-take-all capitalismeither Look at Denmark,Sweden, Norway —the freest, mostprosperous, happiest countries on Earth. Their leaders say it loud: “We’re capitalist marketeconomies.”
Theyjustrefuse to letgood people fall through thecracks.
Their recipe:
n Health care forall —nobankruptcies,no funeralsoverbills
n College andtrade school youcan actually afford
n Safety nets that catch families, not trap them n Lowtaxes on workers and small businesses; big corporationspay theirshare Results? Highertake-home pay, more startups,better schools, longer lives. That’snot radical.That’swinning. Louisiana can do it our way: n Real health care without thegames. n Affordable college andskills training for good local jobs.
n Fairtaxes —cut the little guy abreak, make the giants pay up.
n Train our people for the next boom, not thelast one. Hard work should pay. Period Faith.Family.Fairness. That’sthe Louisianaway
Let’sbuild astate whereeverybody gets a shot —not just the connected few.
Regarding thearticle, “Debate over ‘no-party’ voters reignites” on Nov.10, Iagree withthe concept that a“large swath of unaffiliated voters” will get to pick one party or the other.That’s better than nothing, but why should we have to settle for that?
The new law on closed party primary elections is somewhat confusing, because it is partly “open primaries” (but not “pure closed” primaries) withthe condition that “No Party voters who choosetoparticipate in the closed-party primary will be able to select aparty’sballot at their polling place and must stay with that party through any necessary runoff.” Why should unaffiliated voters have to stick with the partyofthe person they voted for in aprimary if there is arunoff? Andifthey
cannot vote in party primaries at all, why should taxpayers pay for administering primary elections at all?
It would be much simpler if we in Louisiana, as some states do, had open primaries and ranked-choice voting (alsoreferred to as “instant runoff” and currently banned here) in the primaries and in the general election. Such asystem would be simpler,less expensive and allow unaffiliated voters to escape what one writer has called the “stranglehold” of the two-party system.That would increase participation and strengthen theinfluenceofunaffiliated voters —overall greatly benefiting our democraticsystem to moreaccurately reflect the will of thepeople.
BRUCEWILDER NewOrleans
SCOTT LEBLEU Lafayette
I’mfrom Alabama, and an Alabama State University football fan, however,I cheer forall HBCU programs. And by the way,there’snothing better than Cajun food and beautiful Louisiana women.Please review the University of West Georgia’sfootball program to see how ayoung African American coach named Joel Taylor turned alosing program into apowerhouse in just twoyears. Taylor would turn Southern’sprogram into an instant winner and dominate the SWAC virtually every year.And more importantly,hewould challenge forthe national championship on ayearly basis. JOHN SHAVER Valley, Alabama
has long been an issue for emergencymanagement officials leadinguptoand after natural disasters. But never before hasitbeen so easy to create fake images and videos that, in some cases, look entirely real.
AndasAIbecomes increasingly accurate, efficient and accessible, officials in Louisiana are gearing up to faceadisaster prep future that could include battles with amore stickyand believable kind of misinformation spread online.
“This has been going on for awhile,” said Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security andEmergency Preparedness. It’s just obviouslywith the images and what you can do with AI now it’sgetting just more and more …outrageous.”
Wading throughwaters
Since practically the advent of social media, agood chunkofemergencypreparedness resources have
VETERANS
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n The Wetlands Golf Course.
“Ourveterans represent thestrength, courage and character of Lafayette. We want them to feel welcome and appreciated in every corner of our community, includingthe recreational spaces that bring people together,” Mayor-President Monique B. Boulet said.
“Our municipal golf courses are community assets, and we are proud to make them even more accessible to the men and women who have served our nation.”
“Lafayette Parish is now the only parish (county) in the entire country to offer this specific discount amount to our veterans, and we will continue to createunique, advantage-driven initiatives to make our region as ‘veteran-ready’ as possible,” said Lafayette Veterans Affairs Commission Chair Andrew Ward. “The Veterans Affairs Commission applauds this administration for continuing to create opportunities
DOWNTOWN
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the most convenient place,” Downtown LafayetteUnlimited Executive Director Jessica Hauerwassaid. “But I tend to argue. Youcan stop once and get agift for everyone on your listwithin walking distanceand also getareallyuniquecuration of gifts.”
At The Genterie, thenew owners are carrying on a tradition at thesitethat dates back to when Abdallah’swas housed there, recalled Vincent Pierre, of Lafayette Consolidated
gone to debunking rumors, photoshoppedimages and falsified or dramatized weather forecasts spread online, Arnold said. Each year,satellite images of particularly ominous past storms are erroneouslyrelabeled to bear an incomingsystem’s name, sowing fear and confusion.
Hurricanes Katrina from 2005 andDorian from 2019 areamong the most popular choices, Arnold said.
But, up until now, much of the fake content out there has been easy fora critical user tospot. There have onlybeen afew instances over theyears that something so egregiousran so rampant online that Arnold’soffice had todirectly address it
With AI, allthat could change.
“There very well could be atime where you’re going to have avery difficult time discerning that,” Arnold said.
‘Very, very troubling’
Of course, in many ways social mediahas made emergency preparation andresponse more efficient. It’s easier for officials to getinformation
outtothe masses, andthe photosand messages people post online can offer deeper insight intowhat’s actually going on
Arnold said it wasa photo posted to Twitterafew years agothat alerted his office to an Uptownhome that hadcollapsed during athunderstorm. Thanks to that post, Arnold said his office was keyed onto the situation sixminutes before the first 911 call came in, giving responders more time to pull avictim to safety
Theproblem,hesaid, is that AI could make it easier to fake those kindsofimages, creating the potential forwastedrescueefforts and resources.
Arnold recalled the dramatic photos of flooding in Texas after Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. One in particular stuck with him: Seniors andemployees outside anursing home trapped in waistdeep water, waitingfor help.
“When we seethat, it will send up every alarm bell and every person that we have available we will try and get to those people,” Arnold said.“Andifthat’s
thathonor and support our veteran community.Recreation and wellness are vital to quality of life, and this discount is ameaningful stepin ensuring that every veteran in Lafayette Parishfeels valued.”
LCG’sParks, Arts, Recreation andCulture Department will continue exploring additional ways to support local veterans through accessible recreation,wellness opportunities and expanded community programming.
Please callthe course directly for questions about tee times, eligibility or discount
Government. The new owners, all neighbors who raised their children together,get an opportunity to keep that legacy alive.
No one among the five is originallyfrom Lafayette —the Mooreses are fromCanada —but they liked the business under the previous owner,Ross Fontenot.
“It’sthe kind of thing we’ve all sort of been interested in,”AlisonMoores said.“Whenthe opportunity presented itself for this particular business, that was really exciting. We hadall appreciatedwhat it wasunderthe previous owner.”
something that has been manufactured, Imean, I just —it’svery,very troubling.”
Trauma monetized
Tulane Universitycomputer scientist Nicholas Mattei has been working with AI in some formoranother sincehetookhis first artificialintelligence class in 2005.
But even Mattei is amazed by the pace at which the technologyhas advanced
It wasn’ttoo long ago, he said, thatthere were dead giveaways social media users could employ to spot AI-generated content. A person’s handsmight be deformed, their hair might flowinthe wrong direction or theirmovementsmight be unnatural.
Butwith the release earlier this year of improved AI models, Mattei said, “I think we might be beyond the point where, especially with the video content, it’ssuper easy to tell.And that’s kindof disturbing.”
UntilHurricaneMelissa, Matteinever considered that AI might be used to createdramaticvideos and
STARTUP
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tracking visibility withoutdangerous heat emission, increasing tactical advantage while reducing training downtime and preventing environmental harm.Manufacturing operations are expected to beginsoon in Lafayette
photos of natural disasters.
Butitmakes sense. If you seeavideo of sharks swimming through the streetsonline, you’re going to stop and watch. Andonthe internet, Matteisaid, “you can monetize eyeballs ”
Trustedsources
Just likesocial media, both Mattei and Arnold said AI hasalot of good to offer themeteorologyand emergency management worlds, if used responsibly
Recent advancementsin hurricane forecast modeling, for example, are partly thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to Mattei.
That means that AI and AI-adjacenttechnology have helped to make hurricane forecasts more accurate, which could in turn save lives, property and money
Arnold said thelocal emergency management office is already running its plans through different AI tools. It can help identify more efficient evacuation routes,buildings throughout the area that could be used for shelters or storage
the Opportunity Machine and supported by community and state resources, can takeentrepreneurs with new ideas and help them scale into companies that competenationally for major federal contracts.”
supply,and whether neighborhoods have the infrastructure to support certain emergency response resources
“Particularly with evacuation, Iwill saythat AI can be good at bothgiving you some options that maybe youhadn’tlookedatorconsidered fully,” Arnold said. Butwith the growing presence of AI-generated content online, Arnold said it’smore important now than ever that people have trusted sources Follow real meteorologists who workwith local TV stations or the National Weather Service, he said. Get your storm prep and forecast information from local newsoutlets. Subscribe to your city or state emergency alert service, like NOLA Ready,which Arnold said has grown andimproved dramatically over the lastseveral years. And most importantly of all, he said, don’tbelieve everything you read —or see—online.
Email KaseyBubnash at kasey.bubnash@ theadvocate.com.
intofull-scale prototypes,” Arnold said,“and positions us to manufacturetracer technologyatthe scale required to produce new warfighting capability for USMC gunners.”
details. For moreinformation on Lafayette’smunicipalgolf courses, visit lafayettela. gov/golf.
“(The grant) represents amajor leap forward for their company,” said Mandi Mitchell,president and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority.“Theirsuccess demonstrates how our tech ecosystem, anchored by
The company was cofounded by Marine Corps veteran Stefan Arnold and former Navy civilian Noah Bergeron after the two connected through programming at the Opportunity Machine and discovered theMarineCorps’ need forbetter tracer ammunition.
“This award allows GlowSens to transition from proving thefeasibility of tracer technology
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LOTTERY
Lottery results not available at press time.
and
wasprinted
Father-son dynamicbenefits UL assistant, TeurlingsQB
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
As Teurlings Catholic senior quarterback
Alex Munoz powers the No.2-seeded Rebels through the Division Iselect state playoffs, his father Jorge is in the stands twisting and turning with everystep hisson takes.
“It’sfun,but forme, it’s really stressful, too,” said Jorge, whoisthe UL associate head coach and tight endscoach.“But Alex is having aball.He’sloving it.”
The stress level for both will be at an alltime high at 7p.m. Friday when the undefeated Rebels host John Curtis in the state quarterfinals.
Jorgeknowsexactlywhathis sonisgoingthrough. Three decades before, he was a record-setting high school quarterback with more than 5,700 yards passing in Southern California.
Thisisno time for Cajuns to exhale
There’snothing wrong withthe media and fans projecting bowl berthsfor UL after last Thursday’sthrilling 34-30 road win over Arkansas State.
It makes sense to predict theRagin’ Cajuns, who are on athree-game winning streak, will beat UL-Monroe in Saturday’s 2p.m. regular-season finale. After all, theWarhawks are 3-8 overall and 1-6 in Sun Belt play
“Tobehonest, Idon’tenjoy the games. Forme, it’sthe worst ever because Ihavenosay in what’s going on. I’m not playing.I can’tcall the play. Ihavenoinput as faras the game plan that week.”
JORGEMUNOZ,ULassociate head coach, on watching his son’sfootball games
ä John Curtisat TeurlingsCatholic 7P.M. FRIDAy
He later earned junior college All-America statusand signed with Utah Statebefore settling at NAIA school Bethany in Kansas. Since then,he’scoached for the past 28 years, including stints at LSUand Baylor, but mostly at UL.
“Tobehonest, Idon’t enjoythe games,” Jorge said about his son’sgames. “For me, it’s theworst ever because Ihave no sayin what’sgoing on. I’m not playing. Ican’tcall the play.I have no inputasfar as thegame plan that week.”
Alexwants no partinplaying the game timidly. Like so many aggressive athletes, he relishes thephysicalitythe gamebrings, even at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds.
“Both are great,” Alex saidwhen comparingpassing the balltorunning with it. “Of course,touchdown passes are great because youget to share it withyour receiver.But running over someone, there’s nothing like it. Nothing elseinsportsmatchesthat feeling.”
Jorge knowsthe advicehegives his son to slide or just run out of bounds probably will be ignored.
See TEURLINGS, page 3C
But to treat this matchup like it’saforegoneconclusion would be foolish
“Those are real things,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “You’ve got to hope your team has amaturity to handle those things. Imean, we worked incredibly hard to get to this point.”
Sitting at 2-6 amonth ago, it was reasonable to assume the Cajuns’ 12thgame against UL-Monroe would not mean much But after compiling athree-gamewinning streak to position itself for abowl bid,it would be frustrating to watch allofthat effort go to waste if UL loses to the Warhawks.
That unpleasant scenario is more possible than some UL fans mightthink.
Here are some things toknowabout the Warhawks:
n They beat Arkansas State by 12 points
n They have the worstoffense in theSun Beltbyalong shot.
n They have one of the top-fivedefenses in the Sun Belt. If the Cajuns had the Warhawks defense, they likely would be heading backtothe league championship game. The Warhawks rank higherthanUL in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense,passing efficiency defense,passingdefense and interceptions.
“I think their defensiveline is really one of the better ones in theconference,” Desormeaux said.
That means the best part of theWarhawks will be lined up against theCajuns’ most shorthanded unit. That’sdefinitely a
See
adecision
BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer
Around noon on Nov.17, several of Lane Kiffin’sfamily members, including hisex-wife, walked outofa private hangar at the Baton Rouge airport. They climbed into ablack Chevrolet Suburbanand were driven through the cityfor the rest of the day,getting afeel forwhere they might liveasheconsidered theLSU job Alittle more than aweek later,Kiffin is still theprimary targetinLSU’scoachingsearch,multiple sources with knowledge of theprocess told TheAdvocate.LSU leaderswanttosecure acommitment from himwithin the week, but his true intentionsremain uncertaintomanyinvolved headingintoa critical weekend. ä See LSU, page 4C
lights in dark timesfor N.O. sports fans
Thanksgiving, New Orleans sports fans. And yes, Iknow what you’re thinking. What in the world is there to be thankful for when thecalendar is approaching December and the Saintsand Pelicans have combined for five wins? Sometimes,you have to look beyondthe results. Other times,you have to look somewhere other than Airline Drive, which is what we will do hereaswestartthis list
winning football is the norm around Tulane. Trust me, that hasn’talways been the case, but it is now So props to Tulane, which needs to beat 1-10 Charlotte on Saturday night to host the conference championship game. Beating Charlotte shouldn’tbea problem.While you can count the Saints and Pelicans’ wins on one hand,
PROVIDED
Teurlings Catholic quarterback Alex Munoz stands with hisfather,Jorge, whoisUL’s associate head coach.
Buzz builds for Arizona, ASU rivalry contest
BY JOHN MARSHALL
AP sportswriter
Carrying on family tradition
Tight end Casanova a stalwart for
Notre Dame
BY MIKE COPPAGE
Contributing writer
When the Notre Dame Pioneers attain a comfortable lead in football games, one of the first starters to get pulled is senior tight end Sam Casanova.
“In our (I-formation) offense, tight end is always a key position,” Pioneers coach Lewis Cook said. “We can’t lose Sam He’s a kid who can block, and that opens up a lot to play action.” Casanova was born to play Notre Dame football.
His great-uncle Tommy was on the school’s first football team in 1967 and is LSU’s only threetime All-American. Grandfather Jackie played at LSU His dad J.T was a linebacker on the 2003 team that made the program’s second appearance in the Superdome Classic.
“Sam’s brother Jackson is playing at Southeastern,” Cook said. “The bloodline runs pretty deep. They’ve established a tradition.” That tradition will collide against fast-rising District 6-2A rival Lafayette Renaissance when the No. 7-seeded Tigers travel to Crowley to face the No. 2-seeded Pioneers in a rematch of a regular-season game won by the Pioneers 38-19 at home in Week 9.
“We can’t overlook them,” Ca-
Notre Dame’s Sam Casanova helps the Pios on both sides of the ball, but is a critical blocker in the running game and capable receiver in the passing game.
sanova said of the 9-2 Tigers, who took down another perennial power in No. 10-seeded Amite by a score of 18-6. “They have a very good team, and I don’t think they played their best against us.
With the Pioneers (9-2) trail-
ing De La Salle last week, Cook called Casanova’s number for a fourth-down pass that resulted in a first down and eventually led to a touchdown in the 28-19 win.
“It was a fourth and 8,” Cook said. “Sam has had some big
catches. He had two big catches against Teurlings. He’s 6-foot-2 with good hands.”
Workhorse tailback Joachim Bourgeois has run for many of his 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns behind the blocking of Casanova.
“I feel like it’s a gift,” Casanova said of his family’s genetic propensity to excel on the gridiron.
“A lot of hard work, too.”
The Notre Dame/LRCA winner will meet either No. 3-seeded Jewel Sumner (11-0) or No.
6-seeded Calvary Baptist (10-1) in the semifinals. No 1 Lafayette Christian (10-1), which defeated Notre Dame in district play, is on the other side of the bracket along with reigning state champion Catholic of New Iberia, which the Pioneers rallied from a 28-0 halftime deficit to beat 35-34.
“We’re so close as a team,” Casanova said. “We bonded so well and worked so hard. We’re all fighting towards the same thing.”
