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“Until we find a way to get outside influences out of the lives of our high school athletes, we’re going to continue struggling with this.”

J.T. CURTIS, football coach at John Curtis Christian School

High school athlete endorsement rules eyed

Looking back at 2025’s top business news Trader Joe’s, Northgate Mall sale lead highlight reel

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

Stay with me if you’ve heard this before: A big-name national retailer parachutes into Lafayette and announces plans to open a store.

In 2024, everyone went bananas for Buc-ee’s. In 2025, it was Trader Joe’s. And just like Buc-ee’s did the year prior, Trader Joe’s closed on its deal to buy land to make their Lafayette plans official.

Trader Joe’s coming to Lafayette is the top Acadiana business story of the year for 2025.

The specialty grocer officially bought the land two weeks ago at the corner of Camellia Boulevard and Bluebird Drive, and it’s been a long time coming. Back in January we first learned of its interest in Lafayette, and throughout the year the company went through the permitting process to get it done.

ä See 2025, page 4A STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

St. Thomas More takes the field against Lafayette High during the LHSAA high school football playoff game in November in Lafayette. A 22-person legislative task force involving Louisiana lawmakers, lawyers, college athletic administrators, coaches and student athletes has been empaneled to study the effects of paid endorsements and salaries for the state’s high school and college players.

Task force includes coaches, lawmakers, lawyers and students

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

With elite high school football and basketball traditions stretching from Shreveport to New Orleans, the new pay-theplayers era that allows kids to profit from paid endorsements has led to big business in Louisiana, and some athletes are bringing home six-figure in-

comes before they even graduate.

But it’s also spawned a host of concerns around a lack of financial protections for young athletes and who can claim a stake in the money they’re now allowed to earn.

Those concerns were a key focus this year of a 22-person legislative task force involving Louisiana lawmakers, lawyers,

college athletic administrators, coaches and student athletes.

The group was empaneled to study the effects of paid endorsements and salaries for the state’s high school and college players.

They began shortly after a landmark NCAA settlement in June that allowed college athletes to begin collecting salaries directly from their univer-

sities this season. For the past four years, college athletes could earn money through outside endorsement deals but not directly from their schools.

Over the course of five meetings, the panel zeroed in on the so-called “NIL” era in high school sports, named for the money that athletes have been

ä See ATHLETE, page 5A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Trader Joe’s will open a store at the corner of Camellia Boulevard and Bluebird Drive possibly this year.

At least 40 dead, 115 injured in New Year’s fire at Swiss Alpine bar

BY JAMEY KEATEN, STEFANIE DAZIO and JOHN LEICESTER

Associated Press

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — About 40 people were killed and another 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire ripped through a bar’s New Year’s celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours af-

WEATHER HIGH 77 LOW 55 PAGE 10C

ter midnight Thursday, police said.

Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue, and overnight, its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies. The country will

hold five days of mourning.

Valais Canton Police Cmdr. Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference that work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, adding that the community is “devastated.”

Thirteen of the wounded were

ä See FIRE, page 5A

Classified ..................10C Living............................5C Nation-World ................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Lottery ..........................4B Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

Police officers inspect the area where a fatal fire broke out at Le Constellation bar and lounge during a New year’s celebration in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland.

KEySTONE PHOTO By JEANCHRISTOPHE BOTT

101ST yEAR, NO. 186

2A ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump delays tariffs on furniture, cabinets

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks.

Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities.

The increases, which were set to take effect Thursday, come as the Republican president instituted a broad swath of taxes on imported goods to address trade imbalances and other issues.

The president has said the tariffs on furniture are needed to “bolster American industry and protect national security.”

The delay is the latest in the roller coaster of Trump’s tariff wars since he returned to office last year, with the president announcing levies at times without warning and then delaying or pulling back from them just as abruptly.

The Trump administration on Wednesday also signaled it may back away from a steep tariff proposed on Italian pasta that would have put the rate at 107%.

The U.S. had threatened to add a heavy tariff on Italian pasta makers after the U.S. Commerce Department launched what it said was a routine antidumping review based on allegations that the pasta makers sold product into the U.S. at below-market prices and undercut local competitors.

lll

Russia: Drone strike kills 24

Tensions between two nations continue to spike

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian officials said Thursday, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks.

Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region’s Moscow-installed leader Vladimir Saldo said in a statement on Telegram. He said that one of the drones carried an incendiary mixture, sparking a blaze.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the claim of a strike. The attack could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.

The attack was condemned by a number of Russian officials. Valentina Matviyenko, the chair of Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, said that the strike “strengthened” Russia’s resolve to quickly achieve its goals in its almost four-year invasion of Ukraine.

The strike “once again demonstrates the validity of our initial demands,” Matviyenko said.

The statement follows claims from Moscow that Ukraine launched a long-range drone attack against one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences in northwestern Russia on Tuesday. Kyiv has denounced the claims as a “lie.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday that its specialists had accessed the navigation system in one of the drones it claimed was used in the attack and used its data to confirm that Putin’s

residence was the drone’s final destination. The claim could not be verified as the ministry did not share evidence on the findings, but officials said that it would transfer the data to U.S. officials “through established channels.”

On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry also released a video on Wednesday of a downed drone it said was involved in the attack.

The nighttime clip showed a man in camouflage, a helmet and a Kevlar vest standing near a damaged drone lying in snow. The man, his face covered, talks about the drone. Neither the man nor the Defense Ministry provided any location or date and neither the video nor its claims could be independently verified.

Kyiv has called the allegations of an attack on Putin’s residence a ruse to derail ongoing peace negotiations, which have ramped up in recent weeks on both sides of the

Flooding hits Gaza tent camp, killing 1

BY JULIA FRANKEL and TOQA EZZIDIN Associated Press

Filing challenges ban on gender-affirming care WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is facing a new legal complaint from a group of government employees who are affected by a new policy going into effect Thursday that eliminates coverage for genderaffirming care in federal health insurance programs.

The complaint, filed Thursday on the employees’ behalf by the Human Rights Campaign, is in response to an August announcement from the Office of Personnel Management that it would no longer cover “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions” in health insurance programs for federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers.

The complaint argues that denying coverage of gender-affirming care is sex-based discrimination and asks the personnel office to rescind the policy.

“This policy is not about cost or care — it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce,” Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Kelley Robinson said in a statement announcing the move.

The complaint, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, includes testimonies from four current federal workers at the State Department, Health and Human Services and the Postal Service who would be directly affected by the elimination of coverage.

At least 6 reported killed in Iran protests DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Widening demonstrations sparked

by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.

The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.

The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

Atlantic.

In his New Year’s address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a peace deal was “90% ready” but warned that the remaining 10%, believed to include key sticking points such as territory, would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.”

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner had a “productive call” with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine “to discuss advancing the next steps in the European peace process.”

“We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of (Trump’s) peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart,” Witkoff said in a post on X.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HEATHER KHALIFA

Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacts Thursday after speaking during his inauguration ceremony in New york.

Mamdani promises to govern ‘audaciously’ Upon inauguration, mayor revels in ‘new era’ for New york City

BY ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press

NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class.

Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath as the city’s first Muslim mayor.

After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani then returned to City Hall in a taxi cab around midday Thursday for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, administered the oath for a second time.

“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” Mamdani told a cheering crowd.

“To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives,” he said.

Throngs turned out in the frigid cold for an inauguration viewing party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades.

Throughout the ceremony, Mamdani and other speakers hit on the theme that carried him to victory in the election: Devotion to using government power to lift up the millions of people who struggle with the city’s high cost of living.

Mamdani peppered his remarks with references to those New Yorkers, citing workers in steel-toed boots, halal cart vendors “whose knees ache from working all day” and cooks “wielding a thousand spices.”

“I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani said. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed ‘radical.’ ” Before administering the oath, Sanders told the crowd that most of the things Mamdani wants to do — including raising taxes on the rich — aren’t radical at all.

“In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It is the right and decent thing to do.”

Mamdani was accompanied on the stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. The previous mayor, Eric Adams, was in attendance, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio.

Actor Mandy Patinkin, who recently hosted Mamdani to celebrate Hannukah, sang “Over the Rainbow” with children from an elementary school chorus. The invocation was given by Imam Khalid Latif, the director of the Islamic Center of New York City. Poet Cornelius Eady read an original poem called “Proof.”

In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.

At the watch party on Broadway, onlookers stood shoulder to shoulder gazing up at several jumbotrons and singing and dancing to stave off the cold, with some passing out hot cocoa and hand warmers. Many described feeling as though they were witnessing history.

Among them was Ariel Segura, a 16-year-old Bronx resident, who had arrived five hours earlier to secure a place near the front of the crowd.

“I’m out here fan-girling a politician, it’s kind of crazy,” he said, wiping away tears as Mamdani concluded his speech.

“Now it’s time to hold him accountable.”

In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, Mamdani ran on a focused platform that included promises of free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.

JERUSALEM — The U.N. said Thursday that a Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip drowned in floods that engulfed his tent camp, with videos showing rescuers trying to pry his body out of muddy waters by pulling him by the ankle. It was the latest sign of the miseries that winter is inflicting on the territory’s population, with many left homeless by the devastation from two years of war.

Health officials also reported the death of another 9-year-old boy in Gaza Thursday, but the circumstances were not clear.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli forces carried out a sweep of arrests, seizing around 50 Palestinians, many from their homes, a Palestinian group representing prisoners said.

As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended

large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian crisis shows no signs of abating. At least three Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza since the ceasefire came down, killed by militant attacks or explosive detonations.

UNICEF said Thursday that 7-year-old Ata Mai had drowned Saturday in severe flooding that engulfed his tent camp in Gaza City. Mai’s was the latest child death reported in Gaza as storms, cold weather and flooding worsen already brutal living conditions.

Almost the entire population of more than 2 million people have lost their homes, and most are living in squalid tent camps with little protection from the weather.

UNICEF said Mai had been living with his younger siblings and family in a camp of around 40 tents.

They lost their mother earlier in the war.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● 3A

welcome new year Health insurance Cities with fanfare, tight security subsidies expire lll

Millions of Americans to see steep hikes

BY ALI SWENSON Associated Press

NEW YORK — Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year.

Democrats forced a 43day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to save their 2026 political aspirations. President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash.

In the end, no one’s efforts were enough to save the subsidies before their expiration date. A House vote expected in January could offer another chance, but success is far from guaranteed.

The change affects a diverse cross-section of Americans who don’t get their health insurance from an employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — a group that includes many self-employed work-

ers, small-business owners, farmers and ranchers.

It comes at the start of a high-stakes midterm election year, with affordability — including the cost of health care — topping the list of voters’ concerns.

“It really bothers me that the middle class has moved from a squeeze to a full suffocation, and they continue to just pile on and leave it up to us,” said 37-year-old single mom Katelin Provost, whose health care costs are set to jump. “I’m incredibly disappointed that there hasn’t been more action.”

The expired subsidies were first given to Affordable Care Act enrollees in 2021 as a temporary measure to help Americans get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats in power at the time extended them, moving the expiration date to the start of 2026.

With the expanded subsidies, some lower-income enrollees received health care with no premiums, and high earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income.

Eligibility for middle-class earners was also expanded.

On average, the more than 20 million subsidized enrollees in the Affordable Care Act program are seeing their premium costs rise by 114% in 2026, according to an analysis by the health care research nonprofit KFF. Those surging prices come alongside an overall increase in health costs in the U.S., which are further driving up out-of-pocket costs in many plans.

Some enrollees, like Salt Lake City freelance filmmaker and adjunct professor Stan Clawson, have absorbed the extra expense.

Clawson said he was paying just under $350 a month for his premiums last year, a number that will jump to nearly $500 a month this year. It’s a strain for the 49-year-old but one he’s willing to take on because he needs health insurance as someone who lives with paralysis from a spinal cord injury.

Others, like Provost, are dealing with steeper hikes.

The social worker’s monthly premium payment is increasing from $85 a month to nearly $750.

Trump defends energy, health in new interview

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details.

Trump, in the interview, said he regretted undergoing the advanced imaging on his heart and abdomen during an October visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center because it raised public questions about his health. His physician said in a memo the White House released in December that he had “advanced imaging” as a preventative screening for men his age.

Trump had initially described it as an MRI but said he didn’t know what part of his body he had scanned. A CT scan is a quicker form of diagnostic imaging than an MRI but offers less detail about differences in tissue.

The president’s doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said in a statement released Thursday by the White House that Trump underwent the exam in October because he planned to be at Walter Reed to meet people

BY TED SHAFFREY and HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press

NEW YORK — From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds rang in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more subdued approach.

As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year’s first sunrise, while a light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai.

The countdown to 2026 was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, while in Moscow people celebrated in the snow.

In New York City’s Times Square, revelers braved frigid temperatures to celebrate with the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop.

In Rio de Janeiro, crowds packed more than 2 miles of the city’s Copacabana Beach for concerts and a 12-minute fireworks show, despite high tides and large waves that rocked barges carrying fireworks.

Other events were more subdued. Hong Kong held limited celebrations following a recent fire at an apartment complex that killed 161 people. Australia saluted the new year with defiance less than a month after its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

There was disaster in the Swiss resort town of CransMontana, where a fire at a bar in the early hours of the new year was presumed to have killed dozens of people.

Ball drop in New York City Crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered and embraced as the New Year’s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descend-

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck five alleged drugsmuggling boats over two days, killing a total of eight people while others jumped overboard and may have survived.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

A video of Tuesday’s attack posted by Southern Command on social media shows three boats traveling in a close formation, which is unusual, and the military

ed down a pole and confetti fell in Times Square.

Revelers wearing tall celebratory hats and light-up necklaces had waited for hours to see the 12,350-pound ball drop. The festivities also included Tones and I performing John Lennon’s “Imagine” just before midnight.

Police in the city had planned additional anti-terrorism measures at the ball drop, with “mobile screening teams.” It was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Moments after the ball dropped it rose again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country’s upcoming 250th birthday.

A few miles away in a decommissioned subway station, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor during a private event just after midnight Thursday.

More security in Sydney A heavy police presence monitored crowds watching fireworks in Sydney.

Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event, after two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15.

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks during a Monday news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. working there. Trump had already undergone an annual physical in April.

“President Trump agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in October. In order to make the most of the President’s time at the hospital, we recommended he undergo another routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health,” Barbabella said.

Barbabella said that he asked the president to undergo either a CT scan or MRI “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and the results were “perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities.”

said they were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

The military said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts.

Southern Command’s statement did not say whether those who jumped off the boats were rescued.

Calling in the Coast Guard

Shadows of war, disasters Indonesia scaled back festivities in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed over 1,100.

Fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with traditional dances.

Hong Kong rang in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbor after the massive fire in November.

Façades of landmarks were turned into countdown clocks and a light show at midnight.

And in Gaza, Palestinians said they hope the new year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“The war humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday that the president’s doctors and the White House have “always maintained the President received advanced imaging” but said that “additional details on the imaging have been disclosed by the President himself” because he “has nothing to hide.”

“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump said in the interview with The Wall Street Journal published Thursday. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”

is notable because the U.S. military drew heavy scrutiny after U.S. forces killed the survivors of an attack in early September with a follow-up strike to their disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said the military committed a crime, while the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say the follow-up strike was legal.

U.S. forces attacked two more boats on Wednesday, killing five people who were allegedly smuggling drugs along known trafficking routes, Southern Command said in a separate statement.

It did not provide evidence of the alleged trafficking or reveal the body of water in which the attacks occurred.

An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence, and the crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had urged residents not to stay away from festivities, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds as a victory: “We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime.”

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U.S. military strikes 5 more alleged drug boats, killing 8

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A light show is projected on the Arc de Triomphe as fireworks explode Thursday during New year celebrations on the Champs Elysees, in Paris, France.

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4A ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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2025

Continued from page 1A A company spokesperson indicated late Tuesday there is no timeline for when the store opens, but a source close to the deal said the store could be open by midyear.

It’s expected to employ about 80 and offer a starting wage of $17$22 an hour.

Here are the rest of the top five business stories of the year as part of a look back at 2025 in Acadiana business:

2. NORTHGATE MALL SOLD

That the Northgate Mall would be sold was enough to grab people’s attention. But that it was sold to a local developer with big plans for the aging building? That’s big news.

Jacoby Landry’s $2.8 million purchase of the 250,000-square-foot mall was big news throughout the region. It was easily the most challenging commercial property for sale in Lafayette, and demolishing it was just too costly.

Landry, who has renamed it The Hub, immediately put his focus on addressing the building’s deferred maintenance, such as leaks in the roof and air-conditioning units that were in need of repair. He has a tenant for the former Planet Fitness space.

He wants to bring residential and office use into the mall. Will he be successful? If he stumbles, he has help from the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and other agencies to pick him back up.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Developer Jacoby Landry purchased the 250,000-square-foot Northgate Mall in Lafayette in 2025 for $2.8 million with big plans to turn the aging building into residential and office space.

“Here in Lafayette, the cavalry is not coming. No one is going to come sprinkle pixie dust and some of our more distressed areas are going to magically improve. We have to find people who are interested and care about their little corner of the community. Government can’t do it all.”

— Mandi Mitchell, president and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, after a local developer bought the Northgate Mall.

“For local operators and longtime Lafayette (people), Johnston is like this mystery. It’s like, ‘It’s got the traffic count and the eyeballs, but I don’t want to touch it.’ There are definitely spots that should work and don’t, and a lot of them are on Johnston. Many things go into that, but I would love to see Johnston operate, flow and look a hell of a lot better.”

— Rex Moroux, partner with Scout Real Estate, on the state of the Johnston Street corridor.

