The Acadiana Advocate 04-10-2026 by The Advocate

Quieterhurricane season forecast

Return of ‘robust’ El Niño likely

BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer

Hurricane researchers atColoradoState University are predicting slightly belowaverage activityduring the upcomingAtlantic hurricane season thanks to the likely

return of “robust” El Niño conditions.

Scientists at the National Tropical Weather Conference on Thursday saidtheyexpect thecomingseasontoproduce 13 named storms, including six hurricanes. Twoofthose areexpectedtodevelop into major hurricanes of Category3 strength or above.

Atypical season brings 14 named storms, sevenhurricanesand threemajor hurricanes, according to CSU.

This year’soutlook is in stark contrast to those of the past couple of years, when warm ocean watersand other factors fueled abnormally proliﬁc hurricane seasons.

CSUissuedits most severe hurricane

See HURRICANE, page 5A

By The Associated Press and Tribune News Service

HOUSTON Drawingevercloser to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts tidied up their lunar cruiser for its upcoming“fireball” return and reflected on their historic journey around the moon, describingitassurreal and profound. As the next-to-last dayof theirflight dawned Thursday, humanity’sfirst lunar explorersinmore than halfacentury were less than 150,000 miles from home with theodometer clickingdown “Wehave to getback. There’s so much data that you’ve seen already, but all the good stuff is comingback with us. There are so manymore pictures,so many more stories,”saidpi-

lotVictorGlover, adding that “riding aﬁreball through the atmosphere is profound as well.”

Being cutoff from allof humanityfor nearly an hour while behind themoon was especially “surreal,”according to commander Reid Wiseman.

“There’sa lot that our brains have to process…and it is a truegift,” Wiseman said late

Wednesday during the crew’s first news conferencesince before liftoff. While out of contact behind themoon Monday,Wiseman, Glover,Christina Koch and Canada’sJeremy Hansen became the most distant humans ever,clockinginatarecord 252,756 miles from Earth

ä See ARTEMIS, page 4A

HURRICANE SEASON PREDICTION

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Lafayette policeOfficer Hali Bradford was two weeks shy of her 25th birthday and responding to adomestic disturbance call just after 2a.m.onAug. 5, 2023, when she found herself in adark house holding aTaser as aman only afew feet away pointed ariﬂe at her “It waspointed at my face,” she said. “He was going to shoot me and kill me.”

Shebentoverand turned her body as the first shots were fired, striking Bradford from behind, leaving herlying on the floor,unable to moveher legs.

Bradford testified Wednesday in the first day of the trial of John Nicholas, 33, of Lafayette, who faces three attempted first-degree murder charges in the shooting of Bradford andfellowofficer Alan Cortez. Officer Raynard Ford was not injured.

The shootoutalso left Nicholas’ 19-month-old niece, Kayci Cyprian, dead. Her brother,Kaisyn, was shot in the hand and Nicholas’ aunt, Mary Prejean, now 65, whoowned

See SHOOTOUT, page 5A

CalcasieuParishjudge sealshigh-profileviolent crimecase

Clerkofcourt policy remainsmurky

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

It’sbeen nearly six months since Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court Lynn Jones said he would change his ofﬁce’spolicy of concealing violent crime records, butsome

case ﬁles remain inaccessible to the public

For decades, the Clerk’sOfﬁce maintained apolicy of refusing to release violentcrimerecords to the public,which First Amendment attorneys and constitutional scholars saidviolated multiple provisions of state lawand the Constitution.Clerks across the state routinely sharesuch case ﬁles with the public

After The Advocatereported on thepolicy last October,Jones said he would changeit, but declined to share speciﬁcs

“Weare still ﬁnalizing aformal policy,” Jones wrote in aMarch 6 emailtoThe Advocate. “And this will include what recordswill be available in our online search in our new criminal software system, which is in the later stages of the implementation process.”

The Advocate also requested earlierthisyear to review court records in-person for three violent crime cases as the office updated itsonline search system Jonesgranted access to two of the cases, but 14thJudicialDistrict Judge Michael Canaday sealed the remaining file —ahigh-profile, second-degree murder case —onthe same dayofthe newspaper’srequest to review it.

Jones said he did not ask the judge to seal all records in the case,but he didtellthe judge a reporter sought to review the ﬁle

“The judges previously requestedtobenotiﬁed if there is a records request involving violent crimesincases that arestill on going,” Jones wrote. He added that judges maintain

ä See JUDGE, page 4A

PHOTO PROVIDED By NASA

TheArtemis II crew, from left,commander ReidWiseman, mission specialist ChristinaKoch, pilotVictorGloverand Canadian astronaut andmission specialist JeremyHansen answermedia questions during avideo conference on Wednesday.

Scientists: Octopus fossil isn’t an octopus

LONDON A 300-million-yearold tentacled sea creature has lost its crown as the world’s oldest octopus, after scientists found evidence that it’s not an octopus at all.

Newly published research concludes that fossilized remains listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus belong instead to a relative of a nautilus, a cephalopod with both tentacles and a shell.

University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher behind the new ﬁndings, said the fossil, Pohlsepia mazonensis, has long been the subject of scientiﬁc debate.

“It’s a very difﬁcult fossil to interpret,” he said. “To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush. If you look at it and you are a cephalopod researcher and you’re interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus.”

The creature, a blob about the size of a human hand, was found in the Mazon Creek area of Illinois, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, that is rich in fossils from a period before dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Its identiﬁcation by paleontologists as an octopus in 2000 upended ideas about the evolution of the eight-tentacled cephalopods, suggesting they emerged much earlier than previously thought. The next oldest-known octopus fossil is only about 90 million years old.

Nigerian army general, soldiers killed in attack

ABUJA, Nigeria An army general and several soldiers were killed during an attempt to raid a military base in northeastern Nigeria early Thursday ofﬁcials said. The attack occurred in Benisheikh in Borno State, army spokesman Michael Onoja said in a statement, but it was repelled. Onoja described the assailants as “terrorists,” which is the term the military uses to describe members of Islamic militant groups in the northeast of the country President Bola Tinubu conﬁrmed that a general was killed in the attack.

“The insurgents’ counterattack is a sign of desperation,” he said in a statement. “I extend my condolences to the families of our gallant soldiers, led by Brigadier General Oseni Omoh Braimah, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our country today in Borno State. The government will never forget their sacriﬁces.”

“Their sacriﬁces will not be in vain,” Tinubu said. “Because of the courage and dedication of our troops on the front line, our resolve to defeat terrorism and all forms of violence across Nigeria is stronger than ever.” Onoja didn’t specify how many soldiers were killed in the latest attack on military bases Judge rejects agreement in Navajo elder case

PHOENIX A federal judge in Phoenix has rejected a plea agreement that would have allowed a man who admitted to beating a Navajo elder and leaving her for dead to avoid more prison time Preston Henry Tolth, 26, now will face trial on charges of carjacking and assault in relation to the 2021 disappearance of Ella Mae Begay A trial date hasn’t been set. Under the agreement, Tolth would have been sentenced to three years of time served in exchange for acknowledging his role in the crime and pleading guilty to a single count of robbery Begay’s case received national media attention and helped highlight the broader crisis of Indigenous people who go missing or are killed. Nearly ﬁve years after she disappeared, Begay has not been found. The rare decision to reject a plea agreement followed anguished testimony from Begay’s son and niece who told the court Tolth should not walk free without revealing Begay’s location Ella Mae Begay’s daughter reported her mother missing in June 2021 from her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, a small community on the northern part of the Navajo Nation.