LCA LB breaks records after position switch
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
Sometimes a player gets caught in a numbers game on the depth chart, and as a result it leads to a position change.
While some players may not be overly thrilled about changing positions, that wasn’t the case for Jayden Arceneaux of Lafayette Christian.
Arceneaux, a 5-10, 220-pound senior, started his career with the Knights as a running back before being moved to linebacker and then the defensive line
“Honestly, I have played all three of those positions my entire life,” said Arceneaux, who will lead the Knights against Catholic High of New Iberia at 7 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals of the Division III select playoffs. “So, because of that and because I think of myself as a student of the game, it wasn’t a tough transition for me.”
It was a transition that his coach said had to happen.
“It was a necessity thing,” Knights coach Matt Standiford said. “He was playing running back for us, but we had three senior running backs and Jalen Noel, a junior, in front of him. So, we had a lot of depth at the position, so we moved him to linebacker, and it turned out we had a lot of depth there. So, we thought he would do a great job playing as an edge rusher, and he’s shown that has been the right decision.”
Arceneaux has been outstanding for the Knights (9-1), recording 51 tackles and nine sacks on the year. Arceneaux’s 31.5 tackles for loss this season are a new school record, which was previously held by current Tex-
as Longhorns defender Melvin Hills.
“Jayden has been incredible,” Standiford said. “Our defensive line coach calls him ‘Toolshed’ because he is a jack-of-alltrades. Jayden is smart, and he really understands things schematically He also does a great job of using his quickness to his advantage He has played every spot on our defensive line but he’s developed into a big threat as an edge rusher.”
Although the Knights defense has several impact players headlined by defensive back Luke Green and linebacker Jaimason Marzell, an argument can be made that Arceneaux has been the MVP on defense for LCA.
“When you look at what he’s done, you can easily say he’s been our MVP on defense,” Standiford said. “I don’t think anybody would question it. We have talent at every level of our
defense, but Jayden has probably been our most productive guy.”
With his high school campaign winding down, Arceneaux hopes the opportunity presents itself for the Knights to finish the season with a trip to New Orleans
“That’s a big goal for me,” Arceneaux said. “I want to get there and finish it this time.”
Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Territorial Cup will be brimming with juice this year
A rivalry dating to the McKinley presidency will take a massive uptick in intensity on Friday night, when Arizona faces Arizona State in one of the most anticipated Territorial Cup games in a decade. Both teams are on the upswing, both still have plenty to play for and, yes, they still don’t like each other
“Rivalry games have so much to them that make them so fun and exciting, but when you have two teams coming together that are both playing good football, it adds a little extra juice to it,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. The Territorial Cup has been dotted with lopsided wins in recent years — the latest, Arizona State’s 49-7 win in Tucson — as the programs have labored to find a consistent footing.
This year will be different. Arizona State is coming off its first College Football Playoff and is still in the mix for another albeit a longshot — despite a litany of injuries this season in its third year under coach Kenny Dillingham. Arizona took a major upward swing in its second season under Brennan, riding a four-game winning streak after winning four games all last season.
The result: the rivals both have eight wins heading into the Territorial Cup game for the first time since 2014.
“It’s awesome to have this game played with two really good football teams,” Dillingham said. “I think that’s what you want. You want this game to matter It’s awesome that it matters.”
Dillingham has done his part by returning the Sun Devils to the national spotlight.
Arizona State labored through an injury-ravaged 3-9 first season under the ASU alum in 2023 before pulling together one of the program’s best seasons. Led by quarterback Sam Leavitt and battering-ram running back Cam Skattebo, the Sun Devils won the Big 12 championship their first season in the league and reached the CFP for the first time last year Skattebo is now in the NFL and Leavitt suffered a season-ending foot injury in early November, yet Arizona State has kept finding ways to win.
Quarterback Jeff Sims has filled in for Leavitt nicely and the Sun Devils (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) still have an outside shot at playing in the Big 12 championship game again after blowing out Colorado 42-17 last week. Arizona State’s rise and Dillingham’s enthusiasm have ignited a fan base that’s been blasé at times through the years, leading to sellouts every home game this season.
“It certainly makes it more exciting for the fans, knowing that both teams are coming into it playing good football and I think that’s what it should be,” Brennan said. “You want these games to have a big impact.” Brennan has engineered a similar second-year turnaround in Tucson.
The former San Jose State coach inherited a program coming off a 10-win season under coach Jedd Fisch but had trouble gaining any traction in his first season in Tucson. But after finishing 4-8 last year, the Wildcats (8-3, 5-3) have turned the narrative around behind dynamic quarterback Noah Fifita and a stifling defense that’s among the nation’s best after being one of the worst a year ago.
“They’re playing as good of football, in our league, as anybody right now,” Dillingham said.
So are the Sun Devils, adding a whole lot of juice to the Territorial Cup.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Lafayette Christian linebacker Jayden Arceneaux, left, has a school-record 31.5 tackles for loss this season.
huge cause for concern.
If the Cajuns give up anyscores on special teams or afluky long touchdown play, thegame could be more interesting than it should be
That’sthe kind of stuff that happened in Monroe in 2022 when the Cajuns dropped a21-17 decision
Beyond the statistics,there are other concerns to consider
The win on national TV with a goal-line stand in Jonesboro was a great moment for this embattledUL team, but such accomplishments often are followed by letdowns. It’sjust human nature. Teams can’tbeupfor every game. It
doesn’twork that way.
The Cajunsneed to make sure they’refocused andcheck as many preparation boxes as possiblebefore Saturday
It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see the UL-Monroe defensestiflingthe Cajuns’ running gamebehindabeat-up offensiveline.
“Anytimeyou play ULM, it’s alwaysgoingtobea dogfight,” Desormeaux said. “It’s always goingtobethat type of game.
Youknow,you turn on the tape, youwishitwas ateamwho’sout of contention for the postseason.
Youwish it was ateam that wasn’t playing very hard, and Iwish it wasateam that was kind of falling apart, but they’re not. Coach (Bryant) Vincent does aphenom-
the living room and steadily progressed from there.
“With athletes like coach Des or Joe Burrow,you can mention theword‘slide’ to thoseguys, but that’s not who they are,” Jorge said. “If you try to make them do something they’re not used to, does it affect their game in anegative waytowherethey’renot the same guy anymore?”
It’scertainly worked out for the Rebels. Alex has rushedfor 813 yards and 18 touchdowns this seasonon117 carries. That’s in addition to throwing for1,812 yards and23more scores with onlyone interception.
“So Itell Alex, ‘You don’t needto take all of those hits,’ but he enjoys that stuff. He looks forward to it,” his dad said. In many ways, that’s whatthe football relationship betweenAlex and his father has beenfrom the beginning.
“He’snever forced any of iton me,” Alex said. “He’snot going to make me go work, but if Ieverask him, he’ll never say no to me.” It goes back to those Thursday evenings during football season when college coaches had some time to spend with family.
“I’d get off right after practice and he’d be waiting for me in the backyard with bats and balls and football or soccer —the whole night just playing ball back there,” Jorge said. When Alex was really young, it started with tackling his father in
“I would tackle him, throw him on thesofa, andhewould get back up and try to run me over,and Iwouldhit himand knock him down,” Jorge saidwith alaugh.
“He just got to start theprocess and then finally,hesmacked it into me pretty good and I’m like, ‘OK, we’re done with that. We’regoing to go outside now.
Even though he wasa quarterback and has mentored quarterbacks throughout hiscoachingcareer,Jorge said it neverwas apriority for Alex to play quarterback.
“For awhile there, he wanted to be areceiver,” Jorgesaid. “I told himhewas probably going to be a quarterback, because he could run the ball and could throw it around alittle bit.”
Dad also noticed thatyoung Alex had the makeup to takeonaleadership position
“As abaseball player,they would put him in at pitcher with the bases loaded at the end of thegame, and he was always calm and cool and was abletothrow strikes,” Jorge said.
There aresome downsides to having acoach as afather.Jorge oftenhas to miss gamesbecause of conflicting schedules. But as Alex advanced in the sport, he quickly noticed the major advantages it offered him as well.
“I think it’sacomplete gamechanger,” Alexsaid. “I mean,just hisaccess to theindoor facility when we need to gowhen we can’t work outside, go inside and get some workin. To be able to watch
“Anytime you play ULM, it’salwaysgoing to be adogfight. It’s always
MICHAEL DESORMEAUX, UL coach
enal job at ULM. Their kids play incredibly hard.” Then there’sthe senior-day activities, which can be adistraction for the home team. That part
really hitshome forDesormeaux.
“I don’thandle the senior-day emotions very well,” he said. “That’s always hard forme. Ihate it, to be quite honest with you. It gets me out of my frame of mind.”
If theCajuns had achip on their shoulder during the three-game winning streak, they better not lose it.
If it was an extra hunger that kept theCajuns going after a3523 road loss to Troy,they better be starvingSaturday afternoon.
Desormeaux said the team’s leadership group filled atext group with messages after that Troy loss relaying how badly the players wanted to run the table and play in abowl game. The vocal members of that group better
film withhim,whether that’sin afilm room with aprojector that he brought home that we cango through.
“Not many people get thatopportunity, and Itry to takeadvantage of it to the fullest because it’srare thata kid, ahigh school kid, has access to all these things.”
For Jorge, there’sthe constant shuffling between “dad mode” and “coach mode.” But when Alexasks for help, hisfather’s expertise in
thesubject is beyond beneficial.
“If he needed help playing the piano or the trombone, we’d need to get helpfromsomeone else on those things,” Jorge said. “Butif youwanthelp with football stuff, Ican help you with that.”
By the time Alex was in high school and progressing as aquarterback, thehelp got detailed, especially in the offseason.
“During thespring whenIgot home, we’d set up aprojector
echo those sentiments to the entire team several times between now and Saturday’skickoff. Asked what kept his hopes up after falling behind 10-0 during anightmarish first quarter at Arkansas State, Desormeaux said his team had come too farnot to winthat game. That statement should apply even moretothis matchup. Many UL fansalready are counting this gameasawin. While their logic includes many valid points, the players and coaches better not listen. Now is not the timetoexhale. There’sstill too much work to be done.
Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.
upstairs and we’d sort out everything by quicks, by sprint outs, by nakeds,” Jorge said. “He’d be taking notes on what Iliked and what Ididn’tlike.”
Even during the season, Jorge has been able to deliver his expertise as acoach with the encouragementofa father
“Incoach mode, he never yells,” Alex said. “It’snever disappointment.It’salways about improvement. No matter how good agame it was, no matter what, there’salwaysgoing to be someway to improve, andhe’sgoing to findways to findthat.
“I think that’sbeen huge for my development.”
Another big part of being a coach’sson is often moving from city to city.Inmiddle school, Alex spent ayear in Texas when his father coached at Baylor in 2020. Then it was back to Baton Rouge in 2021 after being there in 2018-19.
The moveback to Lafayette and Teurlings Catholic couldn’thave worked out better
“It’salways hard to move, so it took alittle adjusting, but Teurlings has changed my life,” Alex said. “It’sbeen the mostfun three years of my life. Idon’tthink there’sany place like it.
“It sounds like acliché, but Teurlings is like an actual family It’snot like anyother school that I’ve been to. People are greeting you everywhere you go. Everyone enjoys being around each other.” Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.
TeurlingsCatholic quarterback Alex Munoz runs through apair
Bonnabel defenders during his 157-yard rushing
55-22 state regional victory.
Mulkey says lighter schedule works ‘for us’
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
Last season, the LSU women’s basketball team flew to The Bahamas the week of Thanksgiving to play two power-conference teams, including one that was ranked
This year, the No. 5 Tigers (60) won’t be challenged the same way They’re competing in the Paradise Jam Tournament on the U.S. Virgin Islands this week. On Friday, they’ll face Marist for a chance to play either Miami of Ohio or a winless Washington State team from the zombie Pac12 on Saturday LSU doesn’t play a particularly difficult nonconference schedule. It never has, at least not since coach Kim Mulkey took over the program in 2021.
But this season, the Tigers have given themselves an especially lighter prelude to Southeastern Conference play Preseason No. 7 Duke is the only power-conference team on the slate, and it’s already suffered three losses and fallen out of the AP Top 25 Poll, which means that LSU likely will have to wait until January to play a ranked team.
Mulkey’s OK with that scenario.
“I think it’s worked for us,” she said last Thursday after a 112-49 win over Alcorn State.
LSU breezed through its first six games. The Tigers are winning by an average margin of 57 points
LSU
Continued from page 1C
Will Kiffin stay at Ole Miss, where he has a team on the cusp of the College Football Playoff for the first time, or leave for LSU or Florida? Kiffin has said repeatedly he feels happy with his life at Ole Miss, but he may believe the other programs offer a better chance to win national championships. He has yet to sign a contract extension with the Rebels, even after a meeting last Friday with Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter and university chancellor Glenn Boyce. Although a sense of confidence has grown since late last week around LSU, multiple officials acknowledged Kiffin’s unpredictable nature and the way coaching searches can take an unexpected turn in the final days. Many are waiting for finality with an announcement on Kiffin’s future expected Saturday, the day after No. 6 Ole Miss plays rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl
A deal with Kiffin has not been finalized as of press time Tuesday evening, multiple sources said, and LSU has narrowed a list of other candidates that includes Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz. It’s unclear who else is under serious consideration.
At this stage, all eyes are on Kiffin.
How LSU got here
Kiffin, 50, emerged as a top target after LSU fired coach Brian Kelly on Oct. 26. The beginning
WALKER
Continued from page 1C
is also within reach for the Green Wave, so there’s also that to be thankful for. The real question is this: Can Tulane pull off the Thanksgiving trifecta and be able to hold on to Sumrall, one of the most coveted coaches not named Lane Kiffin on the market?
2. Pelicans rookies
Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears and Micah Peavy are off to strong starts in their NBA careers, and it looks like the Pelicans nailed their three draft picks.
Queen hasn’t even played 20 games yet, but he’s already getting the loudest cheers during pregame introductions. The trade to get him will be criticized for years to come, but it’s pretty clear what Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver saw in him. There’s a reason Queen, taken with the 13th pick, has vaulted all the way to third in odds to win Rookie of the Year Fears is just three spots behind him, and Peavy is making a name for himself on the defensive end by guarding the opponents’ best player but he’s coming around offensively, too.
ä Marist vs. LSU 7 P.MFRIDAy,
the widest gap in the country.
According to WarrenNolan.com, they’ve played the nation’s 261sttoughest schedule to start the year
LSU’s SEC peers usually give themselves some difficult games in November and December South Carolina scheduled Clemson, Southern Cal, Duke, Louisville and Penn State. Texas agreed to play UCLA, North Carolina and Baylor Oklahoma signed up to face UCLA, North Carolina State and Oklahoma State.
LSU is playing the Blue Devils and 13 mid-major teams
Why does Mulkey like to keep it light?
“We basically use the nonconference,” Mulkey said, “particularly when we start in October, November, December it’s like an evaluation (period) I’m still looking, I’m still learning, I’m still teaching during these games. And with eight new players, you don’t want to over-schedule.”
LSU’s nonconference schedule hasn’t hurt its NCAA Tournament seeding in previous seasons. The Tigers have been given a No. 3 seed in each of their first four seasons under Mulkey, which means they’ve begun all four of their tournament runs inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center — one of the goals Mulkey sets every season.
of the search was chaotic as LSU parted ways with athletic director Scott Woodward after he faced public criticism from Gov Jeff Landry but the school named longtime athletic official Verge Ausberry as his replacement less than a week later Ausberry’s coaching connections were seen as an advantage.
The search heated up last Monday, when LSU officials arranged for a donor’s private plane to bring Kiffin’s family to Baton Rouge Kiffin did not make the trip. They spent about six hours on the ground before flying back to Oxford, Mississippi, using the time to look at houses and learn about the local high schools.
Kiffin’s son, Knox, is a quarterback in the 2028 class who has gathered a few scholarship offers early in the recruiting process, according to 247Sports. Knox posted a photo of himself on social media Friday night wearing LSU headphones before a playoff game. The day before, Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, attended an LSU booster event in Baton Rouge Landry, a sophomore at Ole Miss, is dating LSU linebacker Whit Weeks. Details on LSU’s offer emerge
Conversations have continued between the two sides since then, and LSU leaders discussed a contract that would make Kiffin one of — if not the — highest-paid coaches in the country LSU is expected to offer at least $13 million per year, sources said Officials wanted a shorter term than the 10-year contract Kelly had with the Tigers, and Yahoo Sports first reported it
“All three of our rookies have been doing their thing,” Zion Williamson said Tuesday
3. A high draft pick
This isn’t for the Pelicans. They traded what looks like a lottery pick in the deal to get Queen. This is for the Saints, who look like they could be on their way to being one of the first teams on the clock in April. You probably didn’t think that a few weeks ago when they beat the Carolina Panthers before the bye and looked like they may have turned a corner Then they had a reality check of a performance against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday The last six games on the schedule include tilts against the lowly New York Jets (2-9) and the even worse Tennessee Titans (110). So the Saints may not be bad enough to get the No. 1 overall pick, but a top-five pick could be in the cards.
4. Tyler Shough
There may be some who still aren’t sold on Shough, but I’m not one of them. The rookie quarterback has completed 64.3% of his passes for 829 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in his three starts. While those aren’t jaw-dropping
“You’re trying to get a firstand second-round game here,” Mulkey said. “You’re trying to get a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament, and I think we’ve been able to do it.”
