The Times-Picayune 03-26-2026

GAYLE BENSON, ARCHBISHOPPITCH N.O. DURING VISITWITH

N.O.-areapopulationdownin2025

Census estimatesshow five straight yearsofdeclines in OrleansParish

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

The New Orleans area’s population has dipped for the fourth time in five years, while Orleans Parish has had five straight years of population declines, according to new census estimatesthatare a

window into theregion’seconomic struggles.

Theseven-parish metro area is estimatedtohave 970,849 residents, afterits population shrank by 2,500 residents lastyear,according to data. New Orleanshas 362,154 residents, adecline of 1,300.

Statewide, population fell in 70% of Louisiana parishes, though the state’s populationoverallticked slightly higher last year

The data—estimatesbased on administrativerecords like IRS returns, birth and death records, and Medicarefilings —are released annually as ameasure of aparish

and aregion’spopulation. The full count from the U.S. Census Bureau is conducted every decade. AllisonPlyer,the chief demographerfor The Data Center,aresearch nonprofit in NewOrleans, saidthat the continued population loss reflects thestate’seconomic struggles.

City Park course readies

forLIV Golf tournament

Bayou Oaks improvements almost complete

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

Improvements to CityPark’s Bayou Oaks Golf Course are nearly complete aheadofan international golf tournament New Orleans will hostfor the first time in June. Armed with $7 million in state funding, the LIV Golf tournament in New Orleans will convene on resurfaced greens and an upgraded landscape during the three-day event that will be played two months afterthe city’s longstandingZurichClassicheld each spring in Avondale.

The populardriving range on Filmore Avenue has been closed since Januarywhile construction took place to regrade surfaces, improve drainage, add anew layer of sand, newturfand greens. Officials saythe range is scheduledto reopen in late April. On the South Course,where thetournamentwill take place, crews have finished trimming trees, repairing bridges, clearing debris and removing dead or invasive plants ahead of schedule,CityPark Conservancy Vice President and Chief Planning Officer Randy Odinet said Wednesday “It’sreally about investing in the things that we have and taking careofour infrastructure. So it’sagood partnership

ä See GOLF, page 7A

Legendaryvenue CheckPoint Charlieclosesafter

Building with 24-hourdivebar, laundromat sold

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Check Point Charlie, the 24hourNew Orleansdive bar,music venue and laundromat thatraised amighty racketatthe cornerof Esplanade Avenue and Decatur Street for decades, is no more. The venue abruptly closedthis week after owner Darren Brooks

sold the building. He was on-site Tuesday afternoon as employeesunder the red lights cleared outbottles of liquor and thebar’s hodgepodge décor,as if evacuating for ahurricane. “It’sbeen agreat place,” Brooks said. “But it’stime fora little bit of achange.” Named for the ColdWar’smost famous crossing pointbetween West and East Berlin, Check Point Charliewas on the border of the French Quarter andFaubourg Marigny,where the Lower Decatur Street strip ended at the entrance to theFrenchmen Street

entertainmentdistrict. Standing near thefoot of EsplanadeAvenue, it was theend of the line for anyone drifting south towardthe Mississippi River

The convergence of allthose scenes, coupled with its open-allnight aesthetic, contributed to an anything-goes mentality.The pool table, chicken nuggets and burgers were part of the draw,as was the ability to do laundry while drinking or listening tomusic. Thelate celebrity chef, author andtravel correspondent

ä See CLOSES, page 5A

“TheNo. 1reason people move long distances is for job opportunities,” said Plyer.“If there were enough jobs that pay people enough money,people would tolerate thehurricanes andinsurance costs and everything else.” New OrleansMayor Helena Moreno hasidentifiedreversing New Orleans’ population loss as

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

NewOrleans’ regional flood controlagencyhas approveda large increase in spending forits levee police for asecond consecutive year,arguing abolstered force is necessary forpublic safety but drawing renewedconcerns thatit is strayingfromits storm protection mission.

The larger police force is part of sweeping changes Gov. Jeff Landry’sallieshavepursuedat the agency since he took office in 2024. All members of the agency’s board are now Landry appointees, with longer-serving members who opposedhis changes having resigned, in somecases while under heavy pressure to do so.

The newboardapprovedthe budget unanimously,and without much discussion, at Tuesday’s meeting. Thefulldocument was not released publicly beforehand.

“Weput alot of time into this, saidboard PresidentPeter Vicari before the budget vote. “I don’t wantthis to seem like it’sa rubber stamp.”

The total budget for fiscal year 2027, whichbeginsinJuly,amounts to $91 million. It adds morethan a dozenpolicepositions,for atotal of 83, while allocating $13.6 million to its police departments, up from $8.4 million twoyears ago. The agency, officiallyknown

Newboard approves budget unanimously ä See LEVEE, page 5A

Employees cleanout the interior of Check Point Charlie at the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Decatur Street on Tuesday.

STAFFPHOTO By KEITH SPERA

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIA GERMER

The BayouOaks Golf Course will hostthe LIV Golf tournament in June.

Fresh sod growsonaportion of the BayouOaks GolfCourse in preparation for the LIV Golf tournament coming to the course in June.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump reschedules

China trip for May 14-15

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15, the White House announced Wednesday Trump had been scheduled to travel to China later this month but previously announced he was delaying the trip so he could be in Washington to help steward the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. The Republican president had announced a rescheduled trip even though the war in Iran continues and the U.S. is pressing Tehran to accept a ceasefire proposal.

The president and first lady Melania Trump also plan to host Xi and his wife for a White House visit later this year Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked if the new dates for Trump’s trip could suggest he believes the Iran war could end soon, offered an optimistic tone that the conflict could reach an endgame before he travels. “We’ve always estimated four to six weeks,” Leavitt responded “So you could do the math on that.” The United States and Israel launched the attacks against Iran on Feb. 28. The China trip had been planned for months but began to unravel as Trump pressured Beijing and other world powers to use their military might to protect the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the flow of oil. The strait has been effectively closed as Iran targets energy infrastructure and traffic through it.

Another boat strike kills 4 in Caribbean, U.S. says WASHINGTON The U.S. military said it carried out a strike Wednesday on a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people, as the Trump administration pushes forward with a monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America while waging a war against Iran

The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 163 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September

As with most of the military’s statements on the dozens of strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. A video posted on X showed a boat moving across the water before it was engulfed in a bright explosion.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives Guthrie appeals for help finding missing mother

A tearful Savannah Guthrie, in her first interview since her 84-year-old mother was apparently abducted from her Arizona home, said that “someone needs to do the right thing” and come forward with information to help the investigation

“We are in agony,” she told NBC News colleague Hoda Kotb in a portion of the interview aired Wednesday on the “Today” show She said she wakes up in the middle of each night thinking of what her mother went through.

NBC said Wednesday that a full interview with its “Today” show host will air on the program Thursday and Friday It is Guthrie’s first interview since her mother was reported missing on Feb. 1. Based on security footage, authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped or otherwise taken against her will.

Savannah Guthrie has been a co-host of NBC’s morning show since 2012, and is expected to return at some point, although no date has been set as she spends time with her family. Despite offering a $1 million reward for information, there has been little movement in the investigation.

FEMA will resume grant program

“When done correctly, mitigation activities save lives and reduce the cost of future disasters,” Karen S. Evans, FEMA’s acting leader, said in a statement announcing the resumption.

BY GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA Associated Press

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday opened applications for a major resilience grant program that the agency canceled last year, less than three weeks after a federal judge ordered FEMA to make the funding available.

FEMA will make $1 billion available for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which helps states, local governments, territories and tribes take on preparedness projects to harden against natural hazards like fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.

While the resumed funding restores access to badly needed assistance for some areas, FEMA imposed new rules that are in line with the Trump administration’s attempt to push more responsibility for disaster management on states.

The new rules, which include the cessation of funding for hazard mitigation planning and non-financial direct technical assistance, could impact smaller communities with fewer resources and expertise.

“The program now maximizes state and local responsibility for resilience and risk reduction rather than federal investing in a wide range of activities,” a FEMA statement said.

The Trump administration has

slashed disaster preparedness dollars across multiple FEMA programs. It’s been one year since President Donald Trump approved any state or tribe’s request for hazard mitigation funding, a typical add on to major disaster declarations.

The funding announcement comes after FEMA under a previous acting leader Cameron Hamilton, canceled the BRIC program last April, calling it “wasteful and ineffective.” That decision drew blowback from Republican and Democratic lawmakers as roughly $3.6 billion was halted for what amounted to several years’ worth of projects to protect infrastructure, communities and homes across the U.S.

A federal judge last December ruled that FEMA could not eliminate BRIC and ordered FEMA to reverse course after a coalition of 22 Democratic-led states and

Instagram, YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial

BY KAITLYN HUAMANI and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writers

LOS ANGELES Meta and YouTube must pay millions in damages to a 20-year-old woman after a jury decided the social media giant and video streamer designed their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well being.

The California jury’s decision Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit could influence the outcome of thousands of similar lawsuits accusing social media companies of deliberately causing harm.

The plaintiff, known by her initials KGM, testified at trial that she became addicted to social media as a child and that this addiction exacerbated her mental health struggles. After more than 40 hours of deliberations, a majority of jurors agreed and awarded her $3 million in damages.

Jurors later recommended an additional $3 million in punitive damages after deciding the companies acted with malice, oppression or fraud in harming children with their platforms. The judge has final say over how much damages are awarded

It’s the second verdict against Meta this week, after a jury in New Mexico determined the company harms children’s mental health and safety, in violation of state law

Meta, the parent of Instagram and Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube issued statements disagreeing with the verdict and vowed to explore their legal options, which include appeals.

Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda said the verdict misrepresents YouTube “which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.” A Meta spokesperson said teen mental health is “profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.”

Peter Ormerod, an associate professor of law at Villanova University, called the verdict “a momentous development” but noted it’s just “one step in a much longer saga” and that he doesn’t expect to see large changes to the platforms immediately

“I don’t think it is an unequivocal victory and I think there’s a long way to go before you see something akin to the master settlement that this is often analogized to in the tobacco and opioid litigation,” he said.

The jury determined that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design or operation of their respective platforms, and that the negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff.

They also determined each company knew their platforms could be dangerous when used by a minor and agreed that they failed to adequately warn of

that danger further contributing to the plaintiff’s harm.

Only nine of the 12 jurors had to agree on each claim against each defendant. Two jurors consistently disagreed with the other 10 on whether the companies should be held liable, but a majority of the jury agreed on all seven claims against each company

The jurors also decided Meta held more responsibility for harm to KGM, or Kaley, as her lawyers called her during the trial. The jury said Meta shouldered 70% of the responsibility while YouTube bore the remaining 30% That division was reflected in the breakdown of the $3 million in punitive damages, with the jury deciding on $2.1 million from Meta and $900,000 from YouTube.

Meta and YouTube were the two remaining defendants in the case. TikTok and Snap settled before the trial began.

One juror, who did not feel comfortable sharing her full name, said to reporters outside the courtroom that Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, and how he “changed it back and forth,” did not “sit well” with the jury

She also said they landed on the $6 million in damages even though some jurors were advocating for a higher amount because they were concerned about giving the sole plaintiff a larger lump sum all at once But the jury still wanted the companies to understand they felt their practices were not acceptable.

“We wanted them to feel it,” she said.

Kaley said she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9. She told the jury she was on social media “all day long” as a child.

Lawyers representing Kaley, led by Mark Lanier, were tasked with proving that the respective defendants’ negligence was a substantial factor in causing Kaley’s harm They pointed to specific design features they said are designed to “hook” young users, like the “infinite” nature of feeds that allowed for an endless supply of content, autoplay features and notifications.

Meta argued that Kaley’s mental health struggles were not connected to her social media use and pointed to her turbulent home life. Meta also said “not one of her therapists identified social media as the cause” of her mental health issues. But the plaintiffs did not have to prove that social media caused Kaley’s struggles only that it was a “substantial factor” in causing her harm.

YouTube focused more on the nature of the platform, arguing that it’s a video platform akin to television rather than a social media platform. The company also mentioned her declining YouTube use as she aged. According to their data, she spent about one minute a day on average watching YouTube Shorts.

the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the cancellation. After the agency failed to release funding, U.S District Judge Richard G. Stearns again ordered FEMA this month to take steps toward restoring the program. Last week, FEMA announced it would resume program support for BRIC awards when the DHS shutdown ended, saying that it had finished evaluating the program that was originally signed into law during Trump’s first term. Under former President Joe Biden, BRIC became too bureaucratic and “focused on ‘climate change’ initiatives,” FEMA said in a statement. States will have 120 days to apply for the new funding opportunity, which covers fiscal years 2024 and 2025, since FEMA rescinded last year’s opportunity Meanwhile, it’s still unclear how quickly they can expect resumption of the grants they were already awarded.

BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Justice Department has settled for roughly $1.2 million a lawsuit with Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying about phone conversations with a top Russian diplomat but was later pardoned.

Court papers filed Wednesday do not reveal the settlement amount, but a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose nonpublic information, confirmed the total as about $1.2 million.

The settlement resolves a 2023 lawsuit in which Flynn sought at least $50 million and asserted that the criminal case against him amounted to a malicious prosecution. It also represents a stark turnabout in position for a Justice Department that during the Biden administration had pressed a judge to dismiss the complaint.

“Such weaponization of the federal government

$1.2M

must never be allowed to happen again,” a department spokesperson said. Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI when he said he had not discussed with the diplomat, Sergey Kislyak, sanctions that the outgoing Obama administration had just been imposed on Russia for election interference. During that conversation, Flynn advised that Russia be “even-keeled” in response to the punitive measures, and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the countries after Trump became president. The conversation alarmed the FBI, which at the time was investigating whether the Trump campaign and Russia had coordinated to sway the election. In addition, White House officials were stating publicly that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions, which the FBI knew was untrue. But Flynn later sought to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him. Flynn was later pardoned.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By WILLIAM LIANG

Mary Rodee holds a photo of her son Riley after the verdict in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Delta dings Congress as TSA wait times drag on

Airline suspends lawmakers’ special accommodations

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

As travelers wait for hours to get through airport security because of unpaid TSA workers leaving their posts, Delta is telling members of Congress to get in line.

The airline said Tuesday it is suspending specialty services, such as escorts and red coat services, and will treat members of Congress like any other passenger based on their SkyMiles status.

“Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the company said in a statement.

It adds to mounting pressure on lawmakers to end a budget impasse that is bogging down travel nationwide

But members of Congress said no deal seems to be imminent.

“We’re back to square one,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said on CNN on Wednesday.

“That’s honestly the way I see it I wish I didn’t have to say that, but that’s where we are.”

Why are lines so long?

Transportation Safety Administration workers are quitting or calling out sick in droves because they are not getting paid. That’s because the budget bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA, is in limbo

in the Senate. The worker shortages snarled security lines on Sunday and Monday in New Orleans, particularly in the mornings Passengers reported three- or four-hour waits, and many missed their flights

Airport officials said Sundays and Mondays are the busiest and advised travelers to arrive three hours before their flight on those days. They suggested a two-hour lead time on other days.

So far travelers have not faced major delays at the Baton Rouge or Lafayette airports.

Who is and isn’t getting paid?

TSA workers, Federal Emergency Management Agency employees and members of the Coast Guard are not getting paychecks.

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement is under the Department of Homeland Security, that agency has money from the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the mammoth spending legislation last year that implemented much of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda.

So ICE agents are being paid —

Trump deployed some of them to airports, including the one in New Orleans

Kennedy has been trying to pass a resolution that would withhold senators’ pay during funding shutdowns like this one or the one that shuttered much of the federal government last year But that resolution has not advanced in the Senate.

What’s the holdup?

The bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security is subject to the Senate filibuster, which means it needs 60 votes. With 53 Repub-

International Airport in Kenner on Monday.

lican senators, that means Democratic votes are needed to pass it.

Democrats refuse to vote for the bill unless Republicans agree to changes to immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two American citizens during a crackdown in Minnesota Those changes include requiring agents to display names and ID numbers, stop wearing masks and wear body cameras, among others.

The impasse has lasted for more than a month.

When could the shutdown end?

It’s not clear when or how the political gridlock could end.

Democrats have proposed a standalone bill to fund just TSA.

Some Republicans, including Kennedy, have called for Republicans to strike a deal to fund everything in the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE; the GOP could then pass a budget for ICE through the same budget reconciliation process it used for Trump’s big budget bill last year, which only requires a majority vote. But both ideas have faced resistance. President Donald Trump has said Republicans should not cut any deal that does not include passing the “SAVE Act,” which would require proof of citizenship

to register to vote, among other voting security changes. What do La. senators say?

Kennedy said the deal he supported appears to be out of the picture now

“The whole ‘opening-everythingup on reconciliation’ is premised on the suggestion by Democrats that they would open everything up — including TSA — but ICE, and we would have to deal with ICE on our own,” Kennedy said.

But now Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has “changed that position,” Kennedy said, and won’t agree to vote for other DHS funding unless Republicans “agree to what he wants to do on ICE.” Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats have consistently called for reforms to ICE during the budget debate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, cast doubt on passing a piecemeal bill, saying Congress should fund “the entire department.”

“That is the responsible way to do this,” he said. “We’ve been very resistant to any idea to break it apart.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said in a statement that “Senate Democrats are solely responsible for every missed flight and paycheck withheld during this shutdown,” and noted that he has voted repeatedly to fund the homeland security department.

“They’re inflicting pain on Americans to appease their left-wing base. That’s wrong,” Cassidy said. The Associated Press contributed to this story

Chicago unveils winner of snowplow naming contest: ‘Abolish ICE’

BY JAKE SHERIDAN Chicago Tribune (TNS)

CHICAGO When a Chicago salt truck with a baby blue cab pulled up slowly behind Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday, the mayor pointed to the newly christened vehicle’s name as evidence that the city stood together Emblazoned on its side: “ABOLISH ICE.”

The eye-catching name — a play on words jabbing at President Donald Trump’s use of U.S. Immigra-

tion and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents in Chicago and other cities to enforce the administration’s aggressive deportations — was submitted over 9,000 times

The total accounted for 70% of all submissions in a citywide contest to name six new salt trucks, Johnson said.

“We don’t want ICE in Chicago,” Johnson said as he unveiled the top winner “Chicago has spoken overwhelmingly We do not want ICE or our cities occupied by rogue

federal agents who are operating outside of the bounds of the Constitution. It’s an affront to who we are as a nation.”

The support for the name, which Johnson said was “resounding,” followed this past fall’s Operation Midway Blitz, a 64-day incursion in which more than 100 ICE and other federal agents arrested 4,500 people. The effort also involved tear-gassing citizens and the attempted deployment of National Guard members onto city streets.

Local Democratic officials, including Johnson and Gov JB Pritzker, vehemently opposed the operation. Johnson reiterated that opposition on Wednesday, as he has also opposed moves this week by Trump to deploy scores of ICE officers to airports around the nation to assist Transportation Security Administration agents amid an ongoing partial government shutdown that is leaving TSA agents unpaid. As Johnson celebrated the tongue-in-cheek jab at ICE, a

heckler shouted behind a row of television cameras. The man, who departed after being asked to leave, called the truck naming a “joke” in light of the murder of Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman, who prosecutors allege was murdered by a Venezuelan national, Jose Medina, 25. Republicans and others have laid blame on Johnson and Pritzker for supporting city and state sanctuary policies, they argue, that are partly responsible for the killing.

Askthe experts: A deep diveoncarbon captureand storage

Thisstory is brought to you by ExxonMobil

There’sbeenalotoftalkaroundcarbon capture andstorage (CCS) recently, especially right here in Louisiana. We’veheardquestions from Louisiana residents about CCS technology’shistory and safety; the economic opportunityfor landowners, parish governments and the state; and whatmakes the U.S. Gulf Coast agood location forCCS.

Louisiana experts in geology, technology, economics and businesshavebeen discussing some of thesecommon CCS questions in panels,information sessions and other meetingsacrossthe state.Here’swhat they’re saying.

Familiar technology,new opportunities

Carbon capturetechnologydatesback to the 1930s when the separation of carbon dioxide (CO2)fromnatural gaswas first patented. By the early 1950s,patents to use CO2 forenhanced oil recovery (EOR) were issued, and carbon capture, utilization and storage via this processofficiallycame into commercial useinthe early 1970s In Louisiana,EOR has been apart of our energy economyfor at least 40 years. But now, newopportunities have emergedfor CCS to help manufacturersremaincompetitiveinglobal markets

Gregory Upton, Jr., PhD,ExecutiveDirector and Associate Research Professorat the LSU Center forEnergy Studies,spoke at aCenterfor Emerging Energies (CEE) panel about howchanging markets impact demand forLouisiana-made products

“For overacentury,Louisiana has been amajor producer and exporter of energy, as well as products derived from fossil fuels—fertilizers, chemicals,and plastics— thatare sold in both domestic and international markets,” said Dr.Upton. “Theseare products the world will continue to need. Whatweare seeing todayisthatcompanies countries,and consumers areincreasingly signaling that theywantlower-carbon-intensityversions of thoseproducts.”

Meeting global demandhas become more importantthan ever forLouisiana industry.CCS technologyplays acritical role in keeping Louisiana industry competitive,

and supports U.S. energydominance,while sustaining local jobs and attractingbillions of dollarsinnew investments in the state

Louisiana has the rightrecipefor CCS

From its multi-layeredgeologyand vast existing pipeline infrastructuretoa booming industrialeconomyand experienced workforce, Louisiana has the rightrecipe forsafe,permanent CO2 storage.

Ourstate’s unique geologyhas formed in ideal layers forCCS. Layers of porous sandstone act like aspongefor storage, sealed in by the solid rock layers hundreds of feet thick.

ExxonMobil geoscientist Kathryn Denommee, PhD,explains whyLouisiana’s subsurface is aprime location forCO2 storagewells: “You canthink of the subsurface as sort of alayercakewith alternating layersofshale, then sand, moreshale and more sand. Louisiana hasa lot of very widespread shale units and it’sheld hydrocarbons for millions upon millions of yearsand so it is morethan capable of holding CO2 in the ground as well.

Louisiana’s robust pipeline infrastructure,large industrialsector and prime geography alsomake the state agoodfitfor CCS. Mark Zappi, PhD,ExecutiveDirector of the Energy InstituteofLouisiana at the UniversityofLouisiana at Lafayette, spokeatthe CEE panel about the suitabilityofthe U.S. Gulf Coast’sgeologyand geography

“Ifyou look at southeast Texasand Louisiana,and youlook at the U.S. Geological Surveymaps of whereCCS could be andshould beapplied, we area keycenterofNorth Americaand in manywaysthe world,”Dr. Zappi said. “Weare one of the best places to do this Louisiana is in awinning position. Geographicallywehavealot of advantages

[compared] to manyother statesif we take advantageofit.”

JasonLanclos,Louisiana Economic DevelopmentDirector of State Energy Developmentand Planning, reinforced the state’s prime positioning:“If youlook at amap of the infrastructurealready in place across Louisiana —six interstates, eightdeep-draft ports and50,000 miles of pipeline —it tells aclear story.Wehaveboth the physical assets and the expertise to unlockcarbon captureatscale, creating long-term economic growth and opportunity forcommunities across our state.“

Highly experienced, heavily regulated Notonly hasLouisiana’s layeredgeologykept oil in placefor years, butitisalso already storing millions of tons of CO2 as a result of EOR projects.The wells forpermanent CO2 storagefor CCS aredeeper and moreheavily regulated, meaning thereare extralayers of safety in place.

From itsmulti-layered geology and vastexisting pipeline infrastructuretoa booming industrial economy and experienced workforce, Louisiana has the rightrecipe forsafe, permanentCO2 storage.

Storing CO2 underground in dedicated storagerequires aClassVIpermit to construct and operate. While permits forClass I, II, III, IV,and Vwells aredesigned to ensureprotection of underground sources of drinking water, Class VI permits require waterprotection and proof of permanence, meaning operators must ensurethe CO2 remains exactly whereit’ssupposed to be stored –thousands of feet belowthe surface.

“Weare looking forstorage facilities that would have multiple layers of caprock,”Dr. Denommee explained. “Sothe same rocks thatare keeping oil in the ground fortens of millions of yearsare the same types of rocks

thatwill keep the CO2 in the ground.

In addition to thesedeep natural formations,wells areengineered with multiple protectivebarrierstopermanently contain CO2within the injectionzone

Operational planning, continuous testing and monitoring, and extensiveinvestment in emergency responseplanning and training further support CCS well safety Last year,ExxonMobil worked with the Louisiana Fire &Emergency Training Academyand River Parishes Community Collegetolaunch the Louisiana Pipeline Emergency Training Program.

“Weare grateful to ExxonMobil forintroducing newand innovativetools that enhance the proactivetraining of first responders,”said Chancellor Quintin Taylor of RPCC.“This program allows teams to practice real-lifescenarios,ensuring the safety of both our communities and our responders.

After decades of drilling in Louisiana ExxonMobil has detailed knowledgeofLouisiana’ssubsurface. We usethatexpertiseto find the best locations forsafeand effective storage, securethe necessary permits,construct the storagewells,and store CO2 Researchers, academics,geoscientists pipeline operatorsand economic developmentleadersalikeare excited forthe benefits CCS will unlock forLouisiana

“I think we canhaveitall if we do this correctly,” said Dr.Zappi. “Wecan have our cake hereinLouisiana and eatittoo.I think we have the brain powerand know-howin place thatcan assist industry and regulators along with working with the public to make surewedothis properly.I’m really fired up about Louisiana’sfutureinsomanyways.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

With TSA screen lines closed, Transportation Security Administration employees help travelers through the screening process at Louis Armstrong

ExxonMobilgeoscientistKathryn Denommee, PhD, describes subsurface layers of caprock and porous sandstone.

Center forEmerging Energies expertpanel in LakeCharles

Iran rejectsU.S.plan, issues owndemands

BY JON GAMBRELL, MIKE CORDER, MUNIR AHMED and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

DUBAI, UnitedArabEmirates

Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American planto pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including strikes that hit afuel tank at Kuwait InternationalAirport, sparking afire.

Iran’sdefiance came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and as the United States deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Iran’sForeign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war,“and we do not plan on any negotiations.” Thatfollowed areport from Iranian state TV’sEnglish-language broadcaster quoting an anonymous official as saying Iran rejectedAmerica’s ceasefire proposaland has its own demandsfor an end to the fighting.

Earlier,two officials from Pakistan, which transmitted the U.S. plan to Iran,described the 15-point proposal broadly,saying it addressed sanctions relief, arollbackof Iran’snuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which afifth of the world’soil is shipped

An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts said the proposal also includes restrictions on Iran’ssupport for armed groups. The officialsspoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet released.

White House press sec-

retary Karoline Leavitt insisted the U.S. and Iran are in talkseven as Iranian officials denyit. “Talks continue.They are productive,as the president said on Monday,and they continue to be,” Leavitt said at aWhite House briefing Wednesday. Leavitt warned that if talks with Iran don’t panout President DonaldTrump “will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever beenhit before.”

Some of thepointsinthe U.S. ceasefireproposalwere nonstartersinnegotiations before thewar: Iran hasinsisted it won’tdiscuss its ballistic missile program orits support of regional militias,

which it views as key to its security.

More U.S. troops on way

At least1,000 troopsfrom the 82ndAirborne Division will be sent to theMideast in the coming days, threepeople with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive militaryplans.

Theparatroopers are trained to jump intohostile or contested areas to secure key territory and airfields

The Pentagon is also sending about 5,000 moreMarines trained in amphibious assaults andthousands of sailors to theregion.

Most Americans believe theU.S. militaryaction againstIranhas gone too far and many are worried about thecost of gasoline, according to anew AP-NORC poll. Challengetodiplomacy

Mediators are pushing for possible in-persontalks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as FridayinPakistan, the Egyptian andPakistani officials said.

Trump hassaid theU.S. is “in negotiations right now” andthatthe participants include special envoySteve Witkoff, Trump’sson-in-law Jared Kushner,Secretary of StateMarco Rubio and Vice

President JD Vance. Trump has not disclosed who from Iran they are in contact with, but said “I can tell you, they’d like to makeadeal.”

PressTV, the English-language broadcaster on Iranian state television, quoted an anonymous official as saying, “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met.”

It cited an Iranian fivepoint proposalthatincludes ahalt to killings of its officials, safeguards against future attacks on Iran, reparationsfor thewar,the endof hostilitiesand Iran’s“exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.” Those measures, particu-

larlyreparationsand its continued chokeholdover the Strait of Hormuz, likely will be unacceptable to the White House. While Iran and Oman both have territoryinthe strait, its narrow shipping channels are viewed as international waters through which all ships can travel. Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. It’snot clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate —orwould be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’sleaders.

Israel launches newstrikes

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had carried out waves of airstrikes in Tehran, following strikes aday earliertargeting an Iraniansubmarine developmentcenter in Isfahan. Missile alert sirens sounded multiple times in Israel as Iran and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanonlaunchedattacks Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel around theclock sincethe warbegan. Iran also kept up pressure on itsneighbors.Saudi Arabia’sDefense Ministry said it had destroyed at least eight drones in its oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain. Kuwait said it shot downmultiple dronesbut that one hit afuel tank at Kuwait International Airport. Meanwhile, six people allegedly linkedtoHezbollah were arrested in Kuwait for planning to assassinate Gulf leaders, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said in astatement. Fourteen associates hadfled the country,officials said.

At Pentagon service, Hegsethprays forviolence‘againstthose whodeserve no mercy’

BY TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, hosting hisfirst monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, prayed Wednesday to have “every round find its mark.”

“Every month it is fitting to be right here,” he told the gathered civilianemployees and uniformed militarypersonnel. “Allthe morefitting this month, at this moment, given what tens of thousands of Americans are doing right now.” He read aprayer he said was first given by amilitary chaplain to the troops who captured then-President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.

“Let every round find its mark againstthe enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth prayed during the livestreamed service. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the

trialahead, unbreakable unity,and overwhelmingviolence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

Hegseth frequentlyinvokeshis evangelical faith as head of thearmed forces, depicting aChristian nation trying to vanquish its foes with mi lit ar y might “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and didnot turn back till they were consumed,” he read from the PsalmsonWednesday

Duringthe expanding Iran war and global conflicts, Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric has drawn renewed scrutiny, includinghis past defenseofthe Crusades, the brutal medieval wars that pittedChristiansagainst Muslims.

Statements of faith are common in American public

life, acrosspolitical parties and religious traditions.Pentagon aides and Hegseth’s defenders pull examples from history,such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s support of giving Bibles to troops. Hegseth regularly cites George Washington, who pushed to establish the militarychaplain corps.

Hegsethoften goes beyond standard calls for God to bless thecountry or its troops.Lastweek, he asked Americans topray for service members“in thename of Jesus Christ.” On Wednesday,heagain prayed in Jesus’ name.

Ronit Stahl, author of “Enlisting Faith: Howthe Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and StateinModern America,” said referring to God in broad language is notunusualinthiscontext.

“But the shift towards the specificity of JesusChrist andtherefore Christianityand in Hegseth’scase, aparticular form of Prot-

estant Christianity,isnew especially coming from the defense secretary ” Advocacy group filessuit Hegsethbelongs to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a conservative network cofoundedbythe self-described Christian nationalist Doug Wilson. CREC pastors have appeared at Hegseth’s Pentagon services at least threetimes,including Wilson whopreached there in February Alawsuit was filed Monday over the services by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The advocacy group filed asimilar suit against the Labor Department, where Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer hosts monthly prayer gatherings inspired by Hegseth.

The suit seeks to enforce a public records request from December,asking thePentagon for internalcommunications about the worship

services, their cost, guests and any complaints received from employees.

Chaplain corpschanges

Military chaplains typically provide worship services within thedefense department. As ordained clergy and commissioned officers, they minister from their specific tradition, but provide spiritualcaretotroops of any faith or no faith. Hegseth announced Tuesday two reforms in what he hasdescribedas“making thechaplaincorps great again.” He wants chaplains to focus moreonGod and less on therapeutic “selfhelp and self-care.” In recent years, the military has becomeincreasingly dependent on chaplains to help address the growingnumbers of troops in mental health distress.

In avideo message, he said chaplains would no longer weartheir rank on their uniform but instead be iden-

tified by religious insignia He argued the move would remove “unease or anxiety” service membershave about approaching officers forspiritual care. He also said the military is reducing thenumber of faith codes,orreligious affiliations, that it recognizes. The military will now use 31 religious affiliations, down from more than 200, which included many smallProtestant denominations as well as identifications forWiccans, atheists and agnostics. The Pentagondid notrespond to several requests formore information about the changes. The military is religiously diverse, andnearly70% of troops identifyasChristian, according to a2019 congressional report. Nearly aquarter of troops were listed as “other/unclassified/unknown,” with small percentagesofatheists/agonistics, Jews,Muslimsand adherents of Eastern religions.

Hegseth

Lawmakers want drug pricing information

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Some Louisiana lawmakers think prescription drugs cost too much and they want to create a new Prescription Drug Affordability Board to investigate why — and force pharmaceutical companies to disclose pricing information

“We want the truth,” state Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, said Wednesday while presenting a proposal that would require drug companies to reveal to the board how much it costs them to make certain prescription drugs and the prices they charge.

Under Talbot’s legislation, Senate Bill 401, it would be illegal for pharmaceutical companies not to report the price information to the board.

“Costs of prescription drugs have been increasing dramatically without any attributed reason,” the

CLOSES

Continued from page 1A

Anthony Bourdain visited Check Point Charlie for a 2003 episode of his show “A Cook’s Tour.” A scene from the Julia Roberts/Denzel Washington thriller “The Pelican Brief” was reportedly shot there. As news of the closing spread, patrons posted hundreds of farewell messages and memories online. One woman recalled “the time i was doing my laundry and couldn’t find my favorite gold miniskirt till i looked two barstools down and found a man wearing it as a tube top. He gave it back.”

Over the years, Check Point Charlie hosted all manner of bands

LEVEE

Continued from page 1A

as the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection AuthorityEast, will now spend nearly a quarter of its operating budget on its police force.

The agency’s regional director, Jeff Williams, said that its police are central to its primary mission, which is flood control. He described the police as a “flood protection department that also does policing.”

He noted that before Hurricane Katrina, the Orleans Levee Board had 75 fulltime police officers compared to the current 53 for a three-parish region. After Katrina, the city built new pumps and floodgates that the levee police were tasked with protecting, but reduced the size of the flood agency’s police force. Bu sin ess man Sh ane Guidry, Landry’s adviser in New Orleans who has been overseeing reforms at the flood agency though he holds no official position in government, stressed that expanding the police force would bolster the New Orleans Police Department, which has long been understaffed.

“My priority is like I’ve always told you,” Guidry said “Nobody’s house floods. Nobody gets robbed. And nobody’s car gets broken into. Nothing has changed.”

‘Raise alarm bells’

The emphasis on policing has concerned government watchdog groups that pushed for levee board reforms following Katrina

“Any reference to returning to the way things were before Katrina should raise alarm bells for the public,” said Blair duQuesnay, of Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, one of the watchdog groups. “Today we have almost a complete reversal from the intention of those reforms, with a board comprised solely of Gov Landry’s picks, seemingly laser focused on building a mini police force rather than maintaining the levees.”

The agency’s operating budget — which funds dayto-day operations and excludes major infrastructure projects — is up 6% agencywide, increasing from $57 million to nearly $61 million.

Overall head count is growing, too, from about 200 employees two years ago to about 330 budgeted positions for next year The

legislation says. “Transparency is typically the first step toward cost containment.”