Protesters rally against facility

Opposition grows against Maryland detention center

BY REBECCA SANTANA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press

HAGERSTOWN, Md. Horns blared and protesters screamed “Stop ICE!” outside a meeting on the western edge of Maryland where county ofﬁcials were discussing mundane issues like the solid waste budget.

It’s been like this ever since the Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot building in Washington County as part of a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants.

“This is a facility built for packages, not people,” Patrick Dattilio, the founder of an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement group called Hagerstown Rapid Re-

sponse, said as he stood outside the county commission meeting.

The federal government has faced fierce opposition in communities where it spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses under a plan that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing. Washington County is the most welcoming community a place where ofﬁcials said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers. The processing center there was supposed to be one of the ﬁrst to open in a facilities project hatched under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

But now DHS’ plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S. Questions swirl about whether Mullin will move ahead with the facilities project or chart another course as he pursues President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The sprawling blue-and-white warehouse in Washington County

has been the subject of intense debate in part because of the way commissioners voiced their support for ICE.

While repeatedly insisting that their hands were tied because the federal government already bought the building, the commissioners also approved a proclamation during their Feb. 10 meeting declaring their “unwavering support” for DHS and ICE.

The proclamation, which didn’t speciﬁcally mention the warehouse purchase, was met with so much booing and yelling that the commission president cleared the room.

The county wanted something, too. It forwarded the proclamation to Noem the next day in an email identifying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of sewer, airport and highway upgrades that it said were needed, according to a public records request received by local resident Ethan Wechtaluk, who’s running for Congress in the district that includes the warehouse.

ICE, ﬂush with cash from a mas-

EPA proposes gutting rules targeting coal ash

Rollback would affect groundwater protections

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS and ALEXA ST JOHN Associated Press

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed weakening rules for the disposal of ash produced by burning coal that can contain hazardous heavy metals and contaminate groundwater Those regulations were strengthened under the Biden administration as part of a wider crackdown on pollution from coal-ﬁred power plants.

The Trump administration proposed easing standards for monitoring and protecting groundwater near some coal ash sites, and rolling back rules that require the cleanup of entire coal properties rather than just the sites where ash was dumped.

The revisions would also make it easier to reuse coal ash for other purposes.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal reﬂects the agency’s “commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain (coal) facilities.

Burning coal produces tremendous amounts of ash, a waste product that contains heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cobalt If not stored properly coal ash can contaminate groundwater Coal

plants are often situated on the banks of rivers or other waterways, with waste ash sitting nearby Opponents say the proposal, which grants states and other regulators the ability to grant exemptions from national standards, may open the door for companies to leave coal ash sitting in groundwater

The Biden-era EPA in 2022, for example, rebuffed the Gen. James Gavin Power Plant in southern Ohio for trying to close a coal ash disposal site that the agency said was in contact with groundwater In January 2025, with Trump back in the White House, coal industry entities asked Zeldin to revise the agency’s stance on the issue.

“Opening the door to leaving ash in groundwater undermines one of the central protections of this rule, and that’s essentially what this does,” said Nick Torrey, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonproﬁt

The proposed rule also seeks to lift restrictions on the use of coal ash called “beneﬁcial use” by the EPA — in secondary materials such as cement and as structural ﬁll.

The agency also said that industry and others have said the health risks from coal ash were overstated in previous EPA assessments. Federal ofﬁcials said the estimated cost savings were more than enough to justify the proposed changes.

USPS to suspend pension contributions

BY SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press

The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it has informed federal budget ofﬁcials it will temporarily suspend its employer contributions to Federal Employees Retirement System annuities, allowing it to keep making payroll, paying suppliers and delivering the mail.

The Postal Service also wants to increase postage rates, including raising the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents. USPS filed notice Friday with regulators, who still need to approve the changes.

The step taken by the Postal Board of Governors to forgo the pension

payments is meant to preserve cash and liquidity due to the Postal Service’s “ongoing, severe financial crisis,” Postal Service Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said in an internal message to USPS employees Ofﬁcials have warned the USPS is on course to run out of cash by around February 2027. Despite the suspension of employer contributions, effective Friday, current and future retirees will not be immediately impacted, Grossman said.

“The risk to the Postal Service and the American public from insufficient liquidity for postal operations dramatically outweighs any longer-term risk to the pension funds from not making the cur-

rently due payments,” he said in the statement. USPS deferred payments in 2011 during another ﬁnancial crisis.

The Postal Service said it will continue transmitting employees’ retirement contributions to the federal Ofﬁce of Personnel Management, along with Thrift Savings Plan contributions, including employer automatic and matching funds, and will also maintain its employer contributions to Social Security Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said the temporary suspension of annuity payments is “not ideal” but it doesn’t immediately impact his members.

sive congressional appropriation, has since signed a contract worth $113 million to renovate the building for 500 to 1,500 detainees, but a judge temporarily halted work after Maryland’s attorney general sued. A hearing is scheduled for April 15. County commissioners did not respondtoemailortelephonerequests for comment. County administrator Michelle Gordon in a statement said the commissioners were declining all interview requests.

Many residents of the county — a place Civil War buffs come to visit the Antietam battleﬁeld before making their way to nearby Gettysburg — are outraged both because they have moral objections to the facility and because they didn’t ﬁnd out about the purchase beforehand.

“We have had no voice in this,” Carroll Sager said over the din of protesters and honking cars. Behind her, the sheriff’s department had cordoned off part of the county building with crime scene tape to deter protesters.

Putin declares a ceaseﬁre in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter

By The Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend, following an earlier call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a pause in some of the hostilities to observe the holiday Putin’s decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting on 4 p.m. Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday Zelenskyy proposed earlier in the week that each side stop targeting each other’s energy infrastructure over the holiday, saying he made the offer through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as Russia’s invasion stretches into a ﬁfth year There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to Putin’s announcement.

Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had

little or no impact. Putin unilaterally declared a 30hour ceaseﬁre last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.

The Kremlin statement announcing the ceasefire said that “orders have been issued for this period to cease hostilities in all directions,” adding that “troops are to be prepared to counter any possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions.”

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” it said. Russia has effectively rejected a 30-day unconditional truce proposed last year by the U.S. and Ukraine as a step toward peace, insisting instead on a comprehensive settlement, but Moscow has announced several short, unilateral ceaseﬁres. The U.S.-led talks have made no progress on key issues, and Washington’s attention has switched to the Middle East conﬂict.