LSU also plays a tough conference schedule. Eight SEC teams were ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll after the third week of the regular season. The Tigers are guaranteed to face each of those teams once, except for the No. 4 Longhorns. LSU will play them twice this year, once in Baton Rouge and once in Austin, Texas. Until then, the Tigers will beat up on overmatched opponents, gaining confidence and correcting small mistakes along the way In nonconference play across the last five seasons, LSU has picked up three wins of at least 80 points, seven wins of at least 70 points, 10 wins of at least 60 points and 18 wins of at least 50 points.
If things go according to plan this week, the Tigers will add two more victories of that variety on the Virgin Islands, then gear up for their road trip to Duke.
“It’s worked for me,” Mulkey said. “It’s worked for me since I’ve been a head coach. We just know what we do, and by the time you get to conference (play), there’s enough people in the league to give you all you want.”
would be a seven-year deal.
Kiffin made $9 million this season before incentives. According to USA Today, Georgia coach Kirby Smart is currently the highest-paid coach in the country with an annual salary of $13.3 million. Kelly was fired in the fourth year of a contract worth more than $100 million. Sources said Landry who criticized high-priced contracts last month, has been kept informed on the search.
LSU has also prepared to commit $25-30 million per year for the roster through a combination of revenue sharing and NIL. Investment in the roster is believed to be an important factor to Kiffin, whose run at Ole Miss has coincided with the success of its booster collective.
LSU spent about $18 million on the roster this season, Kelly said, and signed one of the top transfer classes in the country It did so, in part, by front-loading at least $10 million through NIL deals with its collective before revenue sharing and an NIL clearinghouse took effect under the House settlement. LSU’s collective, Bayou Traditions, has now been dormant since July However, LSU can now arrange NIL deals with corporate sponsors, and with the $20.5 million revenuesharing cap set to increase 4% the next two years, the team would need between $10-15 million in NIL deals to reach its financial goals.
While that likely cannot be guaranteed in writing, the number is viewed as attainable LSU received a lucrative cash infusion through new sponsorship deals
Cajuns softball sets strong fall foundation
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
With UL softball’s fall season over, second-year coach Alyson Habetz feels a little more grounded as the team prepares for the 2026 season.
“Fall ball was great, exciting a lot of new faces and I guess a couple of older ones who were kind of hurt last year who are doing some really good stuff,” Habetz said. It starts with the pitching staff, where injuries were prevalent last season.
Texas Tech transfer Sage Hoover never got to pitch and neither did Florida transfer senior Lexie Delbrey
“I’m happy to report they’re both very healthy,” Habetz said. “The thing about them is they’re almost like freshman pitchers all over again. Sage hasn’t pitched in two years and Delbrey is over a year, and the last time both pitched, they were hurt. They’re both very healthy now.”
Habetz also said Arizona State transfer Julianne Tipton will play a key role on this year’s pitching staff
“She brings a lot to the table,” Habetz said. “She complements both of them (Hoover Delbrey) very well. She’s a hard-nosed competitor in the circle.”
Bethaney Noble and true freshman Bailey Mackles from Slidell may also compete for innings. The next biggest question mark comes at catcher Sophomore Mia Norwood returns, but Alabama sophomore transfer Kennedy Marceaux is the most likely candidate to take the job.
Marceaux, a former Kaplan standout and middle infielder by trade
with Venture Global (on-field advertisement) and Woodside Energy (jersey patches), the specifics of which are unknown. Other businesses can continue to sign athletes to NIL deals as well.
Will that separate LSU’s offer?
Maybe not. Ole Miss and Florida are also sending Kiffin deals worth at least $13 million per year and promising an annual roster investment of at least $25 million, according to On3.
An unusual situation
LSU has competition within its own conference. Kiffin’s family visited Gainesville, Florida, the day before their trip to Baton Rouge, and 247Sports reported that Florida athletic officials met with his representation last Thursday Florida has continued to court Kiffin, according to multiple reports, and is also waiting on his decision.
Amid an uncertain future, Kiffin met last Friday with Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter and university chancellor Glenn Boyce. They agreed that he would coach the Egg Bowl, and then an announcement would be made Saturday Kiffin said earlier this week it is “very important” to him to coach Ole Miss through the rest of the season. He dodged other questions about his future.
The timing of all of this became complicated for Ole Miss, which could win 11 games in the regular season for the first time by beating Mississippi State. With a win, the Rebels will likely go to the Playoff and could host a first-round game. However, if Kiffin leaves the team
also has played plenty of catcher
“She’s just an athlete who knows how to work well with the pitchers,” Habetz said. “I’d say she’s done a great job behind the plate.
“It’s all about the relationships in those big moments in the game.”
Another key performer is redshirt freshman Lily Knox, who missed all of last season with an injury
“Lily is healthy again,” Habetz said. “She takes some bumps and bruises along the way, but she can hit, which I hope will have her in the lineup. I’m going to say either in the outfield or at first base.”
The other newcomers expected to makeahugeimpactontheupcoming season is two new assistant coaches in pitching coach Kyle Brady and hitting coach Bill Shipman.
“Our athletes love them,” Habetz said. “Just having a male presence too, I think, is beneficial.
“The credibility they have just based on who they are, I think that bond has definitely been great overall.”
Habetz is big on holding retreats to build chemistry That was especially important with the new coaches.
“We do a retreat every year, which we did in September, which always helps because it’s off the softball field and they get to know each other,” she said. “They bond really quickly It’s all about team chemistry, too, how they relate to each other how they play together, how they respect each other
“At the end of the day, I think the fall was really good for that because we did a lot of team bonding stuff after the retreat as well.”
before then, it could affect their seeding. LSU would be open to him coaching in the CFP, sources said, but Ole Miss may not let him if he’s going to another school.
It would be an unprecedented decision Kiffin said a situation like this was “bound to happen” in college football if someone wanted to hire a playoff-bound coach calling it a “systematical problem.” His former boss at Alabama, Nick Saban, said Saturday on ESPN’s “College GameDay” that college football needs to adjust its calendar to avoid a similar scenario. Others argue Kiffin could shut it all down by making a decision.
“This is not a Lane Kiffin conundrum,” said Saban, who’s represented by Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton. “This is a college football conundrum that we need some leadership to step up and change the rules on how this gets done in terms of coaching searches and opportunities to leave.”
Although LSU can wait through the week, sources said it would prefer to have a coach in place before the early signing period begins Dec. 3 in order to get started on next year’s roster and the coaching staff. According to CBS Sports, LSU would be open to former head coach Ed Orgeron returning under Kiffin Orgeron and Kiffin have a long relationship.
The ongoing pursuit is likely to come to a resolution this weekend. A month after LSU fired Kelly everyone wants to know Kiffin’s next move.
“It’s Lane Kiffin,” one source said, “so you never know what he will do.”
numbers, Shough has shown he can move the offense. It’s too bad the Saints’ red-zone issues have continued, but that is more on the play-calling of Kellen Moore than Shough’s play Saints legend Drew Brees said on Sunday’s broadcast that Shough had some “Josh Allen qualities.” I’m not ready to go that far but I see enough promise that the Saints could avoid tak-
ing a quarterback with that high draft pick they most certainly will have. Also be thankful that the Saints, like the Pelicans, picked some promising players in the 2025 draft class.
5. The 36-year-olds This includes the two the Saints have and the one the
Saints don’t have. You won’t find two current athletes who do more for the city of New Orleans than Cam Jordan and Demario Davis. From Jordan giving out Thanksgiving meals on Tuesday to Davis’ Devoted Dreamers Foundation, you can always count on them to do their part. The two of them won’t play forever, but New Orleans should be thankful for No. 94 and No. 56 while they have them. And also be thankful the Saints did NOT sign another 36-year-old: Justin Tucker It was a possibility after the Saints released struggling kicker Blake Grupe on Tuesday Tucker received his first NFL workout with the Saints on Tuesday after serving a 10-game suspension for violating the league’s personalconduct policy Sixteen women accused the former Baltimore Ravens kicker of inappropriate misconduct during massage-therapy sessions. Tucker has denied the accusations. If the Saints had signed Tucker, it would have been a PR nightmare for a team in the midst of an already nightmarish season. Instead, the Saints signed former LSU kicker Cade York. Thank goodness.
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough warms up before a game against
Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.
Make use of leftover turkey with simple, hearty soup
BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER
Tribune News Service (TNS)
Looking for away to use up leftover turkey? Trythis simple turkey soup made with onion, carrots, and celery —or simply toss in any vegetables you have on hand. Ilike to add barley for extratexture andto give the soup arich, satisfying body
To save time, Ipartially cook the barley in the microwave for 5minutes before adding it to the pot, where it finishes cooking and absorbs the savory flavorsofthe soup. Look for quick cooking pearl barley in the market or brown rice can be used instead
Slice the vegetables in afood processor orbuy ready sliced vegetables from the produce section.
If you don’thave leftover turkey,use roasted or sauteed chicken.
Thyme sprigs and 1tablespoonleaves (optional garnish)
10 ounces cooked turkey pieces
1. Place 1cup chicken broth and quick cooking barley in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with aplate or microwave-safe lid. Microwave on high for 5minutes. Remove andleave covered until needed
2. Heat oil in large saucepan. Addonion,celery,and carrot and saute 5minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute 2more minutes. Addthyme sprigs, the barley and 5cups brothremaining chicken broth. Bringtoa simmerand cook 5 minutes.
3. Add turkey and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to warm turkey.Remove thyme sprigs. Divide soup in half and ladle into two soup bowls. Optional garnish, sprinkle thyme leaves on top.
Lafayettekitchen supply storeacommunity hub
BY JOANNABROWN Staff writer
When Cathi Pavyneeded agarlic press, sheknew exactly whereto go —The Kitchenary in Lafayette. This kitchen supply storesitsina bright little shop next door to Champagne’sMarket in the Oil Center FoundedbyLisaBreaux in 1990, Beth andGregChampagne bought it in 2004 when they remodeled the old Piggly Wiggly andopenedthe Lafayette location of Champagne’s.
“It’slikeshoppingusedtobe,” Pavy said.“GoingtoThe Kitchenaryisabout thewhole experience.They have allthe beautiful dishes and useful gadgets, butthey also have food.” Pavycalls it “fun shopping —the kind of shopping you do when it’s nota chore.”
Thestore is afeastfor thesenses. Pots,pans and plates crowd the shelves in akaleidoscope of color Cast-iron lids clatter.The lunch counterhums. Shoppers strike up easy conversationsover sheet pans or salt cellars.
“Having local shops like The
Kitchenaryisimportant,” Pavy said, “because so many shops are closing. It’s hard to shoplocally sometimes when there’snot so much available —which is whythe idea of finding that place thathas something originalisevenmore special these days. Plus, they’ve gotvariety.”
Losing localkitchen stores is a familiar story.InBaton Rouge, Red Stick Spice still has aloyal customer base, but Sur La Table closed in 2020. Nationalchains have struggled, too. BedBath& Beyond closed in 2023, though it has announced aplan to return to brick-and-mortar stores. For now,
ä See KITCHENARY, page 6C
The Kitchenary’sAli Daigle showcases some of her favorite holidaygift ideas at The Kitchenary, ahigh-end kitchen and decor productstore in Lafayette.
The Kitchenary’sAli Daigle recommends Le Creuset cookware forholiday giftgiving
PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER
By The Associated Press
Today is Thursday, Nov.27, the 331st day of 2025. There are 34 days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On Nov.27, 1978, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and city supervisor and gay rights activist HarveyMilk were fatally shot inside City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Also on this date:
In 1895, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel signed his will and testament establishing the Nobel Prizes, bequeathing most of his fortunefor annual prizes honoring outstanding achievements in peace, physics, chemistry,literature, and physiology or medicine. (The prize in economic sciences was added
in the1960s). In 1924, Macy’s first Thanksgiving Day parade —billed as a“Christmas Parade” —took place in New York. In 1934, bank robber and“Public Enemy No.1 Lester Joseph Gillis, better known as George “Baby Face” Nelson, was killedin agunbattle with FBIagents in Barrington,Illinois. In 1970, Pope PaulVI, visiting thePhilippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport by adaggerwieldingBolivian painter disguisedasapriest In 2003, PresidentGeorge W. Bush flew to Iraq under extraordinary secrecy and security to spend Thanksgiving Daywith U.S troops andthankthemfor “defendingthe American peoplefrom danger.”
OrangeMarmalade
In 2015, agunman attacked aPlanned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing three people and injuring nine. (Theprosecution of suspect Robert Lewis Dear stalled in the courts after he was repeatedly found mentally incompetent to stand trial.)
Today’sbirthdays: Fashion designer Manolo Blahnik is 83. Film director Kathryn Bigelow is 74. Science educator and TV host Bill Nye (aka the Science Guy) is 70. Author and diplomat Caroline Kennedy is 68. Actor Robin Givens is 61. Actor Michael Vartan is 57. Baseball Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez is 54. Actor Kirk Acevedo is 54. Rapper Twista is 52. Actor Jaleel Whiteis49. Actor Lashana Lynch is 38.
Every navel orange makes 1cup of marmalade.This can be your guide so that you can make as much or as little as youwant. This recipe makes1 pint (2 cups).
2navel oranges, washed 2cups sugar Juice of ½largelemon
1tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1. With avegetable peeler,remove the orange skin from theoranges. Do not take the white pith from the orange. With apair of kitchen shears, cut the skin intojulienne strips. Place them into asmall pot filled with 2cups of water.Boil the orange skins for 10 minutes and drain. Repeat with fresh water twice more. This will keep the orange marmalade from being bitter.(If you want aslight bitterness, only boil the orange skin twice.)
2. With asharp paring knife, peel the white pith from the oranges. Discard the pith. Do this over the pot that you will use to cook themarmaladesothatyou capture any juice that drips fromthe oranges. Youwant to keep thefleshofthe oranges as well as the juice. Discard the interior skin of
theorange segments (give it asqueeze to extract all of thejuice into the pot before youdiscard it) andjustkeep the juice, theflesh, and add theprocessed skin to the pot.Add the sugar and 2 cups ofwater plus thejuice of half of alargelemon.Add the grated ginger 3. Bringthe contents of the pantoafast boil forabout 5 minutes. Stirring as needed Reduce the flame to low medium andsimmerfor 45 minutes, stirring every 3to 5minutes. Take themarmalade off theheat and stirwell. Pour into 28-ounce jars and allow to cool on the counter Screwonthe lids andplace thejarsinthe refrigerator. It will continue to thicken as the mixture becomes cold.
White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Makes 1½ pounds of bark.
211-ounce packages of goodquality white chocolate chips
12 peppermint sugarcandies
(redand white candy is traditional, but you could use amixtureof red and green peppermint candy), crushed roughly.Reserve 2 tablespoons for the final finish
1-3 drops peppermint oil
1. Prepare an 11-inch by 17-inch bakingsheet by lining it with asilicone sheet or parchment paper. Make sure to have the baking sheet ready,because it will be hard to spread if it begins to cool while you prepare the sheet.
2. Place the whitechocolate chips into alargemicrowavesafe bowl.(Ilike to useaglass bowl with ahandle.) Heat in themicrowave for 1minute. Remove from the microwave andstir. Sometimes thechips keep their shape untilyou stir,so don’treturn them to themicrowave without stirring them. If they are not allmelted, return thebowl to the microwaveand heat for 30 seconds. Remove and stir again. If it is completely melted, add one to three drops of peppermint oil, to your taste. Use one drop to
keep thechocolate flavor predominant;three to make the peppermint dominant 3. Add the crushed candy reserving the2 tablespoons. Stir well and pour out onto thepreparedbaking sheet. Acting quickly,spread with aspatula to makethe bark even and sprinkle with the reserved 2tablespoonsof crushed candy.Place the paninto therefrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to overnight. Break the bark and place the pieces into cellophane bags, jars, or metal gift cans.
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Makes 1½ pounds of bark.
211-ounce packages of goodquality dark chocolate chips (If you cannot find dark chocolate, you can use semi-sweet chocolate, but it is much richer with dark chocolate.) 12 peppermint sugar candies (redand white candy is traditional, but you could use amixtureof red and green peppermint candy), crushed roughly.Reserve 2 tablespoons for the final finish.
1-3 drops peppermint oil
1. Prepare an 11-inch by 17-inch bakingsheet by lining it with asilicone sheet or parchment paper. Make sure to have the baking sheet ready,because it will be hard to spread if it begins to cool while you prepare the sheet.
2. Place the chocolate chipsintoa large micro-
GIFTS
Continued from page5C
ginger element works no matter what type of orange you use for the marmalade. While you areatit, nestle asmall jar of whole cardamom into the bag with the marmalade. Ateaspoon of cardamom added to morning coffee grounds is an aromatic complement to toast and marmalade. Becausethese are presents, we have to be particu-
wave-safe bowl.(Iliketouse aglass bowl with ahandle.) Heat in the microwave for 1minute. Remove from the microwave and stir.Sometimesthe chips keep their shape untilyou stir, so don’t return them to the microwavewithout stirringthem. If they are not all melted, return the bowl to themicrowaveand heat for 30 seconds.Remove and stir again. If it is completely melted, add one to three drops of peppermint oil, to your peppermint taste. Use one drop to keep thechocolate flavor predominant;3tomake the peppermint dominant.