Drug manufacturers are expected to push back strongly against the bill, however Talbot introduced the measure at a public hearing Wednesday, but he temporarily set it aside to give interest groups more time to travel to Baton Rouge and provide comment on the bill next week.

PhRMA, a national trade group representing the pharmaceutical industry, said Wednesday in a statement that “lawmakers should focus on solutions that protect patient access and hold middlemen responsible for driving high drug costs.”

“The bill does not address the role of insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who ultimately decide what patients pay at the pharmacy

on an elevated stage tucked in a corner of the high-ceilinged room near the washing machines Openmic nights gave up-and-coming musicians a place to play

Back in the day, bands such as Irene & the Mikes and the late hoodoo bluesman Coco Robicheaux were regulars.

The New Orleans hard rock band

Suplecs cut its teeth at Check Point Charlie. Starting in 2001, Suplecs played an annual gig at sundown on Mardi Gras, bringing the Carnival season to a raucous close. That tradition of Suplecs at Check Point Charlie on Fat Tuesday continued for 25 years.

counter and what hoops they must jump through to access their medicines,” PhRMA spokesperson Will May said. SB401 doesn’t address pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Those businesses administer drug benefits on behalf of health plans, determine which drugs are covered by a plan and negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers. However, lawmakers for months have been calling for tighter regulations on PBMs, and several bills dealing with PBMs have been filed this year

Under SB401, the Prescription Drug Affordability Board would create a list of “critical prescription drugs for which there is a substantial public interest in understanding the development of pricing for the drugs.”

For each drug on that list, pharmaceutical companies would be required to provide the board with

“It’s a shame to see another independent live venue close in our city, especially one that always gave an opportunity to new and emerging artists.”

GEORGE GEKAS Revivalists bassist

cost and price information. That would include the cost to produce one dose; research and development costs; marketing costs; prices charged to foreign countries for the drug; and prices charged to Louisiana pharmacies and other purchasers in the state. That cost and price information would be confidential and not subject to public disclosure laws.

If a manufacturer fails to report the information, it would be a violation of Louisiana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law

Drug marketing materials directed at health care providers would also have to include price information under the legislation. Failure to include it in marketing would also be illegal.

Talbot on Wednesday emphasized the body would not set drug prices or put in place an upper limit on prices in Louisiana but

Check Point Charlie in 2007, the year the band was founded.

“It’s a shame to see another independent live venue close in our city,” Revivalists bassist George Gekas said Tuesday, “especially one that always gave an opportunity to new and emerging artists. We can only hope the new owners bring a revitalized Check Point Charlie back into the fold.”

it could look into such a policy

“This board does not set prices,” he said. “I would like this board to maybe make a recommendation, if they see fit, to the Legislature on whether we should go down that route.”

The board would provide an annual report to the Legislature on drug prices, including those that are “excessively high.” It could also recommend ways to lower costs.

Talbot said the measure “represents the first step toward better understanding and then fixing health care expenditures in the state.”

In an interview, he said he’s not laying the blame on pharmaceutical companies for high drug costs, but rather seeking to answer a question: “Why is the price as high as it is and what can we do about getting more affordable drugs for our citizens?”

A farewell message on the Check Point Charlie Facebook page, which Brooks said was posted by an employee, lamented that the bar wasn’t able to hold a farewell blowout.

The band members recalled those early days in the video for the song “Good Old Days,” from the 2023 album “Pour It Out Into the Night.”

The video opens with footage of the band members walking onstage at the massive Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee, then cuts to an old clip of a Revivalists gig at

Punk bands found a home there, as did more melodic bands. The Revivalists, the most successful rock band to break out of New Orleans in the past 20 years, played its very first gig at Check Point Charlie.

current year’s budget called for 303 positions, and its current head count is 257.

Nineteen of the 28 new staff positions in next year’s budget will be allocated to the police departments. They include four dispatchers for Jefferson Parish and a dedicated human resources administrator for the police. Williams said that some of those positions were approved in last year’s budget but remained unfilled.

In the current fiscal year, 53 of 69 police positions are filled The engineering department only has 12 of its 18 budgeted positions filled, budget documents show Police Superintendent Joshua Rondeno said that his officers are a crucial component of the agency’s flood protection functions.

“In 2025, we did 31,548 floodgate checks, 13,121 pump station checks, 8,949 shelter checks,” Rondeno said. “We’re the only department out 24/7 proactively identifying deficiencies and reporting them.”

Rondeno has taken on an expanded role at the agency compared to previous police chiefs, also holding the title of chief compliance officer He earns $208,000 annually, nearly double what his predecessor made.

Watchdog groups, including the Bureau of Governmental Research and the Public Affairs Research Council, expressed frustration that the budget was not made public before the board approved it. Agency staff said that they had followed protocol at the agen-

cy, which has not made its full budget proposal available for public inspection before voting on it in recent years.

Becky Mowbray, president and CEO of BGR, said her organization “encourages SLFPA-East to facilitate public review by making its full proposed budget easily accessible on its website.”

Policing the lakefront

The levee police in Orleans Parish are funded through a citywide property tax They protect flood infrastructure across the east bank, but provide general police services primarily to the affluent neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain — Lake Oaks, Lake Vista, Lake Terrace and Lakeshore.

The agency is finalizing an agreement with the New Orleans Police Department to outline how the two agencies will cooperate during emergencies, but the agency’s day-to-day policing will still take place in the lakefront neighborhoods.

Some residents in those neighborhoods are thrilled with the increase in police spending. At Tuesday’s meeting, several said they had noticed an increased police presence since Rondeno took his post.

The agency also plans to buy a dozen new police patrol SUVs and three allterrain vehicles, for about $1 million. Those purchases account for half of the agency’s planned equipment purchases next year

After Katrina’s catastrophic levee failures, lo-

Noticeisherebygiven pursuant to Article7, Section23(C) of theLouisiana Constitution andR.S.47:1705(B)thata public hearingof SoutheastLouisianaFloodProtectionAuthority–Eastonbehalfofthe East JeffersonLevee District in JeffersonParishwill be held at its regularmeeting placeinJosephYenni Building,SecondFloorCouncilChamberslocatedat 1221 ElmwoodParkBoulevard,Jefferson, LA on Thursday,May 21st at 10:00a.m.toconsiderlevyingadditionalorincreasedmillagerates withoutfurthervoterapprovaloradoptingthe adjusted millagerates after reassessment and rollingforwardtoratesnottoexceedtheprior year’smaximum. Theestimatedamountoftax revenues to be collectedinthe next year from theincreased millageis$12,933,462 andthe estimatedamountofincreaseintaxes attributabletothemillageincreaseis$612,807.

Not all neighbors appreciated some of the scruffier patrons who congregated outside the bar and/ or quasi-lived on the Esplanade Avenue neutral ground. It was not uncommon to find hypodermic needles on the sidewalk, one neighbor said Tuesday What is next for the former Check Point Charlie, as well as the apartments above it, was not clear Tuesday

“We would love to have our regulars sit at the copper top and have their usual with us while The Unnaturals, Suplecs, RottenCores, Oh Dang Bruh Y?! and Ill Funeral played us out!,” the message read. “Wish all y’all were here sharing your most insane memories from this crossroads corner.”

“Thank you for the good times and the confusing ones. Thank you forever Lower D Fam. Thank you to the regulars and the irregulars.

“We never loved you, but we always loved how much you wanted us to!

“R.I.P the good times.”

cal groups rallied to overhaul the region’s levee boards, which were seen as rife with patronage and corruption. Those reforms regionalized parish-level levee boards, combining them into the twin Southeast Louisiana flood protection authorities that now oversee the levees and pumps that help keep the New Orleans region safe from hurricane flooding.

said that the agency was rife with corruption before he stepped in — a claim that he has not corroborated.

Since Landry took office, however, he and his allies have been accused of seeking to return the agency to pre-Katrina levels of political interference. Guidry has

“At the end of the day, we have lots and lots of levee to patrol,” he said “And the people in Lakeview are ecstatic about the reduction in crime.”

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Stocks rise, oil prices ease as war continues

NEWYORK Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday while oil prices eased. Financial markets have swung sharply since the war began , and many of the reversals have struck hour to hour as uncertainty continues to dominate about how long the war will last. The price for a barrel of Brent crude delivered in June fell 3% to settle at $97.26 Gold, which has been one of the investment world’s worst losers through the war, rose. It climbed 3.4% to settle at $4,552.30 per ounce.

On Wall Street, Arm Holdings soared 16.4% after the U.K. company announced a suite of chips for data centers and artificial-intelligence technology.

Robinhood Markets rallied 5% to help lead U.S. stocks after its board authorized a program to send up to $1.5 billion to shareholders by buying back the company’s stock.

Terns Pharmaceuticals rose 5.7% after Merck said it would buy the oncology company in an all-cash deal valuing it at $6.7 billion. Merck rose 2.6%

On the losing end of Wall Street was On Holding. The Swiss company that sells On shoes slumped 11.2% after saying its chief executive officer, Martin Hoffmann, is stepping down.

In Hong Kong, Pop Mart International Group tumbled 22.5% after the company behind the popular Labubu dolls reported explosive growth in profit and revenue, but not enough to meet analysts’ expectations.

Businesses may be quicker to raise prices

FRANKFURT, Germany The head of the European Central Bank says that businesses may be quicker to raise prices in response to the oil shock from the Iran war due to bitter memories of the inflation spike after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. If oil and gas prices continue to rise, “the response of firms and workers may be faster than last time,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said Wednesday in the text of a speech at a conference in Frankfurt, Germany Even though the ECB brought the 2022 inflation spike under control with higher interest rates, “that experience has left a mark,” she said. “An entire generation has now lived through its first episode of high inflation and it may not be as slow to react a second time.”

Inflation in the countries that use the euro currency peaked at 10.6% in October 2022 after the invasion led to the cutoff of most Russian natural gas supplies and sent oil prices temporarily higher Inflation in February was 1.9%, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat Lagarde pointed out that monetary policy cannot lower oil prices, and that central banks typically look past transitory energy spikes without raising interest rates Raising rates only makes sense if higher energy prices start being built into prices for other goods and into workers’ wages, producing a price spiral.

OpenAI pulls the plug on AI video app Sora

SAN FRANCISCO OpenAI is shutting down its social media app Sora, which went viral last fall as a place to share short-form videos generated by artificial intelligence but also raised alarms in Hollywood and elsewhere.

OpenAI said in a brief social media message Tuesday that it was “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and that it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already created on the app.

The company behind ChatGPT released Sora in September But a growing chorus of advocacy groups, academics and experts expressed concern about the dangers of letting people create AI videos on just about anything they can type into a prompt, leading to the proliferation of nonconsensual images and realistic deepfakes in a sea of less harmful “AI slop.”

Ethanol blend receives EPA’s OK

hibited in warm weather because of concerns it could worsen smog.

already allowed in some Midwestern states.

BY MELINA WALLING Associated Press

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it would temporarily allow widespread sales of a higher ethanol gas blend in a move that it hopes will tamp down consumer prices that have soared since the Iran war began The higher blend has been pro-

“President Trump is unleashing American Energy Dominance, and today’s action will directly lower prices at the pump and gives a clear demand signal to our domestic biofuels producers,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.

The summer waiver for E15 has become commonplace in recent years, and both Republicans and Democrats have called for it to become year-round and permanent to lower prices at the pump. It’s

Some places don’t have the necessary infrastructure or enough of a supply of ethanol to ramp up use, said Kenneth Gillingham, a professor at the Yale School of the Environment who studies the impacts of transportation regulations on prices, emissions and consumer welfare.

More corn used for ethanol also means less can be used for animal feed, said Jason Hill, a professor at the University of Minnesota who studies food, energy markets

and environmental consequences. That means consumers could be trading lower costs at the pump for higher costs at the grocery store.

Hill said he thought the announcement was targeted more at farmers hit hard by higher prices for the diesel they use to run their equipment and by fertilizer price hikes caused by the Iran war He said similar announcements have been made before as a way to express support for “agriculture and those who drive.”

BY PHILIP MARCELO, OBED LAMY and RIO YAMAT Associated Press

A woman in Indiana who put off dental surgery because she doesn’t know if she can afford the copay A Florida couple with young children who are depleting their savings. A grandmother in Idaho who plans to sell her car to pay the rent.

They are among about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers expecting to receive another $0 paycheck this week. A dispute in Congress over funding the Department of Homeland Security has held up their salaries since mid-February With monthly bills coming due many of these federal employees, who screen passengers and luggage at airports across the U.S., are making difficult choices about how to make ends meet.

High absentee rates at some major airports have produced long lines and frustrated passengers at understaffed security checkpoints. Union leaders and federal officials say empty gas tanks, child care expenses and the threat of eviction keep more screeners from showing up the longer the shutdown continues. At last count, more than 480 had quit instead of weathering the ongoing uncertainty TSA’s acting administrator told lawmakers Wednesday

“Stop asking me about the long lines. Ask me if somebody’s gonna eat today,” Hydrick Thomas, president of the national American Federation of Government Employees union council that represents TSA employees, told reporters Tuesday

Indiana TSA agent turns to food pantry for groceries

Before starting her shift at Indianapolis International Airport on Monday Taylor Desert stopped at a food bank for meat, eggs, vegetables and dairy products.

“I never thought I would be in a position where, working for the federal government, I would need to go to a food bank to supplement my groceries,” she said as she loaded bags into her car Desert, who has been a TSA officer for seven years, said her last full paycheck came on Feb 14, the day the shutdown started. She had some savings to draw on despite a record 43-day shutdown last fall but put some personal plans on pause.

For example, Desert needs to get her wisdom teeth removed but says the TSA isn’t approving time off during the shutdown. She also worries about costs from the surgery not covered by insurance.

Wednesday was the 40th day of the DHS funding lapse. If it goes another 21 days, Desert said she would seek another job.

“I don’t want to have to spend my entire savings just to afford to keep living,” she said.

Desert, a Transportation Security Administration agent, checks in to pick up groceries at Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis on Monday Desert is among the approximately 50,000 TSA officers working with no incoming paycheck as a partial government shutdown continues.

Florida TSA couple worry about their young children

Oksana Kelly, 38, and her husband, Deron, 37, both work as TSA agents at Orlando International Airport. They have two young children and don’t know how they will keep supporting their family without any income coming in.

Kelly said they’re dipping into savings for now but it’s running dry If the shutdown persists, they will ask relatives for help or take out a loan, which she worries would put them deeper in debt.

Her husband has worked as a DoorDash delivery driver in his spare time since the shutdown in October and November He’s considered resigning from the TSA to put the couple on more stable financial footing.

“It’s very mentally exhausting,” said Kelly, who is an organizer for the labor union representing TSA workers across central and northern Florida. “How do we even decide between being able to feed our kids or come to work?”

A veteran officer in Idaho fears homelessness

Rebecca Wolf cries every day She tries to hide it from her grandchildren, ages 11 and 6.

“They don’t understand why grandma’s crying,” Wolf said. “I try not to cry in front of them, but sometimes it’s just too much.”

The 53-year-old TSA officer and union leader in Boise, Idaho, joined the agency soon after its creation in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. She was homeless at the time but turned her situation around with steady work and the benefits of federal employment.

Now, Wolf can’t help but dwell on where she was 24 years ago. “I don’t want to be in that position again,” she said.

Her Feb. 28 paycheck amounted to $13.53, sending her “into a spiral right away.”

With no savings to fall back on, she is preparing to sell her car to cover her rent due in a week. She calls nonprofits daily seeking rental assistance, but hasn’t had any luck. Supporting six family members — four children and two grandchildren — has always been challenging, but the repeated shutdowns have made it nearly unsustainable.

“I worked hard to get to where I am now, and the thought I might lose it all scares me,” she said.

A father in Utah makes ‘hard decision’ to leave federal service

Robert Echeverria quit his job as a TSA agent at Utah’s Salt Lake City International Airport about two weeks into the current shutdown.

The 45-year-old, who has a wife and three children, counted five government shutdowns in the nine years he worked for the agency The toughest was last year’s record shutdown that ended in mid-November Echeverria said his family skipped Christmas and took months to recover financially He began looking for a new job in February when it became clear Congress was headed for another budget battle.

“Emotionally I was already distraught,” Echeverria said last week. “We were barely recovering from the last shutdown.”

He now works for the department that manages the airports in Utah’s capital. Leaving federal service “was a hard decision for me,” Echeverria said.

“I really believed in the mission of the TSA,” he said. “We took an oath, and it was a way for me to give back to the country that gave me so much.”

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that the Air Canada CEO’s Englishonly message of condolence after Sunday’s deadly crash in New York showed a lack of compassion and judgment and Quebec’s premier called on the airline executive to resign. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is being summoned to testify at Parliament’s official languages committee after he shared a fourminute condolence video online that only included two French words — “bonjour” and “merci.”

Antoine Forest, one of the two pilots killed in the crash at La-

Guardia Airport, was a Frenchspeaking Quebecer Forest and Mackenzie Gunther died when the Air Canada Jazz flight they were landing at LaGuardia collided with a fire truck on the runway Sunday evening.

Canada’s largest airline is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, where French is the primary language. Rousseau has been criticized for not speaking French previously He delivered his condolence video message in English, with French subtitles.

“We proudly live in a bilingual country There are two official languages here and Air Canada has a special responsibility whatever the situation to communicate whatever the situation in both of-

ficial languages,” Carney said.

“I am extremely disappointed by the message released by the CEO of Air Canada. It shows a lack of compassion, and we will be closely following his comments before the official languages committee as well as the comments coming from the board of Air Canada.” Quebec’s identity has been contentious since the 1760s when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France Quebec is about 80% French-speaking.

Quebec Premier François Legault noted that when Rousseau was appointed president of the airline in February 2021, he promised to learn French.

“If he still doesn’t speak French today it’s disrespectful to his employees and to his francophone customers, so yes, I think that if he doesn’t speak French, he should resign,” Legault said.

A spokesperson for Air Canada didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has received hundreds of complaints about Rousseau’s video.

“I don’t want to make political hay over what remains a tragedy with people still in hospital, but this isn’t the first time that he’s been told to speak French and he should know better,” said Marc Miller the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Gulf Coastpopulation swells,bucks national trend

Almost everycoastal county grew in 2025

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staffwriter

The population in almost every Gulf Coast county from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle rose at afaster pace than most other counties across the nation lastyear,accordingtonew estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data, released Thursday,is the latest sign of how quickly the regionistransforming asmore newcomers arrive from around the country

The Gulf Coast’sfastest-growing place in 2025 was WaltonCounty, Florida,hometoScenic Highway 30A. The county grew by 3.5%, or

about 3,100 people. The population there has risenbymore than 17,000 people since 2020.

The Alabama coast is alsosurgingwithnew residents. Census data shows BaldwinCounty—anchored by thecities of Fairhope, OrangeBeachand Gulf Shores grew by 2.3% last year,anincrease of about6,100 people.

BaldwinCounty hasgained more than 34,000 peoplesince 2020.

Therush is forcing Gulf Coast states to expand roads, improve infrastructure and build housing at abreakneck pace. It also comes as tourism rises across the region.

“They keep coming,”said Russ Barley,mayorofFreeport in Walton County.New apartment complexes in thecity, which is just northof30A,are filling with northerners whowork remotely.Empty

lots aretransforming into busy housing developments. Longtime locals arecomplaining of increasing traffic, so city leaders are adding new lanes.

Similarforces aretransforming coastalAlabama. Newcomers are arriving from Illinois andCalifornia. New homes are rising on farmland. Somenew residentshave becomesocharmed with Daphne, Alabama,just north of Fairhope, that they want to keep it asecret.

“Afterless than ayearofbeing here, they say no moregrowth, no morepeople, don’tlet them in,” said Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune. “You laugh and go, ‘You just got here.’

Thepopulation also rose by more than 4,000 people last year in Bay County,Florida, home to Panama City Beach. The longtimespring

break destination is now filling with luxury homes, and the county has gained almost 30,000 people since 2020.

The region is defying national trends.Populationgrowthslowed last year in mostcounties across thecountry,according to the CensusBureau, including in Orleans and Jefferson parishes in Louisiana. The agency attributed the pattern to less international migration.

Many Florida Panhandle newcomers are second-homeowners who decided who stay forgood.

Theregion’sgrowing tourism industry is also creating more jobs andattracting investment that allows new residents to movethere.

“Tourists areanengine of population growth,” said Amy Baker, coordinator for the Florida Legislature’soffice of economics and de-

mographic research. “When they come,you have to provide services to them.It’ssignificant.”

The only Gulf Coast county that lost population last year was Mobile County,Alabama. Thecensus estimated the county’spopulation fell by 0.1%, adecline of less than 1,000 people.The countyhas lost about 2,700 people since 2020. Many of the nation’sfastestgrowingcountieslast year were along the southeast coast, in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. But the Gulf Coast’sgrowth was still striking.

The census data also shows Santa Rosa County,Florida, gained about 3,600 people last year.The population hasrisenbyabout 22,000 people since 2020. The county includes Navarre, apopular beachdestination between Pensacolaand Destin.

an overarchinggoalofher first four-yearterm, which began in January.The census estimates, which reflect the population as of July seven months before Moreno took office —willserve as abenchmark to judge her success in that effort.

Aspokesperson for Moreno did not respondto arequest for comment, but Moreno has said that she hopestostanch theoutflow by addressing quality of life issues and bolstering job opportunities.

NewOrleans area

“We’ve had twocars stolen There’salways awindow being broken into.”

peopleleaving forelsewhere in the U.S.

“I’m apretty optimistic person,but Idon’t foreseeany change happening in Louisiana and NewOrleans,” Ivysaid.

TylerCashinsoldhis home and business in the Bywater in 2024 and hasn’tlooked back.

The fastest growing parishes were Winn Parish —home to the Winn Correctional Center,animmigration detention facility— and Lafayette Parish, which both saw their populations increase by 1.3%.

The census defines the New Orleans metro region as Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes. In 2023, the census gave St. Tammany its own metro designation. Tammanyhas seen consistent growth since 2020, and it gained another 0.5% in population, or 1,400 people, in 2025. With Tammany included from 2020-2022, the New Orleans metro has dipped by 3.6% since April 2020, with declines every year save 2024, when the census changed how it counted immigrant populations. That change may have artificially inflated thedata, Plyer said at the time. Only one parish in the metro area gained population last year: St. Bernard, which saw an additional 250residents, an increase of 0.5%. Other parishes saw losses ranging from 0.1% in St. CharlesParish to 0.9% in St. James Parish. Orleans, meanwhile, has lost residents every year since 2020, and has lost 5.7% of its population overall since then.The population countedinNew Orleans last year is about 73% of thecity’s populationbefore Hurricane Katrina caused mass displacement two decades ago. NewOrleans sawaninfinitesimally slowerdecline last year than it did last year —0.36% population loss inOrleans Parish last year,compared with 0.63% the year prior —but Plyer said that one year’sworthof estimates donot necessarily indicate abroader trend “One would like to see that continue for years to be sure

with the statetoget thatfunding in place, to bring in the event and alsogive us an upgraded range,” Odinet said.

Gov.Jeff Landry and Louisiana Economic Development requested funding from the state Legislature last year to bringthe professional league to Louisiana. The state

Cashin, aconstruction equipment dealer andreal estate investor,and his wife, afitness instructor, purchased the property in 2018 with plans to live on the second floor and operate afitness studio and short-term rentalout of ground floor

The state remains one of the slowest growing in the U.S.and in theSouth, with many of the country’sfastest growing countieslocated in nearby Texas,South Carolina and Georgia. Louisiana is theonlystate in the country where countiesare called parishes.

Butincome from allthree enterprises fell short as the costs to insure the property skyrocketed. The couple moved to Mobile in 2024.

it’s atrend, that it’s aturnaround,” said Plyer Michael Hecht,CEO of GNO Inc., theregion’seconomic development agency, saidNew Orleans and the state areonthe precipice of luring more residents into the fold. Hecht pointed to the growth of data centers and international fuel shortagesas potential boons for the state’s energy industry,along with recent investments in the state’sdefense sector

Because of thoseinvestments and anew mayoral administrationinNew Orleansthathas promisedto addresslong-standing qualityoflife issues, Hecht said he is “more optimistic about

awarded $2.2 million for Bayou Oaks improvementsand $5 million to offer LIV as ahosting fee.

Thedriving range improvements mark the first set of extensiveupgrades to the sitesince it was built inthe 1960s. Renovation plans wereincluded in the 2017 Bayou Oaks master plan, but funding wasn’t availableatthe time, Odinet said.

City Park officials are also coordinating with the Orleans Parish SchoolBoardtouse aportion

theeconomicfutureofthe city,region, andstate thanI have been in 20 years.”

For many NewOrleans residents, that future can’t come soon enough.

The rising costs of property taxes andcar insurancein New Orleanshave outpaced Holy Crossresident Madison Ivy and her husband’s combined income as anurse and achef, saidIvy,who said the couple and their two children are eyeing amove out of the state in the next couple of years.

“It justfeels like we have invested our lives into this city,and we’re notgetting anything back,”said Ivy,a lifelong Louisianaresident.

of land the board owns within the park for staging and operations during thetournament.

Theboardowns17acres of vacant green space in CityPark that was once the site of Kennedy High School. The board will consider a six-monthagreement withCity Park on Thursday that would allow the Conservancy to sublease thesite to LIV —abenefit New Orleans school officials say will save them money in the long run.

Landry in August announced

“I will love NewOrleans as long as Ilive on thisearth, but Iwill neverbuy property there again,” Cashin said.

Around 2,700 people left Orleans Parish last year for other parts of the country,a figure only partially offset by international immigration.

Declines across thestate

The vast majority of parishesinLouisiana —45 —saw their populations dwindle last year,even as thepopulation of thestate overall grew by around 3,300 people.

Thefastest shrinkingparishinLouisiana was Tensas Parish, which saw 73 people leave the small parish —a population decrease of 3%.

Vernon Parish, meanwhile, drew anational distinction as the second fastest shrinking county in thecountry with apopulationofmore than 20,000 residents. That parish’spopulation declined by 2.1%, with nearly 1,400

the tour’s arrival in aflashy news conference that featured aDJ, pyrotechnics and other elements that offered aglimpse into what crowdscan expect during the tournament,which runs June 26-28.

“This is notyourgrandfather’s golf. We have walk-upsongs. We haveemcees. We have DJs. We have concerts on the course,” LIV Golf CEO ScottO’Neil said then State officials have said that LIV organizers expect to spend as

Census estimates published in January showed that Louisiana lost 55,000 more people than it gained between 2020 and 2025 and was the only Southern state to experience anegative net migration.

Louisiana haslaggedother states in terms of net growth sincethe 1980s,whenthe state’soil-based economy collapsed, even as the number of people born in the state has continued to increase. The state hasseen only a 2% increase in the number of new jobs since 2005, compared with a20% increase nationwide.

The country overall saw adrop-off in population growth last year,due largely to the sharp decrease in international immigrants during thefinalsix months of the Biden administration and the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term

Additionalpopulation impacts of immigration sweeps in theNew Orleans area in December will be reflected in next year’scensus estimates.

Staff writer Alex Lubben contributed to this story.

muchas$60 millionfor the New Orleans stop alone.

Controversy around the tournament’s presence in theU.S.stems from itsbacking by aSaudiArabian wealth fund that’soverseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whohas been accused of human-rights violations.

The league has also been admonished over claimsthat it has nabbed golfersfrom thePGA Tour with hefty,multimillion-dollar signing offers.

withmeteorologist DamonSingleton

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Simmeringtensions among ambitioussenatorsatthe state Capitol burst into the open Wednesday —sort of. The skirmish pitted Sen. Stewart Cathey against Sen. Blake Miguez and involved members of the Senate and Governmental AffairsCommittee.

Cathey,aRepublicanfrom Monroe, seriously considered running for the 5th Congressional District seat that U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow is vacating to try to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy.Miguez, a Republican, is runningfor the seat even though he lives just outside of New Iberia nearly 100 miles from the district, which extends from Baton Rouge to Monroe. At issue before the committee was Cathey’sSenate Concurrent Resolution 9. It asks Congresstosupport changing the constitutional provisionthatallowsmembers of Congress to live outside of their districts. Cathey made it clear that he was targeting Miguez. What ultimately happened Wednesday illustrates how business is typicallyconducted in the Louisiana Senate. The Senate committee had three items on its agenda. It dispatched two of them, then got to Cathey’sSCR9. That’swhen things got interesting. Six committee members —Miguez, committeechair Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen; Sen. Mike Reese, R-Leesville; Sen.Greg Miller, R-Norco; Sen. Larry Selders, D-Baton Rouge; and Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport —all walked into aside room where they could discuss matters privately. Normally,senators work out touchy subjects beforehand. They had obviously not done this yet on Cathey’sbill.

Acontentious race

Here’sthe back story that confrontedthem: Miguez had been challenging Cassidy in the Senate election for months but exited that race on Feb. 3after President

Donald Trump endorsed Letlow. Instead, Miguez announced, he would run for Letlow’sseat with Trump’s support.

Thatdidn’tsit well with Cathey.The following day, referring to thepresident’s praise ofMiguez, Cathey tweeted, “Somebody lied to @realDonaldTrump!

On Feb. 11, Catheyset aside his interest in running for the office,sayingTrump had made “the wrong choice.”

State Sen. RickEdmonds of BatonRouge,state Rep. Michael Echols of Monroe and Board of Regents Chair Misti Cordell of Monroe are also running in the May16 Republican primary Back to the committee hearing:When his colleagues left, Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma, remained at his seat at thecommittee dais.

Asked why by areporter sitting in the audience, Fesi replied, “I don’tthink there should be adiscussion. Idon’t want to be in it because I know what I’m going to say.”

Minutes later,Selders emerged from the side room and joined Fesi on the committeedais.

Wasn’t he supposed to be part ofthe side discussion?

“I’m arookie,” joked Selders,who was elected to the Senate only ayear ago.

‘A glassofwater’

Five minutes later,Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, strolled intothe committeeroom andheaded to theside chamber

“I just want aglass of water,” he said with asmile on hisface.

Henry departed five minutes later.The senatorscame outsoonafter, minusMiguez, the committee vice chair

Cathey took hisseat at the witnesstable andexplained whyhewanted themtoapprove hisresolution.

Catheysaidhewas opposed to what he called “congressional carpetbagging.”

He described it as“candidates forcing themselves into areas where they are notnecessarilywanted.”

Cathey said he had lived

in the district all his life but noted that one of the candidates didn’tlive there.

Cathey didn’tmention Miguez by name—but then he didn’thave to.

Cathey asked for his colleagues’ support.

Kleinpeter noted that no one had aquestion for him. That indicated thesenators had privately agreed toallow it to die aquiet death.

ButFesi, nothavingjoined thediscussion, spoke up.

“Doesn’tthe residency require youtolive in the state?” he asked.

Yes, repliedCathey,but not in thecongressional district. He added that state legislators have to live in their districts.

“Wehaveupto25congressmen (throughout the country) whodon’t live in their district as of right now,” persisted Fesi. “What kind of firestorm would this start?”

“Peoplewould be representedbylegislators who actually understand the district, live in the district that they represent and actuallyvote for themselves,” Cathey replied.Hethen asked for afavorable vote.

Butnosenator spoke up to move the resolution. In fact, no onesaidanything. As aresult, Kleinpetersaid it would be reported“without action.” That essentially killed SCR9.

What happened?

So what happened in the side room?

In an interview,Kleinpeter indicated that Cathey hadn’t discussedthe resolution beforehand with thecommittee members, so they had to takeabreak towork it out.

“It’s asensitive subject,” Kleinpeter said.

Senators, he added, “like to be respectful. We don’t throwhand grenades like theHouse does.

Cathey,inaninterview afterward,accusedMiguez of “political opportunism,” saying, “Our needs are alot different in northeastLouisiana than New Iberia.” Miguezdid notreturn a phone call.

District attorney defends plea deal

Man gets 30-year sentence in dismembered woman’s slaying

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

More than a month after a 9th Ward man admitted to killing a woman whose dismembered body was found on his property, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams on Wednesday defended the plea deal that netted Benjamin Beale a 30-year prison sentence. Criminal District Judge Benedict Willard imposed the sentence Feb. 4, a day after Beale pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the January 2022 death of 36-year-old Julia Dardar, criminal court records show Beale’s guilty plea came on the first day of his trial on an eightcount indictment that included charges of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice He was originally indicted on a charge of second-degree murder and mul-

Purple martin nests ruled a nuisance

Couple’s neighbors complained of poop

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

A special magistrate judge ruled Wednesday that a retired Harahan couple’s migratory bird houses have caused a public nuisance for their neighbors following a yearslong court battle over the birds and the poop they produce Special Magistrate Stephen Petit ruled after a six-hour hearing that Andrew and Carol Stamm were in violation of the city nuisance laws for keeping purple martins, a type of migratory swallow, in their backyard. Some neighbors said the birds have left their properties and belongings covered in poop.

The ruling does not require the Stamms to take down or reduce the number of nesting gourds in their backyard, as Petit said the city did not have the authority to order that.

Petit said the situation, while not egregious, qualified as a nuisance nonetheless.

While the court heard hours of testimony from neighbors and bird advocates, Petit said what brought him to his ruling was a trip he took to the neighborhood during the court’s lunch break, along with video evidence from the complainants.

He said during his 10-minute visit, he observed fresh bird droppings on an otherwise clean truck, among other excrement, and found two bird droppings on his own vehicle, which he called a possible “stroke of bad luck.”

“How much poop is too much? That is a really, really difficult question to answer It’s all subjective,” Petit said. “Some people might put up with a lot of crap, and others don’t.”

The Stamms were charged a $50 fine, plus court costs, although the fine was waived. They were not charged the cost of hiring Petit and special prosecutor Joshua Vanderhooft, who were brought in by the city after all the Mayor’s Court employees recused themselves.

ä See NESTS, page 2B

tiple counts tied to distributing psilocybin and operating a clandestine meth lab inside his Pauline Street home in the Florida neighborhood. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the drug and obstruction charges and allowed Beale, 38, to escape a mandatory life sentence by pleading down the murder charge.

sented at trial, would have required the victims’ loved ones to relive unimaginable, tragic loss and really gruesome detail in a very prolonged and public way.”

During a news conference, Williams explained that his office struck the deal to ensure a conviction while protecting Dardar’s loved ones from the grisly details at trial. “The facts included graphic and gruesome evidence surrounding the victim’s death,” Williams said. “Evidence that, if it had to be pre-

News of Beale’s fate was first reported this week with his transfer from the Orleans Parish jail to state custody Williams said Beale’s legal team had planned to argue he was not guilty by reason of insanity, a defense that could’ve muddled the

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Gayle Benson pitched a papal visit to New Orleans during her Monday meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in Rome.

During a 35-minute meeting in the pope’s private library in the Apostolic Palace, Benson and Archbishop James Checchio expressed their hope that he would visit New Orleans during a future U.S. visit, highlighting reasons why the city should be a priority in a future papal itinerary said Greg Bensel, the Saints and Pelicans senior vice president of government relations, who attended the meeting with Benson.

Among the discussion topics during the 35-minute meeting were Leo’s family ties to New Orleans, the efforts to restore historic St. Louis Cathedral and the health and vitality of the Catholic community in New Orleans, Bensel said.

ä See POPE, page 2B

Board rejects name for Westwego school

Members say it didn’t honor old identities

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Jefferson Parish School Board members voted Tuesday to reject the name chosen by community members for the district’s newest combined school, which is set to open in Westwego next fall, saying it failed to properly honor the former schools’ namesakes. The name was one of three proposed by a naming committee the board formed after it elected to close Isaac G. Joseph Elementary in December moving roughly 400 students to Stella Worley

Middle School a half-mile away Worley will reopen as a pre-K-8 school in the fall.

