The Advocate 12-16-2025

LSU BASKETBALL

ICE TIME

Son of Rob Reiner arrested in killings

Filmmaker, wife found fatally stabbed at home

By The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Rob Reiner, the son of a comedy giant who became one himself as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally …” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” has died. He was 78. Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found fatally stabbed Sunday at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday arrested the Reiners’ 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner and booked him on suspicion of killing his parents. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers responded to the Reiner home about 3:40 p.m. Sunday Detectives from the Robbery-Homicide Division “worked throughout the night” and took Nick Reiner into custody Family friends told The Los Angeles Times that Rob and Nick Reiner got into an argument Saturday evening at a party at Conan O’Brien’s home and that many people noticed Nick acting strangely at the party Nick Reiner, who had struggled with addiction for years, was living in a guesthouse on his parents’ property, family friends told the Times, and his mother had become increasingly concerned about his mental health in recent weeks.

The family friends, who did not want to be identified because of the nature of the crime, said the Reiners’ daughter found her parents Sunday afternoon. Nick Reiner was taken into custody at 9:15 p.m. Sunday and booked at 5:04 a.m. Monday, jail records show He is being held on $4 million bail.

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Just how big of a change is the restructuring at LSU?

System President Wade Rousse has said it amounts to title changes to “push the LSU system to new heights.” But, for institutions not in Baton Rouge or New Or-

leans, some fear it means a loss of independence and funding in an increasingly centralized system. Shreveport Sens Thomas Pressly, a Republican, and Sam Jenkins, a Democrat, condemned a recent reorganization at LSU that removed the position of chancellor from LSU Health Shreveport and renamed the head of the health sciences university “senior vice chancellor.”

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Federal authorities arrested a suspect over the weekend near Lafayette who they accuse of being in an extremist group and planning a New Year’s Eve attack, officials said Monday

The FBI director, Kash Patel, on social media said the Louisiana arrestee was part of a “radical subgroup” of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, a pro-Palestinian “anti-government” organization, prosecutors said.

Federal officials also announced Monday the arrests of four alleged members of the group in Los Angeles who are accused of hatching their own bombing plot on the West Coast. The Louisiana suspect was “planning a separate violent attack,” Patel said, without naming the person on social media. It is unclear whether that attack was planned for California Louisiana or elsewhere. Officials have not identified any signs of

ä See FBI, page 4A

PHOTO

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, arrive at the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner in Washington in 2023.

See LSU, page 7A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

State Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, has condemned a recent reorganization at LSU that removed the position of chancellor from LSU Health Shreveport.

STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK

Parents Jordan Brister, left, and Brittany Brister steady their daughter Brayleigh Brister, 2, as she ice skates for ther first time on opening night of Skating on the River at the Raising Canes River Center on Thursday.

From left, Kylee Bowers, 11, joins her sister Shelby Bowers, 13, and friend Bailey Henry, 13, as they steady themselves on the ice on opening night of Skating on the River

Lizzie Wicker skates on opening night at the Raising Canes River Center

BRIEFS

Army names 2 Guard members killed in Syria

WASHINGTON The two Iowa National Guard members killed in a weekend attack in Syria that the U.S. military blamed on the Islamic State group were identified Monday and remembered as dedicated soldiers

The U.S. Army named them as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown.

Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff in their honor, saying that, “We are grateful for their service and deeply mourn their loss.”

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, has said a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter also was killed Three other Guard members were wounded in the attack, the Iowa National Guard said Monday, with two of them in stable condition and the other in good condition.

Pope denounces ‘antisemitic violence’

ROME Pope Leo XIV on Monday denounced the “antisemitic violence” behind the Sydney Hanukkah massacre as he prayed for the victims and the “gift of peace and fraternity” this holiday season. Leo also issued a strong antiabortion message during an audience with the donors of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations, which he said were a sign of “faith and hope.”

“We pray for those who suffer from war and violence, in particular today I want to entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist attack in Syndey against the Jewish community

“Enough of these forms of antisemitic violence!” he said. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.”

At least 15 people died in the attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where hundreds had gathered for a “Chanukah by the Sea” event celebrating the start of the Jewish festival.

‘General Hospital’ star

Anthony Geary dies

Anthony Geary, who rose to fame in the 1970s and ’80s as half the daytime TV super couple Luke and Laura on “General Hospital,” has died. He was 78.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Anthony Geary whose portrayal of Luke Spencer helped define General Hospital and daytime television,” ABC said in a statement confirming his death Geary died Sunday in Amsterdam of complications from a surgical procedure three days prior

“The entire ‘General Hospital’ family is heartbroken over the news of Tony Geary’s passing,” Frank Valentini, executive producer of the ABC show, said in a statement Monday “Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for.”

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Geary earned eight Daytime Emmy awards as Luke Spencer after joining the soap in 1978. Luke’s pairing with Genie Francis’ Laura Webber Baldwin (as she was known at the time) propelled the two onto magazine covers and into the cultural mainstream

The 1981 wedding of Luke and Laura was a pop culture phenom done in two parts, drawing guest appearances that included Elizabeth Taylor A record 30 million viewers watched.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROBERT F BUKATy

Brown University shooter sought

Authorities resume search as questions swirl about campus security

BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI and LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities knocked on doors and scoured yards Monday in search of any video or other evidence that might lead them to the Brown University gunman, whose face was covered or not visible in footage captured before and after the weekend attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.

Officials released three new videos of the man they believe carried out Saturday’s attack that show him wearing a mask and a dark two-tone jacket. Although his face wasn’t visible, the footage from about two hours before the shooting provided the clearest images yet of the suspect.

The FBI said the man is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a stocky build. The agency offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

“We’re asking for the public’s assistance,” Providence’s police chief, Col Oscar Perez, said at a news conference, urging people who might recognize the suspect to call a tip line.

Police renewed their search after releasing a person of interest Sunday once they determined the evidence pointed elsewhere. Meanwhile, details began to emerge about the students who were shot.

The lockdown order for the Ivy League school was lifted Sunday after authorities said they had detained the person of interest. But hopes for a quick resolution were dashed when they announced hours later that they had released him.

The abrupt change of direction marked a setback in the investigation as questions swirl about campus security, the apparent lack of school video evidence and whether the focus on the person of interest gave the attacker more time to escape.

Colin Moussette, who has friends at Brown and is considering enrolling next fall, said while visiting the campus Monday that he felt uneasy knowing the suspect hadn’t been caught

“How someone got away, like in the middle of the day is, to me, not only heartbreaking but very concerning,” he said.

Crews

CALIFORNIA

Officials: 4 accused of plotting New Year’s Eve attacks

BY JULIE WATSON and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

n

“How they got access to the building is concerning.”

Before Monday’s news conference, police released a second video showing someone dressed in black walking along a city street minutes after the shooting The video — like one released the day of the shooting — didn’t show the suspect’s face.

In a neighborhood near the university, a line of officers scraped their feet through a snow-covered yard looking for evidence. Meanwhile, agents identifying themselves as U.S. marshals asked locals if they had security cameras.

Attorney General Peter Neronha, who said Sunday that there weren’t many cameras where the attack happened, said Monday that investigators were “making steady progress.”

Law enforcement on Monday appeared to still be performing basic of investigative tasks, including tracing the suspect’s movements in the minutes after the attack and searching for evidence near the crime scene.

“I was really glad to see that they were doing something,” said Katherine Baima, who lives in the area. “This is the first time any of us in my building, as far as I know, had heard from anyone We hadn’t gotten alerts and we were really surprised that there hadn’t been anyone searching, let alone knocking on doors, on the first night.”

The shooting happened in an auditorium-style classroom where students in a study group were preparing for an upcoming exam.

Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the students killed, according to her pastor at home.

In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev R. Craig Smalley described Cook as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her.”

“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, the president of the club, said in a message posted on X.

The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience He was helping a friend at a review session for an economics final when he was shot, his sister said.

use sandbags

to shore up levee breach near Seattle

BY MANUEL VALDES and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press

TUKWILA, Wash. — Crews used sandbags to shore up an earthen levee south of Seattle on Monday after a small section of it failed following a week of heavy rains, prompting an evacuation order covering parts of three suburbs, an official said.

The evacuation order from King County in Washington state was sent to about 1,100 homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Renton and Tukwila, said Brendan McCluskey, the county’s emergency management director The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning that initially covered nearly 47,000 people, but was reduced within a few hours to an area covering 7,000 people. No one was injured, McCluskey said. Authorities in Renton and Tukwila said Monday afternoon the flooding was confined to small, industrial areas and that no residents were being evacuated.

The spokesperson for the city of Renton, Laura Pettitt said the breach was minimal and was being addressed by

sandbagging, including the use of large bags, about 3 feet tall and filled with about a ton of sand.

“What we understand is that the area is being managed and the breach has been controlled,” she said. “However, that’s not to say that there wouldn’t be future impact with any changing situation.”

The levee breach followed days of heavy rain and flooding that inundated communities, forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people and prompted scores of rescues throughout western Washington state.

The failure occurred on the Briscoe Desimone levee adjacent to the Green River in an area where officials had been concerned about a possible breach, John Taylor, director of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, told a news conference Monday With high water levels in the past week, workers began installing a “seepage blanket” — a permeable material that can remove water from a cut slope — in an effort to reduce the flood risk, and crews were present Monday when the breach occurred.

LOS ANGELES Federal authorities said Monday that they foiled a plot to bomb multiple sites of two U.S. companies on New Year’s Eve in Southern California after arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group. The four suspects were arrested Friday in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles as they were rehearsing their plot, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference. Officials showed reporters surveillance aerial footage of the suspects moving a large black object in the desert to a table. Officials said they were able to make the arrests before the suspects assembled a functional explosive device.

In the criminal complaint, the four suspects named are Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. They are all from the Los Angeles area, Essayli said.

Officials did not describe a motive but said they are members of an offshoot of a group dubbed the Turtle Island Liberation Front. The group calls for decolonization, tribal sovereignty and “the working class to rise up and fight back against capitalism,” according to the criminal complaint.

The term “Turtle Island” is used by some Indigenous peoples to describe North America in a way that reflects its existence outside

of the colonial boundaries put in place by the U.S. and Canada. It comes from Indigenous creation stories where the continent was formed on the back of a giant turtle.

Officials also found “Free Palestine” flyers at the desert campsite where the suspects were working with the bomb-making materials.

The charges against each suspect include conspiracy and possession of a destructive device. Essayli said additional charges were expected in coming weeks. It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspects had attorneys, and The Associated Press was unable to reach family members. AP also sent Turtle Island Liberation Front’s social media accounts messages asking for comment but did not get a response. Essayli said Carroll last month created a detailed plan to bomb five or more business locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve. He declined to name the companies but described them as “Amazon-type” logistical centers. “Carroll’s bomb plot was explicit,” Essayli said “It included step-by-step instructions to build IEDs... and listed multiple targets across Orange County and Los Angeles.”

The plan included planting backpacks filled with complex pipe bombs that were set to be detonated simultaneously at midnight on New Year’s Eve at five locations, according to officials and the criminal complaint.

Geary

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence Monday near the campus of Brown University in Providence, R.I.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

Photos of suspects of a terror plot are shown on a screen Monday during a news conference in Los Angeles.

Australian leaders promisetotighten gunlaws

Push comesafter at least15killed in Hanukkah massacre

BY CHARLOTTE GRAHAMMCLAY, RODMCGUIRK and KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press

SYDNEY Australian leaders promised on Monday to immediately overhaul alreadytough gun control laws after amass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’sBondi Beach. At least 15 people died in the attack, which has fueled criticism that authorities are not doing enough to combat a surge in antisemitic crimes.

Among the new measures proposed would be alimit on the number of guns someone can own and areview of licenses held over time. Those and other actions would represent asignificant update to the landmark national firearms agreement, which virtually banned rapid-firerifles after agunman killed35 people in Tasmania in 1996, galvanizing the country into action.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary.Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Prime Minister

Anthony Albanesesaid

The violence erupted at the endofasummerday when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach,anicon of Australia’s cultural life. They included hundreds gathered for the Chanukahbythe Sea event celebrating the start of theJewishfestival with food, face painting and apetting zoo. Albanese called the massacre an actofantisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.

Police shot the two suspected gunmen, afather andson. The 50-year-oldfather died at the scene. His 24-year-old sonremained in acomain hospital on Monday, Albanese said.Police won’treveal their names.

HealthofficialssaidTuesday that 25 peoplewere still being treatedinhospitals,10 of them in critical condition. Those receiving care include children.

Also among themisaman whowas capturedonvideo appearing to tackleand disarm one apparent assailant, before pointing the man’s weaponat him, then setting the gun on the ground.

The man was identified by Home AffairsMinister Tony Burke asAhmedalAhmed.

The 42-year-old fruit shop owner andfather of two was shot in the shoulder Al Ahmed, an Australian citizen whomigrated from

Syria in 2006, underwent surgery on Monday,his family said. Al Ahmed’sparents who moved to Australia in recent months,said their son had abackground in the Syrian securityforces

“My sonhas always been brave. He helps people. He’s likethat,” hismother,Malakeh HasanalAhmed,told Australian Broadcasting Corp.throughaninterpreter Albaneseconfirmed that Australia’smain domestic spyagency,the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, hadinvestigated the youngersuspected gunman for six months in 2019.

Officials: U.S. hasagreedtogive Ukrainesecurityguarantees

BY STEFANIE DAZIO and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

BERLIN The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of apeace deal to endRussia’snearly four-year war,and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officialssaid Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyyin Berlin. The officials said talks with President Donald Trump’senvoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,led to narrowingdifferences on security guarantees that Kyiv said must be provided as well as on Moscow’s demand that Ukraineconcede land in the Donbas region in the country’seast Trump dialed into adinner Monday evening with negotiators and European leaders, and more talks are

expected this weekend in Miami or elsewhere in the United States,accordingto theU.S. officials,who spoke on conditionofanonymity because they were not authorized to commentpublicly by theWhite House. “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever,” Trump told reporters at an unrelatedWhite House event.Headded, “We’re having tremendous support from European leaders They want to get it ended, also.”

TheU.S.officialssaidthe offer of security guarantees won’tbeonthe table“forever.” They said the Trump administration planstoput forward the agreement on guarantees for Senate approval, although they didn’t specify whether it would be ratified like atreaty,which needs the chamber’stwothirdsapproval In astatement, European leaders inBerlin saidthey

and the U.S. committed to work together to provide “robust security guarantees,” including aEuropean-led“multinational force Ukraine” supported by the U.S. They said theforce’swork would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’sforces,securing itsskies and supporting safer seas. They said Ukrainian forces should remain at apeacetime level of 800,000. Witkoff andKushner were accompanied by U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, whoheadsNATO’s military operations and the U.S. European Command, as talks honed in on the particulars of what the U.S. officials described as an “Article 5-like” security agreement. Article Five in theNATO treatyisthe collectivedefense clause stating thatan attack on one member is an attack on all.

The ABC reported that the agency hadexaminedthe son’s ties to aSydney-based Islamic Stategroup cell. Albanese did notdescribe the associates,but said theagency was interestedinthem ratherthan theson.

“He wasexaminedonthe basis of being associated with othersand the assessmentwas made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence,” Albanese said.

The horroratAustralia’s most popular beachwas the deadliest shooting in almost threedecades sincethe 1996

Port Arthur massacre. The removal of rapid-firerifles has markedly reduced the death tolls from such acts of violence since then.

Albanese’sproposals to limit the number of guns someone can own andreview licenseswereannounced after the authorities revealed that the older suspected gunmanhad held agun license for adecade and amassed his six guns legally

Leadersofthe federaland state governments on Mondayalso proposedrestricting gun ownership to Australian citizens, ameasure that would have excluded the

older suspect, whocame to Australia in 1998 on astudent visa and becameapermanent resident after marrying alocal woman. Officials wouldn’tconfirm what country he had migrated from.

His son, who doesn’t have a gun license, is an Australianborn citizen.

The government leaders also proposed the “additional use of criminal intelligence” in deciding who waseligible foragun license. That could mean the son’ssuspicious associatescould disqualify the father from owning agun. Chris Minns,premierof New South Wales where Sydneyisthe state capital, said his state’sgun laws would change, but he could not yet detail how

“Ifyou’renot afarmer, you’re notinvolvedinagriculture,why do youneed these massive weapons that put thepublic in dangerand make life dangerous and difficult forNew South Wales Police?” Minns asked.

Among those hospitalized aretwo policeofficers. Those killedincludeda 10-year-old girl, arabbi andaHolocaust survivor

While none of thedead or wounded have been formally namedbythe authorities, the identitiesofthose killed,who ranged in age from 10 to 87, began to emerge in news reports Monday

BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

BOSTON Brian Walshe was found guilty Monday of firstdegree murder in the grisly death of his wife, whom he was accused of killing and dismemberingnearly three years ago while he awaited sentencing in an art fraud case relating to the saleof two fake Andy Warhol paintings. Ana Walshe, areal estate agentwho immigrated from Serbia, was last seenearly Jan. 1, 2023, after aNew Year’sEve dinner at the couple’shome.

There was no reaction in the courtroom or from Walshe as the verdict was

read. Walshe,who faces life in state prison without parole, is scheduled tobe sentenced Wednesday.He was handcuffed andshackled before being ledout of the courtroom.Last month, Walshe pleadguilty to lesser charges of misleading police and illegally disposing ofher body

“It’snot about winning or losing. It’sabout getting the right answer and this was therightanswer,”Norfolk CountyDistrictAttorney Michael Morrissey toldreporters outside court. “We don’tlook at casesaswins or losses. We lookatgetting justicefor someone, so let’snot lose sight of that fact.” Morrissey said his office

had heard from AnaWalshe’s sister, whotoldthem“justice had been served.”

Prosecutors leanedheavily on digital evidence in presenting their caseagainst BrianWalshe, includingonline searches such as “dismembermentand bestways to dispose of abody,” “how longbeforeabodystarts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember” that were found on devices connected to him.

Investigators also found searches on aMacbook that included“howlongfor someone missing to inherit,” “how long missing to be dead,”and “can you throw away body parts,”prosecutors told the jury

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByMARK BAKER

Awoman kneels and prays Monday at amemorial to shooting victims of Sunday’s deadly attack on aHanukkah celebrationoutsidethe Bondi PavilionatSydney’sBondiBeach.

RobReinerhad afive-decadelong film careerand had become aleading political voice in Hollywood. MicheleReiner wasa photographer and producer Reiner grew up thinking his father, Carl Reiner,didn’tunderstand him or find him funny.But the younger Reiner would in many waysfollowinhis father’s footsteps, working both in front and behind the camera. After starting out as awriter for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” Rob Reiner’sbreakthrough camewhen he was, at age23, cast in Norman Lear’s“All in the Family” as Archie Bunker’sliberal sonin-law,Michael“Meathead” Stivic. As adirector,Reiner helmed astringofhits including “When Harry Met Sally ”“ThePrincess Bride” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” Hiswork tookadramatic turn when he directed“StandbyMe,” the1986adaptation of aStephen King novella.

Reiner was nominated for an AcademyAward for 1992’s“AFew Good Men,” which starred Jack Nicholson and TomCruise, though the movielost to Clint Eastwood’s western “Unforgiven.”

For the next four decades, Reiner,awarm and gregarious presenceonscreen and an outspoken liberal advocate offit, remained aconstant fixture in Hollywood. The productioncompany he cofounded, Castle Rock Entertainment,launched an enviable string of hits, including “Seinfeld” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” By theturnofthe century,its successratehad fallen considerably, but Reiner revived it,and this fall released the long-in-coming sequel“Spinal TapII: The End Continues.”

All the while, Reiner was one of the film industry’smost passionate Democrat activists, regularly hosting fundraisers and campaigning for liberal issues. He was cofounder of the AmericanFoundationfor Equal Rights, which challenged in court California’sban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8.

He alsochairedthe campaign for Prop 10, aCalifornia initiative to fund earlychildhood development services withatax on tobacco products.And Reiner was an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

“Beneath all of the stories he produced was adeep belief in the goodness ofpeople— and alifelong commitment to putting that belief into action,” formerPresidentBarack Obamasaid in astatement.

Reiner enlisted helpinthe effort from Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams and his own father,comedy legend Carl Reiner

Personal life

Reiner was marriedtoPenny Marshall, star of “Laverne &Shirley,” from1971 to1981.

After their divorce, Reiner,at alunch with Nora Ephron, suggesteda comedyabout dating. In writing what became “When Harry Met Sally …” Ephron andReiner charted arelation-

the Western District Prosecutor’s Office, said charges had been filed against the suspect but that they remained under seal.

Local and federal officials have not namedthe suspect.

ship between aman anda woman (played in the film by Billy Crystaland MegRyan) over the course of 12 years. Along the way,the movie’sending changed, as did some of the film’sindelible moments. The famous line, “I’ll have what she’s having,”said after witnessing Ryan’s fake orgasmatKatz’sDelicatessen, was asuggestion by Crystal —delivered by none other than Reiner’smother,Estelle.

The movie’shappy ending also had some real-life basis. Reiner met Michele Singer, aphotographer,onthe set of “When Harry Met Sally …” In 1989, they were wed. They had three children together: Nick, Jake and Romy Michele Reinerbegan producingfilmsoverthe past decade,including “Shock andAwe,” “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” and “Spinal TapII: The End Continues,”all directed by herhusband. Shealsoproduced“God& Country,” alook at Christian nationalism in the U.S

ber of this group,”Essayli said. “Whentheyexecuted asearch warrant out there, he posed agreat threat to theagents. He threatened the agents, andsothat’swhy he’s under arrest.”

Troubled son’spast

In interviews, NickReiner has describedcycling in and out of rehab centers and experiencing boutsofhomelessness as ateenager By 2015, he had gotten clean, working with his father on “Being Charlie,” asemi-autobiographical film about addiction and recovery.Rob Reiner directed and Nick Reiner co-wrotethe filmabout a successful actor with political ambitionsand ason addicted to drugs.

At the timeofthe premiere, The LosAngelesTimesreported that Rob Reiner and his wife, at their worst moments, “wondered if there was an endinsight, and whether it would be the tragic one that avoice in the back of their heads kept telling them was coming.”

Rob Reiner has said the filming brought up tough memories.

“Itwas very,veryhardgoing through it the first time, withthese painful and difficult highs and

The man accused in that case, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, was living in Lafayette at the timeofhis arrest, officials said.

lows,”hesaid. “And then making the movie dredged it all up again.” But he said the process of making the movie wastherapeutic, allowingthemtoworkthrough a lot of past traumaand develop a closer relationship.

Celebrityreaction

Artists and sports figures took to social media to share griefand memories after the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner Producer,singerand actor Rita Wilson posted on Instagramthat it was“impossible to reconcile the tragedyoftheir deaths with the beauty they offered the world.”

ActorJohnCusack,who starred in the Rob Reiner-directed film “The Sure Thing,” posted on Xthat he was “shocked” by the death of “a great man.”

Author Stephen King said he was “horrifiedand saddened.” “Misery” wasalso adapted into amovie directed by Rob Reiner “Rest in peace, Rob. Youalways stood by me,” King said.

Politicalreaction

Trump, in apost on his social media network, said the Reinerswerekilled“reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurableaffliction witha mind crippling disease knownas TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

He said Rob Reiner “was known to have driven people CRAZY by hisragingobsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness.”

The president did notmention his personal connection to Rob Reiner’swife, who was aphotographer. Peter Osnos,the original publisher of “The Art of the Deal,” confirmed Monday that Michele Reinertook the cover image of Trump’s1987 bestseller U.S.Rep.Thomas Massie,of Kentucky,postedonX that regardless of how one felt about Rob Reiner,“this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourseabouta man who was just brutally murdered.”

coordination between thesuspects in Louisiana and Los Angeles.

Aspokesperson for the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office confirmedagents had arrested a“subject” Saturday in the investigation in New Iberia. The spokesperson referred additional questions to the U.S. Attorney’sOffice for the Western District of Louisiana.

VickiChance, aspokesperson for

In anews conferenceMonday describing the foiled plot in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli,ofthe Central District of California,said the suspect in New Iberia had “threatened” agents servingasearch warrant. “The person arrestedinLouisiana isnot directly tied to (the Los Angeles) incident, but he is amem-

Thearrest marks the second in just over two months in the greater Lafayetteareaofpeople accused of participating in terror plots. The Justice Departmentin mid-October announced thearrest of aGazaman accused of participating in the Hamas-ledOct.7 attack on Israel, then traveling to the U.S. on an illegal visa.

Saturday’sarrest in New Iberia also comes just under ayear after an attacker inspired by the Islamic State terror group drove apickup truck down BourbonStreet in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year’sDay,killing 14 people. Few details wereavailable Mondayabout theplotPatel said FBI agents had foiled in Louisiana.

In acomplaintfiledagainst the four suspects in Los Angeles

federal court and unsealed on Monday,anFBI agentdescribed communicating with confidential informants and staking out the allegedplotters’ movements before swooping in to arrest them at a makeshift bomb-testing site they had constructed in the desert.

The investigation “crossed the entire country,” Akil Davis,FBI assistant director in charge of the bureau’sLos Angeles Field Office, said in Monday’s news conference The arrest in Louisiana came “in support of this investigation,” Davis said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RICHARD SHOTWELL

Rob Reiner,from left, Michele Singer Reiner,RomyReiner,Nick Reiner,Maria Gilfillan andJakeReiner arriveat thepremiereof‘Spinal TapII: The End Continues’ on Sept. 9inLos Angeles.

Trinidad and Tobago to open airports to U.S. military

BY ANSELM GIBBS

Associated Pres

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad The government of Trinidad and Tobago said Monday that it would allow the U.S. military to access its airports in coming weeks as tensions build between the United States and Venezuela.

The announcement comes after the U.S. military recently installed a radar system at the airport in Tobago. The Caribbean country’s government has said the radar is being used to fight local crime, and that the small nation wouldn’t be used as a launchpad to attack any other country

The U.S. would use the airports for activity that would be “logistical in nature, facilitating supply replenishment and routine personnel rotations,” Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. It did not

provide further details. Trinidad’s prime minister previously has praised ongoing U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Only 7 miles separate Venezuela from the twin-island Caribbean nation at their closest point. It has two main airports: Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago

Hours after the announcement, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said her country was immediately canceling any contract, deal or negotiation to supply natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago

She claimed that the government of Trinidad and Tobago participated in the recent U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off the country’s coast, calling it an “act of piracy.”

She also accused Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister

Kamla Persad-Bissessar of having a “hostile agenda” against Venezuela, noting that the U.S. military installed an airport radar in Tobago.

“This official has turned the territory of Trinidad and Tobago into a US aircraft carrier to attack Venezuela, in an unequivocal act of vas-

salage,” Rodríguez said.

Persad-Bissessar told The Associated Press that she wasn’t bothered by the statement, describing it as “simply false propaganda.”

“They should direct their complaints to President Trump, as it is the U.S. military that has seized the sanctioned oil tanker In

the meantime, we continue to have peaceful relations with the Venezuelan people,” Persad-Bissessar said.

The prime minister asserted that her nation has “never depended” on Venezuela for natural gas supplies: “We have adequate reserves within our territory.”

Trinidad and Venezuela had previously reached a deal over the development of a gas field in Venezuelan waters, near the maritime border separating the two countries.

In December 2023, Venezuela granted a license for oil giant Shell and Trinidad and Tobago to produce gas from the field In October, the U.S. government granted Trinidad and Tobago permission to negotiate the gas deal without facing U.S. sanctions placed on Venezuela.

Amery Browne, an opposition senator and Trinidad and Tobago’s former foreign

minister accused the Trinidadian government on Monday of being deceptive in its announcement.

Browne said that Trinidad and Tobago has become “complicit facilitators of extrajudicial killings, crossborder tension and belligerence.”

“There is nothing routine about this. It has nothing to do with the usual cooperation and friendly collaborations that we have enjoyed with the USA and all of our neighbors for decades,” he said. He said the “blanket permission” with the U.S. takes the country “a further step down the path of a satellite state” and that it embraces a “‘might is right’ philosophy.” American strikes began in September and have killed more than 80 people as Washington builds up a fleet of warships near Venezuela, including the largest U.S. aircraft carrier

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PUBLICNOTICE

DepartmentofConservationand Energy Office of Permitting andCompliance

Louisiana Regional Landfill Company Commercial, Class INonhazardousWaste DisposalWell AllenParish, Louisiana

DocketNo. IMD 2025-12 ApplicationNo. 43577

Pursuant to provisions of the laws of the StateofLouisiana andparticularly Title43ofthe Louisiana RevisedStatutesof1950 as amended, andprovisionsofStatewide OrderNo. 29-N-1 andStatewide OrderNo. 29-B,noticeisherebygiven that the Department of Conservation andEnergyhas prepared aDraft Permit forthe applicationreferencedbelow andthatthe secretarywill conduct apublic hearingtosolicit commentsonthe Draft Permit. Thehearingwill be held in the AllenParishCivic Center,located at 609 TigerLane, Oberlin, Louisiana, at 6:00 pm on January15, 2026.

At such hearing, the secretaryordesignatedrepresentativewill give anyinterestedpersonthe opportunity to presenttestimony,facts, or oral or writtencommentsrelativetothe Draft Permitpreparedinresponsetoanapplication by:

Louisiana Regional Landfill Company 1158 Landfill Road Oakdale, LA 71463

Louisiana Regional Landfill Companyhas appliedtothe DepartmentofConservationand Energy fora permit to drill,construct,and operateone newCommercial, Class INonhazardousWaste DisposalWellinSection 19, Township 02 South, Range02West, of AllenParish fordisposalofindustrial, nonhazardousliquidwastesand explorationand production(E&P)waste fluids Theproposedwellwill be identified as LRLC Well No.001. Wastedisposalisproposedtooccur initially at adepth of 6,824 feet to 7,544 feet belowground level (bgl) withinadisposalzoneof6,699feetto7,599feetbgl.Thebaseofthelowermostundergroundsourceofdrinkingwater(USDW)atthespecific facility location occurs at an approximate depthof2,150 feet bgl.

Acopyofthe Draft Permit, fact sheet, applicationorotherinformation concerningthe applicationmay be obtainedbywriting to Katelyn Roshto,Office of Permitting andCompliance, 617 North3rd Street,8th Floor, BatonRouge,LA70802 or by calling(225) 342-5515. The Draft Permitand fact sheetare also availablefor inspectionbetween 8:00 A.M. and4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday in the Department of Conservation andEnergy, Rm.817, of the LaSalleBuilding, 617 North3rd Street,Baton Rouge,LA70802. In addition,the application package is availableatthe Louisiana Department of Conservation andEnergywebsite

Interested partiesmay also submit writtencommentsatany time priortoorduringthe public hearing. Writtencommentsconcerningthe applicationmustbereceivedbytheDepartmentofConservationandEnergynolaterthan4:30P.M.,January16,2026.Submitallcomments to:Katelyn Roshto,Office of Permitting andCompliance, 617 North3rd Street,8th Floor, BatonRouge,LA70802. Commentsmay also be e-mailedtoinfo@la.gov.Pleasereference:LouisianaRegionalLandfillCompanyClassI,ApplicationNumber43577,DocketNo.IMD202512.

Allpersons having interest in the aforesaidshall take notice thereof

By orderof:

Dustin H. Davidson DepartmentofConservationand Energy

In accordance with Act393 of the 2023 Louisiana RegularSection,accommodationswill

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO ByT ROBERT TAyLOR

The USS Gravely destroyer arrives to dock for military exercises on Oct. 26 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocks drift ahead of Tuesday’s jobs report

NEW YORK Wall Street drifted through a quiet day of trading on Monday, ahead of economic reports this week that could drive where interest rates go.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, though the majority of stocks within the index rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 41 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%.

Helping to keep indexes in check were stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry, which were mixed following last week’s scary swings Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the face of the AI boom, added 0.7%. It was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500 after dropping 4.1% last week

But Oracle sank another 2.7% following its 12.7% tumble last week, which was its worst in more than seven years. Broadcom fell 5.6%. AI stocks have been shaky on worries that the billions of dollars flowing into chips and data centers may not produce a big-enough payoff to make it worth it. The doubts are causing cracks for the industry, whose earlier surges was the main driver for the U.S. market’s rally to records

On Tuesday will come the jobs report for November, and economists expect it to show employers added 40,000 more jobs than they cut during the month. Thursday will bring an update on the inflation, and economists expect it to show U.S. consumers paid prices that were 3.1% higher in November than a year before.

Ford scraps F-150 Lightning amid losses

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is pivoting away from its onceambitious electric vehicle plans amid financial losses and waning consumer demand for the vehicles in lieu of investment in more efficient gasoline-engines and hybrid EVs, the company said Monday The Detroit-based automaker which has poured billions of dollars into electrification along with most of its industry peers, said it will no longer make the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, instead opting for an extended range version of the vehicle. Ford will also introduce some manufacturing changes; its Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center — part of the BlueOval City campus and once the future of Ford’s EVs and batteries is being renamed the Tennessee Truck Plant and will produce new affordable gas-powered trucks instead. Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant will produce a new gas and hybrid van The company has lost $13 billion on EVs since 2023 and said it expects to take a $19.5 billion hit largely in the fourth quarter due to the EV business.

Airbnb fined $75M by Spain for tourist rentals

MADRID Spain’s government has fined Airbnb $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals, officials said Monday. The move is the latest government action in Spain against short-term rental companies such as Airbnb and Booking. com as the country grapples with a housing affordability problem, particularly in city centers.