3. Add the crushed candy, reservingthe 2tablespoons. Stir well and pour out onto
lar about how we present them.The marmaladecan be put in 8-ounce canning jars. If youare giving one jarasagift, you canskip theactual canning— just be sure to tell the recipient that the marmaladeneeds to be refrigerated. Alabel on astringtied around a circle that fits over the lid can remindthe recipient to put it in the refrigerator Awide-mouth jar is a goodthingfor holding the chocolate bark.Ifthat is too heavy orbulky,try acellophane bagtied witha bow
KITCHENARY
Continuedfrom page5C
theclosest Williams-SonomaisinHouston. Beyond pots andpans “Wealso have lots of dinners, wine tastings, bourbon tastings —it’sjustso fun,” said Beth Champagne. “I’m from Lafayette, and when Iwas growing up, my father workedright down the street from where we are now. So Ijust love working in the OilCenter.”
For Champagne, the shop isn’tjustretail. It’sa path back intothe community thatshaped her —and it’s that community, she said, that haskeptthe storestrong despiteonline competition from giants likeAmazon.
“Wetry to makeitmoreof an experience for thecustomer,” Champagne said. “Weoffer great customer service, lunch. There are always samples out —our customers just really love to come in and touch,see and feel.”
She knows shecan’tmatch the convenience of one-click delivery,but she also knows that’snot why her regulars come.
“Wekindofjust have a reputation as aplace where you come tolook,” shesaid. “That’swhy we work to make it extraspecial for someonetocome andhave agreat 15–20 minutes in the store.”
On Veterans Day, The Kitchenary hosted afourcourse ticketed dinner with chef Justin GirouardofThe French Press, withpaired cocktails fromJ.T.Meleck Distillers.
“It’salocal business, which is harder to find these days.Everyone who works here is apartofthe community,” Champagne said.
The Champagnes also own Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop on the same strip. TheyexpandedThe Kitchenary with alunch counter that serves diners Monday through Friday from11a.m to 2p.m.
Store manager Ali Daigle
knowsthe insand outs of every shelf —espresso machines, chef knives, pasta makers, mortars and pestles, microplane graters. Whenaskedfor afavorite item, she doesn’thesitate: a large straining ladle, ideal for serving winter stews andgravies. She also swears by the meat chopper
“Thisisactually thebest gift ever,” Daigle said, adding that sheuses it often to chop up ground beef or ground turkey
Thegadgetwall
So muchofwhat The Kitchenary sells finds its way into weeknight meals, birthday cakes and the first gumboofthe season small tools woven into the rituals of home.
The store’s “gadget wall” is atreasure trovefor hobby cooks, inviting customers to linger,laugh and reminisce.
Oniongogglesand toast tongs sitalongsidequirky stocking stuffers that often become kitchen staples.
Many of the same customersreturn weekly,Daigle said, dropping in forlunch anda little browsing. Seasonal décor greets them at thefront of theshop. Occasionally,Kitchenary items end up on the clearance shelf at Champagne’s, andleftover lunch-counter meals appear in itsgraband-go section.
thepreparedbaking sheet. Acting quickly,spread with aspatula to makethe bark even and sprinkle with the reserved 2tablespoonsof crushed candy.Place the paninto therefrigerator for at least 30 minutes up to overnight. Break the bark and either place them into cellophanebags, jars, or metal gift cans. Once you feel comfortable with these recipes,you can play with theadditions.Instead of crushed peppermint candy,you can use any type of sugar candy or candy canes. The flavors are fun to playwith. Youcan alsouse cinnamonred-hotcandies or sunflower seeds or raisins or dried cranberries.
The chocolate bark should be kept in therefrigerator,too. ButIamsure that neither thebark nor the marmaladewill last very long. Youmight need to makeextra in case thegifts disappear quickly
Liz Williamsisfounder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’spodcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. EmailLiz at lizwillia@gmail.com.
“Thisplace is anecessity,” Daigle said. “Weshoplocal, we live local. We get local chefstocomeinand cook That’s just somethingthat we’re really big about, and it’sjust grown and grown.” In aworld of online carts and overnight shipping, The Kitchenary offers something rarer. It’smorethan gumbo bowls,apronsor multi-generational recipes. It’saplace where cooking still feelscommunal —and where walking through the door is the start of something shared.
TheKitchenary is located at 456 Heymann Blvd SuiteC,Lafayette, in theOil Center.The store offers complimentary gift wrapping forevery $50 spent.
Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.
TheAmerican RedCross ofLouisiana is hereall year.
support. Local impact. TheAmerican RedCross in Louisiana serves4.65millionresidentsacrossall64parishesandextendshopeto communitiesacrossthenationandaroundtheworld.Whenyousupportyour localRedCross,youmakeadirectimpactinyourcommunity Poweredbygenerosity. TheRedCrossisnotagovernmentagency.Wearea501(c)(3) nonprofitthatreliesonthepowerofvolunteersandthegenerosity ofdonorstocarryoutourhumanitarianmission. RedCrosssupportersprovideabeaconofhope.Fromhelping duringdisasters,toprovidinglifesavingtrainingandsupporting militarycommunities,theRedCrossistherewhenhelpcan’twait.
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Liz Williams’ orangemarmalade
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Channel your energy wisely. Take time to catch up and to get rid of the deadweight in your life. Organize your surroundings to encourage better productivity.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Participating in groups will connect you to someonewho canimpactyourlifeand how youchoose to live. Let go of the past and embrace the future with an open mind.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Think twice; question your motives and what others want or expect from you before making amove. Emotions will be close to the surface. Don'treveal your next move prematurely.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March20) Learn something new and invest time and money in your future. Trust your instincts, and pursue what makes you feel good about yourself and the direction you head in.
ARIES(March 21-April 19) Control your emotions and gather thefacts. Don't fear doing things differently. Follow your heart and ease your stress, and you'll gather momentum.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Bide your time and reach out to those you trust to offer adifferent perspective or option. Partnerships and personal growth are on the rise and are best handled with care, consideration and caution.
GEMINI (May21-June 20) Don't overload your plate, promise more than you can deliver or letyouremotions get you
into trouble. Focus inward and choose healthy activities that help you look and feel your best.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Don't mix business with pleasure or let your emotions interfere with your ability to advance. It's time to expand your interests, upgrade your skills and challenge yourself.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Change only what's necessary. Choose to fix what's broken instead of spending money to replace it. Social events require careful planning and the proper attire.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Choose your words and gestures carefully if you want to avoid interference, opposition or rejection. Domestic problems will arise if you let your emotions take the lead.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) It's best to take a wait-and-see approach, especially when joint ventures, expensesand partnerships are involved. Hold on to your cash, protect your position and reputation, and live within your means.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.22) Get out, plan to have some fun and avoidemotional drama going on at home or with family. The time you spend with people who offer aunique perspectiveonlifeand the options you face will pay off.
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
BY PHILLIP ALDER
Jeff Foxworthy, famous for his redneck jokes, said, “The designated-driver program is not adesirable job. Butifyou ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it.Atthe endofthe night,dropthem offatthe wrong house.”
Bridge players drop tricks with wrong plays,bothasdeclarerand—muchmore often —ondefense. Also, key-cards can drop. For example, you have nine cards missing only the queen. The percentage play (just) is to cash theace and king, hoping the queen will drop.
In thisdeal, where is the drop? South is in three no-trump. West leadsthe heart queen. Whatshoulddeclarer do?
North used Stayman to try to find a 4-4 spade fit,then settled for three notrump.
South starts with six toptricks: one spade, one heart, two diamonds and two clubs. But since the heart ace will have been dislodged by trick two, declarer must take the next eight tricks after that. He is faced with threefinesses— in spades, diamondsand clubs. Which should he take?
EachWuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four
Average
Time
today’s thought
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18
wuzzles
loCKhorNs
Peopleneed the Lord andHis Word.Without Him thereisnohope fortodayand foreternity. G.E. Dean
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
WINTER ... is the time for home.
Thewarmthofsummerhas wounddown, thecrisp fall airhas takenover, and thoughts have turned to thecomingwinterwithits sparklinglightsand biting winds. As thepoetEdith Sitwellsaid, “Winteristhe time forcomfort,for good food andwarmth…itisthe time forhome.” This specialseasongives us reason to serveupcomfort,tomakeeverydaymoments with friends,familyand community special. So,eat dessert first, cook your family’s favorites, give from the heartand lean into winter andholiday funathome.
TABLEOFCONTENTS
GatherRound the Table pages4-21
Dessertare on deck,froma stunningPavlova towertoa scrumptiouswinterspice Bundt cake.Createeasyappetizersthat go from slow cooker to party (orjusttoyourdiningtable) andbrush up on classic side dish recipes.
Thoughtful Giving pages22-40
Treatyourselfand your loved ones to agift that feelslikeluxury. Ideasfor family favorites, andour suggestionsfor personalizedgiftstomakegivingfeel so good.
Home andHearth pages41-59
Exploreseasonalcrafts, DIY décortipsfor warmingupyour space on acoldnight,and make azinefor some unpluggedholidayfun.
Photobyigishevamaria/AdobeStock
Black Forest Pavlova Christmas Tree
ThisBlack Forest PavlovaChristmas Tree is atrueshowstopper. Crisp, airy meringue layers,swirled with silkycream,rich chocolateand ruby-red cherries,stacked into aglittering holiday tower. Inspired by theclassicBlack Forest cake,it’sa dreamy blendoftextures— crunchy, creamy,sweet andtangy —that dazzles on thetable andtasteslikepurecelebration.
RecipesbyPatti Diamond, DivasonaDime
Winter Wishes
JasonCoblentz/DivasOnADime
What You’ll Need:
Meringue:
•8 large eggwhites
•1 ¾cupssugar
•1 teaspooncornstarch
•1 teaspooncream of tartar
•1 teaspoonvanillaextract
Cherry Compote:
•2 (12-ounce) bags frozen dark sweetcherries
•¾ cupsugar
•2 tablespoons cornstarch +1teaspoonwater or cherry juice
•½ cupdried cherries
•Optional: ¼-½cup golden raisinsand/ordried cranberries
1. Make Meringues: Preheatovento225 F. Line baking sheets with parchmentand trace 5-7 graduatedcircles (largest 7inches, smallest3 inches). Flippaper.Beategg whites to soft peaks; graduallyadd sugaruntil stiff,glossy peaksform. Beat at least5 minutes.Beatincornstarch, creamoftartarand vanilla. Spoonorpipeintocircles; shapesmallestcircleintoapeaktotop thetree. Bake 90 minutes. Turn off oven; cool completelyinside theoven, ideallyovernight.
2. Cherry Compote: In asaucepan, cook cherries and sugarovermediumheat. Stir cornstarch slurry into mixture;bring to aboil, stirring,until thickened. Adddried fruit;simmer 5minutes. Remove from heat;stirinextracts, balsamic andkirschifusing.Cooltoroomtemperature
3. CreamCheeseWhipped Cream: In amixingbowl, beat creamcheeseuntil smooth,set aside.Inanother bowl, whip creamand sugartomediumpeaks. Graduallyadd reserved creamcheese, then vanilla, andbeatuntil fluffy.
4. ChocolateCoating:Microwavechocolate andcoconut oilin20-30 second bursts, stirring,until smooth.Brush onto cooled meringues during assembly.
5. Assemble Tree:Add alittledollopofwhipped cream to servingplatter to “glue” firstmeringuediscinplace. Place largest meringue disc on servingplatter.Spreadwith athinlayer of chocolatecoating,adrizzle of compote, then alayer of whippedcream.Continuelayering, stacking from largest to smallest.
6. Decorate:Dustwithcocoa powder,garnish with chocolatecurls,sugaredcherries androsemarysprigs. Serve within an hour forbesttexture.
ThisWinterSpice Ginger Bundtisgingerbread alldressed up forthe holidays.Withlayers of warm spice, ahintoforangeand atendercrumb,it’sthe kind of cake that perfumes the wholekitchen as it bakes. Finished with asimple glaze, it’s striking enough fora holiday tableyet easy enough to make on aweeknight.
What You’ll Need:
3¾cupsall-purpose flour 1tablespoonbakingpowder
1teaspoonbakingsoda
¾teaspoonkoshersalt
1tablespoongroundcinnamon
1tablespoongroundginger
1teaspoonfreshly grated nutmeg
1teaspoongroundcloves
½teaspoongroundallspice
¼teaspoongroundblack pepper
1heaping tablespoonmincedcandiedginger
1cup +2tablespoons butter,atroomtemperature
1cup +2tablespoons brownsugar, packed
¾cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1orange
2teaspoons freshlygratedginger
¾cup molasses
3large eggs, at room temperature
1½cupswhole milk
Orange SpiceGlaze
1cup powdered sugar, sifted
3tablespoons freshlysqueezed orange juice
¼teaspoongroundcinnamon
Pinchgroundcloves
JasonCoblentz/DivasOnADime
Here’s How:
Preheat theovento350 F. Coat a12-cup Bundtpan with bakingspray or grease generously anddustwith flour.
In amediumbowl, whisktogetherthe flour, baking powder,bakingsoda,saltand spices, then add thecandied ginger andstirtoevenlydistribute; setaside.
In thebowlofa standmixer fitted with thepaddleattachment,beatthe butter with thebrown andgranulatedsugars until light and fluffy, about2 minutes. Scrape down thesides andbottomofthe bowl.Add theorange zest,fresh ginger, molasses andone egg, mixingonlow speed. Addthe remainingeggsone at atime, mixingafter each addition.Scrape down thebowlagain.
With themixer on low, add one-third of thedry ingredients, followed by half themilk.Mix gently,thenrepeatwith anotherthird of thedry mixture, theremainingmilk and finallythe last thirdofthe drymixture.Mix just untilblended.
Spoonthe batter into thepreparedpan andsmooththe top. Bake for40minutes, checktosee if atoothpick inserted near thecentercomes outclean.Ifit’snot,add 5more minutes andtestagain.Cool in thepan for15minutes, then invert onto awirerackand let cool completely.
Forthe glaze,whisk thepowderedsugar, orange juice,and spices in amediumbowluntil smooth andpourable. Place thecooledcakeona rackset over asheet pantocatch drips, then slowly pour theglaze over thecake, letting it cascade down thesides. Allowthe glaze to setbeforeslicing.
Twopillowyroundsofchocolate cake hugging a fluffy peppermint filling, rolledincrushed candy canesfor sparkleand crunch.They’re festive, fabulous andfar easier to make than they look.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line twolarge baking sheets with parchmentpaper.
In amediumbowl, whisktogetherthe flour, cocoapowder, bakingsodaand salt.
In astand mixer,beatthe butter andbrown sugaruntil light and fluffy, about2 minutes. Mixinthe eggand vanilla.
Alternateaddingthe flourmixtureand buttermilk in turns, beginning andendingwiththe dryingredients. Mixjustuntil combined,thengivethe batter a finalstirbyhandtobesure no drypockets remain.
Drop heapingteaspoons of batter (oruse asmall scoop) onto thepreparedsheets, spacingabout 2inchesapart Bake 10-12 minutes, until thecenters spring back when gently touched. Cool for5 minutesonthe sheets, then transfertoa wire racktocoolcompletely.
Forthe filling: Beat butter andpowderedsugaruntil fluffy. Addvanilla,peppermintextract andsalt. Mixinmarshmallowcreme until smooth,thenchill at least30minutes.
Spread or pipe fillingontothe flat side of half thecakes and topwiththe remainingcakes.Rolledges in crushedcandy canesfor afestive finish.
Tips:Use dark cocoapowderfor adeep, sophisticated chocolate flavor.For thebestrise, let eggs andbuttermilk come to room temperature.(Shortcuts: rest eggs in hot tapwater for10minutes, andwarmmilkinthe microwave for50seconds.)
If your kitchen runs warm,chill the filled whoopiepies for 15 minutesbeforeserving. This helpsthe fillingset, so the tops stay putand don’tslide off thebottoms.
Thesefreezebeautifully. Wrap individually andfreezeup to 2monthsfor make-ahead magic.
Yield: about24servings|Prep Time:50mins|Cook Time:10mins|TotalTime: 60 mins
Holiday Celebration Biscotti
Perfectfor gifting, dunkingoradding to aholiday cookie plate. Crispbut not tooth-breaking andjustsweet enough.
What You’ll Need:
4tablespoons unsalted butter,softened or cold,cut in pieces
Heat oven to 350 F. Line abaking sheet with parchment. Beat butter andsugaruntil creamy. Addeggsand extract; mix well.Whisk flour, bakingpowderand salt.Add to bowl;mix until combined.Stirin flavor add-insifusing.
Divide doughinhalf. Shapeintotwo 8-inchlogsand flattento¾ inch thick. Sprinkle with coarse sugarifdesired. Bake for25minutes, until lightly golden and firm to thetouch.Coolon thepan for30minutes.
Slicelogs diagonallyinto¾-inch slices. Laycut side up on thesheet and bakefor 15 minutes, until dry. Cool completely. Optional:For extra-crunchycookies, turn off the oven andleave thebiscottiinthe oven to cool.
Flavor Variations:
•Crunchy Almond:1teaspoonalmond +1 teaspoonvanillaextract. Stir in 1cup chopped almonds.
•Cranberry OrangePistachio: 1 teaspoonvanilla+ zestof1 orange. Stir in ¾cup driedcranberries and ¾cup chopped pistachios.
Tips:Dress them up!Dip oneend of cooled biscotti in melted chocolateand sprinkle with nuts,chocolate chipsor festivesprinkles.