Parents and other stakeholders in the area were surveyed this month about three potential names for the combined school: Worley-Joseph School; Isaac G. Joseph-Stella Worley School and Joseph-Worley School, which was the most popular choice, garnering more than 40% of the votes from nearly 2,000 respondents. The winning name and the survey results were presented to board members and the superintendent during a facilities subcommittee meeting Tuesday

Bail rises by over $1M for ex-Newman teacher

Coach accused of having child porn

BY MARCO CARTOLANO and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writers

A New Orleans judge set a

address the situation with the seriousness it deserves,” Smith’s statement read. “The safety and security of our students and community remains our highest priority.”

Cransac was first arrested at Newman’s campus on Jan. 8 and

Gayle Benson and Archbishop James Checchio, of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, talk Monday with Pope Leo XIV in his private library in the Apostolic Palace.

See DEAL, page 2B

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE Andrew and Carol Stamm stand in their backyard next to their purple martin nesting gourds in Harahan.

PHOTOS PROVIDED By NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Gayle Benson, right, and Archbishop James Checchio, left, of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, meet with Pope Leo XIV.

Touro evacuates patients after fire at nearby parking garage

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Some Touro Infirmary patients were evacuated Wednesday morning after a vehicle fire inside the nearby Uptown parking garage sent smoke billowing out into the neighborhood, according to the hospital.

“The New Orleans Fire Department responded to a fire that occurred this morning inside the Delachaise parking garage direct-

DEAL

Continued from page 1B

prosecution at trial. He said he explained the anticipated legal challenges with Dardar’s loved ones and said they supported the agreement after consulting with state litigators and weighing all the factors.

“It ensured meaningful accountability while sparing them additional trauma,” Williams said. “There will be no appeals in this case.”

Beale was accused of fatally beating and strangling Dardar Her headless, severely slashed torso was discovered in a freezer in a graffiti-stained school bus parked in Beale’s backyard. Police found the woman’s dismembered body Jan. 11, 2022, when they searched Beale’s property about three weeks after her estranged husband reported her missing.

Dardar was in the process of divorcing her husband in 2021 when she moved in with Beale at the residence in the 2300 block of Pauline, police records showed.

Beale, who used nonbinary pro-

POPE

Continued from page 1B

Archbishop-emeritus Gregory Aymond and Wayne LaJaunie, Benson’s brother, also attended the meeting.

“We were extremely grateful and humbled that Pope Leo spent such quality time with us in his private library,” Benson said. “He cares deeply about the people of New Orleans and state of Louisiana, where he has such close family ties. He offered his prayers and blessings. It was quite moving to be with him.”

Benson gave Leo an update on the current renovation and restoration of the St. Louis Cathedral. He thanked her and the benefactors for their efforts.

The group also discussed the work being done to promote the causes of the Servant of God Henriette de Lille and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, as well as other matters relevant to the archdiocese.

Benson presented a New Orleans Saints jersey among other gifts. Leo blessed the group and gave each attendee a blessed rosary

“Pope Leo was particularly interested in our Catholic schools and expressed gratitude for the cooperation offered by the state

NESTS

Continued from page 1B

Andrew Wilson, the attorney for the Stamms, said they intend to appeal the ruling to the 24th Judicial District Court for a new trial.

“We’re very disappointed,” Andrew Stamm said after the hearing. “The birds are here for this year already, but we really don’t know what we’re going to do next year other than we’re going to appeal.”

Both Vanderhooft and Steven Peyronnin, one of the lead complainants, declined to comment after the trial.

The neighborhood dispute has become a high-profile case for the suburb as it has dragged on through city government for nearly three years. Supporters of the Stamms wearing purple shirts and opposing neighbors alike crowded into the city courtroom when it finally went to trial. For 38 years, the Stamms have erected poles with white, hollow gourds in their backyard for purple martins to nest in along their annual 7,000-mile migration north from Brazil. Currently the Stamms host 52 gourds across three poles.

The birds typically arrive in late January and fly off with their fledglings in June. They rely heavily on humans for their habitats due to

ly across the street from Touro’s main hospital. The fire has been put out and no one in the hospital or a medical office building were affected,” the hospital said in a statement at around 9:45 a.m. No injuries had been reported and all patients were safe, hospital officials said. The fire was reported at 8:45 a.m. on the third level of the parking garage, a New Orleans Fire Department spokesperson said. Crews put out the fire with no injuries.

Video shows NOFD responding to the garage fire in the 3500 block of Prytania Street near the hospital. Heavy smoke flowed out from the upper levels of the garage onto the area populated with medical buildings, bars and restaurants. It’s at least the second fire to prompt an evacuation at Touro in the last six months. In November, a two-alarm fire that began in a kitchen forced an evacuation of the Touro Infirmary.

nouns and went by Kelley Kirkpatrick on social media, initially told investigators Dardar moved out when he was questioned about a week before the discovery. He claimed he feared she’d either taken her life or overdosed at the abandoned Bywater Navy base along Dauphine Street.

Prosecutors said Dardar’s broth-

er wrote a letter that was read during Beale’s sentencing hearing last month, and other loved ones delivered victim impact statements in person.

In a statement to The TimesPicayune on Wednesday, Micah Dardar expressed gratitude for the public’s continued interest in his estranged wife’s slaying He

thanked the New Orleans police officers that investigated the case, prosecutors and the volunteers who searched and prayed for Julia Dardar

“We did not survive this alone,” he wrote. “We were carried by community, by love, and by faith.”

Julia and Micah had two daughters who are now entering their respective college and adult years.

“What happened to Julia was brutal,” Micah Dardar said “No plea, no sentence and no passage of time can change what was taken from her, from our daughters and from everyone who loved her.”

“I do not believe the final outcome reflects the full weight of this crime. But I am not interested in turning that truth into a blame show,” the grieving widower added in his statement.

“My frustration is not with the people who carried this case. My frustration is with a system that can leave the public side underresourced in the very cases where society needs it to be the strongest.

In murder and serious violent crime, justice should not be underpowered, outspent or stretched thin.”

of Louisiana in assisting our children the opportunity of choosing a Catholic education,” Bensel said.

Checchio received Leo’s permission to name the upcoming renovation of St. Louis Cathedral rectory as the Pope Leo XIV Center for Evangelization in honor of

deforestation and other factors, and they mate in large colonies in the same nesting spots each year

Purple martins are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits capturing killing or owning any migratory bird. It also means that gourds cannot be taken down while purple martins are nesting in them, according to Petit.

The Stamms argued the purple martins are not the source of all the bird poop in the area. They said the birds are a benefit to the neighborhood because they eat flying insects and provide entertainment to watchers.

During Wednesday’s trial, several neighbors said they enjoy the purple martins and have no issues with poop. A biologist and an unlicensed bird rehabber both testified the poop appeared to not be from insectivores like purple martins because they contained berry remains, although Petit noted their testimonies did not constitute expert opinion.

Neighbors at four households, including Peyronnin, his mother Patricia Vince, Maria Fajardo and Seth Gravolet, who all testified Wednesday filed complaints against the couple in 2023 that resulted in a citation. They alleged that hundreds of birds fly over their homes and drop “bombs” of excrement on their properties every day for months.

“It’s this time of year when it’s a

him and his family, who lived in New Orleans for 200 years and attended Mass at the Cathedral.

The gesture, Bensel said, “moved the Holy Father deeply.” After the meeting, the group visited the U.S. Embassy of the Holy See to meet with U.S. Ambassador Brian Burch to discuss

bombardment,” Gravolet said. “A bombardment of crap.”

Fajardo said she previously complained about the birds in 2019 to Carol Stamm, though Carol Stamm contended it was a passing comment rather than a request to change anything.

The complaining neighbors have said they don’t wish to see the purple martin nests removed entirely, but they want the number of gourds reduced or moved elsewhere.

The Stamms previously offered to provide complainants with twicemonthly pressure washes and car washes during purple martin season as a settlement, which they declined because they said it wouldn’t remediate the daily onslaught.

The complaining neighbors asked if some of the gourds could be moved to the nearby river batture as a compromise, but the Stamms and other advocates said it wouldn’t be a viable location for the birds due to predation and flooding. They said it could take years before the purple martins resettled in that location.

Petit said that in his opinion, moving to the batture seemed like a good solution to the conflict.

The case had been tied up in the city government for nearly three years. The city’s original law said that the city council would decide on the citation until a regulatory court judge found that that rule ran afoul

Continued from page 1B

booked on 22 counts of possessing child sex abuse material. He was rearrested on Jan. 21 on three additional pornographyrelated counts and had 17 counts of video voyeurism of a child added Monday

His initial charges stem from an investigation into online accounts that uploaded child sexual abuse material, which the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tied to Cransac, according to investigators.

The uploaded material did not involve Newman students, according to a school memo sent at the time and obtained by WVUE-TV

According to a new affidavit, agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation found in his phone 17 images of fifthgrade girls in a classroom, some of which were collaged with explicit images.

While not all of the students were identifiable, two sets of Newman parents identified children in the images as their daughters, according to a warrant signed Friday by Lombard.

A French national, Cransac was fired from Newman following his arrest, officials said. He had worked at the school for 13 years, teaching French, coaching middle school tennis and working with the after-school program, Newman Plus. He remains in custody in the Orleans Parish prison.

NAME

Continued from page 1B

Subcommittee members Ricky Johnson and Clay Moise declined to approve the name, arguing that combining parts of the previous schools’ names would take focus away from the accomplishments of both individuals. Isaac G. Joseph was the district’s first African American superintendent and a longtime Jefferson Parish educator who died in 2019. Stella Worley was also a longtime teacher in the district.

“I think it’s a slap in the face to both individuals by not putting their entire names up there,” Johnson said in an interview “Isaac G. Joseph worked in Jefferson Parish for 30 years and was the first Black superintendent. His name should be recognized everywhere.”

potential programs between the Holy See and the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana

The Saints contingent flew to Paris on Wednesday where they were scheduled to connect with Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga and visit the Louvre

the city’s separation of power and recommended the council move the case to the Mayor’s Court.

The case was further delayed by various hearings and motions ahead of the trial, including a request for Petit to recuse himself because he previously represented Mayor Tim Baudier and the city in several civil matters. An ad hoc judge later ruled Petit did not have to recuse himself, according to Wilson.

“We should have been right here a very very long time ago,” Petit said in his closing remarks.

The Stamms also garnered support from local bird advocates such as the National Audubon Society, whose members have sent over 3,000 emails to Harahan officials about the case, as well as the Purple Martin Conservation Initiative based in Denham Springs and the Humane Society of Louisiana.

Baudier previously came under fire in the purple martin case after he made a comment at a City Council meeting that he would “have fed them all Alka-Seltzer,” which is toxic to birds.

Baudier did not respond to text messages or a phone call requesting comment Wednesday He said in 2024 that he did not remember making the Alka-Seltzer comment but that he loves animals and would have only made such a comment in jest.

Board policy requires that naming committees for consolidated schools must make “all attempts” to include the names of each consolidated school. However, Johnson said he would prefer to see the names of both schools honored in their entirety rather than combine just the surnames, which he pointed out are common in Jefferson Parish and could cause confusion among students who want to learn more about Joseph and Worley’s contributions to the community Johnson said he wants the board to discuss instead adopting the third name option, Isaac G. Joseph-Stella Worley School, during its next meeting in April.

“Why do we have to worry about changing the names?” Johnson said. “Just combine the two and let kids know that these were two great individuals for Jefferson Parish.”

Renaming the new building is the latest step in the district’s ongoing school-consolidation efforts. In 2023, the School Board voted to close or combine seven of its schools, drawing a backlash from critics who accused the district of targeting schools where the majority of students were Black or Hispanic. Last year the board then voted to close Isaac G. Joseph School, which Moise said was built in 1960, due to low enrollment and outdated facilities. Board members have warned that more closures are on the horizon as the district’s enrollment numbers continue to decline.

PROVIDED PHOTO A fire broke out on Wednesday at the Touro Infirmary parking garage.

STAFF PHOTO By MATT BRUCE

District Attorney Jason Williams, center, stands with members of his office Wednesday as he speaks to reporters.

Johnson

PHOTO PROVIDED By NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Gayle Benson, right, and Greg Aymond left, former archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans meet with Pope Leo XIV

4charged with murder in fatal home invasion

BY MICHELLEHUNTER Staff writer

Four menwill stand trial for murder after aJefferson Parish grand jury handed up an indictment charging them in aHarvey home invasion that turned deadly Emanuel Junius, 26, Sean Crosby,20, and Roland Williams, 24,all of Harvey, and Tequian Singleton, 22, of Gretna, were indicted Thursday with second-degree murder,conspiracy to commit armed robbery and obstruction of justice, according to Jefferson Parish court records.

Williams was also charged withbeing aconvicted felon in possession of afirearm, while Junius was charged with an additional count of obstruction and aggravated assault with afirearm, according to records

Junius, Crosby and Singleton pleadednot guilty Tuesday in Jefferson Parish district court. Williams, who was being held in the Orleans Parish jail, is scheduled to be arraigned April 1, according to court records.

The men are accused in thedeath of Tyre Brown, a25-year-old father of two from Harvey.Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators allege that Junius, Crosby,Singleton and Williams plotted to rob Brown overthe course of about aweek.

The suspects executed the plan on the morning of Nov.13, meetingnear Brown’sapartment in the 4200 block of Lac Couture Drive in Harvey,according to authorities.

Asecurity camera in the apartment complex recorded video of Crosby gathered in an alley with at least three masked accomplices as they donnedgloves and prepared to strike, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Crosby stayed behind as the suspects later made their way to Brown’sapartment and forced their way insidejustbefore 10 a.m according to investigators.

Awitness who had been asleep upstairs in Brown’s residence told detectives he was roused by thesound of agunshot.When he went downstairs to check on things, he wasmet with the masked strangers in the livingroom, according to authorities.

Oneofthe intruders, who was armed with agun, allegedly orderedthe witness downstairs andonto theground.The suspects demanded to know where themoney and marijuana were located in the residence, authorities said The witnessdidn’tknow, so the suspects began rummaging through the apartment.Theyleft after afew minutes and wereseen on another security video laughing as they fled, accordingtothe Sheriff’s Office

Anotherresident of Brown’s apartment later told investigators theintruders stole $30,000 in cash and aPlayStation 5 videogamesystem, accordingtothe Sheriff’s Office

Afterthe suspects left, thewitness dialed911 to report aburglary.But by the time deputies arrived, he had discoveredBrown’s body in adownstairsbathroom,accordingtoauthorities. Brown had been shot at least once in theneck and was pronounced dead at the scene. Crosby was the first suspect arrested in thehomicideabout five daysafter the shooting. Singleton was booked Jan. 6, followedby Junius onJan. 15. Williams was arrested inOrleans Parish on Jan.6 The court set bail for Crosbyand Singleton at $1.5 million. Bail forJunius was setat$1.8 million. All three were being held Wednesdayatthe JeffersonParish Correctional Center in Gretna. Once booked into theJefferson Parish jail, Williams will be held on$1.6 million bail.

NewOrleans Area Deaths Obituaries

Ackers Jr.,Albert

Arrigo, Karen

Boudreaux, Deborah Bridges, Mary Bridges, Rosiella Coleman, Clive Croom,Frances CusachsJr.,Maurice Dee, John Demolle,Lori Dietz, Naomi

Everidge Sr., Edward Gallaspy, John Graham,Lauren Green,Lisa Guillory,Earline

Jackson, Marshall

Johnson Jr., Walter Kraemer,Mack

Laurendine,John Loyd, Cora

Murphy Sissac, Candace Norwood, John

RousselSmith, Joycelyn

Smith,Thelma

Smith Sr., Robert Sprowl,Shelley

Thomas Sr., Rickie

EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Dietz, Naomi Graham,Lauren

Laurendine,John

Leitz-Eagan

CusachsJr.,Maurice

NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Coleman, Clive

Charbonnet

Everidge Sr., Edward Green,Lisa Guillory,Earline

DW Rhodes

Croom,Frances

Sprowl,Shelley

Estelle JWilson

Jackson, Marshall

Greenwood

Dee, John

Kraemer,Mack

JacobSchoen

Arrigo, Karen

Lake Lawn Metairie

Ackers Jr.,Albert River Parish

PatrickH Sanders

Ackers, Albert

Albert Ackers, Jr., entered intoeternal rest on March 16, 2026. Albert was born February 16, 1936 of theunionofAlbert and Doretha AckersinNew Orleans.

He was thebrother of Brenda AckersWilliams, Chester Ackers(Brenda), thelate:LillieDean Hampton, Abram Ackers, and Elton Ackers and Veronica Becnel

He was preceded in death by his wives, Amelia Ackersand Elizabeth Ackers.

Albert was father to Barbara Adkins, Wanda Brooks (Jeffery), Darnell Webster (La Candis), Darrell Webster, Jennifer Webster, Karen Cola, and thelateAlbert Ackers Howard.Albert had 15 grandchildrenand 18 great grandchildren. Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend the funeral services in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvdin NewOrleans, on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Visitation willbegin at 9AMwitha Christianservicefollowing at 10 AM. Albert will be laid to rest in Lake Lawn Park immediatelyafter theservices haveconcluded. To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com

Arrigo, KarenRoth

It is with immensesad‐nessthatthe familyof Karen Roth Arrigo must an‐nounceher passingon March 12, 2026; born on July19, 1963, in NewOr‐leans,toEarlSr. andMar‐vellRoth. Karenlived life filled with generosity,love, and laughter,a never-end‐ing soundtrackofinside jokes andjoy.She wasde‐voted to herfamily, friends,and beingone of the best dancemomsa child couldask for. Sheat‐tendedLSU andwas proud ofher time as ahairde‐signeratZotos Profes‐sionaland traveled the world forhairshows,end‐lesslyexploring whatshe could do.Her knackfor gardening wasproof of her natural abilitytonurture and inspireanythingto grow. Karen’sdevotionto seeingothersprosper goes beyondwhatshe got to see; andher decision to be anorgan donorhas saved over150 individuals. Karen issurvivedbyher husband of38years,JosephArrigo; her children,Chloe and Hannah; andher brothers EarlJr.,Gary, andLarry.A memorial servicewillbe

BYMARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

A37-year-old man who barricaded himself in aSt. Rochhouse for fourhours on Tuesdaybefore surrendering was arrested on countsofaggravated battery and resisting officers, according to theNew Orleans Police Department Jullian Jefferson is accused of two shootings andbeating awoman with afirearm, according to NOPD. He wasa fugitive who had been wanted since last year,police said. Officers arrived at a home in the 2400 block of NorthGalvez Streeton Tuesday evening to apprehend Jefferson. He then began to barricade himself and refused to comply,police said. Jefferson’s status as a violent offender and the belief that there were guns

in the home led policeto declare the SWAT roll at 5:24 p.m. He eventually surrendered at 9:25 p.m. Twoguns and drugs were also foundinthe home, police said. Jeffersonwas wanted in connection with three separate crimes, accordingtopolice. He is accused of hittingawoman withhis fists anda gun inSt. Roch in July,fighting aman and shooting him in the abdomeninthe St.ClaudeneighborhoodinSeptemberand striking aman with agun andshooting him in the leg in December in the Dillard area, officials said In additiontothe crimes he was wanted for, Jefferson was also booked on countsofresisting arrest, being afelon in possession of afirearm and being in possessionofillegalnarcotics. He couldface additional counts, police said.

held at JacobSchoenand Son on March28, at 11 a.m. Visitationfrom9:00a.m until servicetime. Thefam‐ily invitesfriends to share memoriesand celebratea lifewell-lived,thatstill lives throughusand those she saved. Insteadof flow‐ers,pleasemakedona‐tions to SaintJudeChil‐dren’sResearchHospitalin Karen’s memory.Itwas a charity that wasincredibly important to hermission tomakesomeone smile ArrangementsbyJacob Schoen& SonFuneral Home, 3827 CanalStreet New Orleans, LA.Condo‐lencesmay be left at www schoenfh.com.

Boudreaux, Deborah Miller

Deborah, age 67, a belovedwife,mother, grandmother,and friend, passedawaypeacefullyat home on March 16th, surroundedbythe love of her family. Born in San Diego, California, Deborah later made herhomein Ponchatoula, Louisiana, whereshe built alifedefined by love,warmth,and adeep appreciationfor the natural world. For 45 wonderfulyears, she shared a devoted and enduring marriage withher husband, Gary. Together,theycreated ahomefilledwith laughter, adventure,and unwaveringlove. Deborah wasa proudand devoted mothertofourdaughters anda cherished grandmother to nine grandchildren,who lovingly knew heras"Nonnie." Her family wasthe centerofher world, and shepoured her heartintoeverymoment spent with them.She especiallytreasuredtimespent rock hounding with her grandchildrenand family, always turningsimple moments into lastingmemories.She had aspecial gift for nurturing life in all its forms. She adored animals andplantsofeverykind, tended to gardens that bloomed as brightly as her spirit,and nevermet a stray she wouldn't take in andlove as herown.Her passion for natureextended to thewilderness, whereshe foundpeace camping beneath thestars andexploring newplaces on familytrips. Deborah hada rareand beautiful wayofconnectingwith others;she befriendedeveryoneshe met and truly nevermet astranger. Knownfor herboundless energy and love of life, she wasthe heartofevery gathering.She took great pride in creating herbeautiful indoor andoutdoor Christmas displays and joyfullyhosted herbeloved annual HotCocoa and Santa Party. She also made it atradition to host New Year's Eve celebrations creatinga spacewhere she could ring in thenew year surroundedbyher girls, whilewelcoming friends andtheir children fora warm, family-friendly celebration. Whetherplanning aholiday feast, hostinga backyard gathering or organizing aspontaneousadventure, she broughtpeople together with herkindness, creativi-

RousselSmith, Joycelyn St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Loyd, Cora West Bank

DavisMortuary

Thomas Sr., Rickie Mothe

Johnson Jr., Walter Robinson FH

Bridges, Mary

Bridges, Rosiella

Demolle,Lori

Smith Sr., Robert

ty, andinfectious laughter. Shehad aremarkable way of makingeveryonefeel welcome,loved, and at home. Deborah willbe deeply missed and forever remembered for hergenerosity, compassion,and thejoy she broughtinto thelives of all whoknew her. Deborah is survived by herloving husbandof45 years, Gary Boudreaux; daughters, Breanna Bergeron (Daniel), Amandalyn Hoover (Michael), Cassandra Veillon, andDarralann Phenis (Josh); grandchildren,Kaeden,Landen, Cohen,Kroy,Alyssa, Berkley, Gavin, Charlotte, andJulietta; brothers, ButchMiller andRobert Miller;nephews, Blake and Gavin; along withstepmother, Judy Miller. Deborah is preceded in death by herparents; mother, ShirleyFormway (Jim), and father, Hutton Miller,Sr. Acelebrationof Deborah'slifewill be held on March 27th at Brandon G. ThompsonFuneral Home. In lieu of flowers, thefamilykindly suggests donations to GeauxWild Rehab, PurrsofHope Rescue,orTangi Humane Societyinhonor of herlifelong love forall living things.Relatives and friends of the familyare invited to attendthe Visitation from the Chapel of Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, 1190 Hwy51 North,Ponchatoula, LA. on Friday, March 27, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. untilthe Funeral Service at 1:00 p.m. Fr. Charles Johnsonand Pastor Brad Robertswill officiate with interment to follow in Rosaryville Cemetery

Mary Ella Young Bridges ofAvondale, LA,was born onDecember16, 1950, in Crystal Springs, Missis‐sippi andpeacefully transi‐tionedfromthislifetobe present with theLordon Sunday, March15, 2026 She wasthe beloved daughtertothe late Pre‐stonYoung Sr.and Hattie Mae Young.Atanearly age,MaryacceptedChrist asher personal Savior and was baptized in faith.Mary shareda remarkable 56yearmarriagewithher de‐voted husband, Eugene Bridges.Their union was blessedwithtwo sons MinisterJoNathanBridges and Deacon Terrance Bridges Sr of whomshe was extremelyproud Whileher lovedones mourn herpassing,they willcontinue to celebratea lifetimeofcherished mem‐ories.She leaves to honor her legacy;her husband, EugeneBridges;her sons JoNathanBridges (Ann), and Terrance BridgesSr. (Tanginita);her grandchil‐dren, JoQuiseBridges and TerranceBridges Jr.; her siblings, Walter Young and Preston Young,Jr.;her sis‐ters-in-law,Hazel Thomas and MarieBanks;along witha host of dedicated nieces, nephews, cousins, and many lifelong friends. Maryisprecededindeath byher parents, HattieMae and PrestonYoung Sr.; her brother,Hardy Walker Sr.; and hersister, DorothyAnn (Dot) Smith. Relativesand friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend thefuneral service on Saturday,March 28, 2026 at NewZionChrist‐

Bridges, Mary Ella Young

4B ✦ Thursday, March 26, 2026 ✦ nola.com ✦ The Times-Picayune ianFamilyWorship Center 5040 Taravella Road,Mar‐rero LA 70072. Thevisita‐tion will beginat8 a.m. fol‐lowedbya 10 a.m. service. Pastor CornellBridges is thehostpastor, Bishop Samuel Travis Jr.willoffici‐ate. Intermentwillfollow in Restlawn Cemetery in Avondale.Funeralplanning entrustedtoRobinson Family FuneralHome. For online condolences, please visitwww.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com.

Bridges, Deaconess Rosiella

DeaconessRosiella

Bridgestransitionedfrom labortorewardonThurs‐day, March12, 2026 at the blessedage of 89. Dea‐coness Bridgeswas born on December 25, 1936 in Walthall CountyMissis‐sippi andwas alongtime resident of AlgiersLA. She wasalsoa longtime mem‐berofSecondBaptist Church of Algiers, where sheservedfaithfully in severalofthe church's ministries.Daughterof the late Coyand DaisyBridges Devotedwifeofthe late JoeL.Bridges Sr.Beloved mother of RosieBridgesGarrett, Jerry Bridges(An‐gela), JoeBridges Jr (Stephanie), Fitzgerald Bridgesand Mary Harris (David). Sister of Rev. Daniel Bridges(Naomi) Lula BridgesLewis,Daisy MaeBridges,Nella Wee Brent, andthe late Bonnie Ratcliff, Lillie Bell Brown, C.L.,Coy,and J.L. Bridges. Daughter in law of thelate Bozieand OudiaBridges Step daughter in lawofthe late Sally Bridges. Dea‐coness Bridgesisalsosur‐vivedby13grandchildren 22 greatgrandchildren,a host of nieces,nephews cousins, otherrelatives andfriends.Relatives and friendsofthe familyare all invitedtoattend the fu‐neralservice on Thursday March26, 2026 at Second BaptistChurch 2826 Sullen Place, NewOrleansLA. 70131.The visitation will beginat8AM followed by a 10AMservice.Pastor Andre' Sigler will officiate. Intermentwilltakeplace on Friday,March 27, 2026 at SoutheastLouisiana Veter‐ansCemetery34888 Grantham CollegeRoad, SlidellLA. at 10AM. Funeral planning entrustedto Robinson Family Funeral Home.For online condo‐lences please visithttp:// www.robinsonfamilyfuner alhome.com

Coleman, Dr.CliveHenry

Dr.CliveHenry Coleman enteredintoeternal rest on March15, 2026, at the ageof70. He wasson of Lucille Trepagnier Coleman andthe late CliveAnthony Coleman. Devotedhusband to ShirleyJ.Coleman.Fa‐ther of Shelly C. Howard (Darrell).Lovinggrandfa‐ther of Camryn Olivia and DarrellHowardIII. Brother of Carl ColemanSr (Bertha), CathyCharbon‐net(Ernest), andCindy West (Tracy). Brother-inlawofBarbara Gradyand DarleneJohnson (Lawrence).Dr. Coleman wasprecededindeath by hisfather, CliveA.Cole‐man, hisfather-in-law, Lawrence JohnsonSr, mother-in-lawOlive John‐son, brother-in-law Lawrence JohnsonJr, and sister-in-lawMaryLorraine Johnson. Dr.Coleman is also survived by several nieces,nephews,cousins otherrelatives,and friends. Dr.Coleman dedi‐catedmorethanfour decadestoeducation servingasa teacher, prin‐cipal, andsuperintendent. He received hisBachelor's, Master’s of Education, and DoctorateofPhilosophyin Educationfromthe Univer‐sity of NewOrleans.Family andfriends areinvited to CelebrateDr. Coleman's Life on Saturday,March 28,

2026, at St.Maria Goretti Church 7300 CrowderBlvd, NewOrleans, LA 70127. Vis‐itationwillbegin at 9:00 a.m. andmasswillstart at 11:00 a.m. Guestbook On‐line:www.anewtraditionbe gins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand DonavinD.Boyd Own‐ers/FuneralDirectors

Croom,Frances Williams 'Frenchie'

Frances“Frenchie”Williams Croom.December14, 1924 –March 18, 2026. Frances“Frenchie”Williams Croom,a womanof profound faith anddevo‐tion to herfamily, entered into eternalrestatthe age of 101. Born in NewOrleans to Myrtle “Mirk” andAn‐drew “Bubba”Williams. Thefamilyresided in New Orleans, Louisiana until the passingofher mother Franceswas only in ele‐mentaryschool at this time.She then returned to Prairievillewhere shewas then raised by hermater‐nalgrandparents, Isabella andNathanRicks.Many memories were made here with herolder,beloved brotherDan.Frances would occasionally visither pa‐ternal grandparents Alonzo andLuvenia Cole Williams who also residedin Prairieville. Francesat‐tended school in Prairieville, Louisianaand wasa member of the bas‐ketballteam. Sheenjoyed thechallenge of playing guard. Heraunt,Hattie Hatterson,was hermom’s only sister.Hattiewas a key instrument in thede‐velopmentofFrances’life. WhilelivinginBaton Rouge, shecametomeet theloveofher life,James “Sagoo” Croom.OnDecem‐ber21, 1942, they married. Francesand Jamesstarted theirfamilyinArkansas where threesonswere born.Later they returned to NewOrleans,where they hadtwo daughters. Together,theybuilt alife rooted in love andhard work raisingtheir five chil‐dren in theCarrollton(Pi‐geon Town) neighborhood Franceswas aproud and industriouswoman that worked andloved with graceand diligence. She wasalsothe heartofher home.She hada boundless capacity forlovethat made everychild and grandchild feel like they were thecenterofher world. Sheensured her family wasraisedwitha strong spiritualfounda‐tion.Frances wasa dedi‐catedmemberofSecond Free Mission Baptist Church.She served faith‐fully on theUsher andDea‐coness Boards until her health begantodecline. Some of herclosest friends (extendedfamily) were: Deceased -Eunice McCoy, IdaGreen,IrmaBreaux, DaisyCroom,the Wilker‐sons,the Crockettes, Ethel Ruffin, “Dut”, andElnora. Others:MaxineWeath‐ersby, Lottie Gray and Parmee Jenkins. Frances’ homecoming is rejoiced by thosewho preceded herin death: Parents- Andrew andMyrtle(Ricks) Williams,Husband -James Croom,Daughter- Eliza‐beth AnnCroom Gillard, Grandson -MitchellGillard, Sister -MaggieWalker, Brother- DanDarville, Brothers andsisters -Inlaw: Brothers andsisters in law- Charles& Geneva Croom,Johnny& Rosena Croom,Cecile Pendleton Croom anda long list of otheruncles, aunts, cousinsand friends. Her legacy livesonthrough her survivingchildren: Carl Vincent, Andrew Lee, and Oliver (Laverne)Croom anddaughter: Tammy Croom Brumfield. Grand‐children:Leslie Foucher, Dr.GermaineCroom,An‐drew Croom,Jr(Kailin). TiffanyRodgers Snelson (Anthony), ShailynCroom James (Gregory),Olivia andOliverCroom,Khadijah Levy,TakenaRashonda Moore(AhmedHamido Mohamed),BrittanyMarie BrumfieldVarnado (Ja‐malus).Great grandchil‐dren:LeShira Foucher, Jairad Jackson, Tyrell, Tyshara, Keion, andKayden Croom,DaytonAlexander Jr andAlaya Snelson, Lyric, Micahand Mira Gillard, Kiouri,Giovanna and Ro’mario Santos, andBas‐mala Hamido,and Kadrian Varnado. Great, great grandchildren: Kam’ryn Lewisand Javion Santos SistersRubyCurleyand VanTaylor. Anda host of otherfamilyand friends. “…He who believes in Me,

though he maydie,he shalllive. Andwhoever livesand believes in Me shallnever die… John 11: 25-26. Relativesand friends of thefamilyare invitedto attend herFuneralService at SecondFreeMission BaptistChurch,1228 Bur‐dette Street on Saturday March28, 2026 at 10:00am. Visitation will beginat9:00 am.Interment:Providence Memorial Park Cemetery Arrangements by D.W. Rhodes FuneralHome, 3933 Washington Avenue Please visitwww.rhodesf uneral.comtosignthe guestbook andshare con‐dolences with thefamily.

Maurice Peter Cusachs Jr.passedaway peacefully on March 23, 2026. Born on July16, 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was thebeloved sonofthe late Maurice Peter CusachsSr. and LucilleSoniat-Dufossat Cusachs.