The consumer rights ministry said the rentals didn’t include license numbers — a requirement in many regions in Spain — or listed license numbers that didn’t match what authorities had. Other had incorrect information about hosts, it said.

Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court. The company said it was working with Spanish authorities to comply with a new national registration system for short-term rentals, and that more than 70,000 listings on the platform had added a registration number since January Spain’s leftist government and many Spaniards across the political spectrum see shortterm rental companies as bearing responsibility for driving up housing costs.

BUSINESS

Tariffs

said. “Whether you come in or not, we want to make sure that we’re spreading that holiday joy.”

cautious spending this year,” she said.

BY MAE ANDERSON AP business writer

NEW YORK The Ah Louis Store in San Luis Obispo, California, turns into a winter wonderland every holiday season.

Green garlands, giant nutcrack-

ers, baubles and bows go up in early November on the historic downtown building that houses the gift shop. Inside, customers can choose from over 500 different types of ornaments and a variety of holiday gift baskets.

But Butler says she and her twin sister-business partner had to work harder this year to turn browsers into buyers and to make a profit. Many of the decorations and stocking stuffers they sell are made overseas and either did not arrive or got more expensive when President Donald Trump imposed unusually high taxes on imported goods, she said.

In response, the sisters focused their selection on more profitable items like nutcrackers and gift baskets. They’ve also noticed customers cutting back, selecting a $100 gift basket over the $150 version, or buying one ornament instead of several, Butler said.

Along with the unpredictable tariffs, stubborn inflation and weak hiring have shaken consumer confidence in the U.S. economy The vast majority of U.S. adults say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

of the holiday shopping season. The survey was conducted in November, partially during the government shutdown, which might have tempered spending plans. However the worst-case impact on consumer prices that many economists foresaw from the Trump administration’s tariff policies hasn’t materialized. Some products have been affected more than others.

“We really just make it a magical spot,”

co-owner Emily Butler

“We’re definitely seeing more

A Gallup index that summarizes Americans’ assessments of current economic conditions fell to a 17-month low in November Consumers also indicated less enthusiasm for spending money on holiday gifts; their estimated gift budgets decreased $229 between October and November, the largest drop Gallup has recorded at that point

Game and toys were particularly susceptible to tariff-related price increases since the majority of the ones sold in the U.S. are made in China, according to industry trade group The Toy Association. The tariff rate the Trump administration imposed on Chinese goods became a rollercoaster that started at an additional 10%, peaked at 145% and ended up at 47%.

High-end car sales sink in China as its economy slows

BY CHAN HO-HIM AP business writer

HONG KONG Chinese demand for foreign luxury cars is waning as customers opt for more affordable Chinese brand models, often sold at big discounts, catering to their taste for fancy electronics and comfort

That is bad news for European carmakers like Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and BMW that have long dominated the upper reaches of the world’s largest auto market.

A prolonged property downturn in China has left many consumers with little appetite for big purchases. Meanwhile, the well-to-do are becoming increasingly shy about publicly displaying their wealth, said Paul Gong, UBS head of China Automotive Industry

Research

Many car buyers have been swayed by a $2,830 trade-in subsidy offered by the Chinese government for purchasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles People tended to purchase cheaper, entry-level cars where the discount will count more and those cars are mostly Chinese made, Gong said.

“Slowing economic growth is one key driver behind weaker demand for premium cars,” said Claire Yuan, director of corporate ratings for China autos at S&P Global Ratings, referring to a segment that typically counts car brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW

The market share of premium car sales in China, usually priced above $42,400, more than doubled between 2017 and 2023 to about 15% of total sales, S&P said.

That trend is now reversing. The share of premium car sales fell to 14% in 2024 and to 13% in the first nine months of 2025, S&P said.

Chinese automakers take a bigger bite

While luxury auto sales have slowed, Chinese manufacturers, including electric vehicle maker BYD, have become more aggressive than many Western brands in technological innovation, frequently rolling out new electric vehicles and hybrids at cheaper prices, including premium vehicles, analysts said.

“Their (Chinese carmakers’) products are more competitive and more affordable even in the premium segment,” Yuan said. “That’s why these foreign brands are gradually losing momentum.”

The Chinese brands’ share of passenger car sales climbed to almost 70% in the first 11 months of this year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. It

reported Thursday that German brands held a 12% share, Japanese brands around 10% and U.S. brands nearly 6%.

BYD already has overtaken Volkswagen as the biggest car seller in China in recent years. BYD is so far the best-selling car brand this year in China for “new energy vehicles,” which include electric vehicles and hybrids, according to the China Passenger Car Association BYD had cut prices of its electric and plug-in hybrid models by up to 34%, putting pressure on major rivals like Geely and Leapmotor

Mercedes-Benz’s sales by units in China fell 27% from a year earlier in the JulySeptember quarter, according to its latest earning report. The number of BMWs and its subsidiary-brand Minis sold in China dropped 11.2% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025. Porsche and Aston Martin also cited pressure from weaker demand in China.

Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari reported a 13% year-on-year drop in car shipments to

mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in January-September. It was the only region where sales declined during that time.

Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, told investors in late October that “hypercompetition in China is not going away anytime soon.”

The “market situation in the premium and luxury segment in China remained tense,” the carmaker said.

Used luxury cars going for cheaper

The downturn in interest in luxury vehicles is hitting dealerships hard.

Li Yi, a salesperson in charge of secondhand cars at a Beijing Porsche center, said a 2024 Panamera 2.9T with a mileage of about 12,400 miles was priced at $134,300. The previous owner bought it for about $198,454.

“It’s mainly due to the sluggish economic situation,” Li said. “(It’s) not only Porsche. Benz, BMW, Bentley and Rolls-Royce all face the same situation.” Porsche and Bentley are part of the Volkswagen group.

UPS ripped off seasonal workers with unfair pay practices, suit alleges

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK UPS stole tens of millions of dollars in pay from seasonal workers who help the shipping giant deliver packages during the busy holiday season, forcing some to clock in well after their shifts started and deducting pay for lunch breaks they never took, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged in a lawsuit Monday Filed in state court in Manhattan, the lawsuit accuses UPS of “repeatedly and persistently” failing to properly compensate driver helpers, who assist with deliveries,

and seasonal support drivers, who use their own vehicles to make deliveries.

James estimated that in the past six years, UPS has deprived tens of thousands of seasonal workers of wages totaling about $45 million. The lawsuit seeks back pay and penalties, plus a court order requiring UPS to end off-the-clock work and change its timekeeping and payroll practices.

The company, known for its brown trucks and uniforms, delivered an average of 22.4 million packages a day and =brought in $91.1 billion in revenue last year according to its website.

“We oftentimes don’t think of these workers when we’re opening up our gifts for the holidays,” James said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “And these individuals are struggling each and every day to make ends meet.” In a statement, Georgia-based UPS said it was aware of the lawsuit, “takes all accusations of wrongdoing seriously and denies the unfounded allegation of intentionally underpaying UPS employees.”

“We offer industry-leading pay and benefits to our more than 26,000 employees in New York and we remain committed to fol-

lowing all applicable laws,” the statement said. James, a Democrat, said she started investigating UPS in 2023 after an employee union, Teamsters Local 804, raised concerns about the company’s treatment of seasonal workers. Those workers are employed on a temporary basis from October to January Josh Pomeranz, the union’s director of operations, said that while there isn’t evidence that the company’s top management was involved in, aware of or condoning alleged wage theft, “these are just certain practices that you have to actively ignore, not to see it happening.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDy WONG Chinese demand for foreign luxury cars is waning as customers opt for more affordable Chinese brand models.

Former Hong Kong media mogul convicted

BY KANIS LEUNG Associated Press

HONG KONG Jimmy Lai, the prodemocracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. Lai has spent five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, and his family said his health has declined rapidly. He was previously convicted of several lesser offenses related to fraud allegations and his actions in 2019.

Lai’s trial, conducted in a Hong

LSU

Continued from page 1A

“It’s incredibly disappointing that LSU chose to take away the Chancellor position of the Health Sciences Center in Shreveport without any conversation at all with the community, elected officials, business leaders, and even their own students and faculty about doing so,” Pressly said in a Monday news release.

Under leadership changes approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors last week, the senior vice chancellor now reports to Executive Vice President James Dalton, who is also the chancellor of the flagship campus in Baton Rouge Leaders at the LSU AgCenter, LSU Health New Orleans and the Pennington Biomedical Center have also been named senior vice chancellors placed under Dalton. Previously, those jobs all reported to the president, who was in charge of both the system and

Kong court without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

His son Sebastien Lai said the family had expected a guilty verdict, “but that doesn’t make it any less devastating.”

“In the 800-page verdict they have there is essentially nothing, nothing that incriminates him,” he told reporters in London. “This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn’t like.”

His daughter Claire said she dreams of being reunited with her father without being watched over by guards.

“But I think what today has proven is that that reunion that I dream of, it won’t be through the once extremely promising but now very very highly compromised Hong

the flagship campus. The Board of Supervisors last month split the job into two, with Rousse as system president and Dalton as Baton Rouge campus chancellor

“My understanding from the administration is that the goal is to enhance the ability for the LSU system to get more research dollars, being grants and other opportunities,” Pressly said in an interview “The question is how will that be divided up? Will LSU Baton Rouge get the first dibs at that?”

LSU spokesperson Todd Woodward said the amendments to the organizational chart have been the plan “right from the beginning,” and that the composition and compensation for the jobs are not changing.

“This was an acknowledgment that one person trying to do two jobs at the same time needed to change,” Woodward said, adding that the system’s bylaws say a chancellor cannot report to a chancellor “The title and the reporting structure are all that is changed.”

The title revisions allow LSU

Kong legal system,” she said in Washington where she has been rallying support for her father’s case.

Reading from the 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law

But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the

to report its aggregate research numbers, according to Woodward.

“We have been focused on growing our research enterprise at LSU and to be in that game we need all the research dollars to roll up into one area,” Woodward wrote. “I would add they are reporting to an amazing Chancellor.”

The senators called the reorganization an “abrupt decision” that endangers leadership autonomy at LSU Health Shreveport. The new structure raises concerns about potentially being sidelined in favor of the Baton Rouge campus and LSU Health New Orleans, they said.

LSU Health Shreveport generates $600 million in direct economic impact on the Shreveport region and $3 billion overall in north Louisiana, according to its website.

“If anything were to happen to the Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, it would be catastrophic for our region,” Pressly said.

The senators said the move clashes with the Louisiana Legislature’s intent when it created LSU

downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.

“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.

His verdict is a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. President Donald Trump said he has raised the case

Health Shreveport as an autonomous entity They said it recalls past administrations’ favoring of institutions in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

“In the past, we saw LSU disproportionately send resources and funding to the main campus in Baton Rouge and the Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, while LSU’s institutions in Shreveport and elsewhere in the state didn’t receive their fair share,” Jenkins said in the release.

“While we’ve made tremendous progress since then, it’s safe to say that we will always be vigilant, because the mission of this campus is too critical not to be a top priority for our region.”

Woodward said LSU legal counsel does not believe the system is statutorily required to maintain the position of chancellor at LSU Health Shreveport.

In response to questioning at the LSU Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday Rousse disagreed with Pressly’s characterization of the restructuring as a “seismic shift.” He insisted the changes

are necessary for LSU to realize its ambitions for robust state and federal funding and recognition as a Top 50 research university

“Shifts in titles and clear lines of reporting should not be viewed as threats,” Rousse said at the meeting. “They should be viewed as opportunities.”

Rousse and Dalton will meet with the senators on Wednesday about the future of LSU Health Shreveport, Pressly said.

A statement Monday from LSU Health Shreveport said the institution is confident in its “position and relevance within the LSU System.”

“It has always been the goal, no matter structure or title, to help LSU become a Top 50 Research University and this new organization alone moves us up 18 spaces in that ranking,” spokesperson Lisa Babin wrote in an email. “We look forward to and anticipate further communication from LSU leadership as to the implementation of the newly announced structure and its statewide impact.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHAN LONG HEI Police stand guard outside

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Diggingup Shreveport’s past

Within minutes of walking into Shreveport’sSpring Street Museum, Iknew Ihad metsomeonewho lovedhis work. Marty Loschen, the museum’scurator, didn’thave to say it —his passion for local history showed in the way he moved through thespace and what he couldn’twait to show me The museum, located at 525 N. Spring St. in Shreveport, is housed in an old bank building, completed in 1866. When Iopened one of the display drawers to find dozens of coins, buttons, rings, belt buckles, Louisiana chauffeur tags and more, Isaid, “This drawer looks like someone is ametal detectorist.”

With that one line, Imadeaconnectionwith Loschen, who spends much of his free time metal detecting— looking for artifacts that, piece by piece, tell abit more of Shreveport’sstory

I, too, love metal detecting, but I usually go with friends whoknow much more than Idoand are able to direct me to one Louisianacane field or another “Trips to Egypt are cool, but that never tripped my trigger,” he said. “Local history is more personal. Youcan see it. Youcan touch it. In my case, Ican dig it.” Treasure in theprivy pit

Unlike my metal detecting friends, Loschen has avery differenttarget.

He loves to dig in what’s called “privy pits” —asin, places where old outhouses used to stand “That’swhere people dropped things,” he said.

Back then, rarely did they go looking for the things they dropped in the privy Loschen, who earnedadegree in archaeology at LSU in Shreveport, says old outhouses aretreasure troves of itemslost to time —where, at least in one case, he’s found literal treasure.

As he was climbing out of what acentury earlier had been an outhouse hole, he was pulling himself up using abrick near the surface. The brick came loose and revealed $10,000 worth of silver As exciting as striking gold can be,ifthe afternoon Ispent with Loschen is an indication,hegets excited about buttons, buckles, old coins and letter openers, too. “I love unearthing things that haven’tbeen seen by anyoneelse in 150 years —it’sathrill. It really is,” he said. He told me about metaldetecting on the site of along-ago Shreveport brothel whereheand friends found “an unusual numberofbuttons.” He saidatfirst they laughed, envisioning buttons poppingoff clothing.

“Well, come to find out, about ayear later, we foundout that one of the madams was aseamstress,” he said with achuckle Metal detecting dominated the first 30 minutes of my visit to the Spring Street Museum, located in one of Shreveport’soldest buildings, but we eventually moved on to some of the museum’sstories about Shreveport’searliest inhabitantsand leaders,including Larken Edwards (1790-1841)

Shreveport’s dueling firstmayor Owned by the LSU Shreveport Foundation, LSUS historystudents work in the museumand go on archaeologicalhunts touncover artifacts. The museum’s three stories include abasement, accessible only by atrapdoor,where Loschen’soffices are. Upstairs, there are more displays and a room used for meetings.

“Shreveport’s history hasbeen based on the river,ofcourse,” Loschen said. “Its history is just

ä See RISHER, page 2B

Panel flagstruancy proposal

Report cautions againsttying attendance to school funding

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Astate task force is recommending that Louisiana lawmakers avoidtying school funding to student attendance, arguing that doing so could inadver-

tentlypunish schools thatneed resources the most.

Theadvisorygroup was responding to abill proposed this year by Rep.BarbaraFreiberg, R-Baton Rouge,that would have tied schools’ average daily attendancerate to the Minimum

Foundation Program,the state formula thatdetermines how much funding public schools receive. The proposal wasloosely basedonpolicies in other states, ahandful of which use similar funding models

Thelegislation aimed to use

TOP: Theelf on ashelf reads a Christmas story to two girls at the third annual Teddy Bear TeaatThe 121onSundayinBaton Rouge.

ABOVE: April Landry poses for aphoto with her daughter OliviaLandry,2, next to aChristmas tree.

RIGHT: Ateddy bear walks around the room giving high-fives to guests

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

STAFFPHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

Bourbon Street installs memorial

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

For the next seven weeks, visi-

tors to Bourbon Street will look up to find a poignant reminder of the New Year’s Day terror attack — nearly 1,000 handcrafted flags, suspended above the famous street in honor of those who were killed there nearly a year ago.

Gov Jeff Landry, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, other officials and French Quarter leaders gathered on Monday to light the memorial for its first night, commemorate the attack and commit to preventing similar killings in the future.

The memorial, which was conceptualized by Katy Casbarian, owner of Arnaud’s Restaurant, and designed by Studio West, will be up until Jan. 18. It was paid for through contributions from organizations like the French Quarter Management District, New Orleans & Co. and the Ernest N Morial Convention Center Casbarian declined to say how much the installation cost Spanning the first three blocks of Bourbon Street, the installation, known as “Second Line in the Sky,” features images and the names of many of the 14 people who were killed in the attack, along with

Continued from page 1B

the proposal would reduce money for school districts with more economically disadvantaged students that typically experience higher rates of absenteeism than school systems with more affluent students, making it more difficult for those districts to address the problem’s root causes Freiberg pulled the bill after advocates voiced concern over the plan and requested that the Legislature convene a task force to study the issue.

The Truancy Study Group, which is made up of two dozen education stakeholders from across Louisiana, is required to submit policy recommendations for reducing absenteeism rates to Louisiana’s House Education Committee and the state board of education by February

On Wednesday, the task force voted to approve a list of five recommendations. The first proposal is to avoid tying school funding to attendance rates and instead consider giving additional funds to schools that show improvement. It also calls for giving schools more money to hire attendance clerks and truancy staff and expand their partnerships with community groups that can help address absenteeism.

Improving attendance “requires coordinated, developmentally informed, community-connected strategies,” the draft report says, “not punitive funding reduction.” Freiberg said she understands the committee’s concerns about linking school funding to attendance, but she also believes schools should be held accountable in some way for addressing absenteeism.

“That’s where we’ve failed in the past,” she said in an interview “We have to make sure everyone’s held accountable, because it’s too important to our schools, our students and our state to overlook the fact that we’re losing kids because they’re not coming to school.”

Sharon Clark, a state education board member who serves as the truancy committee’s chair, said in an interview that the group will meet with Freiberg in the new year to discuss the recommendations and potential bills for the 2026 legislative session.

Clark also said the group recommended that the state education department and board of education put together a new task force to oversee rollout of the suggestions, which could be implemented either by the Legislature or by the state education department.

“What we don’t want to happen is to start an initiative and then we don’t put all the parts in place that we need to sustain the initiative,” said Clark, who also is director of Sophie B. Wright High School in New Orleans.

Recommendations

More than 1 in 5 Louisiana

photos of brass band musicians and Mardi Gras Indians taken at second-lines over the years.

“Those individuals were bright lights to their families, to their friends, bright lights in their communities, and they will always shine here in the city of New Orleans,” Moreno said. “But one of the best ways that we can honor those who we have lost is to also ensure that something like this never happens again.”

The lighting ceremony of the privately created memorial comes as the French Quarter Terrorism Attack Memorial Commission, which was established by Landry through an executive order in April, is still in the planning stage for a permanent memorial, according to Joey DiFatta, a French Quarter resident and business owner who was appointed to serve on the commission by Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser

Fourteen people died and many others were wounded in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 when Shamsud-Din Jabbar barreled down Bourbon in a rented pickup truck, running down revelers who had been celebrating the new year

Jabbar was killed by police officers after he was able to drive

students were chronically absent during the 2024-25 school year, a slight improvement from roughly 1 in 4 students the previous school year according to state data. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more school days a year

Experts warn that Louisiana’s still-high absenteeism rates threaten to derail the state’s recent academic progress.

The truancy task force, which met three times starting in October, is made up of school district leaders, principals, school counselors and others.

During its meetings, the committee discussed ways to eliminate barriers that keep Louisiana students from coming to school, such as lack of access to transportation, ongoing illness or financial struggles, said Brittany Pecor, a middle school guidance counselor for Lafayette Parish Public Schools One focus of the group was finding ways to coordinate with local court and health care systems, as well as other community stakeholders, she said.

Pecor said the group wanted to determine “the best practices moving forward to make sure (students) want to be at school” and “ensure we’re supporting families in getting them there.”

In addition to requesting more funding for school systems, the task force’s other recommendations ask districts to continue adhering to existing attendance policies and call for more consistent practices among districts.

The suggestions include:

n Use evidence-based practices to improve school culture and get students more involved at school.

n Create regional hubs to help districts offer social services, health care and other support that students might need to get to school.

n Ensure that state attendance laws and policies are enforced and set clear consequences and expectations for districts.

n Create a new task force called the Power of Presence Advisory Council to implement these recommendations and coordinate with state agencies

The committee voted to remove a sixth recommendation, which asked the state education department to limit noncounseling duties given to school guidance counselors so they can focus on absenteeism reduction efforts. Some group members expressed concerns about asking the state, rather than local districts or schools, to determine counselors’ work duties.

Clark said the task force’s recommendations ultimately will help the state implement a more cohesive plan to tackle attendance issues.

“It’s about providing the support we need to do our jobs,” she said, “and making sure all the pieces are in place to do that.”

Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate. com.

down three city blocks that didn’t have security barriers deployed. The attack sparked concerns about gaps in security plans for the world-famous street and has prompted heightened law enforcement there in recent months.

In the days after the attack, visitors and residents flocked to a makeshift memorial at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets that featured crosses and handwritten messages to the victims, their families and the city Currently, that memorial sits outside The Presbytère on Jackson Square. It was moved there by Louisiana State Police in February Officials have since vowed to erect something more permanent. The state commission has until April to make its recommendation to the governor on the design and location of a permanent tribute, according to Landry’s executive order

The group, which has its fourth meeting scheduled for Wednesday, is considering a plan to create two memorials in different parts of the French Quarter, DiFatta said.

One could be a plaque or archway at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon with the victims’

FARM

Continued from page 1B

Farmers have until Friday to verify their 2025 acres planted reports with the local Farm Service Agency office. The acreage reports will be used to calculate how much each applicant will receive. Eligible farmers must have adjusted gross incomes of less than $900,000 annually Payments will be released Feb. 28 and are capped at $155,000 per producer President Donald Trump earlier this month announced the $12 billion aid package for farmers impacted by the trade war with China. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program “ensures American farmers can continue to plan for the next crop year It is imperative we

names, he said. A second memorial could be located in a calmer part of the French Quarter, like in Jackson Square, where people would be able to stop and reflect.

“Let’s face it, Bourbon Street is going to be loud, boisterous — it’s probably not the most conducive place for that,” DiFatta said.

He said the group has yet to discuss any concrete proposals for either memorial and that the process would likely take longer than a year

“We want to get it right; we want to make sure we truly honor the folks who gave their lives to this horrid event,” he said.

Melissa Dedeaux, whose daughter Ni’kyra was killed in the attack, said she appreciated the efforts behind the installation and planned permanent memorial.

“Even through all of this grief that we’re going through, this is special to us,” Dedeaux said.

Dedeaux supported the idea of a memorial in Jackson Square, rather than on Bourbon Street.

“I think it needs to be at a place of peace,” Dedeaux said. “A better place.”

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

do what it takes to help our farmers, because if we cannot feed ourselves, we will no longer have a country.”

The idea is to provide financial relief until October, when provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act kick in to increase reference prices 10% to 21% for some row crops. The money will be available to farmers who grow barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower

Richard Fontenot, president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau and a soybean farmer, praised the Trump administration.

“As we anticipate better days through trade deals and deregulation, their leadership to bridge this economic season through this assistance is critical for our industry,” Fontenot said.

groundwater panel, and Oscar Reed Richard, BREC assistant superintendent of system planning, of separately conspiring with Sustainability Partners executive Samuel Jason Hewitt to steer professional services contracts to Hewitt’s company in 2021.

The men allegedly did this by using proprietary language that came from Sustainability Partners in requests for contract proposals, prosecutors allege.

For BREC, the multimillion-dollar contract involved park lights and poles, new turf for football, softball and baseball fields, and other upgrades, according to agency documents and prosecutors.

For the groundwater district, the contract, estimated at $45 million to $50 million over three decades, involved hundreds of groundwater pumping meters.

Commissioner Jermaine Guillory accepted not guilty pleas Monday morning from Beard, Richard and Hewitt during their arraignments at the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge. Their cases are before Judge Carson Marcantel, and a hearing on possible motions has been set for March 10.

The state Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the cases. Assistant Attorney General John Russell declined to comment after the arraignments on Monday Since the mid-1970s, the groundwater panel had been charged with regulating pumping from the Baton Rouge region’s drinking water source, the Southern Hills aquifer Beard and other officials had hoped to use the meters to track pumping in an attempt to slow salt water intrusion into the fresh water resource.

But the idea faced opposition from the biggest users, including Baton Rouge Water Co. and ExxonMobil, which led to wrangling in the Legislature and courts over the last few years. Under legislation adopted this summer, the groundwater district was ended, and regulation of the aquifer shifted to the state Department of Conservation and Energy

Don Cazayoux, Beard’s defense attorney, said his client and members of the district’s oversight commission “did everything they could” to fulfill the groundwater panel’s mission “of saving the groundwater of Baton Rouge and the surrounding area.”

Cazayoux said that Beard and the commission tried to follow the rules “as they saw it.”

“I think we’re going to try to get together with the attorney general and hear their side of the story and also kind of set out what the commission did to make sure they were doing it right, and hopefully we can resolve it that way,” Cazayoux said.

Attorneys for Hewitt and Richard made similar arguments to those Cazayoux did about the criminal charges and offered similar hopes of meeting with prosecutors.

Walt Green, defense attorney for Hewitt, said Hewitt and Sustainability Partners followed an open and transparent process and “hope to get the Attorney General’s Office to understand that.”

John McLindon, defense attorney for Richard, said his client hasn’t “done anything wrong. This is not bid rigging.”

“We’re ready to show them our evidence,” McLindon added.

State Attorney General Liz Murrill and state Treasurer John Fleming have taken issue with Sustainability Partners’ contracts across the state, claiming they are costly opaque and set up long-term debts that evade review by the State Bond Commission and traditional infrastructure bidding.

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

like any other river town — the Wild West.”

Then he paused and told me that there was a story upstairs about Shreveport’s first mayor that he thought I might be interested in learning more about. He was correct.

Shreveport’s first mayor, John O. Sewall, was elected to the office in 1839, a time when Shreveport was on the edge of the Wild West.

After a dispute with the town’s first sheriff, Alexander Sterrett, about an invoice discrepancy, the two agreed to duel. Sewall killed the sheriff, accounts say, in broad daylight. The next year, he got in another

duel and things didn’t end his way

Shreveport’s first mayor died at the age of 34

It’s easy to forget, walking the streets of modern towns and cities, that beneath our feet are layers of lives — some celebrated, some forgotten, details lost down old outhouse holes.

Before I left the Spring Street Museum, I thought again about those drawers full of buttons and buckles, the coins and rings that once belonged to people who never imagined they’d be on display in a museum. I appreciate the way history doesn’t always announce itself with monuments or markers. Sometimes it’s just something small that slipped out of a pocket, fell into the wrong place and waited for someone like Loschen, who knows where to look.

Under deals with BREC and the groundwater panel, Sustainability Partners agreed to install and maintain new equipment in exchange for long-term agreements to receive monthly service fees for the equipment. The company still owned the equipment, but both agencies could buy it.

Murrill’s criminal investigators pointed out that the groundwater panel and BREC deals didn’t have final costs because they depended on various outcomes. They’ve described the BREC deal as potentially open-ended.

David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Marty Loschen, curator at the Spring Street Museum in downtown Shreveport, looks through old Sanborne maps that help document the city’s history.

Patin,Joseph Chenal Cemetery in Jarreau at11

a.m.

Obituaries

Delaune, Elmo 'Moe'

Elmo (Moe) Joseph Delaune, Jr. at the age of 78 years old passed from this life into the presence of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Saturday December 13, 2025 at 7:30 am at the Crossing Clarity Hospice of Baton Rouge, LA. "He has fought the good fight, has finished his course and kept the faith" He was married to the love of his life of 51 yearsto LindaDurbin Delaune. He loved his familyand was survived by two sons, Darryl WRusk (Johnelle Thompson),Steven BRusk (Daphne Hebert) Grandchildren Katelyn RuskEdwards(Sammy), Jason Rusk (their mother Darlene Rusk), Matthew Rusk,Landon Rusk andprecious Great Granddaughter Emma Grace Edwards. Also, brother Gerald Delaune, numerous niecesand nephews. Preceded in death by his father Elmo Delaune, Sr and mother Mable Delaune, sister Nancy Smiley Primes and brotherSteve JDelaune. He wasanEntrepreneur, owner and manager in the retail &grocery businesses and manager in local supermarkets as he enjoyed greeting with asmile in the local community. He loved and served his country from 1966-1968inthe US Army fighting for our freedoms.A deployment in 1966 to Vietnam stationed at Chuliealso knownas Hamberger Hill. After completing his tour of service, he attended Presideo Graduate School in California, received aBachelors Degree in Business Administration. He enjoyed life with much laughter and loved being with his family. He had apassion for cooking and lovedcooking his favorite recipes for his family and serving on the "Cooking for Christ" ministry with his church family. Frequent trips to the Smoky Mountains and attending Gospel music concerts was always ahighlight of his life. Pallbearers are, Darryl, Steven, Jason, Matthew, Landon Ruskand Sammy Edwards. Honorary Pallbearers, Gerald Delaune and Jimmy Delaune Special thanks to our precious familywho were so supportive during this time, and the prayerful support of our friends and church familyalong with all of the attending physicians of Our Lady of the Lake Group, CVT Group and Clarity Hospice of Baton Rouge. Avisitation will be held at The Church International St. Amant, located at 13423 LA-431 Saint Amant, Louisiana, 70774, on December 17, 2025, from 10:00 am to 11:15 am. ACelebrationof

Lifewillfollow at the same location from 11:15amto 12:15pm. The committal service willtakeplace at the Louisiana National Cemetery, 303 WMtPleasant Zachary Rd,Zachary, Louisiana, 70791, on December 17, 2025, at 2:00 pm.

On Friday, December 12, 2025,Marywenthome to the loving arms of herLord and Savior Jesus Christ with her devoted husband of 63 years Terrybyher sideholding her hand ThroughGod'sdivine mercy and grace, allfourof her children, their spouses and grandchildren werealso able to spend time by her side in prayer surroundingher with love and support. Mary was born in Gonzales, LA, in 1941 to Anthony and Mary Bruno, Sr., who wereItalianimmigrants that taught Mary and her six siblings their strong faith and work ethic. When Mary was achild, she worked beside her parents and siblings on the family farm. Herextreme distaste forokraworms earned her theright to go inside and cook for the family, from which we all benefited. Shealsooften recountedbeing thepopcorn girlatthe localmovie theater. Mary met the love of her life Terrance (Terry) Grimball in1961at Louisiana State University. Terry had "crashed" the party that Marywas attending, and she later told her friend at workthatshe had met the man thatshe was going to marry. Their favorite meal while dating was an anchovy pizza at PastimeRestaurantinBatonRouge,LA, near the university. Maryand Terry weremarried at Mary's childhoodchurch St Theresa CatholicChurchin Gonzales, LA, on Saturday, September 22, 1962.While raisingher children, Mary worked with her neighbor providing catering and decorating beautiful cakes -something she truly enjoyed. After raising her four children,Maryworked for23years as aCertified Professional Secretary for State FarmInsurance in Lake Charles, LA, retiring in 2000.Everyone that knewMaryknew how extremely talented she was in cooking, baking, painting and many, many other crafting skills. If she had the desire, she coulddoit and do it well. Mary,Terry and theirchildren worshiped primarily at Immaculate Conception in Sulphur, LA. They moved their primary residence to Prairieville, LA, in 2014 to be closertotheirchildren and grandchildren. Mary willalwaysberemembered for herjoy of life and the love and kindness that she gave to all, treatingeveryone with respect and like part of the family. We could not have askedfor a better wife, mother, grandmotherorfriend, and though we will missher every day, hermemorywill live oninher hearts foreveruntil we meet againin heaven. We clingtothat hope and arethankful for the giftofsalvation through Jesus Christfor her and for all. Mary cherishedher petsand had a softspot for both cats and d i h f h

dogstreating each of them like thevaluable family member that they were. Her cat Sunshine sat in vigil bedside forthe past threemonths onlyleaving her side long enoughto take care of the necessities. Sunshine was definitely her angel and providedcomfort to Maryall theway to theend.Webelievethatthere willbe many pets anxiously awaiting her arrivalin heaven like Rascal and Beetle. Mary was preceded in death by her parents Anthonyand Mary and her six siblings(brothers: Joseph, Ignatius (Nick), Anthony, Robert; sisters:Ann and Marion). Mary is survived by her loving, devoted husband Terrance (Terry) Grimball and theirchildren James Michael (Janet) Grimball, Andrea Lynn (Greg) Labranche, John David (Patty)Grimball and Kathryn Joy(Greg) Denkman. Together they passed on their faith and workethic to their children which was atrue blessing Mary was also avery attentive,lovingand caring grandmother called"Maw Maw" to MaryCatherine (Dillon)Sonnier and their son Parker James and Travis Joseph(who willarrive in January2026), Sarah and her stepdaughter Laila Villanueva, Anne Meryl (Wesley) Newton, Elizabeth "Libby" Joy Labranche,Cameron Hyde (Vy -fiancée), Casey(Lauren) Hydeand their childrenGrayson and Claire, Chloe Marie Grimball and Cayley ElizabethGrimball

The family is thankful and feelblessed for all the kindness and particularly theprayers they havereceived throughthis journey. Avisitation willbe held on Wednesday, December 17th, from10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St TheresaofAvila Catholic Church, 1022 LA-44, Gonzales, Louisiana, 70737. Mass to follow at 11:00 a.m. Mary will be laid to rest at St TheresaofAvila Catholic Church Mausoleum.