Thesebiscottikeep1-2 weeksatroomtemperature or 3monthsinthe freezer.
Brie is versatile, pairingbeautifullywithboth sweetand savory toppings. Thebasics aresimple: place awheel of brie on parchment, scorethe rind andbakeat350 Ffor 1015 minutes untilsoft and melty.Serve it just like that (alwaysahit), or dress it up with toppings fora festivetwist.
powdered sugar“snow.”
•Caramelized Onion& Thyme: Sweet onions slowly cooked down with freshthyme.
Whydoesitsmellfunny?Briehas anatural“bloomy rind.” If it smells strong when youunwrapit, just let it breathefor 30 minutes—the aroma mellows andthe flavor is divine
BAKED BRIE JEWEL BOX WITH JAM &NUTS
Sweet &SavoryTopping Ideas
•Cranberry-Orange:Warmcranberry sauce with orange zest andtoasted pecans.
•Fig &Walnut: Fig jam, chopped walnutsand adrizzle of honey.
Is therindedible? Yes! Scoringthe top makesiteasier to scoopthe gooeyinside,but youcan eatthe rind too. Do Ihavetobakeit? Notatall —brie is delicious at room temp,but warmth makesthe flavor shine.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Placean8-ounce wheelofbrieonparchment andset on abakingsheet. Scorethe toprindina crosshatch pattern. Spread 2tablespoons of jamacrossthe top, sprinkle with 2tablespoons chopped toastednuts, drizzle with 1tablespoonhoney and finish with apinch of flaky salt.Bakeuncovered for10 minutes, until bubbly.Let cool slightly,thenserve with crackers or slicedbaguette. In thephoto,apricotjam, pistachios anddried cranberries were used forapop of color. Butthe combinations areendless.
Yield: 4to8 servings |Time: 15 minutes
Tip:Keepa wheelof brie,a jarofjam anda bagofnutsinyour“emergency entertainmentarsenal.” In minutes, you’ve gota built-in partytrick that lookslikeyou plannedahead.
Winter Wishes
robynmac,stock.adobe.com
Easy Throw-togethers
Pair simple ingredient lists with low-effort cookingmethods withoutsacrificing taste.
Whenyou need arecipefor somethingthatcomes together quickly,tastesyummy,is easy to transportand looksgreat on aplate, look no further. Thesemeatball recipeswork with anystandard frozen meatballand also with veggie meatballs.Serve plated on toothpicks foranappetizerspread, or make them with pastaand servefor acozy family dinner.
GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS
What You’ll Need:
•1 bagfrozen beef or pork meatballs
•1 12-ounce jarofgrape jelly
•1 12-ounce jarofchili sauce
Here’s How:
Combineall ingredients in a slow cooker.Cookonlow for4-6 hours. Stir andserve with toothpicks.
Wrap each sausageinapiece of bacon andsecurewitha toothpick.
Place in aslowcooker, andcover with thebrown sugar, making sure each sausage is coated in brownsugar.
Cook on highfor 3hours,stirring after thesecondhour, untilcrispy. When it’s partytime, setthe slow cooker on warm, andwatch thesedisappear
Winter Wishes
zoryanchik, stock.adobe.com
DIY AppleCiderStation
By PattiDiamond,Divas on aDime
Holiday cheerisinthe air, and what better way to celebrate than with acozy, DIYapple cider station? This funand inviting setupis perfectfor gatherings or simplyaquiet night at home,turninganordinary eveningintoadelightfulexperience.
DIYAPPLECIDER STATION ESSENTIALS
Startwithabaseofhigh-quality applecider from your favorite localstore.Toinfuseitwiththose warm,autumnal flavors, pour thecider into apot or crockpot andadd cinnamonsticks, wholeclovesand freshorangeslices. Letit simmer gently on thestove until your home is filled with the comforting scentofspicedapples andcitrus.
HOWMUCHCIDER TO STARTWITH
Forthisrecipe, startwith1gallon of applecider. This amount is perfectfor singleservingsfor asmall gatheringof 8-10 people or providingmultipleservingsfor acozynight in.Multiplyasdesired.
SPICEMIX RECIPE FORMULLEDCIDER
Foranextra boost of flavor,createyourown spicemix to addtothe cider:
•3 cinnamon sticks
•1 tablespoonwhole cloves
•1 teaspoonwhole allspice berries
•1 star anise(optional, forasubtlelicorice note)
•1/2 teaspooncardamompods
•1 orange,sliced
Addthese ingredients to thepot with theapple cider and simmer for20-30 minutes formaximum flavor infusion.
Strain theciderbeforeserving fora smooth,spiceddrink.
CUSTOMIZETOYOURHEART’S CONTENT
Make your cider stationinteractive andinvitingwithanarray of add-ins andtoppings. Here aresomeideas to elevateyourcider experience:
•KeepitWarm: Useaslowcookeroraninsulated drink dispensertokeepyourcider warm throughout theeveningwithout needingconstantattention.
•Whipped Cream: Addadollopofwhipped creamfor an indulgenttouch.
•Caramel Drizzle: Adrizzle of caramelsauce canturn your drinkintoadessert-worthytreat.
•Nutmegand/orAllspice: Alight sprinkle of thesespices addsdepth andwarmth.
•CinnamonSugar Rim: Dipthe rimofyourmug in abit of waterorapple cider,thencoatitwithcinnamon sugar forasweet, festivetouch.
•StarAnise: Forasophisticated look andanaddedlayer of flavor.
•HomemadeSyrups: Offer flavored syrups like vanilla, mapleorpumpkin spicefor guests to personalize their drinks.
Thanksgiving Celebration: Delight guests as they arrive with awarm, fragrant drinkthatsets thetonefor a festivemeal.
WeekendBrunches: Addaseasonal twist to your brunch menu with a cider stationalongside classic breakfast treats.
Book ClubsorCraft Nights: Create arelaxed andinvitingatmospherewith acomfortingbeverage that everyone cancustomize.
OutdoorBonfires: Servewarm spicedcider whilesitting around the fire andenjoyingthe crispautumn air.
HolidayDecoratingSessions: Sip on your creation whiledecking the hallsfor theupcomingholidays.
Whetheryou’rehosting friends or cozyingupwitha book, this apple cider stationisa surefire waytoembrace theseason. Enjoythe warmth, comfortand cheerthatthissmall touchcan bringtoyourhome.
Winter Wishes
Goncharuk film,stock.adobe.com
A Fresh Take on Green BeanCasserole
ByPatti Diamond, Divason aDime
Forgetthe canned soup andfried onions —thisupgraded version is all aboutrealfood. Freshbeans are blanched to stay crispand green, then foldedintoasilkymushroomsauce made from butter,stock andcream
Topped with golden friedshallots, it’s vibrant, flavorfuland afar cryfromthe canned classic.
Make thesauce: Melt butter in a large, oven-safeskillet (10-12 inches) over medium-high heat.Add mushrooms, 1teaspoonsaltand thepepper. Cook,stirring, until mushroomsrelease their juices, about5 minutes. Stir in garlic andcook2 minutes more.
Sprinkle flourovermushrooms,stirring to coat.Cookbrieflyuntil the flour begins to brown. Stir in broth, scraping up brownedbits. Simmer 3minutes. Lowerheat, add half-and-halfand cook until thickened, about10minutes (longerifyou prefer athicker sauce).
Assemble: Stir aquarter of thefried shallots(or onions)intothe sauce, then fold in greenbeans until well-coated. Transfer to acasserole dish if desired. Topwithremaining shallots/onions. Bake at 350 Funtil bubbly,about 15 minutes. Servewarm.
CRISPY FRIED SHALLOTS
Yield: 6-8servings| Total Time:25mns
What You’ll Need: 12 ounces shallots(about 3large)
¼cup cornstarch (or corn flour)
1cup vegetableoil
Pinchofsalt
Here’s How:
Usinga mandoline, slice shallots into thin rings(aboutdime-thick). Toss with cornstarch to coat,separatingthe rings. Heat 3inchesofoil in adeepsaute panovermediumheat. Fryshallotsin batches, 3-5 minuteseach, until golden. Stir to keep ringsseparate.
Transfer with aslotted spoontoa papertowel-lined tray andsprinkle with salt.Repeatuntil allare fried. Save the flavorfuloil forother recipesthis season
Make-Ahead Tip:Busy holiday kitchen? Prep the beans, mushroom sauce,and fried shallotsaday ahead. Storeseparately, then assemble andbakejustbefore servingfor an effortlessside dish.
JasonCoblentz/DivasOnA Dime
Winter Wishes
On Thanksgiving, theturkeymay take centerstage,but it’s the sides —especiallystuffing —thatsteal theshow. Everyyearwewonder:Why don’twemakethismoreoften?
Forgetthe box. Homemade stuffing is simple, versatileand always worthit. Startwithdried bread(pick up day-old sourdough, ciabatta,cornbread or any hearty loaf), toss in onionand celery, then enrichwithbutter, brothand eggs forthatcustardymiddle andgolden crunch on top. Addsausage,baconor creative extras, andsuddenlystuffing goes from sidekick to scene-stealer.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a9×13inch bakingdish. Place driedbread in a large bowl.
In askillet over medium heat,warm oliveoil.Cookchosenmeat, breaking it into crumbles, until browned. Usinga slottedspoon, transfer to thebowlwith bread.
In thesameskillet, cook onion, celery andany additional aromatics. Season with salt,pepperand poultryseasoning. Stir often until onions aretranslucent. Addany add-ins(like appleorpeppers) andcookuntil softened.Stirin½cup butter until meltedand infused with flavor.
Scrape themixture into thebread bowl.Inanother bowl,whisk together eggs and2cupsbroth;pouroverthe breadmixture.Seasonwithsaltand pepper,tossingtocombine.Add more broth, ½cup at atime, until thebread is fullymoistened
Transfer stuffing to theprepared bakingdish. Cutremainingbutterinto small pieces anddot over thetop.Cover with foil andbakefor 30 minutes. Uncoverand bake20minutes more,until golden.
•VegetarianorVegan:Substitute1 poundcoarselychopped mushroomsfor themeat, sauteinguntil caramelized. Forvegan:Use oliveor coconutoil insteadofbutter, vegetablebroth in place of chickenstock, andomitthe eggs.
Roast Beets with Orange-ThymeGlaze
Sweet,earthybeetsget aglamorous upgradewitha glossy orange-thyme glaze. Roasteduntil tender andcaramelized,thentossedina citrusy, honey-kissed sauce, they make avibrant,elegant side dish that’s surprisingly easy.
What You’ll Need:
12 beets (small,mediumorlarge)
3tablespoons extra-virginolive oil, divided
1teaspoondried thymeor1tablespoonfresh leaves
1teaspoonkoshersalt
½teaspoonfreshly ground blackpepper
1tablespoonbalsamic vinegar(or redwinevinegar+apinch of sugar)
Zest of 1orange(finely grated)
Juice of 1large orange (~¼ cup)
1tablespoonhoney (ormoreto taste)
Optional:tinypat of butter or splash of oliveoil forshine
Here’s How:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line alarge bakingsheet with foil andspray with cookingspray.
Trim tops androots of thebeets. Leavethe peel on for simplicity.Cut into 1½-inch chunks (halve small,quarter medium, eighthlarge).
Toss beets with 2tablespoons of theolive oil, thyme, salt andpepper. Spread in asinglelayer androast 35-45 minutes, turningonceortwice,until tender andcaramelizedatthe edges.
Meanwhile, make theglaze: Warm 1tablespoonolive oilin asmall saucepan over medium heat.Add balsamicvinegar, orange zest, juice andhoney.Simmeruntil slightly thickened andglossy.Adjustsweetness or acidity to tasteand stir in a pinchofthyme.
Toss hotroasted beets with thewarmglaze.For extracaramelization,returnglazedbeets to theoven5minutes.
Garnishwithfresh thymeand extra orange zest before serving.
SageParmesan Popovers
Not just ordinarypopovers (thoughthose arefabulous) —these are fluffy, buttery, Parmesan-and-sagepopovers, served with garlicky sage butter to take them over thetop.
No specialequipmentrequired:Use a standard muffintin (you’ll getabout 10 smaller popovers)orasix-wellpopover panfor six generous ones
Popovers areinstant gratification no yeast, no rise time.Steam does theheavy lifting,and in aboutanhouryou’llhave golden, crisp, hollow beauties readytodevour.
Forthe best rise,preheat theempty muffintin until it’s blazinghot before addingthe batter.And don’tskip room-temperature eggs and milk.(Shortcut:Warmeggsin hottap waterfor 10 minutes andzap themilk in themicrowave for50seconds.)
SAGE PARMESAN POPOVERS
Here’s How:
We’regoing to startbyinfusingour butter.Place 1½tablespoonsbutterin asmall skillet over lowheat. Addthe smashedgarlic cloveand sage leaves to thebutter. After about5minutes the butter shouldbebrowning, thesage crisping andthe garlic smellingheavenly.Removethe garlic andsagefromthe skillet andreserve formakingthe sage garlic butter (recipebelow). Transfer the
infused butter into asmall bowl to cool. Move theovenracktothe lowest position.Preheat oven to 425 F. Next, either generously usecooking sprayor add 1teaspoonvegetable oilto10muffincups(leavethe middletwo empty). If usingapopover pan, you’dspray or oil thosewells as well.Place muffintin or popoverpan in oven to heat while you make thebatter.
Place theeggsand milk into ablender andblendtoget all foamy. Addthe
Carefullyremovethe nowextremely hottin from theovenand divide the batter evenly into the10oiled cups. Cups shouldbeabout half full Bake popovers at 425 Ffor 20 minutes, then withoutopeningthe oven door,reduce heat to 350 Ffor 15 minutesmoreoruntil they’repuffed,golden brown andcrispy. Do notopenthe oven door during baking, as thechange in temperature can causethemtodeflate, andthat makesnoone happy. Turn popovers outontoacooling rackand pierce thebottoms with asmall knifetoallow steamtoescape. This helps keep them puffylonger. For best results, serveimmediately. However, they will keep forup to aweeksealedinazip-top baggie.
GARLIC SAGE BUTTER
Mash thereservedgarlic into apaste with aforkand mince thecrispysage. Stir thegarlic andsagetogetherwith4 tablespoons softened butter.Slather on everything.
Have extra sage?Preserveitbymincing finely andplacing1tablespoon into each well of an ice cube tray.Add just enough waterorolive oiltocover Freeze, then storeitinafreezer bag.
Winter Wishes
JasonCoblentz/DivasOnADime
MEALSCAPES
Make dinnertime an experience with atoppingsextravaganza
Agood tablescape —creatinga pleasing decorativestory foryourdinnertable —can make an ordinarymenufeelupscale. When youhaveguests or just want to make a family dinner feel extra special, youcan take thepressure off of creating alabor-intensive meal by letting themealbethe tablescape. Combineatried-and-truestaplewithanarray of toppings fora dynamite DIYdinner.Here’s how.
Flex Mex: At-home BurritoBowls
Slow-roast aporkbutt(easy-peasy in aslow cooker) andshred.Serve with cilantro rice, blackbeans,pinto beans, fajita veggies, corn relish,anarray of salsas,shreddedcheese, sour creamand shreddedlettuce.Bonus:tortillachips andqueso.
Quickcornrelish: Defrostand drain abag of frozen corn.Add 2tablespoons of limejuice and ¾cup of finely choppedred onion. Stir andlet setfor an hour to blend flavors.
arinahabich, stock.adobe.com
Wintery Warmup: Chili
Serveacrockpotofchili alongside favorite toppings, complementedwithcornbread,sliced breads with butter,crackers,chopped freshherbs anda selectionofhot sauces.
Arrange aplatter of baked potatoes with classic (and notsoclassic) toppings like cheese,sourcream,chives, chili, chopped rotisserie chicken, steamedbroccoli, bacon, caramelizedonions, sauteed mushrooms, roasted garlic or chopped avocado.
Hotpotatoperfection:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Wash anddry potatoes, then pierce on all sides usingafork. Add alittleoil to your handsand rubitall over thepotatoes. Place on abakingsheet and season all sides generously with salt.Bakeabout an hour and15minutes depending on size,until aforkcan be inserted easily.
Winter Wishes
HOLIDAY BONUS: CookingSubstitutes
Missing an Ingredient?Try TheseSubstitutes
No eggs?
If it’s forbaking, substitute 1/4 cup applesauce for1egg.
No cornstarch?
Forevery 1tablespoonofcornstarch, use 1tablespoonarrowroot,or1tablespoon potato flourorpotatostarch, or 21/2 tablespoons flour.
Fora casserole, soup or gratin-typedish, usebutternut squash or pumpkin.
No confectioners’sugar?
To make your own, add 1tablespoonof cornstarch to each cupofgranulated sugarand whirlinblender forafew secondsuntil it’s a fine powder.
No granulatedsugar?
Forevery 1cup needed,use3/4 cup confectioners’ sugaror3/4 cuphoney.
No parchmentpaper?
Usebrown paperorwaxed paper(not over high heat), or just grease and flour thepan.
No drybreadcrumbs?
Just getsomebread,tearitupintosmall chunks andsaute in askillet with alittle butter untilbrowned.Whirltoasted bread pieces in afoodprocessor.