3. BUC-EE’S DELAYED TO 2028 When Buc-ee’s made the rounds through Lafayette Consolidated Government, the plan was to start building in early 2025 and open the store in early 2026.

Now that’s changed.

Here we were heading into 2026 and dirt work is ongoing. A building permit has not been issued. A document on the company’s website now states the store will open in 2028.

A company spokesperson declined comment.

4. SAFESOURCE DIRECT SUSPENDS OPERATIONS, PUTTING 700 OUT OF WORK We all remember how loud the chants were for domestic manufacturing of personal protective equipment products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SafeSource Direct’s opening in Broussard was going to answer that. And for a couple years, it did.

But customers returned to prepandemic buying patterns, which include buying PPE products from China at dramatically lower prices than those made in the U.S. SafeSource Direct cut most of their workers in the fall. The future of domestic PPE manufacturing is not looking good.

5. RED LERILLE DIES

The story of Red Lerille could be made into a movie. So when the former Mr. America and Mr. Universe died in March, it sent shock waves through the Lafayette area.

Lerille worked hard every day of his life until his Lerille health began declining. He was 88 and would have been arriving at 4 a.m. to open the doors of his business, Red Lerille’s Health and Racquet Club, today if his health allowed.

Watching for in ’26 PROVIDED RENDERING

you should start seeing walls go up soon on the planned 83-room Hotel Lafayette, the first multistory building in downtown Lafayette in decades.

Restaurants, cafes lost in 2025 Southern Spread, Abbeville; Zorba’s, Youngsville; The French Press, downtown Lafayette; WalkOn’s, Broussard; Twins, Youngsville; Coffee Dash, Maurice and La Pizza Mia, Broussard.

Swamp Dog Café, Cajun Donuts & Kolaches, Broussard; Rocket 87; Sole Haus Kitchen, Carencro; Viva La Waffle; Lit Pizza, Youngsville; KFC, Kaliste Saloom Road; KFC, Ambassador Caffery Parkway.

Pizza Artista, Broussard; Morain Coffee Co.; Twin Peaks; Blaze Pizza; SoLou; Everbowl; Shade Tree Café, Broussard; Newk’s Eatery; PJ’s Coffee, Pinhook Road; PJ’s Coffee, Scott; PJ’s Coffee, Johnston Street.

Subway, Ambassador Caffery Parkway; Coffeeweed Cottage; Callihan’s’ Broaddus Burger, Congress Street; Starbucks near Acadiana Mall; Ninety9 Bistro.

My most memorable story Hurricane Katrina anniversary. It start-

Hotel Lafayette could be nearly completed.

You should start seeing walls go up on the first multistory building in downtown Lafayette in decades.

It should be a significant draw for out-of-towners and a popular meeting space for locals.

The best part about it is it’s being funded by local developers, not some out-of-state group.

Northgate Mall progress. This will be watched solely for the reason that’s it’s the most exciting development in north Lafayette after decades of disinvestment.

It’s an interesting time for shopping malls in the United States.

The narrative of the dying mall has long been told, but the new concepts that are replacing those relics of the 1980s are innovative.

Will apartment construction continue?

The average price of a home in Lafayette Parish remains stubbornly high, and apartment construction is still buzzing.

Look for more of that in 2026 as the parish’s population continues to grow. In just about every market in the U.S. right now, one source told me, it’s cheaper to rent than it is to buy.

way. Louisiana Avenue is going to evolve into an even nicer corridor.”

— Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet “I don’t pretend to know the financial health of the mall. But I can tell you that a lot of the tenants that are in the mall are looking for opportunities to get out of the mall.”

— Ryan Pecot, senior retail leasing and development adviser with Stirling Properties, on the state of the Acadiana Mall “It’s probably one of the roughest years we’ve had since COVID, really. We’ve had some major outside groups come into the city, and while overall for the city sales might be high, it really had a negative impact on the existing restaurants. I’m honestly kind of surprised more restaurants haven’t The quotes I’ll most remember closed than have this year.”

— Randy Daniel, president of “I think Buc-ee’s is going to take us to a place we don’t even realize the Acadiana chapter of the Louiyet. There’s so much developable siana Restaurant Association, land, and that whole corridor is on how local restaurants fared in Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@ developing out in a really positive 2024. theadvocate.com. ed as a story examining how the local real estate market went bonkers after Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago, but I soon realized that was only part of the story.

Still today there are families in Lafayette who lived their whole lives in the New Orleans area before Katrina forever altered their lives.

The memories of that time 20 years ago remain fresh. One person cut off her interview with me after a few minutes because it was too painful.

But they also remember the generosity of strangers in Lafayette from that time. Many of them had very little when they came here but were offered places to stay at no charge, food and clothing. One family was offered a place for their pet to stay at no charge.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● 5A

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FIRE

Continued from page 1A Italian citizens, and another six Italians are unaccounted for, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told staterun RAI television.

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

She later said the number of people who were in the bar is “currently totally unknown,” adding that its maximum capacity will be part of the investigation.

“For the time being, we don’t have any suspect,” she added, when asked if anyone had been arrested over the fire. “An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to illuminate the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”

Gisler said the priority until further notice would be identifying the victims, and added that “this work will have to take several days.”

Celebration turns tragic Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris who survived the blaze, described “total chaos” inside the bar. One of his friends died and “two or three” were missing, he told The Associated Press.

He said he hadn’t seen the fire start, but did see waitresses arrive with Champagne bottles with sparklers, he said.

Clavier said he felt like he was suffocating and initially hid behind a table, then ran upstairs and tried to use a table to break a Plexiglas window. It fell out of its casing, allowing him to escape.

He lost his jacket, shoes, phone and bank card while fleeing, but “I am still alive and it’s just stuff.”

“I’m still in shock,” he added.

ATHLETE

Continued from page 1A allowed to earn since 2021 through endorsements or other use of their name, image and likeness.

Under the task force’s recommendations, which will be forwarded to lawmakers in January, the state would require that anyone other than a parent who helps high schoolers negotiate endorsement contracts must register as an agent with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. That requirement is already in place for professional sports agents in Louisiana.

The agents would also be subject to background checks and required to complete training.

Lawmakers could craft the changes to allow high schoolers to recoup any money paid to an unlicensed agent, said Harry J. “Skip” Philips Jr., assistant chief deputy attorney general.

“You’d try to get back as best you can the ill-gotten gains, as it were, and give it to the student athlete,” Philips said during the task force’s December meeting.

“I’m not sure we’ve fixed this problem altogether,” Philips added, but the changes give authorities a mechanism for pursuing what Phillips called “renegaders,” or

KEySTONE PHOTO By JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

A floral tribute Thursday sits near the area where a fire broke out earlier that morning at Le Constellation bar and lounge during a New year’s celebration in Crans-Montana.

KEySTONE PHOTO By ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE

Police officers inspect the area Thursday where a fatal fire broke out at Le Constellation bar and lounge during a New year’s celebration in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland. The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of

people posing as professional agents in order to reap the benefits.

The panel’s chair, Rep. Rashid Young, D-Homer, said in an interview that the recommendations are meant to be a starting point, and lawmakers are welcome to add revisions.

“This is sort of one of those building-a-plane-as-we-fly type of situations,” said Young, a former linebacker and strong safety at Grambling State. “We’ll see how it works. If we need to come back and adjust, I think everybody is open to doing that.”

The task force didn’t recommend any specific NILrelated changes to state law regarding college athletics, other than a resolution that would study the “funding structures of athletic departments” and “evaluate the financial implications of NIL activities.”

The panel did recommend a list of best practices for Louisiana college athletic departments, including educating athletes on “available mental health resources” and to “carefully consider Title IX implications” when deciding how to dole out college athlete salaries.

LSU has said 90% of the $18 million it has earmarked in salaries will go to football and men’s basketball players. The university — and all others in the state — have

the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

One of the people unaccounted for was an Italian, Giovanni Tamburi, whose mother Carla Masielli issued an appeal for any news about her son and asked the media to show his photo in hopes of identifying him, according to RAI. “We have called all the hospitals but they don’t give me any news.

We don’t know if he’s among the dead. We don’t know if he’s among the missing,” she wailed. “They don’t tell us anything!”

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais

rejected public records requests to turn over salary data per individual athlete.

The task force turned its attention to high school agents after J.T. Curtis, football coach at John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, told the panel of “rampant” problems among the state’s premier football schools.

Adults with no professional certifications or backgrounds in the law swoop in to secure representation from Louisiana’s top recruits, some as young as 12 or 13 years old, Curtis told the panel.

“Until we find a way to get outside influences out of the lives of our high school athletes, we’re going to continue struggling with this,” Curtis said during an August meeting.

In the task force’s final meeting in December, Curtis called the panel’s recommendations “a good beginning.”

Historically, Louisiana has one of the nation’s largest shares of high school football players who are recruited by Division I colleges.

In the upcoming 2026 class, eight football players from Louisiana high schools are ranked in the Top 200, according to 247 Sports. In 2025, it was nine.

For athletes under the age of 17, the task force recommended legislation requiring them to deposit a portion

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Canton.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Reynard.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was planning to go to the site on Friday given the significant number of Italians involved.

Three of the wounded were being transported from the Sion hospital in Switzerland to Milan’s Niguarda, the Italian civil protection agency said.

In the heart of the Alps In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are

of their compensation into a trust account, which they’d have access to later as an adult.

The account could be drawn from “under specified conditions, such as educational expenses or milestone events, while maintaining safeguards to prevent mis-

already overwhelmed.

With high-altitude ski runs rising nearly 9,850 feet in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in office, said many emergency staff had been “confronted by scenes of indescribable violence and distress.”

“This Thursday must be the time of prayer, unity and dignity,” he said. “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help.”

Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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The task force also recommended the Louisiana High School Athletic Association adopt a formal set of NIL bylaws that it would police among the state’s members.

They include prohibiting athletes from endorsing

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Prices good at Baton Rouge, Zachary, Gonzales, Prairieville, Lafayette, New Iberia, Youngsville, New Orleans, Gretna, Kenner, Metairie, Marrero, Slidell, Mandeville, and Covington locations December 31st, 2025 thru January 7th, 2026.

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F r i d ay, J a n u a ry 2, 2026

1Bn

New Louisiana laws go into effect Insurance rules changed; tax code adjusted

BY JULIA GUILBEAU

insurance rules and make changes to the tax code.

While a majority of the newly Dozens of new laws passed by passed acts went into place on the Louisiana Legislature during Aug. 1, at least 21 laws began on its 2025 regular session are now New Year’s Day. Here is a list of all of the new in effect with the start of the new year, including many that change laws now in place, according to the

Staff writer

Louisiana Legislature’s website:

Insurance-related laws Act 15: bars drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries Act 19: requires insurance com-

panies to give trucking companies a 5% discount when they install dashboard cameras on their large trucks Act 85: prohibits insurance companies from passing on the cost of certain advertising expenses to customers Act 476: protects policyholders from rate increases tied to lapses in insurance coverage in some cases

Act 466: changes the rules for how medical costs are considered in personal injury lawsuits Act 429: requires insurance companies to notify the state Department of Insurance if they cease, pause or resume writing policies in a particular region Act 227: requires health insurance companies to cover integrative

ä See LAWS, page 4B

Health anxiety on the rise

More accessible data can mean more worry

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Brandon and Reneé Babin hold their daughter Parker Marie Babin, who was the first baby of 2026 at Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette on Thursday.

‘ANOTHER REASON TO

CELEBRATE’

Lafayette’s first baby of 2026, Parker Marie Babin, a surprise delivery

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

Parker Marie Babin, born at 12:53 a.m.

Thursday, became the first baby born at Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital in 2026. The New Year baby weighed in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Parker is the second child born to mom Reneé Babin, a registered nurse at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, and dad Brandon Babin, a project manager for Legendary Contractors of Lafayette.

Parker’s arrival caught mom and dad by surprise, according to a statement from the hospital. Reneé Babin had a final check-in with her OB-GYN scheduled for Friday. However, things changed Wednesday when she visited her high-risk pregnancy provider.

“An ultrasound showed my fluid was low. The doctor said I was going to have a baby today,” Reneé Babin explained.

Reneé Babin said she still didn’t believe she would ultimately deliver the

first baby of 2026. “She was measuring big last week, so I thought she would arrive much earlier. It all came as a complete shock, but such a welcome surprise. Now we have another reason to celebrate each New Year’s Day!” Being a “girl dad” is a special blessing, Brandon Babin shared. “Having daughters is just a beautiful thing,” he said. “There’s nothing in the world a man wouldn’t do for his kids. We thank God for everything we have. We’re beyond blessed.”

Parker, who was resting peacefully Thursday morning after her first bath in the hospital room, joins her sister, 3-year-old Harper.

Aside from the hoopla of being born on New Year’s Day, Parker’ joins her sister in having a birthday on a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church.

Parker’s birthday falls on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; Harper’s birthday is Aug. 15, the Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven.

“It’s a weird coincidence,” Brandon Babin said. “We’re very active in our

faith and church. It will be nice to share this special circumstance with both girls as they grow and we teach them more about their faith.”

Reneé Babin worked full-time and went to school at night to pursue a nursing degree while raising Harper.

Admittedly, those months were not easy, balancing work, studies, raising a little one and running a household.

“We want our girls to grow up knowing they can do anything they want to do if they put their mind to it,” Reneé Babin said. “If you work hard and keep God first, you’ll have everything you need in life.”

The couple agreed they have a lot to celebrate this New Year’s Day, but Parker’s birthday falling on the holiday does put them in an awkward position for the future. “I’m worried about how we are going to celebrate her birthday and the holiday at the same time,” Reneé Babin said. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to make both special in their own way. We have a lifetime together to figure it out.”

Abi Caswell got an Oura ring to make her life easier.

The 30-year-old owner of Batter Bakery wanted a way to track her menstrual cycle without waking up every morning to take her temperature.

It was easy. No alarms reminding her to take her temperature, no thermometer. But then came the scores.

A sleep score, an activity score, a body stress score, even a “readiness” score to measure how prepared her body was for the day.

If she had a single cocktail, the ring knew. If she ate dinner later than normal, her sleep score wobbled. If she worked out harder than usual, she wasn’t as “ready” the next day.

It got to the point she couldn’t sip on a cocktail without wondering how it would affect her.

“It’s a catch-22,” she said. “It’s good information. But sometimes I just want a cocktail without feeling like I’m burning the world down.”

Caswell is young, ambitious and busy. She runs two bakery locations in Hammond and downtown New Orleans, just launched an at-home product line and works long hours.

She didn’t consider herself anxious about her health before wearing the ring. But seeing her scores fluctuate every day changed how she experienced that stress.

ä See HEALTH, page 4B

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Abi Caswell, 30, owner of Batter, a bakery on Baronne Street in the New Orleans Central Business District, decorates cupcakes recently while wearing an Oura ring she uses for health tracking.

Police: Two men arrested in connection with death of local businesswoman according to arrest reTwo men were arrested Tuesday in connection CRIME cords from the Lafayette with the death of local Parish Correctional CenBLOTTER businesswoman Lerhonda ter.

Advocate L. “LuLu” Carter, 40.

He remained in LPCC as James Michael Joseph, staff of Wednesday morning.

44, was arrested and reports Jessie Howard Alfred charged with second-deJr. also was arrested in connection with the shootgree murder, according to a Facebook post by the ing. He was charged with Scott Police Department. accessory after the fact to Joseph was arrested around second-degree homicide, the post 5:12 p.m. Tuesday in the 300 block stated. of Vermilion Street in Lafayette, According to the online post,

Scott Police officers responded to a shooting around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 800 block of Delhomme Ave. Carter was taken to a local hospital where she died of her injuries.

Carter was the owner of two businesses in downtown Lafayette, both of which have since closed. She operated Bliss Cocktail Lounge at 201 Jefferson St. and The Style Loft at 436 E. Vermilion St. in the bottom floor of the Vermilion Lofts.

The crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. on the frontage road. The motorcycle driver, later identified as 53-year-old Christopher Fontenot of Lafayette, traveling south, struck the back part of the tow truck while the driver, going north, was attempting to turn left into a The driver of a motorcycle is parking lot, according to LPD. Fontenot was ejected and died dead after the bike and a tow truck collided in the 2900 block of NW after being taken to a local hospital Evangeline Thruway on Tuesday with life-threatening injuries. morning, Lafayette police said in ä See BLOTTER, page 4B a news release.

The investigation is ongoing.

Scott Police Chief Chad Leger said no further details are being released at this time.

One dead in crash on Evangeline Thruway

OPINION

2B ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

Energy workers can drive America forward Last year reminded America of it honors the workers on the a timeless truth our grandparents ground. Energy workers are understood: When you empower America’s competitive edge, not a the people who fuel your footnote. When policies renation, prosperity follows. spect their grit and reduce In 2025, energy policy regulatory burdens, prishifted from a defensive vate investment surges, position to bold offense creating high-wage jobs under new leadership. and revitalizing communiThe results reverberated ties.

Scott across America at the gas Third, domestic energy Angelle funds true conservation. pump.

GUEST We are thankful for the This isn’t a talking point, COLUMNIST it’s fiscal reality. The contributions of the Gulf of America builders, fabGreat American Outdoors ricators, boat captains, engineers Act channels up to $1.9 billion and offshore crews that helped to annually from federal energy revenues to restore national make these results possible, all parks, wildlife refuges and public in an energy basin that is one of lands, with much of it sourced our planet’s most productive and environmentally responsible pro- from responsible oil and gas producing provinces. duction in places like the Gulf of When policymakers treat doAmerica.