Tips /Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM Obituaries: 225-388-0289• Mon-Fri9-5; Sat10-5; ClosedSun Advertising Sales: 337-234-0174•Mon-Fri 8-5

Classiﬁed Advertising: 225-383-0111 •Mon-Fri 8-5

Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CAROLyN KASTER

A barge on the Ohio River moves past the Mountaineer Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant near New Haven, W.Va., on March 13. The Trump administration has proposed rolling back a Biden-era crackdown on pollution from coal-fired power plants

Netanyahuauthorizesdirecttalks with Lebanon

Negotiations could boostceasefire efforts

BY JON GAMBRELL, ELENA BECATOROSand MIKE CORDER Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates In apotential boost to Middle East ceaseﬁre efforts, IsraeliPrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors.

The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948,and Netanyahu later stressed that therewas no ceaseﬁre between them. In avideo statement, he said Israel will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restoredinnorthern Israel.

There was no immediateresponsefrom Lebanon. ButIsraelLebanon negotiations were expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to aU.S. ofﬁcial anda person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter

The prospect of talks appeared to bolster the tentative ceaseﬁre in the Iran war that has staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’scontinued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether talks can ﬁnd common ground.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was “very optimistic” about the prospects of reaching apeace deal, saying Iranian leaders are more amenable in private conversations thanintheir public statements.

Netanyahu’sannouncement came amid disagreementover whether the ceasefire dealincluded apause in ﬁghtingbetween Israel and Hezbollah, and aday after Israel poundedBeirutwithairstrikes, the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began Feb. 28 Israel hasfought multiplewars andlaunchedseveral major invasions of Lebanon over the years, most recently sending in troops last month in responsetoHezbollah ﬁre on Israel’snorthern border communities.

The launch of direct peace

BY COLLIN BINKLEYand WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON First lady

Melania Trump is denying ties to Jeffrey Epsteinand knowledge of his sex crimes, saying Thursday that the “stories arecompletely false” and calling accusations that she was somehow involved “smears about me.”

Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies”in regardstoher connections to the late ﬁnancier,aconvicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famousto recruit his victimsand cover up his crimes. “The lies linking me with

talks is asigniﬁcant achievement, thoughreaching an agreement will be difﬁcult after decades of hostilities, Hezbollah’s continued presence and longstanding disagreements over the countries’shared land border

The talks in Washington are expected to be handled on the American side bythe U.S.ambassador to Lebanon,Michel Issa, and on the Israeliside by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, accordingtothe person familiar with the planning It was notimmediately clear who would represent Lebanon.

The timing and location of the talkswas ﬁrst reportedbyAxios.

Afterdeclaring victory with the ceasefire announcement, both Iran and the U.S. appeared to apply pressureoneachother. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces havemined the Strait of Hormuz, acrucial waterway for oilthat Tehran has closed. Trump warned that U.S. forces would hit Iranharderthanbefore if it did not fulfill the agreement.

Questions alsoremainedover what will happen toIran’sstock-

the disgracefulJeffreyEpsteinneed to end today,”she said. “The individualslying aboutmeare devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. Idonot object to their ignorance,but rather Ireject their mean-spiritedattempts to defamemyreputation.”

The seeminglyout-of-theblue message came as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than ayear of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran warhad become all-consuming in Washington.The ﬁrstlady’s comments almost assuredly served to push the story back into thepolitical spotlightevenasthe president urged the public and media to move on from the case.

The White Houseused its Xaccounttoreshare avideo

pile of enriched uranium at the heartoftensions, how and when normaltrafﬁc will resume through the strait, andwhathappens to Iran’sabilitytolaunch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in theregion.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in amessageon Telegram that Iran’sdecision to accept aceaseﬁrewas made unanimouslybyseniorgovernment leaders and approved by thesupreme leader.Hesaid the ceaseﬁre“is not asign of weakness but away to solidify Iran’sproud victories.”

Despite disputes over theceasefire, it appears to have halted weeksofmissile anddrone attacks by Iran on itsGulf Arab neighbors andIsrael, with no newlaunches reported Thursday.There were no reportsofstrikes by theU.S. or Israel targeting Iran. Israel vows continuedstrikes Iran’sparliament speaker,Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in asocial media post Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on theIran-backed Hezbollah militantgroup in Lebanon would bring

posted by thefirstlady’s office of Melania Trump reading her statement.White Houseofficials did notrespond to requests for comment on whether the president had prior knowledge of thefirst lady’scomments.

Thefirst lady spoke for about ﬁve minutes, reading herstatement in theGrand Foyer,then walked away without taking questions.

Melania Trumpalso called on Congress to hold apublic hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’scrimes, with achance to testify beforelawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.

“Each and every woman should have herday to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have thetruth.”

“explicit costs andSTRONGresponses.

Qalibaf has been discussed as apossible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad. The WhiteHouse hassaidVance would lead the delegation fortalks starting Saturday

Iran had said Israel’songoing attacksonHezbollah were violating the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu and Trumphave said they were not.

Trumpsaid Thursday that he asked Netanyahu to dial back the strikes in Lebanon.

“I spoke withBibi, andhe’sgoing to low-key it. Ijustthink we have to be sort of alittle morelow-key,” Trumptold NBCNews.

Hours before Netanyahu authorized the negotiations with Lebanon, he saidIsrael would continue strikingmilitantsinthe country “withforce, precisionand determination.”

Lebanon’shealth ministry said morethan 300 people werekilled andmore than1,100 wounded Wednesday by Israelistrikes on central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah,which joined the war in support of Tehran.

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi. Hezbollah did not immediatelyrespond to arequest forcomment.

ANew York-based think tank warned the ceaseﬁre “hovers on the verge of collapse” following Israel’sstrikes Wednesday Lebanon’sstate-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strikeovernight killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon. TheIsraeli militarydid notimmediately acknowledge the strike.

Threat of mineslooms over strait

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published achart Thursday suggesting the country’sparamilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into theStraitofHormuz during the war —amessage that may be intended to pressure the United States.

The chart, released by the ISNA news agency andTasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural

gas once passed. Only atrickle of ships have transited since the warbegan after several were attacked, and Iran threatened to hit any that it deemed connectedtothe U.S. or Israel. Ships appeared to continue to avoid the strait even after the ceaseﬁre.

Thechart suggested that ships travel through waters closer to Iran’smainland near Larak Island, aroute someships were observed taking during the war.Itwas dated from Feb. 28 until April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mines since then. Iran’s deputy foreignminister, SaeedKhatibzadeh,toldthe BBC that his country will allow ships to pass through the strait in accordancewith “internationalnorms andinternationallaw”oncethe United States ends its“aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

The head of the UnitedArab Emirates’major oilcompany,Sultan al-Jaber,said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed “to navigate this corridor without condition.”