Lloyd DoyleHoffpauir, age85, of Gonzales, Louisiana, peacefully passed away on December 4, 2025. He was born on September 26, 1940, in Welsh, Louisiana, to Ellis Hoffpauir Jr. and AudreyH Vanover. Lloyd's life was a testament to hisunwavering faith and commitment to his family,friends, and community. ACelebration of Life will be held at Household of Faith Galvez, (17683 La-933, Prairieville, La 70769). Visitation willbe held on Thursday,December18, 2025, with visitation starting at 9AMuntil service at 10 AM.

Langlois, Cynthia Templet 'CMore'

In theearlymorning of December10th, 2025, the

Lord called Cynthia "Cmore" TempletLanglois home. Anativeand resident of Gonzales, she was born on June 6th, 1950, to Paul and Jean Templet. At theage of 17 she married theloveofher life,Wilfred Joseph"Joe" Langlois Cmore and Joe's love and devotion to each other wouldplant thenever dyingroots of a56-year marriage. During theself-described,"best years of theirlives", they would raise twosons, attend countless ballgames and school events, host listless dinners, and pack full many aLouisiana Saturday night withdancing, cooking,card games, and cold beer.Cynthia established her career at Tri Parish Communication,where she worked for many years. But, her true calling in life was to doteover her grandchildrenasmuch as possible.This love would double forher greatgrandchildren, that wouldfillher lateryears. Whenshe wasn't spoiling her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren,you couldfind her near asisterortwo.As, her sisters, were her greatest companions in this world.ToknowCmore was to knowher wide smile, her feistyattitude, and her ardent love forher people.

She is survivedindeath by her sonShane Langlois, Daughter-In-Law and Best Friend Traci Langlois, Granddaughters Shayna Yates (Dakota) and Samantha Langlois (Keshawn); five Great Grandchildren: John Gabriel, Connor, Everett,and Shepherd Yates, and Reese Brooks; and numerous siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews. Waiting forher with open arms were her parents, Paul and Jean Templet, Husband, Wilfred JosephLanglois, Son, ChristopherLanglois Great Grandson,Isaac Yates, Brother, Robert Templet, and Sister, Gloria Templet. Cynthia willbe laid to rest at Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant, Louisiana on December 17th, 2025. Visitation begins at 9:00 AM. Mass and graveside servicetofollow.

Lewis, John Ware

John Ware Lewis went to be withhis Lord and Savior on 12/11/2025.He was borninAmite, Louisiana on November 7th, 1933. He grew up in Amite and graduated from Amite HighSchool. John graduated from LSUinreceived aB.S.Degree in MechanicalEngineering. John started hisprofessional career as an engineerwith DOW Chemical CompanyinFreeportTX. After afew years he moved to DOWBadische Companyalso in Freeport, TX and laterhewas transferred to DowChemical in Plaquemine, Louisiana where he retired John was alifelong LSU football fan. He and his wife Rosemaryhad season ticketsfor many years and traveled to numerous away games. They were affectionately called the traveling tigers by family members. Also, they traveled allover theworld including visiting Egypt for theY2K NewYear. Bothhe

and Rosemaryloved to play tennis as well as followall theGrand Slam TournamentsinWimbledon, theFrenchOpenand theUSOpen. He was an excellentPianistand ledhis familyina Christmas SingalongeveryChristmas Eve for manyyears. Later John andRosemary built ahomeinOscar Louisiana. He joined the Kiwanis ClubofNew Roads. He became amember of theNew RoadsMethodist Churchand wasmember of thechoir. He is survived by his wife RosemaryReynolds Lewis, his son JohnnyT Lewis, hisbrother Elton "Bo"Lewis, his sister Sara Ellen Dunne, andnumerous nieces andnephews. He is proceededbyhis daughterLaureLee Lewis, hisparents Elton Lewis& Vi Lewis, and his brother William "Bill" Lewis. In lieu of flowers Donationscan be made to the NewRoads Methodist ChurchortoPointe Coupee Hospice Visitation willbeon1218-25 at 10:00 am untilthe funeral service whichbegins at 12:00 pm andwill be held at the NewRoads Methodist Church located at 206 Pennsylvania St NewRoads, LA. Interment will follow at approximately 2pmatGreen Oaks FuneralHome andMemorial ParkinBaton Rouge,LAat 9595 Florida Blvd

Pallbearers will be Billy Suydam, Tom Lebeau, Chad Reynolds, Patrick Reynolds, Andrew Reynolds, andKevin Alonzo

Jeanette Purvis, born February 6, 1940 in Scotlandville,Lousisana, formerly of Fayetteville,North Carolinapassed away Tuesday, December 9, 2025. Shewas 85. Jeanette graduated from Scotlandville High School in 1958 and attended Southern University. In 1959 Jeanette married Aaron Purviswhose militaryservice took them to Tennessee, North Carolina, Japan,and Germany. Shewas an active member of andvolunteer for Mt.Olive Missionary Baptist ChurchinFayetteville, andattendedNew Light Missionary Baptist Church on herreturntoBaton Rouge in 2023. Described as sassy, Jeanette kept a warm andwelcoming home filledwithgoodfood, livelyconversation,and amazing friends and family. Sheenjoyed reading andlisteningtoaudio books, bowling,watching old westerns, andcooking. Jeanette was the proud ownerofa vast collection of hummel figurines and coffee mugs collected from sites around the worldthatshe andher familywerelucky enough to visit.

Preceded in death by herhusbandof63years, Aaron,her parents,Mary LeeMyers andLeonHardesty, threebrothers, Donald,Joseph,and Clarence, she is survived by hersisterNatalie, twosons,

Vanceand Patrick, andnumerousgrandchildren, great grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Therewill be amemorial service on 12/18/25 at 11am at WilsonWooddale funeral home in Baton Rouge withRev.Dr. G.H Wright officiating.Followingthe service,Jeanette's ashes willbeburied with herhusbandatthe veteran's cemetery in Zachary, LA. Thefamilyisthankful for thecareand support of Drs. Eggadi and Jihai,Miriam at DutchPhysical Therapy, Carmen,Becca, and Lindsey with Audobon Hospice,and LaKeeshaWatts, herpatientand hardworkingcaregiver

Dr.Ted Owen Ware, a residentofSt. Francisville passedawayathis home on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. He was82yearsold and wasretired from BASFwith 25 years of service.Visitation will be at OurLady of Mt.Carmel Catholic Church on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 from 10am untilMass of Christian Burial at 11am conducted by Fr. Brad Doyle. Burial will be in OurLady of Mt Carmel Catholic Church Cemetery in St.Francisville.Heissurvivedby hisdaughters, Dorothy WareSykes and husband, Don, of Indianola, MS and Virginia WareBelland husband, Jeff, of Central. A son, Joseph Owen Ware, of St.Francisville.A brother, BillWare andwife, Suzanne,ofCoronado, CA. 7grandchildren,Alex Sykes, Michael Sykes, Meghan Ware, Tate Bell, MilesBell, RhettBell, 7and SamanthaKing. 6great grandchildren, Ben Sykes, JamesSykes, Luke Sykes, Owen Sykes, Pierce Sykes andAlden Boyette. He is preceded in death by hiswife of 58 years, Mary JoeKowalczukWare, daughter, Suzy Ware Canoy,and infantgranddaughter, Peyton Canoy Parents, Owen andMarjorieWare, brothers, Jim Wareand Bob Ware. Pallbearers will be hisgrandsons. Memorial donations may be made to West Feliciana CouncilonAging, PO Box 1933, St.Francisville, LA 70775 or West Feliciana Parish Library, PO Box 3120, St.Francisville,LA 70775. Share sympathies, condolences, and memories at www.CharletFunera lHome.com.

Grimball, Mary Bruno

Ware, Ted Owen

Purvis, Jeanette

Hoffpauir, Lloyd Doyle

We cannot say we do notunderstandthe concerns of developers seekingtobuild on or near federally protectedwetlands. Therules for permitting have been onerous for many decades now.But aproposed ruletoreduce thenumber of acres considered as protected by thefederal government comes with itsown setofconcerns.

The Environmental Protection Agencyand the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are seeking to update regulations so that only wetlands witha “continuous surface connection”towatersthat are “relatively permanent” are subject to federal oversight. In Louisiana, that meansthatwhile construction on our coastal wetlandswould still be under strict rules, millions of inland acres that arehome to estuaries and vital ecosystems could potentiallyface fewer obstaclestodevelopment At atime when housing affordability is a watchword on everyone’slips, we understand the need for clearer rules that don’t deter developersfrom building where it’s needed. Butwe would like to issue awordofcaution amid the push to undo decades of wetlandsprotection

The proposed rule comes after the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in U.S.inSackettv.Environmental Protection Agency,acasewhich sought to define what are “waters of the United States” protected under theClean WaterAct. EPAAdministratorLee Zeldin hasa point when he says that the term has been usedtoo broadly to include some areasfar from the coast. But to us, that doesn’tmean many of theseareas don’tdeserve any protection.It nowfalls to the states to ensurethat regulations areinplace to make sure that what needsprotectingremains protected. In Louisiana, theNational Resources Defense Council estimates thatroughly half, or 3.9 million acres, of Louisiana wetlands could lose federal protection under the new rule. And millions of dollars that developersare required to spend to mitigate harmful effects to wetlands could go away

Another area of concern is that thenew rule excludes interstatewaters from automatic federal jurisdiction unlesstheymeet other criteria in the law.Aswewell know in Louisiana, water follows its own boundaries, and what happens farawayfromuscan affect ourwater quality and flood risk.

That’swhy we would urge thestate to join with others to implement common-senseprotectionsfor wetlands that allow for development within reason. But it appears instead thatitis rushing headlong into this brave newworld Last session, with Act 105, Louisiana became one of thestates that limited thedefinitionof wetlandsinaccordancewiththe Sackett decision but ahead of new EPArules. It is alsonot encouraging that anew report bythe Environmental Integrity Project shows that the state has slashed funding to itsDepartmentof Environmental Quality by 26%overthe past 15 years and has reducedstaffing by nearly a quarter Act in haste, repent at leisure, theold saying goes.But if we destroy ourwetlands, it will be future generations paying the penance.

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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement creates more chaos than it resolves The vastmajority of crime is committed by United States citizens. The “illegal” immigrantsare not theproblem. Iwalk 4-5 miles in New Orleans every day.Isee unhoused people on thestreets everywhere, andatthe risk of being accused of “profiling,” not aone appearstobeanimmigrant of Hispanic descent, or other ICE-targeted nationalities. Know why? Because they are working. Isee Hispanics and others who might be immigrantswith tools on theirbelts or in their hands, be it asaw,ahammer,apaintbrush or a broom.

Isee them at the hotels and bus stopsintheir housekeeper uniforms. Isee them entering homes, condos and residential buildings with mops, vacuums and cleaning supplies.Isee them behind the counter at convenience stores and other retailestablishments. Isee them making purchases at local

restaurants and businesses. Isee them in church.

Mostofthesepeople camehere for thesame reasonsour families came here: to provide abetterlife for theirfamilies. Unlike original immigrants, they arenot looking to displace those who are here, but to join them. Many arerunning from oppression by gangs and politicians, fleeing poor living conditions, poverty and hunger.They come here like so manyothers before them, as refugees seeking asylum, which in mostcases was temporarily granted while their individualcases could be adjudicated by the process established by our government. It is not theirfault that Congress refused to fund the immigration courts to alevel necessary to provide hearings in atimely manner, even when they hadthe opportunity to do so just 18 months ago. God calls upon us to love our neighbor,all of them.

DANIEL WEDGE NewOrleans

Across America —and in Louisiana —bad actors exploit gaps in our regulatorysystem. They obtain commercial licenses without proper training, manipulate electronic logs,fake safety records, steal identities and reopen under new names to avoid accountability

Theseschemes cost legitimate carriers millions and put everyone on theroad at risk

The scopeofthe problem is alarming.

Many carriers operate without reliable safety ratings due to outdated data systems. Asignificant number of commercial driverslack the Englishproficiency needed to understandbasic safety instructions. Meanwhile, fraudulent brokersand double-brokering schemes continue to siphon money from hardworking carriers and shippers.

To address these vulnerabilities, theTrucking Association Execu-

tive Council has developed anational plan focused on practical, technology-driven reforms using dataalready collected. Key solutionsinclude modernizing safety systems, integrating databases to verify driver qualifications, cracking down on fraudulent brokers, ensuring drivers meet communication requirementsand stopping manipulation of electronic logging devices

This effortisn’t about more red tape. Good carriers follow the rules.Thesereforms ensure everyoneelsefollows them too.

America’strucking industry is thebackbone of our economy.It’s time to protect companies and professional driverswho play by the rules —and eliminatethose who don’t.

RENEE

AMAR executivedirector,Louisiana Motor TransportAssociation

Sometime back, Iwas called aBlue Dog Democrat in reference to people who would vote forablue dog before voting for aRepublican. Having said that, it has become clearer every day that we must take notice of our elected politicians. The GOP has given President Donald Trump the role of dictator; House Speaker Mike Johnson thinks he should have the title of God. It would notbe asurprise if he totes aTrump Bible Lying Clay Higgins says he has evidence of government agents dressedas Trump supporters on buses to storm the capital on Jan. 6. He said on TV that he had the evidence (two white busesfull), and he would show it soon. Nothing. Steve Scalise is still standing in the back row,trying not to be seen. In Trump’ssecond term,they voted with their silence as Trump set out to destroy the good values we were founded on, that made us the beacon the rest of the world likes to be —like fair play and law and order From starving children around the globe to the blackmailing of colleges, to the dismantling of the U.S. to the betrayal of our friends, his goal is to be king of the world and with the assistance of Louisiana politicians’ “go along just to get along” approach, he has almost done it. Letting children starve while the food we bought rots in warehouses is the Trump waytobea big man. He is the biggest con manof our time, and our officials make it easy for him. Any blue dog would be better than an orange con man. The politicians need to remember what Liz Cheney said: “There will come aday when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”

CARL CRAIN Baton Rouge

Igraduated in 1979 from Robert E. Lee High in Baton Rouge. Iwas so excited about LSU hiring Bo Rein from North Carolina State. His replacement was no other than Monte Kiffin, his first head coaching job. Is it possible that those twogot together in gridiron heaven to make all this happen? Iamexcited forLSU football.

JOE GOSSEN Lafayette

Astark lesson aboutwar powers

Warisgovernment’sgravest undertaking, but defining war is difficult, declaring it is rare, and making constitutional values and procedures pertinent to it is problematic. This has been made more so, and more urgent, by the untethering of the modern presidency from restraintsother than the occupant’s constitutional conscience.

During the Revolutionary Warand until the Constitution’s ratificationin1788, the national government had no distinct executive branch. The Articles of Confederation’sweakness,and knowledge that George Washington would be thefirst andoffice-defining president, resulted in Article II’sinherent permissiveness regarding expansions of presidential power In “The President Who WouldNot Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution,” Michael W. McConnell, Stanford law professor andformer federal judge, writes that Article Ivests in Congress legislative powers “herein granted” and enumerated.Article II simply assumes the presidentshallexercise all powers executiveinnature Those powers were negligible in 1789, when theexecutive bureaucracy was smaller than Congress.Today, executive power is everywhere.

1942 (against German allies Bulgaria, Hungary,Romania), many wars ago. Congresshas, however,passed authorizations for uses of military force.

Citing decisions of selfrestraint by presidentsWashington (dealingwith Native American tribes), John Adams (the Quasi-War with France) andThomas Jefferson (the Barbary War), McConnell concludes that an originalist understanding of war powers is that “congressional authorization is required before thePresident mayemploythe armed forces in offensive military operations that constitute acts of war.”

More recently,however,the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has, McConnellsays, “repeatedly” said that amilitary operation that is not“sufficiently” extensive in “nature, scope, and duration” does not constitute “war” requiring congressional approval. “This interpretation,” McConnelltartly notes, “slips theconstraints of founding-era understanding based on objectivequestions of the law of nations, and substitutes aGoldilocks-like question about ‘sufficient’extent.”

Beyond occasional, optional and broad authorizations for the use of military force, Congress nowadays chooses to tolerate avast area of presidential “prerogative,” as John Locke defined it: the“power to act according to discretion”and “without theprescription of thelaw.”

The lesson is stark. Do not expect the Constitution’slanguage and structure to impede what decades of presidential practices have madenormal: presidentsdoing what they choose regarding warmaking. The current president has pushed prerogative to absurdity (e.g defining war as somethingwaged by suspected drug smugglers).In domestic affairs (e.g., abogus “emergency” justifying tariffs;anexecutive order amending the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship),the Constitution probably soon will restrain him Regarding warmaking, however, theConstitution, Congress and norms are cobwebs inadequate for lassoing a presidential locomotive.

The future of college sports, even at public universities, is asecret.

Or rather,anever-growing collection of secrets.

That’sthe way things are headed these days, judging by recent events at Louisiana’sflagship university in Baton Rouge.

The Constitutional Convention changed Congress’s power from “to make war” to “to declarewar,” thereby expanding presidential war power.The Convention worriedthatifthe power to “make” war belonged to Congress (which often was out of session), the president could not repel suddenattacks. Also, the power to declare war wasalready almostanullity: Most wars then (and since) were declared by beginning them —wagingwar before, or rather than, declaring war.InFederalist 25, Alexander Hamilton noted that “the ceremony” of formally declaring war “has of late fallen into disuse.” Congress has not declared warsince

In theFounding era, Congress could control thepresident by not raising an army or maintaining anavy.(State militiaswere much larger than the national military.) Today,presidentswield huge permanentarmed services, and have no “practical need” (McConnell’s carefulphrase) to seek Congress’s permission to employ them. McConnell notes,however, that Congress’sappropriation poweris“almost unlimited,” andwas wielded to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

In “Imperial from theBeginning: TheConstitution of the Original Executive,” University of Virginia Law School professor Saikrishna Bangalore Prakashsays “whatever military discretion Congresschooses not to exercise, it must leave for the president.”

So, voters arelearning theConstitution’s limited abilitytomitigate the consequences of their choices. Neither thelanguage of the law (constitutional or other), nor what are now shadows of norms, can substitute for what is indispensable: an occupant of the presidency whose constitutional conscience causes him or her to distinguish the proper from themerely possible.

Given what the foreword of McConnell’sbook calls today’swidespread sense of “constitutional degradation,” it might seem quaint to speak of apresident’sconstitutional conscience. In a few years, however,there can again be presidential self-restraint grounded in personal humility,and in uncodified principles —moral and prudential —requiring decent respect from the decent

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

No matter how you cut it, trying to shut down pregnancy resource centers is not agood look. Yetgovernment officials in some blue states are targeting such centers, claiming they lure pregnant women who think they’re entering an abortion clinic and then, presumably, talk them into keeping their babies. What fresh hell is this?

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in 2022 that pro-baby centers shouldn’tbeallowed to “torture apregnant person” and introduced legislation to “crack down” on them.New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has said he would protect the city against “false or deceptive” information from pregnancyresourcecenters. And New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, aDemocrat, issued asubpoena against First Choice Women’s Resource Centers Inc., demanding 10 years of confidential internal records, including donor,volunteer and staff information, without cause or evidence of wrongdoing.Indeed, such centers have been offering life-affirming support to expectant mothers and families fordecades.

First Choice shot back with alegal challenge that was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Plaintiffs’ lawyers said the centers should be able to defend their constitutional rights in federal court when state officials target them because of theirbeliefs. Although the case was strictly procedural,the rulingcould have wideranging implications for nonprofits facing government intimidation, as the American Civil Liberties Union argued in an amicus brief. Cutting through the pettifoggery,itseems that the New Jersey attorney general wants to thwart donor support through exposure and implied threats of contempt Wherever one stands on thereversal of Roe v. Wade, one can’tpossibly think it’swrong to help women who want to carry their babies to term but lack support and resources. If it’sthe faith-based motivation of providers that rankles, then you might want to

The nonprofitCommunityCenter for Life, Inc. operatesthe Pregnancy and Family ResourceCenter in Gretna

brush up on religious liberty andthe Constitution.Some argue that the centers are legal but unethical. In the American Medical Association’sJournal of Ethics, two doctors write:“Although crisispregnancycenters enjoy First Amendment rights protections, their propagation of misinformation shouldberegarded as an ethical violation that undermineswomen’s health.”

Theauthors contendthatwhile seeming to be medical centers, the pregnancy resourcecenters are not subject to the licensure requirements and credentialing oversight of medical facilities. Not so. Any facility performingmedical procedureswould face appropriate laws and oversight While these legalmaneuvers have kept lawyers, doctors, nurses and laymen busy defending their mission to help women andbabies, the war on thecountry’sroughly 2,600pregnancy centers has become violent. Accordingtoatally by the Family Research Council, more than100 of these centers, pro-lifeorganizations and churches were attackedwitharson, firebombingand vandalism after theMay 2022 leak of theruling that reversed Roe v. Wade. Jane’sRevenge,a pro-choiceactivistgroup, claimedresponsibility for more than adozen of those incidents. Whatever compelspeople to donate timeormoney to help the less fortunatewhen they’re most vulnerable should be reasonfor celebration, not punishment. If apregnant woman seeking an abortionwanders intoa

pro-life clinic,itisn’tasthough she’ll be tackled, shackledinto abirthing chairand forced to recite the Nicene Creed.She can leave. Instead,such “misguided” womenmore often find helpful staff members, in many cases anurse,doctor,radiologist or sonographerwhose mission isn’ttomisinform but to help women in distress make informed decisions.

Most of thecenters offer long- and short-term support to mother andchild and, in some cases,the father.Alot of these young women are unmarried and say they’d have their babies if they hadfamily or other support. Many pregnancyresourcecenters offerjust that —diapers, formula,babyclothes, strollers, cribs, as wellasreferralsto other services.Some even provide job trainingand housing.

So,what’sthe beef?The answer should be obvious. If the government will no longer support Planned Parenthood through reimbursements —more than abilliondollars in payments from 2019 to 2022 across theorganization’s affiliatesfromMedicare,Medicaid andthe Children’sHealth Insurance Program —thenpregnancy centers, whichare nonprofit and largely but not solely subsidizedbyprivate donors, shouldn’tbeallowedtoexist. Some centers nowreceive state and federal funds, as wellastax creditsfor donations in states such as Missouri.

Criticssee thecenters as the next frontierinthe war on abortion,a conservative Christian movementtoreplace abortion clinics.

This seems lessa hostile takeover than an adaptation to newcircumstances,filling avoid that’snot been addressed. If feminism hastaught us anything, it is that women have agency.Itseems preposterous that someone as smart as thesenator fromMassachusetts would assume that apregnant woman can’t readsigns or makephone calls to figure outwhere she wants to go.Who thesedays says that womencan’tthink forthemselves? Only thepurveyors of choice,itseems.

Email KathleenParker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

On Dec. 11, LSU and footwear giant Nike jointly announced a 10-year extension of their longrunning partnership. The new deal will run through 2036 and include a Name, Image,Likeness component that will see money going directly to athletes under aprogram Nike terms “Blue Ribbon Elite.” It also will keep LSU athletes adorned with the swoosh for the next decade.

Presumably,this new deal will be worth more than the several millionper year Nike hasbeen paying to LSU under the current arrangement. Isay presumably because we don’tknow how muchthe deal is worth. LSU’sprevious contracts with Nike have been considered public records and provided as part of records requests. They have also been published on the LSU Sports website.

But not this one. When this newspaperaskedfor acopy of the new deal, areporter was told the university did not have it, and that the Tiger Athletic Foundation wasthe custodian of the records.

So, Nike’s new deal is not with LSU perse, but rather with TAF, which, of course, is aprivate entity that does not fall under the public records laws.

Never mind that the release announcing the deal described it as between “Tiger Athleticsand Nike,” and included astatement attributedto Verge Ausberry,LSU’sathletic director.Inother words, apublic entity,LSU Athletics, announced by apublic employee, Ausberry

But it’snot public.

This is just the latest in what has been, foryears now,anexpansion of secrecy around howpublic university athletics work. The tail is wagging the uh, Tiger And university officials are more thanhappy to be wagged, it appears. In another example, check LSU’snew arena project, whichseems to be picking up steamagain after along period of silence in the wake of the indictment of the developer’sfounder. (He was pardoned this month by President Donald Trump.) The entire evaluation of potential developers was handledbyTAF,behind closed doors and in secret. The list was whittled down from at least six to two, whose nameswere released, including Oak View Group, the eventual winner

All questions on that were directed to TAF, too

Or look at the advertising on the field in Death Valley.That deal is with TAF, and notthe school. TAFisliterally renting space on public land with officials’ consent.

Or look at how revenue share funds, whichare paid to athletes, are doled out. LSU is paying more than $20 millionaspart of the plan.

That money comes into apublic university and is paid out by apublic university to athletes. But LSU officials declined to reveal how muchisgoing to individual players.

It’sworth noting that every other public university in the state also declined to say. And that schools like Tulane and Loyola are private, so not subject to the same public records laws. This is not just aLouisiana problem: Public universities in other states are also working to keep thatinformation secret.

This is just the waythings are done now. Secrecy and backroom deals are necessary,theytell us, for LSU to remain competitive for revenue,top coaches and players. The Alabamas, Ohio States and Clemsons are also in on this moneyed arms race.

YetifLSU is such astrong brand and the business opportunities are so good, then why is transparency such an insurmountable hurdle?

The state has public bid laws and the like on the books for areason: Public entities are ownedby the taxpayers. And the taxpayers deserve to know how business is being conducted on their behalf. All of this should enrage regular,taxpaying Louisiana residents. LSU is shifting more of its athletics business to aprivate entity to avoid public scrutiny.Because with scrutiny comesaccountability,the type that should stretch farther than the results on the scoreboard.

I’m sure there are fans who disagree,and as long as the Tigers, Cajuns or Bulldogs win, they’re fine with the secrecy

I’m not one of them.Ibelieve in knowing what my government is doing. And running more and more dealings through foundations is nothing more than an end run around the good government rules the state has in place.

Because when it doesn’tgowell on the field —as eventually will happen—the secrecyisgoing to ensure that those truly responsible escape public accountability Then, the real losers are us.

EmailFaimon A. Roberts III at froberts@ theadvocate.com.

Kathleen Parker

George Will STAFF PHOTO By BLAKE PATERSON

Faimon Roberts

SPORTS

Buckets of fun

LSUbasketball teamsoff to encouragingstarts, butrealtests remain

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

In the waning daysleadingtoChristmas(no,I haven’tfinished my shopping), mostofthe spotlight on LSUathletics continues to be on the football program and itsfuture under new coach Lane Kiffin. Butsome of that light is justifiably startingtoshineonthe LSUbasketball programs, about whom twothoughts come to mind: 1. TheLSU women’s team has talent, depth and, of course, superior coaching. But does ithave what it takes to break through the Elite Eight levelofthe pasttwo seasons and returntothe FinalFour?

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

The most damning statistics in agame chock-full of them were Tulane’smeager 104 yards passingon10-of-29 completionsinits 45-10 mauling at Ole Miss in September

Grounded from thestart, the Green Wave never gave itself achanceasthe score gotout of hand quickly

“Our rhythm and timing in the throw game wasn’tgreatatthat point,” Tulanecoach Jon Sumrall said. “Wewerealittleout of sync, andthenontop of that theOle Miss secondary sort of choked our guys outalittle bit. We didn’tcreate enough separation. We have to do abetter job.”

ä Morgan State at LSU, 11 A.M.TUESDAy,SECN+

The16games that will determine the LSU women’sbasketball team’s NCAA Tournament seeding are right around the corner But first, the No.5Tigers (11-0) must play three more nonconference contests thatshould each shake out like most of the first 11 did. LSU scored at least 100 points in each of thefirsteight gamesitplayed,setting an NCAA record in the process, and picked up acome-from-behind road winover Duke. The Tigers lead the nation in several offensive categories, and they’vewon seven matchups by at least 50 points. The caveat is that the Tigers have played one of the country’slightest schedules. Things will get more difficult for LSU starting Jan. 1against No. 12 Kentucky The Wildcats are one of eight SEC teams ranked in the latest edition of The Associated Press Top25Poll. Here arethreethings to watch for in the Tigers’ last three nonconference games. Thefirst is ameeting with Morgan State that will tip off at 11 a.m. Tuesdayinthe Pete MaravichAssembly Center (SEC Network+).

Defense LSUisone of themostdangerous offensive teamsinthe nation. TheTigers solidified that standing on Dec.4,when they became only the second team to score at least 90 points against the Blue Devils across the last six seasons. But is LSU also oneofthe country’s best defensive teams?

Coach Kim Mulkeyisstill trying to answerthatquestion. She’s been emphasizing the need to seethe Tigers improve on thatend of thefloor ever sincethey played Duke. The Blue Devils have faced four ranked teams —No. 3South Carolina, No. 4UCLA, No. 5LSU and No. 15 Baylor —and their best offensive showing in those games cameagainst the Tigers.

If Ihad told you six weeksago that the New Orleans Saints had achance to go 7-10 this season, you probably would have suggested I get drug tested. The Saints had just suffered a beatdown against the Los Angeles Rams that left them with just one win in theirfirst nine games. The Saints hadn’tstarted a season that bad since 1980, eight years before their first-year coach Kellen Moore even was born Fast-forward six weeks and

things have changed. A7-10 record is well within reach for the Saints, fresh off back-toback wins over the top two teams in the NFCSouth. One week after knocking off the Tampa BayBuccaneers, the Saintsfollowed it up with acomeback victory over the Carolina Panthers to leavethose two teams deadlocked atop thedivision with 7-7 records. The Saints have been eliminated from the playoffs but aredoing

Thosenegligible numbers also are amajor reason for hope in the College Football Playoff rematch SaturdayatVaught Hemingway Stadium (2:30 p.m., TNT). It is hard to imagine Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff producing anything close to hisnightmarish5-of-17 passing performance (before getting benched) from the first meeting considering how much his wide receivers have improvedsincethen. Evenwithout injuredsenior Bryce Bohanon, Tulane goes six deep at theposition. Retzlaff’s top five targets all averagebetween 13.2 and15.7 yards percatch.Another wideout, Garrett Mmahat, became thesixth to lead the team in receiving yards against North

Texasinthe American championship game. Shazz Preston (38 catches, 598 yards),Anthony Brown-Stephens (35 catches, 466 yards), Omari Hayes (35catches,463 yards), Bohanon (31catches, 417yards) andZycarl Lewis (23 catches, 322 yards) have taken turns making plays. TreShackelford (12catches,184 yards) andMmahat (nice catches, 106 yards), who missed nine games witha foot injury, also couldbesignificantfactors against the Rebels. In eightregular-season games versus American Conference op-

ponents, Retzlaff threwfor 2,139 yards (267.4per game average). The wideouts —who range from the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Lewis to the 6-foot, 206-pound Preston accounted for 133 catches and 1,940 yards during that span.

“How that first gameendedup adds alittle fuel to the fire,” Preston said. “Nobody on our team wants to feel that way again. We are coming in with agrowth mindset, and Ifeel like it’sgoing to be adifferent outcome. We’ve adjustedand have astrongerchance to dominate this defense this goaround.”

Instead of weakness against strength, theWave sees the

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

LSU guard Dedan Thomas pivotswith threeSMU players near him during the first half at theSmoothie King Center on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

forward AmiyaJoyner goes up for ashotagainst UNO forward Chenai Mushore duringa game at Lakefront Arena on Dec. 7.

Undefeated UConn keeps top spot

LSU moves to 11-0 and stays at No. 5 in the AP poll

BY DOUG FEINBERG Associated Press

UConn went to California and blew out USC to keep its undefeated season intact and maintain its hold on the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll released Monday.

The Huskies received 24 firstplace votes from a 32-member national media panel. UConn has now been ranked 646 weeks in the poll to tie Stanford for third most in the 50-year history of the poll, trailing only Tennessee (801 appearances) and Texas (649)

The second-ranked Longhorns

garnered the other eight firstplace ballots. South Carolina, UCLA and LSU remained the next three teams in the poll. Michigan was sixth with Maryland seventh. Oklahoma flipped places with TCU to move up to eighth after beating rival Oklahoma State last week. Iowa State rounded out the top 10. The Cyclones beat rival Iowa 74-69 last week. The Hawkeyes remained 11th

Louisville made the biggest jump this week, climbing six spots to No. 16 after an overtime victory over then-No. 12 North Carolina on Sunday The Tar Heels fell six places to 18th.

In and out

Princeton moved into the poll at No. 25 as the Tigers earned a ranking at least once in four of the past five seasons. Carla Beru-

be’s squad has only lost once this season (Maryland). The Tigers replaced Oklahoma State, which fell out.

Conference supremacy

The Big Ten once again had nine teams in the poll while the Southeastern Conference was next with eight. The Big 12 and ACC each had three The Big East and Ivy each have one ranked team.

Games of the week

The second annual women’s Champions Classic will take place in New York on Saturday with No. 17 Tennessee playing No. 16 Louisville in the opener and topranked UConn facing No. 11 Iowa in the second game of the doubleheader The women’s doubleheader started last season. These two games are the only ones between ranked teams this week.