Fourth, emissions reductions mestic oil and gas as a strategic stem from innovation, not manasset rather than a liability, communities thrive, jobs multiply and dates. The United States has families breathe easier. slashed greenhouse gas emissions I drew six lessons from 2025: by approximately 17% below First, reliability is a core value, 2005 levels, even as oil and gas not mere rhetoric. Americans output grew, thanks to American judge policy by outcomes: lights ingenuity in cleaner technologies that stay on and bills that don’t and efficient practices. break the bank. Efforts to bolster Fifth, the Gulf of America is grid resilience and invest in criti- a leader in low-carbon intensity production, displacing dirtier forcal infrastructure underscored that dependable, affordable doeign alternatives while lowering worldwide emissions. mestic energy, rooted in oil and Sixth, permitting reform is esgas, is the bedrock of family stability and economic growth. sential policy. Overregulation, reSecond, an “all-of-the-above” dundant reviews and protracted strategy succeeds only when timelines stifle wells, pipelines

PROVIDED PHOTO

An offshore supply vessel works alongside the Hess Gulfstar oil platform at the Tubular Bells field. and grid expansions.

Moving forward, we need to continue playing offense.

Momentum demands focus and action. To secure 2025’s gains, we must aggressively tackle challenges, especially in the Gulf of America. Predictable lease sales, stable timelines and globally competitive fiscal terms to attract investment maintain environmentally advantaged production and sustain the ports, shipyards and service firms that underpin Loui-

siana’s middle class.

We must secure the entire energy chain, from molecules to electrons, by integrating pipelines, refineries, power plants and transmission as unified assets for resilience. Our workforce is a strategic priority: Vocational training, veteran transitions, maritime skills and apprenticeships are vital.

Progress is fragile. Every contractor bidding projects, shipyard hiring crews and offshore worker

eyeing schedules knows clarity will quickly evaporate if we return to energy defense. We are reminded that there are no wealthy low energy consuming nations on the planet. In many ways, energy consumption has become a proxy for human prosperity.

Given that America has experienced six recessions from 1973 to 2019, all preceded by spikes in energy prices, it should not be debatable that American energy, including that from the Gulf of America, represents the best opportunity to achieve national energy dominance while curbing global emissions, supercharging the economy with family-sustaining wages and vibrant Main Streets and fortifying security by powering homes, hospitals and defenses without foreign reliance. We call it Balancing the 3Es: environment, energy and economy.

When unleashed, American energy workers have demonstrated the ability to play offense by delivering secure, clean, affordable energy. In 2025, equilibrium returned and rekindled our spirit.

In 2026, let’s lock it in.

Scott Angelle is former lieutenant governor of Louisiana and former director of the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

He is the founder of USA Energy Workers.

There’s a missing piece in state’s fight against diabetes

Optimism about U.S. comes from persistence, not our perfection

Diabetes isn’t just a growing national con- staggering.

Diagnosed diabetes costs Louisiana an escern — it’s a crisis in Louisiana.

More than 14% of Louisiana adults have timated $6.9 billion annually. diagnosed diabetes, significantly higher Americans with diabetes have medical than the national average of 8.5%. Each expenses more than 2.5 times higher than year, nearly 40,000 Louisianans are diagthose without. But when patients receive nosed with diabetes, which was the seventh preventive oral care — especially treatleading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023. ment for gum disease — overall health care Too often, discussions about this costs drop. alarming trend focus solely on mediOne study showed that periodontal treatment reduced overall health cal treatments, lifestyle changes or care spending by 12% to 14%, dethe rising use of GLP-1 medications.

But there’s a critical part of the pending on insurance type. diabetes story we’re overlooking: Another indicated that providing oral health.

Damien nonsurgical oral health care for gum That’s why I want to shift the condisease could reduce the chance of Cuffie tooth loss by 34% and save individuversation on this expensive health GUEST burden; we need to tackle this with a COLUMNIST als roughly $6,000 annually on health new lens. As a general dentist workcare costs. And even a 1% drop in high blood sugar levels can reduce ing specifically with medically comtotal diabetes-related health care costs by promised patients, I’ve seen firsthand how 13%, according to another study. poor oral health both amplifies the risks of All of this underscores the need to broaddiabetes and worsens health outcomes. And yet, the connection between these two isen how we diagnose, treat and educate. If Louisiana hopes to reverse its troubling sues is not widely understood. diabetes trend, we must embrace a more While periodontal disease doesn’t cause diabetes or vice versa, the two can influence comprehensive approach — one that breaks down the silos between dental and medical each other. care.

Diabetes weakens the body’s ability to Dentists are uniquely positioned to detect fight infection, making people more suscepsigns of diabetes — even before a physician tible to gum disease, which itself can fuel does. inflammation and make blood sugar harder A 2011 study at the Columbia University to control.

College of Dental Medicine dental clinic High blood sugar also increases the showed dentists correctly identified 73% of amount of sugar and acid in the mouth, acpatients who had diabetes or prediabetes. celerating tooth decay and leading to dry That’s an immense opportunity to intervene mouth, which in turn traps bacteria and early, especially when over a third of people food debris. with diabetes are unaware they have it.

The result? More serious infections, The rise in diabetes among both children impaired chewing and nutrition and a draand adults over the past two decades is a matic increase in tooth loss. wake-up call.

And the data is striking: Having diabetes Tackling this epidemic requires not just increases the risk of gum disease by 86%, medication or lifestyle changes, but a shift while adults over age 50 with diabetes are 46% more likely to have fewer than 20 teeth in how we view the whole person — includand 56% more likely to suffer from severe ing their mouth. tooth loss. And the impact goes far beyond Let’s start in the dental chair. And condental function. Missing teeth can affect sider this the next time you visit the dentist: mental health, job prospects and overall It may do more than save your smile. It may well-being. Worse still, this decline can be save your life. entirely preventable with routine dental care.

Damien Cuffie is the dental director for DenThe financial implications are equally taQuest in Louisiana.

Editor’s note: A version of this commentary first aired on WBOK 1230AM.

anomalies. They were defining tests. And at each turning point, progress was pushed forward by ordinary people — people who As this year came to a close, I refused to surrender the promise wanted to end on a note of confiof freedom and justice for all.

Progress did not arrive quickly, dence — confidence in our counquietly or without sacrifice. But try, confidence in our people and confidence in the democratic ide- it arrived because the majority als that have guided us for nearly of Americans ultimately chose principle over fear and inclusion two and a half centuries.

There are voices today predict- over division.

That is the enduring ing the collapse of democstrength of this nation. racy, warning that authoriNot blind optimism, but tarianism is inevitable and hard-earned resilience. suggesting that the AmeriNot perfection, but a can experiment is nearing shared belief that we its end. I am not among them. I have listened careNorman can — and must — do fully to the mood of this Robinson better. Democracy has always been noisy, concountry — in conversaGUEST tions, in communities and COLUMNIST tentious and fragile. Yet across generations — and it has proven remarkI find that the majority of ably durable because it is Americans remain deeply comsustained by citizens who undermitted to the ideals established stand that its survival depends by our forefathers in the Constion their participation, vigilance and courage. tution and the Bill of Rights.

So as we look to the future, I Those who fear that the greatremain hopeful. est social experiment in the hisNot because the challenges tory of mankind is on the brink of before us are small, but because dissolution may not be students of our history. This nation has en- our capacity to confront them has been proven time and again. dured some of humanity’s darkWe are held together by the quiet est chapters and survived them decency of millions who still — not because we were perfect, believe in the rule of law, the but because we were persistent. dignity of every human being We began with the near destruction of Native American na- and the promise of equal justice tions. We endured the moral stain under that law.

And as we continue this unfinof slavery, followed by a brutal civil war that tested whether this ished journey, we would do well union could survive at all. We to remember the words written lived through the cruelty of Jim by theologian Theodore Parker Crow, the exclusion and demoniand made popular by Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the zation of immigrants, the sysmoral universe is long, but it tematic suppression of women’s bends towards justice.” voices and the ongoing struggle for equal access to the ballot for communities of color.

Norman Robinson is a former These injustices were not TV anchor and speaker.

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COMMENTARY IN FOCUS | THE FUTURE OF NEW ORLEANS

‘I see so much opportunity’ As a new mayor is set to take over, what does New Orleans need most?

The newspaper recently invited four New Orleans leaders to talk about their plans and expectations for next year and beyond.

Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, City Council President JP Morrell, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and GNO, Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht joined columnist Stephanie Grace last month for the panel, which can be viewed in full at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=j8M4CcgMHvk. The following is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Grace: Political campaigns usually focus on the big things candidates want to do, and then eventually reality sets in. Helena, reality set in for you immediately. Given that, what can we expect in your first year?

Moreno: I actually get this all the time. People ask me, “Helena, with the budget crisis that you’re dealing with now, can you really get these things done?” And the answer is yes.

Remember that many of the things I talked about during the campaign, as far as providing better services for the people of the city, really didn’t have a lot to do with money. They had to do with better coordination, better collaboration, better management, better oversight. That piece doesn’t need any money. The other piece was that there needed to be better partnerships and better collaboration with the state and with our City Council, and those are also things that I can bring to the table. In fact, if anything, because of better collaboration with the state, we could probably get more money coming in.

And one of the big things that I talked about was creating a street maintenance program and bringing a lot of the work in-house.

How do we reduce our contracting costs, and by getting those reductions, find efficiencies? All those things are still possible. I see so much opportunity.

Grace: JP, New Orleans traditionally has a strong mayor, but the council has certain specific responsibilities, including overseeing the budget. What can the council do to keep this from happening again?

Morrell: I do think the council has tremendous authority, but the challenge we’ve had is that when we came in, we tried to expand our oversight via ordinance. But one thing I realized is that I had a fundamental misunderstanding of how the council’s relationship with the budget worked coming from the Legislature.

The Legislature is in a similar role as the council, but in the state Constitution, the Legislature has teeth; when a budget is passed, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget has to approve any effort by the governor to move money around or spend money that is not budgeted. What we began to identify very early on is that there are no guardrails on the mayor of New Orleans.

Once a budget is passed, there is nothing that prevents any mayor from moving money around without council approval, because the charter essentially says the mayor and the CAO can reconcile the budget at any given point to address obligations.

So something we’ve already worked on, and that is going to go to voters in May, is a charter amendment to say that if a mayor wants to spend money that is not in the budget, they have to come back to the council.

Grace: Jason, a DA’s office traditionally gets involved in cases after someone’s been arrested, but you’ve got several initiatives aimed at getting at the root of

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, far left, speaks as City Council President JP Morrell, columnist Stephanie Grace, District Attorney Jason Williams and Greater New Orleans Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht listen during a forum on the future of New Orleans hosted by The TimesPicayune and NOLA.com on Nov. 9. crime, which is another existential issue for the city’s future.

Why are you taking them on?

Williams: Rahm Emanuel famously said you should never let a crisis go to waste. And we’ve had a crisis long before this budget crisis.

We put screeners in each police district so that we got better police reports and better evidence, and you started seeing us win more cases in court. At the same time, what Desmond Tutu told us was that we can’t just keep pulling people out of the river; sometimes we have to go upstream and figure out why they’re falling in. So our NO DICE program is working with folks inside of City Hall, whether it’s getting street lights up, whether it’s cleaning up a park so that the drug dealers don’t come back after they’re arrested. We got to a point where we realized that police and prosecutors are not what makes us safe. It’s a group lift.

Grace: Michael, let’s shift to the private sector. What is ready to bear fruit?

Hecht: There are so many projects that I’m excited about. The Charity Hospital redevelopment

by Tulane is a total game-changer.

It’s almost an urban blind spot right now. It’s not even blight; you don’t even see it. If you look at what happens when other schools go into their downtowns, the revitalization, the research that it generates, the amenities…

The River District. I know there are some questions now about how it’s going to play out, but we are going to get it done. Going downriver to the old Naval Support Activity base, finally getting that redeveloped into hundreds of units of affordable housing and a new lab which is, in my opinion, the best incubator for construction and tech firms in the country.

Then further downriver, the Louisiana International Terminal.

It keeps Louisiana in the shipping game because the new, bigger vessels are too tall to get under the Crescent City Connection, but the one neighborhood that stands to benefit the most is New Orleans East, because all the trucks are going to come out the new road. That whole area is going to be distribution, manufacturing and logistics.

that got done. Helena, you talked about this in your campaign.

What’s next?

Moreno: I talked about having Super Bowl-level services, not just when there’s a big event coming to town. And what I meant was that, as we were getting ready for Super Bowl, Michael led a team of city agencies and outside groups and made sure that we were troubleshooting all of the different issues, whether it was a whole set of street lights that wasn’t working or ensuring that Poydras Street got done in record amount of time. I’ve talked about a coordinating council to create Super Bowl-level all the time. What I haven’t told Michael yet is that I would like him to be part of it.

Grace: One question for you, Michael, and the DA as well, is what do you need from the mayor and the council to be successful?

Williams: Well, I would say money, but we know that’s off the table for a little while.

What I need from these guys is something that they were just talking about. When there is foot traffic, when there are families walking up and down Canal Street, when there are families playing in parks, when there’s visibility, that makes the criminal element uncomfortable. That is a city reclaiming the commons for themselves and choosing a side.

I need us as a city, as city leaders, as business leaders and community leaders, to develop a public wellness strategy so that we will never be the murder capital again. And then the whole country is going to look at New Orleans as a blueprint for what public safety is.

Grace: Michael, I assume crime is something you get asked about.

Hecht: It’s absolutely one of them, but let me frame this in terms of four things that will drive prosperity and ultimately population growth for us. One is economic opportunity. So having a mayor and a council that want to fix licensing and permitting is critical, as is having leadership that we can bring a business prospect to that will inspire confidence. The second thing is quality of life, not only safety from violence, but also from the weather.

The third thing is affordability, so working on affordable housing, doing things like the fortified roof Super Bowl services for all? program to bring down insurance Grace: Let’s talk Super Bowl. Mi- cost, matter.

The fourth thing that ties it all chael, you were appointed by Gov. together is what I’m particularly Jeff Landry to coordinate work

excited about. That is the ability to tell a story and create a vision of what the future of the city looks like. We have not told that story well, and I think we can now start telling it better.

Looking to the future Grace: What does New Orleans look like in two years? Is the budget stabilized? What projects are coming online?

Morrell: My goal in two years, first off, is to not be going to the state begging for revenue bonds, to get the budget in a place where it is self-sufficient and where we have efficient services for the amount of money people are paying in tax dollars. When you look at the growth of the budget, even before COVID when it exploded in size, it is kind of difficult to explain how it could have grown to the size it had and services not improved at all. And I think the challenge is, if and when we grow the budget, there are benchmarks to say that if we’re going to raise your sanitation fee, here’s what you’re going to get in exchange, or if we are going to advocate for a drainage fee, here is why we’re doing it. Here’s how this will potentially lower your taxes.

Moreno: In two years, I want the perception of the city to be changed to the positive, where we are now looking like a very transparent and accountable government, one that is very fair and transparent around contracting, a government that works toward operational excellence, one that is budgeting to ensure that every single taxpayer dollar is being spent correctly, where we are making proper investments to what Jason was talking about in prevention to ensure that we have a safer city. We’ve been doing that, and to continue down that path is critically important.

And so that, to me, will be success in two years, if people are feeling this different vibe and are seeing a new type of City Hall.

Williams: So brick and mortar, two years from now, there’s a DNA lab so that we’re not only testing murders and rapes but also car burglaries, so we can connect the dots between people that are going from different areas. It’s in process.

Also, I just renovated a bathroom. It took way too long to get that permit. We’ve got to make sure that it’s not this hard for people to do small things with their homes. That’s going to have

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a ripple effect.

Hecht: I think in two years we will have Super Bowl-level infrastructure across a majority of the city with a commitment to get the rest done.

Grace: How about in 20 years?

Williams: We have art, we have culture, we have architecture.

We have Armstrong Park, which is this beautiful asset at the edge of the French Quarter that leads into Treme. We’ve got Canal Street, which is our Champs Elysees, which we’re not using upper floors of, and we haven’t had a strategic plan for a long time. Imagine if those areas were bustling with locals, with visitors. Now people are talking about New Orleans in a way they haven’t in a very long time.

Hecht: A lot of the things we’re talking about doing now are fixing what’s broke, literally and figuratively, filling the potholes.

If we’re going to achieve the vision that we’re articulating in 20 years, it means that over the next eight years we’re going to have to change the systems so that regardless of who is in office, we are going to organically do the right thing because the incentives are right, the laws are right.

Morrell: I think to that end, when you look over the next 20 years, the goal is the groundwork that will be laid during this administration with this council to create a New Orleans that operates differently than it’s operated for the last 50-60 years. In a functional city, you should not have ups and downs. The fact that we’ve had multiple new administrations that have had to come in and furlough employees for multiple months, that tells you the city is functionally dysfunctional. If you can’t convince people that the city will be functional regardless of who is the mayor, that is a huge barrier to long-term investment.

Moreno: To look at where we’re going to be in 20 years and where we want to be, you need to take a look at successful cities across the country and where they were 20 years prior.

There’s a couple things that come into play. One is that the city services are good and that it’s easy to live in these cities. Number two, people feel safe. And then number three is that there’s opportunity overall. People have to move there to get a job, because it’s where the opportunities are. That’s how you transform the city in 20 years.

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4B ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Quake rattles northwest La. on Saturday

BY ADAM DUVERNAY

Staff writer

Northwest Louisiana last week again felt the rumble of an earthquake, this time in De Soto Parish, northeast of the town of Pleasant Hill in Sabine Parish.

Since about this time last year, a number of small earthquakes — unusual, but increasingly frequent — have rattled northwest Louisiana and parts of east Texas on the state line. The earthquake that struck near Pleasant Hill on Saturday was one of the strongest

LAWS

Continued from page 1B cancer treatments, including acupuncture, scalp cooling systems and cryotherapy.