Maurice was preceded in death by his loving wife, Theresa Cusachs; his parents; hissister,Elaine Cusachs Guidry; and his brother, GeorgeCusachs. He is survivedbyhis loving family,includinghis sister, Yvonne Cusachs Eiswirth;and his sisters-inlaw, Thelma Cusachsand Ann (Shuri)Rodriguez.He leaves behind his children: Maurice CusachsIII,Rod Cusachs(Kassie), MarieTheresa Cusachs, Alecia Richard (Brandon), and Joachim"Joey" Cusachs (Kayla). He was aproud grandfather to Madelyn, Luke, Jake, Audrey, Porter Cohen, Kyle, Asher, and Rhett, and step-grandfather to Grace (Garrett), Caleb,and Landon. He will also be deeply missed by many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Friends and family are invitedtoattend avisitation on Friday, March 27, from 10:30 am-11:30 am at St.Ann Church and National Shrine, 3601 Transcontinental Dr., Metairie,LA70006. A Funeral Mass willfollowat 11:30 am. Interment willbe in St. LouisCemetery No. 3. In lieu of flowers,Masses may be offered Fond memories and expressions of condolences may be shared at www.leit zeaganfuneralhome.com

John “Jack” Joseph Dee, 84, of NewOrleans, Louisiana, after living afull life,passedawayonJanu‐ary28, 2026, at Ochsner Health Center -Kenner. He wasbornonMarch 29, 1942, to Richard& Marion Dee. Jack grew up in New Orleanswithhis parents andsister, Dorothy“Dot‐tie” Blythe Lara.Heissur‐vivedbyhis daughters, Denise Deeand Deanne Cunningham andextended family, Amanda Keith, granddaughter, JaredCun‐ningham(Samantha) grandson andBennett Cun‐ningham, greatgrandson. Also,over36nieces, nephews, greatnieces, and greatnephews who live all over theU.S.Hewas pre‐cededindeath by hispar‐ents andsister. Jack re‐ceived an Associateof Business Administration at DelgadoCommunity Col‐lege,New Orleans, LA,asa

Summa CumLaude gradu‐ateand aBachelorofBusi‐ness Administration at Loyola University NewOr‐leans, as aMagna Cum Laudegraduate. He had honors as Presidentofthe PhiTheta KappaNational HonorFraternity, Omega Nu Chapterand Fireman’s Charitable &Benevolent Association, NewOrleans, LA.After college, he wasa ProjectLeaderand Squad Leader in theUnitedStates Marine CorpsatCamp Lejeune,North Carolina. He served theMarines for3 years, before beingHonor‐ably Discharged as aCor‐poraland returningtoNew Orleans. Throughout his business andpersonallife, Jack wasveryactiveand well knowninhis city, local, andneighborhood communities,which he careddeeply about. He nevermet astranger. Jack wasalsothe best story‐teller, anditshowedwhen youspoke with him. He will bedeeply missed.Lastbut certainlynot least, thank youtoJasmine Curtis Jack’s very closeneighbor, andAmy Tidwell, aniece fortakinggreat care of Jack in thelast6 months or so of hispreciouslife. Visi‐tation will be at Green‐wood FuneralHome, 5200 CanalBlvd.,New Orleans, LA on March27, 2026, from 11:00amuntil 1:00 pm,fol‐lowedbyinterment at Greenwood Cemetery.We invite youtoshare your thoughts,fondmemories, andcondolences online at www.greenwoodfh.com

Lori AnnDemolle of West Point-Ala-Hache,LA, departed this life peace‐fully on Thursday,March 12, 2026 at RiverbendNurs‐ingand RehabCenterinJe‐suit Bend,LA. Shewas 66 yearsold.Daughterofthe late Melvin andVictorine Encalade Demolle.Devoted mother of Eric James RagasJr.,(Kristen).Grand‐mother of Eric III and Se'maj Ragas. Sister of SteveDemolle (Jeanne), andthe late JoyceAnn, Raymond, Perry Sr Joe, Chuck, Don, JesseSr.,and Donna Demolle. Sister-inlawofEricHarveyand VanessaT.Demolle.Loriis also survived by several nieces,nephews,cousins, otherrelatives andde‐votedfriends.Relatives andfriends of thefamily areinvited to attend the funeralservice on Satur‐day, March28, 2026 at St Thomas Catholic Church, 17605 Hwy. 15, Point-AlaHache, LA 70082. Thevisi‐tation will beginat9 a.m. followed by a10a.m.ser‐vice.FatherSampson Ab‐duli will officiateand en‐tombment will follow in thechurch'scemetery. Fu‐neralplanningentrusted to Robinson Family Funeral Home.For online condo‐lences,pleasevisit www Robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com

NaomiMargaretBroad‐bridge Dietzpassedaway on Friday,March 20,2026,

at theage of 99. Shewas born on April9,1926, to George andAnna Broad‐bridge,inNew Orleans, LA Naomiwas baptized,con‐firmed,and marriedatSt. Paul Lutheran Church,and sheremaineda devoted andactivememberher en‐tire life.She residedinNew Orleansfor most of her years, moving to Metairie, LA,after Hurricane Katrina. Naomiissurvivedbyher four daughters: Lynne Nell Riemer (Michael), Phyllis Elias(Ernie, deceased), Sally Hoffmann (Bryen) andBethO’Neal(Kerry). Grandmotherof12: Rachel Lalla,RyanVenturella, KatelynRodgers,Adam Elias, MollyLeimkuhler, Philip Elias, Hayley Doehler, SarahLindsey, Luke Hoffmann, Meghan Hoffmann, MalloryAvin, andFrank Matto,III (de‐ceased). Sheisalsosur‐vivedby25great-grand‐children andmanystep great-grandchildrenand onegreat,great stepgrandchild.Sisterofthe late EdwinBroadbridge Wesley Broadbridgeand Philip Broadbridge. Naomi wasprecededindeath by herbeloved husband of 62 years, Lloyd, who entered into eternalrestin2010. Naomiwas agraduateof FrancisT.NichollsHigh School.Her past employ‐ment waswiththe Naval SupportActivity(Port of Embarkation),followedby 20 yearsaschurch secre‐tary at FirstEnglish Lutheran Church.She served as Sunday School teacherand devotedmany yearsassecretary of the Parent-Teacher League of St.Paul-FirstEnglish Lutheran School.Inher earlieryears,she wasan active volunteer forthe American HeartAssocia‐tion.She found hergreat‐estjoy in thesimpleplea‐suresoflife. An avid gar‐dener, Naomiloved sharing herplantswithothers. She enjoyedcookingfor herex‐tensivefamily, andshe de‐lightedinMardi Gras pa‐rades, seafood boils,and countless familyreunions. Shelearned calligraphy laterinlifeand enjoyed sharingher artwithothers. Naomiloved to take photos with herdisposablecam‐eras or herPolaroid, pro‐vidingrichmemoriesof gatherings andcelebra‐tions—even though many headswereoften cutoff! Naomiloved to laugh, and shehad agenerousspirit. Shewas proudofher col‐lectionofbobbleheads, andshe lovedworshipping with generationsofoff‐spring in herbeloved church.She wasthe last member of the“Merry Mrs.”clubofLutheran wives. Shewas committed to herchurch,and she lovedher Lord.Naomi was anurturing mother,grand‐mother,and great-grand‐mother.She lovedher fam‐ilyunconditionally and neverasked formorethan sheneeded.She neverheld agrudgeand wasalways quicktoforgive.Naomi lovedtolaugh andsmile, andshe adored every grandchild andgreatgrandchild,calling outto each onewithher original andendearing “Put-Put!” nickname.She made a lastingimpactonthe lives of thosewho knew her, andwethank Godfor giv‐ingher to us formany years. Shewillbesorely missed. Relatives, friends of thefamily, andmembers of St.PaulLutheranChurch areinvited to attend the wake andfuneral service at St.PaulLutheranChurch in theMarigny,2624 Bur‐gundyStreet (cornerof Port andBurgundy),New Orleans, LA,onSaturday, March28, 2026. Visitation will be between 10:30 am and12:00 noon in the church sanctuarywiththe FuneralService starting at 12:00 noon officiated by TheReverendChristian Rasmussen. Intermentwill follow in Garden of Memo‐ries Cemetery,4900 Airline Drive, Metairie,LA. In lieu of flowers, please send memorialstoSt. Paul Lutheran Church in the Marignyathttps://stpaulm arigny.org/. Online condo‐lences maybeofferedat www.gardenofmemorie smetairie.com.

Everidge Sr., Edward

Edward Everidge,Sr., age73, AnativeNew Or‐leanian, passedawayat OchsnerMedical Center in Jefferson, LA.Mr. Everidge wasborntothe late Jerry andMildredClark Everidge.Hewas raised by hisadoptiveparents,the late Louisand HelenWat‐sonTaylorinthe 7thward of NewOrleans andat‐tended MarieC.Couvent Valena C. Jonesand Rivers FrederickSchools. He was ageneral contractor, work‐inginconstructionfor most of hislife. He leaves to cherishpreciousmemo‐ries,a devotedpartner,Se‐mone Peters;children, Ed‐ward L. Jr EshiQita Everidge Washington, Shonique,Shakara,Sharel andEdnekaPeters; four‐teen grandchildren; sib‐lings, Gail Everidge Brow‐der, Shelia Taylor,Lurline Everidge,Haroldand Ver‐nonTaylor, alongwitha host of nieces,nephews cousins, otherrelatives andfriends.Inaddition to both sets of parents, Mr Everidge is also preceded in deathbysiblings, Clarence Emilien,Sr., JoycelynnEveridgeHarris, Jerry,Jr.,Ernest, Sr., Alvin andRonnieEveridge. A homegoingCelebration honoring thelifeand legacy of thelateEdward Everidge,Sr.,willbeheldat Legacy Hall,4901 Chef MenteurHighway,New Or‐leans, LA 70126 on Satur‐day, March28, 2026 at 12 noon.Pleasesignonline guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. CharbonnetLabat Glapion, Directors(504)581 4411.

John Norman Gallaspy of Bogalusa,Louisiana, passed away peacefullyat OurLady of Angelshospital on March21, 2026. John wasbornonNovember 8, 1932, to theunionof Francis Norman Gallaspy and Hazel Weeks Gallaspy. At theage of three, John's motherdiedofpostoperative complications. Hisfather remarriedMary Leigh Marshall of Stonewall,and this unionwould give John awonderful, loving mother andlater,two beautiful sisters, Kathleen and Virginia. John enjoyed a happy childhood in rural DeSoto Parish butendured thehardships of theGreat Depression and thefear anduncertainty of World War II.

Thefamilyfarmprovided John theopportunityto pursuehis passion of growingwatermelons. With theassistance of his father,Johnplanted his first watermelon patch at theage of 10 in 1943. Given thewar, commercial fertilizer andfuelwerescarce, butJohnmade do with barnyardfertilizer andthe familyhorse. Hisfirst patch produced several varietiesofmelons, including theKeckleySweet andthe Dixie Queen,one so large that he was unableasa young boy to carry it outof thepatch

At theage of 15, John graduatedfromPelican High School andenrolled at LSUasone of the youngest students on cam-

Cusachs, Maurice Peter

Demolle,LoriAnn

Gallaspy, John Norman

Dee, John Joseph 'Jack'

Dietz, NaomiMargaret Broadbridge

pus. He majored in history with aminor in English, was amember of Sigma Chi fraternity,and was active in the Corps of Cadets, serving as the company commander his senior year. On graduating, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery.

After additional training, John was deployed to Korea in the fall of 1952, serving as aforward observer for the 39th Field Artillery Battalion, 15th InfantryRegiment of the Third Infantry Division. He was involved in intense, often hand-to-hand combat andonone occasion when hisposition was overrun by enemy forces, John was forced to call in artillery fire on his own position.

During another battle, an enemy mortar round impacted right in front of him, lifting John off the ground and leaving him with permanent deafness in one ear. He later participated in the Battle of Outpost Harry, oneofthe last major engagementsof the KoreanWar. Fighting at nightunder heavy mortar fire, U.S. and Greek troops defended this strategic position from repeated attacks by the Army of the People's Republic of China. More than 50 years later, one of John's fellow officers wrote him aletter of gratitude for his contribution to this battle. John's comrade explained that he had been severely wounded and as he lost consciousness, the last voice he heard over his radio was that of Lt. Gallaspy, himself under fire, calmly and precisely directing artillery fire. The officer believed John's accurate, unrelenting fire support not only saved his life and many others, but also played asignificant role in the U.S. and Greek forces retaining control of this critical outpost. For his serviceinthe battle, John was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor in Combat.

After the war ended, John was accepted into LSULaw School, where he served as student body president and was inducted into the Law School's Hall of Fame. As graduation neared and he began interviewing for jobs,a friend set him up on a blind date with Dixie Nell Yates. They fell in love and were married in June of 1958. They remained married for almost 60 years until Dixie's death in 2016.

John and Dixieinitially resided in Lake Charles, but the happy couple soon moved to Bogalusa, where they raised their three sons, Whit, Gardner and Lee.John became the Chief Prosecutor for Washington Parish under District Attorney W.W. "Squinch" Erwin, Bogalusa City Attorney under Mayor C.P. Verger, and City Attorney forthe village of Sun under Mayor LuLu Mizell. Proud to be a"small town lawyer," John's civil practiceincluded awide range of legal services, including litigation, real estate, successions and wills. He and his longtime law partner, Mickey Paduda, and their staff, Rachel Pierce, Freddie Tourne and Anita Lavinghouse, became a cornerstone of the legal community while developing lifelongfriendships with each other and their clients. One long time client was so appreciative of John's assistance over their many years that he took the unusual step of publicly expressing his gratitude in alocal newspaper, writing in aletter to the editor that John was "an ever-ready presence" in their lives and a"true gentleman and family man andgreat lawyer." After practicing law for almost 60 years, John retired in 2016.

As much as John enjoyed practicing law, it was often correctly said that he would rather be known as achampion watermelon grower.Itwas notuncommon to seeJohn donningalightweight, seersucker suit as he practiced law during the day andtransitioning to wellworndungarees in the evening as he tended to his beloved watermelon patches. Hismelons won grand champion awardsat the state watermelon festival in Farmerville and were soldfor many years at Travis' Supermarket in Bogalusa. But his focus was never on competitions or making money -hemost enjoyed the time outdoors, spending time with fellow farmers likeMickey Murphy,and giving away thevast majority of his croptofriends and family. In aletter to afriend just last year, John cited afavorite author, Mark Twain when hesaid: "When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was h l

not aSouthern watermelon that Evetook; we know it because she repented."

John was an active contributor to the community and garnered numerous honors over the years, including Citizen of the Year andserving as Grand Marshallofthe 2023 Washington Parish Watermelon Festival parade and the 2026Kreweof MCCAparade.Hewas an active memberofElizabeth Sullivan MemorialUnited Methodist Church, Mill TownPlayers, RotaryClub, the American Legion, and thehonorary 40 and 8. AnotherofJohn's passions was John Deere tractors. During the aforementioned parades, he was much more satisfied driving on one of his tractors, towing one of the floats, thantakingpart in otheraspects of the festivities.

In 2014, as part of the City of Bogalusa's100th anniversary, he wrotean extensive,300-page history of the city entitled, "Bogalusa,the City that Refused to Die."Inhis eloquentmanner,John saidat the time:"As weall know, we have aratherunique history. The industrialaspects of it have beendocumenteda good bit. Our sawmill has made history allover the world. Iwanted to do something that wouldgive readers a glimpse into the personality of the community "

John was an avid reader and relished giving other bookloversa tour of his impressivelibrary on Gaylord Drive in Bogalusa. If avisitorsaw atitle that piqued interest, it was theirstotakehome to enjoy. Christmas Eveatthe Gallaspy home found John in front of the fireplace reading Dickenstales to family and friends, conveying the joyofthe season capturedin"Mr.Wardle's ChristmasParty" and the wages of Gabriel Grub's cold heart in "The Story of the Goblins Who Stolea Sexton." He appreciated old movies as well,particularly those featuringW.C Fields, andhebecamea devoteeofTurner Classic and other vintagemovie channelsin his later years.

After Dixie's deathin 2016, John met andmarried Martha Moak.Theyenjoyed their golden years by visiting friends,taking trips to Mobile, attending SunMethodistChurch, and spending time with family.

John was predeceased byhis wifeofalmost 60 years, Dixie Yates Gallaspy;his parents, Francis Norman Gallaspy, Hazel WeeksGallaspy, and Mary Leigh Gallaspy; his youngerbrother,Jerry WeeksGallaspy; andhis cousinand close friend, Mary Rives Gallaspy.

John is survivedby threesons,John Whithurst Gallaspy (Stacy), Gardner WeeksGallaspy (Lori), and Leland Redding Gallaspy (Tonya); eight grandchildren, Caitlyn, Connor, Marianna and Molly Gallaspy (Whit);Will and Emily Gallaspy (Gard);and Caroline and Grant Gallaspy (Lee); andhis two sisters, KathleenMyers and Virginia Garlington

The family wouldlike to extendheartfelt thanks to thestaff at OurLadyof Angels Hospital, St TammanyParish Hospital, OurLady of the Lake Hospitaland the sitters and loved ones who provided invaluable assistance and care during John's final weeks

The final serviceswill be held at Superior Avenue Baptist Church on North Columbia Street in Bogalusa. The funeralwill be on Thursday, March 26th, from 11:00tonoon. Visitation willbeon Wednesday,March25th, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and again on Thursday, March 26th, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00a.m. Graveside services willbehandled in the Pelican Cemeteryin Pelican, Louisiana,on Friday, March27th, at 10:30 a.m. Pallbearersare Michael "Micky"Murphy, WalterS."Buddy"Adams, Judge Donald M. Fendlason, HenryHarrison, John ConnorGallaspy, Grantlin Yates Gallaspy, and John Wilson Gallaspy. To honorJohn's memory, the family requests donations to SunMethodist Church, Superior Avenue Baptist Church, Holly Grove MethodistChurch, or 40 and8 Nursing Scholarships.

Graham,Dr. Lauren AnnSullivan

Dr.LaurenAnn Sullivan Graham,PhD,May 25,1965 –March 12,2026. Dr.Lauren AnnSullivanGraham, age 60, of Medford, Massachu‐setts,passedawayon March12, 2026, in Boston Massachusetts,fromcom‐plications following surgery. Lauren is survived by herdevoted husband Gary L. Graham,PhD,of Medford, MA;her parents, MichaelA.Sullivan, MD andKaren W. Sullivan of NewOrleans,LA; hersis‐ter, Kristin Sullivan John‐son, MD,ofNew Orleans, LA;and herbrother, MichaelD.Sullivan, MD (Laurie),ofWilmington, NC.She is also survived by herniece,ErinJohnson andnephews Ryan John‐son, Finn andKellanSulli‐van. Lauren wasa loving stepmother to Jove Gra‐ham, MD (Brooke) andFor‐rest “Fory” Graham of Clo‐vis, CA.She wasa proud anddevoted grandmother to May, Kai, andAmara Graham.Laurenwas raised in NewOrleans,Louisiana andgraduated from St Martin’s EpiscopalSchool in 1983. Sheattended Trin‐ityUniversityinSan Anto‐nio, Texas, graduating in 1987 with majors in Anthro‐pology andPsychology Shewentontoearnboth herMaster’sdegree(1991) andPhD (1997) in Archae‐ology from theUniversity of TexasatAustin. After completing herstudies shelaiddownher hair dryerand pearls to exca‐vate archaeological ruins in thejungles of Belize,be‐ginninga lifelong passion forthe ancientMaya. Over thecourseofher distin‐guishedcareer,she be‐came aleading Mayanar‐chaeologist anda recog‐nizedworld expert in Mayanceramics. Lauren served as ProfessorofAr‐chaeology at the University of Massachusetts Boston andTufts University.She spentoverfourdecades as abeloved teacherinthe classroom as well as ar‐chaeological fieldschools in Belize.Laurenpublished over four dozenscientific articles andbook chapters aboutMayaceramics. She introduced generationsof students to hands-on ar‐chaeological research,in‐spiringmanytopursueca‐reersinthe field, andhelp‐ingtrain some of today’s leadingMayan archaeolo‐gists. Even more memo‐rablethanher academic achievements wasLau‐ren'swarmth, generosity, andvibrant spirit.She was theepitome of Southern hospitality. Having learned to cook in NewOrleans, shedelighted in sharing wonderfulmeals with fam‐ily, friends, neighbors, and colleagues.She wasa lov‐ingwife, daughter,sister (“Sissi”), aunt,stepmother, and“Mimi”toher grand‐children.Largerthanlife, Lauren wasa dependable friend to many,known for herhumor,compassion, andwillingness to lend a helpinghand. Sheleftthis worldfar toosoon, with many more adventures aheadofher.Her family andfriends in Boston,New Orleans, andBelizeknow shewould want them to keep loving, laughing, cooking, learning,digging androotingfor theSaints. Shewillbedeeply missed andalwaysremembered by thosewho knew her. Privatememorials will be held in Boston,New Or‐leans, andBelize. In lieu of flowers, donationsinLau‐ren’shonor maybemade to theSociety forAmerican Archaeology’s Historically Underrepresented Groups Scholarship(HUGS)tosup‐port thenextgenerationof archaeologists

Sr.and Alisha Green;de‐votedfriendofAntoinio Rodriquez; aunt of Ashley Jene,Ronald, Jr.and Chris‐tian Green,aswellasa great niece, great nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, otherrelatives andfriends.Relatives, friends, employees of Mc‐Donalds, WynhovenNurs‐ingFacilityand St.Mar‐garetNursing Facility are invitedtoattendthe fu‐neral. Ahomegoing service honoring thelifeand legacy of thelateLisa Danielle Green will be held at GreaterSt. JamesBap‐tist Church,425 7thStreet NewOrleans, LA 70115 on Friday,March 27, 2026 at 11 am,Rev.Cyril Grayson, Of‐ficiating. IntermentWest‐lawn Memorial Park,Terry‐town, LA.Visitation10am in thechurch.Pleasesign online guestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome. com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion, Directors (504)581-4411

EarlineOrd Guillory,a native NewOrleanian, peacefully transitioned into thearmsofJesus on Monday,March 16, 2026 surrounded by herfamily. Born on December 19, 1944 to thelateEarlWilliams, Sr.and Lillie Henderson, EarlineattendedValenaC JonesElementaryand Joseph S. ClarkHigh School.She wasa member of True Vine Missionary BaptistChurch,Pastored by Rev. Donald C. Jean‐jacques, Sr.Survivors in‐cludeher children,Demetri Williams (Alvin-Stone), DerekWilliams, ByronHen‐derson (Alisha) andShawn Johnson(True); asister, ShirleySmith;grandchil‐dren,Arian andByron Hen‐derson,JhaiEmari John‐son, Kendalland Brandon Williams; five great-grand‐children,a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relativesand friends. Rela‐tivesand friends, Pastor andmembers of True Vine MBC, patronsofthe Mardi Gras Barand Grill arein‐vitedtoattend thefuneral ACelebration servicehon‐oringthe life andlegacyof thelateEarline OrdGuil‐lory will be held at True Vine MissionaryBaptist Church,2008 Marigny Street,New Orleans, LA 70117 on Friday,March 27 2026 at 10 am,Rev.Donald C. Jeanjacques, Sr Offici‐ating. IntermentProvi‐denceMemorialPark Cemetery,8200 AirlineDr., Metairie,LA. Visitation 9 am in thechurch.Please sign theonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuner alhome.com.Charbonnet LabatGlapion,Directors (504) 581-4411

Jackson, Marshall Maurice

beganhis career in 1979 andretired in 2024. In addi‐tion to hisworkinthe classroom,Marshallmade an extraordinaryimpact throughathletics.From 1981 to 2005, he served as the firstheadbasketball coachatL.W.HigginsHigh School,where he mentored generationsofstudentathletes,consistentlyin theplayoffs,and reached thestate championship game.Known forhis disci‐pline, leadership,and com‐mitmenttoexcellence, CoachJackson earned nu‐merous accolades, includ‐ingmultipleCoach of the Year honors andthe presti‐giousKey to theCityfrom theJefferson Parish Coun‐cilinrecognition of hisout‐standing contributionsto youthand thecommunity Marshall also faithfully served hiscommunity be‐yond theschool system Forthree decades, he worked at RivardeJuvenile DetentionCenter, where he mentored andguided young people,offering them encouragement, structure, andhopefor a better future.A manof faith,Marshallwas alife‐long member of Historic Second BaptistChurch Marshall wasprecededin deathbyhis parents, Bernelland RobertaBryant Jackson; hissisters,Gwen‐dolynGusman, Cheryl Marchand,and DorisWat‐son; andhis brothers,Ken‐neth Jacksonand Bernell Jackson, Jr.Heleavesto cherishhis memory his belovedwifeof37years LorethaJackson;his daughters, TonyaStewart (Maxwell),IngridJackson (Wilbert), andMayaJack‐son-Holder (Sherwin); and hissix grandchildren, Kait‐lonStewart,TahjStewart, IanGray, MasonHolder, MadisonHolder, and Makenzie Holder.Heis also survived by hissis‐ters,Marie Jackson, Joyce Taylor,Debra Thornton andPamelaColeman;his brothers,PastorRobertB Jackson(Grisela),and Leon C. Jackson, alongwitha host of nieces,nephews extended familymembers, former students,col‐leagues, andfriends whose liveshetouched through hisdedicationtoeduca‐tion,coaching, andcom‐munity service. Marshall Jackson’slifewas defined by service, leadership,and love.His legacy liveson throughthe countless stu‐dentshetaught, theath‐leteshecoached,the young people he mentored, andthe familyhecher‐isheddeeply.Relatives and friendsofthe family arein‐vitedtoattend theCele‐brationofLifeService hon‐oringthe life of Marshall MauriceJackson,onSatur‐dayMarch 28, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Historic Second BaptistChurch 2505 MarengoStreet,New Or‐leans, La.70115. Pastor Robert B. Jacksonofficiat‐ing. Visitation from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Inter‐ment:Private.Arrange‐mentsEntrusted To Estelle J. Wilson FuneralHome, Inc. 2715 Danneel St.NOLA 70113. Information(504) 895-4903. To sign online guestbook please visit www.estellejwilsonfh.com

nieces Dorianaand Ariana Uschold, anda host of rela‐tivesand friends. Walter wasa native NewOrlean‐ianand aresidentofAl‐giers. Aftergraduating from Martin BehrmanHigh School in 1962, he enlisted in theUnitedStatesMarine Corps. He served four yearsactivedutyand was honorablydischargedat therankofSergeant. He then attended Louisiana Tech University,graduating with aBachelorofFine Arts degree. He received a scholarshiptothe Univer‐sity of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona),where he gradu‐ated in 1971 with aMaster of Fine Arts degree. He did additional post-graduate work in Visual andEnviron‐mental StudiesatHarvard University.Hewas aFul‐bright Scholar, studying In‐dian artand cultureat Ba‐narasHindu University Walter beganhis academic career as an adjunctin‐structor of artatthe Uni‐versityofArizona (Tucson, Arizona),PimaCommunity College(Tucson,Arizona), andConcordia University –NewOrleans.Hethen begana 40-year tenure teaching fine arts andvi‐sual communicationsat DelgadoCommunity Col‐lege,where he wasinstru‐mental in developing the fine arts curriculum.In 1987, he washonored as Delgado’s firstrecipient of theSeymour WeissExcel‐lenceinTeachingAward.In 2016, he retiredasa pro‐fessor of artwithmeritori‐ouscommendation. In ad‐dition to hisacademicca‐reer,Walteralsohad a gallery career.His work hasbeen exhibitedatvari‐ousmuseums andgal‐leries.One of hispaintings is in the NewOrleans Mu‐seum of Art’spermanent collection andiscurrently on display; others areheld in privatecollections.Asa younger man, Walter en‐joyedstudyingthe Martial Arts,earning aFirst Degree BlackBeltinTaekwondo Therewillbea Celebration of Life on Saturday,March 28, 2026 at MotheFuneral Home,2100 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Harvey, LA.Visi‐tation will begin at 9a.m anda Memorial Service will follow at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider acontributiontoyourfa‐vorite charity.

Kraemer, Mack Douglas'Doug'

Lisa Danielle Green,a lifelong resident of Gretna, LA,peacefullyentered eternalrestatWestJeffer‐sonHospitalonMonday, March9,2026 at theage of 40. Daughter of Dr.Rose Green andthe late Dr.Leo J. Green.Alsosurvivedby siblings,Rev.RonaldGreen,

Marshall MauriceJack‐son, age72, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March10, 2026. Alifelong educator,coach,and de‐votedfamilyman,Marshall leaves behind alegacyof service, mentorship,and love.Marshallwas born on July 31,1953, in NewOr‐leans, Louisiana. He wasa proudproduct of theOr‐leansParishPublicSchool System andgraduated from Booker T. Washington Senior High School in 1971, where he wasa standout member of thebasketball team.Committed to educa‐tion andcommunity im‐pact,Marshallcontinued hisacademicjourney at Southern University at New Orleans, where he gradu‐ated magnacum laude with abachelor’sdegree. WhileatSUNO, Marshall also became amemberof AlphaPhi AlphaEpisilon Upsilon. Marshall also ded‐icated more thanfour decadestoshaping young mindsasa mathematics teacherinJefferson Parish Public Schools, at Livau‐dais Middle School,and L. W. HigginsHighSchool.He

Walter F. Johnson, Jr passedawaypeacefullyon March13, 2026 at theage of 82 after alongbattle with prostate cancer.He waspre-deceasedbyhis parentsWalterF.Johnson, Sr.and MarieH.Johnson; by hisbrothersWayne T. JohnsonSr.;WarrenJ Johnson; andKenneth J. Johnson; andbyhis nephew WayneT.(Shea) Johnson, Jr.Heissurvived by hissister-in-law Suzanne V. Johnson, his nieceShannonJohnson Uschold(Jim),his great-

Mack DouglasKraemer, knownaffectionatelyas Doug to hisfriends and lovedones, passedaway on March13, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born on January25, 1953, in Pon‐chatoula,Louisiana,Doug's gentle soul andlovingna‐ture touchedthe livesofall who knew him. Doug spent hislifebringingout the beauty in others,both throughhis work andhis warm demeanor.Asa tal‐entedhairstylist andcol‐orist, he dedicatedhis ca‐reer to perfecting hiscraft Hismeticulousnature shonethrough as he care‐fully recorded each client's hair formula, ensuring theirnextvisit wouldbe just as perfectasthe last Hisskill anddedicationto hisclientsearnedhim a reputation of excellence andhehad theprivilege of workingwithnotable fig‐uressuchasLilyTomlin andRaymond Burr during histimeinColorado. Doug's life wasa testa‐ment to thebeautythat canbecreated both in art andinhuman connections. Beyond hisprofessional achievements,Doug'slife wasrichwithloveand companionship. He shared abeautiful partnershipof 25 yearswithGerald"Jay" Daussin, Jr., whose life was deeply intertwinedwithhis own. Together, they cre‐ated aworld filledwithjoy, understanding, andmutual support. He wasa cher‐ishedbrother to Maxine Hoover andher husband

See more DEATHS, page Green,LisaDanielle

Guillory,Earline Ord

Johnson Jr., Walter F.

OUR VIEWS

MayLa.’s longleafpines live long andprosper

The longleaf pine tree mightnot beasiconic asight to current generationsofLouisianans as it was to their ancestors, butthe species has along, important history in ourareaand elsewhere in the South.

We cheer efforts to ensure it will have along future here as well.

That goal, led by conservationists andgovernment officials, involves not just persuasion but thoughtful environmental management, accordingtoa storybythis paper’sMike Smith. Longleaf pines, with their signature bunched needles, were once abundantinthispartofthe country,covering some 90 million acresfrom Virginia down into Texas. In Louisiana, they were traditionally prominentinthe parishes northofLake Pontchartrain and in thecentral andwesternparts of thestate.

In recent years, however,total acreage had dropped all theway down to three million Theculprits in the decline range fromlogging to adesire for faster-growingtimber to thedesire to avoid forest fires

Controlled burning, though, is oneof the tools nowbeing used by groupssuch as thenonprofit Nature Conservancy to clear out underbrush and allow sun in, helping new trees to grow.

The federalgovernmenthas also offered some cash assistance to growers.

“Wildlife is alarge driver here in Louisiana of individuals coming in wantingto be apartof thelongleafstory,”Sarah Trichel, the USDA’s acting Louisiana stateconservationist, said. “We have those that remember seeing longleaf when they weregrowing up anddon’tsee that anymore,and theyreally wanttohave thatlongleaf stand reestablished, to see those long needles, those large cones, and for their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s children.”

Thanks to efforts by apublic-private consortium known as America’sLongleaf Restoration Initiative, these pines arestarting to seearebound. By last year,total acreage had creptup to 5.2 million. The group’sgoal is 8million. That shouldn’tjust matter to those who appreciate the trees’ beauty Longleaf pines’ growthpatternsprovidewideopen spaces for wild turkeys, bobwhite quail and other animals, as well as some other endangered plants. The grass thatgrowsaround them is suitable for cattle grazing. These trees may grow more slowly than other species, but their wood is strong and well-suited to shipand infrastructure building.

“If you care about the environment and you careabout biodiversity,and you live in an area where longleaf was historically thenatural ecosystem,it’shard to do anything betterthan to restore this system,” Will deGravelles, who overseeslongleaf pine restoration forthe Nature Conservancy in Louisiana, toldSmith. We care about all of those things, and think Louisianans who enjoy our state’snatural spaces and who make their livingthere do too. We hope these restoration effortswill keep this unique tree plentiful in ourstate foryears to come.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Supportfor residentsthat struggle helpsregionsucceed

In southeast Louisiana, the success of our business and communities is interconnected.

According to the United WayofSoutheast Louisiana, half of households in ourregion struggle tomeet basic living costs. Seventeen percent live in poverty and another 32% are ALICE (AssetLimited, IncomeConstrained, Employed), working families who remain just one unexpected expense away from crisis When ALICE households struggle, our whole region struggles. The stability of southeast Louisiana is tiedtothe well-being of our neighbors —the working families thatform the backbone of our workforce and local economy.

When theyare forced to choose between child care and rent, or transportation and health care, the ripple effectsare felt across our region, leading to decreased employee productivity weakened business continuity, poor educational outcomes and stalled economic growth.

The United WayofSoutheast Louisiana is urging nonprofitstounite around anew bold goal: Place 100,000 ALICE

I’ve been told by several lifelong New Orleanians that there is asizable portion of our population who don’t pay their trash bills at all and haven’t for years. They simply ignore that portion of their Sewerage &Water Board bill. I’mcurious to what extent this is true. If it is really awidespread issue, it seemscollection efforts should

Here’ssomething for consideration, writtenwhen we had to boil our water again.

Sung to “Wade in the Water”

Boil all the water

Boil all the water children

Boil all the water

The SWB gonna make you boil the water

Who’s that man all dressed in red?

SWB says boil all the water

Looks like he’sdigging broken pipes of lead

SWB says boil all the water

Boil all the water

Boil all the water again

Boil all the water

SWB says boil all the water

Who’s that man all dress in white?

individuals on apathwaytoprosperity by 2035. This coordinated strategyis exactly what our region needs to remain competitive and thriving.

As CEO of Entergy Corporation and chair of the United Way’sCampaign Cabinet,I have seen firsthand howinvesting in community stabilitybenefits everyone, including thebusiness sector When families in the Greater NewOrleans region flourish, our entire community thrives, including local businesses When we reduce barriers to stability, we strengthen our workforce, expand opportunity and spark economicgrowth Engagement withorganizations like United Wayisnot simplephilanthropy. It is astrategic investmentintalent, productivity and long-termprogress. Sustained investmentinstrategies thatstabilize ALICE households in our region fosters an environmentwhere companies can compete andfamilies can thrive.Ittakes allofus— businesses, nonprofits, governments and individuals —working together to achieve this commongoal.

DREW MARSH chair and CEO, EntergyCorporation

precede raising therates of those of us who pay.While halting garbage collection would negatively affect public health, perhaps turning water off would persuade compliance. Iwould be happy butsurprised to learn that this is an urban myth.

JOHN LONG NewOrleans

SWB says boil all the water

He’sswimming down Claiborneout of sight

SWB says boil all the drinking water

Boil all the water

Boil all the water children

Boil all the water

SWB says you gotta boil all thewater

Who’s that man all dressed in blue?

SWB says boil all the water

Couldn’tsee the pothole and so he drowned to

SWB says boil all the drinking water

Don’twade in the water

Don’twade in the water children

Don’twade in the water

Cause that H2Owill kill you too.

ELIOT KAMENITZ NewOrleans

First, we extend our deepest and mostsincere apologies to letter writer Annette Rofles and the citizens of NewOrleans. The Elks Krewe of Orleanians and the Crescent City Truck Parades are family-oriented parades, and we do not approve of or condone the type of music she mentioned she heard on the route. Both parades operate under strict rules and regulations that we communicate to our krewecaptains at every meeting, in all correspondence, and in ongoing conversations. We consistently stress that each captain is responsible forthe overall safety of their truck and forthe conduct of their krewemembers, riders, guests and drivers.

The Elks and Crescent City Truck Parade Committees take these responsibilities seriously.Infact, prior to Rofles bringing this concern to our attention, we had already informed one krewethat they would not be allowed to re-register with us due to their music selection. Our parades span miles, and while we can’tsee and hear everything along the route, we remain committed to taking the necessary steps to address violations and remove offenders from our parades. It is disheartening that the actions of afew can negatively impact the reputation of so manywho work hard to uphold the family-friendly spirit of these events.

BRYANRUIZ EKO Captain KIMMERCADEL Crescent City TruckParadeCaptain

Toon depicting Iranian womenwas truly laughable

The creator of the editorial cartoon on March 7depicting an Iranian womandisposing of her hijab has insulted and trivialized all women. Those women whose country has been attacked and bombed, killing civilians and children, will not be celebrating. They are terrified and in mourning. And anyone whobelieves that this war is being waged to liberate or obtain equal rights forIranian women is delusional.