The strait’sdefacto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket —affecting the cost of gasoline, food andother basics farbeyond the MiddleEast. The spot priceof Brentcrude, theinternational standard, wasaround $98 Thursday,up about 35% since the war began. Fate of Iran’s enriched uranium

The fate of Iran’smissile and nuclear programs— whichthe U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war —was unclear.The U.S. insists Iran must neverbeable to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’sstockpile of highly enricheduranium, whichcould be used to build them.Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, buried in last year’s U.S. andIsraelistrikes, though Iran did not conﬁrm that. In one version of theceaseﬁre deal that Iran published,itsaiditwould be allowedtocontinueenrichment.

Thechief of Iran’s nuclear agency,Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” forany ceaseﬁre talks.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HASSAN AMMAR Lebanese civil defense workers search for victims on Thursdayinthe rubbleofabuilding destroyedinanIsraeli airstrikea dayearlier in centralBeirut, Lebanon

before heading back. As they emerged from behind the moon, they experienced a wondrous total solar eclipse as the orb blocked the sun from their perspective.

Launching from Florida on April 1 diminished the amount of illumination on the lunar far side, Glover noted, but the eclipse was the consolation prize “and it was one of the greatest gifts.”

Nearly 90% of the rocket, including the orange core providing much of the firepower, was constructed at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East.

During the only other Orion test ﬂight to the moon — in 2022 without a crew — the heat shield suffered considerably more damage than expected from the 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit of reentry. That raised the crew safety alarm for Artemis II and ultimately was among the reasons it was delayed until 2026.

Mission Control will be paying close attention to how the capsule’s heat shield holds up. Decisions about the heat shield made since then, though, will be put to the test as NASA astronauts are headed for a splashdown return at 7:07 p.m. Friday off the coast of San Diego in the Paciﬁc Ocean The recovery ship, USS John P Murtha, was already at sea, with a squadron of military planes and helicopters poised to join the operation.

It’s the ﬁrst time that NASA and the Defense Department have teamed up for a lunar crew’s reentry since Apollo 17 in 1972 Their Orion capsule will come screaming back, hitting the atmosphere at a predicted 34,965 feet per second or 23,840 mph not a record

JUDGE

Continued from page 1A

the power to seal case ﬁles, “especially if certain information could cause the integrity of the process to be compromised.”

The now-sealed case concerns Aaliyah Jack, who faces charges of second-degree murder cruelty to ju

but still mind-bogglingly fast. The trip back will be quick, taking only about 13 minutes. That will happen after the crew module separates from the service module, which has been its primary source of propulsion this past week. It also has been the covering and protection of the heat shield for the entire mission.

Instead of replacing Artemis II’s heat shield, which would have forced another lengthy delay, NASA tweaked the capsule’s descent through the atmosphere to reduce the blisteringly hot exposure. Next year’s Artemis III and beyond will fly with redesigned heat shields.

Artemis III will see astronauts

practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV in 2028 will attempt to land two astronauts near the moon’s south pole, setting the stage for what NASA hopes will be a sustainable lunar base.

NASA ofﬁcials have been loath to provide their risk assessment numbers for the nearly 10-day

mission, acknowledging launch and entry as the biggest threats.

“We’re down to the wire now,” said NASA’s Lakiesha Hawkins.

“We’re down to the end of the mission, and obviously getting the crew back home and getting them landed safely, is a signiﬁcant part of the risk that’s still in front of us.”

entire record of the abovecaptioned matter under seal until further order of the court,” Canaday wrote in his Jan. 29 order Anyone who wants to view any documents in the case is required to file a motion “stating with speciﬁcity what documents are sought.” The judge would then hold a hearing, during which the state prosecutor and public defender would

closure,” Hamrick wrote in a Thursday email to The Advocate. “This decision to seal an entire case wholesale, seemingly without a request to do so, ﬂips that presumption of openness and makes it more difﬁcult for the public to understand how the court is handling the case and ensure proceedings are carried out fairly.”

Canaday acknowledged

cords concealed. But most clerks in the state redact names or use initials to identify victims while the cases remain available for public viewing.

Murder case ﬁles are usually available for the public to view in clerk’s offices across the state. But Jones has also applied his policy in cases of violent crimes that involve two adults, and violent crimes with no sexual element.

“Our goal remains to make sure that the victim of a violent crime is protected,” Jones wrote, “but will abide by those laws that do allow for certain information to be accessible.”

Attorneys and constitutional experts said the policy likely violated the state constitution’s open courts and public records provisions the state public records law and the First Amendment. Calcasieu’s new policy remains unclear, as does the timeline for implementing it. Jones said his priority will remain protecting victims.

PHOTO PROVIDED By NASA

Astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman takes a moment Monday during the seven-hour lunar observation period when the crew reported to the ground team their observations, including color nuances, which will help enhance scientific understandings of the moon.

HURRICANE

Continued from page 1A

prediction in its 40 years of seasonal forecasting in 2024, warning that the Atlantic could give rise to 11 hurricanes a number that turned out to be right on the money Last year saw more tropical activity than usual as well, with fewer storm formations than in 2024 but a high ratio of powerful hurricanes that underwent rapid intensiﬁcation.

But El Niño, which generally creates conditions that hamper hurricane activity in the Atlantic and could be in full effect by this season’s peak, may help prevent another busy season this year — and that’s good news for Louisiana.

“So the odds of El Niño look very, very high,” CSU hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said at Thursday’s conference. “But the question obviously is: How strong is the El Niño? A weak, marginal El Niño typically has a lot less of an impact than a really strong El Niño.”

CSU researchers noted the April forecast is their earliest and most

Continued from page 1A

the house at 106 Gen. Marshall St., was shot three times in the arm.

Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney said Monday he is not trying Nicholas in Kayci’s death or in the other injuries, even though a grand jury indicted him on those charges, too.

All three officers testified Wednesday as jurors were shown body camera video from Ford and Cortez as they responded to the disturbance call and eventually entered the house.

Bradford’s body camera, which was attached to her vest, was destroyed on the ground as the injured ofﬁcer was assisted and later run over by a large police vehicle, Haney said.

The disturbance began that day with an argument outside between Nicholas’ sister, Jowanna Washington, who is the mother of the Cyprian children, and his then-girlfriend Diamond Lee. The group had been drinking, and Nicholas tried to break up the argument, his attor-

uncertain. The research team will issue forecast updates on June 10, July 8 and Aug. 5, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration usually releases its ﬁrst ofﬁcial hurricane season forecast in May

Back so soon?

El Niño and La Niña are two opposing climate patterns that disrupt normal wind and current conditions in the Pacific Ocean, impacting weather patterns across the globe.

El Niño tends to increase vertical wind shear across the Atlantic, according to CSU, which helps break up storms and prevent hurricane formation and intensiﬁcation.

“In El Niño years, you tend to have fewer storms than you do in La Niña,” Klotzbach said.

Though La Niña conditions were still present early this year, scientists at the Climate Prediction Center said Thursday that transitional neutral conditions had emerged and will likely be followed by El Niño. There’s a 61% chance that El Niño will return between May and July, just before the Atlantic reaches its busiest time of year, according to the Climate Prediction

ney, Francis Benezech, said.

Lee placed the 911 call, never speaking to the operator but leaving the line open to record about 15 minutes of the incident. Lee and Nicholas went inside the house and argued, snippets of which are captured by the 911 call and police body camera footage.