Winter Wishes
African Peanut Stew with chicken
By DonnaErickson
This easy-to-prepare chickenpeanutstewisanadaptation of adelicious dish Ienjoyed during atrip to theUbangiregionofthe DemocraticRepublic of Congo.Servedinlarge bowls, it is afavoritemeal forcelebrationswhenfamilies andguests gather. This simplified interpretation serves 6-8and uses bonelesschicken breastsfor easy prep.Natural peanut butter givesitacreamyrichnessand an “I’ll gladly have asecondhelping” flavor. Thechilies provide aspicy kick.
Preparethe hearty recipe forfamilyand friends for amemorable meal if youcelebrate Kwanzaa this year (Dec.26-Jan. 1), andserve it at othereventsinthe newyear. You’ll likely discover that it will be anew favorite forbothkidsand adults.
WhatYou’ll Need:
1/4 cuppeanutoil or canola oil
11/2 pounds boneless, skinlesschickenbreasts, cutinto small bite-sizepieces
Heat 2tablespoons oilinalarge stew potover medium-highheat. Season chickenwithsaltand pepper,and add to pot. Cook until tingesofbrown appear on all sides, about8 minutes. Transfer to aplate,and setaside.
Addremaining oiltothe potand sauteonionuntil soft, about5 minutes. Addthe garlic, sweetpotatoand ginger, stirring frequently, about3minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Return chickentothe potand add chilies (optional) and 2cupschickenstock.Bring to aboiland simmer on lowfor about15minutes.
In amediumbowl, whisktogetherthe peanut butter and remainingcup of chickenstock.Stirthe mixtureintothe soup.Add chopped spinachand simmer forabout 5minutes. Adjust seasoningand serveinbowls with peanutssprinkled on top.
The meaningoflifeisto find your gift. The purpose of lifeistogive it away.
—Pablo Picasso
If nature hasmadeyou for agiver, your hands areborn open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when yourhands are empty, your heart is always full.
—Frances HodgsonBurnett
Rememberthat thehappiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.
—Robin Sharma
No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.
—James Allen
Winter Wishes
giving from theheart
Some people arenatural gift-givers. They seem to instinctivelyknowthe perfectitemthatwilllight up someone’sface,and they take pride in making every exchange feel personal.For therestofus, choosing giftscan feel overwhelming—where do youevenstart? Agood rule of thumbistobegin with theperson, not thepresent.Whatdo they enjoy, howdotheyspend their time,and more importantly, what little luxuries wouldtheyrarelybuy forthemselves?
Once you’ve answered thosequestions, consider these ideas forinspiration:self-caretreatstonurture their well-being, ways to spoiltheir (oryour) furrycompanions,cleversmart-homeupgrades that add convenience,personalizedpresentstomakethemfeelseen, adventures andlearningopportunities to sparkcuriosity,oraDIY creation that comesstraightfromthe heart.
GiftingSelf-Care
Forthe deservingsouls on your holiday list whogiveand give to others,considerthe gift of self-care. Here are10ideas forpresentstohelpyourloved ones pause, pamper andrestore!
1.
Ajournal or plannertorecordthoughts, tracktheir dailyjourney or stay organized. Trythe PassionPlanner (passionplanner. com, weekly planners from $55),a beautifullydesignedplanner with space to dream andgrow. Pair with stickers andwashi tape,as well as aselection of gelpens.
2.
Forthe consciously flexibleoranyone lookingtomaintainfunctionalstrength, trygivingyogagear. Anew mat(with a strapfor toting)inaspunky, upliftingcolor or design, or ablock (foamfor restorativeposes; cork forsupport andbalance) canhelpbuddingyogis keep their pose game fresh.
Winter Wishes
FotoHelin, stock.adobe.com
3.
Theuse of essentialoilsfor health and wellness benefits is common practice,and aromatherapy diffuserspairessential oils andwater vaportokeepyourenvironment smellingclean andfresh.
4.
Forthe carpoolparentand caregiving errand runner whospendshours aday in their vehicle, consider agift certificate for acar detailing, includingsteam-cleaned upholstery anda nice newair freshener!
Bath bombs, bath saltsand all thebody buttersturntub time into ahighlyanticipatedwellnessritual. Forbathbombs that foam forever, andhappentobevegan and cruelty-freeaswell, trythe incredible selectionatLush(lush.com).
7.
Heated eyemasks add weight and warmth to relaxfacial muscles,block light andeasedry eyes. Lookfor asoft,removable andwashablecover.Microwaveable versions areperfectly respectable, or spring fora USB-chargedelectronic version, includingmasks that add gentle massage.
8.
Meditation has proven health benefits,so tryasubscriptiontoaprovider like Headspace or Calm.
9.
Newpajamas areaclassic holiday gift, butdon’t overlook comfortableloungewear —soft knitswithcomfortable waistbands areperfect forsleepy, snowyweekends when youhavetogoout butyourheart is still in bed.
10.
Feel cozy,calmand secure with aweighted blanket. Search forone that has a stitched grid small enough to keep the filler beads(typicallyglass)welldistributed. An easy to add/removewashablecover is a plus.
ThoughtfulPresentsfor Pets and thepeople who love them
Here areyoureight best bets fora petgiftthatwill be appreciatedand remembered
By SamMazzotta
Pets arepartofthe family,and celebratingthe holidayswouldn’t be completewithout them. Andpet owners appreciate thoughtful giftsfor their furry(or scaly, or feathered) companions Notall giftsare appropriate, though.Beforerunning outand buying the first flashy petgift yousee,keepa fewthings in mind. Here’s what nottobuy forsomeone else’s pet(unlessyou’veasked them first):
•Pet beds:Dogs andcatscan be finickyabout wheretheysleep andrest, and findingthe perfectbed forthemcan take afew tries. If youbuy this gift,makesurea generous return/refundpolicycomes with it.
•Food andtreats: Many pets areonspecial diets.
•Stuffed toys: They’reeasyto chew to pieces, creating achoking hazard,and will cluttertheir home.
Winter Wishes
1 Apersonalized collar and/orleash. There’snothinglikeabedazzledcollartoshowoff apet. Andowners like keepinganextra collar andleash around
4 Anew puppygift basket. Forfamilies gettingapuppy,a basket filled with puppy-appropriate treats, toys, soft blankets, trainingpadsand agift card will be appreciated.
5 Coveravet visit. Forseniors,students or friends in atough spot,a gift card to coverawellnessvisit is atremendoushelp. Annual checkups can costover$200.
6 Ayearofpet insurance. Costsfor pet insurancevarywidely,but forpuppy owners,pet insurancethatreimburses their costs forthe firstyearisafantastic gift
7 Pet-themedhousehold items. A welcome matwitha bone or paw prints, kitchentowelswithgamboling kittens, amug with pets’names printed on them —all giftsunder $20 that pet moms anddadswill love.
8 Privateorgroup dog training. While aprivate sessioncan cost$150 per hour,group trainingfor most breeds runs about$200-$300 percourse. This is agift you’ll want to talk to theowner about first, butcoveringtheir puppy’s trainingwill be arealrelief to their wallet.
Winter Wishes
By SamMazzotta
ASmart Home Gifts for the SmartHomeFanatic
re youlooking foragift forsomeone who’sinterestedinupgradingtheir houseto asmart home?Frombasic smartmonitorstofullyautomated systems,you’vegot plenty of itemstochoosefrom. Butwhichsmart device is asmart gift —and which will be apaperweight?Here’saquick guide to choosingthe rightsmart home device.
ASMART START: THEBASEDEVICE
If your recipientdoesnot alreadyown a smartspeaker or hub, thebestgifttogiveis thebasestation that will tietogetherdevices as they add them. Amazon’s Echo and Apple’sHomePod (whichworks on the Appleecosystem) arepopular choices. Software like Google’s Home or Amazon’sAlexa connects to hundreds of smartdevices and appliances from different manufacturers, allowingusers to controlthemthrough the software “hub”without having to open the manufacturer’scontrol app.
No need to struggle outsidein winter weathertocheck your barometerand temperature.Gift aweather stationthatconnects to AlexaorGoogleorApple.
HomeSecurity
Products like SimpliSafe make it possible to setupmultiple security camerasand sensors to protectagainstintrudersand receivewarnings even when not at home
Thermostat
Connectedthermostats like ecobee,Nestand Sensiprovide precisedigital readings andallowusers to controltheir home’s temperature remotely.Prices range from around $50 to over $200.
VideoDoorbell
Ring,Blinkand SimpliSafe canconnect throughthe base stationand asmartphoneto alertusers when someonerings thedoorbell. They canalsobe configuredasmotionsensors. Expect to pay$35 andup.
WaterSensors
TheseBluetooth-connected devices alertusers to increased moisture in bathrooms, kitchensand basements—helping to minimize waterdamagewhen abathtub overflowsorapipe breaks.
Motion Sensor/Bluetooth Light Switches
Save up to 25% more energy with motion sensor switches that turn lightsonwhenyou enterthe room.Picka Bluetooth-connectedswitch,and youcan schedule or control lightsthrough your Amazon or Google device.Pay as little as $15 fora connectedmotion sensor switch.
Automatic Shades
Pricey butimpressive, connected shades, like thosefrom Smartwings canopenorclose basedonsunriseand sunset timesinyourarea, or by voice command.
(www.smartwingshome.com)
imagecredits: ecco,stock.adobe.com
This year’s trendiestgift: blind boxes
By SamMazzotta
“Blindboxes”are thehottest trendinthe collectibles industry rightnow,and that’s part of what makesthemagreat gift ideafor friends or familymembers wholovesurprises or whocollect varioustoys, cardsorother productseries.
Availableassinglepurchases or as part of asubscription, blindboxes areoften beautifullydesigned —sothey’re as nice to look at unopened as when they are finallyopenedto reveal thecollectible item inside.
Thetypeofitemvaries. Inside,itcould be a figurine, atoy or akit that youhavetobuild. Thecatch:You don’tknow what’s actuallyinside.And that is theattraction that blind boxesholdfor collectors.Justlikeholdingalottery ticket
minutes before thenumbers aredrawn,anunopenedblind boxgenerates athrill of anticipation that’s often better than thejoy of finallyopeningittosee what’s inside.
Further, becauseblindboxes typicallyoffer itemsthat arepartofacollectible set, people keep comingbackfor more,buyingbox after boxtobuild their collection. They’re lookingfor rare andlimitededition items. Best of all,blind boxesare affordable—usuallyunder $20 —makingiteasy to getintocollectingthem.
That is part of what makesblindboxes agreat gift.You canbuy asubscriptiontoa blindbox delivery service,or purchaseindividualblindboxes to give to friendsorfamily. Collectors andkidsalike will appreciate this thoughtful gift.
Winter Wishes
PhotobyTadaImages, stock.adobe.com
BLINDBOX LINGO:
•Chase: acollectible in aseries that has thelowestoddsof beingfound,and is therefore more rare.Somemanufacturers obscuretheir “chase” items, increasingthe mystery around them.
•Foil: High-endblindbox collectible boxesare lined with foil wrap to preventpeople from usinghigh-techdevices to seewhat’sinside.
•Mystery box: Similartoblind boxes, butnot always tied to a themeorseries.
•Lucky bag: An earlyname forblind/mystery boxes. The “lucky bag” (fukubukuro) originated in Japan’sdepartment stores andwas away to repackageand sell leftover inventory. Today’sblindboxes arehardlyleft over,asbuyersscramble to find that rare chase figure.
•Unboxing: Literally, opening andtakingout thecollectible item from ablindbox.Unboxingvideos aremassively popularonsocialmedia.
PhotobyLarissa,stock.adobe.com
Making it personal
Exceptionalgifts aretuned especially to therecipient.These ideasput personalizationfront andcentersothe presentisall aboutthe person.
1.
Commissionedart. Hire an illustrator to create aportraitofa family member, treasuredpet or favorite location.Find an artist whoworks in astyle your recipientwould like,whether that’s cartoon, traditional,minimalistlineart or watercolors.
2.
Engraved MaporCoordinatesJewelry.Keepmeaningfulplaces closetoyour heartwithjewelry that’s etched with the coordinates of abirthplace,engagement spot or your favorite person’s favorite city.Searchfor jewelrymade with maps that featureyourhometown, or maybe whereyourparents honeymooned.
Mari Dein, oiland palette knifeoncanvas, stock.adobe.com
3.
Birthstone Items. Jewelryfeaturing birthstonesisa timelesskeepsakefor anyone. Lookfor delicaterings, necklaces, or cufflinks featuringbirthstones. Afresh take is “family” jewelry, whichcombines stones forkids, siblings, or partners.Mom mayloveanecklace with abirthstone charmfor each child; let Dadsparkle with abirthstonesignetring.
4.
MonogrammedGoods. Everyday items canbeheirloomswhentheyhavethe addition of afancy monogram. Thinkleather keyfob or wallet; atotebag with initials; personalizedcharcuterie boardorcutting board; or coasters with thefamilyname.
5.
Custom PhotoPuzzles. Afun activity that turnsintoa family keepsake, puzzles from afamilyphoto,vacationsnapshot, or even achild’sartwork areeasytocreateand canbemade in differentsizes and difficultylevels.
6.
PrintedTextiles. Addpersonality to your home with acustom-printed fabric item. Consider teatowelsorapronsprinted with heirloom handwrittenfamilyrecipes. Or cozy throwblankets or pillow coversthatfeature family photos or artwork.
7.
MixtapeorCurated Playlist. Music capturesmemories. Create acustomplaylist of songsthatspeak to afriendship, alove, amomentintime. Burn it to aCD, completewithcustomart coverand tracklist on theback. Or,createa Spotify/Amazon/ Applemusic playlist with aprinted insert explainingyoursongchoices.
8.
EmbroideredGoods. Hand-embroidered details harken back to asimpler time andfeelintimate. That’s whytheymakea beautifulgift. Thinkhandkerchiefs,napkins,orpillowcases with names, quotes or song lyrics; embroidered patchesfor jackets or tote bags; even clever recreationsof an old-school“sampler” that featurepersonaltouches.
GiftingExperiences
from virtual workshops to in-personadventures
By SamMazzotta
Watercolor,Drawing & Painting: SiteslikeDomestika offer thousandsofgroup courses in amonthly or yearly subscription package, or fora one-time course fee(many under $20).
Ifthe Covid-19 pandemic hadasilver lining, it wasthe explosionofvirtual experiences availabletoanyone, anytime, anywhere in theworld.Online coursesoffer rich learningexperiences that areeminentlygiftable.
Virtualconcerts bringpopular bands andgreat performances rightintoyour home.YouTube dominates this category,but MomentHouseisstill plugging alongwithscheduled performances that canbebookedonits site (MomentHouse.com).
ANew Language: Gifting asubscriptiontoa language app like Duolingo or RosettaStone is agreat waytoget started. Or,how aboutasignlanguagecourse? ASLBloom, Lingvano andSignSchool teachcomprehensive, accurate American Sign Language.
PrivateYoga: YouTube teemswithyoga sessions that are easy to follow alongwith, buta one-on-one virtualsessionwitha gurucan improveform, prevent injury andboost confidence.
Monkey Business, stock.adobe.com
Hybrid Workshops: Awelcome offshoot of completelyvirtual workshops,the hybrid workshopcombinesavirtual classwiththe righttools andsupplies. From cookingand cocktail making, to painting andclayart,hybridworkshops provide amorepersonalized experience.You canpurchase credit,gift cardsorasubscriptionfor your favorite person from siteslikeUncommonGoods, which shipsthe suppliesfor aclass aheadoftime.
Genealogy: Help someonetrace their familytreewithanannualsubscriptiontoAncestry, FindMyPast, or FamilySearch.Or, buythemavirtual sessionwitha professionalgenealogist.
Career Development hastaken off thanks to apps like Coursera, Master Classand Wondrium. Subscriptionsare affordableand open aworld of skillsand knowledge. From computer science andinteriordesign to history, literature andonward, thegift of virtuallearningcanimmeasurably improvesomeone’s life.
In-PersonAdventures: Does your giftee prefer their adventures to stay IRL? Here areafew ideas:
•Local attractions: Aseasonpass, one-time pass,orgift card to anearbytheme park, museumsorother attractionsprovides real enrichment.
•Pottery classes: There’sareasonthatsmall potterystudios aresurviving —painting and firing clay artisfun!Purchaseagift card or aclass forsomeone youknowwho lovescraftsand clay art.
•Skydiving (orskydiving simulators): I guessafew people DO enjoythe idea. Checkwiththem firstbeforepresenting this gift.
•Get outdoors:Gift aNationalParks pass ($80,available at REI, LL Bean or shop. usparkpass.com) or astate parkspass to someonewho lovescamping.Or, gift them aguidedtriporastayatAMC’s High Mountain Huts (www.outdoors.org).
SpaDay: From skincare to relaxingfacialstomakeuptutorials, recipients cantreat themselves andbeatthe winter blahs.
MusicLessons: Learntoplay
an instrument,singorstudy music theory.Lessons andsubscription packages canguide buddingartists throughthe basics andbeyond.
AstrologyReading: Bin thoseexpensive psychic readings andgift avirtual classonhow to read your ownbirth chart.
Merry, Mindful, and Healthier:
Homemade FoodGifts for the Holidays
ByPatti Diamond, Divasona Dime
The holidaysare a time forindulging in belovedtreatsand traditions—but this year,my family is giving ours agentle makeover.Not acookiecancellation(perish thethought!), just ashifttowardlowersugar, higher-protein, wholefood options alongsideour nostalgicfavorites.