ROSLYN ELFER NewOrleans

Four brand-newLouisiana books, butjustone degree

Most of you know the lineabout “six degreesofseparation,”meaningthat everyone on Earth supposedly knows someone who knowssomeone who— within six moves —knows everybody else. In Louisiana, it’smore like asingle degree of close connection. Our unique culture so seamlessly entwines literature, music,food, other arts,politics and other diversionsthat I myself am surely just one happy connection away from you,and from you, and, yes, you As it happens, Louisianans of note are publishing (or had published about them) four new books in early 2026.I have an unbreakable rule against writing formal reviewsofbooks by friends (or even friendly acquaintances),but thesebooks show howthe degrees of close connection, again, apply Archaeologist,scholarand traditional jazz band leader Fred Starr is out with his autobiography “Blue Skies: My Life in Many Worlds.” Beginning with charming recollections of his boyhood in Cincinnati, it traces his riseto(among other things) an internationallyrecognized expert on Russia and, as an adopted citizen of New Orleans, amajor contributor to the Crescent City’scultural life.

New Orleans history teacher Howard Hunter has published “Conversations with Jason Berry,” acompendium about the Louisiana writer of that name whose“body of work,” Hunter writes, “hasprobed the human condition through journalism, theater,cultural criticism, thenovel, film,and history.”

In April, New Orleanian Nancy Lemann’sfirst novel in two decades, The Oyster Diaries, will be released. I eagerly await.Lemann’sfiction,asaccurately described in aMarch 23 New York Times feature, is full of “unexpected word choices, asense of place …[and] strong emotion,”whilebeing “preoccupied with what shecalls the ‘verities’: honor, nobility,humility.”

Speaking of honor: Alsoin April, my former boss Bob Livingston, the longtime congressman from Louisiana,releases “The Rainbow Chaser:The man who gambled for success and broke even.”

The first third is an entertainingly told pre-congressional autobiography; the rest is adelineation of examples of “lawfare” by power-besotted, politicized prosecutors.AsLivingston

details, he himself was targeted by the Justice Department for …well, for somethingunspecified relating to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, for hisbrief (and well-chosen) lobbying representation of Ukrainian Yulia Tymoshenko,ananti-Russian, pro-American political leader Livingston’swell-earned reputation for legal probity (alongwith his bank account, for lawyer’sbills) was placed at severe risk during 20 months of abusive harassment, even though he had dutifully and openly filed requisitepaperwork detailing “hundreds of meeting requests and meetings held with [Tymoshenko].” After an 88-page brief conclusively proved his innocence, the would-be prosecutors silently slunk away,and eventually Livingston received an anodyne letter asking him to fix whathecalls “a minor clerical omission that was corrected in two minutes.” Nothing remotely approaching acrime; no charges filed. All of which leads, exactly,where? Well, this beingLouisiana, there is a one-degree connection between all four of thesepeople. The first time Imet Lemann, Iwas working for Livingston’s1987 race for governor and sheshowed up, seeking local color for her writings, when he was “guest bartending” as acampaign gimmickatBud Rip’s Old9th Ward Bar Livingston and Starr? Fastfriends. Livingstonand Berry? Livingston wrote thelegal brief that first convicted Byron De La Beckwith, the murder-

Journalist Jason Berry signs books during the NewOrleans Book Festival at Tulane University in NewOrleans in 2023.

State Rep. Ed Murray is afreshman in the Louisiana Legislature, but he already has some seniority

State Rep. Dana Henry and state Sen. Sidney Barthelemyhad ceremonial swearings-in in their respective House and Senate chambers, marking the official start of their legislative duties. By then, Murray had already been on the job.

er of civil rights leader Medgar Evers (although Livingston’sbrief helped convict De LaBeckwith not for Evers but for theattempted murder of Jewish leader A.I. Botnick). As it happens, Berry’sfirst job out of college was as press secretary for the Mississippi gubernatorial campaign of Charles Evers, Medgar’sbrother Berry,anavid chronicler of the roots of New Orleansmusic, has favorably mentioned Starr multiple times in Berry’svarious writings on traditional jazz. Meanwhile, Berry’sfirst big break as awriter camewhen novelist Walker Percy put him in touch witha publisher.And for Lemann, Percy was amentor,friend and, in aword she frequently uses for him,her “hero.” Round and round theconnections go. Frommyvantage point, this sort of thingjust doesn’thappen anywhere else quite like it does in Louisiana. For years, our politics were part of our entertainment, and our entertainers (thinksinger/actor Jimmie Davis) became politicians. Andpolitics here inspire great works of fiction —see “All theKing’sMen” —and theconvivial culture draws pols and artistes to eat and drink delectables together while their lives overlap. Somehow,sodothe lives of almost every Louisianan, all wrapped together in one abundant, fascinating jumble. Onedegree of connection always seems to apply

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Time to debunkthe Israel hoax

We’ve long known that Donald Trump drives his critics crazy, andhe’snow doing it to some critics whoused to be his friends.

The isolationist right is convinced that President Trumpis waging the Iran WaronIsrael’s behalf, which wouldmakehim thehandmaiden of aforeign power That should be afamiliarsounding charge, sinceDemocrats and the legacy media spent most of Trump’sfirstterm making the same accusation,except the foreignpuppeteer was Russia rather than Israel.

hiscontradictory statements during this war,nothing we’ve heard suggests anythingother than that he genuinely relishes killing Iran’sleaders and destroying its weapons.

Now,“Russia, Russia, Russia,” as Trump often puts it, has become “Israel, Israel, Israel.”

Temperamentally,Trump loves exercising power,always wants to do it on his own authority,and seeks to preserve hisoptions. It shouldn’tbe surprising, then, that as commanderinchief of the world’s most proficient military, he’s been drawn to using and threatening force. Israel didn’t talkTrumpintoconductinghis Venezuela raid, or menacing Denmark over Greenland, or looking to Cubaashis next potential target.

theJewish state, but morethan anything,they are damning Donald Trump What worse offense can apresident of theUnited States commit than subjugating his own nation to aforeign power? It’sa treasonous act that deserves eternal infamy and impeachment and removal.

All of this is misbegotten, first and foremost, because we havenever had a president who is so thoroughly hisown man as Donald Trump. Good luck trying to control him, as so many advisers and consultants have learned over the years

There are very few things he’sdone as president where you’vethought “Oh, that’ssounlike him.”

That includes firing FBI Director James Comey in his first term,one of the main countsagainst him duringthe Russia frenzy,and launchingthe war against Iran today.

Going back 50 years,noone would have been shocked to learn that a nationalistic American presidentobsessedwith strength had bombedIran. Trump is just suchafigure, andsure enough, he’sbombed Iran twice in his second term.

Trump has made bellicose statements about Iran since 1980, and despite all

One argument, based on adistortion of remarksmade by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at theoutset of the war,is that Israel forced Trump’shand; it was going to attack Iran no matter what, andweknew U.S. personnel would be hitbyIran in response and would be particularly vulnerable if we didn’thit Iran as well.

Trump, therefore, had no choice. Check and mate, BibiNetanyahu. Theidea, though, that Trumpwas too sheepish to stay Netanyahu’shand if theIsraeli prime minister was about to launch amilitary operation that Trump opposed and was going to jeopardize American lives is preposterous.

Trump hasbeen happy to say no to Netanyahubefore. He pressured the Israeli leader into turning back planes at theend of the Twelve-Day Warlast June.

By alleging that Israel forced the U.S. into war,the isolationiststhink they are making aharsh criticism of

This is exactly why theRussia obsessives so delighted in believing that Trumpwas atool of the Kremlin. Most of theright-wing dissenters blanch at following their own logic. An alternative tack —seen in intelligence official Joe Kent’s resignation letter —istoargue that Trumpwas simply fooled. Kent said there was “a misinformation campaign” that “sowed pro-war sentiments,” and that “this echo chamber was used to deceive” the president This argument is still astinging condemnation. It paintsTrumpasaneasily manipulated naïf, and on ahighly consequential matter of war and peace. In reality,there was no broad-ranging media drumbeat for war and no wave of popular support for one. This, again, emphasizes how thedecision was Trump’s, and his alone.

The Russia hoax was, in part,driven by theleft’sshock and disappointment at Trump’svictory in 2016. Likewise, theisolationistsare having trouble processing thefact that the president in whom they invested so much has launched amajor war in the Middle East. ButTrumpwas not owned by this faction of theright, any morethan he is owned by Israel.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Murray joined the spring legislative session as it started on March 9because he won aspecial election on Feb. 7and was sworn in by his father, former state Sen. Ed Murray,on Feb. 19, then again in the state House chambers. That was a quick start, but he had abit of timetoprepare, meeting colleague legislators, seeing where the entrances and exits are and meeting legislative staff.

Barthelemyand Henry competed in that sameFeb. 7election, but both werepushed into special election runoffs held March 14. Until the election results were official, they couldn’tbesworn in.

No one wasthere representing House District 97 until Murray stepped in. No one wasrepresenting Senate District 3orHouse District 100 until Barthelemyand Henry stepped in this week. Previously,House District 100 had been represented by state Rep. Jason Hughes, who becamethe NewOrleans City Council member representing District E; Senate District 3was represented by state Sen. Joe Bouie, whobecame chancellor of Southern University New Orleans; and House District 97 wasrepresented by state Rep. Matt Willard, whobecame aNew Orleans City Council member at-large. That meansfreshman legislator Murray has moreseniority than Barthelemy, Henry and others whowere elected on Feb. 7but sworn in later.Murray knowswhat that means. Seniority comes into play with committee assignments, special assignments and leadership opportunities.

The state Legislature convened and was seated Jan. 8without every legislative seat filled. There werevacant seats elsewhere in the state, and the New Orleans legislative delegation missed Bouie, Hughes and Willard, three experienced veteran legislators whobuilt strong reputations outside of New Orleans and achieved respect across the state. They have to learn from their colleagues in the Legislature, their Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus colleagues and their chamber seatmates.

Murray is sitting near aRepublican House leader,aRepublican running forU.S. Congress and the Democratic author of the “pink tax,” which eliminated the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers. They are state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, chair of the powerful appropriations committee; state Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, whois campaigning to get President Donald Trump supporters’ attention as he seeks to winthe seat held by U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,aU.S. Senate candidate; and state Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman,D-New Orleans, representing District 98. To Murray’sright is Henry,alatecomer through no fault of his own. It’s agreat feeling forakid from the Lower 9th Ward and raised in NewOrleans East, an area forwhich he shares legislative responsibility.Hejoins his first cousin, Parish Civil District Court Judge Veronica Henry,asanelected official. In the Senate, Barthelemyhas adesk between veteran legislators state Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, and state Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans. Jenkins is relatively new in the Senate, with acouple of years of service, but he was in the House from 2016 to 2024. He knows his wayaround. Harris has alonger tenure in the state Legislature. He was in the House from 2016 to 2020, and he’sbeen in the Senate since 2020. Harris is knownasaquiet, effective legislator whogets the job done forSenate District 4, NewOrleans and southern Louisiana. Barthelemy, Henry and Murray have their committee assignments. Barthelemyisonthe Senate commerce, education, retirement and municipal committees. Henry and Murray are on the House municipal affairs, insurance and transportation committees. That might not seem important to some, but committees give legislators achance to be heard, to dig into bill details and to meet constituents.

Murray has less than amonth of seniority,but he said he’llhelp those with less seniority if he can.

“It’saweird feeling,” he told me. “I started twototwo-and-a-half weeks before them, and I feel I’ve learned alot. I’ll help if Ican.”

“But,” he added, “I’m no Jimmy Harris.” No, you’re not, Mr.Murray.Aim higher.You, Barthelemyand Henry can be even better

TO SEND US A

Will Sutton

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Quin Hillyer

Michael Barone

Victor Kenneth, Linda Erdeyand herhusband Rodney,StevenKraemer andhis wife Rhonda,and StanleyKraemer.Hewas preceded in deathbyhis brotherPaulJenkins and hisparents,Mackand Mil‐dred Kraemer. Thosewho knew Doug will remember himfor his gentle spirit andlovingheart.Aswesay goodbyetoDoug, we cele‐bratea life well-livedand a legacy of kindness that will continue to inspirethose who were fortunate enough to crosshis path Hismemorywillbecher‐ishedand kept aliveinthe storiessharedbyfriends andfamilyalike. ACelebra‐tion of Life will be an‐nounced at alater date andtime. Memories and condolencescanbeshared online at green‐woodfh.com

Laurendine,John Michael'Mike'

continued from Master's Degree in Education. Coraretired from the St. Tammany Parish School System as Librarian of Mandeville Elementary School Cora had awonderful sense of humor andloved spending time with her belovedfamily. Shewas well respectedand loved, andwillbedeeply missed by allwho knew and loved her In lieu of flowers, kindly considera donation to your favoritecharity in memoryofCoraLynn Bruhl Loyd. Relativesand friends areinvited to attend the funeralservice at E.J. FieldingFuneral Home, 2260W 21stAve, Covington, Louisiana 70433, on Friday, March 27th, 2026, at 11:00am; with visitation beginning at 10:00am. Interment will follow services at Bruhl Cemetery, BruhlCemetery Road, Folsom, Louisiana 70437. E J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. Please signthe guestbook at www.ejfieldingfh.com.

She is survivedbyher husband of 17 years, Robert Kennedy Sissac Sr.; her mother, Joan Murphy; her brother, CraigMurphy; her nephew, Chance Murphy; her stepson, Robert Sissac Jr. (Adela); and her granddaughter, Aubrey Kennedy Sissac. She is also survivedbya host of aunts, cousins, extendedfamily members, and lifelong friends She was preceded in death by her father, Clarence M. "Coach" Murphy; her grandmothers, AlphonsineMurphy and Hazel Neville;and her grandfather, Emanuel Neville.

Murphy-Sissac willbe remembered as awoman of strength, faith, and unwavering determination who brought purposeto her work, joy to her family, and inspiration to allwho knew her.

Amemorial servicecelebrating her life will be held on Saturday, March 28th at 11:00 AM at New BeginningsChurch, 1569 W Main St,Lewisville,TX 75067. Familyand friends are invited to attend.A memorialservice will be held at 11:00 AM on 2026-03 -28 at NewBeginnings Church, 1569 W. Main St

John Michael"Mike Laurendine passedaway on March19, 2026 at the ageof73. He wasbornon May26, 1952 in NewOr‐leans, Louisiana. He gradu‐ated from Archbishop RummelHighSchool and then attended Delgado Community Collegebefore beingdrafted into the United States Army.He served hiscountry as a RadarFireControl Opera‐torstationed in Korea. Mike dedicated40years of hislifeto hiscareer as a Railroad Yardmaster with theKansasCitySouthern Railroad.Heenjoyed fish‐ing, duck hunting, and baseball,especially the ChicagoCubs. He waspre‐cededindeath by his par‐ents,Heloise JanningLau‐rendineand John Herman Laurendine,and histwo sisters, Jackie Lynn Lauren‐dine andDawnLaurendine. He is survived by histwo loving daughters, Stacey Verdun Mayeur andAmy Simmons, andhis son-inlaw, Jeremy Simmons. He wasa proudgrandfather to five grandchildren; William Verdun, Alicia Alexander, Ashley Verdun,Emily Sim‐mons,and Andrew Sim‐mons,aswellastwo greatgrandchildren. He is also survived by hisbrother, Dale Laurendine.His legacy livesoninthe lives of hischildren, grandchil‐dren,and allwho knew andloved him. He will be deeply missedand forever remembered.Relatives and friendsare invitedtoat‐tend avisitationatGarden of Memories FuneralHome, 4900 AirlineDrive,Metairie, LA,70001, on Saturday March28, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m.,followedbya FuneralMassat11:00 a.m. Intermenttofollow.

Loyd, Cora Lynn Bruhl

Cora Lynn Bruhl Loyd of Folsom entered eternal rest at the age of 90 on Monday afternoon, March 23rd, 2026, at home. She wasborn in Folsom, Louisiana on October 19th, 1935. She is survived by her twin daughters Janet Loyd Dixon (Rick) of Houston, TX,and JulieLoyd Payne (Chuck) of Wilsonville, AL.

Cora is also survived by her grandchildren Corey Payne Cunningham (Steven), Lisa Dixon Appleby (Mike), Becky Dixon, and Dr. Taylor Payne (Rachel). Cora is also survived by her great-grandchildren AndrewCunningham, Kate Cunningham, Ellie Cunningham, Sam Appleby, Lily Appleby, Isaac Payne, Micah Payne, and Rhett Payne. Anative of Louisiana and longtime resident of Folsom, Cora graduated in 1954 from Covington High School. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Education, and where she went on to receive her

Candace Meryl MurphySissac, attorney, educator and community leader Candace MerylMurphySissac, an accomplished attorney, former flight attendant, educator,and devoted servanttoher community, passedawayon March 1, 2026. Shewas 59. Anative of NewOrleans, Murphy-Sissac was known for her intelligence, creativity, and strong will, qualities that shaped alife definedbypurpose, service, and love.She wasthe daughterofJoan Neville Murphy and the late ClarenceM."Coach" Murphy, arespectedNew Orleans educatorand track coach.

Murphy-Sissac received her early education at Immaculate Heart of Mary School and laterattended St.Elizabeth Seton Academy, where she excelled academically and in extracurricularactivities, including cheerleading and the honorsociety.She went on to attend Loyola University and later graduated with honorsfromthe UniversityofNew Orleans witha degree in English, Speech,and Drama. Herprofessional journey began with Delta Air Lines, where she workedasa flight attendant and earned recognitionfor her excellence, including nationalexposure for demonstrating emergency evacuation procedures. Though she embracedthe opportunity to travel the world,her deepconnection to family ultimately led her topursue adifferentpath.

In1995, Murphy-Sissac began attending Loyola University LawSchool whilecontinuing to work, demonstrating the discipline and determination that woulddefineher career.She earned her Juris Doctor in 1998 andwenton to builda distinguished legalcareer,serving in roles including managingattorney,consultant, and adjunctprofessor.She was licensed to practicelaw in both Texas and Louisiana and contributedher expertise in both privatepracticeand publicservice, includingwork with the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration.

In additiontoher legal career, Murphy-Sissacwas alicensed real estate brokerand adedicated advocate for veterans, assisting with disability and benefits matters. Shealsoserved on the Denton County Property TaxAppraisal Review Board. Faith and service were centraltoher life.She was deeply involvedinchurch ministry, particularly through sacredliturgical dance, whereshe combined her love of scripture music, andmovement to inspireothers. After relocating to McKinney, Texas, she founded"U-Can Dance!",a studiowhere she mentored young dancers and nurtured creativity and confidence in her students. Murphy-Sissac's life in Texas reflectedbothresilienceand renewal. After Hurricane Katrina,she rebuilther life while maintaining strong tiestoher New Orleans roots. She was featuredinThe Dallas MorningNewsfor herjourney and contributions to hercommunity. h i i d b h

John Martel Norwood, 77, longtime professor at theUniversity of Arkansas at Fayetteville,passed away on February 15, 2026, in NewOrleans. He died from complications from dementia. He was bornon January 11,1949 to Colvin Gamble Norwood, Sr ("Pete") and DorothyElise PecotNorwood ("Dot") and raised in Franklin, Louisianawith his siblings Carol Ann Cram Kilburn and Colvin Gamble Norwood,Jr. ("Woody"). John graduated from Hanson Memorial High School in 1966 at thetop of his class. He was awarded aBachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from LSUinBaton Rouge and Juris Doctor degree fromTulane Law School in 1973. In 1977 John returnedtoLSU to earn his MBA

Afew months before he was to graduatefromlaw school,henoticeda posting fromNortheast LouisianaUniversityin Monroe (NLU) seeking arecent JD to teach business law. He appliedfor and got thejob,beginning acareer that brought himimmense personalsatisfaction as wellashighmarksfrom hisstudents.

In 1981 John accepteda positionteaching business lawinthe Business School at theUniversityof Arkansas, where he played apivotal role in developing theHonorsprogram and mentoring students. Many studentshaveexpressed theirgratitude,acknowledging his guidance and influence on their careers. The winner of several teaching awardsover the years, John lovedhis profession, approaching it fromthe start withenthusiasm and dedication. John retired in 2021 after 40 years at theUniversity of Arkansas.

Burial willbeprivate in thefamily cemetery in Franklin.

Colleagues, students and friends are invitedto attend aCelebrationofLife in honorofProfessorJohn Norwood.This event will be held April 17, 2026, in Fayetteville at 2:30 pm in theReynolds Center Auditorium at theWalton CollegeofBusiness on the University of Arkansas campus.

RousselSmith,Joycelyn Ann'Joy'

Joycelyn “Joy”Ann RousselSmith enteredinto eternalrestonMarch 19 2026, at theage of 74 Joycelyn wasbornonJanu‐ary8,1952, in NewOrleans LA to thelateAllison Gau‐tier Rousseland thelate RoyalForturner Roussel. Shewas the3rd of 8chil‐dren.She wasbaptized andconfirmed into the Catholic FaithatSt. John theBaptist Catholic Church in Edgard,LA. Shegradu‐

ated from EdgardHigh School in Edgard,LAclass of 1970. Joycelyn worked as an Office Managerfor Dr Donald Yuratich Dentistry for20plusyears until her retirement.Joycelynissur‐vivedbyher twochildren Gina Smithand Terry Smith, Jr.and twogrand‐children Darian andTaryn Smithand former husband Terry Smith, Sr.: also,her siblings Arlene Stipe, Kerry Roussel, Anna August,Joan Bartholomew(Donald) and Cheryl Bastian. Sheleaves to cherishher memories herGoddaughtersEllayna Stipeand Arianna Bastian, also ahostofnieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, andmany friends. Shewas preceded in deathbyher parents RoyalRoussel andAllison GautierRoussel.Her broth‐ersRonaldand Gary “Foggy”Roussel,brotherin-law Harry “Buster” Au‐gust anddevoted friend Marcel “Shirt” Pierre.Rela‐tivesand friendsofthe family, Priest andParish‐ioners of St.Johnthe Bap‐tist Catholic Church,all neighboringchurches,em‐ployees of Walmart#2913, Boutte,LAand Dr.Donald Yuratich andhis dentistry staff, areinvited to theFu‐neralMassat10:00 am on Saturday,March 28,2026, at St.Johnthe Baptist Catholic Church,2349 LA18, Edgard,LA70049. Rev. RobustianoMorgia, Cele‐brant. Visitation 8:00 am until thetimeofMassat theabove-named church Recitation of theHoly Rosary at 9:00 am.Inter‐ment St.Johnthe Baptist Catholic Mausoleum, Edgard,LA. Finalarrange‐mentsentrusted to Patrick H. SandersFuneralHome& FuneralDirectors,LLC,605 Main Street,Laplace,LA 70068, 985-359-1919. “Pro‐viding Care &Comfort is OurHighest Mission.

Thelma EdenSmith, aged 82, passed away peacefully at Baptist/ OchsnerHospitalinNew Orleans, Louisianaon Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. entering eternal rest. Born on October 6, 1944, in Tela, Honduras, Ms. Smith was the daughterofTheodoreEden, Sr. and OmairaV.Eden. Ms. Smith is remembered for her exceptional dedication to nursing,steadfast faith, and profound devotion to her family—qualities that define her legacy. Thelma was precededindeathby her father, Theodore Eden Sr.: her son, James Jr.: her sisters,Carmen Andolina Brooks, and Therrina Eden: and her brother, Terrence Eden. She is survivedby her mother, OmairaV Eden; her loving sons, Jerome, and Jonathan; her sister, Theresa Eden Rounds; her brothers, Theodore Jr., Tyrone Eden, and CarltonStamps; and her devotedcompanion of over fifty years, Curtis Lee Davis. She also leaves behind grandchildren—Jonathan, Jade, James, and David—as well as great-grandchildren,nieces, nephews, extended relatives, and cherishedfriends. Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattend the CelebrationofLifeon Friday, March 27, 2026, at Blessed TrinityCatholic Church, 4230 S. Broad St NewOrleans, LA 70125.,at 11:00am.The visitationwill beginat10:00am until the hour of service. Interment: Providence Memorial Park

SmithSr.,Robert 'Bob''Q-Dog'

Robert "Bob Q-Dog" SmithSr.,ofMarrero LA., departed this life on Sun‐day, March15, 2026 at West JeffersonMedical Center He was56years old. Belovedson of Carrie Mae HoustonSmith andthe late Perry SmithSr. Husbandof KarenBonitaSmith.De‐votedfatherofKarion, Roshanda,Mone',Kenneth andRobertSmith Jr GrandfatherofKingSmith andthe late Amoraand

Ameer McCord.Brother of JoyceAllen (PastorGlynn Allen),Meshell, Christine, Steven (Shamer),and Perry SmithJr.,ErnestGoffner (Debra), andthe late Detr‐ishSmith.Devoted grand‐sonofPastorJames Hous‐tonJr.,and thelateGeor‐giaMae DavisHouston Joseph SmithSr.,and Stella MaeMcGinnisSmith Robert is also survived by severalaunts, uncles nieces,nephews,cousins, otherrelatives andde‐votedfriends.Relatives andfriends of thefamily, Pastor,officers andmem‐bers of Mt.NeboB.C., Sec‐ondPleasantGrove B.C. andIsraelB.C., as well as employees of Precise Staffing andContracting andBuckKreihsMachine Shop areinvited to attend thefuneral serviceonSat‐urday, March28, 2026 at Is‐rael BaptistChurch 1612 Esther St Harvey LA 70058. Thevisitationwill beginat9AM followedbya 10AMservice.Rev.Darrell McKinniesisthe host pas‐torand Pastor GlynnAllen will officiate. Interment will follow in Restlawn Cemetery in Avondale.Fu‐neralplanningentrusted to Robinson Family Funeral Home.For online condo‐lencepleasevisit www.rob insonfamilyfuneralhome. com

ShelleyMarie Fuller Sprowl,age 74, passedinto eternallifeonThursday March12, 2026. Shewas born on August 8, 1951 to Eddieand BarbaraAncar Fuller.She wasa native of NewOrleans,LA. Shelley wasa graduate of McDo‐nough35HighSchool and attended University of New Orleans-LSU. Shelleywas a SpecialEducation Teacher forthe Atlanta& DeKalb Countyfor over 30 years andwas previouslya Spe‐cial EducationTeacher for OrleansParishfor over 20 years. Shewas preceded in deathbyher parents, EddieJosephFullerand BarbaraAncar Fuller and herpaternalgrandparents, Thelma AlexanderFuller Boothand EddieFuller& maternal grandparents, Clarence Ancar& Anita Carriere Ancar. Shelley leaves to cherishher mem‐oryher belovedhusband MichealCharles Sprowl; children KellenSprowl, Dr Alyssa Sprowl andJeffrey Sprowl;sisters,Anita Fuller andSheilaFullerWalker (Keith)and herlatebrother thelateEddieJosephFuller (Darlene), anda host of nieces,nephews,family andfriends.Relatives, friends, employees of the DeKalb Parish School and

OrleansParishSchool Boardare invitedtoattend herMassofChristian Bur‐ialatSaint Raymond/St Leothe Great,2916 Paris Avenue,New Orleans, LA 70119 on Friday,March 27, 2026 at 11:00 am.Visitation will be held from 9:00 am until Mass. Interment: Mount Olivet Cemetery Services entrustedtothe caring staff of Rhodes Fu‐neralHome, 3933 Washing‐tonAve., NewOrleans,LA 70125; (504) 822-7162. Please visitwww.rhodesf uneral.comtosignthe guestbook andshare con‐dolences with thefamily.

Rickie Thomas,Sr.,en‐teredeternal rest at OchsnerMedical Center JeffersonHighway on Thursday,March 19, 2026, at theage of 70. He wasa native of NewOrleans,LA anda resident of West‐wego, LA.Rickiewas acar‐penter with Thomas Home Repair andRemodeling. Belovedhusband of Rose E. Thomas.Lovingfatherof Rickie Thomas,Jr. Sonof thelateBennieMinor and EllenLee Thomas.Brother of CharlieThomas, Mark Thomas,IvanThomas, Lisa Thomas,MathildaThomas, CindyThomas, Wendy (Elroy)Jackson,and the late Fred Thomas,Shelia Thomas,and Angela Thomas.Stepbrother of Adrian Jacksonand Carlos Jackson. Rickie is also sur‐vivedby10grandchildren, 6great grandchildren, and ahostofnieces, nephews, cousins, otherrelatives andfriends.Relatives and friendsofthe family, also pastors, officers,and membersofMount Calvary InternationalWorship Cen‐ter, andall neighboring churches areinvited to at‐tend theCelebration of Life at Mount CalvaryInterna‐tional WorshipCenter, 1600 Westwood Drive, Marrero, LA on Friday,March 27, 2026, at 10:00a.m. Apostle Terry Gullage, officiating. Visitation will beginat 9:00a.m. until servicetime at thechurch.Interment: Restlawn Park CemeteryAvondale,LA. Arrange‐mentsbyDavis Mortuary Service, 230 Monroe St Gretna,LA. To view and sign theguestbook please go to davismortuaryser‐vice.com

Thomas Sr., Rickie

Murphy Sissac, Candace Meryl

Norwood, John Martel

Sprowl,Shelley MarieFuller

Smith,Thelma

PLAYING‘BIG’

LSUneeds post playerstostepuptoreach FinalFour

The guards on the LSU women’sbasketball team should spend their downtime inside aleadroom with one of those radiation warningsymbols onthe door and asign that reads“Dribbleatyour own risk.”

Hall envisions bigthings forTurner

BY GUERRYSMITH Contributing writer

Maurice Turner raced around the corner in Tulane’sfirst spring scrimmage, accelerated to the end zone for a26yard touchdown and disappeared, running through the undercarriage of Yulman Stadium all the waytothe practice field on the other side. In away,the momentwas acomplete representation of his initialyear with the Green Wave.

Scott Rabalais

In Sunday’s101-47 demolition of Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament’ssecond round, Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams went nuclear for 24 pointseach in acombined 57 minutes of court time. MiLaysia Fulwiley had aquietfirst two games of thetournament: 13 points in a 116-58 first-roundwin over Jacksonville, two points against Texas Tech. But that wascoming off astringofsix straight contestswhere she averaged 21.3 points per gameoff the bench. And there’sno forgetting point guard Jada Richard, who has been in double figures in five of the Tigers’ past six contests. Great guard play is as essential as air in the NCAA Tournament. But for LSU (29-5) to getback to theFinal Four,to first overcome Duke in Friday’sSacramento 2regionalsemifinals (9 p.m. ESPN) andthenprobablytop-seeded UCLA on Sundayinthe Elite Eight,LSU will need more than that.

The Tigers will need elite post play

The Tigers will need someone to be

PelsrookieFears not afraid

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

Jeremiah Fears does not live up to his name —hehas no fears. Not even the most majesticarena in theNBA wasenoughtointimidate the 19-year-old rookie of the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday On anight where the courtside seats at Madison SquareGarden were filled with celebrities such as Spike Lee and Tracy Morgan, one of the biggest starsin thebuild-

their LaDazhia Williams. Williams started 34 of LSU’s36games at forwardduring the 2022-23 Tigers’ run to their first NCAA championship, playing in the long shadows cast by AllAmerican Angel Reese andguards such as Johnsonand Alexis Morris. But in the Sweet 16 against secondseeded Utah,Williams hadher career moment as aTiger. Battlingdownlow against Alissa Pili, the Utes’ All-American forward,Williams poured in agamehigh 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting with six rebounds. She alsohelped hold Pili to manageable numbers (14 points, five rebounds).

LSU survivedUtah 66-63, its closest game of the entire tournament. It is fair

See RABALAIS, page 3C

“MauriceTurnerwas theforgotten man, notbyour team butfromour fan base,” first-year Tulane coach Will Hall said. “He wasour mostdynamic player in fall camp.Hewas thebest playerin the Northwestern gameupuntil we lost him (to an injury), and we didn’tget him back and nobody ever talked about it.” When Hall talks about Tulane’schampionship potential in 2026, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Turner is one of the first playershecites.After earning the Wave’s starting job at running back in August, the Louisville transfer gained 13 yards on his first carry against Northwestern andpickedup9 yardsonthe next play, setting up atouchdownonthe opening series. He had 86 yards on 14 attempts before suffering ahigh-ankle sprain that limited his effectiveness for the rest of the season. Although he played in seven more games, his foot never felt right while he addedonly 41 yards on 14 rushes.

“It wasnot even acontact injury,” he said. “I was coming back from the sideline andmyfoot gotcaught in the turf. Right after the gameIdrove homeand Ifelt fine, but the next day it swelled and wasaching. It wasreal frustrating. Ikept trying to practice on it, and it just kept lingering.”

Tulane cycled through threereplacements before Jamauri McClure took over in the second half of the year,establishing himselfasapotential 1,000yard rusher next season when he returns from offseason shoulder surgery

See

BYSCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

At LSU, Kailin Chio is called “Kailin Ch10” forthe perfect 10s she’s had this season —nine in all.

Now everyone cancallher the Southeastern Conference gymnast of theyear

TheSEC announced itspostseasonhonors Wednesday,with no surprise thatthe LSU sophomore wasnamedthe top gymnast

Not only does Chio have the most 10.0 scores in the nation this season —including an unprecedented threeinthree events in thefinalregular-season meet against Arkansas—but she also is thenation’stop-ranked allarounderand hasthe top season scoring averageonvault and balancebeam.The Henderson, Nevada, native won five All-SEC awards (all-around, vault, bars, beamand floor)enroute to taking theall-around and vault titles Saturday at the SEC championships in Tulsa,Oklahoma.

As ateam,LSU finished third behind Florida andOklahoma.

page 4C ä Pelicans at Pistons, 6P.M.THURSDAy,GCSEN

ing

Chio wasnamed theSEC freshman of theyear in 2025, following former LSU great and current assistant coach Haleigh Bryant who accomplishedthatdouble in 2021 and 2024. Chio has 33 individual titles this season and 56 for her career, putting her in 11th place on LSU’sall-timewins list.

Chio wasn’tthe only LSU gymnast to earn top conference honors. Fellowsophomore Kaliya

Lincoln, who wona share of the SEC floor title, was named SEC co-specialist of the year along with Skye BlakelyofFlorida and HannahHorton of Missouri. Anative of Frisco, Texas, Lincoln is thefirst LSU gymnast to getSEC specialist honors since fellow Dallas-area native Kiya Johnsonin2021. In addition to Chio andLincoln, sixother LSU gymnasts earned All-SEC recognition: Nina Ballou (floor),Kylie Coen (floor),Emily

Innes(floor), KonnorMcClain (beam), Victoria Roberts (vault) andLexiZeiss (vault). It’sthe third straight year for McClain, ajunior, to earn All-SEC honors. KJ Kindler of Oklahoma was named SEC coach of the year while Morgan Price of Arkansas was the SEC newcomer

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU forward Kate Kovalshoots over Jacksonville guard Priscilla Williams, left, in the first quarter of theirNCAAtournament firstroundgame on Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

TULANE,

9:30 p.m. Formula 1: practice APPLE TV COLLEGE BASEBALL

6 p.m. Miami at Clemson ACC

7 p.m. Oklahoma at Texas SEC NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

6:10 p.m. Texas vs. Purdue CBS

6:30 p.m. Iowa vs. Nebraska TBS

8:45 p.m. Arkansas vs.Arizona CBS

9:05 p.m. Illinois vs. Houston TBS MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

12:30 p.m.UConn

Freshmen to lead Arizona and Arkansas

BY JOSH DUBOW AP sportswriter

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Coach John Calipari has made a career of relying on freshman stars to make long NCAA Tournament runs so the fact that he’s doing it again at Arkansas with Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas should come as little surprise.