Tax-related laws Act 423: authorizes a credit for taxpayers who make a

HEALTH

Continued from page 1B

The spectrum of anxiety Her experience is increasingly common. Even people who feel healthy and do most things “right” are living with more health information than ever before.

Wearables, tests, ChatGPT, Google and scans can offer reassurance, but they can also raise questions that don’t have clear answers.

Clinicians say they’re seeing more patients who are physically healthy but increasingly unsettled by the signals their bodies, their devices and their internet scrolls send back.

What was once called hypochondria is now more commonly referred to as health anxiety and officially known as illness anxiety disorder. It exists on a spectrum. On one end are people who notice a symptom and briefly wonder whether it’s worth checking out. On the other are those whose fear of illness becomes persistent, intrusive and disruptive enough to require treatment or medication. Most people fall somewhere in between.

“What matters isn’t whether someone worries about their health,” said Shannon Seymour, a licensed professional counselor in New Orleans. “It’s what they do with that worry.”

A headache or stomach pain can trigger uncertainty, which leads to monitoring, Googling and reassuranceseeking. That can come in the form of asking a spouse, “Do you think I have cancer?” (It’s nearly always a fear of cancer, Seymour said), frequently making doctor’s appointments or taking a lot of health tests.

That behavior makes people feel better in the short term, but affirms the anxiety underneath over the long term.

“Reassurance feels helpful in the moment,” Seymour said. “But it keeps the cycle going.”

In Louisiana, that cycle is shaped by context. Cancer rates are high. Environmental exposure is talked about

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

Infant killed in house fire An infant was killed on Sunday in a large Breaux Bridge house fire just days after the Christmas holiday, according to the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Firefighters with the Breaux Bridge Fire Department responded to the fire in the 1100 block of Poydras Place at 2:18 a.m. on Dec. 28. At least four people were inside the home at the time, including the infant’s

of at least 10 recorded in northwest Louisiana last December.

According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake occurred at 6:47 a.m. about 4 miles northeast of Pleasant Hill.

The earthquake was about 3 miles deep and registered as a 2.9 on the Richter scale, tying for fifth strongest in northwest Louisiana since this time last year.

Earthquakes in Louisiana are rare, largely because the region doesn’t sit on an active geological fault line like parts of California and the Pacific Northwest, where

shakes are more common and much stronger. Geologists believe the shallow, weak quakes now affecting this part of the country are more commonly man-made.

Geologists believe the culprit of the quakes in Louisiana, as well as in Oklahoma and Texas, are saltwater disposal wells used by the oil and gas industry. The wells inject wastewater from extraction processes back into the ground which geologists say, over time, can lubricate the earth and cause geological slippage.

“It’s almost certainly induced by

donation to public schools that receive a letter grade of “D” or “F” Act 411: changes parts of the process for the assessment, payment and allocation of ad valorem taxes Act 283: makes a property tax exemption for personal airplanes with an operating empty weight of less than 7,000 pounds Act 266: changes the tax

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in scientific reports and the news. Everyone knows someone who has that onein-a-million story of tragic illness.

unchecked, can take over someone’s life.

“Now that Christmas gift that you wear around your finger or wrist is your new doctor,” Spitalnick said. “I don’t think that’s an effective use of these devices.”

Leigh Anne Schenck, 46, knows the fear of that uncertainty well. Years ago, she drove herself to the emergency room more than once, worried she was having a stroke.

She had physical signs: numbness in her face, tingling in her hands, dizziness and a certainty that something was wrong. The ER tests were normal. A followup with her primary care doctor resulted in a referral to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed her with obsessivecompulsive disorder.

“I was shocked,” said Schenck, a mom of two who works at a church and is a writer for New Orleans Mom. “When I thought of OCD, I thought of cleaning.”

Instead, she learned, her OCD took the form of intrusive health-related thoughts.

A headache became a brain tumor. A fever in her child became an emergency in her mind.

The increased anxiety came after a number of deaths in her family in a short amount of time, which she thinks kicked it off.

Medication and therapy helped quiet the spiral. She learned to stop feeding it by staying off Google, resisting constant checking and sitting with uncertainty instead of trying to eliminate it.

Too much information is not useful for people with anxiety, said Seymour. If you feel something is wrong, see a doctor — but if everything checks out, make that the endpoint, not the beginning of an investigation into your health, she said.

Caswell still wears her ring a year and a half later.

She notices the scores. But she’s able to digest it as useful information rather than a diagnosis.

“It is a nice tool, and it should be marketed like that,” she said. “It’s not the end-all, be-all.”

Focused on health Beyond wearables and tech, culture is increasingly focused on health, with wellness influencers building massive followings on social media and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. popularizing the phrase “Make America Healthy Again.”

Websites that offer information on symptoms and possible causes are a click away.

Kelsey Brown, a licensed professional counselor in New Orleans, sees health anxiety most often in children, who came of age during the pandemic and its constant messaging about sickness, risk and responsibility. Kids may interpret health as a moral obligation, Brown said. Some kids start to worry they could hurt people or kill their grandparents just by hugging a friend and passing along an illness.

Kids are also turning to search engines and social media for health advice that isn’t always backed by evidence, she said. They start taking supplements or diagnosing themselves based on a TikTok video.

On the other end, some people avoid talking about their health entirely when they have health anxiety.

They don’t trust doctors or won’t go to get anything checked out, Brown said.

Anxiety as uncertainty

man-made operations,” USGS Research Geophysicist Thomas Pratt said after a quake struck in Caddo Parish in January. “There’s been a history of earthquakes induced by oil and gas operations out there, so this is probably another one of those.”

USGS recorded Saturday’s earthquake, but does not report on the cause of specific earthquakes.

Only three people reported to USGS that they felt the earthquake.

In December 2024, Caddo Parish registered a number of earth-

distributions from retirement accounts Act 454: makes changes to the School Readiness Tax Credit Act 376: establishes the Work-Based Learning Tax Credit for businesses that employ apprentices, interns, and youth workers Act 282: allows university laboratory schools to participate in the student tu-

quakes around Mooringsport.

The quakes came in clusters but tapered off after January. At the same time, and throughout the rest of 2025, USGS recorded a string of other earthquakes in neighboring parishes and over the state line near east Texas towns.

Data on earthquakes in December 2024 originally identified with epicenters near Uncertain, Texas, later was revised to have origin points in Caddo Parish.

Email Adam Duvernay at adam. duvernay@theadvocate.com.

ition organization tax credit sessments, fees, and taxes program. owed Act 162: requires the Board Others of Ethics to record and Act 473: expands tax deduc- livestream its meetings Act 501: increases the fee tions to cover costs associated with retrofitting homes amount charged by the into meet “fortified home” surance commissioner for standards licensing and other services Act 387: requires that onAct 77: expands the rules line short-term rental plat- that the Louisiana Departforms show renters a line- ment of Health can estabby-line itemization of all as- lish for hospitals.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Abi Caswell, 30, owner of Batter, a bakery on Baronne Street in the New Orleans Central Business District, decorates cupcakes while wearing an Oura ring she uses for health tracking on Dec. 19.

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Josh Spitalnick runs a national group therapy gathering for people with health anxiety. The common thread, he said, is an intolerance of uncertainty. Fear leads to rituals like ruminating, replaying conversations with doctors or repeated testing.

Spitalnick has seen patients who take COVID tests nearly every day. He has treated women who take five or six pregnancy tests per day, sometimes without even having had intercourse. He has observed people using wearables to prove or disprove that something is Email Emily Woodruff at wrong. The fear itself isn’t ewoodruff@theadvocate. silly, but the response to it, com.

ty Principal Assistant Chief mother and two siblings.

The other three family Bryan J. Adams.

The investigation into the members survived the fire, though the child’s mother blaze is ongoing. suffered burn injuries and her two other children suffered from smoke inhalaLOTTERY tion, officials said.

Investigators have not WEDNESDAY, yet determined what DEC. 31, 2025 caused the fire or whether PICK 3: 8-4-2 the home had a working PICK 4: 1-8-3-3 smoke alarm.

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F r i d ay, J a n u a ry 2, 2026

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LSU ready to sparkle in annual Gymnastics 101 meet

BY SCOTT RABALAIS

ä Gymnastics 101 6:30 P.M. FRIDAy,

Staff writer

SEC NETWORK +

Showtime is back in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Well, at least the dress rehearsal.

The LSU gymnastics team has its first chance to sparkle in the PMAC on Friday night with the program’s annual Gymnastics 101 exhibition meet.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on SECNetwork+. There is no admission charge.

Typically, this meet has been held in December. But with LSU still three weeks away from its regular-season home opener Jan. 23 against Kentucky, and in an effort to grow excitement and attendance for the exhibition, coach Jay Clark decided to push it to January.

“We started the season last year on

‘Everything is on the table’ when it comes to CFP reboot

Jan. 3,” Clark said. “This gave us an opportunity to put this on Friday night, which we never do. Hopefully, more fans can come out and enjoy the fanfest with their kids and get a sneak peek and see more of the (LSU gymnasts) than when we start competing. They will definitely see more routines.”

In a regular dual meet a team has 24 routines: six each on vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. Since this is an exhibition, Clark anticipates more than 40 routines spread across the four disciplines.

The Tigers have been doing routines in their palatial practice gym through the fall and the holidays. But this is the first opportunity they will have to perform in

their home arena.

“You just want to get them out of this environment (in the gym) and get them under the lights in that space,” Clark said.

“See who competes. It’s hard to mimic that in your gym.”

The Tigers won a share of the SEC regular-season championship and the SEC championship meet in 2025, then earned their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA championships. LSU reached the national semifinals but came up short of returning to the NCAA final, which it won for the first time in 2024.

The Tigers begin 2026 ranked No. 2 in the preseason coaches’ poll, behind reigning NCAA champ Oklahoma and just ahead of SEC rival Florida.

LSU has 21 gymnasts on this year’s roster

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Konnor McClain performs a routine on the balance beam in a meet ä See LSU, page 3C against Missouri on .Jan. 31 at the PMAC.

SAINTS AT FALCONS • NOON SUNDAy • FOX

Saints rookie quarterback Shough is earning teammates’ respect through his play, leadership skills

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — While fans trickled into the Orange Bowl stadium for a quarterfinal where tickets were going for as little as $39, the commissioner of the Big 12 said “everything is on the table” when it comes to rebooting the College Football Playoff, including potentially moving more games onto campus.

The commissioners have until Jan. 23 to figure out what the playoff will look like next year. Expansion from the current 12team format and automatic bids have been the two biggest headlines in that discussion, though the idea of keeping more games on campus will factor in.

“We have to examine that, too,” Brett Yormark said Thursday, about a half-hour before kickoff of the quarterfinal between Texas Tech and Oregon. “Operationally, can we do it? The first-round games have been fantastic in every respect. I think it’s a differentiator.”

Under the 12-team format, now in its second season, first-round games involving the fifth through 12th seeds have taken place on the campus of the better-seeded team. The rest of the rounds are at traditional bowl sites, with this year’s final coming to Miami Gardens.

Oregon’s 23-0 win over Texas Tech kicked off in front of thousands of empty seats at Hard Rock Stadium. The Ducks traveled 3,200 miles to get to Miami and will next head to Atlanta for the semifinals in the Peach Bowl. If they return to South Florida for the final on Jan. 19, they will travel around 17,500 miles in the span of three weeks.

“This is a playoff. A playoff in my opinion should’ve been played in Lubbock, Texas,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “There are a lot of people who do playoffs. Playoffs have looked a certain way for a long time. We’re trying to serve two purposes here. The amount of time between games,

ä See CFP, page 3C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TyLER KAUFMAN

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough leads a team huddle during a game against the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 14 at the Caesars Superdome.

‘EVERYBODY’S BUYING IN’

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

AP PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Big 12 commissioner Brett yormark stands on the sideline during the playing of the national anthem before the Big 12 Conference championship game between ByU and Texas Tech on Dec. 6 in Arlington, Texas.

Last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans offered a special experience for New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.

He and fellow rookie quarterback Cam Ward went through the game wearing a microphone for NFL films.

It was a “dream come true” for Shough, who said he used to watch the NFL Films Mic’d Up segments on YouTube in class.

But the experience was more than a signal of his arrival in the NFL — it was also instructive.

NFL Films sent some of the rough film to Shough, and he started breaking it down the way he might with the all-22 game film.

“How (am I) interacting with my teammates on the sideline?” Shough said. “How does that look and sound?”

Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Atlanta Falcons will be Shough’s ninth NFL start. He has quickly established himself as the future hope of the franchise, having played a large role in driving the four-game win

streak the team is riding into Week 18.

Though his play between the whistles has been the engine for that excitement, the Saints are enamored with the leadership qualities Shough has displayed in this debut season.

“Until you’re up in front and leading the group, you’re not going to see that part of it,” coach Kellen Moore said.

“He’s taken on a leadership role each and every week.”

Moore likes the way Shough processes things quickly and moves on, good or bad. The level-headedness and next-play mentality breeds positivity and optimism on the sidelines, the coach said. And it also comes in handy on the field.

There was a play last week where Shough pulled the ball on a read-option and was stuffed on the ensuing run.

It was the wrong decision.

“That play happened and it’s over — you never get it back, you never get to change it,” Moore said. “I know the (play) he’s talking about. He tried to pull the ball on first down. It happened. The next play, he threw a touchdown.

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

2C ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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LSU safety Rogers plans to enter transfer portal

LSU redshirt freshman safety Joel Rogers plans to enter the transfer portal, a source told The Advocate on Thursday.

Rogers, who’s from St. Francisville, played in 14 games over the past two seasons, primarily on special teams and as a backup safety.

Rogers has made four career tackles. He has three more years of eligibility.

Rogers is the third LSU safety set to enter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2-16, joining redshirt junior Austin Ausberry and junior Javien Toviano. Dashawn Spears, a sophomore who might start next season, said he would enter the transfer portal Wednesday before changing his mind.

Rogers was a four-star recruit ranked No. 260 overall in the 2024 class by 247Sports.

Baltimore QB Jackson says he’s playing vs. Pittsburgh

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, second left, celebrates with quarterback Dante Moore, defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. and defensive lineman Bear Alexander after defeating Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Defense carries the day for Oregon

BY TIM REYNOLDS

AP sportswriter

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The first thing that Oregon quarterback Dante Moore did after winning the Orange Bowl was salute the thousands of fans who made the cross-country trip to South Florida.

If the Ducks’ defense keeps playing like this, those fans might be back in Miami before long.

Matayo Uiagalelei caused a fumble to set up an Oregon touchdown, freshman Brandon Finney Jr. had three takeaways — two interceptions and a fumble recovery — and the fifth-seeded Ducks silenced No. 4 Texas Tech’s offense for a 23-0 win in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

“They’ve earned this opportunity,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “I told them go get their pound of flesh today. They did that today.”

Jordon Davison rushed for two scores, Moore threw for 234 yards and Atticus Sappington kicked three field goals for Oregon (131), which will play No. 1 Indiana (14-0) in the Peach Bowl — a

CFP semifinal — on Jan. 9. It’s a rematch of a game from Oct. 11, when the Hoosiers beat Oregon 30-20.

The Oregon-Indiana winner will be in Miami Gardens for the national title game on Jan. 19.

“I believe we have the best defense in the country,” Finney said.

Texas Tech probably wouldn’t argue with that.

Texas Tech — which finished at 12-2 — came into the day second nationally in points per game (42.5) and fifth nationally in yards per game (480.3) but got absolutely nothing going. The Red Raiders turned the ball over four times, were stopped on fourth downs three other times and had four three-and-outs.

“Texas Tech fans, I’m sorry that we let you down,” coach Joey McGuire said. “I hope you’ve enjoyed every second of this year. Man, this was such a special team and I’m so proud of them. Hats off to Dan Lanning. Hats off to the Oregon Ducks. Just an incredible football team ... and I told Dan after the game I hope he wins the whole damn thing.”

Tech quarterback Behren Morton — who finished 18 of 32 pass-

ing for just 137 yards — was stripped by Uiagalelei early in the third quarter in Red Raider territory. Uiagalelei rumbled deep into the red zone and Davison scored one play later to make it 13-0.

Morton threw a red-zone interception early in the fourth quarter and a fourth-down stop from their own 30 midway through the fourth quarter doomed whatever comeback chances existed for the Red Raiders. Davison plunged in from the 1 with 16 seconds left to cap the scoring.

“We had a great game plan,” Morton said. “We just didn’t execute base plays.”

And once again, a CFP bye meant a team went bye-bye.

It was the sixth quarterfinal under this 12-team tournament format that started last year and the sixth time that the team coming off an extended break lost to a team that played a first-round game. That odd streak ended later Thursday, when Indiana — which had a first-round bye — rolled past Alabama 38-3 in another quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.

In 2024, Boise State (against Penn State), Arizona State (against Texas), Georgia (against

Notre Dame) and Oregon (against Ohio State) all went out in the quarterfinals after first-round byes. Miami added to that list Wednesday night, beating Ohio State in a quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl. In those six games, including Thursday, the team with the bye has held the lead for less than five minutes — combined — of regulation.

Texas Tech thought it could avoid that fate. It could not, and Oregon finished off its first shutout of an AP-ranked opponent since 2012. Oregon was playing a top-10 team for the 113th time — and for the first time, allowed zero points.

“In this program you don’t make excuses,” McGuire said, “and you don’t let anybody make them for you.”

Oregon played James Madison in Round 1 this year, winning 5134, and generally was unhappy afterward with how it played defensively.

There wasn’t anything to not like from that side of the ball on Thursday.

“Last week a lot of people talked about our defense,” Lanning said.

“They showed up today.”

LSU’s Whit Weeks returning for senior season

BY REED DARCEY

Staff writer

LSU star Whit Weeks announced Thursday that he will return to the Tigers for his senior season.