The argument appears to have turned violent at times, with Lee yelling for Nicholas to stop and allegedly saying he wanted to beat her in private.

Ford’s body camera video shows him banging on the door ﬁve times, announcing he was with the Police Department and ordering those inside to open the door

Cortez testified that he heard from outside the house a woman say, “Stop. Stop. Don’t put your (expletive) hands on me.” Bradford also testiﬁed that she heard what sounded like Nicholas striking Lee.

After a woman approached Ford saying there were babies inside the house, Ford announced that he was going to kick in the door Nicholas allegedly replied that he would shoot if they entered the house.

Center The timing is important, Klotzbach said. El Niño conditions tend to grow stronger as time goes on, and if conditions emerge too late in the year, Klotzbach said its greatest impacts could be felt outside hurricane season.

El Niño and La Niña conditions can last for months or several years, according to NOAA, though they don’t occur on a regular schedule. They generally occur every two to seven years, with transitional neutral periods in between.

The last strong El Niño stretched from 2023 into 2024, and CSU researchers said this year’s conditions exhibit characteristics similar to that year, 2015, 2009 and 2006.

Warm waters vs. El Niño

While El Niño conditions typically make it harder for storms to form, other factors at play can have just as much impact on what happens in the tropics The potential for even a powerful El Niño is not an all clear, Klotzbach said.

Despite a strong El Niño in 2023 — when CSU issued a near identical April forecast to this year’s that hurricane season ended as one

of the most active in 70 years, with 20 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Record warm ocean temperatures that year helped fuel the formation and strengthening of storms, combating El Niño’s usual calming effects.

CSU forecasters said temperatures in the Atlantic this year present mixed signals for the upcoming hurricane season, with warmer than normal waters in the western tropical Atlantic and slightly cooler than usual temperatures in the east.

Landfall probability

CSU’s forecast even gets down to the nitty-gritty details of where a hurricane might land and how likely storms are to impact U.S. residents.

Researchers said there’s about a 32% chance a major hurricane will hit somewhere along the U.S. coastline this coming season, well below the historical average from 1880 to 2020. There’s a 20% chance of a major hurricane making landfall on the Gulf Coast, a 15% chance on the East Coast and a 35% chance for a Caribbean landfall, according to CSU.

shooting.”

Ford, who is a large man, 6 feet 5 inches tall and a former football player at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, broke down in tears on the witness stand as he recalled what happened.

The little boy was alive and crying. The little girl, he said, “wasn’t able to make it.”

While Ford attempted to rescue the children, Bradford and Cortez proceeded farther into the house.

Bradford was waving for Nicholas’ aunt, who had been asleep in the back of the house, to leave when Nicholas rounded a doorway and opened fire, shooting Bradford then Cortez, who returned ﬁre and struck Nicholas, police said.

“I was face down on the floor in the house,” Bradford recalled.

Klotzbach said Thursday that there’s roughly a 28% chance that one hurricane will hit somewhere within 50 miles of Louisiana. A major hurricane has a 10% chance of hitting within the same distance.

“It takes only one storm near you to make this an active season for you,” CSU professor and researcher Michael Bell said in a news release announcing the forecast. CSU’s methodology

CSU has been issuing seasonal hurricane forecasts for more than four decades in an effort to provide the best estimate of activity in the Atlantic during the upcoming season. But it is not an exact measure.

The team bases its forecasts on a statistical model and three models that use a combination of information and predictions of large-scale conditions based on medium-range weather forecasts.

The models use 25 to 40 years of historical hurricane season data and evaluate various hurricanerelated conditions, including Atlantic sea surface temperatures, sea level pressures, vertical wind shear levels and El Niño.

the bullet entering her abdomen and shattering into more than 30 pieces, damaging her intestines, colon, kidney sciatic nerve and left hip. She was paralyzed for a year and underwent four surgeries with another scheduled for next month. She still walks with a limp and is physically unable to work as a police ofﬁcer “I didn’t even shoot my weapon,” a tearful Bradford said from the witness stand. “I was trying to save people.”

Ford’s body camera footage shows him kicking the door three times before it came off its hinges. He testiﬁed that he felt someone inside pushing back against the door as he kicked.

Chaos erupted as Ford broke the door which fell on two babies lying on the ﬂoor “As I was trying to get them out,” Ford testiﬁed, “(Nicholas) started

“I didn’t feel getting shot, but I couldn’t feel my legs and I knew if I lay there I’d get shot again and die.”

Using her arms, she pulled herself across the living room to the open door and threw herself down the stairs and into the yard, where she found cover Eventually she lost consciousness and woke up in a hospital. Bradford was shot from behind,

Benezech suggested the police officers, instead of breaching the house, should have obtained a warrant first, which can be done from their patrol car computers. Nicholas, when the officers broke in the door, was blinded by a bright flashlight Cortez held with his weapon and shined in Nicholas’ face before the shooting started, Benezech said, suggesting he may not have known who they were.

Benezech also questioned Ford about the Police Department’s policy for responding to hostage situations.

The trial is expected to resume Thursday morning and may wrap up as early as Friday

PHOTO PROVIDED By HALI AND ADAM BRADFORD

Lafayette police officers Adam and Hali Bradford pose on their wedding day in Colorado on July 13, 2023.

Bill to license pregnancy centers stalls

Anti-abortion

groups push back

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

A bill that would require pregnancy centers that provide health care services to be licensed with the Louisiana Department of Health stalled in the House after facing pushback from Loui-

siana Right to Life, an inﬂuential anti-abortion lobbying group.

House Bill 611, by state Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, D-New Orleans, is based on a recommendation in a September report by the Legislative Auditor’s Ofﬁce. That agency found gaps in how the state oversees pregnancy centers, some of which receive public funds. Currently pregnancy cen-

Opelousas officer arrested, placed on leave

She joins others involved in malfeasance investigation

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

An Opelousas police officer who was recently arrested alongside the Mamou police chief and Ville Platte mayor was placed on administrative leave last week.

Opelousas Police Chief Graig LeBlanc conﬁrmed Yolanda Lewis was placed on administrative leave April 2 due to an ongoing malfeasance investigation. LeBlanc declined to comment on the arrest.

Lewis was arrested Tuesday in a Louisiana State Police investigation into the use of government databases to share protected information with a defendant in an ongoing criminal case. The investigation resulted in the arrest of Mamou Police Chief Charles “Pat” Hall and Ville Platte Mayor Ryan Leday Williams, along with three law enforcement ofﬁcers.

All five were released from jail sometime between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning after bonding out.

On Tuesday, Lewis posted on social media following her release from the St. Landry Parish Jail, thanking people for birthday wishes and brieﬂy responding to her arrest. Lewis was not immediately available for comment.

“Just pray for me through this time with what’s going on, and you know what’s going on. I don’t want to hide nothing from nobody. I’m not ashamed of nothing,” Lewis said. She faces charges of malfeasance and trespassing against state

2 hospitalized after shooting in Opelousas, police say

Police are investigating a shooting in Opelousas that left two people injured. On Wednesday the Opelousas Police Department responded to a reported shooting in the area of Overton Street and East Street around 7:45 p.m.