For Arizona, it’s been a bit of a change for coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcats have gone from being a veteran-laden team to one that revolves around a talented freshmen duo of Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.

The Sweet 16 matchup in the West region on Thursday night between the top-seeded Wildcats (34-2) and fourth-seeded Razorbacks (28-8) will be the first game played in this round when the top two scorers for both teams are freshmen.

“If you have coaches that are confident in the culture of their program, it doesn’t matter what year you are in school to be able to be a significant contributor,” Lloyd said. “I know, the way our freshmen play, people remind me all the time like, did you realize your three freshmen were the leading scorer last game? No, I didn’t realize that. But when I’m writing up lineup cards and whatever, or game plans, I don’t write freshman next to their name either. I just know they’re really good basketball players.” The winner of the game between the Wildcats (34-2) and the Razorbacks (28-8) will advance to the regional final to play the winner of the game between second-seeded Purdue (29-8) and No. 11 seed Texas (21-14).

The freshmen have carried a heavy load for both Arizona and Arkansas this season with only Duke getting a higher share of its scoring this season from freshmen among NCAA Tournament teams Arizona has had more than half of its scoring — 50.3% — come from freshmen with Burries averaging 16 points per game, Peat at 13.7 and Ivan Kharchenko at 10.7. Arkansas ranks third among tournament teams with 44.2% of its scoring coming from freshman led by Acuff’s 23.3 and Thomas’ 15.6.

The Wildcats won the Big 12 regular season and tournament thanks in large part to the play of Peat and Burries. That carried over to the first weekend of the tournament with Burries scoring 34 points last weekend while making seven of eight 3-pointers, while Beat averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Acuff scored 36 points in the secondround win over High Point for the second most ever for a freshman to De’Aaron Fox’s 39 for Calipari’s Kentucky team against UCLA in the 2017 Sweet 16. His 60 points so far are the most ever for a freshman in the first two rounds and he joined Billy Donovan and Jimmer Fredette as the only players of any class since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to average at least 30 points and six assists in the first two rounds.

Thomas scored 40 points the first two games, making Arkansas one of two teams alive in the tournament with two players averaging at least 20 points per game in the first two rounds.

Calipari has made a career of relying on freshmen with talented players such as Fox, Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns helping fuel long tournament runs at Memphis and Kentucky

“I would say just it’s the confidence that he instills in his players,” Thomas said. “He doesn’t want anybody to be shy of their own game. When we commit and we come, and it’s time to hoop in the summer, you put your game on display From there on he’ll recognize what you do best and he’s going to help you.”

Pope’s status

Sean Miller is optimistic Texas guard Jordan Pope can play in a homecoming game despite injuring his ankle late in a secondround win over Gonzaga.

“We’re hopeful that he can,” Miller said. “We’ve given him a lot of rest since our last game, and I think he’s really responding to it.” Pope, who was born and raised in nearby Oakland, is averaging 13.1 points per game for Texas this season and hit a key 3-pointer late in a first-round win over BYU.

NCAA TOURNAMENT

Big Red’s bandwagon showing out in H-Town

Nebraska fans hyped about team’s huge turnaround

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

Oklahoma City was caught off-guard by the invasion of Nebraska Cornhuskers fans for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Thousands of people in red took over the arena and downtown eating and drinking establishments. Young men made celebratory dives into a nearby canal after wins. Word spread that some of the bars ran out of the beer of choice, Busch Light. A good time was had by all.

Now the Big Red bandwagon is headed to Houston for the Sweet 16, and the fans are going to be extra frisky with rival Iowa as the opponent for Thursday night’s game at the Toyota Center

A sign that Houston is prepared: Tom’s Watch Bar, designated the official headquarters for Nebraska fans, has opened an outdoor overflow area and rented refrigerated trucks to keep cold drinks at the ready for when the taps run low inside With Sweet 16 games at night and the Houston Astros’ season opener down the street in the afternoon, an estimated 3,000 patrons are expected, said Brooks Schaden, co-CEO of the Denver-based chain with 19 Tom’s locations

Nebraska basketball caught on with the masses in the Cornhusker State largely because the program’s turnaround was so dramatic. The Huskers had never won a game in eight previous NCAA Tournament appearances and they still haven’t won a conference championship since 1950.

At a time when the Nebraska football team hasn’t given fans much to cheer about, the basketball team’s 20-0 start under Fred Hoiberg attracted new followers.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

n No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue, 6:10 p.m., CBS n No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska, 6:30 p.m.TBS/TruTV

n No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona, 8:45 p.m., CBS n No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston, 9:05 p.m.,TBS/TruTV

on TV Jessica surprised him by buying tickets from an online broker The Holloways loaded up their dogs in their recreational vehicle Wednesday and began the 13-hour drive from their home in Raymond, Nebraska The fact the RV gets about eight miles per gallon at a time of rising gas prices didn’t faze Jim.

“I like the Hoiberg story, him being from the Midwest and all that good stuff that comes with it,” he said.

“I watched him in the pros, watched him at Iowa State, knew of him. That’s my leading interest. And just the fact they’re having a good season and wanting to be supportive.”

Saints pick up former No. 2 overall pick Wilson

The Saints reached a free agent agreement with former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson late Tuesday according to league sources. Wilson will join Spencer Rattler as depth behind starting quarterback Tyler Shough. The New York Jets selected Wilson with the second pick of the 2021 draft after his breakout junior season at BYU. Wilson compiled a 12-21 record over parts of three seasons as the Jets starting quarterback. New York traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos before the 2024 season, and he then spent the 2025 season with the Miami Dolphins. Wilson has a career passer rating of 73.1, having thrown for 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions in 38 games.

Seahawks to open season on Wednesday of Week 1

SEATTLE The NFL announced Wednesday that the Seattle Seahawks, the league’s reigning Super Bowl champions, will open the season at home on Wednesday, Sept 9, in the regular-season opener for the league.

The league did not name an opponent but did announce the date and time — a 7:20 p.m. kickoff — and TV designation (NBC).

The opponent will be announced with the rest of the NFL schedule this spring.

The date of the Seahawks’ game had been in question because the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will play on Friday morning, Sept. 11, in Melbourne, Australia — a game that will air in the U.S. on Thursday night, Sept. 10.

Padres RHP Darvish starting season on restricted list

huge impact on us winning those two games just with the energy, how charged-up it was, and it was really fun to be a part of that. Husker fans are going to remember that forever.” Dawn Friedrich said she and her husband, Jeff, sure will. She said they might attend three Nebraska basketball games per year along with some football and volleyball games. They previously had never traveled for a basketball game. Now they’re hardcore. They drove to the games in Oklahoma City, then back home to Wausa, Nebraska — population fewer than 600 — on Sunday They turned around Wednesday and began their drive to Houston, nearly 1,000 miles away

Right-hander Yu Darvish began the season on the Padres’ restricted list while he recovers from elbow surgery which means he won’t be getting paid immediately by San Diego.

Darvish was placed on the restricted list instead of the injured list as the Padres got down to the 26-player active limit Wednesday The 39-year-old Japanese star won’t pitch this season after elbow ligament repair surgery late last year, but he also hasn’t retired.

Darvish is owed $43 million for the final three seasons of a $108 million, six-year contract: $15 million in 2026 and $14 million each in 2027 and 2028.

The surprising move by Darvish and the Padres could clear budgetary room for San Diego to pursue another player

Cole put on 15-day IL by Yankees before opener

SAN FRANCISCO Ace Gerrit Cole was put on the 15-day injured list by the New York Yankees before Wednesday’s season opener against San Francisco rather than the 60-day IL. If the 35-year-old right-hander had been placed on the 60-day IL, he could have not pitched in a major league game until May 24. He had Tommy John surgery on March 11 last year with Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr Neal ElAttrache and has made a pair of spring training starts, on March 18 and on Tuesday New York also placed left-hader Carlos Rodon, recovering from elbow surgery in October on the 15-day IL and put shortstop Anthony Volpe (shoulder surgery) on the 10-day IL

Eighth grader has perfect women’s NCAA bracket

“Jordan has really grown and emerged as our point guard,” Miller said. “We depend on him in just virtually every category.”

“We weren’t 100% sure we were going to make the Houston trip,” Dawn Friedrich said, “and then Monday sometime we decided, ‘Yeah, what the heck.’” Following the Huskers isn’t cheap. Ticketing technology company Victory Live, which analyzes prices across multiple re-sale platforms, reported the average price paid for an all-session ticket to Thursday’s games in Houston had increased 22% since Nebraska earned its spot in the Sweet 16. The average price paid Wednesday was $524, up from $429 before Nebraska’s win over Vanderbilt on Saturday “We told our son last night that we guess we’re spending all your inheritance,” Friedrich said. On TV AUTO RACING

Jim Holloway, a research engineer at the university’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility hadn’t attended a Nebraska basketball game in many years and his wife, Jessica, isn’t even a sports fan. But after Nebraska beat Vanderbilt to make the Sweet 16, a game Jim watched alone

Hoiberg said he and his players appreciate all the support. After the win over Vanderbilt, the players did a victory lap around the arena to high-five the fans. Hoiberg said he had never seen one fan base dominate a venue at a neutral site like that.

“It’s what made that event so unforgettable for so many people,” Hoiberg said “For our guys to go around and show the love to the fans... There’s no doubt they had a

The only perfect bracket left after the opening weekend of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments from more than 40 million entries across all the major contests — was produced not by some college basketball expert or betting guru but an eighth grader from suburban Pittsburgh. His name is Otto Schellhammer He is 14 years old. And despite his perfect-so-far women’s bracket, he admits to knowing nothing about hoops.

“I play with my friends,” he said, “but I don’t really watch it.”

Oh, he’ll be watching now Schellhammer has correctly picked the first 48 women’s games in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge, leaving him just 15 away from perfection. He has Texas cutting down the nets on April 5 in Phoenix.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By NATE BILLINGS

A Nebraska fan holds a sign after the Cornhuskers beat Vanderbilt in an NCAA Tournament second-round game on Saturday in Oklahoma City

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg acknowledges the fans as he leaves the court after a game against Vanderbilt on Saturday

Sources: LSU targets McNeese AD with Wade ties

BY TOYLOY BROWN III and WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writers

LSU is working to hire McNeese State athletic director Heath Schroyer as a senior administrator, which is viewed as an important step in the ability to lure former men’s basketball coach Will Wade back to Baton Rouge, multiple sources told The Advocate on Wednesday Schroyer has led the McNeese State athletic department for nearly six years after he was the program’s men’s basketball coach starting in 2018. After Wade was fired for cause by LSU in spring 2022 because of multiple allegations of NCAA Level I violations, Schroyer hired him as the coach of the Cowboys a year later At LSU, Schroyer would reunite with LSU president Wade

Rousse, who was hired in November after serving as president of McNeese. They worked closely together in Lake Charles, and Schroyer was on campus with Rousse the day he was announced as the LSU president. Schroyer would fill a spot in the athletic department that was vacated when LSU promoted Verge Ausberry to athletic director His role would oversee men’s basketball and external government affairs. There have been discussions about hiring Schroyer at LSU for months, and now the process is accelerating as the school reaches a critical point in its decision with the men’s basketball coaching spot. While current coach Matt McMahon remains, the wheels are in motion to hire Wade away from NC State. He just finished his first season with the Wolfpack with a 20-14 record and a 68-66 loss in

the First Four of the NCAA Tournament to Texas. Wade led McNeese to excellence, winning the regular-season and Southland Conference Tournament championships to earn an NCAA Tournament berth in each of his two seasons at the school. In his second NCAA Tournament appearance at McNeese during the 2024-25 season, the No. 12 seed Cowboys won their first-round matchup against No 5 seed Clemson. This season, McMahon led LSU to a 15-17 overall record and a last-place finish in the SEC, going 3-15. The fourth-year coach’s future with the program is uncertain, as rumors swirl regarding the potential return of Wade. With three years remaining on his contract, McMahon’s buyout if fired at LSU without cause is roughly $8 million.

Firing McMahon to hire Wade would cost LSU hoops

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

LSU PG THOMAS TO ENTER PORTAL

While Matt McMahon remains the coach of LSU, his future with the basketball program isn’t certain. After missing the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons and finishing in the bottom two of the Southeastern Conference standings three times, LSU could be ready for a change. A potential new coach rumored is one familiar with Baton Rouge — North Carolina State coach Will Wade. The fo rmer LSU coach led NC State (20-14, 10-8 ACC) to an NCAA To urna me nt berth as a No. 11 seed, losing 6866 to Texas in the First Four on March 17. He signed a six-year contract worth $17.25 million to lead the Wolfpack in March 2025. If LSU decides to hire Wade, it’ll have to pay a pair of buyouts. One would be McMahon’s roughly $8 million buyout with three years left on his contract. The other is Wade’s, so he can leave NC State after one year LSU would have to pay NC State $5 million for Wade’s buyout. However, that price tag drops to $3 million if LSU hires Wade after April 1. The transfer portal window opens April 7. Once LSU pays NC State, it’ll have to hand Wade a contract that is likely comparable to or more than the money he would have earned annually at NC State. This then would be followed by agree-

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

to say the Tigers wouldn’t have won the NCAA title without the superb effort Williams gave that day. “Shout out LaDazhia,” Johnson said last week going into the NCAA Tournament. “That was my vet. I love her.”

As for this year’s post players, this year’s “bigs,” Johnson said: “We’re really telling them ‘We need y’all. We need y’all. We (guards are) going to handle our part, but we need y’all to be big.’ “I think they really like taking on that responsibility And their focus has been unmatched Kate,

LSU point guard Dedan Thomas will enter the transfer portal, his dad, Dedan Thomas Sr. told The Advocate on Wednesday.

The junior spent one season at LSU, averaging 15.3 points and a teamleading 6.5 assists before having season-ending foot surgery in February.

He is the first player to announce he will enter the transfer portal from coach Matt McMahon’s roster

The news of Thomas’ intention to transfer comes as signs point toward the potential firing of McMahon and reunion with former LSU coach Will Wade, who currently coaches at NC State.

Thomas, who transferred to LSU from UNLV, injured his left foot on Jan. 2, the day before the Southeastern Conference opener He reaggravated the injury on Jan 28 after playing in three games before being shut down for the season.

ing to provide the requisite NIL resources necessary to rebuild the team and the money to hire his coaching staff.

After NC State lost to Virginia in the ACC Tournament on March 12, Wade said in a news conference that LSU had not contacted him.

“Is the job open there?” Wade said. “No? Listen, let me be very clear: I’m excited at NC State. I was hired at NC State to do a job.

This wasn’t going to take one year

I’ve already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes that we need to make and some of the things that we need to do to put this program where it deserves long term.”

Wade also told reporters that the 2025-26 squad would be his worst at NC State.

“We’ll be fine,” Wade said on March 17. “I wouldn’t worry about us. This will be the worst team we have at NC State right here You just watched it. This is the floor of

Mama, Z and Grace, they’ve really been turning it up a notch. I think they know we need them. And I think they know we’re counting on them.”

UConn star Fudd easy to locate during March

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

It’s nearly impossible to miss seeing UConn star Azzi Fudd when tuning in for March Madness, as she’s all over TV commercials and social media.

“Really fortunate to have done some really amazing and fun deals and have some great partnerships,” Fudd said in a Zoom interview with The Associated Press. “I’m super excited to see everything just start to roll out. It’s going to be crazy to see everything I’ve done. I feel like a lot of things are being posted now.”

Fudd is one of the most recognizable stars of women’s basketball, whether in Planet Fitness ads, Marriott Bonvoy spots or Geico commercials.

“Companies are figuring out how to best use college athletes in the moment and you can’t watch a men’s or women’s game without seeing a commercial with Azzi Fudd in it,” said Joe Favorito, a longtime sports consultant and professor in Columbia’s School of Professional Studies. “She had the benefit of being around great players for a while and she’s a great comeback story.”

Fudd, who was an AP All-American this season, said that much of the content was shot earlier in the year so as not to put extra time demands on her during the busiest time of her season.

“I’m excited since March is the best time of the year. I’m excited for everything,” she said.

Partnering with Planet Fitness was a natural fit for Fudd, who has dealt with injuries for much of her college career

Brown III

our program, and we will be much better moving forward.

“We know what’s got to get fixed. I’ve got a very clear mind on what we need and how we need to go about attacking and doing it. That’s what we’re going to do As soon as the plane hits the ground tomorrow in Raleigh, we’re going to work. There’s no vacation, there’s no time off We’re getting to work, and we’re going to get this thing turned around.

Wade coached LSU to three NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons and had an overall record of 105-51 and a 56-33 SEC record His deepest finish in the postseason was the Sweet 16 during the 2018-19 season. Wade was fired for cause in 2022 after the NCAA determined he committed violations.

LSU (15-17, 3-15 SEC) finished last in the SEC this year Under McMahon, the Tigers are 17-55 in the SEC in four years.

Flau’jae spoke of forwards Kate Koval, Amiya Joyner, ZaKiyah Johnson and Grace Knox. All four have rotated in and out of the LSU lineup this season depending on the matchup They’ve all had big performances at times, but all also have faded into the background at times. They will have to be golden in the Golden State this weekend. Duke starts off with a formidable group of forwards in 6-foot-2 Toby Fournier — the Blue Devils’ best player with 17.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game along with 6-3 Delaney Thomas (11.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and 6-4 Jordan Wood (4.9, 3.1). If LSU can get by Duke for the second time this season (the Tigers won 93-77 at Duke on Dec. 4), then the mountain that is UCLA waits to be climbed (the Bruins play Minnesota in the other regional semi). UCLA (33-1) got slightly disrespected by not being the No. 1 overall NCAA seed instead of UConn, but the Bruins are tough enough. Most formidable of all is 6-7 center Lauren Betts (17.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.8 blocks per game), who just poured in 35 points and nine rebounds in an 87-68 second-round win over Oklahoma State. In ESPN’s first-rate documentary about NC State’s legendary upset of Houston in the 1983 NCAA

“It’s an essential part of literally every single day — some form of recovery,” Fudd said. “So to be able to partner with them and really put that emphasis on how important it is to make sure you’re recovering and take care of yourself physically, mentally you have to put that time with that to take your

comfort.”

She missed 11 games as a freshman with a foot injury The next year she suffered a knee injury in December that cost her 22 games, including time after she reaggravated it.

The next season she tore her ACL in early November and played in only two games. She’s been healthy the last two years, helping UConn win its 12th national championship in 2025 and now has the Huskies four wins away from repeating and capping off an unbeaten season.

“Having gone through the injuries, I learned a lot about how important it is to have a great warmup and how extremely vital it is to also have a great recovery,” Fudd said. “I’m always doing contrast — the cold tub and hot tubs. I’m rolling out for literally an hour before and after practice and work out, it’s using the sauna, it’s stretching. It’s getting those massages. It’s a massage chair It’s any resource I can find.”

Fudd credits her mother Katie, who played at NC State and Georgetown, for helping her understand how to take care of herself early on.

“I have a mother who’s also been through a ton of injuries, so she stressed the importance of taking care of our body from a young age,” Fudd said. The mother-daughter combo teamed up in a fun social media spot for Celsius beverages, playing a version of the basketball game “Horse.” Fudd loses to her mom, who hits trick shots to beat the UConn star — who had 34 points in her final home game on Monday night that advanced the Huskies to their 32nd consecutive Sweet 16.

“This started a little before Caitlin Clark and then it exploded,” Favorito said. “Not just for women’s basketball fans, but for people who love sports and pop culture. She’s top of the list right now and where (UConn) goes in the next two weeks will continue to add to that.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

UConn guard Azzi Fudd reacts after making a 3-pointer during the first half of an NCAA Tournament second-round game against Syracuse on Monday in Storrs, Conn.

men’s final, Dereck Whittenburg talks about Hall of Fame Cougars center Hakeem Olajuwon, saying in subtle but telling fashion, “He is a problem.”

Like Hakeem the Dream, Betts is a “Houston, we have a problem” problem. No one, including LSU, has a comp for her, though the 6-5 Koval comes closest. Koval (8.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg) has started only 16 of the Tigers’ 34 games. But she started against Jacksonville and Texas Tech, one assumes to get her acclimated as best as possible for the regional test to come.

“I feel post play is super important,” Koval said last week, “especially with the system coach (Kim) Mulkey runs. Just being able to step up when our guards

are getting doubled or they’re switching up defenses. Just being confident, asking for the ball in the paint and being dominant.

“The mindset is to dominate every game we get. We’ve been working hard for this moment.” Koval alone doesn’t have to be the low post star for LSU this weekend. ZaKiyah Johnson, Knox or Joyner could fill that role just as well.

But as sure as the sun sets over the Golden Gate bridge each day one or more of those LSU forwards will have to bring their A-game, their A-plus game, if the Tigers want to bring back a regional title.

Staff writer Reed Darcey contributed to this report.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

McNeese State coach Will Wade, left, greets McNeese president Wade Rousse, center and athletic director Heath Schroyer after McNeese beat the UNO Privateers at Lakefront Arena on March 6, 2024.

JESSICA HILL

Toyloy

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU head coach Matt McMahon walks onto the court for the game against Oklahoma on Feb 28 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Yorke’s power display a boon for LSU

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Zach Yorke arrived at LSU with high expectations.

After hitting 328 with 32 home runs in three seasons at Grand Canyon, Yorke was LSU coach Jay Johnson’s answer to replacing Jared Jones, the program’s first baseman and middle-of-the-order staple for two years

But Yorke’s season, through 26 games in Baton Rouge, hasn’t gone to plan He came into Tuesday’s matchup with Louisiana Tech with just two extra-base hits since Feb. 27 and was taken out of the lineup on Saturday after striking out four times on Friday (three times looking).

“I had a good meeting with coach after Friday night,” Yorke said. “It was probably the worst game of my life.”

Yorke was back in the lineup Tuesday And for the first time in nine contests, he cracked an extrabase hit, blasting a pair of home runs in LSU’s 15-5 win at Alex Box Stadium in eight innings. The game ended early due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Yorke finished 2 for 4 with a walk and four RBIs. He whipped out a cathartic bat flip after his first homer in the fifth inning, golfing a low fastball 398 feet over the right-center wall. The second ball he clubbed over the fence went 405 feet and was good for three runs in the eighth.

“I’m proud of him for persever-

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

shot 9 of 12 from the floor, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.

“I thought he had a significant imprint on that game,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said.

“He made big plays offensively, defensively and got to the rim. I thought he played a very mature game tonight. In a high-level game against a very physical, aggressive defense, he belonged in that game. And he turned the game and gave us a shot to win that game ” It was one of Fears’ best games since the Pelicans drafted him with the No 7 overall pick last summer Zion Williamson, who led the Pelicans with 22 points on Tuesday, knows what it’s like to play well in a Madison Square Garden debut. When Williamson played his first game in the there five year ago in his second season he poured in 34 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. So

ing,” Johnson said, “sticking (with it) through failure.”

A productive Yorke is a crucial component of the lineup. If the Tigers hope to bounce back over the next eight weeks of Southeastern Conference play they need more

Williamson was able to appreciate what Fears did in his first game at MSG.

“He was aggressive from start to finish,” Williamson said. “You can see his maturity in the game as he’s picking and choosing which spots he wants to get to and how he gets to them. He did his thing tonight.”

The 21 points were the most Fears has scored since pouring in a career-high 28 in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on the first day of March

The Pelicans fell behind 98-92 early in the fourth quarter against the Knicks. That’s when Fears really got going He scored 11 of the Pelicans’ next 13 points. His reverse layup closed the Pels’ deficit to 109-105. He followed that up with a steal that led to a Saddiq Bey layup.

“In the moment, you know he’s got it going,” Borrego said. “I think we all felt that He definitely had it going, hitting big shots. There was a moment we could have gone back to Dejounte (Murray), but we

LSU GYM

Continued from page 1C

Alabama were named SEC cofreshmen of the year LSU has the week off before returning to action next week when the Tigers host an NCAA regional April 1-4 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU is the No. 2 national seed and will compete in the regional semifinals

at 7 p.m. April 2 against No. 15 Clemson, Auburn and the winner of the first-round meet April 1 between Air Force and Nebraska. No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Michigan, North Carolina and Utah State are in the other regional semifinal. The top two teams from the regional final plus the top two unattached gymnasts from each event advance to the NCAA championships on April 16 and 18 in Forth Worth, Texas.

reliable contributors to lengthen the order and, as Johnson previously has noted, hit more doubles

Yorke can be an antidote to both issues and help replace the power Jones provided for years.

“My teammates know that I’ve

rolled with Fears. I think it was the right call. He was fantastic.”

With 2:48 remaining, Borrego subbed in Murray for Fears, ending the rookie’s big night. But for Fears, it was a night he’ll always remember Now he’ll try to carry it over for the last nine games of the season, starting with Thursday’s road game against the Detroit Pistons.

“You recognize his aggression and his efficiency out there,” Borrego said. “The biggest thing with him is if he’s making the right play you’ve got to live with that. And he is. He’s playing off two feet, not turning it over, getting shots on goal, putting pressure on the rim. He’s maturing. This second half of the season, he’s really elevated his game. The future is bright with that kid.”

Anyone who saw Fears playing under the bright lights of New York City on Tuesday night would agree.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

been pressing a little bit, which I wish I could tell you I wasn’t,” Yorke said. “But I’m just going to take it day by day, at-bat by atbat, and keep it positive and try to hit the ball hard.” Yorke wasn’t alone in LSU’s of-

ä Kentucky at LSU, 6:30 P.M. FRIDAy SECN+

fensive assault against the Bulldogs. Sophomore Derek Curiel and junior Steven Milam had three hits apiece. Sophomore John Pearson and junior Jake Brown had run-scoring hits. By the end of the night, LSU (17-9) had seven walks and 14 hits.

That offensive performance was more than enough to overcome a sluggish start on the mound and in the field.

Freshman right-hander starter Reagan Ricken allowed two runs in the first inning. Only one of the runs was earned because of an errant throw from Brown out of right field that allowed a runner from third base to score. In his third consecutive midweek start, Ricken recorded only two outs before he was replaced by sophomore left-hander Ethan Plog, who finished the inning with a strikeout. Including Plog, LSU turned to six different arms to hold Louisiana Tech (15-11) to one run until the Bulldogs scored twice in the eighth inning.

“We have very good lefties, very good righties. Everybody’s got like their own unique trait,” Plog said. “I think that’s very awesome for us.”

LSU resumes SEC play on Friday against Kentucky First pitch from Alex Box Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+

TULANE

Continued from page 1C

that will sideline him for all of the spring. There is plenty of room, though, for a playmaker like Turner, a former wideout recruit who is ideal for the hybrid running back/receiver spot labeled “star” in Hall’s scheme.

The key is staying healthy Turner missed eight games at Louisville in 2024 with an ankle sprain after winning the starting role there, too. He impressed the Wave coaches with his maturity and attitude upon his arrival last spring, and Hall cannot wait to see what he can do in his offense.

“To get him back, that’s like going out and getting a freaking 5-star out of the portal,” Hall

said. “The dude can play, and he’s a great human being. He impacts everyone around him in a positive way.”

Turner affected last Thursday’s scrimmage with 68 yards on 10 carries (unofficially), including a scoring run when he had nothing but green turf in front of him after turning the corner

“When I broke loose, I knew I was going to get in, but I didn’t know there was going to be that much space,” he said. “As I pressed the line of scrimmage and bounced out, I was out of there.” He is burning to break out in his final year of college eligibility rather than just show flashes. As a freshman at Louisville in 2022, he rushed for 160 yards on 31 carries in a bowl win against Cincinnati. He had a 41-yard gain in the 2023

ACC championship game against Florida State, but his ankle injuries prevented him from becoming a true feature back for the Cardinals in 2024 and again at Tulane last season.

“Words can’t even express how hungry I am,” he said. “I’m ready to get back out there, make plays for the team and celebrate with everybody.”

Six practices into spring drills, Turner already likes what he has seen from the scheme.

“It really allows us to showcase our talent not only in the run game but the pass game,” he said “I love how coach Hall sets the offense up to allow us to have one-on-one matchups with the linebackers and the safeties out of the backfield. I’m able to

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAMELA SMITH Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears shoots the ball against the New york Knicks during the second half of a game on Tuesday in New york

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU gymnast Kaliya Lincoln finishes her floor routine against Auburn on Feb 13 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Lincoln was named to the all-SEC team on Wednesday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Tulane Green Wave running back Maurice Turner runs with the ball during

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

‘Nobody likes to be humiliated’

Ex-ump worries current umps will be embarrassed when robots overturn calls

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

YORK Richie Garcia is worried about the impact that robot umpires will have on their human counterparts

Major League Baseball introduced the Automated Ball-Strike System for regular-season play this season starting with the New York Yankees’ opener at San Francisco on Wednesday night, giving teams a chance to appeal strike zone decisions to a system based on 12 Hawk-Eye cameras.

“I think it’s embarrassing, embarrassing to the umpires that are calling the game. Nobody likes to be humiliated in front of 30,000, 40,000 people,” said Garcia, a major league umpire from 1975-99. “What Major League Baseball is saying is: I don’t trust the umpire’s strike zone, so I’m going to use something that’s going to be operated by some computer geek that knows nothing about baseball, and he’s the one that’s going to measure this and measure that because he’s got a Ph.D. in physics or whatever the hell he’s got a degree in.”

Garcia drew criticism for not calling a strike on a 2-2 pitch from San Diego’s Mark Langston to the Yankees’ Tino Martinez in the 1998 World Series opener, and Martinez hit a tiebreaking grand slam on the next offering that sparked New York to a four-game sweep.

Umpires keep improving

While there is constant debate over calls umpires were overall their most accurate ever last year Just not as perfect as technology

There were 368,898 regular-season pitches called by big league umps last season, an average of 152 per game. The 92.83% accuracy rate was the highest — an average of 10.88 missed calls per game, according to MLB. That is down from an average of 16.58 missed calls per game in 2016, when the accuracy rate was 89.31%

“I’m 60 and it seems to me like the younger generation really wants this technology and they want the certainty of a pitch being a ball or a strike,” said Ted Barrett, a big league ump from 1994 to 2022. Under ABS, each team gets two challenges per game and keeps a challenge if successful. A team out of challenges gets one additional in each extra inning.

“As an umpire, you never want to miss anything. You want to be absolutely 100% correct, but we’re all human and that’s just not possible,” said Sam Holbrook, an MLB umpire from 1996 to 2022

“Social media and the media have really been hammering the umpires for pitches that are just minutely off the zone or in the zone or whatever, and it’s just too hard to be perfect with all of this. I think it’s going to be good to correct any egregious pitches. I think it’s going to show

how good the umpires actually are.”

Electronic evaluation

MLB installed an Umpire Information System developed by Questec at some ballparks in 2001 and upgraded to a league-wide Zone Evaluation in 2009 as part the PITCHf/x system.

TrackMan’s doppler radar system took over in 2017 as part of MLB Statcast.

Since 2009, umpires have received a Z-E evaluation for every game they work behind the plate. Since 2014, they also have experienced getting overturned by expanded video review

“It’s tough mentally on an umpire because you failed at your job and there’s that instant feedback of failure,” Barrett said. “Nobody wants to fail at your job, but then there’s also the, hey, thank God I didn’t cost that team a game or a run or a pennant. No one wants to live with that. And so we take the positive of that. The negative is sometimes it’s like: What am I doing over there? I got overturned twice at first base.”

Under ABS, a strike is defined as when the ball crosses over the plate at the midpoint of the plate in a box 53.5% of the batter’s height at the top and 27% at the bottom. That is different from the rule book strike zone of a cube whose top is the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants and whose bottom is at the hollow beneath the kneecap.

“They’re going to change to what the ABS calls, whether it’s a challenge or not because, remember they are getting evaluated on their performance based on that ABS,” Barrett said. Test results

Philadelphia had the best spring training challenge success rate among teams at the plate with 61%, followed by the Chicago Cubs (60%), Boston and Seattle (54% each), while Texas and Arizona (33% each) and Kansas City (34%) were at the bottom.

St. Louis (75%), Cincinnati (71%) and Cleveland (70%) topped challenge success by fielding teams, while the Los Angeles Dodgers (43%) and Baltimore (45%) lagged.

Batters won 46% of 887 challenges and defense 60% of 1,020. The Yankees won the most challenges overall with 54, and Arizona, the Dodgers and the New York Mets tied for the fewest wins with 20.

Boston’s Willson Contreras had the most batter challenges and was successful on six of seven. Philadelphia’s Christian Cairo had the most challenges among batters with a 100% success rate at four

Among catchers, Pedro Pagés of St Louis was 8 for 8, Cincinnati’s P.J. Higgins 7 for 7 and Milwaukee’s Jeferson Quero 6 for 6. Edgar Quero of the Chicago White Sox was 2 for 11, Payton Henry of the New York Yankees 1 for 9 and Austin Wynns of the Athletics 0 for 7.

Benetti to lead NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’

BY JOE REEDY AP sportswriter

When NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood learned in November that his network would be back doing baseball, he immediately knew who he wanted as his play-by-play voice and the format for it.

Viewers will get their first look and listen on Thursday when NBC has an opening day doubleheader

The prime time game between the two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks will be Jason Benetti’s debut as the network’s lead baseball announcer Benetti will be the voice of “Sunday Night Baseball,” which moves to NBC and Peacock after 26 seasons on ESPN

He handled play-by-play for the “MLB Sunday Leadoff” package on Peacock in 2022 after calling baseball for NBC during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“Sam and I always joked after 2022 — and he was serious, and it turned out I was, too that if NBC ever got baseball back in this sort of state, that I would be on the list of people that he would call. And I firmly appreciate that,” Benetti said. Benetti had been with Fox Sports since 2022, calling baseball, NFL, college football and college basketball.

Fox let him out of his contract early for this opportunity

NBC will do the Sunday night games and Wild Card rounds the next three seasons after ESPN opted out of its original rights deal with MLB Benetti is a familiar voice for base-

ball fans, especially those in Detroit and Chicago This will also be his third season calling Tigers games locally after eight seasons with the White Sox.

The format of “Sunday Night Baseball” will be the same as it was for “Sunday Leadoff.” Benetti will be joined in the booth by analysts from both teams. On Thursday night, it will be former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser and Diamondbacks slugger Luis Gonzalez, who led the franchise to a World Series title in 2001.

For the first “Sunday Night Baseball” game between the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners, it will be Rick Manning and Ryan RowlandSmith.

“At some point, somebody will ask if you’re around a bunch of baseball people, what three people would you want to have at the dinner table to talk baseball? And I kind of get to do that with this every week,” Benetti said. “It’s going to be two separate people who maybe you haven’t heard have a baseball conversation before. That brings me a lot of joy and curiosity, and we think it’s going to be for fans as well.”

Having analysts from both teams also harkens back to when NBC did the World Series. From 1947 through ’76, NBC would use either the play-byplay announcers or analysts for the Fall Classic.

In 1975, Carlton Fisk’s epic home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 was called on NBC by Red Sox announcer Dick Stockton, who would later become the lead NBA voice for CBS.

“The biggest complaint you hear during the postseason in baseball is, I can’t

North Carolina parts ways with Davis after 5 years

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

Hubert Davis appeared to be the right coach to be North Carolina’s bridge from Dean Smith to Roy Williams and into the future. Instead, that run lasted just five years.

North Carolina has parted ways with Davis, announcing Tuesday night that it had made “a leadership change” to end Davis’ tenure as successor to retired Hall of Fame coach Williams. Davis’ time featured multiple high points, but also wild swings of results, an inconsistency that runs contrary to the Tar Heels’ status as a tradition-rich blueblood with a hallmark of sustained top-tier success.