Arizona, Michigan stay 1-2 in rankings

Wildcats receive 42 of 61 first-place votes

By The Associated Press

No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 Michigan remained locked in place atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday while No 15 Nebraska jumped to its highest Top 25 ranking in nearly 35 years

The Wildcats had 42 of 61 firstplace votes to hold the top spot while the Wolverines received 15 to keep the teams at 1-2 for a second consecutive week.

The Wildcats (9-0) rallied from a halftime deficit Saturday to claim a 21-point win against then-No. 12 Alabama in the Crimson Tide’s home state, adding to a list of victories against ranked opponents that includes reigning national champion Florida, at UConn and Auburn The Wolverines (10-0) have won their past seven games by at least 18 points, a run that includes romps against Auburn (102-72) and Gonzaga (101-61). And Michigan sits atop analytics rankings by KenPom, Evan Miyakawa and Bart Torvik.

LSU (9-1), which defeated SMU (9-2) on Saturday 89-77 at the Smoothie King Center, continued to receive votes in the poll for the third straight week.

The top tier

The top 10 was largely unchanged, with No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 8 Houston swapping spots from last week the only new wrin-

kle. No. 3 Duke (three) and No. 4 Iowa State (one) were the only other teams to earn first-place votes. UConn and Purdue were next after the Cyclones, and Michigan State and BYU rounded out the top 10.

Rising The Cornhuskers (11-0) had the week’s biggest jump of eight spots after Saturday’s win at thenNo. 13 Illinois on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Nebraska has not been ranked this high since it was No. 11 in March 1991 for the final poll of that season. Nebraska had been ranked just 15 times in more than three decades since, then jumped in at No. 23 last week. No 14 Arkansas climbed three spots after beating then-No. 16

Texas Tech over the weekend, while No 12 North Carolina, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 17 Kansas each rose two spots. In all, seven teams moved up from last week.

Sliding

The now-No. 18 Illini and 23rdranked Florida had the week’s biggest slides, with each falling five spots. Alabama fell four spots after losing to Arizona and Texas Tech slid three, joining Houston as the week’s five teams to drop. Comings and goings

Georgia was the lone new addition to the poll, moving in at No. 25 to replace UCLA. This marks the third time the Bulldogs have been ranked since the 2002-03 season, the others coming in January 2011 (No. 24) and last January (No. 23).

Conference watch

The Southeastern Conference has the most ranked teams with seven, though none higher than Vanderbilt at No. 13. The Big 12 was next with six ranked teams, including four in the top 10 and two in the top five, followed by the Big Ten with five and the Atlantic Coast Conference with four Each of those three leagues have at least three teams ranked

than

in the SEC. The Big East (two)

Scheffler wins 4th straight PGA Player of the Year

Scottie Scheffler earned another comparison with Tiger Woods on Monday joining him as the only players to win PGA Tour Player of the Year at least four times in a row

Scheffler made an easy case to pick up another Jack Nicklaus Award. His tour-leading six victories were twice as many as anyone else and included two majors, the PGA Championship and the British Open, to leave him on the cusp of a career Grand Slam.

He became the first player since Woods in 2000 to lead the PGA Tour with the lowest scoring average in each of the four rounds and had 15 consecutive tournaments in the top 10 to end his remarkable season.

Scheffler was on the ballot with Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Ben Griffin.

Pavia apologizes for rant after losing Heisman vote

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia apologized on Sunday night for his comments after finishing second in Heisman votes behind Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

The competition wasn’t particularly close. The Indiana quarterback earned 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. Pavia was next with 1,435.

After the ceremony Pavia reposted an Instagram story of himself and his offensive line captioned “F-ALL THE VOTERS, BUT.....FAMILY FOR LIFE.” He also reposted comments from Skip Bayless on social media, stating the Vanderbilt QB should’ve won the award and seemingly throwing a jab at Mendoza’s six-minute acceptance speech.

Oft-injured Florida QB Lagway entering portal

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is entering the transfer portal. Lagway announced his intentions on social media Monday, saying “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such an incredible program here at the University of Florida.”

The oft-injured Lagway completed 63% of his passes this season for 2,264 yards, with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also ran for 136 yards and a score. He missed most of the offseason program while recovering from core-muscle surgery, a sore throwing arm and a strained calf. The Gators fired coach Billy Napier in October and hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, who will go in a different direction at the QB position.

Former South Carolina QB Taneyhill dies at 52

Steve Taneyhill, a record-setting quarterback for the South Carolina Gamecocks best known for his distinct long-flowing mullet and his home run swing after touchdown passes, has died. He was 52. The South Carolina athletic department confirmed Monday through a close friend of Taneyhill’s that he died overnight in his sleep. No cause of death was provided.

Taneyhill led South Carolina to its first bowl win in program history as a junior in 1994, defeating West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl.

Taneyhill, from Altoona, Pennsylvania, set school career records with 753 completions and 62 passing TDs and was second with 8,782 passing yards and seventh with a 60.5 completion percentage.

Sabalenka repeats as WTA Player of the Year

Aryna Sabalenka won her second consecutive WTA Tour Player of the Year award on Monday, getting nearly 80% of the vote from a media panel after winning the U.S. Open, reaching the finals of two other Grand Slam tournaments and closing the season ranked No. 1. Sabalenka joined Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek as back-toback winners of the honor over the past 25 years.

Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, led women’s tennis in match victories (going 63-12), titles (four) and finals reached (nine) in 2025 and set a tour record by earning $15 million in prize money She spent the entire year at No. 1. At the majors, Sabalenka was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and to Coco Gauff at

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ETHAN SWOPE

UConn guard KK Arnold drives the ball against Southern California during the second half of a game Saturday in Los Angeles The Huskies stayed at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings this week.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VASHA HUNT

Arizona guard Brayden Burries shoots and hits a 3-point shot over Alabama

Pelicans try new tack with Zion in reserve

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

James Borrego isn’t afraid to switch things up a little bit

So when Zion Williamson made his sooner-than-expected return from an injury Sunday, Borrego decided to roll with the lineup he’d been using and bring Williamson off of the bench.

The decision paid off as the Pelicans defeated the Chicago Bulls 114-104 at the United Center in Chicago.

Williamson, who missed the previous five games with a right hip adductor strain, finished with 18 points, six rebounds and two assists in his return. What prompted Borrego to bring Williamson off of the bench?

“Just the minutes,” Borrego said. “Obviously, he’s coming back off injury The No. 1 thing for Z is to keep him healthy and keep him on the floor That’s my No. 1 thing How we do it, we’re trying to figure that out. If it’s a different rotation, he’s fine with that. I’m fine with that. We’re going to figure this out.”

LSU

Continued from page 1C

That night, they scored 77 points on 50% shooting, becoming just the third Mulkey-era LSU regularseason nonconference opponent to convert at least half of its shots.

“We’re not naïve to think that we’re a great team right now,” Mulkey said last Thursday

According to Her Hoop Stats, LSU is allowing 70.4 points per 100 possessions the seventh-best mark in the country But it’s played only one game against a team with one of the nation’s top 50 scoring averages (Louisiana Tech).

“You’re not a great team, in my opinion,” Mulkey said, “until you dominate on the defensive end And you may never dominate in our league, but you’ve got a lot of great teams you’re gonna have to guard in our league, and I’ll hold my remarks until I see us against

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

2. The LSU men clearly are improved over last season But do they have what it takes to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 and secure Matt McMahon’s job for another season?

First, let’s talk about the women’s team, which improved to 11-0 on Saturday in New Orleans with an 87-61 victory against Louisiana Tech. It’s evidence of how good of a team Kim Mulkey’s Tigers are that they could turn in a somewhat lackluster performance in terms of scoring (their lowest total yet this season) and perimeter defense yet still easily roll past a Lady Techsters team picked to win Conference USA. Despite having only one Quad 1 win so far — a 93-77 victory at 4-6 Duke, which is still No. 38 in the NET despite its record LSU is No. 4 in the NET itself. This with

ä Rockets at Pelicans. 7 P.M.THURSDAy, WAFB

It was the first time in Williamson’s career that he didn’t start.

Borrego’s starting five Sunday was Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey and Derik Queen.

It was the third straight game and fourth time this season the Pelicans have started that lineup.

“Coach JB communicated with me early in the day,” Williamson said. “It was a game plan that allowed me to close the game My body is used to playing certain minutes of a quarter He walked me through it. I didn’t have a problem with it because it allowed me to close the game.” Williamson played 26 minutes and 37 seconds He scored seven points in the fourth quarter when the Pels outscored the Bulls 38-29 to pull away for just their second twogame winning streak of the season.

“Based on the minutes restriction or whatever we are looking at right now, this could be a good combination for us,” Borrego said. “I thought he was fantastic. He

those great teams in the SEC.”

Frontcourt rotation

Mulkey is still tinkering with her frontcourt rotation On Saturday against Louisiana Tech, she tested out her fourth different combination of frontline post players this season.

Freshman Grace Knox started at the 4, sophomore Notre Dame

transfer Kate Koval started at the 5 and ZaKiyah Johnson came off the bench for the first time this season.

Johnson started each of LSU’s

first 10 games — one alongside Knox, four next to Amiya Joyner and five next to Koval.

“All four of them are starters in my eyes,” Mulkey said, “but I can’t start all four of them. Every game, it could be a different combination. They produce. They’re coachable. They bring different things to the floor.”

In the next three games, look to see whether Mulkey sticks with

a strength of schedule that ranks only 289th nationally, per WarrenNolan.com.

The Tigers’ other numbers are staggering. The only team in the nation averaging more than 100 points per game — LSU is at 109.3 ppg, Oklahoma is second at 94.2 — the Tigers are also first nationally in field goal percentage (55.6%), margin of victory (53.1 ppg) and even 3-point percentage (42.6%). Those aren’t numbers likely to take a significant hit as LSU is sure to roll into Southeastern Conference play 14-0 with home wins at 11 a.m. Tuesday over Morgan State (0-10), Sunday against Texas-Arlington (5-5) and Dec. 28 against Alabama State (3-6). But the tests will come quickly enough LSU opens SEC play New Year’s Day at home against 11-1 Kentucky, followed by road trips to currently unbeaten (but also fairly untested) Vanderbilt and Georgia. Then comes the season’s first major showdown: Jan. 11 against No. 2-ranked Texas in the

Knicks and Spurs to meet in Tuesday’s NBA Cup final for trophy

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

LAS VEGAS The NBA Cup final doesn’t count. New York will enter with an 18-7 record. San Antonio will enter with an 18-7 record. And when Tuesday night’s game between the Knicks and Spurs is over, those records will be unchanged. But the game will have plenty of meaning. The teams are sure of that. A trophy, some bragging rights and a ton of money will be at stake when the Knicks and Spurs play in the NBA Cup title game. It’ll be the first time those franchises have met with a trophy on the line since San Antonio topped New York in the 1999 NBA Finals.

“It’s a high-stakes game that both teams are going to be very invested in winning,” Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said. “It just shows that we are preparing and we will pass the next step for more significant games in the playoffs. This is a complicated explanation, but it’s as simple as that: As competitors, we want to win every game, and this one brings something new on the table, so we want to win it even more.”

came in and gave us great energy He had sustained energy throughout the game and it gave him the ability to close in a way that wasn’t condensed or rushed. He was able to close in a way that had some fluidity to it, and he came in ready to go to close the fourth.”

Williamson was diagnosed with the adductor strain on Dec. 2. According to an ESPN report at the time, Williamson would miss “an extended amount of time” and would be re-evaluated in three weeks. But Williamson returned in just 12 days.

“Injuries suck,” Williamson said. “There’s no other way to put it. Rehabbing is not fun, either But over the summer me putting in that work on my body allows me — if something does happen — it’s not anything that keeps me out a super long time. I’m able to rehab it not just faster but at a more efficient rate.”

The Pelicans (5-22) return to action Thursday when they host the Houston Rockets It’s unclear whether Williamson will continue to come off of the bench.

“Whatever this team needs me to do to win, I’m going to do it,” he said

one starting lineup.

If she does, it could be a sign that she’s settled on a rotation for SEC play If she doesn’t, then she may have some more experimenting to do before Kentucky comes to town.

Gilbert’s status

Kailyn Gilbert starred in LSU’s first few SEC games last season, but it’s unclear whether she’ll rejoin the Tigers in time for this year’s slate of league contests.

Gilbert, a senior guard, last played on Nov. 17 in LSU’s win over Tulane. Mulkey said she stepped away from the team because she was “dealing with family issues.”

Gilbert is an off-the-dribble shot creator who took on more ballhandling duties in the first five games of this season than she did last year Her absence, if it extends into January, could free up more minutes for freshman guards Bella Hines and Divine Bourrage.

first half of a home-and-home series this season. The backcourt of Flau’jae Johnson, Mikayla Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley (who still comes off the bench) may be the nation’s best. And not even the greatest Mulkey teams at LSU or Baylor could likely match this team’s depth, with seven players currently scoring in double figures. Can LSU match up inside with 6-foot-5 Kate Koval, the transfer from Notre Dame, freshmen ZaKiyah Johnson and Grace Knox, and senior Amiya Joyner against the SEC’s most bruising teams? How will LSU’s high-octane offense perform against Texas’ suffocating defense or South Carolina’s waves of players? Mulkey publicly has said she likes this team, whose chemistry and lack of off-the-court drama has been a huge upside. But it will take the SEC gauntlet for us to know whether this is a team that can hang a national championship banner next to the one obtained in 2023.

It will be the end of the third in-season event: The Los Angeles Lakers beat Indiana in Year 1 when it was part of what was simply called the In-Season Tournament, and Milwaukee beat Oklahoma City last year after the rebranding to the NBA Cup. At stake: $318,560 per player with a standard contract on the winning team they’ve secured $212,373 each from the Cup bonus pool by getting to the final, and the winners’ share jumps to $530,933 apiece.

“You’re not winning or gaining anything in your record, but you’re going out there and competing,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said “You’re playing for more than just yourself. You’re playing for your team, your organization and your city There’s a lot at stake besides the record. You go out there and compete no matter what.”

Added Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox: “People like money It is what it is. That’s life.”

The financial payoff is one thing. There’s another payoff that could come this spring for the Spurs and Knicks.

The four previous Cup finalists — the Lakers and Pacers, then the Thunder and Bucks — all went to the playoffs after playing for this trophy, with the Pacers making the East finals in 2024 and the Thunder winning the title last season.

“No matter if it’s the Cup, NBA Finals, winning any game, when you get that feeling of winning, it’s addictive,” Knicks forward Karl-Anthony Towns said “Obviously, I want us to have that mindset where we’re addicted to the next championship if we can win this one. I think this is a great start for us to understand the standards needed to win at a high level, at a championship level.”

Every NBA Cup game counts in the standings, except the final. The NBA regular season is 82 games long and the league in the Cup era gives each club an 80-game schedule over the summer, with two more games to be filled in depending on how they perform during

No one is expecting or asking the LSU men’s squad to reach the Final Four something that has become the annual goal of the women’s Tigers. Just get back in the NCAA Tournament and see where things go from there is the men’s mission.

The LSU men similarly were untested by their nonconference slate until the past two games.

The first test resulted in a failing grade, as the Tigers took an 82-58 thumping on Dec. 7 from Texas Tech in Fort Worth, Texas. But LSU rebounded strongly for its first Quad 1 win on Saturday, turning back SMU 89-77 at the Smoothie King Center

The Tigers certainly have a huge loss to overcome after forward Jalen Reed went down with an Achilles tendon injury late last month. But the stellar play of point guard Dedan Thomas he had an impressive double-double with 16 points and 12 assists against SMU — as well as forward Marquel Sutton (he had 23 points and 12

ä Knicks vs. Spurs. 7:30

the group stage of the tournament.

For the Spurs and Knicks, those two extra games were the Cup quarterfinals and semifinals. This would be an 83rd game, so the league decided when it added the tournament that the Cup final wouldn’t count in the official records or stats for that season. It won’t change the way the teams play

“You treat it like a regular game,” Brunson said.

Wembanyama will likely remain on some sort of minutes restriction; he played 21 minutes off the bench on Saturday night in San Antonio’s 111-109 win over Oklahoma City, his first game back after missing 12 with a strained left calf

The Spurs came into Monday still deciding whether to start Wembanyama against the Knicks.

“When it comes to a guy like Wemby, because at his size and his skillset, nine times out of 10 he’s going to miss because he misses,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “But we have some pretty good defenders with length, and hopefully they can, at the point of attack, try to make it as difficult as possible with him, knowing that they have help behind them.”

The Knicks and Spurs both got to the Cup final with 5-1 records in the tournament; they each were 3-1 in group play, then went on the road for quarterfinal wins (New York over Toronto, San Antonio over the Lakers) before New York topped Orlando and San Antonio beat the Thunder in Saturday’s semifinals in Las Vegas. And now, a game that means nothing. Or everything, depending on perspective.

“I think we go into (Tuesday) trying to win the NBA Cup, and that’s the approach,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Our guys are really, really excited to be here. They’ve been excited since the start of it. I think we’ve seen our group really embrace the Cup. We’ve earned the right to be here, and I think we’re going to attack the game and be really fired up to try to go win it.”

rebounds against the Mustangs) looks like it could carry LSU far The 9-1 Tigers are outrebounding opponents by 8.6 boards per game, though their assist-toturnover ratio (1.42 per game, 90th nationally) could bear some improving.

As for LSU’s NCAA hopes, it’s definitely hopeful. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Tigers in his first four out of the field of 68 last week, though a website called HoopsHQ.com on Monday had them as a regional No. 9 seed. DRatings.com has LSU as a No. 11 seed, and that was before the SMU win.

The point being, McMahon’s Tigers are clearly worthy of NCAA conversation. The SEC also is not quite as fierce as last year, giving LSU a chance at more upward mobility As with the women, we’ll start to learn a lot more when the Tigers open SEC play Jan. 3 at Texas A&M.

Email Scott Rabalais at srabalais@theadvocate.com

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson scores against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half of a game on Nov. 26 at the Smoothie King Center

AP PHOTO By RONDA CHURCHILL San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama stands on the court after playing in an NBA Cup semifinal game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in Las Vegas.

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Fourth RB Estime comesupbig forSaints

BY LUKE JOHNSON and ZACH EWING Staff writers

While the New OrleansSaints have avoided major injury losses this season, they found themselves in atough spot Sunday afternoon in the Caesars Superdome.

Their regular starting running back, Alvin Kamara,was inactive because of knee and ankle injuries. His primary backup, Kendre Miller, was lost for the season in October. Promising rookie Devin Neal had done an admirable job filling in, but he injuredhis hamstring in the second quarter againstthe Carolina Panthers.

With the game on the linelatein the fourth quarter,itwas option No. 4who came through with two of the biggest plays of thegame. AudricEstime joinedthe Saints in mid-October shortly afterMiller’s injury.The 2024 fifth-rounderout of Notre Dame was on his third team of the season, having spent training camp with theDenver Broncos and most of the 2025 season on theEagles practice squad With less than aminute remaining in atie game, backedupnear their own goal line, the Saints called his number on awell-timed, well-executed screen pass.

“It was atricky situation,” coach Kellen Moore said. “They hadtwo timeouts, second down …Ifelt like we really needed some positive yards there.”

TylerShough dumped it off to Estime near the right tackle, and the second-year back ran for 19 yards to give New Orlens somelife.

On thevery next play,Shough found Estime over the middle of the field for a9-yard gain on a check-down pass. Those 28 combined yards represented nearly half of the yards gainedonthe

game-winning drive.

While Estime finished with pedestrian rushing numbers, gaining 11 yards on three carries, his 39 yards receiving were essentialin the winningeffort. The 227-pounder appreciated thechance toshow he’smorethan just abruising runner.

“I like to show that I’m athreedown back and Ican play in any style of offense asneeded,” Estime said.“I’mdefinitely abruising back, but Idon’tlike to limit myself and say that’sthe only thing

that is apart of my game.”

Shough ROY?

After leading theSaints to three victories in their past five games, Shough is starting to garner some national attention.

Themosttangibleway of measuring that?His NFL Offensive Rookieofthe Year odds, whichimproved by leaps and bounds after he passed for 272 yards on Sunday in a20-17 victory over theCarolina Panthersatthe Superdome.

Shough was listed with 250-1

Burrow to play meaningless gamesfor first time in career

BY JOE REEDY AP sportswriter

Joe Burrow will takepartin

late-season games with nothing at stake for the firsttime since he started playing organized football. It will be up to CincinnatiBengals ownership, director of player personnel Duke Tobin and coach Zac Taylor to ensure this is the final lost season with Burrowas their quarterback.

Cincinnati (4-10)was eliminated from the playoffs with its 24-0 losstothe Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.The Bengals reachedthe Super Bowl after the 2021 season and the AFC championship game ayear later,but they haven’tbeen to the postseason since. For his part, Burrow is trying to put on abrave face, saying he has “a lot of confidence”inthe front office and coaching staff to turn things around.

Burrow’s body language and comments at his news conferences will face scrutiny over thenext three games, especially after the six-year veteran acknowledged on his 29th birthday last Wednesday that this season and recent years have taken atoll “It was probably as disinterested I’ve ever seen Joe Burrow look,” ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said on “Get Up” Monday morning. “Just did not look engaged in football. He just came across as, ‘I don’twant to be here.’ Andobviously,the play yesterday was just bad.” Taylor said Monday that he expectsBurrowtoplaythe final three games. Cincinnati is at Miami on Sunday before hosting Ari-

WALKER

Continued from page1C

their part to eliminate everyone else they can.

“If we can’tgo(to the playoffs), I’mgoing to scoot overonthis couch,” Saints defensive endCam Jordansaid.“Come sit besideus. Where we are as ateam, we are trying to be everybody’sworst nightmare right now.”

There was atime when the only nightmare was the way the Saints’ season was unfolding. But the schedule lightened up abit, the defense hit its stride and Tyler Shough put on his Superman cape to get things turned around. The Saints are 3-2since

zona and Cleveland. If Cincinnatihopes to endthe year on an upswing, Burrow will need to play better.Hemissed nine games because of aturf-toe injury butdeliveredhopewhen he returned andled theBengals to a 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens onThanksgiving night. Buthis performance has dipped over thepastfive quarters, with four interceptions—including two that were returned for touchdowns.

Cincinnatiled 21-18goinginto the fourthquarter on Dec.7 at Buffalo, but Burrow threw two picks,one of which wasreturned 63 yards forago-ahead TD by Christian Benford

On Sunday,the Bengals entered Baltimoreterritory four times but didn’tscore —inpart because Burrowthrew apick-six in thered zone.

Burrow’stone and the team’s

that trip to L.A. and have three very winnable games remaining. They host theNew York Jets (3-11) on Sunday,then end the season with tripstoNashville to face the Tennessee Titans (2-12) and thefinaleagainst the Atlanta Falcons (5-9). Ateam just afew weeks removed from being in the conversationfor having the No. 1overalldraftpick is all of asudden in striking distance of winning two more games than it did last season.

Aseven-winseasonwould be 21/2 wins more than most everyone from Vegas oddsmakers to me had predicted. The over/ under on wins was 41/2 when the season began. Thattop-five draft pickisn’t

record have invited comparisons to 2010, when theBengals were projected tobeaplayoff team but finished 4-12. That ended up being the last strawfor Carson Palmer, who demanded atrade after the season.

The Bengals haven’tbeen built for sustained success. Even when they made the playoffs six times between 2009-15, they lost in the first round. The2021-22 postseason runs marked thefirst time the franchisewon playoff games in consecutive seasons.

Given their history,the organization now faces acritical assessment. Owner Mike Brown needs to look beyond the upcoming offseason to decide whether Tobin and Taylor can orchestrateanother turnaround. With afranchise quarterback,two star receivers under contract and ample salary caproom forupgrades,Cincinnati is positioned for changes.

quite as important now that the Saints seem to have found theirquarterback of the future. Shough is 3-3 since taking over as the starter.

“Howyou finish (a season) is always really important,” Moore saidlast week. “For individuals and for the team collectively,we are creating habits. We are creating habitsevery day,and we are creating an environmenttobe areally successfulprogram. You do that by winning football games ultimately.That’swhatculture is all about.”

Credit to Moore andthe veteran leadership on theteam for keeping the ship afloat after therocky start.

Defensive endChase Young, whowas so instrumental in Sun-

tween a4%and 5% chance of him winning the award whenit’sannounced during Super Bowlweek. Still, it’snotable movement for the second-round draftpickwho didn’tsee meaningful action until the second half of aWeek 8game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 26, and didn’tstart a game until the next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

Sincethen, Shoughhas helped the Saints sweep the Panthers and defeat the TampaBay Buccaneers on the road. He has completed 66.7% of hispasses for 1,484 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions, and also has run for 138 yards and two TDs.

Behind Henderson (+190 at FanDuel), the othertop contenders are Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (+270), Buccaneers wide receiver EmekaEgbuka (+310),New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (+430) and Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren (+2200).

Jets makemove

odds before the game, an extreme long-shot number that implied a0.4% chance he would win the award.

Butafterward, his odds have improved morethan tenfold. They’re as low as 18-1atFanDuel Sportsbook, 22-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, and25-1atDraftKings andBetMGM.

Shoughisstill nowherenear the favorite —that status belongs to New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson —and the newodds still imply only be-

The New York Jets will have a newdefensive play-callerwhen theyvisit the Saints on Sunday Jets head coach Aaron Glenn announced Monday that he’d fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks afterNew York’s48-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chris Harris will take over the role.

The loss dropped the Jets to 30th in the NFLinscoring defense. New York hasallowedat least 30 points in six games this season,tiedfor the fourth most in the league Through 14 games, the Jets remarkably have not recorded a single interception. They are the first team in theSuper Bowlera to notrecord at least oneinterceptionthrough the first 14 games of aseason

Commanders shut down QB Danielsfor season

The Associated Press

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will be shut down for the rest of theseason, starting with Saturday’sgame againstthe reigning SuperBowl championPhiladelphia Eagles.

“We’re going to sit him for the final three games,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said Monday duringavideoconference with reporters, calling the decision “part medical and part team.”

The Commanders (4-10) have been eliminated from playoffcontention Danielsappearedinonlyseven games thisseason, missingtime because of asprainedleftknee, ahurtright hamstring and, most recently,adislocated leftelbow

Daniels sat out Sunday’s29-21 victoryatthe NewYorkGiants, whichended Washington’seightgamelosing streak.

Lastseason, Daniels appeared in all20games theCommanders played, including a12-5 regular season and arun to the NFC title game. He earned AP NFL Offensive Rookie of theYear honors afterbeing the No.2draft pick.

“Webelieve this decision allows him to take advantage of the next fewweeks. He wants to practice and he will practice,” Quinn said.

“Weall know the best waytogrow is during the games …but there’s plentyofways forhim to learn.”

This season,the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner at LSU owns acompletion rate of 60.6% with1,262 yards, eight touchdowns andthree interceptions. His passer rating slid from 100.1to88.1. He ranfor 278 yards with twoscores.

day’swin, recalls the words linebacker Demario Davis gave to the team afew weeks ago.

“How are you going to respond when everything isn’tgoing your way?” Davis asked his teammates.

Well, they responded with a pair of wins.

“I feel like if you look at our team,regardless, we never stop fighting,”Young said.

The Saints now have achance to end the season on afive-game winning streak. That would have soundedoutlandish afew weeks ago. The last time the Saints won even four games in arow within aseason was in 2020, Sean Payton’slast year

“It’slikewhat I’ve been saying all season,” Jordan said. “Weare

CHIEFS

QB Mahomes tears ACL:InKansas City,Missouri, PatrickMahomes will geta secondopiniononhis torn left ACL before having surgery,Chiefscoach Andy Reid said Monday,and it remains unclear whether the two-time MVP quarterback could be available by the start of next season.

Mahomes tore the knee ligament when he was spun to the ground while trying to keep Kansas City’s postseason hopes alivelate in a1613 loss to the Chargers on Sunday The Chiefs were eliminated fromplayoff contention for the first timeinadecade.

Mahomes will see Dr.Dan Cooper,ahighly regarded orthopedist and the team physician of the Dallas Cowboys, before the procedure to repair the ligament. The visit is to confirm whatwill be done.

PACKERS

Parsons’ seasonisover:InGreen Bay,Wisconsin, an MRI confirmed Green Bay star pass rusher Micah Parsons tore his leftACL that will end his season, aperson with knowledge of thetestresultstold The Associated Press on Monday The noncontact injury occurred Sunday during the third quarter of Green Bay’s34-26 loss at Denver, which snapped the Packers’ fourgamewinning streak and knocked themout of first place in the NFC North.The Packers (9-4-1) visit the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears (10-4) on Saturday Parsons, 26, had 121/2 sacks in 14 games this year,becoming the first player to have at least 12 sacksin each of his first five seasons since the league startedmeasuring it as an official statistic in 1982.

aresilient team.You don’tsee anybody’shead down.”

Ateam that had nothing to play for afew weeks ago somehow found something to play for anyway: pride.

“We’re hitting stride,” Jordan said. “But we needed to hit strides alittle bit earlier.We don’thave any agenda now.Now our agenda is to wreck other people’sagenda.”

The Saints did that the past two games with apair of surprise wins. Going 7-10 would be an even bigger surprise, especially considering where the Saints were six weeks ago.

Email RodWalker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints running back Audric Estimeruns the ball during agame against the Panthers on Sundayatthe Caesars Superdome.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF DEAN Bengals quarterbackJoe Burrow leavesthe field after aloss to the Ravens on Sunday in Cincinnati.

Sumrall to donate $100,000 to Tulane’s NIL initiative

BY GUERRY SMITH

Contributing writer

Regardless of what happens

Saturday in the College Football Playoff against Ole Miss, coach Jon Sumrall is leaving Tulane with a substantial parting gift on his way to the University of Florida.

On Monday morning the school announced Sumrall and his family made a $100,000 contribution to the Green Wave Talent Fund to support his successor, Will Hall After practice at Yulman Stadium, Sumrall explained his motivation

“My wife and I back two months ago made the decision to do this,” he said. “I was doing this if I stayed, and when I decided to be the coach at a different school, one of the things we talked about was, ‘hey we still want to do this.’”

The Green Wave Talent Fund is a Tulane athletics initiative to expand name, image and likeness opportunities for Tulane athletes, which the university bills as a critical component in ensuring on-field success while empowering Green Wave coaches to recruit and compete at the highest level

Sumrall added he had made one condition that had been met for his donation: pick a coach he approved of as his replacement. Last Monday, Tulane promoted Hall, whom Sumrall hired as passing game coordinator before spring practice, to succeed him.

“If they had hired some schmuck, I probably wouldn’t have kept doing it, but they hired Will Hall, who I have great respect for,” Sumrall said. “I’ve coached against Will a long time. I want to see him have continued success.”

Sumrall’s exit from Tulane is an almost total contrast to Lane Kiffin’s from Ole Miss ahead of the teams’ playoff game. The Rebels’ administration barred Kiffin from

TULANE

Continued from page 1C

matchup on the perimeter as strength against strength this time. Ole Miss ranks 27th nationally in pass efficiency defense, limiting opponents to 56.4% completions (third-best total in the SEC) and 182.6 yards passing per game (also third) despite not placing a single defensive back on the coaches’ first, second or third teams.

The key for the Wave will be a better start Hayes dropped a third-down pass that would have moved the chains on Tulane’s first possession in September One series later, Lewis could not hold on to another third-down throw when he got popped by safety Sage Ryan, a former LSU player.

The tone was set for a brutal day Retzlaff did not complete his second pass until the final play of the first half.

“On third downs, we have to be better than we were the last game,” Retzlaff said “That came with a couple incompletions that I could have thrown a better ball and the receivers maybe should have made the catch, but that’s done. It’s flushed from the system, and we’re a lot more aligned than we’ve ever been.” Only Bohanon had a 100-yard game (101 against Memphis), but Preston came close with 95 on three catches against Duke and 96 on five receptions against Temple in addition to two more games with

continuing to coach, and multiple players responded to Kiffin’s post on X that they had wanted him to return by disagreeing with his assessment.

Sumrall has received nothing but support from his players. He made it clear Monday how important a friendly exit was to him.

“This place the university the city — has meant the world to me and my family,” he said. “It always will For us, the fact we’re not going to be here next year doesn’t change that we’re Tulane fans. We’re New Orleanians in a lot of ways. When you leave a place, how you leave it matters just as much as how you enter it I want to leave on good terms. I want to be able to come back in 20 years and celebrate this team that’s won a championship already together and not be like the way you walked out of the building was questionable I want to see Tulane get better after I leave.”

Worst of the best?

If Tulane already felt disrespected by all of the commentators saying Group of Five conference teams did not deserve their spots in the CFP, ESPN writer Bill Connelly provided more ammunition on Monday when he ranked the Wave dead last among 64 all-time playoff teams.

James Madison, the other Group of Five school in this year’s playoff, was four spots above Tulane.

“That’s crazy,” quarterback Jake Retzlaff said when told of the ranking.

Connelly relies heavily on his own SP+ ranking, an efficiencybased formula that has been unkind to Tulane all year because of its blowout losses to Ole Miss and Texas-San Antonio and up-anddown play in several of its victories. He has the Wave 42nd among

FBS teams in 2025, trailing three conference opponents it beat No. 21 North Texas, No. 34 Memphis and No. 40 East Carolina.

James Madison is 24th. Ole Miss is seventh.

Back to normal

When Tulane faced Ole Miss in September normal left guard Shadre Hurst started at left tackle, replacing an injured Derrick Graham, and redshirt freshman Elijah Baker made his first career start at left guard in place of Hurst.