Weeks, an All-SEC linebacker, could have declared for the NFL draft, but now he’ll serve as one of the foundational pieces of coach Lane Kiffin’s first LSU defense. He recorded 125 tackles as a sophomore, becoming one of the nation’s top linebackers, but he then suffered a broken ankle in the Tigers’ 2024 Texas Bowl win over Baylor, and injuries limited his effectiveness during his junior season.

“College is too much fun to leave,” Weeks wrote on social media, “and there is no better place in the country to be right now than Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All I want to do is ball in the purple and gold.

See you in September.”

In 2025, Weeks, a native of Watkinsville, Georgia, registered only 31 total tackles in eight games.

LSU lost three of the four contests he missed after he re-fractured his ankle in a loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27.

Kiffin told LSU’s radio broad-

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks, left, stands next to his brother Zach Weeks before the Texas Bowl on Saturday in Houston. cast of the Texas Bowl on Saturday that bringing back Weeks was a “big priority.” He had already retained defensive coordinator Blake Baker and the bulk of his defensive staff, which gave the Tigers confidence they could keep key players on defense.

Weeks is one of those pieces.

So far, 17 LSU players have decided to enter the NCAA

transfer portal when it opens Friday. Only one of them — defensive tackle Ahmad Breaux — played significant snaps on defense in 2025. Sophomore safety Dashawn Spears entered his name into the portal on Thursday evening but changed his mind a few hours later. Now he’ll return to the Tigers in 2026 and compete for a starting job

in the secondary.

Cornerbacks DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland can also return next season, as well as safety Tamarcus Cooley.

On Thursday, five-star freshman running back Harlem Berry agreed to return to LSU for his sophomore season.

Kiffin is expected to target quarterbacks, offensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive linemen in the transfer portal, which will be open through Jan. 16. As things stand, Michael Van Buren is the Tigers’ only scholarship quarterback. He said after the Texas Bowl that he still wants to return to LSU. After the regular season ended on Nov. 29, Weeks started training away from the team.

He attended Kiffin’s introductory news conference on Dec. 2, then watched LSU’s bowl loss to Houston from the sideline in sweats.

Weeks’ older brother, West, is out of eligibility, but his younger brother, Zach, can return to the Tigers for his sophomore season.

Kiffin’s brother, Chris, is LSU’s new linebackers coach and codefensive coordinator.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson says he’s expecting to play when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the AFC North title Sunday night.

“A hundred percent,” the star quarterback said. “I’m going to be out there.”

Jackson returned to practice Wednesday and was a full participant, but he didn’t talk with reporters at the podium until Thursday. He said he’s feeling good after missing last weekend’s game at Green Bay because of a back injury.

That was the fourth game this season Jackson has missed, the first three because of hamstring problems.

The Ravens need a win this weekend to make the playoffs after they entered the season as a popular Super Bowl pick.

Lynx’s Collier to undergo surgery on both ankles

MIAMI — Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier will have surgery on both ankles and is expected to be sidelined four to six months, including the upcoming Unrivaled season, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league announced Thursday.

The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year suffered a sprained right ankle during an August game against the Las Vegas Aces and missed several weeks. She then hurt her left ankle in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals against the Phoenix Mercury.

Unrivaled, which Collier cofounded with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, said a “joint team of medical staff” determined that surgery on both ankles would be needed for Collier.

Green Bay to start QB Tune in regular-season finale

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Clayton Tune will start at quarterback for Green Bay in its regular-season finale Sunday at Minnesota with the Packers intending to rest Jordan Love as he prepares for the playoffs.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday that Love has cleared concussion protocol, but isn’t expected to play against the Vikings (8-8). Green Bay (9-6-1) already is locked into the NFC’s No. 7 playoff seed, so Sunday’s game has no postseason implications.

Love hasn’t played since taking a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter of a 22-16 overtime loss at Chicago on Dec. 20.

Love said he’s doing enough in practice that he shouldn’t feel rusty when he starts the Packers’ playoff opener.

Michigan set to hire Beck as offensive coordinator

New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham’s staff is starting to take shape, and he has his coordinators in place.

Jason Beck, 45, who was Whittingham’s offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach at Utah, is joining him at Michigan as offensive coordinator. Whittingham confirmed the hire Thursday during an interview on ESPN’s GameDay. Whittingham, who spent the last 21 seasons as Utah’s head coach, was officially introduced as Michigan’s head coach Sunday. And Jay Hill, most recently BYU’s defensive coordinator, will be Michigan’s defensive coordinator, multiple national outlets reported Thursday.

Beck’s offense ranked No. 4 nationally averaging 482.9 yards a game, was second in rushing, (266.3) and fifth in scoring, averaging 41.2 points.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● 3C

lll

Saints WR Olave diagnosed with blood clot in his lung N.O. receiver will miss season finale

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough congratulates wide receiver Chris Olave after scoring a touchdown against the New york Jets on Dec. 21 at the Caesars Superdome.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C So I would say he handled it pretty well.”

Leadership is one of those topics that came up early in Shough’s starting tenure.

While he’s older than usual rookies, he was still a firstyear player stepping into an important role on a team that already had a number of veteran leadership voices in the locker room.

His comments then were the same they are now: The most important thing Shough can be, in his opinion, is himself.

“You can’t be fake; everyone is going to see through that, especially grown men.”

Shough said. ”... You’ve got to be real with everybody.

That takes time. I’ve been able to slowly, step by step, earn the respect of the guys I’ve been working with. “... Kellen does a really good job of allowing this team to be player-led. He’ll say his two cents after a game or practice and allow somebody else to break it down or have something to say. That’s really cool, because we’re the guys on the field, we’re driving it.”

It helps that Shough has been nails on the field.

Since he took over as the starter in Week 9, Shough ranks among the NFL’s top eight passers in rating (97.2, 8th) yards per game (249.2, 7th), completion percentage (69.2%, 3rd), and interception rate (1.5%, 8th).

He’s been exceptional during the Saints’ fourgame win streak — espe-

LSU

Continued from page 1C and most of them will be cleared to compete, with a couple of potential exceptions.

Clark said fifth-year senior Chase Brock will likely be held out as she continues to recover from an Achilles injury. Sophomore Kailin Chio,

CFP

Continued from page 1C obviously it’s tough for teams. We experienced it last year.”

Including Oregon’s loss last year (in the Rose Bowl after a bye) and Texas Tech’s loss on Thursday, teams with first-round byes in the 12-team playoff fell to 0-6 with two quarterfinals left.

Yormark said the sport’s “clunky” calendar — an issue that encompasses long layoffs, the transfer portal and an ever-moving coaching carousel — is another issue the commissioners will discuss.

There has been a wide gap between the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten visions of what the next iteration of the playoff should look like. The SEC sees a 16-team field filled with at-large bids; the Big Ten has pushed for a field of 16 or more with more automatic qualifiers.

Under terms of the agreement that goes into play next year, the other two Power

cially late in games. Shough That is an example of has compiled a 115.2 passer what Shough describes as rating in the fourth quar- his “thermostat leader” ters of the last four games, style. and his 413 fourth-quarter “I want to control the passing yards rank second temperature and the feel in the NFL during that span. of the offense,” Shough Three of those four wins said. “I don’t want to just came with Shough leading go with the flow of it; I want a go-ahead drive in the final to make sure we’re operatquarter. ing at a level or we’re kind Following the latest of chunking along. A lot of fourth-quarter comeback times, a lull or silences are against the Titans last not a great thing. We’ve got week, during which Shough to make sure we’re concompleted five of his seven stantly communicating, passes for 164 yards and a good and bad.” touchdown (rating: 153.3) Then, after Shough’s goin a 14-point fourth quar- ahead touchdown to Kevin ter, offensive tackle Taliese Austin in the fourth quarFuaga said, ter, the NFL “We have beFilms cameras lief.” caught fellow “Tyler right rookie Torrinow is playcelli Simpkins ing with so saying “keep much confilighting they dence,” Fuaga a** up” to said. “I don’t Shough. see him being Being himfazed at all in self may be any moment the key to TyLER SHOUGH, of that game.

Shough’s leadSaints quarterback He’s just like, ership abili‘ We ’ v e j u s t ties, but he got to pick it up. We’re fine. knows it’s built on more We’re good.’ A confident than that. quarterback like that — He’s been around the he’s giving us confidence block. He backed up Jusout there. Everybody’s buy- tin Herbert at Oregon, the ing in right now.” first of three college stops.

And the NFL Films seg- He arrived in New Orleans ment showed that. In the and had to wait for his turn clip disseminated after behind the scenes. He can the game, Shough is shown pull from all of that to help speaking with receiver inform his leadership style.

Chris Olave on the sideline But the biggest thing he’s about the amount of man learned, he said, is this: coverage Tennessee was “Whenever you have sucplaying, and that he wants cess on the field, there’s a Olave to “run by him” the natural element of earned next time they saw it. The respect.” next clip features Shough firing a touchdown to Olave Email Luke Johnson at against man coverage. ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

“Whenever you have success on the field, there’s a natural element of earned respect.”

the 2025 NCAA vault champion and SEC freshman of the year, tweaked an ankle in a recent practice and may also be held out, Clark said.

“I know what she can do,” he said.

In addition to Chio, LSU’s other leaders this year will include junior Konnor McClain, the 2021 U.S. nationals all-around champion; 2024 U.S. Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, a sophomore; and ju-

nior Madison Ulrich, a threetime All-American at Denver.

A children’s fanfest begins at 5 p.m. in front of the PMAC with face painting, pictures with LSU gymnastics trophies, giveaways and gymnastics lessons.

Four conferences — Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference — are presumed to not have decision-making power in what comes next, though Yormark insisted “we have a big voice in that room.”

Yormark would not bite on the question when asked whether Group of Five conferences still belong in the tournament. Counting the first-round losses by Tulane and James Madison this year, those teams have lost by an average score of 41-19 over two seasons.

“Everything’s on the table and, and hopefully we’ll be very thoughtful about it, and if there’s change, we’ll announce it in due time,” Yormark said.

ment the commission sent out in November. Among the issues were that it stripped universities of their right to legal action regarding decisions the CSC makes.

Yormark says the agreement is being reworked in a way that all the schools can sign it so, as he said, “we’re all signing up for the same rules of engagement.”

“But one person’s opinion is, you don’t need a piece of paper to enforce the rules,” he said.

In a separate interview with The Associated Press earlier this week, Texas Tech head of regents Cody Campbell also said he suspects the agreement will get signed, though he’s not sure it will have any impact.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that helpful in terms of creating any kind of stability,” said Campbell, who would like to see Congress set up a completely new entity to run college sports.

“And it’s going to be challenged in court, already is being challenged in court, and it’s not going to go well for the CSC.”

CSC agreement to be signed Yormark also said problems keeping schools from signing the participation agreement sent out by the new College Sports Commission are being resolved, and he expects the 68 Power Four teams to sign the contract soon.

A number of state attorneys general told their schools not to sign the agree-

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and will miss Sunday’s season finale against the Atlanta Falcons, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

Olave was reportedly expected to be discharged from the hospital Thursday after the issue was detected early. But the blood clot will prevent Olave from playing this weekend, meaning he’ll miss his first game of the season. On Instagram, Olave posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed while flexing. He wrote that his “bounce back” was on the way.

Saints coach Kellen Moore said Olave is in “great hands” with the Saints’ medical staff.

“Obviously, (it’s) fortunate for Chris, they’re able to get ahead of this and identify something and make the necessary steps to build a plan moving forward,” Moore said.

New Orleans.Football was the first to report the news on Olave. ESPN reported Olave would recover in about a month.

Olave missed practice Wednesday with what the team said was an illness.

The 25-year-old had been dealing with a back injury for the past month, though he responded with some of his best games of the season. In his past two games, Olave recorded 148 and 119 yards receiving for a combined three touchdowns.

The former first-rounder was in the midst of a career year. After contemplating retirement because of last season’s concussion issues,

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave scores a touchdown against the New york Jets on Dec. 21 at the Caesars Superdome. Olave was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and will miss the team’s season finale in Atlanta.

Olave bounced back with 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025.

After last weekend’s win over the Tennessee Titans, Olave said it was one his “main goals” to play in all 17 games for the first time in his career, adding it would mean a lot.

Instead, Olave will finish with 16 — tying his previous best. But his health, in this case, takes priority.

“The game of life is a lot more important,” offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said, later adding, “Love Chris. Love the season he’s had and everything he’s done for us. We’re all with him.”

Olave is now one of the latest athletes to deal with a blood clot. New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was diagnosed with several blood clots before the 2024 season, causing him to miss

the first 10 games, and then he was again shut down for the last three. Barmore has played in 16 games this season.

Los Angeles Rams tackle Alaric Jackson and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith also dealt with the issue, but have had sustained notable careers.

In the NBA, Victor Wembanyama, Ausar Thompson, Damian Lillard and Chris Bosh also dealt with blood clots, shutting them down for extended periods. Bosh was forced to medically retire because of the issue.

But Olave’s case, according to the reports, isn’t expected to be as severe. ESPN reported that the wide receiver should be ready to participate in the team’s offseason program.

Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate. com

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4C ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Imai signs 3-year contract with Astros

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

Right-hander Tatsuya Imai and the Houston Astros have agreed to a $54 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.

Imai gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $16 million this year and $18 million in each of the final two seasons. He can earn an additional $3 million in performance bonuses this year: $1 million each for 80, 90 and 100 FILE PHOTO By KyODO NEWS innings.

Tatsuya Imai, a right-handed pitcher from Japan, went 10-5 with a 1.92 His 2027 and 2028 salaries would ERA last season with the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions. escalate by the amount of perfor-

mance bonuses earned in 2026, which could raise the deal’s value to $63 million over three years.

Imai can opt out after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Under the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, a deal must be finalized by 4 p.m. Friday.

Imai receives the third-highest average annual value for a Japanese pitcher entering Major League Baseball behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $27.08 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that started in 2024 and Masahiro Tanaka’s $22.14 million with the New York Yankees in a contract that ran from 2014-20.

A 27-year-old righty, Imai went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last year with the Pacific League’s Seibu

Lions. He struck out 178 batters in 1632⁄3 innings.

Imai is 58-45 with a 3.15 ERA in eight seasons with Seibu, with 907 strikeouts in 963 2/3 innings.

He is a three-time All-Star.

Imai pitched eight innings of a combined no-hitter against Fukuoka on April 18. He struck out 17 against Yokohama on June 17, breaking Daisuke Matsuzaka’s previous team record of 16 from 2004.

Under MLB’s posting agreement with NPB, Seibu will get a posting fee of $9,975,000 from the Astros and a supplemental fee of 15% of any earned bonuses, salary escalators and exercised options.

Imai joins a rotation projected to include Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr.

SCOREBOARD Indiana defeats Alabama in Rose Bowl

Odds NFL Saturday

Golden State 132, Charlotte 125 Atlanta 126, Minnesota 102 Orlando 112, Indiana 110 Cleveland 129, Phoenix 113 Chicago 134, New Orleans 118 San Antonio 134, New York 132 Denver 106, Toronto 103 Oklahoma City 124, Portland 95 Washington 114, Milwaukee 113

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at TAMPA BAY 3 3 (43½) Carolina Seattle 4½ 1½ (47½) at SAN FRAN

Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at MINNESOTA 1½ 7½ (35½) Green Bay at CINCINNATI 8½ 7½ (44½) Cleveland at HOUSTON 4½ 10½ (39) Indianap. at JACKSONVILLE 4½ 13½ (47½) Tennessee at ATLANTA 5½ 3½ (44½) N. Orleans Dallas 1½ 3½ (51)at NY GIANT. at LA RAMS 4½ 7½ (46½) Arizona at NEW ENGLAND 2½ 10½ (45½) Miami at BUFFALO 9½ 6½ (38½) NY Jets Kansas City 6 5½ (36½) at L. VEGAS at DENVER 2½ 12½ (37½) LA Char. at PHILADELPHIA 4½ 4 (39) Wash. at CHICAGO 1½ 3 (50½) Detroit Baltimore 3 3½ (40½) at PITT

Thursday’s games

Houston at Brooklyn, n Miami at Detroit, n Philadelphia at Dallas, n Boston at Sacramento, n Utah at L.A. Clippers, n

Friday’s games

Brooklyn at Washington, 6 p.m.

San Antonio at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Atlanta at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Portland at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Memphis at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

College Football Friday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Armed Forces Bowl Texas State 6½ 15½ (57½) Rice Liberty Bowl Navy 6½ 7½ (54½) Cincinnati Duke’s Mayo Bowl Mississippi St. 2½ 3 (53½) Wake Forest Holiday Bowl Arizona 1½ 2½ (52½) SMU Duke’s Mayo Bowl Miss. St. 2½ 3 (53½) Wake Forest

Late Wednesday

Chicago 134, New Orleans 118 NEW ORLEANS (118)

Bey 6-16 2-2 16, Williamson 12-19 7-9 31, Queen 4-7 1-2 9, Fears 2-8 0-0 5, Murphy III 6-15 0-0 15, Looney 1-5 0-0 2, Peavy 2-4 1-1 6, Missi 1-3 1-3 3, Hawkins 2-7 0-0 5, Poole 6-14 10-10 26. Totals 42-98 22-27 118.

NBA

CHICAGO (134)

Friday

FAVORITE LINE at WASHINGTON OFF San Antonio 5½ at NEW YORK 6½ at CLEVELAND 13 Orlando 4½ Portland 1 at MILWAUKEE OFF at PHOENIX 11 at GOLDEN STATE OFF at LA LAKERS OFF

Okoro 8-10 6-8 24, Smith 5-11 3-3 14, Vucevic 7-13 1-2 17, Buzelis 8-17 1-4 19, T.Jones 7-7 5-6 20, Terry 0-3 0-0 0, Williams 4-8 2-2 12, Huerter 4-9 3-5 13, Carter 1-3 0-0 3, Dosunmu 3-11 4-4 12. Totals 47-92 25-34 134.