BLOTTER Advocate staff reports

Upon arrival, officers determined that the incident actually occurred on Cenla Street, where evidence was found. A follow-up investigation led ofﬁcers to a second location, where additional evidence was recovered, police said.

Two victims were struck by gunﬁre during this incident. Both sustained

ters in Louisiana are not licensed as medical providers, even though some perform ultrasounds, offer STI testing and prescribe medication, acco rding to the legislative auditor’s report. The centers are also not subject

to patient privacy laws like HIPAA.

Auditors reviewed 12 pregnancy centers that receive state funding through Louisiana’s Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative, which is administered through the Department of Children and Family Services. All facilities performed ultrasounds, but only nine reported having a physician with an active license on staff, accord-

ing to the report. According to the audit, there is no state requirement that ultrasounds at pregnancy centers be conducted or interpreted by professionals — and because pregnancy centers are not regulated, clients cannot ﬁle complaints against the provider or facility

There are 38 pregnancy centers in Louisiana, the report says.

READy FOR A RIDE

During Wednesday’s meeting of the House Health and Welfare Committee, when legislators considered HB611, Freeman argued all clinics should have doctors on site to interpret ultrasounds in case they indicate medical emergencies. Supporters of the bill contended it would bring pregnancy centers in line with

craw

Boudin Fest ambassador brings message of inclusion

Born with a rare genetic disorder, she embodies ‘limitless,’ parents say

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

At just 5 years old, Olivia Miller has already captured hearts as the first Limitless Little Ambassador for the Scott Boudin Festival. The Limitless Little Ambassador role was created to demonstrate the power of inclusion. Born with CHARGE syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects her eyes, ears, heart and airway, Olivia’s life has been ﬁlled with surgeries and therapies. Yet despite those challenges, her parents say her happiness

and resilience inspire everyone around her

“She’s always happy,” said father Phillip Miller. “No matter what she’s gone through, she always radiates with a joy and it inspires us.”

Her mother, Alexis Miller became emotional reﬂecting on her daughter’s journey “When Olivia was born, they never expected her to make it this far, but she has proved them wrong time and time again,” she said.

“She truly is the most resilient and strongest person I know She embodies the word ‘limitless.’” Festival officials couldn’t

agree more, saying Olivia was chosen because she embodies the festival’s spirit of community, inclusion and celebration. Lauren Segura, board member and pageant director, said the inspiration behind the role was rooted in both awareness and education.

“We wanted to bring awareness to families and children with special needs and give our queens and ambassadors a chance to learn from them,” Segura said. “Just because a child interacts with the world differently doesn’t diminish their value or ability to impact others.”

For Olivia’s parents, this opportunity is a chance to share her story and reshape how others view children with

See BOUDIN, page 4B

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Riders start their ride during Cycle Zydeco, Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole Cycling Festival, at Parc des Ponts Breaux on Thursday in Breaux Bridge. Riders experience up to five days of Cajun and Creole culture with plenty of food, live music, swamp tours and

fish boils. Riders could choose routes from 36 to 62 miles.

Riders prepare for their ride during Cycle Zydeco at Parc des Ponts Breaux on Thursday in Breaux Bridge.

Riders start their ride during Cycle Zydeco on Thursday in Breaux Bridge.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Olivia Miller is the Scott Boudin Festival’s first Limitless Little Ambassador

ä See CENTERS, page 4B ä See BLOTTER, page 4B

ä See OFFICER, page 4B

OPINION

Building cageswon’t keep kids from beingkilled

On the title track of his 2016 album “4 Your Eyez Only” —and in the documentary he ﬁlmed partly in Baton Rouge —J.Cole raps as adead father writing aletter to the daughter he will never raise. The song indicts a system that chose prison when what was needed was education. It is an eight-minute elegy —and apolicy argument. And it is the song Ihave not been able to stop hearing since March 8, when 8-year-old Davian Nicholas was shot and killed on San Juan Drive while agroup of young menturned an argument into ashootout in the same space where children play East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux called it a“heartbreaking and senseless tragedy.” He was right.But heartbreak without analysis is just grief on repeat. If we want to understand why Davian is gone, we have to examine what we are building —and what we are re-

fusing to build —inthe neighborhoods where our children live.

Hagan

Here is what we are building: Gov.Jeff Landry’sproposed budget includes an $82 million increase for corrections and inmate housing, an 11% hike that pushes state spending in thatcategory to nearly $800 million. That money would help fund expansion at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, higher per diem payments to sheriffs and new juvenile detention capacity. Morebeds. More cages. More capacityto warehouse human beings only after the damage is done.

Here is what we are refusing to build: the community infrastructurethat actually keeps children alive.

Criminologist Robert Sampson’sresearch on collective efﬁcacy —one of the mostrigorously tested theoriesinneighborhood violence prevention —has demonstrated for nearly three

decades that what protects children is not the lengthofa sentence handed down after a shooting.

It is thedepth of social cohesion in the neighborhood before acrime ever happens. When residentsknow each other,trust each other and are willing to interveneonbehalf of each other’s children, violence goes down.

A2022 study published in PNAS Nexus showed that collective efﬁcacy literally buffers children’sbraindevelopment against the neurological impact of gun violence exposure. Other research,including workinNew Orleans, shows that neighborhood trust andcohesion shape how violent crime touches children’sdevelopment and daily lives.This is not abstract theory This is Louisiana-connected data telling us what works Butcollective efﬁcacy requires adults —present, stable, connected adults— in thecommunity. Andthat is precisely what mass incarceration destroys.

It’s time forCongress to supportthe fight againstParkinson’s

From the time Icould push alawn mower at age 12, Iworked. Sometimes two or three jobs at once. Work meant freedom to me. If Iwanted something, Iearned it.

After three semesters of college, Ijoined the U.S. Navy.Serving aboard afastattack submarine in my early 20s, Iwas responsible for chemical analysis of reactor systems, maintaining radiation exposure records for the entire crewand managing the disposal of contaminated waste during deployments. It was agreat deal of responsibility for someone so young, and Itook pride in the work.

cated myself to Parkinson’sadvocacy

Louisiana incarceratespeople at one of the highest rates in the world. When we remove that many parents, mentors, neighborsand wage earners from a neighborhood,wedonot make it safer.Wetear apart the social fabric that produces safety Research publishedinJAMA Surgeryin2024 found thathigher incarcerationrates in Black communitieswereassociated with higher ﬁrearm homicide rates —and thatsingle-parent households created by incarceration mediated nearly aquarter of thateffect. The very fracture mass incarceration causesisthe mechanismthrough whichthe next shooting becomes possible.