Graham, whom Sumrall considers first-team All-American Conference caliber has started every other game. Baker went back to being a reserve.

“Shadre knows this as well as we all know this — he’s not a tackle,” Tulane offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said. “They went and played their best, but early in the season we were moving people around and now we feel like we have our five. The continuity up front has been a big difference the last couple weeks.”

Tulane has started the same five offensive linemen — Graham, Hurst, center Jack Hollifield, right guard Jordan Hall and right tackle Reese Baker — for the past eight games.

“We know our matchups,” Hurst said “We’re back 100 percent, so we’re definitely highly confident.” Lagniappe

Sumrall said Tulane would practice at the Shrine on Airline near the Saints’ practice facility on Tuesday and Wednesday to get used to grass. The Wave has only field turf available on campus.

Vaught Hemingway Stadium has a grass field. Tulane and Ole Miss did not practice Sunday, complying with the NCAA rule that requires one off day in a game week.

Tulane wide receiver Zycarl

85-plus yards. Brown-Stephens had nine grabs for 98 yards against Charlotte. Hayes caught four passes for 89 yards against Tulsa.

“Since Week 4, we have far more weapons than what the coaches expected,” Preston said. “One game (East Carolina), we had a pass to all of the receivers in our room (eight), and that just goes to show you how much talent we have Whoever has the hot hand, that’s who we are going to ride.”

Preston, a St. James product who spent two fruitless years at Alabama before transferring to Tulane in 2024, has provided the most spectacular moments. He redirected a deflection to himself in the end zone for the winning score in the final minute against Army. He had 65- and 69-yard touchdowns against Memphis and Temple on opening-series post patterns. Maybe more than anyone, he is

Big Ten puts 10 on AP All-America first team

BY ERIC OLSON Associated Press

Four players from Ohio State are among 10 first-team picks from the Big Ten Conference on The Associated Press AllAmerica team released Monday, a group headed by repeat selection Caleb Downs of the Buckeyes and AP Player of the Year Fernando Mendoza of Indiana.

LSU senior cornerback Mansoor Delane was named to the first-team defense. The AP has named an AllAmerica team every year since 1925, and Notre Dame’s two firstteam picks this season increased its all-time lead to 87.

Downs, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, has made the first team each of his two seasons at Ohio State after landing on the second team as a freshman at Alabama in 2023. He is one of 12 players on the 27-man first team who did not start their careers at their

current school. Downs is joined on the first team by fellow Buckeyes players Jeremiah Smith Kayden McDonald and Arvell Reese. Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy, led the top-ranked Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and the No 1 seed in the College Football Playoff after transferring from California. He has thrown a nation-leading 33 touchdowns and is the catalyst of one of the most productive offenses in the country A total of 18 schools are represented on the first team, including seven of the 12 in the CFP Iowa has had at least one firstteam player for seven straight years and in 10 of the past 12. This is the fourth year in a row Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State have had at least one. Punter Cole Maynard gave Western Kentucky its first firstteam pick. Defensive lineman Landon Robinson is Navy’s first since 1975 and kicker Kansei Matsuzawa is Hawaii’s first since 1986.

AP ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

burning to atone for a quiet threecatch, 35-yard September day in Oxford. He credited his hardearned chemistry with Retzlaff, who arrived in late July, for his burgeoning explosiveness.

“When Jake came, I was the first person to have a throwing session with him as soon as he touched down on campus,” he said. “We were out on the field throwing routes just to get started on the bond early That’s what pros do.”

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who was the defensive coordinator for the first meeting, definitely has noticed the difference.

“They are skilled on the perimeter,” he said. “They look a lot more comfortable in the offense. They are playing at a high level. This is not Week 4 Tulane. They are scoring a lot of points and doing a lot of things really well We are going to have to be focused.”

Linebacker — Arvell Reese, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 243, Cleveland

6-1, 235, Wichita Falls, Texas.

Linebacker — CJ Allen, Georgia, junior, 6-1, 235, Barnesville, Georgia.

Cornerback — Leonard Moore, Notre Dame, sophomore, 6-2, 195, Round Rock, Texas.

Cornerback — Mansoor Delane, LSU, senior, 6-0, 190, Silver Spring, Maryland

Safety — Caleb Downs, Ohio State, junior, 6-0, 205, Hoschton, Georgia

Safety — Bishop Fitzgerald, Southern California, senior, 5-11, 205, Woodbridge, Virginia.

Defensive back — Jakari Foster, Louisiana Tech, senior, 6-0, 211, Piedmont, Alabama Punter — Cole Maynard, Western Kentucky, senior, 6-1, 180, Mooresville, North Carolina

Second-team offense

Wide receiver — Carnell Tate, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 195, Chicago.

Wide receiver — Malachi Toney, Miami, freshman, 5-11, 188, Liberty City, Florida.

Wide receiver — Danny Scudero, San Jose State, sophomore, 5-9, 174, San Jose, California

Tackle — Kadyn Proctor, Alabama, junior, 6-7, 366, Des Moines, Iowa

Tackle — Carter Smith, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 313, Powell, Ohio.

Guard Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State, junior, 6-4, 323, Graham, Washington.

Guard — Ar’maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M, graduate, 6-5, 325, Dallas.

Center – Jake Slaughter, Florida, senior, 6-4, 303, Sparr, Florida

Tight end — Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon, junior, 6-3, 245, Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Quarterback — Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt, graduate, 6-0, 207, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Running back — Emmett Johnson, Nebraska, junior, 5-11, 200, Minneapolis.

Running back — Kewan Lacy, Mississippi, sophomore, 5-11, 210, Dallas.

Kicker — Tate Sandell, Oklahoma, junior, 5-9, 182, Port Neches, Texas.

All-purpose — Wayne Knight, James Madison, junior, 5-7, 190, Smyrna, Delaware

Second-team defense

Edge rusher — Rueben Bain Jr., Miami, junior, 6-3, 270, Miami.

Edge rusher — John Henry Daley, Utah, sophomore, 6-4, 255, Alpine, Utah.

Interior lineman — A.J. Holmes Jr., Texas Tech, junior, 6-3, 300, Houston.

Interior lineman — Peter Woods, Clemson, junior, 6-3, 310, Alabaster, Alabama.

Linebacker — Sonny Styles, Ohio State, senior, 6-5, 243, Pickerington, Ohio.

Linebacker — Anthony Hill, Texas, junior, 6-3, 238, Denton, Texas

Linebacker — Red Murdock, Buffalo, graduate, 6-1, 240, Petersburg, Virginia.

Cornerback — D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana, junior, 5-9, 173, Miami.

Cornerback — Chris Johnson, San Diego State, senior, 6-0, 195, Eastvale, California.

Safety — Dillon Thieneman, Oregon, junior, 6-0, 205, Westfield, Indiana.

Safety — Louis Moore, Indiana, senior, 5-11, 200, Mesquite, Texas.

Defensive back — Hezekiah Masses, California, senior, 6-1, 185, Deerfield Beach, Florida

Punter — Brett Thorson, Georgia, senior, 6-2, 235, Melbourne, Australia

Third-team offense

Wide receiver — Eric McAlister, TCU, senior, 6-3, 205, Azle, Texas.

Wide receiver — Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee, junior, 6-5, 200, Midland, Texas.

Wide receiver — Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, junior, 6-2, 200, Allen, Texas.

Tackle — Keagen Trost, Missouri, graduate, 6-4, 316, Kankakee, Illinois.

Tackle — Brian Parker II, Duke, junior, 6-5, 305, Cincinnati.

Guard — Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech, senior, 6-4, 330, Royston, Georgia

Guard — Evan Tengesdahl, Cincinnati, sophomore, 6-3, 320, Dayton, Ohio.

Center — Iapani Laloulu, Oregon, junior, 6-2, 329, Honolulu.

Tight end — Michael Trigg, Baylor, senior, 6-4, 240, Tampa, Florida

Quarterback — Julian Sayin, Ohio State, redshirt freshman, 6-1, 208, Carlsbad, California.

Running back — Cam Cook, Jacksonville State, junior, 5-11, 200, Round Rock, Texas

Running back — Kaytron Allen, Penn State, senior, 5-11, 219, Norfolk, Virginia

Kicker — Aidan Birr, Georgia Tech, junior, 6-1, 205, Kennedale, Texas.

All-purpose — Jadarian Price, Notre Dame, junior, 5-11, 210, Denison, Texas.

Third-team defense

Edge rusher — Caden Curry, Ohio State, senior, 6-3, 260, Greenwood, Indiana.

Edge rusher — Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan, senior, 6-3, 250, New York

Interior lineman — Tyrique Tucker, Indiana, junior, 6-0, 302, Norfolk, Virginia

Interior lineman — Lee Hunter, Texas Tech, senior, 6-4, 330, Mobile, Alabama

Linebacker — Aiden Fisher, Indiana, senior, 6-1, 231, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Linebacker — Caden Fordham, North Carolina State, graduate, 6-1, 230, Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Linebacker — Owen Long, Colorado State, sophomore, 6-2, 230, Whittier, California

Cornerback — Avieon Terrell, Clemson, junior, 5-11, 180, Atlanta.

Cornerback — Treydan Stukes, Arizona, senior, 6-2, 200, Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Safety — Michael Taaffe, Texas, senior, 6-0, 189, Austin, Texas.

Safety — Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo, senior, 6-2, 202, Tampa, Florida.

Defensive back — Bray Hubbard, Alabama, junior, 6-2, 213, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Punter — Ryan Eckley, Michigan State, junior, 6-2, 207, Lithia, Florida

Reports: Ole Miss to hire former LSU GM Thomas

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Former LSU general manager

Austin Thomas is expected to return to Ole Miss in a similar role, according to multiple reports

Monday

Thomas

Thomas reportedly will be named the Ole Miss general manager and president of football operations. He was not retained as the LSU general manager after the hiring of new head coach Lane Kiffin, making his future uncertain at LSU.

Kiffin brought general manager Billy Glasscock with him from Ole Miss. Glasscock has been Kiffin’s general manager since 2024, when Thomas left Ole Miss for his third stint at LSU. Although Thomas has worked for Kiffin at three different schools, including two years at Ole Miss, multiple sources said Thomas’ departure to LSU frayed their relationship at the time. One of the first people in col-

lege football to be named a general manager almost a decade ago, Thomas is considered by some to be one of the top executives in the sport. He received a threeyear, $2.5 million contract extension earlier this year at LSU. LSU brought back Thomas ahead of the 2024 season as it reshaped the football front office. He was instrumental in the formation of the roster this year, when LSU signed 247Sports’ No.1 transfer portal class after an NIL fundraising push. Thomas worked closely with former LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who was ousted in late October a few days after LSU fired Brian Kelly Thomas referred to Woodward as a mentor Kiffin already has brought several Ole Miss personnel staff members with him. LSU finalized terms last week with director of player personnel Mike Williams and director of recruiting Dwike Wilson. Ole Miss last week hired LSU assistant general manager Kelvin Bolden for a similar role. He previously worked with Thomas for two years at Ole Miss before coming to LSU this summer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Lewis, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against East Carolina at yulman Stadium on Oct. 9.

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Coach Jon Sumrall shakes hands and celebrates after Tulane’s name was announced during a watch party for the College Football Playoff on Dec. 7 at yulman Stadium

Thegift that keeps on giving

Long-lived holiday cactuses canbe enjoyedyear-round

GARDEN NEWS

The joy of the holiday season can feel fleeting. There’s ablur of get-togethers, cooking, shopping —and then, suddenly,it’s all over Aplant that’scommonly used for decorating this timeof year,however, is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. We’re talking about the holiday cactus —aplant that fits in perfectly with festive decor.But it’sso much more: It offers year-round visual appeal as either ahouseplant or an outdoor specimen, has along life span and is easy to propagate and share.

Garden centers arefullof all sorts of unique holiday cactuses cultivars right now.You can find awide range of flower colors, from white to various pinks to red, as wellasdifferent growth habits and foliage characteristics.

There are two main kindsof holiday cactuses: Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera xbuckleyi), which begins flowering in December,and its earlierblooming cousin, Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergeratruncata). Both are native to the rainforestsofSouth America.

LSU AGCENTERPHOTO

By OLIVIA McCLURE

Holidaycactuses are afavorite for seasonal decorating

While there are features that distinguish the two —Thanksgiving cactus has amore upright growthhabit, and its leaf segments have toothlike protrusions that Christmas cactus lacks —many people use their namesinterchangeably or simply refer to the plants generically as holiday cactuses. Care forboth plantsissimilar As succulents, holiday cactuses store asignificant amount of moisture in their fleshy leaves. That means it’s important to not overwater them. Let the top inch or soof potting mix dry out before you water

Overwatering can lead to limp stems and dropped flower buds. So can too much or too little light

Holiday cactuses don’tlike directsun. Instead, place them in the filtered light of awindow or in apartially shaded outdoor location, like apatio. If you use theplants for aparty display in adimly lit area of your home, be sure to return them to asunnier space soon afterward

Because they are tropical plants, holiday cactuses are sensitive to cold temperatures. They must be protected or brought inside when afreeze is predicted. Holiday cactuses can provide many years of enjoymentif you take good care of them. Once they finish flowering, the cactuses move into aphase of

Supportive souvenirs

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

With alittle effort,shopping local in Baton Rouge yields many options. From homestudios to brick-andmortar shops, BatonRouge makers produce awide range of goods locally,often spending months preparing inventory ahead of the holiday season This list highlightsfive Baton Rouge-based businesses creating items in thecapital city,spanning mediums that include jewelry,pottery,books, paintings and soap If you know of other Baton Rouge-made items that make great gifts, sendamessage to lauren.cheramie@theadvocate.com.

Mimosa Handcrafted Mimosa’s“jewelry laboratory” in BatonRouge makes hundreds of pieces of jewelry by hand each week,mainly focusing on the ancient art of lost wax casting. Owners Madeline andDawson Ellis have yearsofexperimenting withceramic jewelry,glass beads,

enamel and more. Madeline Ellis is inspired by local and regional landscape, cultureand thehuman experiencetodraw and design her pieces. The shop offers bronze, sterling silver and 14-carat gold jewelry in the formofearrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces and other products. Visitmimosahandcrafted.com to shoponline or visit the store. The Mimosa Shoppe, at 541 S. Eugene St., Baton Rouge, is open 10 a.m. to 5p.m. Tuesday through Saturday TreeHousePottery

As aretired physician, Bill Moore began working with pottery in 2016, which opened anew world of creativity for him. Still, he uses hisscience backgroundfor glaze mixing and problem solving. His work is wheel thrown and fired in an electric kiln at Cone

SeveralBRrestaurants to open forChristmas

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

When the holidays come around, sometimes the last thingyou want to do is spend Christmasinthe kitchen. Let these Baton Rouge restaurants take the hassle out of the day and leave the dishesfor someone else to clean. Do you know any other restaurantsopen on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Let us know,and we’ll add it to the list. Email madison.scott@theadvocate.com. ChristmasEve n Colonel’s Club (2857 Perkins Road):From11a.m.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Avariety of Mimosa Handcrafted bronze cuffs

Bill Moore’sTreeHouse Potteryoffers cups, teapots, vases and more.

Let’sstopasking‘Whyaren’tyou drinking?’

Dear Miss Manners: How does one handle being offered alcohol whenyou choose not to drink?

Igot aDUI two years ago, and Iwill NEVER drink and drive ever again. I’ve been in numerous situations where I’ve declinedakind offer of a drink, but have been pestered as to why Out for ahappy hour with co-workers, Iwilljust drink water,but Ioften get asked, “So, why aren’t you drinking?” InitiallyI just shrugged it off, but after awhile, Ihad to make up an excuse, so I lied that it would interfere with my medication. Oops —now I’m

LOCAL

Continued from page1D

6–7, with many of his glazes resembling atmosphere effects.

TreeHouse Pottery,based in Baton Rouge, offersfunctional stoneware pottery in products such as vases, pitchers, teapots, serving bowls, cups, storage vessels and goblets. Moore is amember of the Louisiana Crafts Guild,and his work is on display for sale at the LouisianaArt and Science Museum. Shop online at treehousepottery.bigcartel.com.

Paintingsby

CassidyBreaux

Artist Cassidy Breaux captures the culture of southLouisiana throughhis art, which depicts marsh landscapes, crawfish boils, sunsets, fishermen, cypress trees, duck hunting and Louisiana commodities like oysters, crabs and more He works outofhis studio in Baton Rouge in oilon board or canvas. He alsooffers prints and abstracts. Shop online at cassidybreauxart.com.

‘Let’s Meet on Government Street’

Baton Rouge artist Ashtin McNicoll wrote and illustrated “Let’s Meet on Government Street” as alove letter and time capsule for the city McNicoll, who moved to Baton Rouge in 2014, wanted to capture all the ways that the city has grown and changed before her.She highlights small businesses on the long stretch of Government Street in the Mid City neighborhood.

The story followsKason

CACTUSES

Continued from page1D

vegetative growth. They need regular watering and fertilization during this time, which lasts through about August.

To get your cactus to bloom again in time for next year’sholiday season,move it to ashady location outside in October (if you’ve been keeping it indoors). Holiday cactuses are short-day plants, so they have to be exposed to long nights (at least 12 hours) and cool temperatures to set their flower buds. The plant willprefer to be alittle drier during this time. Youcan bring it back into your home once you see buds forming at the branch tips. Over the years, your cactus willprobably grow quite large and become topheavy. Plantinginashort,

OPEN

Continued from page1D

asked what kindofmeds I’m on!

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

With extended family,Iget thesame inquiry.I just makeup some excuse: Idon’tfeel like it, Ihave ahangover I’m goingout tomorrow, whatever Iwon’t even have one drink —and have found it quite rudeofpeople to question why.There are so many potential reasons why people choose not to drink! Ifeel like Ihave to explain myself, and Iam sick of it. How do Iproperly address this issue?

Gentle reader: Not byexplaining yourself —nor bymaking up excuses. Thequestion is not only

intrusive but silly,asitpresumes that alcohol is such astaple of life that aspecial exemption is needed. Butasyou keep socializing with people who believe otherwise, Miss Manners suggeststhat you treat this as the opening of atwosided conversation. It is always tactfultoshow an interest in the other person. So you could say, with apleasant show of interest, “What about you? Tell me —why do you drink?”

Dear Miss Manners: Iwould like to know if it’s proper for one person to hand another person abirthday card/Christmas card personally —not one attached to agift. It seemstomethat acard should be

and his family on aSaturday morninginBatonRouge, stopping at real-life businesses like Counterspace, Barracuda Taco Stand,Elsie’sPlate andPie andmore. Every page was handdrawnand painted,and the book is available in paperback orhardback. Aside from the book, McNicoll also has art prints available for gifting. Shop online at iammadetopaint.com.

Fern Meadow Soap

The soap from Fern Meadow is madeinsmall batches

using thecold-process soapmaking method with oils, butters, fragrances and other additives. Many customers appreciate Fern Meadow’sintricate designs such as stripes,flowers,honeycomb, marble effects in thebars of soap Some of the Christmas collection soaps include scents like alpine frost, candy cane and winter berry Shop online at fernmeadowsoap.com.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

Holiday cactusesare characterized by flattened leaf segments, which sometimes have serrated edges, and flowers that appear during the shortdaysand cool weather of late fall and winter

wide pot can help keep the plant balanced. Youalso can trim the cactustodownsize it as needed. Don’tthrowaway the stem cuttings; pass them on to afriendoruse

tions): Thediner chain is open 24/7, 365 daysofthe year,and Christmaswaffles arenoexception. n Sullivan’sSteakhouse (5252 Corporate Blvd.): The steakhouse will be open both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,serving its full menu. Reservations can be made online.

n TheGregory (150 Third St.):The annual holiday buffet,open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will feature charbroiled oysters, lobster and gruyere mac and cheese, gumbo, prime rib andmore.

them to start new plants of your own. Just separatethe individual stem segments, allow them to callus for a couple of days and plant them in well-draining pottingmix

n Veganish Vibes(4608 Bennington Ave.): This spot will be open 11 a.m. to 3p.m. on Christmas Eve and 10 a.m. to 4p.m. Christmas Day n L’Auberge Casino and Hotel (777 L’Auberge Ave.): From11a.m. to 8p.m., aholidaybuffet will be servedat BonTemps Market on Christmas Day.Ticketsare $34.99, andguestsmustbeatleast 21 n Asian Seafood House (11294 Florida Blvd.):The Asianbuffet will serve its usual spread 11 a.m.to 9p.m. ChristmasEve and Christmas Day

sent in themail. I’m ahairdresser,and it surprises me howoften aclient will hand me abirthdayorChristmas card. These cards do not include money,but arejust “good wishes.”

It makes me feel uncomfortable and almost seemsthat I’mnot worth astamp. Could you please tell me if this is proper and in good taste?Has it always been?

Gentlereader: Always? How far back do you want to go? It was once considered better to have mail delivered by hand, from your footman,than to use the postal service. ButMiss Manners would not exactly call it moreproper or in

better taste, because it used the samecrass standard that you do: How much did the sender spend to get it to you? And maintaining afootman cost considerably more than astamp. Isn’tthat amean waytojudge good wishes? But even if you do, surely apersonal delivery is worth morethan astamp—ora footman.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

Planning visitcausesstress

Dear Harriette: My parents are coming to visit me for Christmas in New York City,and Ireally wanted to do something nice for them by booking an Airbnb or hotel so they could have their own space and be comfortable. Itried to plan everything myself to makethe visit special, but I ended up waiting too long. Now the prices are sky-high —completely out of my budget —and I’mpanicking. Ifeel embarrassed because Ihad plenty of time to prepare, and Idon’t want my parents to think I’m irresponsible or that Idon’tcare about making their trip enjoyable. I’m also stressed because my apartment is small, and having them stay with me for several days is going to be cramped and uncomfortable for all of us. I’m tornbetween telling them thetruthand trying to scramble for alast-minute deal that Ican barely afford. Ijust don’tknow how to navigatethis without disappointing them or puttingmyself in afinancial hole. How do Ihandle this situation gracefully and

still maketheir holiday visit feel special? —Expensive Christmas Dear Expensive Christmas: This may be the mostexpensive timeofthe year fortourists in New York City.Even if you had booked sooner,prices would have been high because tourists flock to the city at this time. Tryto widen your search to cities in New Jersey that are an easy train ride to Manhattan. Youmay find abetter deal there. Speak to your parents right away.Explain that you have yet to find an affordable place forthem to stay.Don’tgive up the search, but tell them you don’tthink you will be able to cover all the costs. Work it out together so that you can salvage their trip. Dear Harriette: It is time to divide up my father’s belongings among the family.Hepassed away afew months ago, and we have to get rid of his stuff.I have one sibling whois“in charge” of organizing everything, and Ifeel like he is taking over.Mydad did not leave awill, so we are just taking what we want,

but Ican’thelp but feel like my sibling has picked over everything already and leftthe rest of us with the dregs. Idon’tmean to feel like this, but Idon’t think this is being handled equitably.How can Iaddress this without causing afamily fight? —NoWill

Dear No Will: Speak to your brother.Let him know how sensitive this is foryou and the rest of the family.Your father’sdeath was ablow, and going through his things is emotional. Thank him fortaking the lead on handling your father’s estate. That is not an easy job. Tell him that while you are grateful, you are also concerned that he is making choices about things that he wants before the rest of the family can even see the items. Ask him to have everything on view so that the whole family can see it all. He can point out what he would like to keep, but ask him to give the rest of you achance to know what’sthere.

Sendquestions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/oAndrewsMcMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St.,Kansas City,MO 64106.

Usingawhite boardfor reminders

Dear Heloise: My husband is in an assisted living facility Ikeep an erasable white board in his room. When avisit or trip is planned, I writeitonthe board. It helps him remember,and the staff loves it. This way, theymake sure he’s ready.I also write sport schedules. In addition, Ikeep thesame type of board in thegarage. Iwritereminders to get gas, fill bird feeders, take somethinginto thehouse, bring something into the garage, etc. It saves standing in the mudroom and trying to remember what I came in for.Thank you. Barb Crandell, via email Coupon holder

refrigerator with amagnet. This way,I can put the envelope in my purse before Ileave the house or just take out afew coupons and put them in my wallet. —Adelle G., in Vergennes,Vermont Nursinghomevisits

dementia patient at ease. —LauraIshler,inCurwensville, Pennsylvania

Device forhardofhearing

Dear Heloise: Visiting aloved one in a nursing homewho does not always remember you is painful foryou both. Ihave ahint that may help: Iwalk in with abright smile and say,“Rose, it’syour old buddy Laura from church. How are you doing today?”

Dear Heloise: Ifound away to store mycoupons before Igogrocery shopping. I cut out the ones Ineed and store them in an old envelope that is held ontothe

By introducing myself like this, Rose does not have to scramble to remember whoI am or where she knowsmefrom.And she will often reply with: “Laura, how nice to see you.” There are so many people walking around in a nursing home, so asimple “introduction” can put a

Dear Heloise: Yourecently had asuggesting regarding spam calls. If you are hard of hearing here in California, the state sponsors a device where you can read what the caller is saying. The phone is madeand installed by CapTel. It shows you the telephone number and sometimes the nameof whoiscalling. If Idon’trecognize the call, Ipress the message button, and if it is aspam call, they usually do not leave amessage and just hang up. If they leave a message, Ican hear it. If it’ssomeone Iknow,I pick up the call. Iamsure other states offer this phone to the hard of hearing. —Fred Weiss, via email

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

ByThe Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 16, the 350th day of 2025. There are 15 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston TeaParty took place as American colonistsboarded Britishships in Boston Harbor and dumped morethan 300 chests of tea overboard to protest tea taxes.

Also on this date: In 1907, 16 U.S. Navy battleships, which came to be known as the “Great White Fleet,” set sail from Hampton Roads, Virginia, on a 14-month, round-the-world voyage to demonstrate American sea power

In 1944, the World WarII Battle of the Bulge began as German forces launched asurprise attack against Allied forces through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and Luxembourg. In 2000, President-elect George W. Bush nominated Colin Powell to become secretary of state; Powell was confirmed by the Senate and becamethe first African-American to hold the position. In 2020, aFrench court convicted 14 peopleaccused of being accomplices in the 2015 Islamic State terror attacksinParisagainstthe satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaperand akosher supermarket. The attacks, claimed jointly by the Islamic State groupand alQaida,left 17 people dead alongwiththree gunmen. Today’sbirthdays:

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

PROVIDED PHOTO Baton Rougeartist Ashtin McNicoll wroteand illustrated ‘Let’sMeet on Government Street.

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

Hints from Heloise

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Direct your energy wisely. How you use your strengths and skills will be a testament to who you are and what you can do. Focus, dedication and timing will play a role in what you achieve.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan 19) Put yourself in the driver's seat and head in a direction that satisfies your needs. Network, socialize and share what inspires you with forward-thinking people.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb 19) A change will spark your imagination and point you in a creative direction. Put thoughts and plans on paper, and consider how to take advantage of any subsidies or offers that could apply to you.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) A commitment and personal lifestyle adjustments require attention You can count on your heart and emotions to kick in and reflect what's best for you. Embrace change, and opportunity will unfold.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) You can learn by doing something repeatedly. Set your sights on what you enjoy doing and focus on how you can utilize your skills to bring in extra cash.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Don't hold back; work quietly behind the scenes until you complete your mission. Push to tie up loose ends so you can start to enjoy the festive season. Keep tabs on money spent and owed.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) A change of plans will be costly if you don't act fast. Discipline will be necessary when shop-

ping for unnecessary items or gifts. Set a budget that offers peace of mind, and avoid the stress of debt.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Keep your emotions out of any financial decisions you make. You can't buy love, but you can use kindness and hands-on help to draw others into your circle. A confident, polished presentation will open doors.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Letting your emotions take charge will lead to trouble. Focus on how you look, feel and present yourself to your associates. Choose health over indulgent temptations and peace over chaos.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) A change of scenery will adjust your perspective. Don't let what others do alarm you. Choose to head in a direction that offers an agenda to follow, and you will achieve what you aspire to do.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Talks will give you the lowdown regarding any change or gamble you consider. Be aware of timelines and year-end deadlines. Speak up, follow through and enjoy the ride.

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Go easy when personal situations that arise. Be ready to back away from anyone trying to get something for nothing from you. When in doubt, say no.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

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 PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

If you have not been playing the game long and would like to check that you have basic declarer play down pat, buy “Declarer Play at Bridge: AQuizbook” by Barbara Seagram and DavidBird (Master Point Press).

The book starts with suit contracts. There are four pages of basic instruction, then40quiz questionsinwhich the reader is shownthe dummy and declarer’shand(“singledummy,”asitiscalled) and asked to choose aline of play. Each answer also includes auseful point to remember.

Next, thereare sixpages about notrump contracts, followed by 20 singledummy problems. There arefewer examples because no-trump contracts are muchlesscomplicated than suit contracts. In this example from the book, how shouldSouth play in six hearts?West leads thespade jack Yes,South’s jump to slamisa tad optimistic.But the play’sthe thing. Southhas two losers: one diamond and one club. He has only 11 winners: two spades, six hearts, two diamonds and one club. He mustestablishdummy’s clubsuit.Butifitissplitting4-2,thatwill require three dummy entries. Luckily, there are three: the heartking, heart 10 and diamond king.

After taking the first trick, cash the club ace and play another club. Suppose

East wins and shifts to thediamond queen. South wins withhis ace, cashes theheart ace, plays aheart to dummy’s 10, ruffs aclub, leads aheart to the king, ruffsanother club,plays adiamond to dummy’s king, and happily discards a minor-suit loseronthe club jack, which is now awinner ©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

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words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD ALIMony: AL-ih-mo-nee: An allowance paid to one spouse by another after divorce.

Average mark19words

Timelimit

Can you find 22 or morewords in ALIMONY?

the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal

through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

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RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE Regular Meeting –5:00 p.m.

BREC Administration Building 6201 Florida Boulevard Baton Rouge, Louisiana Commission Minutes October 23, 2025

Call to Order Aregular meeting of the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) was held at BREC’sAdministrative Offices on October 23, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chairwoman Donna Collins Lewis. Commissioner Wade Evans offered the invocation and Commissioner Kenneth Pointer led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was taken and aquorum of Commissionerswas present, including; Donna Collins Lewis, Chair; Kenneth Pointer,Treasurer; Collis Temple III, Lon Vicknair,WadeEvans, Carl Stages, and Dustin Yates. Commissioners Clarice Gordon, Mike Polito, Dwayne Rogers, and David McDavid wereabsent. Staffmembers present wereJanet Simmons, Interim Superintendent; Reed Richard, Assistant Superintendent of System Planning; Aneatra Boykin, Chief Administrative Officer; Maurice Velasquez, Interim Chief Operating Officer; JohannaLandreneau, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer; Corey Luttrell, Rhonda Johnson, Katrina Coots Ward,Tia Edwards, Jim Fleshman, Angela Harms, Steven Knight, Brian Watkins, Robyn Lott, Brendan Nestor,and Ebony Allen. Murphy Foster,legal counsel, was also in attendance. The rest of the audience consisted of other BREC staff, sign language interpreters, media, and the public.

Public Comment

ChairwomanLewis announced that public comment would be allowed prior to avote being taken on any agenda action item and explained the process to be observed.

Adoption of Minutes

Resolved, That the reading of the minutes of the Special Recreation andPark Commission Meeting of October 9, 2025, be dispensed with, and that they be approved as written.

Motion by Mr.Temple

Second by Mr.Evans

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion was approved unanimously

Consent Calendar

Underthe Consent Calendar,Chairwoman Lewis called for an approval of the following items:

Resolved, That the Commission approve the Routine Personnel Transactions from August 20, 2025, to September 17, 2025.

Resolved, That the Commission approve BREC’s2026 Holiday Schedules for General Fund employees and CCD, as presented.

Motion by Mr.Pointer

Second by Mr.Temple

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion was approved unanimously

Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 Employer Paid FSA (Flexible Spending Account) administration fees with no increase in premiums, as presented.

Motion by Mr.Evans

Second by Mr.Vicknair

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion was approved unanimously

Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 COBRA administration fees with no increase in premiums, as presented.

Resolved, That the Commission approve the employer-paid Employee Assistance Program administeredbyLucet for 2026 with no increasein premiums and no change in benefits, as presented.

Resolved, That the Commission approve BREC’s2026 Retiree Supplemental Pay,aspresented.

Motion by Mr.Vicknair

Second by Mr.Pointer

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion was approved unanimously

Commissioner Yates made amotion to move Item funder Selection of Professionals up on the agenda beforePresentations.

Second by Mr.Evans

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion to move Item funder Selection of Professionalsbefore Presentations was approved unanimously

Chairwoman Lewis read the item:

Resolved, that the Commission approve State Contract No 4400030998 with AED &Accessories dba Cardiac Solutions, LLC for thepurchase of 30 automated external defibrillator (AED) emergency response kits in the amount of $181,980.00.

Motion by Mr.Evans

Second by Mr.Pointer

Commissioner Evans expressed concernregarding the definite count of 30 defibrillators proposed. He stated that BREC should conduct an analysis to ensurethe proper number needed, with assistance from BREC staffatthe facilities. Commissioner Evans added that he would like to have adiscussion about this opportunity now but possibly make a substitute motion to defer the item after the discussion.

Chairwoman Lewis asked how many defibrillatorsBREC currently has. Interim Superintendent Simmons confirmed that thereare fifteen (15).