New Orleans 32 30 28 28 — 118 Chicago 36 31 30 37 — 134 3-Point Goals—New Orleans 12-38 (Poole 4-10, Murphy III 3-11, Bey 2-7, Fears 1-2, Peavy 1-2, Hawkins 1-4, Looney 0-1, Queen 0-1), Chicago 15-43 (Okoro 2-4, Williams 2-4, Huerter 2-5, Vucevic 2-5, Dosunmu 2-6, Buzelis 2-9, T.Jones 1-1, Carter 1-2, Smith 1-5, Terry 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New Orleans 46 (Looney 10), Chicago 49 (Smith 14). Assists—New Orleans 25 (Murphy III 5), Chicago 33 (T.Jones 12). Total Fouls—New Orleans 24, Chicago 18. A—20,527 (20,917)

O/U UNDERDOG (OFF) Brooklyn (241½) at INDIANA (245½) Atlanta (235½) Denver (237) at CHICAGO (242½) at NO (OFF) Charlotte (228½) Sacramento (OFF) Oklahoma City (OFF) Memphis

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Friday

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG New Mexico State 1½ at FLORIDA INT. at MERRIMACK 4½ Mount St. Mary’s Fairfield 4½ at CANISIUS Sacred Heart 4½ at NIAGARA at WESTERN KENTUCKY 4½ Sam Houston at IONA 1½ Siena at MICHIGAN 22½ USC Robert Morris 2½ at DET. MERCY Quinnipiac 6½ at MANHATTAN at MCNEESE 15½ Lamar Jacksonville State 1½ at DELAWARE at LIBERTY 8½ Kennesaw State Marist 3½ at SAINT PETER’S at MIDDLE TENNESSEE 5½ Louisiana Tech Oregon 2½ at MARYLAND Louisville 8½ at STANFORD Ohio State 9½ at RUTGERS at MISSOURI STATE 2½ UTEP at NEBRASKA 1½ Michigan State at IOWA STATE 16½ West Virginia at GONZAGA 23½ Seattle U at WASH. STATE 1½ Loyola Mary. at SAN FRANCISCO 11½ San Diego at SANTA CLARA 19½ Pepperdine at SAINT MARY’S (CA) 22½ Portland at PACIFIC 4½ Oregon State at CAL 3½ Notre Dame

NHL

Friday

FAVORITE Vegas at FLORIDA Minnesota at VANCOUVER

LINE UNDERDOG -151 at ST. LOUIS -144 N.Y Rangers -128 at ANAHEIM -193 Seattle

LINE +126 +121 +107 +160

NFL glance AFC

y-New England x-Buffalo e-Miami e-N.Y. Jets South x-Jacksonville x-Houston e-Indianapolis e-Tennessee North Pittsburgh Baltimore e-Cincinnati e-Cleveland West y-Denver x-L.A. Chargers e-Kansas City e-Las Vegas

NFC

East

y-Philadelphia e-Dallas e-Washington e-N.Y. Giants South Carolina Tampa Bay e-Atlanta e-New Orleans North y-Chicago x-Green Bay e-Minnesota e-Detroit West

W L 13 3 11 5 7 9 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .813 .688 .438 .188

PF PA 452 310 446 357 337 386 292 468

W L 12 4 11 5 8 8 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .750 .688 .500 .188

PF PA 433 329 366 265 436 374 277 437

W L 9 7 8 8 6 10 4 12

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .563 .500 .375 .250

PF PA 371 363 400 372 396 472 259 361

W L 13 3 11 5 6 10 2 14

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .813 .688 .375 .125

PF PA 382 308 365 321 350 314 227 420

W L 11 5 7 8 4 12 3 13

T 0 1 0 0

Pct .688 .469 .250 .188

PF PA 362 301 454 477 332 434 347 422

W L 8 8 7 9 7 9 6 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .500 .438 .438 .375

PF PA 297 364 364 397 334 384 289 364

W 11 9 8 8

T 0 1 0 0

Pct .688 .594 .500 .500

PF PA 425 396 388 344 328 330 462 397

L 5 6 8 8

W L T x-Seattle 13 3 0 x-San Francisco 12 4 0 x-L.A. Rams 11 5 0 e-Arizona 3 13 0 e-Eliminated from playoffs x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division

Saturday’s games

Pct .813 .750 .688 .188

Carolina at Tampa Bay, 3:30 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s games

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza runs past Alabama defensive lineman Keon Keeley during the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on Thursday in Pasadena, Calif. Indiana won 38-3.

New Orleans at Atlanta, noon Tennessee at Jacksonville, noon Arizona at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 3:25 p.m.

Kansas City at Las Vegas, 3:25 p.m.

L.A. Chargers at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Miami at New England, 3:25 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 3:25 p.m.

Washington at Philadelphia, 3:25 p.m.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 7:20 p.m.

College football Bowl glance Dec. 29

Birmingham Bowl Georgia Southern 29, Appalachian State 10

Dec. 30

Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech 23, Coastal Carolina 14 Music City Bowl Illinois 30, Tennessee 28 Alamo Bowl TCU 30, No. 16 Southern Cal 27, OT

Pro football East

Pro hockey

Cleveland at Cincinnati, noon Dallas at N.Y. Giants, noon Green Bay at Minnesota, noon Indianapolis at Houston, noon

PF PA 470 289 434 358 481 326 335 451

Wednesday

ReliaQuest Bowl No. 23 Iowa 34, No. 13 Vanderbilt 27 Sun Bowl Duke 42, Arizona St. 39 Citrus Bowl No. 14 Texas 41, No. 18 Michigan 27 Las Vegas Bowl No. 15 Utah 44, Nebraska 22

Friday

Armed Forces Bowl Texas State vs. Rice, noon (ESPN) Liberty Bowl No. 22 Navy vs. Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Duke’s Mayo Bowl Mississippi St. vs. Wake Forest, 7 p.m.

(ESPN) Holiday Bowl No. 21 Arizona vs. SMU, 7 p.m. (FOX)

College Football Playoff

Quarterfinals Wednesday At Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas No. 10 Miami 24, No. 3 Ohio St. 14 Thursday At Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 5 Oregon 23, No. 4 Texas Tech 0 At Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

No. 1 Indiana 38, No. 11 Alabama 3 At Sugar Bowl, New Orleans No. 6 Ole Miss at No. 2 Georgia, n

FCS glance Semifinals

Montana State 48, Montana 23 Illinois State 30, Villanova 14

Final

Monday Frisco, Texas Illinois State (12-4) vs. Montana State (13-2), 6:30 p.m., ABC

College basketball Men’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Tulane 79, East Carolina 70 South Alabama 63, UL 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 83, UNO 69 Stephen F. Austin 74, Northwestern State 64 Nicholls 71, Texas-Rio Grande Valley 69

Thursday’s game

Southern Miss 87, UL-Monroe 73

Friday’s games

Lamar at McNeese, 6 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Southern Miss at UL, noon Texas State at UL-Monroe, 2:30 p.m.

LSU at Texas A&M, 3 p.m.

East Texas A&M at Nicholls, 3 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 3:30 p.m.

UNO at Northwestern State, 3:30 p.m.

Prairie View A&M at Grambling, 4 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 5 p.m.

Southern at Lamar, 6 p.m.

National scores

Thursday’s games EAST

Dartmouth 107, Elms 43

SOUTH

Georgia Southern 82, Coastal Carolina 81, OT Lipscomb 76, Jacksonville 57 Northern Kentucky 81, IU Indianapolis 72 Samford 78, VMI 58 Southern Miss 87, Louisiana-Monroe 73 Stetson 70, North Alabama 67 Tennessee-Martin 67, Western Illinois 60 UNC Greensboro 77, Chattanooga 72

MIDWEST

Green Bay 72, Purdue Fort Wayne 54 Illinois State 73, Evansville 47 Lindenwood 77, Morehead State 64 North Dakota 72, Oral Roberts 61 Oakland 85, Youngstown State 83 SIU-Edwardsville 59, Southern Indiana 55 South Dakota State 84, Omaha 69 Southern Illinois 75, Valparaiso 70 Wright State 76, Milwaukee 70

SOUTHWEST

Central Arkansas 85, Florida Gulf Coast 83 Texas-Arlington 63, California Baptist 51

FAR WEST

Portland State 95, Weber State 90, OT UC Davis 89, Cal State Northridge 80 UC Irvine 81, Cal State Bakersfield 77

Women’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Stephen F. Austin 76, Northwestern State 71 Nicholls State 66, UTRGV 56

Thursday’s games

UL-Monroe 61, South Alabama 44 Southern 70, Prairie View 55 Troy 80, UL 54 Texas Southern at Grambling, n Kentucky at LSU, n

Friday’s game

Sam Houston at Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Arkansas State at UL-Monroe, noon Lamar at McNeese, 1 p.m.

Northwestern State at Nicholls, 1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 1 p.m.

Nicholls at Northwestern State, 1 p.m.

Prairie View at Grambling, 2 p.m.

Tulane at Wichita State, 2 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 2 p.m.

East Texas A&M at UNO, 2 p.m.

South Alabama at UL, 3 p.m.

National scores EAST

Bryant 45, New Hampshire 31 Fairfield 72, Canisius 43 Maine 73, UMass Lowell 65 Manhattan 60, Saint Peter’s 45 Merrimack 72, Rider 54 Quinnipiac 80, Iona 54 Sacred Heart 84, Niagara 53 Siena 69, Mount St Marys 59 St. John’s 75, DePaul 58 Vermont 72, Albany 56 Villanova 74, Creighton 64 Wake Forest 74, Pittsburgh 55 Wisconsin 70, Rutgers 63

SOUTH

Central Arkansas 65, Stetson 43 Duke 100, Boston College 49 Florida Gulf Coast 51, North Alabama 44 Georgia Tech 95, Notre Dame 90, OT James Madison 84, Georgia State 64 Lipscomb 67, North Florida 65 Louisiana-Monroe 61, South Alabama 44 Louisville 91, SMU 58 Marshall 87, Coastal Carolina 85, OT Mississippi Valley State 74, Alabama A&M 72, OT North Carolina 71, California 55 North Carolina State 74, Stanford 46 Old Dominion 87, Georgia Southern 84, 2OT Ole Miss 79, Georgia 62 South Carolina 83, Alabama 57 Southern University 70, Prairie View A&M 55 Tennessee 76, Florida 65 Tennessee-Martin 86, Western Illinois 78, 2OT Troy 80, Louisiana 54 UNC Greensboro 114, Carolina 35 Wofford 89, Southern Wesleyan 43

MIDWEST

Illinois 73, Maryland 70 Indiana State 88, Valparaiso 78 Iowa 86, Nebraska 76 Marquette 67, Xavier 54 Michigan State 80, Indiana 60 Morehead State 51, Lindenwood 50 South Dakota State 67, St. Thomas 49 Southern Indiana 70, SIU Edwardsville 55 West Virginia 79, Kansas 72

SOUTHWEST

Little Rock 51, Tennessee Tech 44 Vanderbilt 88, Arkansas 71

FAR WEST

Abilene Christian 81, Utah Tech 51 Cal State Fullerton 62, UC Santa Barbara 61 California Baptist 85, UT Arlington 64 Denver 64, North Dakota 57 Oregon 87, Northwestern 54 UC Irvine 82, Cal State Bakersfield 63 UC San Diego 75, Cal Poly 54 Utah Valley 74, Tarleton State 49

Pro basketball

NBA conference glance EASTERN CONFERENCE Detroit New York Boston Toronto Orlando Philadelphia Miami Cleveland Chicago Atlanta Milwaukee Charlotte Brooklyn Washington Indiana

L 8 10 12 15 15 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 20 24 28

Pct .758 .697 .625 .571 .559 .548 .545 .543 .485 .457 .412 .333 .333 .250 .176

Oklahoma City San Antonio Denver Houston L.A. Lakers Minnesota Phoenix Golden State Memphis Portland Utah Dallas L.A. Clippers Sacramento New Orleans

W 29 24 23 20 20 21 19 18 15 14 12 12 11 8 8

L 5 9 10 10 11 13 14 16 18 20 20 22 21 25 27

Pct GB .853 — .727 4½ .697 5½ .667 7 .645 7½ .618 8 .576 9½ .529 11 .455 13½ .412 15 .375 16 .353 17 .344 17 .242 20½ .229 21½

Wednesday’s games

EASTERN CONFERENCE Carolina Detroit Tampa Bay Montreal N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia Washington Buffalo Florida New Jersey Boston Pittsburgh Ottawa N.Y. Rangers Toronto Columbus

GP 39 41 39 39 40 39 41 39 39 40 41 38 39 42 39 39

W 24 24 23 21 22 20 21 21 21 21 21 17 19 19 18 17

L OT Pts 12 3 51 14 3 51 13 3 49 12 6 48 14 4 48 12 7 47 15 5 47 14 4 46 15 3 45 17 2 44 18 2 44 12 9 43 15 5 43 18 5 43 15 6 42 16 6 40

GF 130 127 130 130 114 119 133 124 126 109 130 122 129 109 128 118

GA 115 130 104 131 110 114 118 121 124 120 134 123 127 116 129 131

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Colorado 39 30 2 7 67 159 88 Dallas 40 25 8 7 57 140 109 Minnesota 41 24 10 7 55 129 108 Edmonton 41 20 15 6 46 137 138 Vegas 38 17 10 11 45 119 119 Anaheim 40 21 16 3 45 137 141 San Jose 40 20 17 3 43 124 139 Los Angeles 38 16 13 9 41 99 102 Nashville 39 18 17 4 40 113 129 Calgary 40 18 18 4 40 108 117 Seattle 37 16 14 7 39 95 111 Utah 40 18 19 3 39 119 116 St. Louis 41 15 18 8 38 101 143 Chicago 39 14 18 7 35 108 127 Vancouver 39 16 20 3 35 112 136 Winnipeg 38 15 19 4 34 108 116 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.

Wednesday’s games

Washington 6, N.Y. Rangers 3 Nashville 4, Vegas 2 San Jose 4, Minnesota 3, SO Tampa Bay 4, Anaheim 3, OT Detroit 2, Winnipeg 1 New Jersey 3, Columbus 2 Buffalo 4, Dallas 1 Colorado 6, St. Louis 1 Calgary 5, Philadelphia 1 Boston 6, Edmonton 2

Thursday’s games

W 25 23 20 20 19 17 18 19 16 16 14 11 10 8 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NHL conference glance

GB — 2 4½ 6 6½ 7 7 7 9 10 11½ 14 13½ 16½ 19½

Ottawa 4, Washington 3 Utah at N.Y. Islanders, n Detroit at Pittsburgh, n Montreal at Carolina, n Tampa Bay at Los Angeles, n Winnipeg at Toronto, n Dallas at Chicago, n Nashville at Seattle, n

Friday’s games

Vegas at St. Louis, 2 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers vs. Florida, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Anaheim, 9:30 p.m.

Seattle at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m.

Transactions FOOTBALL

National Football League MIAMI DOLPHINS — Signed QB Cam Miller to the active roster.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Placed F Miles Wood on injured reserve.

EDMONTON OILERS — Assigned F Max Jones to Bakersfield (AHL).

NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled Fs Brett Berard, Justin Dowling and Anton Blidh from Hartford (AHL). Placed F Conor Sheary on long-term injured reserve. Assigned F Brennan Othmann to Hartford.

FREEBIE FUN

The first Sunday of the month means free admission to the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Old State Capitol, Old Governors’ Mansion, Magnolia Mound Museum + Historic Site, LSU Museum of Art, Cary Saurage Community Arts Center and LSU Center for River Studies. Get reduced-price entry to LASM’s Irene Pennington Planetarium shows as well.

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

F r i d ay, J a n u a ry 2, 2026

5Cn

READY TO ROLL 13th annual BR Mardi Gras Festival returns Feb. 14

Staff report

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Mardi Gras is coming!

Send us your ball stories and photos

The Advocate will publish Mardi Gras ball stories from Carnival krewes in and around the Baton Rouge area.

Stories and photos should be emailed at least two weeks before the ball to mardigras@ theadvocate.com.

Stories should include the names of the ball captain, court and the ball’s theme. No costume descriptions will be included. Provide one photograph of the king, queen and ball captain, and photos of the court in groups of three or more. We will do our best but cannot guarantee date of publishing.

Photos should be jpg attachments with a resolution of 300 dpi or more. Those in photo(s) should be identified from left to right. Do not send more than three photos in a single email.

Also, please include contact name and phone number.

Emily Blunt, left, and Dwayne Johnson star in ‘The Smashing Machine.’

UNDER

RADAR

THE

The Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Festival returns for its 13th year on Saturday, Feb. 14.

The main event runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at North Boulevard Town Square, 222 North Blvd., with the pre-party from 7 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Feb. 12, at Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 2733 North St. The pre-party offers a sneak peek of some of the talent scheduled to play on the Town Stage during the festival. Admission is $30 and includes a buffet and nohost bar. Performers expected to appear are Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor and the Listening Room All-Stars.

The family-friendly and freeto-the-public festival itself features continuous live music, a vendor’s village and food court.

Screenings of “We’re Going Down to the Mardi Gras: The Making of Henry Turner Jr.’s Mardi Gras Festival” will be at 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the nearby River Center Branch Library, 250 North Blvd. Turner narrates the 44-minute documentary, which was produced by Michele Barnes for her Rebirth Shield Film Productions.