Thegoal?Tocreatenew, wholesometraditionswe’ll love everybit as much as theold ones. Andwe’re not alone—somanyfriends and
readerstellmetheir families arecraving thesamechange. Whetherit’ssupportingloved ones with diabetes, heartissues,allergies, chronic inflammation or simplyadesirefor healthier habits, it’s agiftof wellness wrappedinsomethingdelicious.
Theserecipes arejustthe thingfor thoughtful,healthconscious holiday giving.Easy to make,budget-friendlyand packed with flavor —they provethat“better foryou” can still feel indulgent.
JasonCoblentz/DivasonaDime
Winter Wishes
DARK CHOCOLATE BARK
Melt unsweeteneddarkchocolate andspread it outonparchment paper. Topwithnutsand asprinkleofsea salt.Onceset, breakitinto pieces andpackageitinadecorativebox or jar. Dark chocolateislower in sugar, andthe nuts andseedsprovide healthyfatsand fiber, makingthistreat both indulgentand nutritious.
MAPLE TOASTEDCOCONUT CASHEWS
Yield: 12 servings |Total Time:30mins
•3 cups roasted, unsalted cashews
•½ cupshreddedcoconut flakes, unsweetened
•¼ teaspoonsalt(optional)
•1 tablespooncoconut oil, melted
•3 tablespoons maplesyrup
•2 tablespoons demerara sugar
Preheat oven to 300 Fand line abaking sheet with parchment. In amixingbowl, mix cashews, coconutand salt.Meltthe coconut oiland combinewiththe maplesyrup.Stirin maplesyrup mixturetocoatcashewmixture. Addsugarand stir once more.Spreadthe mixture on thebakingsheet ina singlelayer with gaps forairflow.Bake15minutes, flip andbake another10minutes until golden. Cool for30 minutes before storing.
NO-BAKE CASHEW COCONUT BITES
Yield: 32 pieces |Total Time:1 hr,10mins
•½ cupmedjool dates, chopped,tightly packed
•1 cuproasted,unsaltedcashews
•1 cupshreddedcoconut flakes, unsweetened
•½ cupoats
•½ teaspooncinnamon
•2 tablespoons chia seeds
•½ tablespoonpuremaple syrup
•2 tablespoons coconutoil,melted
•½ teaspoonvanillaextract
Blitzdates andcashews in afoodprocessor until chopped.Add coconut, oats andcinnamon, andpulse.Add in chia seeds, maplesyrup, coconutoil andvanillaand pulseuntil combined. Pressintoa parchment-linedloafpan andrefrigerate until firm.Slice into squares.
PEANUT BUTTER STUFFED DATES
Yield: 1dozen |Total Time:1 hr,15mins
•12Medjool dates, pitted
•¼ cuppeanutbutter
•¼ cuproasted peanuts, chopped
•2 tablespoons dark chocolate, chopped
Slice dateslengthwiseand remove pits. Fill each date with 1teaspoonpeanutbutter. Sprinklethe sticky peanut butter with chopped peanuts anddarkchocolate. Chillbeforeserving.
Easy giftable treats: 3No-Bake PeanutButter Delights for the Holidays
Amongthe optionsfor holiday recipes, there’sa classicduo that is always popular: peanut butter andchocolate.We’re goingtogivethe oven abreak todayaswecraft threeno-bake wonders.
By PattiDiamond,Divas on aDime
THE EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE
Yield: 40 pieces |Total Time:1 hr
4cupsgranulatedsugar
1cup milk
2cupspeanutbutter
1tablespoonbutter
1tablespoonvanillaextract
Line a9x13 baking panwithparchment paperand setaside.Ina heavybottomedsaucepan, setovermediumheat, slowly bringmilk andsugartoaboil. Boil forexactly4minutes, stirring constantly to dissolvethe sugar into themilk.Overcooking leadstocrumbly fudge. Remove from heat,stirinpeanutbutter, butter andvanillauntil well-incorporated and smooth.Pourintoyourpreparedpan,let cool completely, then cutintodelicious squares.
Tobias Arhelger, stock.adobe.com
The followingrecipes requiremeltedchocolate. Meltingchocolate in themicrowave is aquick andeasy process. Breakyourchocolate into small,uniform pieces to ensure even melting.Place them in a microwave-safe bowl andheatin15-secondintervals,stirring after each interval. This prevents overheating andmaintains asmoothtexture. Typically, it takesaround1to2minutes, depending on thequantityand type of chocolate. Just be patient, stir well andyou’llberewardedwithsilky, smooth chocolate.
PEANUT BUTTER TRUFFLES
Yield: 90 pieces |Total Time:1 hr
3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1½ cups creamy peanut butter 8tablespoons butter,softened 1tablespoonvanillaextract ½teaspoontable salt
2½ cups chocolatechips or chocolatecandy coating
Mixpowdered sugar, peanut butter,butter, vanillaand salt until well-combined.Shape into 1-inchballs, placingthem on waxed or parchmentpaper.Let ballsstand for20minutes until firm.Meltchocolate accordingtodirections. Usingafork or skewer,dip each ball in thechocolate andlet them setto harden. Storecovered in acool, dryplace.
stock.adobe.com
NO BAKE CHOCOLATEPEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Yield: 30 sandwich cookies| Total: 1hr30mn
1cup peanut butter
60 butterycrackers (suchasRitz, 2sleeves)
2½ cups chocolatechips or chocolatecandy coating
Line abakingsheet with parchmentorwaxed paper. Spread a generous 1teaspoonofpeanutbutterontohalfofthe crackers, then topwiththe remainingcrackers.Put them on your preparedbakingsheet andrefrigerate until firm (20-30 minutes). Melt chocolateaccordingtodirections. Dipeachsandwichinto chocolatetocoatand refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes). Storeinanairtightcontainer foruptoone week.
AlenaKos, stock.adobe.com
GIVING
for the seniorwho has everything
Someseniors have acquired so much “stuff”overthe yearsthatitfeels like they have nearly everything andmore. If you’ve held off buying agift forasenior in your lifebecause youdon’t know what to getsomeone whoalready has everything, here area fewgift ideasthatwould be most welcome.
•Gift certificatesfor rides, restaurant meals, laundryservices, auto detailing, spaorhairsalon services.
•Gift basket createdespeciallyfor your senior,suchasgourmet food,cheese, jams or chocolate. Or considera subscription to aquarterly or monthly gift club.Options range from fruit baskets to bacon, coffee andcigars or cupcakes.
•Two ticketstoa play or otherevent whereyou’llaccompanyyoursenior, or apairofmovie passes so your seniorcan take afriend.
•Pay forasenior’slifelonglearning class, either at thesenior centeror nearby university, andarrange for transportation.
•Put together abox of useful things,like stamps,notecards andaddresslabels, alongwithacalendarwithlarge print.
•Makesingleserving mealsfor the
freezer.Havethe grandkidsdecorate labels foreachmealwithwords of love.
•Don’t leaveout your ownparticipation andthatofyourchildren. Asmall couponbookfull of services youcan do year round, such as cleaning, painting aroom, weedingthe garden, raking
leaves andcheckingexpiration dates on food in thecupboardall will be appreciated.
•Sendfresh flowers, or better yet, deliver abouquet of themonth yourself. What do seniors really want most? Thegift of your time.
Winter Wishes
HAPPY at HOME
CELEBRATETHE JOYOFTIME TOGETHER
Thesmells of Christmasare thesmells of childhood. —Richard Paul Evans
Kindness is likesnow. It beautifies everything it covers. —Kahlil Gibran
Hanukkahisabout thesparkofthe divine in allofusmade visiblethrough hope,resilience, andjoy.— Unknown
Thegreatestlegacywecan leaveour childrenishappy memories.– Og Mandino
Winter Wishes
ByAmy Anderson
I3From-the-HeartDIY
fyou’reheadedintothisholiday season thinking timesare toughand moneyistight,Ihavegoodnews: Themostmeaningful giftsdon’t come from astore;theycomefromyourtime, effort andthoughtfulness. Thinkofhow abox of candyfroma storeis nice,but freshlybaked cookies in your favorite flavor hitdifferently Just becauseit’sDIY doesn’tmeanitcan’t be cute andusable foranyoneonyourlist. Here arethree simple,heartfelt DIYprojects —pineconefirestarters,a jarofencouragement notesand ahand-painted flowerpot—tospark your creative (and thrifty) gift-givingplans
1.
Pinecone Fire Starters
Foranyonewitha fireplace or fire pit,thiscozy, thoughtful gift perfectly addswarmthand ambiance on acold night.
Supplies Needed:
•Clean,dry pinecones
•Wax (old candles,soy wax, or paraffin)
•Wicktrimmings or candle wicks (optional, helps with lighting)
1. Melt wax carefullyin adouble boiler or heat-safe container. Add
essential oils or fragrances (if using) andstir.
2. Wrap wick around pinecone,leavingacoupleofinchesstickingout for lighting.
3. Dippinecones into wax, coating thoroughly;allow to cool andharden. Repeat forstrongercoating.
4. Before wax dries, sprinkle on anyof thefollowing forextra flair(or flare).
•Dried herbs (lavender,rosemary)for acharminglook
•Glitter,which will sparkleas it burns
•Table salt forayellowglow, Epsomsaltfor awhite glow, Borax foragreen glow
5. Bundle afew pineconeswithribbon forgifting.
GiftstoMake with LOVE
2.
Encouragement Jar
Provide ongoingsupport andlove throughout theyearwithajar of notes that canbereadanytime they areneeded.It’slikegivingsomeone ahug for everyhardday.
Supplies Needed:
•Mason jarordecorativecontainer
•Colorfulpaper or index cards
•Pensormarkers
•Ribbon, stickers,orwashi tape for decoration
To Assemblethe Jar:
1. Cutpaper into slips.
2. Writeprompts like “Openwhenyou feel discouraged,”“Open when youneed alaugh,” “Openwhenyou miss me.”
Addheartfelt notes, quotes, or memories on each.
3. Fold andplace notesintothe jar.
4. Decorate thejar with ribbon,stickers, or alabel.
5. Presentitwithinstructions: “Open onewheneveryou need alift,” or You’re lovedevery day.”
3.
Hand-PaintedFlowerpot
Gardenersoften have plants to spare (and share). Combineyourplant babies with aprettybut simplepainted pot, and your gift recipientcan enjoyboththe pot andthe living plantinside.Itwill make them smile andthinkofyou everytime they waterthe plant.
Supplies Needed:
•Plain terra-cottaorceramic flowerpot
•Acrylic paints or paintpens
•Paintbrushes
•Clear sealantspray (toprotect design)
•Small plant, herb,or flowersfrom your garden
To Paintthe Pot:
1. Cleanand drythe pot.
2. Sketch asimpledesignorpaint freehand—think florals, geometricpatterns, or wordsofencouragement.Handprints of children work very well forgrandparentgifts.
3. Allowpaint to dry, then spraywith sealant.
4. Planta flower,herb, or succulentfrom your garden inside.
5. Addahandmadegift tagfor a finishingtouch.
Gift-givingisnot aboutperfection, but intention. When youthink it through andput effortintothe execution, ahandmade gift carries love in everydetail.
Candles glow this monthonour advent wreath,onmyhusband’s birthday cake andonour frontporch to welcome guests throughout theholidayseason. Different occasions,different meanings, butthe candles areuniversal. There’ssomethingabout that small circleoflight that has drawn people together since thebeginningoftime. So no matter what you’re celebratingthisholiday season,light acandleand let itsgentleflickerdrawyou closer to the people andcommunity youlove.
LUMINARIAS
Your children will keep busy indoorsaddingtheir creativetouches to these“paper lamps,”and thewhole family will enjoysetting them outside before dusk.Place flickeringlightsalong apathway to your home,oronadeckor porchtowelcome eveningguests.
FLOATING VOTIVES
Fill atall,clear vase one-thirdfull with freshcranberries. Addwater anda candle floating on topnearthe rim.
Fold thetop of apaper lunchbag over 1inchtoform acuff. Useapaper punchtocreatedotteddesigns belowthe cuff on thetop half of thebag.Or, decorate with stickers.Bring thebagsoutside,poura cuportwo of sand in each oneand place avotivecandleinthe center. Line your walkwaywithdozensofbagsifyou wish,or clusterseveral together on your porch. Make extra luminarias andshare them with your neighborstolight up your street.
Winter Wishes
DonnaErickson
CANDLESINAJAR
Pour 1cup of sand into aclear,glass canningorjam jarand nestle avotivecandleinthe sand.Makeseveral foraneye-catchingdisplay.
OUTDOOR ICECANDLES
Fill aballoonwithwater untilitisthe size of asoftball.Blowonceintothe balloonand tieaknot. Place in aplastic bowl or deli containerand setinthe freezer forabout 6hours.Onceathickshell of ice has formed inside theballoonbut youstill hear some watersloshinginside theshell,pop theballoonand discard of it properly.Pourthe excesswater outtoleave acavityinthe middle whereavotivecandlewill laterbeplaced. Refreeze.
At sunset, remove from thefreezer,place a votive candle in thecavityand light it outside.It will sparklelikecrystal!
If youmakethe ice candles in an area where thetemperature is abovefreezingthe next day, storeitinyourfreezer
Indoor use: Fill adecorativebowlwithsnow or chippedice.Set theice candle in themiddle of theice,and light fora centerpiece on abuffet table.
Safety note: An adultshouldalwaysbepresent when burningcandles. Keep an eyeonburning candles (and neverleave children unsupervised around burningcandles).
SNOWBALL LAMP
Afterasnowfall,besuretoinclude all ages in making thesnowball lamp.
In your yard,arrange 12-14 snowballstogetherin aringshape.Securelynestleavotiveorpillarcandle in themiddle of thering. Adda second ring of 10-12 snowballsontop of thefirst.Continuetopilesnowball ringsontop,makingeachringslightly smaller than the onebeforeuntil youare leftwitha small opening at the toplarge enough foryou to reachintolight thecandleatsunset. Thecheeryglowofthe candle will shine throughthe snowballs.
DonnaErickson
By DonnaErickson
IPick aPen From a Holiday Bouquet
love howsimple, decorative holiday touches add charm, sparkleand extra glitztoour home.Evenour draband dull calendararea in thekitchen gets aseasonallift.
“Out”withaboringcontainer jam-packedwithmismatched pens,markersand unsightly pencils, and“in”withacolorful, mock floral bouquet of spiffedup new, inexpensive pens that I decorate andarrange in afavorite bowl.Nolongerdullsville, now shinymini ball ornaments, glittery starsand bright-red poinsettias topthe slim pens to brighten thespace forthe holidays.
Notonlyattractive andhandy, they arealsoa thoughtful token to give friends when they come by forholiday visits andgatherings. NowIjustsay,“Pick apen!”before adults andkidsheadout the door.It’sanice little mementoof ourtimetogether.
Then, purchaseseveralpens, such as roundstick pens that areflatontop.
2. Attach toppersusinggreen floral tape.Place a stem or wire of theobjectgoingupwardabout 11/2 inches from theend of thepen with theflowerorcharm on thetop endofthe pen. Hold in place andwrapthe entire lengthofthe penwiththe tape.Wrapwitha slight angle to preventbunching.
Here’s howto do theeasycraft,perfect for involvingyourkids:
1. Gather silk flowersand holiday charms with wire attached to decorate thetopsofthe pens.
Alternatemethodusing a glue gun: An adultshould carefullyremovethe button at theend of thepen with an X-acto-style knife. Insert a tine stem or narrow part of an objectinthe hole andsecure in place with thegluegun. Wrap with tape as described above.
3. Arrange pens in apretty containerfilled with whiterice or Arboriorice.
Extraidea: Usedecorated pens as placecards at your holiday table. Setone by each plateovera mini notepad. On thetop page,write the guest’s name.
Winter Wishes
DonnaErickson
Fragrant & Natural
Make pomander balls for holiday decorand gift-giving
By DonnaErickson
Inserting wholeclovesintoa firm appleorcitrus fruit to create what is knownasapomander is alovelytraditional craft youmight remember doing when youwereyoung.‘Tisthe season to pass this artful funontoyourown kids or grandkids. Easy to make,pomander balls’ rustic beauty andholiday scent make them unique giftsfor friends andneighborsthat will last long into thenew year.
Forthisversionusingapples,you’llneed to do some shoppingfor just twoingredients: wholeclovesand apples. Ieconomize by buying cloves in bulk at our neighborhood co-opgrocerystore.You mayalso find them in jars in thespice sectionofmostmarkets. Use anysize appleyou prefer. This year,Ichose cute, small snack-size apples ratherthanlargerones, whichmakes creating alovelyclove-studdedapple easier forkidsto completeinone sitting.
Here’s the stuff forone pomander ball covered with cloves:
•Fresh, firm apple
•Whole cloves
•Narrowfestive ribbon
•Toothpick or bamboo skewer
•Gift boxto fit finishedpomander ball andone sheet of tissuepaper (for gift-giving)
Here’s the fun:
To coverthe entire applewithcloves, usethe toothpick or bamboo skewer andpokeseveral evenly spaced small holes making acircularpattern throughthe apple skin, beginningnearthe topstem. Insert cloves oneby oneintothese holes, like a“dottodot”activity. (Leave space betweenthe cloves, as theapple will shrink in size.) Continue making holes around andaroundthe appleand fillingthemwithclovesuntil youreach thebase.
Foragift,decoratethe clove-studdedapple by criss-crossingcolorfulribbonarounditverticallyonce or twice andtoppingitwithalooptohanginawindowsill or on awreath. Fora nice presentation,set in small gift boxwith tissuepaper.Whenthe recipientliftsthe lid,the delicious,spicy scentwillpermeatethe air.