ChairwomanLewis then asked if anyone knew exactly how many defibrillators BREC needs. Interim Superintendent Simmons explained that determining that number was the intent of Commissioner Evans’ inquiry.

Chairwoman Lewis asked whether the current fifteen (15) defibrillators areinworking condition. Interim Superintendent Simmons responded that, to her understanding, the proposed contract with Cardiac Solutions, LLC would replace the fifteen (15) existing units and add fifteen (15) additional units.

At this time, Rachael Grose, representing Cardiac Solutions, LLC, stated at the podium that morethan fifteen wereneeded.

Chairwoman Lewis asked Ms. Grose how the proposal was developed. Ms. Grose responded that it was based on recommendations from BREC employees. When Chairwoman Lewis asked what those recommendations were, Ms. Grose stated that atotalofthirty(30) defibrillators had been recommended.

ChairwomanLewis followed up by asking whether BREC was replacing the current fifteen (15) defibrillators because they werenot under contract withCardiac Solutions or because the units werenolonger functional. Ms. Grose, representing Cardiac Solutions LLC, confirmed that thereplacement wasdue to the units not being covered under their contract. She further stated that entering into acontract with Cardiac Solutions would save BREC approximately $100,000 and transition the monitoring process from monthly manual assessments to remote daily assessments, providing roughly thirty (30) times the coverage.

Chairwoman Lewis asked BREC staffwherethe current fifteen (15) defibrillators arelocated.

ClaireCoco, representing Recreation, approached the podium and explained that BREC had previously purchased individual AED units; however,due to the cost of upkeep, BREC entered into acontract with Cintas. She stated that AED units arelocated at Golf facilities andthe Zoo. Cintas was responsible for collecting and replacing the units as they were phased out. Therewerealso units at all special interest facilities, as well as larger community parks and high-use neighborhood parks. Ms. Coco noted that she was unsureofthe total number of units at each location.

ChairwomanLewis asked how the placement of AED units is determined. Ms. Coco responded that units areplaced at large recreation centers and community parks with

Commissioner Evans made asubstitute motion to defer the item and engage Cardiac Solutions to conduct acomprehensive assessment of BREC’sAED needs, based on legal requirements and staff recommendations, and to returnwith aproposal that would adequately

outfitall BREC facilities.

Ms.Coco confirmed that the existing contract with Cintas had recently been renewed.

Aneatra Boykin, Chief Administrative Officer,noted that the Cintas contract likely includes atermination clause.

Chairwoman Lewis then asked whether the proposed contract with Cardiac Solutions had gone out for bid. Ms.Boykinresponded that it had not, as Cardiac Solutions is avendor on state contract.

Commissioner Evans clarified his substitute motiontodefer this item until the next regular meeting, November 19th, was to have the necessary BREC staffworking with Cardiac Solutions to do atrue assessment of what BREC needs based on the law.The recommendation thatcomes back should be aproposal that adequatelyoutfits BREC.

Second by Mr.Vicknair

Therebeing no further discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results: Yeas: 7

Nays: 0

The motion to defer was approved unanimously.

Commissioner Pointer stated that the Commission also needs information on the Cintascontract to compare.

Presentations

The BREC video showcasing activities forthe monthofNovember was played.

Commissioner Templeleft the meeting.

Reports of Officers and Standing Committees

Chairwoman Lewis recognized Interim Superintendent Janet Simmons to present the Superintendent’s Report.

Interim Superintendent Simmons presented the September 2025 Attendance Reportand provided updates on her recent meetings and engagements with community members and partner organizations. She recognized Director of Golf, MikeRaby,for being named the 2025 Gulf States PGAGolfProfessional of the Year,noting that this is the highest honor awarded to aGulf States PGAprofessional

InterimSuperintendent Simmons highlighted the continued success of the Rapid Response Ticketing System and provided an update on the IYP3 Progress initiative. She also showed abrief video highlighting Knock Knock Children’sMuseum.

Interim Superintendent Simmons concluded her report by acknowledging that Katrina Coots-Ward, Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Programs and Facilities, will be inducted as President of the Louisiana Recreation and ParkAssociation (LRPA). She also announced that Volunteer Manager,Dodi Falcon, will serve as the District 3Chairof LRPA.

Commissioner Stages asked who Commissioners shouldcontact if they areinterested in attending the LRPA event.InterimSuperintendent Simmons stated that the points of contact wouldbeEbony Allen and Aneatra Boykin.

Chairwoman Lewis continued to Administrative Matters,reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve the cancellation of the November 13th Special Meeting or,alternatively,reschedule the meeting to November 6th, making it the first Thursday of the month.

Motiontoreschedule the meeting to November 6th by Mr.Pointer

Second by Mr.Vicknair

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 6

Nays: 0 The motion to reschedulethe special meeting to November 6th was approved unanimously.

Finance

Chairwoman Lewis recognized Rhonda Williams, Director of Finance who read the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission accept the unaudited monthly Budget Status Reportfor the monthending and fiscal year-to-date period ending September 30, 2025.

MotionbyMr. Pointer Second by Mr.Yates

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0

The motion was approved unanimously

Ms.Williamsstatedthat the annual budget process and the 2024 audit areongoing. Commissioner Evans, referring to the earlier itemfor defibrillatorunits, asked Ms.Williamsifitwouldbebetter for BREC to purchase the AED units and do aseparate agreement forservice or doing asingle contract to provide the units and the service. She responded that she would like to analyze his request and bring back her findings at the November 6th special meeting.

Commissioner Stages asked Ms.Williamsifthe budget workshop had been scheduled. Ms.Williamsstatedthat she is working with Interim Superintendent Simmons to scheduleone during the first or second week of November

Commissioner Stages then asked Ms.Williamsifshe believed that wouldprovide enough timetocover everything she wouldlike to present regarding the budget. Ms.Williamsasked Commissioner Stages forclarification on the specificinformation he wouldlike included. Commissioner Stages stated that, given the number of new commissioners, areview of past budgets, changes from last year,and related information wouldbehelpful. Ms.Williams responded that she is open to providing whatever information is needed.

Commissioner Stages added that Ms. Williamsmight want to engage Commissioner Rogers, as he had previously served as Treasurer.Ms. Williams agreed, stating that she plans to coordinate the budget workshop through him.

Ms.Williamscontinued to Contracts and Bids reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve awarding SB 1853 MultiParkPaving Project to the lowest responsive bidder,Kelly Construction Group, LLC,for the base bid of $786,900.00. Authorize the Interim Superintendent to execute appropriate documents.

MotionbyMr. Evans Second by Mr.Pointer

Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 The motion was approved unanimously Chairwoman Lewis asked how soon the Commission couldreceive the first draftofthe budget.

Ms.Williamsdeferred to Interim Superintendent Simmons to determine whether adraft could be provided the following week.

Chairwoman Lewis added that she would like to review the budget even if some positions had not yet been added.

Ms.Williamsstatedthat she had one now that she could review Human Resources Chairwoman Lewis continued under Standing Committees, with Human Resources. She acknowledged Human Resources Director Corey Luttrell.

Mr.Luttrell proposed achange to the resolution based on anew quote that was just received. He read the revised resolution as follows: Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 Retiree Medicare Advantage Plan administered by United Health Carewith an 18% increase in premiums and at no cost to the retiree, as presented.

Mr.Luttrell deferred to Jeremy Powerswith Gallagher Insurance to provide the presentation and respond to questions.

Commissioner Evans asked forconfirmation thatthe original increase, prior to the revision, had been higher.Mr. Powersconfirmed that it was.

Chairwoman Lewis asked what the total cost increase to BREC would be. Mr.Powers responded that the increase wouldamount to approximately $31,000.

Commissioner Evans made amotiontoapprove. Second by Mr.Yates Therebeing no discussion, Chairwoman Lewis called for the vote with

the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

Mr.Luttrellcontinuedreading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve BREC’s 2026 Employee andRetiree Health Insurance BenefitPackage, self-funded by BREC and administeredbyBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana

Mr.Powers presenteddetails of the BenefitPackage.

CommissionerEvans abstainedfromthe discussion andvote on the itemdue to aconflict.

CommissionerYates made amotion to approve Second by Mr.Stages Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results: Yeas: 5 Nays: 0 The motion to approve passed.

Mr.Luttrellcontinuedreading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 ASO Services AgreementClaims Administration Feewith a4.9%increase in administrative fees for medical andpharmacy,with a2-year rate guarantee, as presented.

Mr.Powers presenteddetails of the increase in administrative fees.

CommissionerEvans abstainedfromthe discussion andvote on the itemdue to aconflict.

CommissionerPointermade amotion to approve Second by Mr.Yates Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results: Yeas: 5 Nays: 0 The motion to approve passed.

Mr.Luttrellcontinuedtothe next item, reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 Employee and Retiree DentalPlanadministered by Delta Dentalwith a3%increase in premium to the employee, as presented.

Mr.Powers presenteddetails of the Delta Dental3%increase in premium.

CommissionerPointermade amotion to approve Second by Mr.Vicknair Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

Mr.Luttrellcontinuedtothe next item, reading the following resolution: Resolved, thatthe Commission approve the Voluntary Supplemental Benefits for 2026 with no increase in premiums andnochange in benefits, including: Vision Insurance administeredbyUnum Always Care; SupplementalInsurance administeredbyColonialLife;AFLAC; Louisiana Blue (formerly Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana), andEquitable.

Mr.Powers presenteddetails of the Voluntary SupplementalBenefits.

CommissionerVicknair madea motion to approve Second by Mr.Stages Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

Mr.Luttrellcontinuedtothe next item, reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve the 2026 Employer Paid Wellness Programadministered by SB Wellness, as presented. Motion by Mr.Pointer Second by Mr.Yates Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

Planning and Park Resources

CommissionerStagesannounced thatall the Planning andPark Resources Committeeitems were information, thatanothermeeting will be held next month andthatthe committeemeeting will subsequently occur every othermonth.

SelectionofProfessionals

UnderSelection of Professionals, ChairwomanLewis read the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve awarding acontract for RFQ 239 –Design Services for aNew BaseballField ComplexatBaker Park to C.H. Fenstermaker &Associates, LLC to provide the design through construction administration services for afee of $348,376.00. For an additionalcost not to exceed $70,550.00,the additionalservices of Land Survey, Geotechnical,Environmental, Permitting, andUtility Coordination Services will be provided. Authorize Interim Superintendent to execute appropriate documents upon finallegal review Motion by Mr.Evans Second by Mr.Stages

Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 6

Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

ChairwomanLewis continued, reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve Amendment No. 3for Aurigo Masterworks Cloud for Contract No. 2020-126 to createcustom reporting anddashboardcapability for Project Phases. This change request is a one-time cost of $2,625 for softwaredevelopment time.AuthorizeInterim Superintendenttoexecute appropriate documents upon finallegal review Motion by Mr.Pointer Second by Mr.Vicknair

Therebeing no discussion, ChairwomanLewis calledfor the vote with the following results:

Yeas: 6

Nays: 0 The motion wasapproved unanimously

ChairwomanLewis continuedtothe next item, reading the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commission approve selected vendor,NANO, LLC, for RFQ 231, to provide programming andschematic design services for City-Brooks Historic Clubhouse Renovationsfor an amount not to exceed $156,000. Authorize Interim Superintendenttoexecute appropriate documents upon finallegal review

ChairwomanLewis recognizedPeter Davis andColemanBrown, both representing Friends of City Park, each for atwo-minute public comment.

CommissionerPointermade amotion to approve Second by Mr.Stages

ChairwomanLewis openedthe floor for discussion.

CommissionerEvans suggested thatthe itemisbeing brought forward prematurely.

CommissionerStagesrecognizedMr. Reed Richardtoprovide additionalinsight.

Mr.Richard provided his perspective on the matter.

CommissionerEvans recommendedthatBREC approach the legislator who hassupportedthe renovation project andspeak to them about waiting until amaster plan for the area is developed, as there may be other factors to consider. He concludedthat, in his opinion, moving forward at this stage does not constitute good planning.

ChairwomanLewis inquired about funding for Items cand dunder Selection of Professionals.

Mr.Richard stated thatthe design fees arebeing fundedthrough state funds andcapitaloutlayfunds but notedthere is atime limit. He indicated thathewould need to confirm the definitive timeframe,whichwould be eitherJune 30, 2026 or 2027.

CommissionerEvans clarified thatthe funding referenced is supplementalcash andnot part of the capitaloutlayportion.

under theSe‐ries 2025B TrustInden‐ture;and WHEREAS,the Authority hasdeterminedthatthe FinanceTeammustbe directed to proceed with thedevelopment of aSe‐ries 2026A Programprior to theexpenditure of the i d

p Series 2025B Bond pro‐ceeds; WHEREAS,the Series 2026A Bondswillbeis‐sued underthe provi‐sionsofthe Actand a TrustIndenture (the “Se‐ries 2026A Indenture”), by andbetween theAu‐thorityand theTrustee; and WHEREAS,anapplica‐tion must be submitted to theLouisiana State Bond Commission (the “SBC Application”)for approval of thecosts of issuingthe notexceed‐ingFifty MillionDollars ($50,000,000) of Capital Area FinanceAuthority Single Family Mortgage RevenueBonds,Series 2026A (the “Series2026A Bonds”); and WHEREAS,the cost of is‐suance attached hereto as Exhibit A shallbein‐

PUBLIC NOTICE

cluded theSBC Applica‐tion included;and WHEREAS,the Series 2026A Bondswillbe payablefroma pledge of income,revenuesand re‐ceipts derivedortobe derivedfromthe Trust Estate under theSeries 2026A Indentureand shallbesecured by the TrustEstateasdefinedin theSeries2026A Inden‐ture,inclusive of mort‐gage-backedsecurities (“MBSs”)thatsecuritize mortgage loansfor homebuyers throughout theState andshall be subjecttoredemptionin accordance with theSe‐ries 2026A Indenture; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section143(h) of the Code,the Authorityset aside20percent of the proceedsofthe Series 2025B Bonds(i.e.

$5,239,202.02)(the “Se‐ries 2025B Targeted Area Set-Aside”)to finance Targeted Area Mortgage Loansthrough October 16, 2026 (the “Series 2025B Targeted Area Ex‐piration Date ), whichis adatethatisatleast one year after October17, 2025, thedateonwhich owner financingwas first made availablewithre‐specttoTargetedArea Residences in connection with theSeries2025B Bonds; and WHEREAS,only $705,498.00 of Targeted Area Loanshavebeen fi‐nanced from theSeries 2025B Targeted Area SetAsidewith$4,533,782.02 (the “UnexpendedSeries 2025B Set-Aside”)re‐maininguntil theSeries 2025B Targeted Area Ex‐piration Date to finance Targeted Area Resi‐d d

g dences; and WHEREAS,BondCounsel hasadvised theAuthor‐itythat, subjecttothe Authoritycommittingto financeTargetedArea Loansuptothe Series 2025B Targeted Area SetAsidethrough theSeries 2025B Targeted Area

PUBLIC NOTICE THE 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET FORTHE GENERAL, SPECIAL REVENUE, AND

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FORTHE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT WILL

IN APUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD AT

DepartmentofConservation andEnergy

Office of Permittingand Compliance

LouisianaRegionalLandfill Company Commercial, Class INonhazardous Waste DisposalWell AllenParish, Louisiana

Docket No. IMD2025-12 ApplicationNo. 43577

Pursuanttoprovisions of thelawsofthe StateofLouisiana and particularly Title43ofthe Louisiana

RevisedStatutesof1950 as amended, and provisions of Statewide Order No.29-N-1 andStatewide Order No. 29-B, notice is hereby giventhatthe DepartmentofConservation and Energy hasprepared aDraft Permitfor theapplicationreferenced below andthatthe secretarywill conduct apublic hearingtosolicit commentsonthe Draft Permit. The hearing will be held in the AllenParishCivic Center,located at 609 Tiger Lane, Oberlin,Louisiana, at 6:00 pm on January 15, 2026.

At such hearing,the secretaryordesignated representative will give any interestedperson the opportunity to present testimony,facts, or oral or written comments relative to the DraftPermit prepared in response to an applicationby:

LouisianaRegionalLandfill Company 1158 Landfill Road Oakdale, LA 71463

LouisianaRegional Landfill Company hasappliedtothe DepartmentofConservationand Energy for apermittodrill,construct,and operate one newCommercial, ClassI Nonhazardous Waste Disposal Well in Section19, Township02 South, Range 02West,ofAllenParishfor disposalofindustrial nonhazardous liquid wastes and explorationand production (E &P)waste fluids.The proposed well will be identified as LRLC Well No. 001. Wastedisposalisproposed to occur initially at adepthof 6,824 feet to 7,544 feet below ground level (bgl)within adisposal zone of 6,699 feet to 7,599 feet bgl.The base of thelowermost underground source of drinking water (USDW) at the specificfacility locationoccursatanapproximate depthof2,150 feet bgl

Acopy of theDraft Permit, fact sheet,applicationorotherinformationconcerning the application maybeobtained by writingtoKatelyn Roshto,Office ofPermitting andCompliance, 617 North 3rd Street,8th Floor,Baton Rouge,LA70802 or by calling(225) 342-5515. The DraftPermitand fact sheet arealsoavailablefor inspectionbetween 8:00 A.M. and4:30P.M., Mondaythrough Friday in theDepartment of Conservationand Energy, Rm.817, of the LaSalle Building, 617 North 3rdStreet, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. In addition, theapplicationpackage is availableatthe LouisianaDepartment of Conservationand Energy website

Interestedpartiesmay also submit writtencommentsatany time priortoorduring the public hearing. Writtencomments concerningthe applicationmust be received by the DepartmentofConservation andEnergy no laterthan4:30P.M November 21, 2025. Submitall comments to: Katelyn Roshto, Office of Permittingand Compliance, 617 North 3rdStreet,8th Floor,Baton Rouge, LA 70802. Comments mayalso be e-mailedtoinfo@la.gov.Please reference: Louisiana Regional Landfill Company Class I, ApplicationNumber 43577, Docket No. IMD2025-12.

Allpersonshaving interest in theaforesaidshall take noticethereof

By order of:

Dustin H. Davidson

Department of Conservation and Energy

In accordance with Act 393 of the2023 LouisianaRegular Section, accommodations will be provided upon request to peoplewith disabilitiesinorder to access thispublichearing. To requestan accommodationfor this hearing, please contact Maranda.Rispone@la.gov

168197-587297-dec 16-25-jan1-3t

$5,197.50

70802. ELECTRONIC OR ALTERNATE MEANS OF PARTICIPATIONORINSPECTION MAYBEMADE AVAILABLE, UPONREQUEST. THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS AVAILABLE FORPUBLIC INSPECTION AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, 5TH FLOOR,222 ST.LOUISSTREET,BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA 70802. CONTACTLINDA PITCHER.

ASUMMARYOFTHE BUDGET IS SHOWN BELOW DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

ROUGE, LOUISIANA 70802.

LOUIS

OR ALTERNATEMEANS OF PARTICIPATIONORINSPECTION MAYBEMADE AVAILABLE, UPONREQUEST THE AMENDED BUDGET IS AVAILABLE FORPUBLIC INSPECTION AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, 5TH FLOOR,222 ST.LOUISSTREET,BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

ORDINANCE 2025-21

ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF ZACHARYTO

CHANGEAND AMEND §§ 1.402, 1.403 and 14.425 AND TO ENACT §§ 1.404, 1.405, 1.406, 1.407, 1.408, 1.409, 1.410, 1.411, 1.412, 1.413, 1.414, 1.415 and 1.416 OF THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENTCODEFOR THE CITY OF ZACHARYIN

FURTHERANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNINGAND ZONING COMMISSION FOR THECITY OF ZACHARYFOR SUCH CHANGES

WHEREAS,inconjunction with the meetings the Planning and Zoning Commission, the City Council for the City (“ City Council”) has determined thatthe City’sUnified Development Code (the “UDC”) does not clearly possess the appropriate procedures needed to enforcethe provisions of this Code;

THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council that §1.402 of the Unified Development Code for the City is hereby deleted in its entirety and is prospectively and retrospectively amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1.402 Definitions

The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them,except wherethe context clearly indicates adifferent meaning: Code violation is acivil violation of any provision of: the City of Zachary’sCode of Ordinances, as amended; and/or the City of Zachary’sUniform Development Code, as amended. Order,judgment or notice of judgment means an administrative act of the Hearing Officer Unoccupied means having no legal occupant(s) or vacant. Alleged Violator means person(s), natural or juridical, who is alleged to have committed acode violation. Violator means person(s), natural or juridical, who has been adjudged (after ahearing) to havecommitted (or be presently committing) a code violation.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that

§1.403 of the Unified Development Code for the City is hereby deleted in its entirety and is prospectively and retrospectively amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1.403 Enforcement -Generally

The procedures of this Section areavailable to the City to enforce this UDC and the terms of any development order issued hereunder or under prior zoning regulations. Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to prevent the City from taking any other legal action it deems necessary or appropriate for preventing or abating aviolation of this UDC, including the immediate pursuit of extraordinary remedies in acourt of competent jurisdiction.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that §1.404, 1.405, 1.406, 1.407, 1.408, 1.409, 1.410, 1.411, 1.412, 1.413, 1.414, 1.415 and 1.416 of the Unified Development Code for the City are hereby enacted as follows:

Sec. 1.404 Authority

Any agency or department of the City having aresponsibility for the enforcement of violations of this UDCmay use the administrative adjudicationprocedures established in this article to enforce such Code Violations by any natural or juridical person.

Sec. 1.405 Appointment of Hearing Officer Administrative adjudication proceedings under this article shallbe conducted beforeaHearing Officer,duly appointed and sworn, in accordance with the relevant sections of the Zachary,Louisiana Code of Ordinances.

Sec. 1.406 Authority of Hearing Officer

The duly appointed and swornHearing Officer shall have the authority to hear and decide any and all alleged Code violations.

Sec. 1.407 Powers of aHearing Officer

The Hearing Officer shall have the power to:

A. Administer oaths and affirmations;

B. Issue “Stop Work Orders” pending hearing of the alleged violation(s);

C. Issue orders compelling the attendance and testimony of witnesses, respondents, alleged violators, and violators;

D. Issue orders compelling the production of documents by witnesses, respondents, alleged violators, and violators;

E. Adjudge whether or not an alleged violator has committed (or is presently committing)a code violation(s);

F. Levy fees, costs, and monetary penalties;

G. Order violators to correct violations within aspecifictime;

H. Take any and/or all necessary and lawful measures to effect corrections of the violation if the violator fails to do so within the time allocated by the Hearing Officer; and

I. Record orders, judgments,notices of judgments, and/or liens in the mortgagerecords of EastBaton Rouge Parish or any other political subdivision in the State of Louisiana.

Sec 1.408 Hearing Procedure

A. Whenever acity agency or department having enforcement responsibility determines that therehas been aCode violation(s), aNotice of Violation and Hearing shall be provided to the alleged violator(s)

B. The Notice of Violation(s) and Hearing shall:

1. Be in writing;

2. Provide the municipal address or property description of the cited property,ifapplicable;

3. Provide the date of the inspection, if applicable;

4. Identify alleged Code violation(s);

5. Provide the mailing address and telephone number of the enforcement agency;

6. Provide the time, date and location of the administrative adjudication hearing;

7. Provide notice that the hearing will take place regardless of whether or not the alleged violator(s) appear at the hearing;

8. Provide the risk of fees, penalties, costs, and liens that may be imposed for adjudged code violations and continuing code violations; and

9. State and explain the riskofremedialmeasures that may be ordered by aHearing Officer to correct or abate Code violation.

C. In addition, the Notice of Violation and Hearing may also containa

“stop work order”, to wit:

1. If work has already begun on the subject immovable property the Hearing Officer may order the alleged violator to halt all construction activities on the subject property until ahearing can be held;

2. Refusal to halt all constructionactivities when ordered to do so shall constitute aseparate violation of the UDC, and may be prosecuted as such; and

3. Each day of violation of a“stop work order” shall be deemed aseparate violation of that order

D. The alleged violator(s) shall be served with aNotice of Violation and Hearing pursuant to this article at least 15 days before said hearing. The Notice of the Violation and Hearing, shall be served, either:

1. If the alleged violator is anatural person, by hand delivery to the alleged violator by the Zachary Code Enforcement Officer or his appointed agent, either:

a. By personally handing it to the alleged violator wherever he/she may be found; or

b. By leaving it with any person over 16 years old and who is either: i. present at the home of the alleged violator; or ii. present at the site of the alleged violation; or

2. If the alleged violator is ajuridical person, either:

a. by Certified U.S. Mail addressed to the alleged violator’s agent for service of process (as listed with the Louisiana Secretary of State’soffice. Notice given pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective upon mailing.; or

b. if the identity or address of the alleged violator’s agent for service of process cannot be determined, by hand delivery to the address of the alleged violation(s) by the Zachary Code Enforcement Officer or hisappointed agentand leaving it with any person over

First Class U.S. Mailtothe provided address shall be deemed

Alleged Violators and violators shall be solely responsiblefor notifying the Hearing Officer’soffice of any change of address during the pendency of their case.

G. An alleged violator may present any relevant evidence and testimony at their adjudication hearing, and may be represented at any stage of the enforcement process, by licensed counsel.

H. Any order compelling the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents may be enforced by the Zachary City Court or by any other court of competent jurisdiction.

I. Any administrative adjudication hearing held under the provisions of this article shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of evidence of the Administrative ProcedureAct, La. R.S. 49:950 et seq. Alltestimony shallbetaken under oath and shall be recorded.

J. At the initial adjudication hearing, if the Hearing Officer sets daily fines, the date of asubsequent hearing to determine if the violation(s) have been remediated shallbeset. The date of such subsequent hearing shallbewithin 60 days of the initial hearing date. Such setting of asubsequent hearing date during the initial hearing shallconstitute proper notice. If at the subsequent hearing

it is determined that the violation(s) have not been remediated, daily fines shall begin to accrue from the date of initial hearing. Daily fines shall continue to accrue until the Hearing Officer determines that violation(s) have been remediated.

K. If awritten Notice of Order or NoticeofJudgment is not issued in open Court and given to the violator at the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall issue same within 30 days (including legal holidays) of issuance of the order or decree of the judgment and mailsame to the violator at the address stated beforethe adjudication hearing. Noticegiven pursuant to this paragraph shallbeeffective upon mailing.

L. NoticeofOrder or NoticeofJudgment shall:

1. Be signed by the Hearing Officer;

2. State the name, address, date of birth and last four digits of the violator’sSocial Securitynumber;

3. List every alleged violation and state whether or not the alleged violator has been adjudged liable for each violation and any specificdeterminations thereto;

4. Provide the amount of fees, costs, and penalties assessed for each violation;

5. Provide the defects to be corrected and the extent by which each violation shallbecorrected, repaired, and/or abated;

6. Provide the reasonableperiod of timebywhich each violation shallbecorrected, repaired and/or abated;

7. Notify the violator of their right to appeal;and

8. Notify the violator that the city may act to abate violation(s) if the violator fails to act in accordance with the order,judgment, or notice of judgment, whereapplicable.

M. The City of Zachary may seek judicial enforcement of any order assessing fees, costs, and penalties, and/or ordering arequired correction, repair,orabatement action.

Sec. 1.409 Penalties

A. The penalty for each violation shall not exceed the maximum amount allowable under applicable state law for the underlying violation. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorizea penalty in excess of any jurisdictional limit imposed by state law

B. Each day that aviolation(s) continue after the Notice of Violation and Hearing has been served shall be deemed aseparate offense.

Regardless of the number of structures on aparcel or lot, each violation on each unitofeach structureshall be counted as a separate violation.

C. Aschedule of monetary penalties may be established by ordinance providing penalty amounts, consistent with subpart (a), for specificcode violation(s).

Sec. 1.410 Costs

A. Costs and expenses that may be recovered and enforced against aviolator under this articleinclude, but arenot limited to:

1. The city’sdirectcost for abatement and/or remediation of violation(s);

2. Costs of salary and all applicable overhead of city staffand contract personnel involved in the investigation, enforcement, and abatement and/or remediation of violation(s);

3. City’sactual costs incurred for equipment use or rental;

4. Attorney’sfees;

5. Hearing and/or court costs including but not limited to Hearing Officer’sfees and witness fees;

6. Costs of engineering and other technical services and studies as may be required;

7. Costs of monitoring programs necessary for correcting, monitoring, abating or mitigatingviolations;

8. Any other fee, cost, or expense reasonablyand rationally related to the city’senforcement action(s) to bring violation(s) into compliance or to abate and/or correct acode violation(s).

B. At any point in the enforcement process after the timefor voluntary compliance has expired, or after the city’senforcement/abatement action(s) have concluded, the city agency having enforcement responsibilityshall mail to the violator (at the violator’saddress of record) aNotice of Costs Incurred. SaidNotice of Costs Incurred shall provide adetailed list of the costs incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of the referenced code violation, and state an address, date (not less than 30 days from the date of mailing) and timeatwhich therewill be ahearing (hereafter sometimes referred to as the “Costs Hearing”) beforethe Hearing Officer to apportion the costs among the parties and Order the payment of said costs.

C. At the conclusion of the costs hearing, the Hearing Officer shall issue aJudgment of Costs and provide notice of same to the person assessed with costs either in open court,orbymailing same to the person assessed with costs, at said person’saddress as stated beforethe adjudication hearing. Noticegiven pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective upon mailing. If all penalties and costs assessed to aviolator via order or judgment of the Hearing officer,are not paid in full (by receipt at the Utilities office of the City of Zachary) within 30 days of the costs hearing, the city may perfect ajudicial mortgage against the property that was subject to the enforcement/abatement action and also against any immovable propertyowned by the violator in the Stateof Louisiana, for the payment of all penalties and costsassessed to the violator,bythe recording the order and/or judgment in the mortgage records of the clerk and recorder for any appropriate parish.

Sec. 1.411 Liens

A. The city shallhave alien and privilege against the immovable property in, on, or upon which violation(s) occurred. The lien and privilege shall secureall fines, fees, costs, and penalties that areassessed by the city and described in the order,judgment, or notice of judgment and the notice or statement of costs. The recordation of the order,judgment, or notice of judgment and the notice or statement of costsinthe mortgage office of the parish shallconstitute alien and privilege against the land upon which violation(s) exists. Any lien and privilege recorded against an immoveable property under this article shallbeincluded in the next annual ad valorem tax bill.

B. The city,upon recordation of the order,judgment, notice of judgment,orlien, may: 1. Applytothe clerk of district court for issuance of awrit in accordance with Code of Civil ProcedureArticle 2253, under the authority of R.S. 13:2575 and 13:2576, upon describing with particularity the immovable propertyand the manner in which the writ is to be enforced; or 2. Institute asuit against the owner of recordinany court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the order,judgment, notice of judgment,orlien.

C. In order for the lien and privilege to arise, the order,judgment, notice of judgment or lien shall be final and not subject to appeal when recorded in the mortgage office.”

D. Any monies collected pursuant to this chapter shall first satisfy alloutstanding municipal liens recorded against an immovable property and only when all outstanding municipal liens are satisfied in full shall monies be applied towards an immovable property’sadvalorem taxes.

E. The provisions of subsection (d) shall not apply to monies received as aresult of the enforcement of alien and privilege encumbering an occupied residential property with avalid homestead exemption, except in circumstances wherethe property is currentlypermitted for short-term rental use or wherethe lien and privilege arises from aviolation of Chapter 26, Title XI of the Code of the City of Zachary

Sec. 1.412 Enforcement of liens—Additional requirements

A. Upon the city instituting legal proceedings to obtain a writtocause the seizureand sale of aproperty with outstanding liens, pursuant to section 6-39 (b)(1), the property shall also be unoccupied.

B. Unoccupied properties thatmaintaina valid homestead per articleVII, sections 18(G)(5)

andremedies establishedbythis chapter arenonexclusive andmay be pursued independently of each other andinaddition to otherremedies provided by law.

Sec. 1.415 Recordkeeping

A. At its commencement by NoticeofViolation, every adjudication proceeding shall be assignedadocket numberand astyle in the form of “City of Zachary versus” followedbythe name of the allegedviolator.The recordspertaining to each proceeding shall be maintained as aseparate file in amannersimilartothe fashion in whichthe clerks of courtmaintain the recordsofcivil cases

B. Each agency chargedwith the enforcementofanordinancewithin the scope of this article shall, with the advice of the department of law,maintain alog or indexofall adjudication proceedings whichshall set forth information, including but not limitedtothe following: 1. The style anddocket numberofthe case andthe date it was opened;

2. AllegedCode violation(s);

3. Dateofthe allegedviolation(s);

4. Address or otherdescription of the property upon whichthe allegedviolation(s) exist or have occurred;

5. Date(s) of anyhearings, trials or continuances andthe dates of their commencementand/or termination and, if the case is terminated, of its finaldisposition;

6. Statement(s) as to the dates of anyhearing andofany final order in the case andastowhetherand whenany lienwas filed; and 7. Statement(s) as to the date of filing anddisposition of any appeal

Sec. 1.416 Transfer of ownership It shall be aviolation for anyproperty owner(s) thatreceives aNotice of Violation, to transferthe subject property without providing the City of Zachary’sEnforcementOfficer with prior writtennoticeofthe intent to transferthe subject property.Saidprior writtennoticetobegiven not less than15business days prior to said transfer. Anyone found in violation of this section shall be fined$500.00.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that§ 14.425 A. of the Unified Development Code for the City is hereby deleted in its entiretyand is prospectively andretrospectively amended to read as follows:

Sec. 14.425 Appeal of Administrative Decision A. Purpose/Applicability.Appeals to the BoardofAdjustmentmay be filedbyanaggrievedpartyaffected by anydecision of apublic official concerning this UDC. Appealsshall be based on, and provide evidence of, an error in application of the laworaconflict in the law. All appealsshall be filedwithin forty-five (45) days from the date of the decision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, allappeals of the findings, orders or other official actsofthe City of Zachary Hearing Officer,shall be in accordance with the applicableordinances of the Zachary Code of Ordinances.