This is why state Rep. BarbaraFreiberg’sHouse Bill 168 matters. Her bill would create atransitional reentry program for women on parole —manyof whom are mothers responsible for minor children. Gender-responsive reentry programs have been shown to be roughly

40% more effective at reducing recidivism thanone-size-ﬁts-all approaches.Community supervisioncosts on the order of a few thousand dollars ayear per person. Aprisonbed can cost10 timesthat. Fora fraction of what Louisiana is pouring into cages, HB168 offers ablueprint for stabilizing the families and neighborhoodsthatprotect children like Davian.

J. Cole wrote adead man’s lettertoafatherless daughter because the systemchose punishment over possibility.Davian Nicholas should be ﬁnishing third grade

The questionLouisiana must answerisnot whether we are tough enough on crime. It is whether we arewise enough andhonestenough —tofund what the evidencealready tells us actually works.

Andrea Haganisa criminology instructor at Loyola University NewOrleans and founder of Pattern Hunters, LLC.

‘Lookback’ legislationcreates fairness forabuse victims

presume liability or impose automatic punishment; it simply restores the opportunity forclaims to be judged on their merits.

Ihaveserved on anational board for the Parkinson’sFoundation, been presidentof the Gulf Coast chapter andreceived recognition for the most volunteerhours in ayear among more than 5,000 volunteers. Randy LeBlanc and Ico-founded and run anonproﬁt in Baton Rouge called The Mission for Movement, where we apply everything that we’ve learned nationally to help people locally living with Parkinson’s.

After the Navy,Iworked as aradiation safety ofﬁcerand later built an 18-year career as an operator at BASF Chemical Corporation. Iexpectedthat job to carry me through to retirement. Instead, unexplained symptomsbegan to appear It started afterareaction to blood pressure medication that sent me home from work. Fatigue, short-term memory problems,apathy andsevere leg cramps followed. Over the next 10 months, Isaw 13 specialistsand had more than 100 doctor andlab visitstrying to ﬁnd answers.

Eventually,the investigation turned neurological. Ascan indicated Parkinson’s disease. When medication conﬁrmed the response, my diagnosis was made.

Iwas 44 years old.

Ihad never not worked in my life Suddenly,Icouldn’twork at all. Ihad time to think, but very few answers. I feared my future.

Five months after my diagnosis, Iattended theParkinson’sPublic PolicyForum for the ﬁrst time. Idrove16hours, wondering how Iwouldhandle walking into aconvention hall ﬁlled withpeople living with Parkinson’s. It turned out to be one of thebestdecisions of my life.

Isaw peoplefurther along in thedisease still advocating, still working, still helping others. They were doing things Iassumed Parkinson’swould make impossible. That experience showed me my life was not over —itsimply hada new direction. Over the past 12 years, Ihave dedi-

Ibelieve my years of chemical exposure during my Navyservice andchemical industry career may have contributed to my diagnosis. While deﬁnitive links to thespeciﬁc chemicals Ihandled are still being studied, they are similar in nature to substances like Paraquat and TCE chemicals already associated with Parkinson’srisk. Long-termexposure to even small amounts may have consequences.

Parkinson’sdisease is progressive and there is still no cure. Ihave been fortunate that my symptoms have progressedslowly,but eventually my abilities will decline. When that happens, I will rely on the advocacy of others.But until that day,Iwill not stop. That’swhy I’m headed to Washington, D.C.,toask Congress to take three concrete steps to address thegrowing Parkinson’scrisis in the United States.

First, increasefederal funding for Parkinson’sresearch, treatment development, medications and prevention strategies. Second, fully implement the National PlantoEnd Parkinson’sAct This bipartisan law has already been signed, but key steps —including convening theadvisory board —have yet to occur. Third, ban chemicals known to contribute to Parkinson’sdisease that have alreadybeen banned in other countries.

Parkinson’sisoften called a“silent disease”because one of itssymptomsis asoft or breathy voice. Butthe millions of Americansliving with Parkinson’s —and the millionsmore who will be diagnosed in the coming years —cannot afford to besilent.Weneed Congress to hearus.

Benjamin Bement is aformer president of the GulfCoast Chapter of the Parkinson’sFoundation.

Mostsurvivorsofchildhood sexual abuse do not come forward right away Many wait decades;some neverspeak up at all. Historically,the law has forced survivorstoact on atimeline that ignores what modern-day trauma research shows about survivorsofabuse.

The National Children’sAlliance reports that approximately one in four girls and one in 13 boys in the United States experience childhood sexual abuse.

The average age of disclosure often falls well into adulthood, frequently in someone’s30s, 40s, or even 50s. Yetstatutes of limitations assume survivorsreport immediately,orsoon thereafter,whichcreates barriers that prevent survivors from accessing thejustice system when they are ready.

Criticsargue thatevidence in decadesoldcases is toostale to support fair litigation. Yetcourts routinely handle casesinvolving events thatoccurredmanyyears earlier, andassessing witness credibility is acorejudicialfunction. Others claimrevivalstatutes areunconstitutional. However, revivalstatuteshave been repeatedly upheld, andlegislatures clearly have authority to modify limitationperiods in the interest of justice.

Louisiana’slookback windowcorrects that injustice. By reopening previously time-barred civil claims, the state has aligned its laws with modern trauma research and restored apathtoaccountability.States that have yet to do so should follow suit

Abuseoften involves grooming, coercion, secrecy and authority ﬁgures, and survivorsfrequently suppress or compartmentalizetheir trauma.Shame, fear of retaliation and institutional pressure further delay disclosure. Legal deadlines turned these realities intostructural barriers, denying survivorsaccess to the courts before they could meaningfully participate.

When thelaw says it’s too late to ﬁle a claim, the messagetosurvivors is devastating. Survivors who have carriedthe weight of abuse in silence fordecades are only to be toldtheir legal rights have expired before they can be heard.

Denying aforum compounds the original harm, which reinforces shame and isolation rather than accountability

Civil claims do more than provide individual redress; they expose patterns of abuse, promote transparencyand strengthen institutional safeguards. Litigation uncoverssystemicfailures, deters future misconduct and drives meaningful reform.

In 2021, theLouisiana Legislature enacted arevival window allowing survivorstobring previously time-barred civil claims, which Louisiana’sSupreme Court upheld in 2024. The windowisopenuntil June 14, 2027.

Temporary by design, it reopens claims while maintainingfairness: Courts still evaluate evidence, assess credibility and consider defenses. The law does not

Some contend thatthe law is unfair to institutions. But revival windows do not assign guilt; they require proof.These windows ensure claims areevaluated in court ratherthandismissed by the calendarona technicality

Louisiana demonstrates that legislative reform basedontrauma research is both legally sound andmorally necessary Many statesstill impose rigid deadlines thatfailtoreflect modern understandings of trauma.Aligning law with science and fairness ensuressurvivors are notdenied justicesimply because they cameforward laterinlife Sincethe revivalwindowwent into effect, survivors have filed claimsagainst powerful institutions, including multiple lawsuits against the Diocese of Lafayette for decades-old abuse thatwould have hadnocivil remedy but forthis reform. In 2025 alone, at least adozen separate lawsuits were filed in Louisiana’s15thJudicialDistrict, bringing the total pending civil claims to about50since June 2024. These cases showexactly whatthe law was designedtodo: Give survivors their dayincourt, even when their voices were silenced for decades Justicerequiresbothcourage and flexibility fromlawmakers, courts and society. Survivors arenot asking for special treatment. Theyare asking to be heard. Louisiana’s lookback window restores access to justicewithout undermining fairness, proving thatdelayed disclosure should never mean deniedjustice. Other states should follow this example so thatsurvivors are no longerbarredfromhaving their day in court.