This year’s festival lineup includes blues, soul, R&B, reggae, gospel, jazz, pop/rock, spoken word, comedy and Mardi Gras Indians. In addition to Turner Jr. & Flavor and the All-Stars, Ervin “Maestro” Foster, Kelton ’Nspire Harper and King Solomon will be on the bill. More acts will be announced closer to the date.

The event is presented by Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room Museum Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

For more information, including VIP packages with covered seating, food and drink tickets, visit https://ultimatelouisianapar.wixsite.com/brmardigrasfest or call (225) 802-9681.

15 great 2025 movie performances that won’t win any Oscars Elle Fanning, left, and Dimitrius SchusterKoloamatangi star in ‘Predator: Badlands.’

PROVIDED PHOTOS

BY ADAM GRAHAM

The Detroit News (TNS) Not all the good ones win Oscars.

The Academy Awards race is shaping up, and Jessie Buckley (for “Hamnet”) and Leonardo DiCaprio (for “One Battle After Another”) are rightfully earning praise for turning in some of the year’s best movie work in some of the year’s best movies.

But outside that awards bubble, there are plenty of other under-the-radar performances worthy of note, and we’re taking the time to celebrate them here. We don’t have any gold statues to give out, so a few words of acknowledgement and a tip of the cap will have to do.

Here are some of the year’s best movie performances that are outside of the Oscars picture, looking in.

H Kevin O’Leary, ‘Marty Supreme’ Yes, the guy from “Shark Tank.” O’Leary is menacing in “Marty Supreme,” perfectly pitched as a foil to Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Mauser, at one point introducing himself as a vampire, and he’s so fiercely devilish in the role that you hardly question him for a second.

He’s cutthroat on “Shark Tank,” too, but he’s a natural on screen, truly earning his nickname as “Mr. Wonderful.”

H Dwayne Johnson, ‘The Smashing Machine’ The film’s anemic box office aside, “The Smashing Machine” is a transformative role for Dwayne Johnson, putting “The Rock” to

ä See MOVIE, page 6C

Experience a classic in a whole new way Reimagined version of Doors’ ‘Riders on the Storm’ drops Jan. 9

BY JIM HARRINGTON

The Mercury News (TNS) The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

And fans can experience this classic — which was released as the second single from The Doors’ fantastic sixth album, 1971’s “L.A. Woman” — in a whole new way beginning Jan. 9.

That’s the day when a drastically reimagined version of the song will be released on YouTube. The project was spearheaded by, and acts as a fundraiser for, Playing For Change, a nonprofit organization that supports music and arts education in more than

two dozen countries.

This new “Riders on the Storm” video also celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Doors, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame act that was formed by vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore in Los Angeles in 1965.

The video made its debut on the big screen immediately prior to the newly remastered 4K release of the Doors documentary “When You’re Strange” in early December.

ä See CLASSIC, page 6C

Robby Krieger is one of the two surviving members of The Doors.

GETTy IMAGES/TNS PHOTO By ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ

6C ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Explore options for service providers Dear Heloise: In response to Diane T. in Arizona, I had the opposite happen to me. I had been going to a hairdresser for many, many years. It was my hairdresser who started to not be on time. My time Hints from is important to me.

Heloise I booked appointments on my day off from work. I am a morning person, but she did not open until 11 a.m., so I was making my appointments for 11 or 11:30. Several times over the last year that I saw

her, she was the one arriving late.

She would call me to tell me where she was and why she was late. The reasons she gave did not sit well with me. Plus, she didn’t really apologize. So I have found someone else, who charges half the price. — Susan L., in New Hampshire Susan, and that’s how it should be. If someone who performs a service does not act in a professional manner, you can always go somewhere else. Maybe it will eventually dawn on your former hairdresser that she is losing customers and a chunk of her income.

— Heloise

Tall people Dear Heloise: I saw Barb’s letter concerning “short people problems.” I’m the tall person she spoke of. When I am shopping and I see a short person looking at an item on a higher shelf, I ask if I can help them. I say, “Can I help reach something, God gave me this gift so I have to use it!” As she stated, it brings a smile! Being kind brings joy to everyone. — Tall Girl in Iowa Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Grammy-winning Louisiana artist Wayne Toups will perform at Rock ‘n’ Bowl in Lafayette at 9 p.m. Saturday.

SHOWS TO WATCH — ACADIANA FRIDAY

BRIARCLIFF ENTERTAINMENT/TNS PHOTO

Jonathan Majors portrays a bodybuilder who goes off the deep end in ‘Magazine Dreams.’

MOVIE

Continued from page 5C bed and truly tapping into something internal as UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Johnson loses the suave charm that has become his signature and shows vulnerability, and humanity, like never before.

Johnson has always been a star, but “The Smashing Machine” showed his potential as an actor.

H Jonathan Majors, ‘Magazine Dreams’ Back when “Magazine Dreams” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, Jonathan Majors’ role as a bodybuilder who goes off the deep end was being touted as his Oscar play. Then a lot of other things happened in Majors’ life, and this movie didn’t see the light of day until a micro release earlier this year, but the work is still scarily effective and deeply powerful, a reminder of his electrifying power on screen.

H Sally Hawkins, ‘Bring Her Back’ From “Paddington” to Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” Sally Hawkins is a beam of light, illuminating everything and everyone around her with her bright, effervescent charm. In the Philippou brothers’ dark, dastardly “Bring Her Back,” she weaponizes that charm, going full heel as an evil foster mother performing wicked deeds on her adopted children.

She’s the stuff of nightmares in the best possible way.

H Conner O’Malley, ‘Friendship’ Conner O’Malley has been an unhinged comedy presence since he stole scenes in the first season of Tim Robinson’s “I Think You Should Leave” — he was the “Honk if You’re Horny” guy — and in “Friendship,” he has a volatile onescene appearance where he takes what is already an unglued story and sends it even further. He’s a fantastic comedy disruptor.

H Elle Fanning, ‘Predator: Badlands’

sense of bubbliness to “Predator” which, it turns out, was exactly what this chapter needed.

H Danielle Deadwyler, ‘The Woman in the Yard’ and ‘40 Acres’ Danielle Deadwyler, robbed of an Oscar nomination for 2022’s “Till,” gave a pair of sterling performances in two 2025 films that flew under the radar. As a widowed mother with an, er, presence sitting outside her home, she elevates the psychological thriller “The Woman in the Yard,” and in the post-apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres,” she brings grit and determination to a genre exercise.

She’ll get that Oscar nomination soon.

H Vincent Cassel, ‘The Shrouds’ David Cronenberg’s latest was an icy, pitch-black exercise in grief, and Vincent Cassel perfectly played Karsh, the innovator behind a new technology that lets the living watch their deceased loved ones decompose live via cam. The French actor was also basically playing a standin for Cronenberg, and he nailed the filmmaker’s sense of isolated remove, like a visitor among us who’s not quite one of us.

H Julian McMahon, ‘The Surfer’ In Nicolas Cage’s latest psychological freakout, Julian McMahon played Scally, the creepily charismatic leader of a local surf clan who won’t let Cage’s unnamed character surf their waves.

“Don’t live hee, don’t surf hee,” Scally tells him, in his thick Aussie accent. The “Nip/Tuck” vet is magnetic in a role that would end up being one of his last, as he died over the summer after a bout with cancer at the age of 56.

H A$AP Rocky, ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ and ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ After going toe to toe with Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” — the two exchanging bars in the crime thriller’s climactic rap battle scene is ridiculously entertaining — A$AP Rocky turns in a totally charming performance as the hotel neighbor of Rose Byrne’s spiraling mother in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” The rapper’s got a new album due out in 2026, but the screen is where he’s shining brightest.

performance as a supposedly charismatic pop megastar in “Opus” is just one of that film’s many problems — but Archie Madekwe’s turn as a rising L.A. pop singer in Alex Russell’s psychological thriller, and the way he wields his aura like a weapon, had viewers totally falling under his spell.

H Dylan O’Brien, ‘Twinless’ “Maze Runner” star Dylan O’Brien has been on a hot streak of late, with his turn as Dan Aykroyd in “Saturday Night” grounding him in grown-up fare, and he’s outstanding in a double role as two very different twin brothers in James Sweeney’s dark thriller “Twinless.” The subtleties of his performance pop as you watch him transition between the two parts, and he’s an actor who’s only getting better with age.

H Jason Momoa, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Jason Momoa seems like he’d be a cool dude to hang out with, but his charisma never quite translated to the screen, and he always seemed like he was winking to the audience before having earned the right to do so. As washed-up child video game champion Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison in “A Minecraft Movie,” he finally married the cool dude with the winking persona, and he was delightful in the part.

Australian actor Jai Courtney had roles in the “Terminator” and “Die Hard” franchises — in “A Good Day to Die Hard,” he was John McClane’s son! — but he was always like fitting a square peg into a round hole. But he’s a blast as a psycho boat captain gone mad in this shark thriller, where he chews more scenery than a great white.

Turns out the guy just needed some room to go a little bit crazy.

H Pamela Anderson, ‘The Naked Gun’

It’s not easy playing a convincing pop star on screen — just ask John Malkovich, who’s baffling

From there, however, the video leaves the Doors’ native SoCal and Continued from page 5C heads off around the world to draw upon musical contributions from more than 20 musicians and dancKrieger and Densmore, the two ers from eight different countries.

Performers include the Lakota surviving members of the Doors, are the backbone of the video, re- Drum Group, Lukas and Micah visiting the signature guitar and Nelson, Sierra Ferrell, Rami drums parts more than a half- Jaffee, Boboulay Sissokho, Macentury after they were originally carena Montesinos, Guarani Anlaid to wax. deva Group, Iron Cult Dancers

and Don Was. This global collaboration also highlights Morrison’s iconic original vocal work and Manzarek’s other-worldly keyboard performance (which is as moving and memorable as any keyboard part ever captured in a rock song).

To check out the video, after Jan. 9, search “Playing For Change” “Riders on the Storm” on YouTube.

CLASSIC

H Archie Madekwe, ‘Lurker’

SATURDAY

DON FONTENOT BAND: Fred’s, Mamou, 8 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING JAM SESSIONS: Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

DRUM CIRCLE: NUNU Arts & Culture Collective, Arnaudville, 2:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

BAYOU BEATS: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

WAYNE TOUPS: Rock ’n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY

GLENN ZERINGUE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LES FRERES MICHOT: Prejean’s, Carencro, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

JAMBALAYA ACOUSTIC MUSIC JAM: Tom’s Fiddle & Bow, Arnaudville,

H Jai Courtney, ‘Dangerous Animals’

Pamela Anderson has a softness and a sweetness to her that makes you want to root for her, and as Beth Davenport — aka Miss Cherry Roosevelt Fat Bozo Chowing Spaghetti — in Akiva Schaffer’s “Naked Gun” reboot, Anderson displays her comic chops as well as her willingness to try anything for a laugh. A scene where she scat-raps at a jazz club is one of the funniest bits in a movie packed with hilarious moments.

One day I’ll stop talking about how much fun I had watching “Predator: Badlands,” but not today. And one of the reasons for that fun is Elle Fanning, who brings a wholly different energy to “Badlands” than this franchise has ever felt. As an android split at the waist, Fanning — who has a dual role in the film — brings a

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar, New Iberia, 5 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

KYLE & DAVE: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY NIGHT JAM: La Maison de Begnaud, Scott, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

12:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JOHNNY NICHOLAS: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

MONDAY

PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

BLUEGRASS JAM: Cité des Arts, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY

KID’S CAJUN JAM NIGHT: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6 p.m.

TERRY HUVAL & FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry Visitor Center, Opelousas, 10 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

LEIF MECHE: Tap Room, Youngsville, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JADA AND KEVIN: Tap Room, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

THE HAS BEANS: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Want your venue’s music listed? Email info/photos to showstowatch@theadvocate. com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press Today is Friday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2026. There are 363 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Jan. 2, 2016, a heavily armed group led by brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, beginning a 41-day standoff to protest the imprisonment of two ranchers convicted of setting fires on public land and to demand the federal government turn over public lands to local control.

Also on this date: In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Alice Sanger as the first female White House staffer at a time of a growing movement for women’s rights.

In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II. In 1959, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 1 launched, becoming the first spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity.

In 1971, 66 people were killed in a crush of spectators leaving a soccer match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph as a way of conserving gasoline during an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits

were abolished in 1995.)

In 1981, British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, aka the “Yorkshire Ripper,” was captured after a series of killings bred fear across northwest England between 1975 and 1980. Subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the killings of 13 women, he died in 2020 at the age of 74.

In 2023, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle during the first quarter of an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals, requiring life-saving treatment on the field. The game was canceled; Hamlin would recover fully and return to play the following season.

In 2024, Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned amid plagiarism accusations and a backlash over her congressional testimony about antisemitism on campus. She was the Ivy League institution’s first Black president.

Today’s birthdays: Filmmaker Todd Haynes is 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martínez is 63.

Actor-singer Tia Carrere is 59.

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 58.

Model Christy Turlington is 57.

Actor Taye Diggs is 55. Actor Renée Elise Goldsberry is 55.

Actor-comedian Dax Shepard is 51. Actor Kate Bosworth is 43.

Musician Trombone Shorty is 40. Singer-rapper Bryson Tiller is 33.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

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zodIAC CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You need to give more thought to how you promote and use your skills. Forward thinking is a must and will help you attract input from those striving to meet current demands.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) It's necessary to have a clear outcome before sharing your plans with someone you want to support. A change to your lifestyle or residence will require your physical and financial input.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Take part in events that allow you to use your skills, experience and knowledge to your advantage. Keep the momentum going by setting dates for future gettogethers. Set a tight budget.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Take a breather.

Examine your situation at home and at work and consider the improvements you can implement that can make your life easier. An open discussion will be revealing.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Talk matters through rather than stewing over what's brewing. Have a solution and a backup plan in place to ease your mind.

Make plans with a loved one and share your intentions and long-term goals.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Take pride in what you do and how you look. An energetic approach to health and looking your best will enhance your confidence.

A commitment looks promising, and a unique lifestyle choice is inviting.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You'll get much farther if you choose to use charm over

criticism. Show compassion, concern and, if possible, hands-on help. Nurture a meaningful relationship.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Put your head down and get whatever job you have lined up for today out of the way. Keeping busy will help you shed any emotional baggage that's weighing you down.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Seize the moment, share your thoughts, network, gather information and consider all your options. Show enthusiasm and make a commitment that will bring you closer to someone special.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You'll be walking a tightrope when dealing with conflict. Don't start something you cannot finish. Keep situations in perspective and your emotions under control. Busy yourself with self- or home improvements.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You have more options than you realize, and putting yourself in unique scenarios will spark your imagination and empower you to chase your dreams. Set a budget and begin your adventure.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Review your finances and budget with regard to something you want to pursue. Be careful not to exaggerate or give someone a false impression regarding how you feel or what your intentions are.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY CeLebrItY CIpher Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: N EQUALS D

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

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La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● 9C

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Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER First in print in 2002, “A Treasury of Bidding Tips” by Eddie Kantar (Master Point Press) has been modernized by the author. He has also added a few more tips, bringing the number up to 554.

Look at the South hand. Your partner opens one diamond and East overcalls two clubs. What would be your auction plan?

Tip 303 is: Negative doubles at the oneand two-levels with five- and six-card suits are limited. They show a maximum of 10 high-card points. With more, bid the long suit directly. Think of a negative double followed by a new suit as trying to put brakes on the bidding sequence.

Here, South should double, planning to bid a minimum number of hearts on the next round. North will presumably rebid two spades (not three spades with a probably useless club queen and no guarantee of a 4-4 fit), and South continues with three hearts, which should end the auction.

What happens to the contract after West leads the club two?

East, who can see only three defensive winners, takes two club tricks, then has two feasible defenses. If he shifts to the ace and another spade, declarer gets home by continuing with the ace and queen of hearts; but if South tries the heart finesse, he suffers a spade ruff

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

and finishes down one. Alternatively, and better here, East continues with a third club. Suppose declarer ruffs on the board and takes the trump finesse.

West wins with the king, puts East on play with a spade, and a fourth club promotes West’s heart 10 to the setting trick. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3.

Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD — AnALoGuE: AN-ih-log: Something similar or comparable to

Bizarro

marmaduKe

something else.

Average mark 21 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 34 or more words in ANALOGUE? YEstERDAY’s WoRD — EuPHoRIA euro urea pair pare pareo pear pier pore pour pure hair

hare harp heap hear heir hero hire hoar hoer hope hora

hour opera reap repo ripe rope roue roup aero aper

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees you. Why I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 Everyone needs to have a personal life-changing experience with the Lord? Have you?

— G.E. Dean

10C ● Friday, January 2, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. THURSDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

MODERATE

69°/37° 62°/44° 86° in 1941 21° in 1984

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

READING 76

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

GOOD

24 hours through 5 p.m. Thu. 0.00” Month to date (normal) 0.00” (0.19”) year to date (normal) 0.00” (0.19”)

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

7:05 a.m.

5:20 p.m.

4:33 p.m.

6:29 a.m.

SOURCE: AIRNOW.GOV

FULL

LAST

NEW

FIRST

JAN 3

JAN 10

JAN 18

JAN 25

THE NATION AND WORLD Today City

LOUISIANA FORECAST

RIVER STAGES MISSISSIPPI

Monroe 77/52

Shreveport 79/53

Jackson 74/58

Longview 78/50

Hattiesburg 72/64

Alexandria 79/56

Many 79/51

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 77/66 Beaumont 80/61

Port Arthur 77/63

Lafayette

AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 73/65

Lake Charles 76/62

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 74/67

ATCHAFALAYA

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

TIDES First FT. LOW

HIGH

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 5:55a Shell Beach --South Point, Marsh Island 5:14p Cypremort Point 8:49p Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 8:42p Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 7:53p Wine Island 9:50p

0.7 --1.8 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.5

FT.