This Ordinance shall become effective at the expiration of ten(10) calendar days afterpublication by the City Council for the City of Zachary unless the referenced ordinanceshall specify anothereffective date, all pursuant to §2-10 (C) of the Home Rule Charter adopted by the

INTRODUCED FOR ADOPTION by the City Council of the City of Zachary as aregularmeeting of the said Council held on the 25th day of November,2025.

DavidMcDavid,Mayor

ATTEST:

Karen Burdette Clerk of the City Council

Jennifer Landry Mayor ProTempore

SUBMITTEDFOR FINAL APPROVAL AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Zachary as aregularmeeting of the said Council afterbeing duly noticed andpublicizedpublic hearing held on the 9th day of December,2025.

DavidMcDavid,Mayor

ATTEST:

Karen Burdette Clerk of the City Council

Jennifer Landry Mayor ProTempore

CITY OF ZACHARY

PARISH OF EASTBATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

ORDINANCE 2025-23

ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO THEDECLARATION OF INTENT BY THECITY OF ZACHARYTOHAVECERTAIN MOVABLE PROPERTY DECLARED TO BE SURPLUS AND ALLOWING FOR THEDISPOSAL, DONATION OR ABANDONMENT IN PLACE WHEREAS,the City of Zachary (the“City”) owns certainmovable property usedinits municipaloperations whichare no longeruseful to the City,and

2025-24 ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF ZACHARYTO

AMEND, ENACT AND REPEAL

CODE OF ORDINANCES FOR

CITY OF ZACHARY, LOUISIANA IN FURTHERANCE OF THE MAYOR’S PROPOSAL TO REORGANIZE THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT OF THE CITY’S CODE OF ORDINANCES AND UNIFIED DEVELOPMENTCODE

WHEREAS,inconjunction with the meetings of the City Council for Zachary,Louisiana (“City Council”) said City Council has determined that the current version of the City’sCode of Ordinances(the “COO”) does not prescribe the most appropriate and/or efficient procedures to enforce select provisions of said COO;

THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council that §1-13and 1-14 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary,Louisianashall be and arehereby prospectively and retrospectively amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1-13. Labor on streets and public property,working off fines.

In all criminal prosecutions for the violation of any criminal provision of this Code or other police regulations or ordinances of the city whereany person is convicted of any offense punishable with a fine or imprisonment the judge beforewhom such conviction is had may sentence the person so convicted to work on the public streets of the city or on any city property,orinoronany property belonging to the city,for aperiod equal to one-half of the term of imprisonment for which he may be sentenced. (Code 1987, §1-13; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) State law reference(s)—Labor by prisoners permitted, R.S. 15:708. Sec. 1-14. Fines recoverable by civil action.

All fines and costs levied pursuant to enforcement of any of the provisions of this code, shall be recoverable by civil action beforeany court of competent jurisdiction.

(Code 1987, §1-14; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025).

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that thenumbering of Articles IV.through X. of Chapter 2ofthe Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary,Louisiana shall be andare hereby prospectively and retrospectively amended to read as follows: ARTICLE V. OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS

ARTICLE VI. PERSONNEL POLICY,COMPENSATION, BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

ARTICLE VII. FINANCE

ARTICLE VIII. BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES

ARTICLE IX. INVESTMENT POLICY

ARTICLE X. PERSONNEL

ARTICLE XI. ELECTIONS

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that

Article IV.ofChapter 2. (§§ 2-64, 2-65, 2-66, 2-67, 2-68, 2-69, 2-70, 2-71, 2-71, 2-73, 2-74, 2-75, 2-76 and 2-77) of the Code of Ordinances for the CityofZachary,Louisiana shall be and is hereby enacted as follows: Sec. 2-63 Reserved. ARTICLE IV.ADMINISTRATIVE CODE ENFORCEMENT Sec. 2-64. Definitions. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them, exceptwhere the context clearly indicates adifferent meaning. Code violation is aviolation of any provision or section of the City of Zachary’sCode of Ordinances, as amended; and/or the City of Zachary’sUniform Development Code, as amended that is declared therein to be a“civil violation”. Order,judgment or notice of judgment means an administrative act of the Hearing Officer

Unoccupied means having no legal occupant(s) or vacant. Alleged Violator means person(s), natural or juridical, who is alleged to have committed acode violation. Violator means person(s), natural or juridical, who has been adjudged (after ahearing) to havecommitted (or bepresently committing) a code violation.

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-65. Authority Any agency or department of the city having aresponsibility for theenforcement of Code violations may use the administrative adjudication procedures established in this article to enforce such Code Violations by any natural or juridical person.

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-66. Appointment of HearingOfficer

(a) Administrative adjudicationproceedings under this article shall be conducted beforea duly appointed Hearing Officer who has been licensed to practice law in Louisiana for at least ten years.

(b)The Hearing Officer shall be appointed by the mayor upon the advice and consent of amajority of the City Council, and shall serve at the pleasureofthe mayor.Notwithstanding the foregoing, aHearing Officer who has been discharged by the Mayor,shall continue to serve until his/her replacement is approved by the City Council and swornin.

The Hearing Officer shall be swornbefore the City Attorney to uphold theConstitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of Louisiana, and the Charter and ordinances of the City of Zachary

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-67. Authority of Hearing Officer

The duly appointed and swornHearing Officer shall havethe authority to hear and decide any and all alleged Code violations.

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-68. Powers of Hearing Officer

The Hearing Officer shall have the power to:

(a) Administer oaths and affirmations;

(b) Issue orders compelling the attendance and testimony of witnesses, respondents, alleged violators, and violators;

(c) Issue orders compelling the production of documents by witnesses, respondents, alleged violators, and violators;

(d) Adjudge whether or not an alleged violator has committed (or is presently committing)a code violation(s); (e) Levy fees, costs, and monetary penalties; (f) Order violators to correct violations within aspecifictime; (g) Take any and/or all necessary andlawfulmeasures to effect corrections

responsibilitydetermines that therehas been aCode violation(s), aNotice of Violationand Hearing shall be provided to the alleged violator(s).

(b) The Notice of Violation(s) and Hearing shall: 1) Be in writing; 2) Provide the municipal address or propertydescriptionofthe cited property,ifapplicable; 3) Provide the date of the inspection, if applicable; 4) Identify alleged Code violation(s);

5) Provide the mailing address and telephone number of the enforcement agency; 6) Provide the time, date and location of the administrative adjudication hearing; 7) Provide notice that the hearing will take place regardless of whether or not the alleged violator(s) appear at the hearing;

8) Provide the risk of fees, penalties, costs, and liens that may be imposed for adjudged code violations and continuing code violations; and 9) Stateand explain the risk of remedial measures that may be ordered by aHearing Officer to correct or abate Code violation.

(c) The alleged violator(s) shallbeserved with aNotice of Violation and Hearing pursuant to this article at least 15 days beforesaid hearing. The Notice of the Violationand Hearing,shall be served, either: 1) If the alleged violator is anatural person, by hand delivery to the alleged violator by the Zachary Code Enforcement Officer or his appointed agent, either: a) By personallyhanding it to the alleged violator wherever he/she may be found; or b) By leaving it with any person over 16 years old and who is either: i. present at the home of the alleged violator; or ii. present at the site of the alleged violation; or

2) If the alleged violator is ajuridical person, either: a) by Certified U.S. Mail addressed to the alleged violator’s agent forservice of process (as listed with the Louisiana SecretaryofState’soffice. Notice given pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective upon mailing.; or b) if the identity or address of the alleged violator’sagent for service of process cannot be determined, by hand delivery to the address of the alleged violation(s) by the Zachary Code Enforcement Officer or his appointed agent and leaving it with any person over 21 years old present at the site of the alleged violation. Proof of notice given and/or attempts at service shall be entered in the recordfor each case beforethe hearing.

(d) In addition to the service provided in subsection (c), acopy of the notice of violation(s) may be affixed in aprominent location on the property upon which violation(s) arealleged or,ifsafe access to the property is notreasonablypracticable, on some prominent fixtureonthe adjacent public right-of-way as near as possible to the property at least five days in advance of the date of the hearing. It shall be unlawful for any person other than an agent of the City to remove anotice posted on the public right-of-way prior to the commencement of the adjudication hearing.

(e) At the beginning of the adjudicationhearing, every alleged violator shall state their full name, date of birth, last 4oftheir social security number (or employer identification number) and current mailing address on the record. All notices, orders, etc. mailed via First Class U.S. Mail to the provided address shall be deemed properly served/sent. Alleged Violators and violators shallbe solely responsible for notifying the Hearing Officer’soffice of any change of address during the pendency of their case.

(f) An alleged violator may present any relevant evidence and testimony at their adjudication hearing, and may be represented at any stage of the enforcement process, by licensed counsel.

(g)Any order compellingthe attendance of witnesses or the production of documents may be enforced by the Zachary City Court or by any other court of competent jurisdiction.

(h) Any administrative adjudication hearing held under the provisions of this article shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of evidence of the Administrative ProcedureAct, La. R.S. 49:950 et seq. Alltestimony shallbetaken under oath and shall be recorded.

(i) At the initial adjudicationhearing, if the Hearing Officer sets daily fines, the date of asubsequent hearing to determine if the violation(s) have been remediated shallbeset. The date of such subsequent hearing shall be within 60 days of the initial hearing date. Such setting of asubsequent hearing date during the initial hearing shall constitute proper notice. If at the subsequent hearing it is determined that the violation(s) have not been remediated, daily fines shall begin to accrue from the date of initial hearing Daily fines shall continue to accrue until the Hearing Officer determines that violation(s) have been remediated.

(j) If awritten Notice of Order or Notice of Judgment is not issued in open Court and given to the violator at the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall issue same within 30 days (including legal holidays) of issuance of the order or decree of the judgment and mailsame to the violator at the address stated beforethe adjudication hearing. Notice given pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective upon mailing

(k) Notice of Order or Notice of Judgment shall:

1) Be signed by the Hearing Officer; 2) Statethe name, address, date of birth and last four digits of the violator’sSocial Security number;

3) List every alleged violation and state whether or not the alleged violator has been adjudged liable foreach violation and any specificdeterminations thereto;

4) Provide the amount of fees, costs, and penalties assessed for each violation;

5) Provide the defects to be corrected and the extent by which each violation shall be corrected, repaired,and/or abated;

6) Provide the reasonable period of timebywhich each violation shall be corrected, repaired and/or abated;

7) Notify the violator of their right to appeal; and 8) Notify the violator that the city may act to abate violation(s) if the violator fails to act in accordance with the order,judgment, or notice of judgment,whereapplicable.

(l) The City of Zachary may seek judicial enforcement of any order assessing fees, costs, and penalties, and/or ordering arequired correction, repair,orabatement action

(Ord.No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-70. Penalties.

(a) The penaltyfor each violationshall not exceed the maximum amount allowable under applicable state law forthe underlying violation. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize apenalty in excess of any jurisdictional limit imposed by state law

(b) Each day that aviolation(s) continue after the Notice of Violation and Hearing has been served shall be deemed aseparate offense. Regardless of the number of structures on aparcel or lot, each violation on each unit of each structureshall be counted as a separate violation.

(c) Aschedule of monetary penalties may be established by ordinance providing penalty amounts, consistent with subpart (a), for specificcode violation(s).

(Ord.No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-71. Costs.

(a) Costs and expenses that may be recovered and enforced against aviolatorunder this article include, but arenot limited to:

1) The city’sdirect cost forabatement and/or remediationof violation(s);

2) Costs of salary and all applicable overhead of city staffand contract personnel involved in the investigation, enforcement, and abatement and/or remediationofviolation(s);

3) City’sactual costs incurred for equipment use or rental;

4) Attorney’sfees;

5) Hearing and/or court costs including but not limited to Hearing Officer’sfees and witness fees;

6) Costs of engineering and other technical services and studies as may be required;

7) Costs of monitoring programs necessary for correcting, monitoring, abating or mitigating violations;

8) Any other fee, cost, or expense reasonably and rationally related to the city’senforcement action(s) to bring violation(s) into compliance or to abate and/or correct acode violation(s).

(b) At any point in the enforcement process after the timefor voluntary compliance has expired, or after the city’senforcement/abatement action(s) have concluded, the city agency having enforcement responsibilityshall mailtothe violator (at the violator’saddress of record) aNotice of CostsIncurred. SaidNotice of CostsIncurred shall provide adetailedlist of the costs incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of the referenced code violation, and state an address, date (notless than 30 days from the date of mailing) and timeatwhich therewill be ahearing (hereafter sometimes referred to as the “Costs Hearing”) beforethe Hearing Officer to apportion the costs among the parties and Order the payment of said costs.

(c) At the conclusion of the costs hearing, the Hearing Officer shall issue aJudgment of Costs and provide notice of same to the person assessed with costs either in open court,orbymailing same to the person assessed with costs, at said person’saddress as stated

The recordation of the order, judgment, or noticeofjudgment andthe noticeorstatement of costs in the mortgage office of the parish shall constitute alienand privilege against the land upon which violation(s) exists. Any lienand privilege recorded against an immoveableproperty underthis article shall be includedinthe next annualadvalorem taxbill.

(b) The city,upon recordation of the order,judgment, noticeof judgment, or lien, may: 1) Apply to the clerk of districtcourt for issuanceofawrit in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure Article 2253, under the authority of R.S. 13:2575 and13:2576, upon describing with particularity the immovable property andthe mannerin whichthe writ is to be enforced; or 2) Institute asuit against the ownerofrecordinany courtof competent jurisdiction to enforce the order,judgment, notice of judgment, or lien.

(c) In orderfor the lienand privilege to arise, the order, judgment, noticeofjudgment or lienshall be finaland not subject to appeal whenrecorded in the mortgage office.”

(d) Any moniescollected pursuant to this chapter shall first satisfy alloutstanding municipalliens recorded against an immovable property andonly whenall outstanding municipalliens are satisfied in full shall monies be appliedtowardsanimmovable property’sadvalorem taxes.

No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) Sec. 2-73. Enforcement of liens –Additional Requirements.

(a) Legalproceedings by the City to obtain awrit to cause the seizure andsaleofa property with outstanding liens, shall only begin against property thatisunoccupied.

(b) Unoccupied properties thatmaintain avalid

article VII, sections 18(G)(5) and20(A)(10) of the

of Louisiana,shall be exempt from this section upon presentation of asignedaffidavit from the assessor or his designee, attesting that the ownerisapproved for an extension of the special assessment level. This affidavit shall be renewedannually.The ownershall also submit, along with the aforementioned affidavit,acopy of their annualaffidavit of intent to returnand reoccupy the homestead thatis filedwith the assessor as required by article VII, section 20(A)(10) of the Louisiana Constitution. This provision shall expire on December 31, 2015.

(c) Any person with alegally protected interest in aproperty must be provided noticethatisreasonably calculatedtoapprise themof the seizureand upcoming sale of the property (Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) Sec. 2-74. Appeal. Any person determined by the Hearing Officer to be liable for acode violation may appeal the determination to the civil district courtfor the parish. Suchappeal shall be institutedby filing, within 30 calendar days of the mailing of the Hearing Officer’s order, apetition with the clerk of the civil district courtalong with payment of such costs as may be required by the clerk of court. After filing apetition for appeal the clerk of courtshall schedule ahearing andnotify allpartiesof the date, time,and place of such hearing. Service of noticeofappeal underthis subsection shall not stay the enforcementand collection of the judgment unless the person who filesthe appeal furnishessecurity prior to filing noticeofappeal with the Department of Financeinthe amount fixed by the Hearing Officer sufficienttoassuresatisfaction of the finding of the Hearing Officer relative to the fine(s), fee(s), monetary penalty/penalties, cost(s) of the hearing, andcost(s), if any, of correcting the violation(s).

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-75. Remedies not exclusive. The regulations, procedures, andremedies establishedbythis chapter arenonexclusive andmay be pursued independently of each other andinaddition to otherremedies provided by law.

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-76. Recordkeeping.

(a) At its commencementbyNoticeofViolation, every adjudication proceeding shall be assigneda docket numberand astyle in the form of “City of Zachary versus” followed by the name of the allegedviolator.The recordspertaining to each proceeding shall be maintained as aseparate file in amannersimilartothe fashion in whichthe clerks of courtmaintain the recordsofcivil cases (b) Each agency chargedwith the enforcementofanordinancewithin the scope of this article shall, with the advice of the department of law, maintain alog or indexofall adjudication proceedings whichshall set forth information, including but not limitedtothe following:

1) The style anddocket numberofthe case andthe date it was opened;

2) AllegedCode violation(s);

3) Dateofthe allegedviolation(s);

4) Address or otherdescription of the property upon whichthe allegedviolation(s) exist or have occurred;

5) Date(s) of anyhearings, trials or continuances andthe dates of their commencementand/or termination and, if the case is terminated, of its finaldisposition;

6) Statement(s) as to the dates of anyhearing andofany final order in the case andastowhetherand when anylienwas filed; and 7) Statement(s) as to the date of filing anddisposition of any appeal

(Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 2-77. Transfer of ownership. It shall be aviolation for anyproperty owner(s) thatreceives aNotice of Violation, to transferthe subject property without providing the City of Zachary’sEnforcementOfficer with prior writtennoticeofthe intent to transferthe subject property.Saidprior writtennoticetobegiven not less than15business days prior to said transfer. Anyone found in violation of this section shall be fined$500.00.

Secs.2-78—84. Reserved.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that §§ 14-35, 14-36, 14-37, 14-38, 14-39, 14-40, 14-41, 14-44, 14-62, 14-64, 14-65, 14-66 and14-68 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary, Louisiana shall be andare hereby prospectively andretrospectively amended and/or repealed to read as follows:

Sec. 14-35. Enforcement by the Administrative Code Hearing Officer Enforcementofall sections of this Article shall be pursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2–Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code (Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh.A), 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-36. Authority of Hearing Officer The Hearing Officer maycondemn andcause to be demolished or removedany building or structure within the city limits whenthe Hearing Officer finds the building or structureisinadilapidated or dangerous condition thatmay cause damage to or endanger public welfare or safety (Code 1987, §5-13; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh.A), 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-37. Procedure.

(a) Beforethe Hearing Officer maycondemn anybuilding or structure, there must be submittedtoitawritten report recommending demolition or removalofthe building or structuresignedbythe Code EnforcementOfficer,the chiefbuilding inspector of the city or his/herrepresentative

(b) The Hearing Officer shall thereupon cause noticetobeserved on the ownerofthe building or structure, or anyattorney-atlawappointed, requiring him to show cause, why the building or structureshould not be condemned. The date andhour of the meeting shall be stated in the noticewhichshall be served at least tendays prior to the date of the hearing, except in case of grave emergencyashereinafterprovided.

(c) The noticeshall be served by the Code EnforcementOfficer,and the officer so making service shall make areturnofthe service as in ordinary cases.Incase of grave public emergency, where the condition of the building or structure is such as to cause possible immediate loss or damage to persons or property,the Hearing Officer maycondemn the building after24hours’ noticeserved upon the owner, occupant or the agentrepresenting the absentee owner and/or the attorney-at-law appointedtorepresentthe absenteeowner. (Code 1987, §5-14; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh.A), 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) Sec. 14-38. Location of an absentee.

(a) The Hearing Officer shall recommend an attorney-at-law to be

approved by the City Attorney for appointment purposes.

(b) If the owner is absent from the state or unrepresented therein, or their whereabouts areunknown, the Hearing Officer mayappoint an attorney-at-law to represent the absentee, minor or interdict upon whom the notices and other proceedings provided for herein may be served in the same manner deemed in section 1437 part (c) above. The attorney-at-law appointed shall be paida reasonable fee whichshall be set by the Hearing Officer together with his/her associated costs and which shall all be taxed as costs of condemnation.

(Code 1987, §5-15; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh. A) 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-39. Order of the Hearing Officer condemning abuilding or structure.

(a) After the hearing, if in the opinion of the Hearing Officer,the facts justify it, an order shall be entered condemning the building or structureand ordering that it be demolished or removed within a certain delay period.

(b) If requested by the owner and repairs will correct the dilapidated, dangerous or unsafecondition, the Hearing Officer may grant the owner the optionofmaking such repairs, but in such acase, the general natureorextentofthe repairs to be made, the time thereof, and the defects to be corrected, shall be specified in the decision of the Hearing Officer and agreedtobythe owner.

(c) The decision and order of the Hearing Officer shall be in writing and shall be final unless appealed from as provided in this Code at Chapter 2Article IV Sections 2-62 et seq.

(d) The decision and order of Hearing officer shall be recorded with the Recorder of Mortgages for East Baton Rouge Parish within 30 days of rendition of the same.

(Code 1987, §5-16; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh. A) 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-40. Appealrights of an owner,etc.

(a) The owner,occupant, agent, or other representative of the owner may appeal the decision and order of the Hearing Officer as provided provided in this Code at Chapter 2Article IV Sections 2-62 et seq.

(Code 1987, §5-17; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh. A) 5-10-2022;Ord.No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-41. Failureofthe owner to repair or comply withthe order of the Hearing Officer.

(a) The owner or his agent shall proceed to demolish and remove the building or structure, or have it repaired, in accordance with the order of the Hearing Officer,within the required timeperiod allowed in the decision and order

(b) In the event the owneroroccupant of the building or structurefails or refuses to comply with the decision and order of the Hearing Officer and fails to appeal therefrom within the legal delays provided herein, the City mayproceed with the demolition of the condemned structurenoearlier than 15 days after the expiration of the delays permitted by the decision and order of the Hearing Officer for the owner to either repair or demolish the subject building or structure, as hereinafter provided and in which case neither the mayor nor the city shall be liable in damages.

(Code 1987, §5-18; Ord. of 6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2022-10, (Exh. A) 5-10-2022; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-44. Penalties.

Violation of any section of this Article is hereby declared to be a civil violation. As such, enforcement thereof shall be pursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2–Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code..

(Code 1987, §5-21; Ord.of6-24-1980; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-62. Maintenance of swimming pools

(a) Every owner of aswimmingpool, located in the city shall maintain the poolinsuch amanner that:

1) The pool shall notharbor or become infested with reptiles, mosquitoes, vermin or other pests;

2) The poolshall not harbor or support submergent or emergent vegetation; and

3) The pool shall not collect scum, film or debris to such an extent that the water is not clear enough to permit ablack disk six inches in diameter on awhite field, when placed on the bottomofthe pool at the deepest point, to be clearly visible from the deck around the pool at all distances up to ten yards measured from aline drawn across the pool through said disk.

(b) Every owner of aswimming pool, with adepth greater than 18 inches, shall keep the pool completely enclosed with fences or walls not less than five feet in height with no openings greater than four inches. Every pool owner shall equip gate or door openings to the poolwith self-closing and self-latching devices capable of keeping such gate or door securely closed at all times. Every swimming poolowner shall keep said fences, gates, and doors in astate of repair.All gates and doors shall be securely closed at all times. No waiver of this section shall be accepted as compliance.

(c) Any completed fence located in the limits of the city that is less than five feet in height, but four feet or moreinheight, on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article was derived shallbe allowed to remain at its present height and shall be exempt from enforcement hereof. However,the requirements contained herein pertaining to gates, doors, self-closing and self-latching devices, maintenance and the requirement to keep gates and doors securely latched shall apply to all swimming pool enclosures in the city.This article shall be enforced as to any unfenced swimming poolorany swimming pool that is surrounded by afence less than four feet in height on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived.

(d) Violation of any section of this Article is hereby declared to be a civil violation. As such, enforcement thereof shall be pursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2– Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1996-08, 5-28-1996; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-64. Enforcement.

(a) Violation of any section of this Article is hereby declared to be a civil violation. As such, enforcement thereof shall be pursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2– Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code. Upon having reasonable suspicion to believe that aviolation exists, the Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Zachary or his appointed agent shall have the authority to enter upon private or public property between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,for inspection and testing of the swimming pool and/or its contents.

(Ord. No. 1996-08, 5-28-1996; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-65. Procedures

(a) All sections of this Article shall be enforced in accordance with the procedures found at Chapter 2– Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code

(Ord. No. 1996-08, 5-28-1996; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-66. Abatement process

REPEALED

(Ord. No. 1996-08, 5-28-1996; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 14-68. Penalties. Violations of any section(s) of this Article shall be penalties and/or costs provisions contained in Chapter 2– Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code

(Ord. No. 1996-08, 5-28-1996; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council that §§ 18112, 18-115, 18-116 and 18-118 of the Code of Ordinances for the CityofZachary,Louisiana shall be and arehereby prospectively and retrospectively amended to read as follows:

Sec. 18-112. Occupational license required.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any massage business to transact any phase of business in the city without first applying to the business license department for an occupational license. Every person, whether natural or juridical, who desires to lease or buy private property to conduct any of the businesses or callings hereinafter set forth, shall first apply for and be granted an occupational license on the forms provided by the city after providing all required documentation.

(b) Occupational license taxes and fees shall be charged in accordance with R.S. 47:341 et seq.

(c) No business license shall be issued until all requisite approvals and permits by the state boardofmassage therapy,department of health and hospitals, state fire marshal, andall other staterequired approvals and permits are finalized and received by the businesslicense department.

(d) All licensees shall comply with the applicable laws

is true and correct; thatall owners shall be responsiblefor the conduct of the business’semployees or independent contractors providing massage services; and acknowledging that failure to complywith the requirements of this article and local, state or federal law,may result in the revocation of the business’s occupational license.

(j) Nameorlocation changes to any license shall be submitted to the business license office within30days of the change along with any appropriate fees.

(k) Amassage establishment shall apply to the city’sbusiness license department to amend its registration certificate within30days after any change in the registration information, including, but not limited to, the hiring and termination of certified massage practitioners, achange in the business’saddress, or changes in the owner’saddresses and/or telephone numbers.

(l) Nothing herein relieves an individual or business from obtaining any other licenses, conditional use permits, or other permit if otherwise required by law

(m)All licenses issued by the city arenontransferableand shall be for the sole use and benefitthe licensee or location issued.

(n) Alloccupational licenses arethe property of the city and shall be surrendered upon demand of the city.

(o) The requirements set forth in this section shall not apply to persons exempt by R.S. 37:3556.

(Ord.No. 2023-04, §2,5-9-2023; Ord. No.2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 18-115. Inspection by officials.

The Code Enforcement Officer (as defined in Chapter 2-Article IV

(Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code or their designees, shall have the right to enter any massage establishment at any time during regular business hours for the purpose of making reasonable inspections and to observe and enforce compliance with the provisions of this article. Nothing herein shall prohibit any law enforcement official or city building official from exercising their jurisdiction and/or enforcing any applicable local, parish or state laws.

(Ord.No. 2023-04, §5,5-9-2023; Ord. No.2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 18-116. Grounds for revocation of occupational license.

(a)All sections of this Article shall be enforced in accordance with the procedures found at Chapter 2–Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code.

(b) The city may suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew an occupational license after notice and opportunity for hearing, upon proof of any of the following:

1) Obtaining alicense by means of fraud; misrepresentation, or concealment of material facts, including making false statements on an application or other document required by the city;

2) Selling, bartering, or offering to sell or barter alicense;

3) Engaging in unprofessional conduct that has endangered or that is likely to endanger the health, welfare, or safety of the public;

4) The conviction, nolo contender plea, or receipt of deferred adjudication of any person employed by the massage establishment of any crime arising out of or connected with the practice of massage therapy,unless such aconviction was reversed on appeal;

5) The conviction, nolo contender plea, or receipt of deferred adjudication of any person employed by the massage establishment at the timeofcommission of the crime to a violent felony or criminal offense involving sexual misconduct or prostitution;

6) Violating or aiding and abetting in the violation of any provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder;

7) Failing to complywith license or renewal requirements from the city,the state, or the state boardofmassage therapy

8) The determination by the business license office or boardof massage therapy that the establishment is asexually oriented business or that acrime or offense involving prostitution or other sexual offenses and resulting in aconviction, to which a plea of nolocontendere was entered or deferred adjudication received, has occurred on the premises of the establishment since the date of the most recent license renewal.

(c) The Hearing Officer shall impose a fine or penalty on massage establishments and massage therapists who continue to operate without aproper occupational license at the rate set forth by the boardofmassage therapy

(d) Asuspension or revocation issued pursuant to this article willbe effective ten days from the date appearing in the order,unless a timelyappeal is filedwith the 19th Judicial District Court.

(e) No re-application for an occupational license shall be accepted within one year after acertificate is revoked.

(f) The following rules shall apply to any hearing required by this section. All parties involved shall have the right to offer testimonial, documentary,and tangible evidence bearing on the issues, to be represented by counsel, and to confront and cross-examine witnesses. Any relevant evidence may be admitted if it is the sort of evidence upon which reasonablepersons areaccustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs. Formal rules of evidence and discovery do not applytoproceedings governed by this article.

Unless otherwise specifically prohibited by law,the burden of proof is on the registrant in any hearing or other matter under this article.

(Ord.No. 2023-04, §6,5-9-2023; Ord. No.2025-24, __-__-2025)

Sec. 18-118. Public nuisance and penalties.

It shall be unlawful and apublic nuisance for amassage business to be operated, conducted, or maintained contrarytothe provisions of article. The city may exercise its discretion, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting acriminal action, to commence proceedings for the abatement, removal,and enjoinment of that business in any manner provided by law

In addition to the ability to proceeding for the abatement, removal, and enjoinment of the same, violations of this article may also be prosecuted as civil violations. As such, enforcement thereof shall be pursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2– Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement) of this Code.

In addition to the ability to proceeding for the abatement, removal,and enjoinment of the same; as well as the ability to prosecute violations as civilviolations, violations of this article may also be prosecuted as criminal actions with the availabilityofthe application of the following penalties:

(a) Violations of the provisions of this article shall be considered a misdemeanor an any person, including the owner or operator of a massage establishment, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor morethan the maximum amount allowed by state law or imprisoned for not morethan 60 days, or both.

(b) Any person, proprietor,orestablishment convicted of aviolation of any provision of this articleshall additionally be ineligiblefor licensureasamassage therapist or massage establishment for a period of up to five years from the date of conviction. (Ord.No. 2023-04, §8,5-9-2023; Ord. No.2025-24, __-__-2025)

THEREFOREBEITFURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that §§ 38-85, 38-88, 38-89, 38-90 and 38-91 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary,Louisiana shall be and arehereby prospectivelyand retrospectively amended to read as follows:

Ord. No. 2024-06, 05-142024; ;Ord.No. 2024-12, §4, 08-13-2024; Ord. No. 2025-24, ____-2025) Sec. 38-89. Notice of alleged violation and hearing date. The NoticeofAllegedViolation andHearing Datedetailedinthe preceding Section shall be served on the ownerofthe motor vehicle and/or the owner, or occupant, of the premisesupon whichthe motor vehicle is located by hand delivery by the Code EnforcementOfficer or his designee. Aswornaffidavit attesting to service shall appear at the bottom of acopy of the Noticeserved andshall be kept in the file maintainedbythe city office responsible for complianceand/or enforcementoffice of the Hearing Officer (Ord. No. 1999-05, §11-Z-48, 4-27-1999; Ord. No. 2012-02, §5 3-13-2012; Ord. No. 2024-06, 05-14-2024;Ord.No. 2024-12, §5 08-13-2024; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025) Sec. 38-90. Removal of abandoned motor vehicles When reasonable grounds exist thata motor vehicle hasbeen abandoned, the Code EnforcementOfficer shall affixtothe windshield

clearly visible to patrons within the lobby at all times during operation of the business.

(g)Massage establishment proprietors shall provide the business license department with the dates and hours of operation for the business. Massage establishments proprietors must notify the businesslicense office of any changes to their dates or

(i)

unknownorunascertainableaftera diligent search hasbeen made or if noticesenttothe last registeredownerhas been returned unclaimed, thenthe Code EnforcementOfficer shall place an advertisement oncea week for twosuccessiveweeks in the official journalofthe city or anewspaper of general circulation in East Baton Rouge Parish for the whereabouts of the owner. If no person claims the motor vehicle during this period, the enforcementofficer maytake possession of the motor vehicle andremove it from the premises. The enforcementofficer shall thereafterdispose of the motor vehicle in the same manner as maybeprovided by state lawand/or local ordinance. (Ord. No. 1999-05, §11-Z-50, 4-27-1999; Ord. No. 2012-02, §7 3-13-2012; Ord. No. 2024-06, 05-14-2024; Ord. No. 2024-12, §7, 08-13-2024; Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that the title of Chapter 58 andthe title andtext of §58-1 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary,Louisiana shall be andare hereby amended to read as follows:

Chapter 58 CRIMINAL, TRAFFIC &PUBLIC SAFETY OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL Sec. 58-1. Enforcement of chapter Violations of anySection of this Chapter shall be prosecuted by the appropriate prosecutor,inacourt having jurisdiction, as eithera traffic offense or amisdemeanorinaccordance with the state lawadopted by referencetosame. (Ord. No. 2025-24, __-__-2025)

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that the entiretyofChapter 62 (morespecifically,§§62-1 through 62-14) of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Zachary, Louisiana shall be andare hereby prospectively andretrospectively repealed in its entiretyand the following Editor’sNote to be inserted:

Editor’snote:Chapter 62 wasrepealed in its entiretybyOrd.No. 2025-24, adopted _______- 202__. Prior to said repeal, Chapter 62 pertained to sign regulations, anditwas previously superseded by the Zachary Unified Development Code [UDC] (per Ord. No. 2008-25, adopted Aug. 8, 2008)

This Ordinance shall become effective at the expiration of ten(10) calendar days afterpublication by the City Council for the City of Zachary unless the referenced ordinanceshall specify anothereffective date, all pursuant to §2-10 (C) of the Home Rule Charter adopted by the electors for the City of Zachary

INTRODUCED FOR ADOPTION by the City Council of the City of Zachary as aregularmeeting of the said Council held on the 25th day of November, 2025.