DonnaErickson
Cute & Edible
HOWTOMAKEA MARSHMALLOWSNOWMAN
Onacold, wintry day, whip up asnack with thekidsthatpairs perfectlywith ahot cupofcocoa!Children love assembling —and then eating —these cute marshmallowsnowmen.Assemblesupplies andunleashyourcreativity.
Usingstick pretzels,connect threemarshmallowsstacked oneontop of theother.
Usepretzels forarmsand legs.
Usewriting icingtocreateaface,buttons down thefront or to outlineascarf between thetop andmiddle marshmallows. Getcreativeand useawedge of jelliedfruit fora nose or astrip of fruit leatherasa scarf. Make sure yougiveyoursnowman abig smile or aplayful smirk.
Admiretheneat!
Winter Wishes
AdobeStock Azurita
Hanukkah Craft and Play
Make aDreidel Decoration andTreat Container
By DonnaErickson
DuringHanukkah, theJewishfestivalof lights, children play atraditional game with adreidel, afour-sided Hanukkah top. You andyourkidscan create your owndreidel-shaped decoration to give as aparty favor, arrange on aholiday tableoruse as averyspecial boxfor a small gift.
Here’s the stuff youneed:
•1 half-pintclean anddry cardboardmilk carton or asmall,squarebox
•Stapler
•Tempera or acrylic paints
•Markers andpencil
•Decoratingmaterials such as coloredtissue, foil,paper strips, glitter, fabric scraps
•Household glue
Here’s the fun:
Place thesupplies on anewspaper-covered table. If youare making thedreideltobeusedas agift box, putsometissuepaper inside themilk carton or box. Then tuck thegift in thetissuepaper. If you’re usinga milk carton,carefullystaple shut thespout of thecartonand paintit, covering it completely. Letdry.
Turn thecartonupside down,and usethe marker or paintinsqueezebottles to writeadifferent Hebrew letteroneachofthe four sides. They beginthe Hebrew wordsthatmean, “a great miracle happened here.” (Gotowww.holidays. net/chanukah/dreidel.html to seehow to write theletters.You’llalsobeabletoreadthe wordsto thesong, hear themelodyand play thegame.)
Decorate thecartonorbox.Ifyou’reusinga carton,pokeapencilthrough thebottomsothat thedecorationlooks like atop.(If thereisagift inside,besuretopokecarefully!)
If you’re usinga box, poke thepencilall theway throughitand outthe otherend.
Doyou want to make some doughwiththe kids this weekend? Putawaythe eggs and thebutter, becausehereare tworecipes forafamilyholiday craft youcan enjoythat doesn’t involveeating. Theholidaysare busy,sodiscoverhow nice it is to pauseand simply do somethingfun together.
Whetherit’sasimpledough of flour, salt andwater,oranaromaticdough requiringonly twoingredients in very oddproportion—equal partsapplesauce andcinnamon —creativityisendlessasyou shapeeye-catchingornaments foryourtreeorasagift tag, or builda mini indoor snowman.
Winter Wishes
DonnaErickson
Salt Dough
This traditional salt-doughrecipe, whichiseasytomix androll outorsculpt, is akeeper. Once thecreations areslow-baked in an oven, grab paints,glueand glitterfromyourcraft drawer, buttons andbeads from ajar,and getcrafting.
Here’s thebasic stuff youneed:
•2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 cupsalt
•1 cupwater
•Medium-size mixingbowl, rollingpin, cookie sheet
•Toothpick or straw
•Acrylic paints
•White household glue,optional
•Ribbonorwire
•Cookiecutters
Mixthe flour, salt andwater together in amedium-size bowl. Kneadseveraltimes on a flouredboard or countertop.Ifthe dough is toodry,justadd abit more water. It it’s toosticky, add flour. Now youare readytoshape andbakethe dough. To theright aretwo ideas to getyourstarted:
Make Holiday Ornaments
Roll outthe doughwitharollingpin to 1/2-inch thickness. Dipcookiecutters in flourand cutout your favorite shapes. Poke aholenearthe topwitha toothpickorstraw forhanging on atreeorgarland,or throughribbons on thetop of presents.
Make Whimsical Sculptures
Play with some of theclayinyourhands andshape into asnowman,house,birdorreindeer.
Bake thecutouts or small sculptures on atrayinan oven heated to 250Ffor about1 1/2 hours, or until doughishardtothe touch. Cool completelyona rack.
Paintwithacrylic paints andlet dry. Forextra shine, coat with whitehousehold glue. Thread ribbon or wire throughornaments, twistortie.
ExtraIdea: Make your owncookiecuttershapes forsmall handstograbontobybendingand shaping with pliersthe open endofsmall tomato sauce cans. Shapeintoasymbolofthe season,suchasa star.
Aromatic Apple Cinnamon Dough
Youdefinitely won’twanttoeat this concoction,but youcan enjoyits deliciousscentascut-outsfor tree ornaments, gift tags andevenjewelry for holiday gifts. Welcome to AppleCinnamonDough!
Here’s what you’ll need for asmall batchofdoughtostart:
Mixtogetherequal partscinnamon andcommerciallymade applesauce.If it gets abit sticky,add more cinnamon. If it’s toostiff,try more applesauce. Scoopontoapiece of waxedpaper, place anothersheet on topand roll it
out until it’s almost 1/2 inch thick. Stop anddecide what “charms” forjewelry or ornament shapes youwould like to create —stars,hearts, pine trees, alphabetletters,etc.Use cookie cuttersyou have,ormakeyourown templatesby cuttingout pieces of cardboardfroma cerealbox in thedesired shapes. Place on topofthe doughand trim away the dougharoundthe pattern.
Useadrinkingstraw to poke ahole in shapes forthreadinglater onto ribbon or string.Use atoothpick and carvedetails,suchasscales on a fish or asmile on acrescentmoon.
When complete, place them on a coolingrackand allow them to air-dry forabout 24 hoursormoreuntil they arenice andhard. Or,anadult mayset
them on abakingsheet andplace in a 200 Fovenfor abouttwo hoursoruntil hard.
Time to decorate!Usingacrylic craft paints in squeezebottles, create patternsofany kind on your shapes. Dry.
Fashionapin or broochbygluinga clasponthe back,ormakeanecklace by stringingtogethera fewalphabetlettershapesorsmaller charms.Tie a string throughthe hole forornaments. Forgift decorations, make shapes of objects that areacluetowhatisinside thepackage.For example,ifyou are giving Uncle Jimawindbreaker for sailing, make asailboatshape.Tie it to theribbononthe gift,and it will be like giving twopresentsinone.
Winter Wishes
Memory in aBottle
Shake Up aSnow Globe with Memories of YourYear
By DonnaErickson
There’s somethingmagical aboutasnowglobe. Whocan resist shakingaliquid-filled decoration to watch it “snow”?Iknowfamilies that collect them on their summer vacations, andonoccasionthey give them agood shake, turn them upright andthensmile with thememories. Nowyou canmakeyourown to commemorate somethingspecial youdid in this year.
Reminiscewithyourkidsabout activities your family enjoyedthispastyear, andthenmakeamemorysnow globeusingasmall waterproof objecttorepresent the activity or event. Here’s how:
First,you want to have avisionfor your sceneand how it will be contained. Will youneed alittlejar,afat jarora skinnyjar?Atall jamjar mightaccommodatethatplastic bear figureasareminder of acamping trip at anational park.Ababy-food jarwould make aperfect home fora little rubber starfish to representthe sealifeyou observed at an aquarium.It’sall up to youand your imagination.
Step 1: Fill thejar with waterand shaketotestthe lid fortightness.Pour thewater out, remove thepaper label andlet it drycompletely.
Step 2: Choose aclean,waterprooftoy,gamepiece,travelsouvenir or trinkettoinhabit theimaginary world. Place it temporarilyinside thelid and lowerthe jardownoverit, just to make sure it fits andallowsenoughspace for the“snow”tofall when complete. An adultshouldgluethe objectonthe inside of thelid with water-resistantglue, such as aquarium sealantfromyour localpet store. Letdry 24 hours.
Step 3: Fill thejar almost to the topwithbabyoil,oruse distilled water with afew dropsofglycerin added. Sprinkle glitterorwaterproofconfetti into theliquid.Anadult shouldapplywater-resistantgluetothe outside groovesofthe jarrim andcarefully screwonthe lid.Stand thejar with lid enduptodry for24hours.
Hot Cocoa Mix
•2 tablespoons or single-serving packageofyourfavoriteinstant hotcocoa mix
•1 teaspoonmini chocolatechips
•chopped peppermintfromacandy cane (optional)
•10-12 minimarshmallows
Usingafunnel, add ingredientsone by oneinorder,beginningwiththe hot cocoamix. Replace capand tieontag with aribbon.
Directionsontag:
Single-Serve HotCocoa.Justadd to a mugofhot waterand stir.
Create Ornaments With DipMix and Hot Cocoa Mix Inside
Ialsofeelthe holiday spirit when Ipop in at acraft fair whereI can chat with localvendors,like9-year-oldAidan Bispala, whoset up shopwithhis sister andfriends in aneighborhood craft boutique to benefitthe music department at hispublic school.A topseller of the kid-crafted goodswas thehot cocoamix andthe dipmix ornaments trimmingapinetreebyhis cashbox.
He methodicallyexplained howheusedafunneland spooned cocoamix, topped off with severalmini marshmallowsintoaclear, cleanornament, andhow he carefullymeasuredherbs andspicesto create hisveggiedip mix ornament.Hereplaced themetal caps (“the toughest part,” he said) andtiedontagswith“how-to-use”recipe directionshis momdesignedontheir computer.Healsomade extras, aclevergift to delivertofriends andneighbors this week.
Here aretwo ideasfor creating theseornaments in your kitchen with school-age kids.Start with clean, food-safeclear ornamentswith capoff,thenset outingredients, measuringutensils, ribbonsand recipe tags, assembly-linefashion.
Dill Dip Mix
•1 teaspoondried dill weed
•1/4 teaspoonsalt
•1 teaspoononion flakes
•1 teaspoonparsley flakes
Mixinasmall bowl with spout. Pour throughafunnel into theornament. Replace capand tieontag with aribbon.
Directionsontag:
Addmix to 1/2 cupsourcream and1/2 cupmayonnaise. Stir until blended. Refrigerate twohours.Serve with crisp veggies or chips.
OFFLINEFUN Create aholiday zine for creative gifting
By AmyAnderson
If youare lookingfor an activity that requires no specializedskill,isengagingfor all ages andendswith acharmingtakeawaythatisquirky, deeply personal andmaybe aperfect handmade gift,looknofurther than zines —tinyhandmademagazines that tell a zinemaker’s storyinsix to eight pages.
Zinesare small,foldedpaper booklets decorated with drawingsand glued-oncutouts, andmarkedup with wordsand doodles, many communicatinginformationabout acause or promotingmusic, writing andart. These“fanzines”are funtocreateand don’t requireany artistic talentor creative writingskills— they canbeaselaborate or as simpleasyou like,with no points off forimperfection. It’s allabout your personalviewpoint,and DIYis definitely part of thevibe. Here’s howtocreateone of your own:
Fold thepaper in half lengthwise(hotdog style), then unfold.
2.
Fold in half widthwise(hamburgerstyle), then fold each short endtothe centertomake eightsmall panels.
3.
Cutthe centercreasehalfway throughthe page from thefoldededge.
4.
Turn bottom flapsout to aT shape, then fold into aplusshape.
5.
Pinchtogethersothe paperforms abooklet with pagesthatturn.
6.
Crease edges firmly so thezineholds its shape.
7.
Unfold to decorate each page within its square.See imagefor howpages will display. Decorate thebackside as ahidden poster!
Winter Wishes
A Christmas Timeline
Telesphorus,the second Bishopof Rome,declared in the 2nd centuryAD that public Church services shouldbe heldtocelebrate “TheNativityofour Lord andSavior.”
In 320 AD, Pope Julius Iand otherreligiousleadersspecified Dec. 25 as the official date of thebirth of JesusChrist.
In the 13th century, St.Francis of Assisi introducedChristmas carols into formal church services.
In1531, in Germany, the firstprinted referencetoChristmas treesappeared. TheChristmas tree was firstdecorated with lightsinthe 16thcentury.Accordingtolegend, Martin Luther,the Protestant reformer,was so takenwith theChristmas night skythatheadded lighted candles to thetreetobring “the lightsofthe stars” into thehomeofhis family
A goose wascustomary Christmas fare untilthe early1600s, when King Henry VIII of Englandtookituponhimself to tuck into aturkey.
In 1643, theBritish Parliament officially abolishedthe celebrationofChristmas.
The firstAmericanChristmas carolwas written in 1649 by aminister named John de Brebeur.Itiscalled“JesusIs Born.”
Between1649 and1660, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas carols in England. Cromwell thoughtChristmas shouldbeaverysolemn day, so the only celebrationallowed wasa sermon andprayerservice.
In 1818, “SilentNight”was writtenby Austrian priest Joseph Mohr.Legend has it that hischurch’sorgan broke on theday before Christmas.Mohr couldnot imagineChristmas without music, so he satdowntowrite acarol that couldbesungbyachoir to guitar music. Laterthatnight,the people in thelittleAustrianchurchsang“Stille Nacht” forthe firsttime.
In 1834, QueenVictoria’shusband,PrinceAlbert, brought the firstChristmas tree to WindsorCastlefor theRoyal family.
In 1836, Alabama became the firststate to declareChristmas alegalholiday
The firstcommercialChristmas card,produced in 1846, featured adrawing of family membershappily toasting each otherwithglasses of wine —ashockinglydecadentportrait that wasimmediately condemned by temperanceadvocates.
In 1856, President Franklin Pierce decoratedthe firstWhite HouseChristmas tree.
In1937, the firstpostage stamptocommemorate Christmas wasissued in Austria.
In 1945, a phonograph album containingBingCrosby’ssignature song,“WhiteChristmas,” wasreleased. Therecording wouldgoontobecomethe best-sellingsingleever, with sales of more than 50 millioncopies worldwide.
In 1955, NORAD“Tracks Santa”begins. Amisprinted Searsadled kids to call theCONAD opscenter; thetradition became NORAD’sannualSanta Tracker.
In 1964, Rankin/Bassstop-motionclassic “Rudolphthe Red-Nosed Reindeer”TVspecial premiered,followedayear laterby“ACharlie BrownChristmas.”
In 1983, Disney ParksChristmas DayParade —ABC’s annual Christmas morningbroadcast from theparks became holiday viewingfor many families.
In 1907, Oklahoma became thelaststate to declareChristmas alegalholiday
In 1994, Mariah Carey’smodernclassic “All IWantfor Christmas Is You” was firstreleased, issued as theleadsingle from “Merry Christmas.” Sincethen, it has since become a U.S. holiday standard andrecurring No.1.
Photocredits: United States. GeneralLandOffice,Publicdomain, via WikimediaCommons;adobe.stock Archivist; Bing_Crosby_Creative Commons; adobe.stock AlphaSpirit
Winter Wishes
Getready foragreat newbeginning to 2026 with a NewYear’sEve celebrationthatinvolves thewhole family. Startthe eveningoutside with ice-skating,hiking, sledding, flag football,capture the flag or anotheractive game that is funfor allages. Then move indoorsfor a meal of soup,steworchili,along with saladand bread.
Foraspecial surprise before or after themeal, open homemade NewYear’scrackers. They areaneasy-tocreate variationonEnglish Christmas crackers —party favors that make acracking soundwhenyou open them. Theseare asilentversion, butjustasfun. Make them aheadoftime, andthey’ll be readytodelight everyone at theparty.
Gather recycled cardboardtubes from papertowels or your holiday gift wrap andcut to 6-inchlengths. Fill each small tube with small, inexpensive itemssuch as folded-paperparty hats, whistles, wrappedcandy,a luckypenny, tiny Post-it notes, afun pencil with snow-
Countdown to the New Year, family style
men printedonit, flavored Chapstickorcolorfulstring anddirectionstomakeacat’s cradle.For aspecial thought, tuck in astrip of paperwithameaningful or funnyquote from awell-known person your kids love or admire. It mightbea quotefromMr. Rogers anda memorablelinefromKermitthe Frog.Add funnylittle fortunes basedonthe interestsand activities of the person receiving it.
Wrap each filled tube with festivepaper.Large,colorfulpaper dinner napkinsare already“cuttosize”and work perfectly. Twistthe twoendsand tiewithribbon. Insteadofusingribbon, school-age children might prefer threadingsomeplastic beadsonpliable floral or bright-copper wire.
Addstickersand nametags on theoutside,and then place them in abig basket or at each person’s place setting at thetable.Let everyone open thecrackers at the same time andreadtheir fortunes aloud.
Winter Wishes
ACelebrationofCarnival is on sale now and is agreat gift foranyonewho lovesMardiGras. This 120-page, heirloom-quality hardcover book from The Times-Picayune features Arthur Hardy’sintimate stories behind five decades of purple, gold,and green.Whether youremember saving throws from the’80s, bringing your children to their first parade in the’90s,or celebrating our resilience in recent years, this book honorsyour memories andthe traditionsyou’vepassed down.Arthur Hardy has preserved the soul of what makes us NewOrleanians, making this theperfect holiday gift foranyone whoholds Carnival closetotheir heart.