6:01p -0.5 11:49a -0.7 6:50a -1.5 10:56a -1.1 7:11a -0.9 5:27a -1.1 8:13a -1.1

HIGH

Second FT. LOW

---------------

---------------

FT.

--------8:05p 1.5 -----------------

Forecasts and graphics, except KATC forecasts, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

-3.90 16.70 19.80 7.50 3.90 2.60 1.60

+0.31 -0.13 +0.40 +0.30 +0.10 -0.21 +0.07

40

14.66

+0.43

19

-1.43

-0.01

18 29 8

-0.97 10.16 0.45

-0.01 -0.03 +0.05

13 15

1.76 0.86

-0.26 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

5.96 4.02 3.63 2.96 2.00 2.19

+0.47 +0.53 +0.36 +0.49 -0.40 +0.28

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CATS RAGAMUFFIN & RAGDOLL KITTENS www.CatsByFrancy.com/kittens $700up! Reg. Shots & Guaranty 337-230-3150

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that Ordinance No. PO-058-2025 has been introduced and is pro‐ posed for adoption by Lafayette Parish the Council on January 6, whereby the 2026, City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment would donate a surplus 2003 Tanker Fire Truck to Fire Protection District No. 7 of the Parish of Acadia, State of Louisiana which is no longer needed for public purposes, the following described property, to wit: Surplus 2003 Tanker Fire Truck Description KW 2003 Serial/vin 1NKDL00X23J394801 Any opposition to the proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an oppo‐ is filed, the sition Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordi‐ nance until a hearing has been held. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Publication Dates: 12-1925, 12-26-25, 01-02-26 171252-dec 19-26-jan 2-3t $38.70

NEWS 24/7 ON

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

PUBLIC NOTICE --http://www.lafayettela. gov/obcouncil/default. aspx See agenda documents at: REGULAR MEETING LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL 705 W. University Avenue, Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Audi‐ torium TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026 4:30 p.m.

AGENDA CALL TO ORDER 1. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Election of Chair and Vice-Chair in accordance with Section 2-07F of the City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment Home Rule Charter.

3. COUNCIL ANNOUNCE‐ MENTS 4.

EXECUTIVE/MAYORPRESIDENT’S REPORT A) Budget to Actual Com‐ parison of Major Parish Funds – November 2025 Preliminary B) Audit Findings Update – December 2025 ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION 5. PO-058-2025 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council authoriz‐ ing the Lafayette MayorPresident to enter into a Endeavor Cooperative Agreement and Act of Donation by and be‐ tween Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Gov‐ ernment and the Fire Pro‐ tection District No. 7 of the Parish of Acadia, State of Louisiana con‐ cerning the donation of a surplus 2003 tanker fire truck. (Fire) 6. PO-059-2025 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council authoriz‐ ing the Lafayette MayorPresident to enter into a Endeavor Cooperative Agreement between the City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment, the Louisiana De‐ partment of Treasury and the State of Louisiana

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

concerning ACT 461 of the 2025 Regular Legisla‐ Session of the tive Legislature Louisiana and amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Govern‐ Consolidated ment by increasing rev‐ enues in the amount of $250,000 received from the State of Louisiana Department of Treasury and appropriating within the Public Works Depart‐ ment for road projects involving Cormier Road.

(Public Works) JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION 7. JO-072-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending Ordinance No. JO-061-2025 to correct name of the the Lafayette Public Trust Fi‐ Authority to nance Lafayette Public Trust Fi‐ nancing Authority and to correct the description of Lafayette Public the Trust Financing Authority as a Louisiana public trust. (CD&P)

8. JO-073-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, acting in their capacity as the governing author‐ of the City of ity Lafayette and the Parish Lafayette, respec‐ of tively, providing for the abandonment of a cer‐ tain portion of public right-of-way at the inter‐ section of West Willow Street (formerly known as G.L. Landry Road) and North Ambassador Caf‐ fery Parkway, and autho‐ the Lafayette rizing Mayor-President to exe‐ cute an act of abandon‐ ment in order to effectu‐ ate the abandonment on behalf of the City of Lafayette and Parish of Lafayette. (AB Rubin and Liz Hebert) 9. JO-074-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into a Cooperative En‐ deavor Agreement be‐ tween the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Gov‐ ernment, the Louisiana Department of the Trea‐ sury and the State of i i i

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10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

SOLUNAR TABLE

Today Sat. Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu.

Major

9:58a 11:01a 12:04p 12:38a 1:37a 2:32a 3:22a

Minor

Major

3:42a 10:31p 4:45a 11:33p 5:49a ---6:51a 1:05p 7:50a 2:02p 8:43a 2:55p 9:33a 3:43p

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

y Louisiana concerning ACT 461 of the 2025 Regu‐ lar Legislative Session of the Louisiana Legislature and amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Govern‐ Consolidated ment by increasing rev‐ enues in the amount of $125,000 received from the State of Louisiana Department of the Trea‐ sury and appropriating within the Community Development and Plan‐ ning Department for a community assessment for a mental health crisis center. (CD&P)

g y City-Parish Consolidated Government by decreas‐ ing the use of Parish General Fund’s Prior Year Fund Balance in the amount of $1217 to ad‐ Court Reporters’ just salaries for Lafayette Parish’s share in accor‐ dance with LA R.S. 13:961.

(District Court)

ANNOUNCEMENT OF VA‐ ON CANCIES BOARDS/COMMISSIONS 10. A vacancy will exist on the Lafayette Parish District Waterworks North Board for a fiveterm effective year March 1, 2026. Applicants must reside within the District Waterworks North boundaries.

11. A vacancy will exist on the Lafayette Animal Care Center Advisory Board for a four-year term effective March 1, 2026.

12. A vacancy exists on the Parish Planning and Zoning Commission for the remainder of an un‐ expired five-year term thru January 6, 2028.

Individuals wishing to submit a resume for the above volunteer vacan‐ cies must be a registered voter and a resident of Lafayette Parish. Yearly ethics training for all ap‐ pointees is required as is disclosure financial under certain circum‐ stances. Resumes are to be forwarded to Joseph Gordon-Wiltz, Clerk of the Council, P.O. Box 4017 C, Lafayette, LA 70502 or emailed to BCLafayette@ LafayetteLA.gov no later than noon, Tuesday, Jan‐ uary 27, 2026 with ap‐ pointment(s) to be made at the Tuesday, February 10, 2026 Regular Meeting of the Lafayette Parish Council.

CONSIDER APPOINT‐ MENT(S) BY THE COUN‐ CIL, AS A WHOLE, TO BOARDS/COMMISSIONS 13.

Appointment of Parish Councilmember to the Professional Services Review Committee for the 2026 calendar year.

14. Appointment of to the Parish Planning and Zon‐ ing Commission for the remainder of an unex‐ pired five-year term thru January 6, 2030.

15. Appointment of to the Keep Lafayette Beautiful Committee for the re‐ mainder of an unexpired two-year term thru Feb‐ ruary 28, 2026 and the following two-year term effective March 1, 2026.

INTRODUCTORY NANCES

Today

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

Minor

4:14p 5:17p 6:19p 7:19p 8:14p 9:06p 9:54p

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

.theacadianaadvocate.com 7 DAYS A WEEK

Hi

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Pets

City

ORDI‐

16. PO-001-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 25/26 operating budget of the Lafayette i i h lid d

17. PO-002-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council authoriz‐ ing the Lafayette MayorPresident to execute a lease agreement with the 15th Judicial District Pub‐ lic Defenders Office re‐ garding office space in the building located at 1010 Lafayette Street, Louisiana Lafayette, 70501. (Mayor-President) 18. PO-003-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council declaring the Cormier Road Project a public necessity and authorizing the acquisi‐ tion of the necessary immov‐ rights-of-way, able property and other property rights requisite to the construction of said project, either on an basis or amicable through the proper use the expropriation of process, if necessary.

(Public Works) 19. PO-004-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 25/26 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by adjusting manning tables the within the Library De‐ partment by deleting one (1) Library Associate I regular less than fulltime position and adding one (1) Library Associate I regular full-time posi‐ tion. (Library) 20. PO-005-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 25/26 operating budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by adjusting manning tables the within the Library De‐ partment by adding one (1) Electrical, Mechani‐ cal, Refrigeration Techni‐ cian regular full-time po‐ sition. (Library) COMMENT(S) FROM THE PUBLIC 21. Comments from the public on any other mat‐ ter(s) not on an agenda.

ADJOURN IN ACCORDANCE WITH LA. R.S. 42:14(E) AS EN‐ ACTED BY ACT NO. 393 OF 2023 AND THE AMERI‐ CANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, PLEASE CONTACT JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, COUNCIL CLERK, AT (337) 291-8810 DESCRIBING THE ASSISTANCE THAT IS NECESSARY, IF SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND/OR AC‐ COMMODATIONS ARE NEEDED. 172035-jan 2-1t $80.64

PRINT ADVERTISING WORKS

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --See agenda documents at: http://www.lafayettela. gov/obcouncil/default. aspx REGULAR MEETING LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL 705 W. University Avenue, Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Audi‐ torium TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026 5:30 p.m.

y City Council authorizing the Lafayette MayorPresident to enter into a Endeavor Cooperative Agreement between the City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment, the Louisiana De‐ partment of Treasury and the State of Louisiana concerning ACT 461 of the 2025 Regular Legisla‐ Session of the tive Legislature Louisiana and amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Govern‐ Consolidated ment by increasing rev‐ enues in the amount of $250,000 received from the State of Louisiana Department of Treasury and appropriating within the Public Works Depart‐ ment for North Lafayette Initia‐ Redevelopment tives. (Public Works)

CALL TO ORDER

9. CO-145-2025 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette MayorPresident to accept a do‐ nation of certain im‐ provements hereinafter described for the pur‐ pose of operating and maintaining sewer facili‐ ties. (Utilities)

1. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION

2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

10. JO-072-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending Ordinance No. JO-061-2025 to correct name of the the Lafayette Public Trust Fi‐ Authority to nance Lafayette Public Trust Fi‐ nancing Authority and to correct the description of Lafayette Public the Trust Financing Authority as a Louisiana public trust. (CD&P)

AGENDA

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair in accordance with Section 2-07F of the City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment Home Rule Charter.

3. COUNCIL ANNOUNCE‐ MENTS 4.

EXECUTIVE/MAYORPRESIDENT’S REPORT A) Budget to Actual Com‐ parison of Major City Funds – November 2025 Preliminary B) Audit Findings Update – December 2025 RESOLUTIONS 5. CR-001-2026 A resolu‐ tion of the Lafayette City Council commending all organizations of the area planning celebrations in recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and commemo‐ rating 40 years of holiday events organized by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee of (Kenneth Lafayette.

Boudreaux) 6. CR-002-2026 A resolu‐ tion of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Mayor-Presi‐ Lafayette dent to enter into the Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement No. MLA42072 and schedule equipment No. of 20000042072 by and be‐ tween Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Gov‐ ernment and the Hunt‐ ington National Bank.

(PARC) ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION 7. CO-143-2025 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council amending Chapter 86, Article IX, Di‐ vision 1, Section 86-138 “Parking of Large Vehi‐ cles and Trailer” and Di‐ vision 6, Section 86-174 “Schedule of Fines for Parking Violators” of the City-Parish Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment Code of Ordinances related to the parking of large vehicles and trail‐ ers in the Louisiana Av‐ enue Zoning & Develop‐ ment Overlay District in the City of Lafayette.

(Kenneth Boudreaux)

8. CO-144-2025 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette i il h i i

11. JO-073-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, acting in their capacity as the governing author‐ of the City of ity Lafayette and the Parish Lafayette, respec‐ of tively, providing for the abandonment of a cer‐ tain portion of public right-of-way at the inter‐ section of West Willow Street (formerly known as G.L. Landry Road) and North Ambassador Caf‐ fery Parkway, and autho‐ the Lafayette rizing Mayor-President to exe‐ cute an act of abandon‐ ment in order to effectu‐ ate the abandonment on behalf of the City of Lafayette and Parish of Lafayette. (AB Rubin and Liz Hebert) 12. JO-074-2025 A joint or‐ dinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enter into a Cooperative En‐ deavor Agreement be‐ tween the Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Gov‐ ernment, the Louisiana Department of the Trea‐ sury and the State of concerning Louisiana ACT 461 of the 2025 Regu‐ lar Legislative Session of the Louisiana Legislature and amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Govern‐ Consolidated ment by increasing rev‐ enues in the amount of $125,000 received from the State of Louisiana Department of the Trea‐ sury and appropriating within the Community Development and Plan‐ ning Department for a community assessment for a mental health crisis center. (CD&P) ANNOUNCEMENT OF VA‐ ON CANCIES BOARDS/COMMISSIONS 13.

Five

(5)

vacancies

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

exist on the Transporta‐ tion Policy Committee (the governing board for the Metropolitan Plan‐ ning Organization) effec‐ tive immediately. Appli‐ cants must be either 1) local elected officials, 2) officials of public agen‐ cies that administer or operate major modes of in the transportation metropolitan area, in‐ representation cluding by providers of public transportation.

14. A vacancy exists on the Lafayette Parish Wa‐ terworks District South Board for the remainder of an unexpired five-year term thru December 31, 2028. Applicants must re‐ side within the Water‐ District South works boundaries.

15. A vacancy exists on the Board of Zoning Ad‐ justment for the remain‐ der of an unexpired three-year term thru Jan‐ uary 30, 2028. This is an alternate appointment.

Applicants must own property in the Parish of and reside Lafayette the City of within Lafayette.

Individuals wishing to submit a resume for the above volunteer vacan‐ cies must be a registered voter and a resident of Lafayette Parish. Yearly ethics training for all ap‐ pointees is required as is disclosure financial under certain circum‐ stances. Resumes are to be forwarded to Joseph Gordon-Wiltz, Clerk of the Council, P.O. Box 4017 C, Lafayette, LA 70502 or emailed to BCLafayette@ LafayetteLA.gov no later than noon, Tuesday, Jan‐ uary 27, 2026 with ap‐ pointment(s) to be made at the Tuesday, February 10, 2026 Regular Meeting of the Lafayette City Council.

CONSIDER APPOINT‐ MENT(S) BY THE COUN‐ CIL, AS A WHOLE, TO BOARDS/COMMISSIONS 16. Appointment of City Councilmember to the Professional Services Re‐ view Committee for the 2026 calendar year.

INTRODUCTORY NANCES

ORDI‐

17. CO-001-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council amending the Lafayette Develop‐ ment Code so as to re‐ classify the property of Case No. 2025-27-REZ 500 Acadian Hills Lane rezon‐ ing, located generally north of I-10 West, west of Acadian Hills Lane, and south of West Pont des Mouton Road; being rezoned from RS-1 (Resi‐ dential Single-Family) to MN-1 (Mixed-Use Neigh‐ borhood). (CD&P) 18. CO-002-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council amending the Lafayette Develop‐ ment Code and the Offi‐ cial Map of the City of Lafayette, providing for the annexation of addi‐ tional land into the cor‐ porate limits of the City of Lafayette, Louisiana, Case No. 2025-28-REZ 233 E. Broussard Road #1 An‐ nexation, located gener‐ ally north of E. Broussard Road, east of Johnston Street, and south of Dun‐ vegan Court; and assign‐ ing a zoning classifica‐ tion of CM-1 (Commercial (District 3).

Mixed) (CD&P) 19. CO-003-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow townhouses in a RS-1 (Residential Singleil ) i di i

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min g Family) zoning district, Case No. 2025-29-REZ 101 Halcott Drive CUP (Condi‐ tional Use Permit), lo‐ cated generally north of Dafney Drive, east of Hal‐ cott Drive, and south of Vernon Drive.

Mount (CD&P) 20. CO-004-2026 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette City Council to amend the Lafayette City-Parish Govern‐ Consolidated ment Code of Ordinances Subsection (12) of Sec‐ tion 82-111 “Generally,” of Article III “City of Lafayette Sales and Use Tax,” Division 3 “Exemp‐ tions and Exclusions” of Chapter 82 “Taxation” to exempt from local sales and use taxes imposed by the City the furnishing of repairs to tangible property at personal Lafayette Regional Air‐ port. (CD&P) ADJOURN IN ACCORDANCE WITH LA. R.S. 42:14(E) AS EN‐ ACTED BY ACT NO. 393 OF 2023 AND THE AMERI‐ CANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, PLEASE CONTACT JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, COUNCIL CLERK, AT (337) 291-8810 DESCRIBING THE THAT IS ASSISTANCE NECESSARY, IF SPECIAL ASSISTANCE AND/OR AC‐ COMMODATIONS 172040-JAN 2-1T $ PUBLIC NOTICE --THE FOLLOWING DEVEL‐ OPMENTS ARE PROPOSED FOR REVIEW BY THE LAFAYETTE PARISH PLANNING COMMISSION ON JANUARY 12, 2026 5:00 P.M. 220 WEST WILLOW STREET BUILDING B CDP AUDITORIUM NEW DEVELOPMENTS Lake Ivy Subdivision Mr & Mrs Hebert Monte, Tract 3-A Tolson Point Subdivision HEARING EXAMINER RAT‐ IFICATIONS St. Joseph Catholic Church of Milton Tract B Alice Boyer Lot 3 Alberta Sonnier Tracts C3-A, C-3-B, C-3-C & C-3-D Eden Cohen Lily Carson Broussard Estate Lodias Roy Tract 2-A Jonathan Dugas Lot GH-1, Lot GH-2 & Lot GH-3 OTHER BUSINESS 1. Announcements FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT 291-8000 172022-jan 2-1t $11.77

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