DavidMcDavid,Mayor

ATTEST:

Karen Burdette Clerk of the City Council

Jennifer Landry Mayor ProTempore

SUBMITTEDFOR FINAL APPROVAL AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Zachary as aregularmeeting of the said Council afterbeing duly noticed andpublicized public hearing held on the day of 202__.

DavidMcDavid,Mayor

ATTEST:

Karen

Sec. 38-85. Intent. This article is enacted in recognition of the fact that junk and/or abandoned cars that arestored on private property or discarded in public places can constitute both apublic and private nuisance. They areasource of potential harm to children and others who may find them to be an attractive nuisance. They create safety and health hazards including, but not limited to, fire hazards due to gasoline remaining in tanks of ahighlyexplosive combustiblenature, harmful acidinbatteries, broken glass, and sharp, torn, metal edges and points. These junk or abandoned vehicles constitute ablight on the city’slandscape which destroy the aestheticqualities of the city hurting the welfareofthe city as awhole. They reduce the value not onlyofthe property upon which they arelocated but also of the property surrounding. The conditions of these vehicles may also tend to impede trafficinthe streets and invite plundering. Violation of any section of this Article is hereby declared to be acivil violation. As such, enforcement thereof shallbepursuant to and in accordance with Chapter 2–Article IV (Administrative Code Enforcement)ofthis Code. (Ord.No. 2012-02, §1,3-13-2012; Ord. No.2024-12, §1 ,08-132024; Ord. No.2025-24, __-__-2025) Sec. 38-88. Administration. Whenever an abandoned or junk motor vehicleisreported to the Office of Code Enforcement, the Code Enforcement Officer or his designee, shall investigate the complaint by observing the vehicle, collecting informationand (wherepossible) communicating with the owner of the vehicle and/or the property wherethe vehicle is located. Following the investigation, if the Code Enforcement Officer believes theretobeaviolation of Section 38-86, the Code Enforcement Officer shall give Notice of Alleged Violation and Hearing Date to the owner of the vehicle and/or owner of the property on which the vehicle is located. All sections of this Article shall

A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor McDavidcalledthe meeting to orderat6:35p.m., on Tuesday, November25, 2025, at the Zachary City Hall located at 4700 MainStreet Zachary,LA.

B. INVOCATION ANDPLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation andthe Pledge of Allegiancewas carried overfromthe previous meeting.

C.

Township 20S ,Range 22E Leeville,Northwest Field, LafourcheParish, Louisiana. Allinterestedparties are hereby givenanopportu‐nity to

comments

fifteen (15) days from the date of this publication. Identify thewellwhen corresponding. Direct commentsto: Office of Conservation Injection& Mining Divi‐sion P.O. Box94275 BatonRouge,LA708049275 Re:Commentsfor SWDApplication 170507-DEC16-1T $216 p hanced and expanded primarycareand mental health services andadd acomprehensive arrayof specialtycareoutpatient services to serveVeter‐ansinBaton Rougeand thesurroundingcommu‐nities in amodern, stateof-the artfacility. The Proposed Action site is approximately15acres andislocated at 83008400 Pecue Lane,Baton Rouge, LA VA prepared theFinal EA andFONSI accordingto theNationalEnvironmen‐talPolicyAct (NEPA) of 1969 (42U.S.Code§ 4321 et seq.). TheFinal EA ex‐amines thepotential en‐vironmentaleffects from implementing thePro‐posedActionand theNo Action Alternative. VA concludedthatimple‐mentingthe Proposed Action will nothave a significant adverse envi‐ronmentalimpact; there‐fore,anenvironmental impact statementisnot required TheFinal EA andFONSI areavailable on theVA websiteat https://www.cfm.va.gov/ environmental/.Hard copies areavailable at theEastBaton Rouge Parish Library– Bluebon‐netRegionalBranch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd,Baton Rouge, LA 70810. 170142 Dec. 14, 16, 2t $439.30

OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATONROUGE ANDTHE CITY OF BATONROUGE Notice is hereby givento allcitizensofthe City of BatonRouge,Parishof East BatonRouge andto allother interested per‐sons,ofthe introduction at theregular meetingof theMetropolitanCouncil of theCityofBaton Rougeand Parish of East BatonRouge,heldonDe‐cember 10, 2025 of the proposed resolutions/or‐dinances,the titles of whichare setforth here‐inafter,and that public hearingwillbeheld thereonbythe Metropol‐itan Councilat4:00P.M Tuesday, January14, 2026, in theCouncil Chambers (Room 348) on thethird floor of theCityParish Governmental Building in this City theseproposedresolu‐tions/ordinances being entitled as follows: Lot12,

The motion wasmade by Council Member Vincent, seconded by Council Member Dunntoaccept the proclamation.

The mayorcalled forpubliccomments or questions.

Vote wascalled for.

3325 GROOM ROAD, BAKER, LOUISIANA 70714 www.youtube. com/@bakerforward December 9, 2025 -6:00 p.m.

TheCityCouncil of the City of Baker, Louisiana,met in regularsession on December 9, 2025, with the following members in attendanceatthe meeting: MAYOR Darnell Waites

COUNCIL MEMBERS Desiree Collins Rochelle Dunn Cedric Murphy Dr.CharlesVincent Robert Young

CALLTOORDER –Mayor Waitespresided

Theinvocationwas given by CouncilMemberMurphy

ThePledge of Allegiance was led by CouncilMemberVincent *** Publiccomments will be allowed on allagendaitems. Such comments shall not exceed 3minutesand shallbeconfinedtothe agenda item andany proposeddispositionthereof.***

DISPOSITION OF THEMINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Themotion was made by Council Member Murphy,secondedbyCouncil Member Vincent to approve the minutes of the meetingheldonNovember 18,2025, with the following additions

CouncilMemberVincent stated thatthe following information was sent to the Clerk of the Councilprior to tonight’smeeting andasked thatitbe placed in the minutes.

Under RECOGNITIONS,fromthe meetingheldNovember 18,2025: After severalcalls from Lillie Carr-Chambers, aformer student of Councilman Vincent, she informed him of herpassion in helping people. A ministry for her.Recognizing how weatherizing and installations and other programs could assist the citizens of Baker, Vincent told hertoprepare packets for the mayor and colleaguesand he would place heronthe agenda.Vincenttexted Mayor Waitestoinformhim of herpassion and his plans.

Council Member Vincent would also like it noted thatFireChief Pease indicated that the State Policeinadditionto theBaton RougeFire Department had jurisdiction over allhazmat incidents.

The mayor called for public comments or questions.

Vote was called for YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy, Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

Themotionpassed withavoteof5-0

RECOGNITIONS

1. Just Cake, LLC Location –2633 N. Magnolia Drive, Baker,Louisiana JustCake, LLC, was recognized as anew businessinthe Cityof Baker

2.Sha-Wee’sSeafood Location –814 Main Street, Baker, Louisiana

Sha-Wee’sSeafood was recognized as anew businessinthe CityofBaker

PLANNINGAND ZONING MATTERS

1. Annexation Request: Ronaldson Road

Owner: Agway Systems, Inc.

Lots: A-2 andA-3

Discussion regarding theagenda item washeld.

The motion was made by Council Member Vincent, secondedbyCouncil Member Murphy to acceptthe annexationrequest submitted by Agway Systems,Inc.

The mayor called for public comments or questions.

Votewas called for

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

Themotionpassed withavoteof5-0

2. Resubdivision Request: Manhattan Drive, Baker,Louisiana

Owner: Metro PropertiesofLouisiana, LLC

NameofApplicant: George Moore, Jr 12820 Plank Road Baker,Louisiana 70714

Lots: B-4-2-A,B-3-C, and B-3-B Subdivision: BakerCommercial Park

CreateLots: B-4-2-A-1 andLots 2–7

Property Zoned: C-2 Commercial Discussion regarding theagenda item washeld.

The motion was made by Council Member Vincent, secondedbyCouncil Member Collins to approve the resubdivision request for MetroProperties ofLouisiana,LLC.

The mayor called for public comments or questions.

Vote was called for YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

Themotionpassed withavoteof5-0

RESOLUTIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS

1. Proclamation declaring December2025National ImpairedDriving PreventionMonthinthe City of Baker(Vincent)

The proclamation was read by AneatraBoykin

The motionwas made by Council Member Vincent, secondedbyCouncil Member Murphy to acceptthe proclamat on

Themayor called for public commentsor questions.

Vote was called for

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

Themotionpassed withavoteof5-0

2. Proclamation declaring December 2025 Safe Toyand Gift Month in the City of Baker (Vincent)

The proclamation was read by AneatraBoykin

The motionwas made by Council Member Vincent,secondedbyCouncil Member Murphy to acceptthe proclamation.

Themayor called for public comments or questions.

Vote wascalled for YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy, Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

Themotionpassed withavoteof5-0

3. Proclamation declaring Sunday,January 18,2026, Justice Sunday in the City of Baker –Mission PossibleII: Building Community, Uniting a Nation, the nonviolent way (Vincent) The proclamation was read byAneatraBoykin

YEAS: Collins, Dunn,Murphy, Vincent, Young

NAYS:None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0

Council Member Vincentannouncedthat he has organized and is cosponsoring aprogram in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.and Justice Sunday.Heroes of AfricanAmericanHistory Series –“The Legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.” The program will be held on Saturday,January10, 2026, from 3:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. at the Baker Branch Library.Council

Member Vincent will distribute back to school supplies to the first eight

students in attendance

NEW BUSINESS

1. Discuss changing the time of the December16, 2025, council meeting (Mayor)

The motion wasmade by Council Member Collins, seconded by Council

Member Vincent to change the time of the December 16,2025, council meeting to 3:30p.m.

The mayorcalled forpubliccomments or questions.

Vote wascalled for.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn,Murphy, Vincent, Young

NAYS:None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0

2. Introduce tirebusiness ordinance (Vincent)

The motion wasmade by Council Member Vincent, seconded by Council

Member Murphy to tablethisagendaitem.

The mayorcalled forpubliccomments or questions.

Vote wascalled for.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn,Murphy, Vincent, Young

NAYS:None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0

PUBLIC MEETING

ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMENTS

1. District 2announcements(Dunn)

Council Member Dunnwishedeveryone aMerryChristmas and aHappy NewYear.She said therewas agreat turnout forthe ToyGiveawayand that approximately115 bikes were distributed at the event. She thanked the Cajun Navy fortheirgenerous donation. Council Member Dunnasked the mayorand council if they wouldbeinterested inworking with the Council on Aging to provide giftcards forChristmas to area senior citizens.

Council Member Vincentstated he attended alegislative work session/ hearing concerning the Highway Priority Program forthe State of Louisiana. He saidhehad the chance to testifyand ask questions on behalf of the city’sdistrict aboutthe work being done on Lavey Lane and about turning lanes on Highway 19.Hedistributed informationpackets procured while theretothe mayorand council membersfor their review.Hecommended thePublic WorksDepartment fortheirworkonN.Morvant. He commended and thanked those Public WorksDepartment employees who came to his house and unstopped the sewer linethat wasbacked up as well. Council Member Vincentasked about the status of the gas line work being done in District 1. The mayorreportedthat the work has slowed duetothe holidays,but it does continue. Council Member reported that he is still gettingcalls about the streetlights that areout on Lavey Lane and Plank Road.The mayorstated this issueisbeing addressed. Council Member Vincentsaidsome of hisconstituents have reported problems with their driveways coming offofLavey Lane and asked that he mention it at the meeting.Hereminded everyone of the Martin Luther King, Jr program in January and asked that they take an informational flyer

APPOINTMENTSTOBOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

Themayorthanked allthe volunteerswho have worked diligently to make allthe city’sholiday events asuccess

The mayorsaidthat approximately1,000 food boxes, with meat, were distributed at the giveaway held on November 22,2025.

The mayorsaidthe ToyGiveawaywas ahugesuccess and thanked the Baker FireDepartment,the Cajun Navy andBishopRicky Sinclair fortheir generosity

The mayorannouncedthe Christmas parade willbeheld Saturday December 13,2025, and asked everyone to come out and enjoy the festivities.

The mayorwishedeveryone HappyHolidays.

Council Member Young said he may be unable to attend the parade due to the death of adear friend. He saidheiswaiting to hear from the family regardingthe arrangements.

The mayorled the assembly in singing “HappyBirthday”toFireChief Keith Pease.

CONDEMNATIONS

REPORTSONBOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

1. Planningand ZoningCommission

2. Annexation Review Committee

3. Economic Development Team

4. Heritage Museum/Related Committees

5. ABCBoard

6. Other Special Committees

a. BuffaloFestival

b. Prayer Breakfast c. Strategic PlanningCommittee

d. Citizens Advisory BoardtoLaw Enforcement

e. Main Street District Committee

ADJOURN Themotion wasmade by Council Member Murphyseconded by Council Members Dunn/Vincent to adjourn.

The mayorcalled forpubliccomments or questions.

Vote wascalled for.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn,Murphy, Vincent, Young

NAYS:None ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motion passed with avote of 5-0

CITY OF BAKER

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

STATEOFLOUISIANA

I, AngelaCanady Wall,certify that IamClerk of the Council forthe City of Baker,Louisiana, and that the above and foregoing is acopy of the minutes of aregularmeeting of the Council forthe City of Baker,Louisiana heldonDecember9,2025.

AngelaCanady Wall,LCMC Clerk of Council

CITYOFBAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

STATEOFLOUISIANA 3325 GROOM ROAD BAKER, LA 70714

December9,2025

TheCity Council of theCity of Baker,Louisiana,sitting as theBoard of Commissionersfor Norman E. “Pete” Heine MemorialGardens, met in regularsessiononDecember 9, 2025,withthe following members in attendance at themeeting:

COMMISSIONERS Desiree Collins RochelleDunn Cedric Murphy

Dr.CharlesVincent Darnell Waites Robert Young

CALL TO ORDER –CommissionerWaites presided.

DISPOSITION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Themeetingwas calledtoorder andthe motion wasmadebyCommissioner Waites, seconded by Commissioner Murphy to approvethe minutesofthe meeting held on November18, 2025

Commissioner Waitescalledfor public commentsorquestions

Vote wascalledfor YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young NAYS:None ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN:None Themotion passedbya vote of 6-0.

PUBLICNOTICE

NEW BUSINESS

OTHERNECESSARYBUSINESS

1. Monthly Business Report

2. OtherReports

3. ItemsRequiring Action

ADJOURN Therewas no otherbusiness to come before thecommission.The motion wasmadebyCommissionerWaites,seconded by CommissionersDunn/ Murphy to adjourn.

Commissioner Waitescalledfor public commentsorquestions

Vote wascalledfor YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young NAYS:None ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN:None Themotion passedbya vote of 6-0.

CITYOFBAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

I, Angela Canady Wall, certify that IamClerkofthe Council forthe City of Baker,Louisiana,and that theabove andforegoing is acopyofthe minutesofa regularmeetingofthe BoardofCommissioners forthe HillcrestMemorialGardens held on December 9, 2025

AngelaCanady Wall, LCMC Clerk of Council MINUTES BOARDOFCOMMISSIONERS BAKER CONSOLIDATEDUTILITIES SYSTEM CITYOFBAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA 3325 GROOM ROAD BAKER, LA 70714 December9,2025

TheCity Council of theCity of Baker,Louisiana,sitting as theBoard of Commissionersfor theBaker ConsolidatedUtilitiesSystem, metinregular sessiononDecember 9, 2025,withthe following members attending: COMMISSIONERS Desiree Collins RochelleDunn Cedric Murphy Dr.CharlesVincent Darnell Waites Robert Young

CALL TO ORDER –CommissionerWaitespresided.

DISPOSITION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Themeetingwas calledtoorder andthe motion wasmadeby Commissioner Waites, seconded by CommissionersDunn/Vincentto approvethe minutesofthe meeting held on November18, 2025 Commissioner Waitescalledfor public commentsorquestions Vote wascalledfor

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites,Young NAYS:None ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN:None Themotion passedbyavoteof6-0

PUBLICNOTICE

NEW BUSINESS

OTHERNECESSARYBUSINESS

1. Monthly Business Report

2. OtherReports

3. ItemsRequiring Action

ADJOURN Therewas no otherbusiness to come before thecommission.The motion wasmadebyCommissionerWaites,seconded by Commissioner Dunn to adjourn.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites,Young

NAYS:None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN:None Themotion passedbyavoteof6-0

CITYOFBAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

I, Angela Canady Wall, certify that IamClerkofthe Council forthe City of Baker,Louisiana,and that theabove andforegoing is acopyofthe minutesofa regularmeetingofthe BoardofCommissioners of theBaker ConsolidatedUtility System held on December 9, 2025

AngelaCanady Wall, LCMC Clerk of Council

170299-594721-Dec.16-1t

$748.44

CLASSIFIEDS.THEADVOCATE.COM

nays (Freneaux, Sheridan), 0absent. Mo‐tion passed;PD25-02-D andZ25-03 were ap‐proved with stipulations b) PD25-04-D &Z25-05 for theReserve at Sullivan: An ordinanceapproving aPlannedUnitDevelop‐ment PreliminaryPlanto include84lotsfor singlefamilydwellingsand 2 commerciallots, with newpublicstreetsand public sewer, in theR/A (Rural/Agricultural) &R-2 (Single-Family Resi‐dence) zoning districts; andtorezonethe 2pro‐posed commercial lots f ( l p fromR-2 to B-3 (General Commercial/Business District)zoningdistrict. This 33.10-acre property is locatedat9438 &9448 Sullivan Road andatthe southern endofRaven‐wood Drive, southofRid‐geside Avenue,onTracts DV andJ-1,Mike AndrowskiTract.(Appli‐cant:SouthernVentures Development, LLC, for Succession of David MichaelAndrowski and John StanleyAndrowski) Commission Action:Mr. Sheridan movedtoap‐provewiththe stipula‐tion that thetract will be rezonedtoB-1.Mr. Fre‐neauxseconded. Public comment:AdamLoup, Webb McGee, RobDavi‐son, Cory Dibay, Ros‐alynnWilson. Vote:7 yeas (Firmin, Freneaux Harper,Pino, Sharafkhani, Sheridan Johnson),0 nays,0 ab‐sent.Motionpassed; PD25-04-Dand Z25-05 were approved andre‐zonedtoB-1 CouncilMemberWells arrivedat6:03pmand wasrecognized as pre‐sent forthe meeting. III. OldBusiness(Public Hearingand Action re‐gardingthe followingin‐strument(s)): 1) Aresolutiontoap‐provethe installation of electric vehiclecharging stations Aresolutiontoapprove theinstallationofelec‐tric vehiclechargingsta‐tionsinthe City of Cen‐tral andtoprovide for re‐latedmatters (ByCouncil Member Fralick) CouncilAction(October 28, 2025):Council Mem‐berMcKinneymade a motion to approveto open up discussion.The motion wassecondedby CouncilMemberMyer. Public comment: None Councildiscussion. CouncilMemberMyer made amotiontodefer this item to thenext CouncilMeeting (Novem‐ber25, 2025).The motion wassecondedbyCouncil Member McKinney.Pub‐liccomment:None. Vote to defer: 4 yeas ( i

y (Lavergne,McKinney, Myer andRoy), 0nays, 3 absent (Fralick,Lazaroe andWells). Motion passedand this item is deferred to theNovem‐ber25, 2025 Council Meeting. CouncilAction(Novem‐ber25, 2025):Council Member Fralickmoved to approvethisitem. The motion wassecondedby CouncilMemberMyer. Councildiscussion. Council Member Myer movedtodefer this item to theDecember9,2025 Councilmeeting. Themo‐tion wassecondedby CouncilMemberLazaroe Public comment: None Councildiscussion. Vote to defer: 7yeas(Fralick, Lavergne,Lazaroe,McK‐inney, Myer,Roy and Wells), 0nays, 0absent. Motion passedand this item is deferred to the December 9, 2025 Council meeting. IV.New Business (Public Hearing andActionre‐gardingthe followingin‐strument(s)): 1) An ordinanceto amendthe budget to ac‐cept andallocatefunds received by CPDfrom ACT461 An ordinancetoamend the2025-2026 fiscal year budget to accept andal‐locate fundsreceivedby theCentral Police De‐partment from ACT461 of the2025 RegularLegisla‐tive Sessionand to pro‐vide forrelated matters (By CouncilMember Myer). CouncilMemberMyer movedtoapprovethis item.The motion was seconded by Council Member McKinney Councildiscussion. Michelle Lewiswiththe CPDprovidedanupdate. Public comment:None. Vote:7 yeas (Fralick Lavergne,Lazaroe,McK‐inney, Myer,Roy and Wells), 0nays, 0absent. Motion passed. 2) Aresolutiontowrite offuncollectible debts Aresolutiontoauthorize certainuncollectible debtstobewritten-off andtoprovide forre‐latedmatters (By Council b li k)

COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE

Notice is hereby given to all citizens of the City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge and to all other interested persons, of the introduction at the regular meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, heldonDecember10, 2025 of the proposed resolutions/ordinances, the titles of which areset forth hereinafter,and that public hearing will be held thereon by the Metropolitan Council at 4:00 P.M., Wednesday,January 14, 2026, in the Council Chambers (Room 348) on the third floor of theCity-Parish Governmental Building in this City,these proposed resolutions/ordinances being entitled as follows: RESOLUTION

Aresolution providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the Downtown Development District of the City of Baton Rouge (the “District”), on Saturday,October 11, 2025, for the purpose of authorizing the renewal of the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem tax, for aperiod of five (5) years, beginning with the tax collection for the year 2027, and annually thereafter to and including the year 2031; and providing for other matters in connection therewith. By Bond Counsel.

RESOLUTION Authorization for the Mayor-President and/or Chairman of the Airport Commission to execute aProfessional Services Contract with Legacy Title, L.L.C. to create acomprehensive Exhibit Ainaccordance with FAAspecifications in an amount not to exceed $158,750.00. By Aviation Director RESOLUTION

Authorization for the Mayor-President and/or Chairman of

y Member Fralick)

CouncilMemberFralick movedtoapprovethis item.The motion was seconded by Council Member Myer.Council discussion.The City at‐torney,KyleCelestin, provided an update.Pub‐liccomment:None. Vote: 7yeas(Fralick, Lavergne Lazaroe, McKinney,Myer, Royand Wells),0 nays,0 absent.Motionpassed. 3) Aresolutiontoap‐proveaninscription at thenew City Hall Aresolutiontoapprove inscribing “Thoushalt notbearfalse witness” on doorsenteringthe CouncilChambersand to providefor relatedmat‐ters (By CouncilMember Lavergne) CouncilMember Lavergne movedtoap‐provethisitem. Themo‐tion wassecondedby CouncilMemberMcKin‐ney. Councildiscussion. Public comment:None. Vote:7 yeas (Fralick Lavergne,Lazaroe,McK‐inney, Myer,Roy and Wells), 0nays, 0absent. Motion passed. 4) Aresolutionopposing carbon captureand se‐questration Aresolutionopposing carbon captureand se‐questrationinthe City of Central(By CouncilMem‐berLavergne) CouncilMember Lavergne movedtoap‐provethisitem. Themo‐tion wassecondedby CouncilMemberWells Councildiscussion. Pub‐liccomment:None. Vote: 7yeas(Fralick, Lavergne, Lazaroe, McKinney,Myer, Royand Wells), 0nays, 0 absent.Motionpassed. 5) To consider amotion to authorizethe Mayorto executea contract ex‐tensionofone year with CSRS,LLC relatedtothe professional services agreementfor Technical Services andProgram Management forGrants (Non-Stafford Act) CouncilMember Lavergne movedtoap‐provethisitem. Themo‐tion wassecondedby CouncilMemberMyer bli

y Publiccomment:None. Vote:7 yeas (Fralick Lavergne,Lazaroe,McK‐inney, Myer,Roy and Wells), 0nays, 0absent. Motion passed. V. NewBusiness(NonPublic Hearing): 1) Introduction of thefol‐lowing item(s)(with pub‐lichearing to be held at theDecember9,2025, Councilmeeting): a) An ordinancetosus‐pend collection of 0.1% of theCityofCentral’s 2% generalsales anduse tax An Ordinancetosuspend collection of one-tenthof onepercent (0.10%)of theCityofCentral’s two percent(2%)general salesand usetax;topro‐vide that such suspen‐sion shallcontinue until theCityCouncil, by sub‐sequentordinance,votes to reinstatethe full voter-approved twoper‐cent (2%) rate or votesto temporarilysuspend a larger portionofthe salesand usetaxes col‐lected by theCityofCen‐tral;and to providefor relatedmatters (By CouncilMember Lavergne) VI.Reports andPresenta‐tions: 1) Mayor’sReports and Presentations a) Aproclamationrecog‐nizingNovemberasLung Cancer Awareness Month– MayorEvans read theproclamation recognizingNovemberas Lung Cancer Awareness Month -Mayor Evansprovided an update on thefunding issues in BatonRouge -Mayor Evansgavean update on BREC -Mayor Evansdiscussed thekey card obtained for theBaton RougeMayor’s office Report from theCentral Police Department con‐cerninglaw enforcement within theCityofCentral Police Lieutenant Michelle Lewisgavea re‐port forthe CentralPo‐lice Department Report from IBTS regard‐ingservicesprovidedto theCityofCentral Program &PlanningDi‐

rector,TaurusFreeman gave areportfromIBTS regardingservicespro‐videdtothe City of Cen‐tral.Kayci Mullins, Public WorksDirector, provided an update on theGovwell software allowing citi‐zens to submit,track and communicate updateson public worksrequests online.The software will be availableonDecem‐ber1,2025. 2) Distribution of theCity of CentralAccounts PayableDisbursement Report,FuelReportand DepositTotalsfor thepe‐riod of October1,2025 throughOctober 31, 2025. Reportsweredistributed 3) Distribution of Finan‐cial Highlights &State‐mentsfor August2025. Reportsweredistributed VII. OtherBusiness: 1) Public Comment None 2) Announcements -The Christmasparade will be on themorning of December 6, 2025. That evening, thelightingof theChristmas tree will occurfollowedby fire‐works. -The lighting of thelogo andnameonthe new City Hall building will be completedinthe next couple of weeks. 3) Adjournment CouncilMemberMyer movedtoadjourn.The motion wassecondedby CouncilMemberLazaroe Themeetingwas ad‐journedat6:37p.m S/ Wade Evans, Mayor S/ Mark Miley, Clerk 170503-DEC16-1T $154

Presentwere: Mary Stein Claude Reynaud MartyEngquist Presentbut notpartici‐pating in formal actions: Jill Kidder,Staff Lisa Clary, Staff Mary Steincalledthe meetingtoorder and opened themeetingfor public comment. Discussion washeldre‐gardinga proposed slate of officers for2026. On amotionbyClaude Reynaud, seconded by MartyEngquist, thecom‐mittee agreed to recom‐mend to theboard the followingslate of officers for2026. RowdyGaudet, Chairman StephenHightower,Vice Chairman RobynMerrick,Secre‐tary/Treasurer Gary Jupiter, Immediate Past Chair Motion carried. Therebeing no further business, themeeting wasadjourned 170591 Dec. 16, 1t $16.34

IMMOVABLEPROPERTY AT PRIVATESALE NOTICE IS GIVENthat theExecutorofthissuc‐cessionhas petitioned this Courtfor authority to sell immovableprop‐erty of thedeceasedat a privatesaleinaccor‐dancewiththe provi‐sionsofArticle 3281 of theCodeofCivil Proce‐dure forthe Estate’s in‐terest in said property describedbelow andfor theconsideration forthe followingdescribed property,towit: AcertainCondominium Unit,togetherwithall the improvements thereon, situated in theParishof East BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, beinga por‐tion of theCondominium Property submittedto theCondominium Regime of VILLAGE WOODSRETIREMENT COMMUNITY,A CONDO‐MINIUM, under theCon‐dominium Declaration filedasOriginal610,

CouncilwomanTwahna P. Harris

CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS

NotNeeded For APublic Purpose, And Authorizing The SaleOfSame Pursuant To Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4712 Et Seq., Unto Lemark Augustus For The Sum Of $31,000.00. And Authorizing The Mayor-President To ExecuteAPurchase Agreement,Cash Sale/Closing Documents, And Any And AllDocumentsInFurtherance Of This Sale, With The Parish Attorney’sOffice To Prepare, Review,And/Or Approve All Such Documentation. By Parish Attorney

RESOLUTION

Authorizing The Metropolitan CouncilToDeclareLot 12, Square23, East Fairfields Subdivision, Municipal Address 5675 Jackson Avenue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806, As Surplus Property And NotNeeded For A Public Purpose, And Authorizing The SaleOfSame Pursuant To Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4712 Et Seq., Unto Kenny GeorgeFor The Sum Of $28,000.00. And Authorizing The Mayor-President To ExecuteAPurchase Agreement, Cash Sale/Closing Documents, And Any And All Documents In Furtherance Of ThisSale, With The Parish Attorney’sOffice To Prepare, Review,And/Or Approve AllSuch Documentation. By Parish Attorney

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute aContract for Engineering Services, for services associated with MOVEBR Capacity Project Audubon Avenue Sidewalks from Jefferson Highway to Government Street, being City-Parish Project No.25-EN-SW-0009, in an amount not to exceed $247,211.62. (Account No.4370.00000-0000000000-653240). By Transportation and Drainage Director

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute aCEA with the City of Zachary for design and construction services related to the MOVEBR Enhancement Project Mt. Pleasant Crosswalk, being City-Parish Project No.23-EN-HC-0014, in an amount not to exceed $400,000.00. By Transportation and Drainage Director

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Sports Excellence, LLC (Contract 800007071), funded by the FY24 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, forthe provision of sports training and conditioning services to the Baton Rouge Police Department.This amendment increases the contract amount by $44,280.50, bringing the total contract amount to not exceed $89,280.50, and extends the contract term from January 31, 2026 through December 18, 2026. By Police Chief.

ORDINANCE

Amending and reenacting Ordinance 19613, adopted September 10, 2025 which established voting precincts within Wards1,2,& 3inEast Baton Rouge Parish so as to merge Ward 1Precinct 17 into Ward 1Precinct 18, merge Ward 1Precinct 68 into Ward 1Precinct 45, request the Parish BoardofElectionSupervisors to consolidateWard1 Precinct

to the Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts located at 2040 S. Acadian Thruway,Baton Rouge LA 70808, change the polling place for Ward 2Precincts 12A and 12B from Foster Road Baptist Church to Brownfields Elementary School located at 11615 Ellen Dr Baton Rouge LA 70811, and change the polling place for Ward 3Precinct 61 from Greenwell SpringsBaptist Church to Central HighSchool located at 10200 E. Brookside Dr,Baton Rouge LA 70818; and reestablish designated polling locations for all other precincts within the Parish of East Baton Rouge. By Registrar of Voters. Introduce forpublic hearing/meeting on January 14, 2026 RESOLUTION

Receiving areport from the Chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department on crime statistics in Metropolitan CouncilDistrict 7for 2025. By:

Jerry Brooks, Jr andLinda Brooks 816 Kennon Dr Lot 274 Brown Heights Subdivision, Section 3- Council District 2-Kenney Todd W. Campbell 8435 Comite Dr., Tract 3, Resub. of Tracts1,2,3,4& 5ofthe Mamie McdanielProperty Being aPortion of the T.W. Noble Tract in Sec. 51, T5S, RIE &Sec. 68 T6S, R1E, Lot 3 T.W. Noble Tract -Council District 2-Kenney

Reginald Gatlin,Kennith LemarGatlin, Kimla Gatlin,AndreGatlin, Jason Lee, RobinHayes,KaylaBenoit 8211 Tern St., Lot 11, Sq. 1 North Baton Rouge Subdivision -Council District 2- Kenney

ChanelLynn Monroe-Minor 8645 Graham Dr.(UnsecuredDwelling, Rear Shed, andAny Abandoned Vehicles), Lot 40 Oakcrest Subdivision -Council District 6-Dunn Jr

GFlavJanitorial& Cleaning Enterprise LLC 4206 GusYoung Ave., Lot 1, Sq. 15 Greenville Extension Subdivision -Council District 7-Harris

Tony’sRentalProperties LLC 4050b WinbourneAve. (BurntSnowball Stand),Lot A-2-A (Resubdivision of Lots A-1 &A-2, Sq. 1),Lot 1

Tamiko Mitchell Moran andJude Warren Moran 4912 WinbourneAve Lot