In its announcement, the school said athletic director Bubba Cunningham and executive associate AD Steve Newmark — who will take over as Cunningham’s successor in July — made the recommendation ultimately accepted by chancellor Lee Roberts.

“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader — he has helped make special memories we will never forget,” Cunningham said in a statement “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”

In his own statement posted on social media, Davis said he had been “let go” by the school and that he hopes to continue coaching.

“My desire was to continue to coach here,” Davis said. “This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff.

“I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together My goal is to coach again in the very near future.”

hear my people. I can’t hear my guys call the game. We’re going to have one person that’s authentic to that team calling games through the season,” Flood said, the executive producer of NBC Sports. “When we do the Wild Card round, it will exist as well. Because it’s the best way to know exactly what’s going on inside each clubhouse, on the field who’s hot, who’s not and what matters most to those fans.”

Benetti said he will enjoy the challenge of working with different analysts every week, and that working nine innings with two people each with their own cadence and tenor will be a fun puzzle to solve.

Benetti likened it in some ways to when he worked college basketball games on ESPN with the late Bill Walton. There was also a White Sox game in 2019 in Southern California against the Angels, where Walton was Benetti’s analyst.

“When I worked with Bill — a marvelous, joyful human being — you just had to know that you’re going to have to pay attention to the game and then Bill and the conversation, whatever crosses your own synapses, and then weigh that at all times. And it’s this crossword puzzle that is not black and white; it’s like psychedelic squares instead, but you just kind of have to always gauge where your mind needs to go.

“And the answer usually is two or three places at once,” Benetti said. “Working with Bill in large part taught me that you can have a conversation about a lot of things while honoring the game and having a great time doing it.”

The program with six NCAA titles and a nationalrecord 21 Final Fours now has just three March Madness wins in the four seasons since an unexpected run to the 2022 national title game in Davis’ debut season. The Tar Heels reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed in 2024 before being upset by Alabama, but otherwise haven’t reached the round of 32 in that span, and even missed the NCAAs entirely in 2023. The final blow was Thursday’s overtime loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament in which the Rams rallied from 19 down for the biggest comeback in firstround history, changing the tenor of conversations about Davis’ future. And by Saturday, Cunningham said the school was evaluating “all facets” of the program. Ultimately, that led to moving forward without the 55-year-old Davis, a popular former UNC player under Smith who went on to play 12 years in the NBA, work in broadcasting at ESPN, then join Williams’ staff as an assistant in 2012. The school said it will honor terms of Davis’ contract. He signed a two-year extension last season running through 2029-30. The school would owe Davis roughly $5.3 million for the remaining future years of his deal, plus remaining payments for the 2025-26 fiscal year that ends June 30. Davis, who played at UNC from 1988-92, finished with a 125-54 record with the Tar Heels for a 69.8% win percentage.

Davis’ tenure

The high point of Davis’ tenure came early, with a

wild late-season ride to the 2022 NCAA championship game that seemed to validate Williams’ backing of his former assistant. That included two of UNC’s biggest wins against famed rival Duke, the first in spoiling Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s home finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the second a month later to end Coach K’s career in the first-ever tournament meeting at the Final Four Davis also won an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in 2024, while he would become the first coach in ACC history to win at least 20 games in each of his first five seasons. Yet the low points were problematic for a program that measures itself by marquee wins and banners. They were hardly on the level of the 8-20 crashout under Matt Doherty in 2002 or even Williams’ lone losing season (14-19) in 2020. Yet the stumbles under Davis that would’ve qualified as successes elsewhere struck at the core identity of a program with national brand-name relevance and ties to some of the sport’s biggest names like Smith, Williams, James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Vince Carter Davis’ 2023 team had the ignominy of becoming the first team ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 to miss the NCAA Tournament. After the 2024 surge came on a pitch-perfect dip into the transfer portal, the Tar Heels followed by going just 1-12 in Quadrant 1 games that top a postseason resume, then squeaked into the First Four to beat San Diego State before falling in the first round to Ole Miss. A course-altering injury The Tar Heels appeared ready for a leap this year with top recruit and highend NBA prospect Caleb Wilson proving to be an immediate star The Tar Heels beat Kansas and won at Kentucky, made a huge comeback to win at Virginia. Then they gave No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed Duke one of its two losses all year on Seth Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer to sit at 19-4. But Wilson broke his left hand days later at Miami. Then, when he was on the verge of returning in early March, Wilson — later chosen an AP second-team All-American broke his right thumb during a noncontact drill and was lost for the season. The Tar Heels didn’t win again. They lost at Duke and fell behind by 18 before falling short in a frantic comeback against Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Then they faded against VCU after leading 56-37 on Trimble’s layup with 14:58 left. That only increased existing scrutiny of Davis’ coaching decisions — such as shortening his second-half rotation to have four players play all 20 second-half minutes as well as his terse and awkward responses afterward. Davis was asked at one point what had gone wrong in that game. “What do you mean?” he responded in what turned out to be his final news conference as coach.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

A replay from the Automated Ball-Strike System plays after a play was challenged during the second inning of a spring training game between the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers on Feb 25 in Phoenix.

Patrick Taylor pitcher Ashtyn Rogers pitches against Academy of Our LadyonApril 23 in Westwego. A Southeastern Louisiana signee, Rogers has a13-2 record and 0.98 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 912/3 innings this season.

Reaching newheights

BY SPENCERURQUHART

Staff writer

The Patrick Taylor softball program has reached anew level of success in the past sixyears with senior Ashtyn Rogers leading the way Rogers has been atwo-way starter for Patrick Taylor since her seventh-grade year,shining as ahitter and pitcher.Her performance led to signing with Southeastern Louisiana tobecome Patrick Taylor’sfirstsoftball player to sign with aDivision Ischool. Her jersey No. 19 is worn for her older sister Izabella.Born on Oct. 19, Izabella died at 2months old.

“I happened to be (jerseyNo.) 12 in tee ball growing up, but when Iwent to play travel ball, someone else was 12,” Rogers said. “I decided to go with 19 (to honor Izabella).”

Ashtyn grew up with two younger sisters, who also play softball. She would cry at times while playing softball at ayoung age buthas grown to love the sport.

“(My sisters and I) are pretty competitive,” Rogers said. “It gets pretty heatedsometimes, but it’sfun. Iwas reallyshy as akid and wouldcry alot, but my mom would really push me to go. Ijust

fell in lovewith it as Icontinued to play.”

Afirst-team all-state pick as a junior,Rogers has built on that success to become Patrick Taylor’sunquestioned leader

“(Rogers) has been our best hitter throughout theyear,and her pitching really keeps us competitive,” coach Lance Reinesaid. “I thinkwehaveachance every time we go out because of what she can do in thecircle. We have a really young team, and she’sbeen agreat role model.”

The team’sonly senior,Rogers has a13-2 record and 0.98 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 912/3 innings. She leads the team with a.565 batting averagealong with24RBIs, 27 runs and 23 stolen bases. Reine is in his second season at Patrick Taylor after coaching district rivalThomas Jefferson forfouryears. He took notice of Rogers’pitchingability from a young age.

“I watched her since she started pitching,” Reinesaid. “She played at Westwego (Park)for rec ball when Iwas here, so I’ve seen her from Day 1. What she’sdone is really remarkable, and it’sreally acredit to her work ethic. Ithink she’sthe best pitcher in thestate of Louisiana.”

PatrickTaylor is looking to

reach the statesemifinals in Sulphur for thefirst time in program history after advancing tothe quarterfinals last season but falling 2-0 to E.D. White.

“This team really wantstobe one that breaks through (past thequarterfinals),” Reine said. “They really cameinthis season with that intention. They believe in Ashtyn and believe we have a chance any time she pitches.”

Rogers relies on three pitches: a drop ball, arise ball and achangeup. She threw seven shutout innings with17strikeoutsina 6-1 win against Haynes on Tuesday while going 2for 4atthe plate with two runs scored.

Patrick Taylor (22-4) is ranked No. 5inthe Division II select power ratings withseven regularseason games remaining,five against Class 5A opponents.

“I thinkwecan only get better from here,” Rogers said. “We learned alot of things from playing teams like Riverside, Hahnville and E.D. White.”

Rogers appears to have abright future at Southeastern and continues to leavealegacy at Patrick Taylor,all while playing for her sister Izabella. “I’mexcited (togoSoutheastern),” Rogerssaid. “I’m blessed to be given this opportunity.”

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Jackson Dugan allowed awalk that allowed Brother Martin load the bases with one out in the fourth inning, and coach Kenny Goodlett came out foravisit.

With first place in the Catholic League at stake, Goodlett reminded Dugan that he had a good defense behind him.

“Put your trust in them, and you’re going to get out of this,” Dugan said his coach toldhim Dugan didn’thave to wait long to see hiscoach was right.

Jesuit turnedthreedouble plays, including one with the basesloaded, in the Blue Jays’ 8-1 victory Tuesday at John Ryan Stadium that left the teamstied atop the Catholic Leaguestandings ahead of theirsecondmeeting Thursday at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium.

All threetwin killings went from shortstop Marshal Serio to DerekDelatte at second base and Joe Bosco at first.

“They have alot of trust with each other, anumberofyears of practice and playing on this field,” Goodlett said. “When you have aguy that’sfilling up the zone, working quick, not walking too many people and just giving them achance to play ball,it’s nice to playdefense behind a pitcher like that.”

The double play in the fourth included abackhanded scoop by Bosco at first base thatkept Brother Martin(23-3, 6-1District 9-5A) from getting back into it after Jesuit (17-5, 6-1) built a6-0 lead through three innings.

LATE TUESDAY

The other two double plays occurred in the second and seventh innings. The final one ended the gamewith reliever Zach Friloux on themound afterheentered withrunners on first and second and nobody out.

SCOREBOARD

19:58 9-12 0-0 0-1 30 21 Queen 18:26 2-8 1-1 0-53 15 Missi 16:38 1-4 0-0 3-42 02 Totals 240:00 45-8811-13 6-34 33 19 116

Percentages: FG .511, FT .846 3-Point Goals: 15-34, .441 (Bey 4-6,Murphy III 4-12, Fears 3-5, Matkovic 2-2, H.Jones 1-2, Murray 1-4, Queen 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers:None.

Blocked Shots: 3(H.Jones,Queen, Williamson). Turnovers: 7(Bey 2, Fears 2, H.Jones,Murray, Williamson). Steals: 5(Fears 2, Murphy III, Murray,Williamson). Technical Fouls:Jones, 1:11 fourth. FG FT Reb NEW YORK Min M-AM-A O-TA PF PTS

Anunoby39:38 7-16 2-2 0-4 44 21 Hart 37:56 3-8 4-5 0-83 410 Towns 24:23 8-17 3-3 3-14 13 21 Bridges 37:28 5-12 0-0 0-27 114 Brunson 38:41 11-19 8-9 0-17 132

Clarkson 20:46 4-6 2-2 1-35 110

Robinson 20:44 5-5 1-1 4-80 211

Diawara 11:05 1-2 0-0 0-0 10 2

Alvarado 9:19 0-0 0-0 1-11 20

Totals 240 44-85 20-22 9-41 29 18 121

Percentages: FG .518, FT .909.

3-Point Goals: 13-33, .394 (Anunoby5-13 Bridges 4-10, Brunson 2-4, Towns 2-6). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers:2 Blocked Shots: 4(Robinson 2, Anunoby, Bridges). Turnovers: 9(Brunson 2, Towns 2, Alvarado, Bridges, Diawara,Hart, Robinson)

Steals: 5(Anunoby3,Clarkson, Robinson) TechnicalFouls: None. New Orleans 28 32 32 24 —116 New York 42 24 27 28 —121 A— 19,812 (19,812). T— 2:16. College basketball NCAA men’s tournament

EAST REGIONAL Regional semifinals Friday Dukevs. St. John’s, 6:10 p.m. UConn vs.Michigan St.,8:45 p.m. Regional championship Sunday Duke-St. John swinner vs.UConn-Michigan St. winner, TBA SOUTH REGIONAL Regional semifinals Thursday Nebraskavs. Iowa,6:30 p.m. Houston vs.Illinois, 9:05 p.m. Regional championship Saturday Nebraska-Iowa winner vs.Houston-Illinois winner, TBA MIDWEST REGIONAL

vs.Alabama, 6:35 p.m.

vs.Tennessee, 9:10 p.m.

winner vs.IowaSt.-

Wednesday’s games Dayton vs.IllinoisSt., 6p.m. Auburn vs.Nevada, 8p.m. NCAA Women’s Tournament FORT WORTH3 Regional semifinals Saturday Texasvs. Kentucky,2 p.m. Michigan vs.Louisville, 11:30 a.m. Regional dhampionship Monday Texas-Kentucky winner vs.Michigan-Louisville winner, TBA SACRAMENTO2 Regional semifinals Friday UCLA vs.Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. LSU vs.Duke, 9p.m. Regional championship Sunday UCLA-Minnesota winner vs.LSU-Dukewinner, TBA SACRAMENTO4 Regional semifinals Saturday South Carolina vs.Oklahoma, 4p.m. TCUvs. Virginia, 6:30 p.m. Regional championship Monday South Carolina-Oklahoma winner vs.TCUVirginia winner, TBA FORT WORTH1 Regional semifinals Friday UConn vs.North Carolina, 4p.m. Vanderbilt vs.NotreDame, 1:30 p.m. Regional championship Sunday UConn-North Carolinawinner vs.VanderbiltNotreDame winner, TBA FINAL FOUR At Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix National semifinals Friday, April 3 TBD vs.TBD,TBA TBD vs.TBD,TBA National championship Sunday, April 5 Semifinal winners, 2:30 p.m. Major League Baseball American League glance Wednesday’s game N.Y. Yankees at San Francisco, n Thursday’s games Chicago White Sox(Smith 0-0)atMilwaukee (Misiorowski 0-0), 1:10 p.m. Minnesota (Ryan 0-0) at Baltimore(Rogers 0-0), 2:05 p.m. Boston (Crochet 0-0)atCincinnati (Abbott 0-0), 3:10 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 0-0) at San Diego (Pivetta 0-0), 3:10 p.m. L.A. Angels(Soriano 0-0) at Houston (Brown 0-0), 3:10 p.m. TampaBay (Rasmussen 0-0)atSt. Louis (Liberatore0-0),3:15 p.m. Texas(Eovaldi 0-0) at Philadelphia (Sánchez 0-0), 3:15 p.m. Cleveland (Bibee 0-0) at Seattle(Gilbert 0-0), 9:10 p.m. Friday’s games N.Y. Yankees at San Francisco, 3:35 p.m. AthleticsatToronto, 6:07 p.m. Kansas CityatAtlanta, 6:15 p.m. L.A. AngelsatHouston, 7:15 p.m. Detroit at San Diego, 8:40 p.m. Cleveland at Seattle, 8:45 p.m. National League glance Wednesday’s game N.Y. Yankees at San Francisco, n Thursday’s games Pittsburgh (Skenes 0-0)atN.Y. Mets (Peralta 0-0), 12:15 p.m. Chicago White Sox(Smith 0-0)atMilwaukee (Misiorowski 0-0), 1:10 p.m. Washington (Cavalli 0-0) at Chicago Cubs (Boyd 0-0),1:20 p.m. Boston (Crochet 0-0)atCincinnati (Abbott 0-0), 3:10 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 0-0) at San Diego (Pivetta 0-0), 3:10 p.m. TampaBay (Rasmussen

Seriohighlightedthe first double play with his backhanded flip to Delatte at second —something Dugangrewtoexpect during their many seasons of playing travel ball against and with each other

“Me andMarshaland Derek have been playing together since Ican remember,” said Dugan, a juniorright-handerwho started at catcher last season.

Dugan’simpact went beyond what he did from the mound, wherehestruckout fiveand scattered eight hits —all singles. The No. 3hitter in the lineup, Dugan hit twoRBI doublesand scored twice, backing his winning pitching effort that lasted into the seventh inning.

After Jesuit scored two runs in the first inning, four Brother Martin errors in the secondand third innings, including twoby oneplayeronthe same play, let Jesuit widen the lead to 6-0. Brennan Jeandron led off the second with asingle. Bosco and Jace Delatte reached on apair of two-basethrowingerrorsas two runs scored. Michael BrothersbuntedDelatte to third,and Derek Delatte drove him home with asingle. Serio started the third with asingle and scored from second on athrowing error

“Credit to those guys, they wereready to play,” Brother Martin coach Jeff Lupo said. “They beat us in every facet of the game from the first pitch to the last pitch.”

The loss snapped Brother Martin’s11-gamewinning streak. The two-timereigning Catholic League champions came into the gameatNo. 1inthe LHSAA Division Iselect power ratings. Jesuit wasNo. 9.

Contact ChristopherDabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

(Liberatore0-0), 3:15 p.m. Texas(Eovaldi 0-0) at Philadelphia (Sánchez 0-0), 3:15 p.m. Arizona (Gallen 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Yamamoto 0-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday’s games N.Y. Yankees at San Francisco,3:35 p.m. Colorado at Miami, 6:10 p.m. Kansas City at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m. Detroit at San Diego, 8:40 p.m. Arizona at L.A. Dodgers, 9:10 p.m. College baseball Tuesday’s games UL 9, Southeastern 3 Southern 6, McNeese 2 UNO 7, Jackson State 0 LSU 15, Louisiana Tech 5 Wednesday’s games Grambling at Tulane,n Thursday’s games No games scheduled Friday’s games Tulane at Alabama-Birmingham, 5p.m. UL-Monroe at UL, 6p.m. UNO at Southeastern, 6p.m. Northwestern State at Nicholls, 6p.m. Prairie View A&M at Southern, 6p.m. Kentucky at LSU, 6:30 p.m. Late Tuesday LSU 15, LouisianaTech 5 Louisiana Tech LSU (15-11) (17-9) ab rh bi ab rh bi Patterson rf 310 0Stanfield lf 41 00 Lunsford 3b 412 0Brownrf4 42 2 Hawsey 1b 401 1Serna c6 22 2 Coates dh 210 0Curiel cf 51 32 Mexico lf 100 0Jh. Pears. 3b 30 12 Scott ph/lf 111 0Yamin dh 10 00 M. Houstonc 310 0Braunph/dh 10 01 Ruddell cf 40 00 Patrick pr 01 00 McCoy 2b 200 0Milamss5 23 0 Sniderph 10 11 Yorke1b4 22 4 N.Houston2b

DP —LSU 1. LOB— La.Tech 8; LSU11. 2B Lunsfo (10); Scott (4); Snider (1); Curiel 2 (8); Caraway (3). HR —Yorke2(6). HBP Patters; Brown2;Pearson. SH —Stanfield(2). SB —Menuet (1); Curiel (7). Louisiana Tech IP HR ER BB SO Cooley 12 22 11 Nation (L,0-1) ⁄3 35 21 1 Greaney 1⁄3 00 01 1

REDSOX —Placed 1B TristonCasas and INF AnthonySeigler on the 10-day IL and RHP KutterCrawfordand LHP Patrick Sandovalonthe 15-dayIL, retroactiveto March 22.

CHICAGOWHITE SOX—Placed INF Brooks Baldwinand CKyleTeel on the 10-dayILand RHPsPrelander Berroa,DrewThorpe and Mike Vasil on the 15-dayIL. Designated CKoreyLee andINF Curtis Mead forassignment. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS —PlacedRHPs Andrew Walters and HunterGaddisonthe 15-dayILand OF GeorgeValeraonthe 10dayIL, retroactive to March 22. Designated OF Johnathan Rodríguezfor assignment. Selected the contractof1BRhysHoskins from Columbus (IL). DETROIT TIGERS —Selected INF Kevin McGonigle from Erie. Designated RHP Dylan Smith for assignment. OptionedRHP Brenan Hanifee to Toledo (IL).Placed RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long and LHP BaileyHorn on the 15dayILand INF Trey Sweeney on the 10-day IL, retroactive to March 22. HOUSTON ASTROS —Selected the contracts of RHP Christian Roaand CChristian VázquezfromSugar Land (PCL). Placed OF Zach Dezenzo on the 10-dayIL.

Dugan

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER

News Service (TNS)

LIVING

Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the cauliflower and saute 2 minutes. Turn cauliflower over and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook the cauliflower for 3 more minutes or until tender Remove from skillet.

2. Place tortillas on a counter. Add 2 tablespoons hummus to the center of each tortilla and lightly spread it over the tortillas.

3. Top the hummus with the cauliflower and spread the chimichurri sauce on top. Sprinkle pistachio nuts over the sauce on each tortilla.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 487 calories (63 percent from fat), 34.3 g fat (4.6 g saturated, 12.9 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 15.5 g protein, 36.2 g carbohydrates, 11.1 g fiber, 589 mg sodium.

Enjoy spring weather with an outdoor meal of sweet potato chili

BY APRIL HAMILTON

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: During April Hamilton’s kitchen remodel, she’s moved her cooking into the backyard. This is the second in a series spotlighting some of the outdoor meals she prepares for her family

The kitchen is my playground, a place with myriad options for fun and creativity The drawback to my kitchen of nine years was the limited space to invite friends to play along. We hosted dozens of dinner parties over these years, and friends fretted that I kept them on the outskirts of the action. Extra people in the small but mighty kitchen would inevitably lead to a daring game of bumper cars. The walls had to come down. While our kitchen and beyond was carefully and cleanly disassembled by the contractor team, we headed to the great outdoors: our semi-covered pool deck providing partial shelter and a space

to cook, campsite style. With a family history of camping, this cooking concept is familiar and requires only a few simple tools. Plus, with access to refrigeration, a garden hose and electricity, we are hardly roughing it. My first goal was to utilize the contents of my pantry, a tiny kitchen closet that was full of

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Not everyone is a fungi fan. For some, it’s a textural thing (mushrooms can be slimy or rubbery) while others simply don’t like their earthy

hidden treasures. Fire-roasted canned tomatoes, a bag of sweet potatoes from the farmers market and cans of black beans were discovered just as the temperature plummeted. I made a double batch of sweet potato chili, a recipe from my own cookbook, with flourishes, that fed us for days. It also complied with the next goal: keep the cooking confined to a single pot or pan, all done on a Coleman one-burner camp stove. On weekends, we fire up the grill and let the rice cooker bubble enough rice to fill our menus for the week and repeat. Colorful salads fill half the plate. Six weeks in and roughly 10 more to go — and the routine has been a fun challenge, filled with nostalgia. In the dark of predawn, my husband brews the coffee in a Chemex pour-over with boiling water from an electric kettle. The aroma is an escape from construction chaos to memories of family camping and immersing in nature.

ä See CHILI, page 2D

Sweet Potato Chili

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON April Hamilton finishes stirring a pot of Sweet Potato Chili.

TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Howtowater Africanviolets

Dear Heloise: African violets often look droopy and tired without the right light or amount of water.Ifyour plant struggles in adesk or shadowy corner,move it to an east-facing window Theseplants thrive in mild morning light but dislike the hot afternoon sun from west windows. Place the pot on a windowsill or on a table with adrainage tray.When the soil feels dry,push your finger about an inch in to check. If it’sdry,water the plant thoroughly and let excess water drain out.Let the pot sit in the tray for an hour so that the soil absorbs what it needs.

Clashofhosting styles

Afterward, pour off any extra waterand wait for the soil to dry before watering the plant again. —Kathleen Tideman, via email

Jewelryorganizer

Youcan findsmall tackle boxes at stores like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Walmart, or sportinggoods stores. It’sacheap, practical way to keep jewelry tidy and accessible. Linda Rudolph,via email Removing superglue

Dear Heloise: My husband accidentally dribbled superglue on my Corian kitchen countertop. Can it be removedwithout damagingthe surface? He’d really like to get outofthe doghouse! —FreyaWaynberg, via email Freya, yes!Corian is durable, so you can usually removesuperglue without harming it. Instead of wiping it while it’swet,Irecommendwaitingapproximately 30 minutes, oruntil the glue is gelatinousbut not fully hardened.Then carefully scrapeaway the glue with asharp chisel or card scraper.Work slowly to avoid scratching the surface.

If afilm remains, dab abit of acetone-based nail polish remover on asoft clothand

Dear Heloise: If you struggle to keep earrings paired and easy to find, try usinga small tackle box. Clear plastic boxes for fishing lures often have many small compartments, making them perfect for organizing earrings. Each section holds apair so that you won’thave to dig through adish or untangle pieces. The boxes are compact and lightweight, and they fiteasily in adrawer,onadresser,oron acloset shelf. The clear lid lets yousee everythingata glance.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, March 26, the 85th day of 2026. There are 280 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On March 26, 2024, Baltimore’sFrancis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by acontainer ship, killing six maintenance workers on the bridge. (Maryland officials have announced plans to replace the bridge by late 2030.) Also on this date: In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas,Venezuela, causing as many as 30,000 deaths. (The U.S Congress later approved $50,000 in food aid to be sent to Venezuela —the first example of American disaster assistance abroad.)

In 1945, U.S. forces declared victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima against the Japanese Imperial Army.(U.S. Marines and Navy personnel sufferedroughly27,000 casualties and Japanese forces more than 18,000 in the 36-day battle.)

In 1979, apeace treaty

was signed byIsraeli Prime MinisterMenachem Begin andEgyptian PresidentAnwar Sadat and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at theWhite House.

In 1992, ajudge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for arape conviction. (Tyson was released in 1995.)

In 2013,Italy’stop criminalcourt overturned the acquittalofAmerican Amanda Knox in the2007 killingof British roommate Meredith Kercher andordered Knox to stand trial again. (Convictedinabsentia, Knox was exonerated bythe Italian Supreme Court in 2015.)

In 2018, atoxicology report obtained by The Associated Press revealed that the late pop superstar Prince had “extremely high” levels of fentanyl in hisbodyatthe time of his death in April2016.

In 2021, Dominion Voting Systems fileda$1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against FoxNews, sayingthe cable news giant falsely claimed that thevotingcompany

rub lightly.Test an unseen spot first to check the finish. Finally,wash with warm, soapy water and dry well.

—Heloise Petprescriptionmeds

Dear Heloise: Many pet owners buy prescription medications from their veterinarian for convenience, but it’s smart tocompare prices. Somereputable online pet pharmacies sell the samemedicationsfor less. There are manyonline pharmacies, so do someresearch before choosing one. Broaden your search to include the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which governs theapproval of internet pharmacies in theUnited States. Somepet pharmacies, such as Pet Rescue Rx,donate aportion of purchases to rescue organizations. This means that buying pet medicine can support animal rescues. Your veterinarian must authorize all prescriptions, so confirm the medication, dosage, and the pharmacy’s legitimacy before ordering. By checking prices and reputable sources, you can save money while ensuring that your pet receives safe, effective treatment. —John H., in San Antonio

Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

rigged the2020 election. (Fox would eventually agree to pay Dominion $787.5 million in one of the largest defamation settlements in U.S. history.)

Today’sbirthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Wayne Embry is 89. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 86. Author Erica Jong is 84. Journalist Bob Woodward is 83. Singer Diana Rossis82. Rock singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) is 78. Actor-comedian Vicki Lawrence is 77. Actor-comedian Martin Short is 76. Country singer Ronnie McDowell is 76. Country singer Charly McClain is 70. TV personality LeezaGibbons is 69. Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen is 66. Actor Jennifer Grey is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton is 64. Actor Michael Imperioli is 60. Country singer Kenny Chesney is 58. Actor Leslie Mannis54. Google co-founder Larry Pageis 53. Rapper Juvenile is 51. Actor Keira Knightley is 41. Actor-comedian Ramy Youssef is 35. Actor Ella Anderson is 21.

Chicken Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

Serves 4-6. Recipe is by Gretchen McKay,Post-Gazette.Iused groundwhite meat chicken andwhite button mushrooms. If the mushrooms are not packaged clean, be sure to remove anydirtwitha damp paper towel.

FOR MEATBALLS:

1pound ground chicken

½cup pankoorregular breadcrumbs

1⁄3 cup whole milk

1largeegg,beaten

1⁄3 cup grated Parmesan

2tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1teaspoon garlic powder

1teaspoon onion powder

½teaspoon dried oregano

1teaspoon kosher salt

Extra-virgin olive oil, for frying

FOR SAUCE:

2tablespoons butter

1tablespoon olive oil

2cloves garlic, minced

1largeshallot, peeled and chopped (about ¼cup)

1cup mushrooms, finely chopped

2tablespoons flour or cornstarch

1½ cups chicken broth or stock

1teaspoon chopped fresh

rosemary

1teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Pinch of smoked paprika

Salt and pepper,totaste

½cup heavy or light cream

Dear Miss Manners: My inlaws and Iare opposites on acellular level when it comes to hosting. It ends up making me feel uncomfortable every time we get together,even if it’s just for very small, informal family gatherings.

Iwas taught to set adate and time and let invitees know in advance. The host chooses the menu, and the guests may offer to bring something.You might bring home leftovers of the dish you brought,oryou can leave them for the host.

When Ileave their house, they drill me equally well about which leftovers I would like, how much of those leftovers, and what else from the fridge can they send home. From their perspective, this consideration is very generous. But as aguest, I don’twant to decide what they serve or offend anyone by not taking leftover noodles.

On theother hand, my inlaws will wait until aday or two before aspecial date, then seemingly remember it ought to be celebrated. This is aheadache for holidays when we need to coordinate with my family as well, and has led to theimpression that my husband and Iprioritize my family, who have set adate and time weeksinadvance.

As for their menu, it’s typically not set until the guestshave arrived. Iget quizzed on what Iwould like to eat, down to which type of noodle Iwould prefer and would my kids like their cucumbers peeled or unpeeled. Someone usually has to run to thestorefor a missing ingredient

When invited to our house, they request, “Can you makethe cheesy potatoes?” and afterward they ask, “Can Itake the potatoes home?” which seems rude to me.

They probably think I’m being stingy fornot wanting to makethe cheesy potatoes (I’m already planning to makemashed) or offering them yogurt that’s about to expire from my fridge.

Are they generous and I’mstingy? Or are they rude and indecisive? And knowing neither party is likely to change, how can I better navigate these awkwarddifferences in the future?

Gentle reader: Etiquette neitherknows norcares who is generous andwho is stingy,and indecisive andrude arenot opposites. But youhavecome

to the right place to ask howtonavigate these differences. There will need to be adivision, stating which family is responsible for which festivity each year On your birthday (presumably your responsibility), your rules will govern, and the in-lawswill be told the date months in advance. On your sister-in-law’s birthday,her rules will govern. Youwill learn the date (one hopes) in enough timenot to miss little Liam’sschool play and to separate the lasagna noodles from linguini before the meal Everyone will be understanding when they have to be to preserve the peace. Even if you have to let them have the expiring yogurt.

As to how this grand deal is to be brokered, Miss Manners recommends that that be lefttoyour husband and his sibling, as they are the mostfamiliar with how to survive under both regimes.

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

Sweet Potato Chili

2. Using aspoon or small ice cream scoop, roll into 24 meatballs. Place on abaking sheet, place in refrigerator and allow meatballs to chill for 20 minutestohelp them firm up.

3. When readyto cook,heat ¼ inch of oliveoil in alarge saute pan over medium-high heat. Placemeatballs in the hotoil in asingle layer; don’t overcrowd the pan. Youmay need to cook in batches.

4. Cook forabout 3-5minutes per side, turningthem regularly to get an even brown crustonall sides.

5. Remove to apaper towel-lined plate to drain and setaside whileyou make the sauce.

6. Heat 2tablespoonsbutter and 1tablespoon oliveoil in the same pan. When sizzling, add minced garlic and chopped shallot. Cook until the shallots soften and turn

1. In large bowl, stir together ground chicken, breadcrumbs, milk, beaten egg, Parmesancheese, parsley, olive oil, spices and salt. Mix with your hands or arubber spatulauntil wellcombined.

translucent.Add chopped mushroomsand cook for another 4-5 minutes

7. Whiskinflour or cornstarch andcook for 1more minute to get rid of the raw flourflavor.Slowly add chicken broth or stock, whisking continuously until thesauce thickens.

8. Stir in rosemary,parsley and apinch of paprika, then season to taste with salt andpepper. Gentlyfold in meatballs. If the sauce is toothick, adda little more stock or water

9. Simmer meatballs for 10 minutes, gently stirring every so often. Stir in heavy cream, toss to makesure it’s well combinedand turnoff theheat.

10. Serve hot on top of noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.

NOTE: To cutdownonfat, bake themeatballs in a375 F oven for about 20 minutes instead of frying them. Ilove the taste of fresh rosemary, but some people don’tlike it. If you’re not afan, simply leave it out of the sauce.

Makes 4servings. Recipe is from “Counter Intelligence: The Best of April’sKitchen” by April Hamilton.

1tablespoon olive oil

1medium onion, chopped

2teaspoons ancho chili powder

1cup vegetable stock or water

1largered-skinned sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice

1(14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes 1(15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

3tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1chipotlechiliinadobo, chopped (optional, for alittle smoky heat)

Saltand pepper to taste

1. Heat theoliveoil in a medium saucepan over medium heat

CHILI

2. Add the onion andsaute untilslightlysoftened, about 5minutes.

3. Addchili powder and stir 1minute.

4. Add broth and diced sweetpotato andbring to aboil.

5. Cover pan; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

6. Add tomatoes and beans and stir well to combine.

7. Continue cooking, uncovered, until the chili thickens and sweet potato is tender,about 10 minutes.

8. Add the cilantro and optional chipotle andseason with salt and pepper,as desired.

9. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled and encored in many future dishes! No one will ever guess it is vegan. For acarnivore version, first brownahalfpoundofchorizo before sauteing the onion. Serve abig scoop of warmchili on abed of crisp salad greens foratasty taco salad.Justadd some chips, cheese, avocadoand asqueeze of limeand Taco Tuesday is served. It is also an excellent dip forquesadillasand all by itself in abowl, it comforts like aclassic chili.

Hints from Heloise Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

STAFFPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Sweet Potato Chili servedasasalad

ARIES(March 21-April 19) Too much of anything will hold you back. Dive deep into your mind and apply more thought and energy to making your home and close relationships better

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Mental stimulation will set the wheels in motion and help younavigate your way forward with precision. Look forgrants, incentives and courses that can help you expand your interests

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Get thefacts firsthand. Work to make adifference. Whetheryou focus on your needs or reach out to help others, the process will be uplifting andwillopen doors thatlead to insight.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Avoid letting negativityand criticism setin. Look for thegood in everyone and everything, and you'll attract the right people. Share your intentions and speak from the heart.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Whatever you do next, weigh the pros and cons before getting involved in situations that could be hardtoextricate yourself from. Protect your reputation and stick to the facts.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Reach out, make suggestions and participate in events and activities thataddress issues of concern. Don't let your enthusiasm lead youtooverextend yourself physically or financially.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) The people and places that attract youwill not be conducive to you best interests. Listen

carefully andrefrainfrom offering personal information.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.22) Setyourself up for success. Trust andbelievein your abilities and reach out to people who are heading in the samedirection. Work-related events will change your perception of someone interesting.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take note of what others do or say, but don't follow theherd. Focus more on what makes you happy and choosealifestyle that allows youtofulfill your heart's desires.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Be careful what you shareand sign up forand who you trust to look out foryour interests. Whenopportunity knocks —and it will —open the door.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Apply your energy and attention to how you handle your finances. Achange at home or to your lifestyle thatencourages you to start ahome business or sell off items you no longer usewill boostyour morale.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Do something youenjoyorinvestigate something that intrigues you and the outcome will be enlightening. Don't hesitate to hone your skills;practice makesperfect and perfection attracts thoseasenthusiastic as you.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

CLUE: HEQUALS C

bAILeY Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BY PHILLIPALDER

Aristotle Onassis said, “Don’t sleep too much. If you sleep threehours less each night for ayear,you will have an extra month andahalfinwhich to succeed.”

Iwonder if he tried that plan, but fell asleep on thejob.

Abridge player cannotafford to sleep atthetable.Heshouldcountwinnersand losers, and watch all of the cards as they are played. In this deal, the problemisSouth’s extra loser. West leadsthe spade queen against three hearts. How should South proceed?

Northhadatextbookgame-invitational limit raise, showing at least four hearts, 10-12support points (high-cardpoints plus short-suit points) and eight losers. Southguessed well to pass. When the dummy comes down, declarer should count his losers. Here he hasone club, one heart and at least twospades. He has only seven sure winners: four hearts, two diamonds andone club.

South should play alow spade from thedummy at the first two tricks. East is bound to have the ace andmight be forced to play it. Here, though, the defenders take the first threetricks. Then East shifts to alow club. What next?

Declarer has gainedaneighth winner, hislast spade. But he still hasfive los-

ers: threespades, one heart and one club. How can he eliminate that club loser? Southmustimmediately take three diamond tricks. He cashes his diamond ace, plays adiamond to dummy’s jack, and discards his club jack on thediamond king.

Previousanswers:

InstRuctIons:

toDAY’sWoRD PAssWoRD: —PASS-wurd: Awordorphrasethat enables one to gain admission.

Average mark 16 words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 22 or morewords in PASSWORD?

YEstERDAY’s

word is alamptomyfeet, and alight to my path.”

loCKhorNs

TheBible

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add pointsof each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each columnmust contain the numbers1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numberswithin theheavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (in any order)to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner

Formore information on tournaments and clubs, email naspa

info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit ourwebsite:www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiriescontact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanT liTTlE

the

Scrabble GramS

Getfuzzy

roSe

ESTABLISHED PUBLIC HEARINGRULES WITHIN ITSADMINISTRA‐TIVE RULES, POLICIES & PROCEDURES,WHICH AREAVAILABLE ON THE CPCWEBSITE: WWW NOLA.GOV/CPC.YOU MAY ALSO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS TO THEEX‐ECUTIVEDIRECTORIN ADVANCEBYMAIL(1300 PERDIDOSTREET,7TH FLOOR, NEWORLEANS LA 70112) OR EMAIL CPCINFO@NOLA.GOV.ALL WRITTENCOMMENTS MUSTBERECEIVEDBY CLOSEOFBUSINESSON THEMONDAY, EIGHT DAYS PRIORTOTHE HEARINGDATE. March26, April2 and April9,2026 Robert Rivers ExecutiveDirector NOCP 8972 181964-mar26-apr2-9-3t $102.24

Orleans, LA 70119 forthe purposeofestablishing SoberLivingrecovery housingfor individuals diagnosedwithsub‐stance usedisorderin theamount of $1,352,000 at 2433-35 UrsulinesAve/ 1810-12 Governor Nicholls,St.,New Or‐leans, LA 70119. Theactivities

lagniappe pp

Willi & N O l

TennesseeWilliams& NewOrleans Literary Festival celebrates milestone

page 6

Thearrival of spring brings with it abountyofliveentertainment. Seewho’s playinginSound Check, page 4

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

The Italian American St.Joseph Society celebrates the heritage of Italy witha duoofevents. ThePastaPartyatthe Hilton Riverside New Orleans brings in noted New York Chef David Greco to preside overthe creation of pastacon le sarde,ameat-free Sicilian dish often served on St. Joseph’sDay,startingat 11 a.m. Friday.Then, thesocietytakes to thestreets Saturdayfor theannual parade,with marching clubs, floats, bands and more. Lyla Charbonnet reigns as queenand Michael Marcello is Caesar italianamericansociety.org.

st.joseph’spasta andparade home &garden,

boat shows

The Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans show packs the Superdome with productsand service providers and will be joined by the NewOrleans Boat Show.Check out trends, demonstrations andgardening tips plus an Ask the Experts booth. The watercraft show sailing withmore than 50 vendors with boats,motors, accessories and financingwill be “all hands on deck.” The shows are from 10 a.m. to 7p.m. Friday andSaturday and 10 a.m. to 6p.m. Sunday.Ticketsstart at $15. neworleanshomeshows.com and boatshowneworleans.com.

mudfest egghunts

Get messy at theLouisiana Children’s Museum10a.m. to 4p.m. Saturday in City Park and learn aboutthe wetlands and water that shapes the area. Two stages of liveentertainment, adirt pile, amuddy obstacle course, STEM activities, a sensory play area for wee ones andasplash zone cleanup area. Tickets start at $15. lcm.org.

disney on ice

“Mickey’s Search Party” glides into theLakefront day through on the ice search for ncoverselements Disney shows “Aladdin,” “Toy Story” and more. Shows are 7p.m. Thursday and p.m. and nd noon and the arena at Tickets VIP extras yonice.com.

Three hunts and more are on tapfor the weekend before Easter.The NOMA Egg Hunt and Family festival features ahunt, arts and crafts, food and drinks, and music at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park. Tickets start at $25. noma.org. At the Bunny Bash,carousel rides, spacewalks and more are planned for Lafreniere Park for the Dawn Busters Kiwanis Club of Metairie’s annual rousing rabbit revelry starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at the 3000 Downs Blvd. Age-specific hunts will start at 12:30 p.m., and some hunts will be designed for special-needs participants. Tickets for kids start at $10, adults $5. dawnbusters.org.

On Sunday,the Botanical Garden blossoms withEgg Scramble at 9a.m. to noon withahunt, petting zoo, the Easter Bunny and unlimited rides. Tickets start at $25. neworleanscitypark.org.

festivals don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

The spring celebrationsexplode with two festivals south of thecity that celebratethe unique heritageand flavors of the region. TheLouisiana Crawfish Festival at the Sigur Civic Center, 8245 W. JudgePerez Drive, Chalmette, is atypical south-Louisianafête with food, music, rides, games and more5p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday,noon to 10 p.m.Saturday,and noon to 8p.m. Sunday.Ticketsstart $5 (Thursday is free).louisianacrawfishfestival. Belle Chasse is home to athrivingCroatian community and it will be celebrated with food, music and culture at 6p.m. to 9p.m.Fridayand 11 a.m.to9 p.m. at 220 Croatian Way (Avenue G) in Belle Chasse. croatiansociety.com.

ABOUTLAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is publishedeach Thursdayby The Times-Picayune |The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiriesabout Lagniappe should be directed to theeditor. LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Lauren Walck, lauren.walck@theadvocate.com

COVERDESIGN: Cassandra Brown

CONTRIBUTINGWRITERS: VictorAndrews,Doug MacCash, Alex Rawls,Keith Spera

GETLISTEDIN LAGNIAPPE

SubmiteventstoLagniappe at least twoweeksinadvance by sending an email to events@ theadvocate.com.

ON THECOVER

Margeaux Fanning participantsinthe Tennessee Williams &New Orleans Literary Festival’sStella yelling contest. PhotobySophia Germer

music music music

JOURNEY

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

Thearrivalofspring typicallybringswithita bounty of live entertainment. That’s certainlythe case this week.The Smoothie King Center hoststhree consecutivenightsof concerts,including oneof theworld’s topcomedians.

SATURDAY,SMOOTHIE KING CENTER

Neal Schon was ateenage guitar prodigy in theSan Francisco Bay Area when he joined theband Santana for its 1971 album,“Santana III.” Acouple years later, Schon and Santana keyboardist Gregg Rolie struck out on their own and formed anew band called Journey,which has done quite well.

Schonisthe sole original member in the current incarnation of Journey.For the band’s“Final Frontier Tour,” an open-ended farewell trek visiting arenas far and wide, he’ll share thestagewith keyboardist Jonathan Cain,who joined Journey for its smash 1981 album, “Escape,” plus vocalist Arnel Pineda,keyboardist Jason Derlatka,drummer Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen Journeystopsatthe Smoothie King Center on Saturday,just three nightsbefore Schon’sformer bandleader,Carlos Santana, plugs in at the Saenger Theatre on Tuesday.There is no opening act; Journey will play theentire show.Tickets are still available, starting at $63.

SANTANA

TUESDAY,SAENGER

THEATRE

Carlos Santana and his eponymous band hadn’teven released their first album when they performed at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. But Santana’smindblowing rendition of an instrumental called “Soul Sacrifice” was aconsensus highlight of the festival and the subsequent soundtrack album.

Santana’scareer received another shot of adrenaline thanks to the 1999 album “Supernatural,” on which he collaborated with along list of contemporary artists; he and Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas delivered aglobal smash in the form of “Smooth.”

Santana has been afrequent performer at theNew OrleansJazz &Heritage Festival,including stops at the Fair Groundsin2023 and 2025. On Tuesday, his“OnenessTour” visits theSaenger Theatre. Tickets, if they’re still available, start at $121.

NOLA FUNK FEST LINEUP REVEAL

SATURDAY,TIPITINA’S

NOLA Funk Fest,the music festival manifestation of the $160 million Louisiana Music &Heritage Experience being planned forasite near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center,isn’tuntil the fall. But you can hear apreview Saturday at Tipitina’sduring the NOLA Funk Fest lineup reveal.

The roster forSaturday’sshow samples a large swath of top-tier NewOrleans talent.

Irma Thomas, Ivan Neville, Cyril Neville, JonCleary, Stanton Moore,Tony Hall, Erica Falls, Mark Mullins, Ian Neville, River Eckert, Cornell Williams,Ari Teitel, Raymond Weber,Aurélien Barnes, Jason Neville, Omari Neville, AlexWasily andmore are all slated to perform.

To accommodate all those artists, doors open at 6p.m., with the show getting underway at 7p.m. Tickets are $32 plus fees.

Journey

Carlos Santana

Irma Thomas

music music music

OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS

THURSDAY

After moving from theNew York area to Denver, members of The Lumineers rodethe 2010s folk-rockrevival all the way to arena headlining status Their hits include three with female names as titles —“Ophelia,” “Angela” and “Cleopatra.” The band releasedits fifth studio album, “Automatic,” in 2025. The “Automatic World Tour” hits New Orleans on Thursday with opening act Shovels &Rope.Reserved seattickets start at $46. Standing-room-only tickets for “The Pit” area surrounding the anchorshaped stage runway start at$146. Cynthia Sayer ranksamong the top jazz banjo players in the world. On Thursday at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro,she’ll join New Orleans banjo master Don Vappie for atribute to the late great jazz guitarist, banjo player and storyteller Danny Barker.Show timesare at 7:30 p.m and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are$40. Singer-songwriter GraysonCapps,who spent many years in NewOrleansbefore returning to his native Alabama, holds court at Chickie WahWah.His latest album, his seventh solo project, is “Heartbreak, Misery &Death.” On

it, he revisits 16 songs written by the likesofJerry Jeff Walker,Randy Newman, Doc Watson, Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen. Advanceticketsare $20 plusfees.

FRIDAY

Nate Bargatze has becomeone of the top-grossing comedians in theworld by traffickinginafamily-friendly brand of humor built on droll, deadpanobser-

CONGO SQUARE RHYTHMSFESTIVAL

SATURDAY-SUNDAY,ARMSTRONG PARK

The New Orleans Jazz &HeritageFoundation, the nonprofit that owns Jazz Fest,sponsors several free communityevents throughout the year,including this weekend’s CongoSquare Rhythms Festival in Armstrong Park.The Congo Square area of the park iswhere enslaved Africans were allowed to practice traditional dancingand drumming on weekends; that drumming formed the foundation of American popular music.

On Saturday,the festival features Zigaboo Modeliste’sFunk Revue, Charmaine Neville,the New Breed BrassBand,the Jamal Batiste Band, Kyle Roussel andmore. The Sunday lineup includes Big Sam’sFunky Nation, Cha Wa,Tonya Boyd-Cannon and Bamboula 2000.

In addition to two stages of music, the festival has food andbeverage booths and an arts market, allofit focused on the African diaspora. Admission is free.

vations delivered withasoft Tennessee accent. He’ll perform in-the-round at theSmoothie King Center on Friday as part of his “Big Dumb Eyes World Tour.” Tickets start at $42. Modern jazzsaxophonist John Ellis and

his Double-Wide ensemble celebrate the release of the new “Fireball” album with showsat7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.at Snug Harbor.Tickets are $45.

New Orleans keyboardist John “Papa” Gros and his band funk up the Maple Leaf Bar at 8p.m. Tickets are $22. Later,at11p.m., the Maple Leaf hosts Rage Against the Machine tribute band SageAgainst the Machine;tickets are $17. Crackerjack New Orleans funk/party band Flow Tribe hits Chickie WahWah. Advance tickets are $18 plus fees.

SATURDAY

Guitarist Papa Mali celebrates the release of his new album with ashow at Chickie WahWah that also features Eric Bolivar, Cass Faulconer, Jenn Howard, Jason Ricci and Margie Perez.Advance tickets are $20 plus fees.

Singer Cole Williams does afree show at 4:30 p.m.atSnug Harbor.New Orleans drum master Herlin Riley then hits the Snug stage at 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.; tickets are $45.

hippity hoppity habitat

Zigaboo Modeliste

Nate Bargatze

events events events ALLTHINGSTE

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA

Langston Fishburne wins the Tennessee Williams &New Orleans LiteraryFestival’sStella yelling contest at theJazzMuseum in NewOrleans on March21.

ENNESSEE

Tony winnersconvergefor TennesseeWilliams &New Orleans Literary Festival’s 40th year

More than 100 events stretched over five days will highlight New Orleans’ favoritescribewith amix of oldand new faces duringthe celebration of contemporary literature,culture, theater and Tennessee Williams.

The Tennessee Williams &New OrleansLiterary Festival and the Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival pack ajammed agendathis weekend with speakers and panel discussions, sessions on writing, performances,readings, walking tours and culinaryevents.

Most of the events forthe 40th year are held at the host Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter and in several theaters and the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Ahighlight event will bring a glittering assemblageofentertainment professionals to the Historic BK House for aonenight-only immersive celebration, directed by Tony winner Rob Ashford,withmultiple Tony winnersMichael Cerveris (“FunHome”)and Christine Ebersole(“Grey Gardens”).

DiscussionSeries,athree-day ensemble of panels with morethan 80 authors; a book fair by Octavia Books;writing marathons readings and signings.

More than 100 speakers are expected,including PulitzerPrize winners Robert OlenButler and Michael Cunningham,Martin Sherman, JustinTorres, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Ladee Hubbard, Skye Jackson,CCH Pounderand Billy Eichner

“Weare honored to celebrate 40yearsofour festival and grateful to allofthe literary luminaries who have joinedusthrough the years,” saidPaulJ.Willis, executive director. “We’re welcomingbacksome authors who have beentothe festival many times, as wellasfresh newvoices with debut books.”

Festival highlights include the Writers’Craft Series with more than 10sessions; theLiterary

;

Books and Beignetswill discuss “The Rose Tattoo,” and theScholarsConference is afull-day discussionthat culminates witha stagedreading of “Fin du Monde,” Williams’ unpublished short story.“From the Page to the Stage” will highlight Jamie Wax’s“Call Me Izzy,” aBroadway show, with Wax, Johanna Day and Charles Urstadt.

Theatrical offerings include:

n “Kind Stranger:A MemoryPlay,” aoneman showatLePetit Théâtre du Vieux Carré

n “Small Craft Warnings,” the one-act showbeing performed by theTennessee Williams Theatre Co. at Loyola University

n “Tennessee with the Tea,” an adultsonly drag show at The AllWays Lounge

n “The Gnädiges Fräulein,” Mudlark Puppeteers production at Mudlark Public Theatre

n “A Streetcar Named Desire,” by The Irene Collective at Big Couch

n “WeHaveNot Long to Love,” multiple works as immersive theater at BK House and Gardens.

Friday’smarquee event,“We Have Not Long to Love:A Celebration of Tennessee Williams,”will blend scenes from “Sweet Bird of Youth,”“Orpheus Descending” and“AStreetcar NamedDesire”inanimmersive experienceconceived and directed by Tony- and Emmy-winner Ashford. Using ahouseat1113 Chartres St. as the venue, the audience will move through thehistoric dwelling in small groups to delve into the works Following an intermission, all will gather in the courtyard for ataste of “Suddenly LastSummer.”

“TennesseeWilliamsisthe patron saint of

New Orleans,acity that inspires and intrigues me,” said Ashford, who has directed andchoreographed “Frozen,” “Evita,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony winner) and “Cat on aHot TinRoof.”

The event “will showcase the themes thatWilliams so often explored: fear of aging andloss of desire, illusion versus reality,and the shifting power dynamics in relationships. It’sanhonor to workwith this extraordinary cast.”

In addition to Cerveris and Ebersole,other Broadway veteranperformers participating include Harriet Harris (Tony winnerfor “Thoroughly Modern Millie”), Marin Ireland, Jennifer LauraThompson, Ansel Elgort, FroyGutierrez, Jennifer Nettles, Sam Rechner,MicaelaDiamond and Leslie Castay

Anotherspecial event is the Last Bohemia Soireeat6:30 p.m. Saturdayatthe hotel, featuring Eichner,the actor,writer,comedian and producer who will share excerpts from this audio memoir “Billy on Billy.” He will also discuss “Billy on the Street,” his2011-17 online game show,with playwright and CBS correspondent Wax.

Activities runthrough Sunday.Festival passes areavailable and individual event tickets range start at $10. The special BK House performance is $200 and includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m. with the performance at 7p.m.Ticketsfor the Last Bohemian Soiree start at $40. For moreinformation, visit tenneesseewilliams.net.

The Saints &Sinners festival, with readings, writers’ sessions, panels and special events, is the longest running festival of its kind in the country.Events with this facet of the festival run Fridaythrough Sunday at the Hotel Monteleone. Forinformation, visit sasfest.org.

Email Victor Andrewsatvandrews@ theadvocate.com.

Staff report

PROVIDED PHOTO

events events events

TAPPING IN

BY ALEX RAWLS

Contributing writer

Wrestlers Matt and Jeff Hardy have made memories in New Orleans. In 2009, Jeff Hardy won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a daring ladder match that almost broke his shoulder, and his brother led fans on Bourbon Street in his trademark “Delete!” chant on the night before Wrestlemania in 2018.

Also known as The Hardys and the Hardy Boyz, they’ll return this weekend when they appear on Friday night at the Alario Center in Westwego for the Total Nonstop Action pay-per-view “Sacrifice,” and on Saturday for a taping of TNA’s weekly “Impact” show

They are in their 34th year in the business, and they’ve worked in spaces as intimate as high school gyms and as cavernous as stadiums. Their deathdefying moves have become the blueprint for professional wrestling in 2026, and if Matt Hardy has a message for his younger self, it’s to take better care of himself.

“You don’t have to do this leg drop off the top rope every single night,” he says by phone from Atlanta. “I would have told the younger me to preserve your body, pick and choose your spots. Do them when they matter.”

He and his brother Jeff Hardy made their name by showing none of that good sense They opted for high-risk, high-flying moves, which made them legendary in the industry. By his own admission, he walks a little funny because years of leg drops translated to scar tissue in his lower back and hips.

The Hardys are on their second stint in TNA, and Matt Hardy thinks of it as a homecoming They became famous in the WWE, but they rejuvenated their careers in TNA in 2016 when Matt Hardy introduced the eccentric “Broken” Matt character as an immortal soul that could remember all of the lives inhabited throughout time.

“Broken” Matt spoke in an exaggerated, stilted manner and built an entire mythology around him and the Hardy family that resulted in “The Final Deletion,” a movie/wrestling match filmed on the family’s compound in North Carolina. “Broken” Matt was polarizing,

Death-defying Hardy Boyz return to New Orleans for 2 televised wrestling shows

Matt Hardy, right, wrestles Evan Bourne in a 2010 match. Hardy and his brother, Jeff, will appear on Friday night at the Alario Center in Westwego for the Total Nonstop Action pay-per-view ‘Sacrifice,’ and on Saturday for a taping of TNA’s weekly ‘Impact’ show.

but TNA took a chance on a concept that hadn’t been seen in wrestling before.

“TNA allowed us to do things that were out of the box, take risks, and change our characters,” Matt Hardy said. “When I was ‘Broken’ Matt and Jeff was Brother Nero, we were whitehot again.”

“Broken” Matt started as a way to focus on his character more than his athleticism. By 2016, Matt Hardy had cut some of the more radical moves from his repertoire to protect his body, but he also needed to figure out how to stand out at a time when a new generation of high flyers took the Hardys’ old moves to new levels.

He wondered, “What if I tried to do a throwback to the ’80s or early ’90s where I tried to create a character that was larger than life, maybe even supernatu-

ral?”

The Hardys have been in the business long enough to share locker rooms with wrestlers whose ideas of good wrestling came from watching them in the ring.

“We work with so many people who said, ‘Oh, my God, I grew up idolizing you guys, and this is my dream,’” Matt Hardy says. “(TNA’s) Leon Slater is so talented, and when Jeff and I showed up at TNA, he was so excited. We were his favorite tag team. Jeff’s his favorite overall wrestler.”

Recently, the Hardys have been working with the man TNA calls “the face of the franchise,” Moose. The 6-foot 5-inch former football player has held a number of championships over the course of his 10 years in TNA, and at 41, Moose is also trying to reduce the amount of wear he takes in a match.

TNA “SACRIFICE”

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday

WHERE: Alario Center, 2000 Segnette Blvd.,Westwego

INFO: TNAWrestling.com/events/ sacrifice-2026; (504) 349-5525

TICKETS: $38.02-53.51

TNA WRESTLING PRESENTS “THURSDAY NIGHT IMPACT”

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Alario Center, 2000 Segnette Blvd.,Westwego

INFO: TNAWrestling.com/events/thursdaynight-impact-on-amc-new-orleansmarch-2026; (504) 349-5525

TICKETS: $38.02-74.17

He’s inspired by the retired WWE superstar John Cena, who “is probably the greatest wrestler because he learned very early in his career how to control the crowd.”

Cena didn’t bother with daredevil moves and got crowds to cheer when he did a handful of safe, signature moves. Crowds erupted when he waved his hand in front of his face while looking down at his fallen opponents and telling them, “You can’t see me.”

“That’s very smart,” Moose said, and he’s following suit, doing “the Moose arm gesture and the Moose chant so I don’t have to worry about killing my body.”

Matt Hardy hopes that TNA’s relationship with the WWE might result in an occasional spot on one of their big shows, but he recognizes that TNA could well be the last stop in his career. “TNA allows me a great schedule,” he said. “It allows me so much more creative freedom, and it also allows me more time to be with my kids.”

As much as he craves family time, though, Matt Hardy is realistic.

“I think I’m a lifer,” he said, and envisions a job behind the scenes when his in-ring days are over “Every time I think I’m going to get out, it reels me right back in.”

Contact Alex Rawls at alex@ myspiltmilk.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RICK SCUTERI

How many of Banksy’s N.O. works of art remain?

Secretive

artist’s identity unveiled

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

The British graffiti muralist known as Banksy is arguably the most famous artist in the world. Paradoxically, he is also one of the least known. For almost a quarter century, the aerosol master has done his best to keep his real identity a secret.

But according to a detailed report by the Reuters news agency, Banksy’s real name is David Jones. Though that’s apparently not the name he was born with.

In 2008, a London tabloid claimed to have discovered that Banksy was a Bristol-born bloke named Robin Gunningham. Scouring public documents, Reuters reporters have revealed evi-

dence that somewhere along the line, Mr Gunningham sought to cover his trail by changing his given name to that most generic of British monikers, Mr Jones

Fans of the street art superstar will be fascinated by the depth of the international investigation, though personal details about Banksy — Mr Jones, that is — remain as scant as ever

Banksy has placed his politically provocative street art across the globe, from London to Palestine to Ukraine By any other name, the secretive artist remains a sweet memory for New Orleanians who suffered through the city’s grinding post-Hurricane Katrina recovery period.

In 2008, three years after the devastating storm and flood, Banksy slipped into town and produced more than a dozen small murals, most of which were tailored specifically to the city’s

situation.

A forlorn girl with a faulty umbrella, a young boy using a life preserver as a tire swing and a brass band attempting to perform while wearing gas masks were among Banksy’s poetic paeans to the population’s resilience.

Despite their immense value, many of Banksy’s artworks were painted over, vandalized, demolished or removed from the buildings that held them for preservation. Thieves attempted to steal one painting and artloving looters made off with another. None remain where they were originally painted, though a few were rescued and are on public display

Two meticulously restored examples can be found in the lobby of the International House Hotel at 221 Camp St. Another well-preserved painting is located at the Habana Outpost restaurant at 1040 Esplanade Ave. And one is

on display at the Louisiana State Museum on Jackson Square.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Ronald Jackson walks in the rain past Banksy’s ‘Umbrella Girl’ in 2018.

stages stages stages

PROVIDED PHOTOS By ELIZABETH NEWCOMER

IN THEROUND

Shakespeare’s wordsreturn to the great outdoors, the swans head to Jefferson Performing Arts Center,and the New Marigny Theatre becomes home to the “BastardNation.” ‘Bard@ theBatture’

The original Globe Theater in Englandwas an open-air round theater where playwrightWilliams Shakespeare launched his immortal scenes onto the world (well, onto England at first).

shows, from“AMidsummer Night’s Dream” and “As YouLike It” to “Romeoand Juliet” and“Much AdoAbout Nothing.” The show features the talents of Mallory Osigian Favaloro, Nia Ragini, Wendy Miklovic, Nick DiJulio, Jarrod Smith and Jason Bayle.

gramminglike this.”

Awaiting list is still available for those interested in the show at crescentcitystage.com.

‘Bastard Nation’

Victor Andrews

And now,Crescent City Stage returns to the works to the Mississippi River for aunique presentationofsome Shakespeare for “Bard@the Batture.”The show will be aone-night-only event at 6:30 p.m. April 2, 25 Walnut St.

With acast of three women and three men, the evening of parts of 12 shows and sonnets willdelveintoavariety of

Co-conceived by duo of Michael A. andElizabeth Elkins Newcomer,Michael Newcomer also serves as the directorofthe production.

“There’ssomething powerful about experiencing Shakespeare under the open sky, and ‘Bard@the Batture’ is ourway of reconnecting great classical work with amodern New Orleans audience,” he said. “With aprofessional cast made up largely of Actors’ Equity Association members, we’re deliveringwork at avery high level.”

Thecompany and the concept have alreadyproven popular with local audiences.

“The fact that we sold out two weeks before theevent shows us how eager this city is for moretheatrical pro-

Nothing brings out family secrets like wills and death, and that’sexactly what’shappening in the final installment of atrilogy on reproductivehealthbylocal playwright Anita Vatshell opening Thursday at New Marigny Theatre.

In “Bastard Nation: Decolonizing Loveand Family,” Vatshell’sstory looks at the death of family matriarch and the secrets revealed to the siblings through her will. The comedy looks at adoption, generational curses and “the messy dynamics of family love.”

Featured in theshow,directed by Pamela Davis Noland, are Toya Boudy, Todd d’Amour, Mark Druhet,Andrea Dubé,Claudia Duran, Terry Miles and Jennifer Pagan.

Aregistered nurse with more than

twodecades of reproductive health care and advocacy,Vatshell’sfirst two works include “Operating Theatre” and “Open Up the Kingdom Mama.” The show runs at 8p.m. Thursday through Saturday,Wednesday and April 3-4 at 2301 Marais St. Tickets are $25. Visit newmarignytheatre.com

‘SwanLake’

Love isn’talways black and white and with ascore by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,the colorful tale of intrigue, mystery and romance becomes amultihued performance of vivid tones.

“Swan Lake,” the ballet of Prince Siegfried and the cursed Odette (the white swan) an evil sorcerer,his daughter (the black swan) and the corps de ballet of swans will bring the classic tale to lifeatJefferson Performing Arts Center forone night only at 7p.m. April 2.

International Ballet Stars bring their production to the Metairie facility with new hand-painted sets and morethan

The actors featured in Crescent City Stage’s‘Bard @the Batture’ include, from left, MalloryOsigianFavaloro, Nia Ragini, WendyMiklovic,NickDiJulio, Jarrod Smith and Jason Bayle.

stages stages stages

200 costumes.

Tickets start at $35. Visit jeffersonpac.com.

Onstage this week

“DUTCHMAN”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; Tulane Department of Theatre & Dance, Lab Theatre, 104 McWilliams Hall, 70 Newcomb Circle. Two characters create the exchange of themes of race, identity and societal expectations on the New York subway Tickets start at $15. purplepass.com/tulanetd.

“THE GREAT GATSBY”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s epic tale of lavish living, love and loss comes to life in a toetapping tour de force lavish musical as the Jazz Age of bootlegging, flappers and eye-popping parties gets the Broadway treatment as told by the narrator character Nick Carraway, with music and lyrics by Grammy winner Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen Tickets start at $39. saengernola.com.

“GUYSAND DOLLS”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; Le Petite Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St. From the sewers of the Big Apple to the hot spots of Havana, the show is a whirlwind of interesting characters and the power of love, filled with the colorful denizens of journalist Damon Runyon’s New York in the 1920s and ’30s. Tickets start at $82. lepetittheatre.com

“LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; Marquette Theater at Loyola University, 6365 St. Charles Ave. Musical follows

the strange happenings of Seymour Krellborn, a lowly clerk in a Skid Row flower shop who secretly dreams of a relationship with beautiful yet masochistic co-worker Audrey, who’s dating a sadistic dentist. Things start going very bizarrely when Seymour gets a strange new plant that’s actually from outer space and thrives on human blood. Tickets start at $20. cmm.loyno. edu

“THE NERD”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; 30 by Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. Willum Cubbert feels indebted to a fellow GI from Vietnam but has never met his savior But for his upcoming birthday, the mystery man plans to

Siegfreid and Odette fall in love in ‘Swan Lake,’ coming for a onenight-only performance April 2 at Metairie’s Jefferson Performing Arts Center

PROVIDED PHOTO

show up. The problem is, he’s a nerd and an oaf and Willum can’t get rid of him. Tickets start at $20. 30byninety

com.

“SMALL CRAFT WARNINGS”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; Lower Depths Theatre, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave. The Tennessee Williams Theatre Co., in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival, presents the one-act dark comedy about a foggy night in a bar called Monk’s Place and the people who populate the watering hole that evening. Tickets start at $42. Visit twtheatrenola.com.

“A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturday through April 3; Big Couch, 1045 Desire St. The fragile world of Blanche DuBois takes an unintended excursion away from reality in Tennessee Williams’ classic by the Irene Collective, held in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival. Tickets start at $25. streetcarnola.net.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By CRAIG MULCAHy

Patrick Nicks is Stanley, from left, Lauren Guglielmello is Stella and Jaclyn Bethany is Blanche in the Irene Collective’s production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ opening this weekend.

Come celebratewith us for our 40th anniversary of TWFest— aNew Orleans affairfor readers, writers,& theatre lovers. Check out some of the manyevents youcan enjoy!

THURSDAY,MARCH26

2:30 –3:45PM—Writer’s CraftSession WRITINGLITERARYFICTION WITH ROBERT OLEN BUTLER HotelMonteleone, LobbyLevel,Royal Salon, $25 or VIPPass.

THURSDAY,MARCH26

6:30 –9 PM—Special Event TRIBUTEREADING:FUGITIVEBEAUTY, TENDER FEELINGS,& SPARTAN ENDURANCE: THEWOMEN OF TENNESSEEWILLIAMS

Over thelast80years actressesaroundthe worldhave regularlyexpressedhow deeply they relate to andappreciate thefemalecharacterscreated by TennesseeWilliams,and at this year’s TributeReading youwill hear theirvoices. This years’ readersinclude Festival authors JewelleGomez, Robert Olen Butler,and Skye Jackson;playwrights Martin Sherman and JamieWax; MaureenCorrigan,NPR’s FreshAir Book Reviewer;and actors Gideon Glick and CCH Pounder.The eveningiscurated by Festival Director Paul J. Willis and Williams editor Thomas Keith,and hosted by Keith. Theannual TributeReading is presentedbya grantfromthe NewOrleans TheatreAssociation (NOTA).

Hors d’oeuvresand acashbar at 6:30 PM; performanceat7:30PM.

NewOrleans Jazz Museum,400 EsplanadeAvenue, $45orVIP Pass.

FRIDAY,MARCH 27

10 –11:15 AM—Writer’sCraft Session MICHAELCUNNINGHAM—WRITINGA MEMOIR: TELLINGTHE STORYOFYOURLIFE

HotelMonteleone, LobbyLevel,Royal Salon, $25 or VIPPass.

FRIDAY,MARCH 27

11:30 –12:45 PM—Writer’sCraft Session CHRISTOPHERCASTALLANI—THEART OF PERSPECTIVE HotelMonteleone, LobbyLevel,Royal Salon, $25 or VIPPass.

FRIDAY, MARCH27

1– 2:15 PM—Writer’sCraft Session LAURAVENITAGREEN—DEVILS, DOPPELGÄNGERS,GHOSTS, ANDCREEPY DOLLS:INCORPORATING ENTITY INTO YOUR FICTIONTOTELLVERY HUMANSTORIES

HotelMonteleone, LobbyLevel,Royal Salon, $25orVIP Pass.

FRIDAY,MARCH27

2:30 –3:45PM–Writer’s CraftSession CHRISTINEMA-KELLAMS—GREATBEGINNINGS

HotelMonteleone, LobbyLevel,Royal Salon, $25 or VIPPass.

SATURDAY,MARCH 28

6:30 PM—Special Event

Doorsand cash barat6 PM THELASTBOHEMIANSOIRÉE: AN EVENINGWITHBILLY EICHNER

Arrive at 6PMfor drinks andmingling, andat6:30enjoy some of NewOrleans’livelocal musicwithsinger-songwriter ChloeMarie Then preparefor alivelyconversationwithactor,comedian, writer, andproducer Billy Eichner.Billy will shareexcerptsfromhis upcoming audiomemoir, BillyonBilly,due outinMay by Macmillan Audio. He’llbejoinedbyCBS news correspondentand Broadway playwright JamieWax to discussthe voicebehindthe viral sensation, Billy on theStreet, Billy’s unlikelypathtostardom, theartists that inspired him, andthe forces that shaped him alongthe way. This year’s Soirée is apartner eventwiththe Blue RosesProject HotelMonteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom, $50 or VIPPassfor reserved seats; $40 generaladmission; $20 studentorindustryprofessional.

SUNDAY, MARCH 29

2:30 –3:45PM—Festival ClosingEvent FROM THEPAGETOTHE STAGE: CALL ME IZZY ROUNDTABLE

Cash baravailable, so grab acocktailsowecan toastto Tennesseeand closeout our40thanniversary!

Go behind thescenesfor aglimpseofwhatit’slikefor aplaywright to seethe wordsonthe page become lines spoken by actors on the stage. Ourfocus is Call Me Izzy, theBroadwaytourde forcethatbrought Jean Smartbacktothe stage.The show’s playwright, JamieWax, andtwo-time Tony awardnominee JohannaDay will presentsomeselectionsfromthe poetry andmonologuesofthe play.Theywill be joined by producer CharlesD.Urstadt fora lively conversation hosted by Festival fave andObiewinner, actress Brenda Currin. HotelMonteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom,freeand open to thepublic

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING

Scheduleand tickets, visit:www.sasfest.org March27–29, 2026

Gideon Glick

CCH Pounder

MichaelCunningham

ChristineMa-Kellams

Robert Olen Butler

Thepremier mediasponsor forthe TW&NOLF

Johanna Day

Billy Eichner