Whenthe lawﬁnally listens, justice is no longerout of reach. It is ﬁnally within grasp.

ReaganCharleston Thomasisan attorney basedinNew Orleans

COMMENTARY

ISSUE OF THE WEEK DRONE AS FIRST RESPONDER

As police departments across the countrylook forwaystocut response time and address staffing shortages, anew tool hasjoined the force —aerialdrones. Lawenforcementinmanycities are turning to these flying objects to keep an eye on suspects during chases,surveythe sceneofcrimes in progress, alertofficers to danger and evendetermine whether they need to deployresources.InLouisiana, Jefferson Parish is an earlyadopterofthis Drone as First Responder,or DFR, technology, and theresults have been impressive— withdrones assisting in 170 arrests in their first four months of operation. But not everyone isa fan. Privacy advocates raise concerns about dronesoverstepping constitutional protections.They wonder whethervideo captured by dronescouldbeused againstthose whohaven’t committed acrime, andtheysay that the programsare bound to expand without guardrails in place.Are drones the future of policing or the harbinger of anascent surveillance state? Here are twoperspectives:

Welcomedrones, ‘a new paradigm in policing’

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce recently launched its Drone as First Responder,orDFR, program, reducing emergency response times to critical incidents. Current research indicates that a response time of one minute or less signiﬁcantly increases the probabilityofon-scene arrests.

While aquick response is essential, the probabilityof arrestdrops dramatically if the response time exceeds ﬁve minutes. JPSO is proud of its average response time of four to six minutes, but every second we cut off that time makes us more effective.

themtomake decisions based on information they might not otherwise have.

Don’tsurrender privacy to dronesurveillance

Iamaware this technology does not come without privacy concerns. The idea that this technology could be misused is not foreign to me. Recent advances in camera technology and developments in artiﬁcial intelligence have put alot of information intoour hands

DFR operatorsmonitor the 911 system to quickly determine when a response is needed and take immediate action. Obviously,drones will never replacethe need for adeputyto respond to acall, but the ability to provide real-time intelligence to responding ofﬁcers is truly agame-changer

Unlike traditional drone flights that require an on-scene operator tolaunch adrone, aDFR drone can be launched fromone of 23 fixed locations within Jefferson Parish in under 15 seconds and can travel 1.5 miles in under two minutes. Without the constraints of traffic and other factors, JPSOdrones can respond to acritical incident in 90 secondsorless.

Asingle operator canpilotuptofour drones at atime to either augment our response or makesure we always have adrone monitoring an incident scene.

JPSO drones provide ahigh-deﬁnition video feed to responding ofﬁcers, enabling them to see what is happening before they arrive on scene. Drone operatorsare able to locatesubjects andidentify potential hazards that responding ground personnel might otherwise be unable to see.

JPSO drone operators are experienced ﬁrst responderswith the ability to relay the right information to all responding patrol unitsonthe ground, providing vital intelligence to allow

We are not using that information to pryunnecessarily into your backyardcrawﬁsh boils. We are, however,using it to arrest the person whoistrying to steal your crawﬁsh pot Thatiswhat theDFR program does. It supports investigations and prosecutions.

By capturing crimes in progress, drone video footage can be used as evidence tosupportthe prosecution of suspects once cases reach thecourtroom. Our best method to prevent crime is tostop offendersthe ﬁrst time,before they have thechance to commit their next crime.

We prevent crime tomorrow by stopping crimes that are happening today DFR is not about an ofﬁcer quickly getting adrone to an incident,but rather adrone getting an ofﬁcer to an incident quickly

Since the inception of theDFR program in early November 2025, JPSO has conducted well over 6,000 flights (over48flightsaday on average) and the technology has contributed to over 220 arrests and the recovery of 35 stolenvehicles and 18 firearms. Theresults speak volumes. DFR is truly anew paradigm in policing. JPSO is intentional when it comes tobeing one of the premier programs in the country in enhancing both officer and community safety when responding to calls for service. While it has always been hardtocommit acrime in Jefferson Parish and get away with it, it just got harder

Joe Lopinto has been theJefferson Parish sheriff since 2017.

Police departments acrossLouisiana are reporting historic stafﬁng shortages. The fear is so severe that Gov.Jeff Landry declared an ofﬁcial state of emergency.For the thin blue line, technology looks like alife raft in desperate times.

Everyone has seen the videos of American justice delivered from drones raining hellﬁre. Air dominance is an American way of life. It’spowerful, and it seems easy.The militaryhas trained us to believe that drones are alot better than getting dirty with boots on theground.

This delusion has seduced us countless times.Istarted my career as acontractor for theNational Geospatial Intelligence Agency.Iwent on to work forthe NSA. I believed that, with the right surveillance, we could ﬁnd and kill theterrorists intent on hurting Americans. While the technology worked, our Middle East warswere disasters

Police departments aredetermined to repeat the samemistakes by refurbishing thesame military technology.Drones as ﬁrst responders, or DFR,advertise themselves as an easy solution to police stafﬁng woes. They’re marketed as force multipliers and promise quick, low-effort deployments to calls for service. Response times will go from insane to afew short minutes. Butwhat does adrone response mean?

Adrone isn’tapolice officer.Itisn’tafirefighter or amedic. Adrone can’t stop arobbery or save alife.

Adrone is an AI-powered aerial surveillance system. It’sa camera, and cameras don’tstop crime or provide first aid. Instead of apolice officer responding to your call, he’ssitting at headquarters watching ascreen. The response time metric looks fantastic. Buthelp isn’tany closer.The drone isn’tfor you. Instead of help, you get acamera flying high above you. If theoperator eventually sees something,police will dispatch an officer several minutes after assistance should have already been on theway.That short response time is meaningless when thetime to the scene is just aflying camera. Afirst responder can only be boots on the ground.

“Drones as ﬁrst responders” is mass surveillance with sympathetic branding. These are aerial camera platforms that will hover over our homes and backyards, recording continuously They will livestream your crawﬁsh boil and your kids swimming in the pool. The video and location will be streamed back to the police and forever stored in databases. Big Brother can loiter above your front door,observe when you leave and chase you wherever you go. This is Orwellian overreach. It is aviolation of our property,our privacy and our constitutional rights.

Proponents will argue that surveillance concerns are overblown and hyperbolic. DFRwon’ttarget you. The drones will only target criminals. They’ll be in someone else’sneighborhood. They won’tpatrol the skies or linger over your home. Drones won’t“chase you smarter.”

There has never been agovernment program that didn’tgrow and overreach. Once the system is built, the government will find new uses. DFRwill start with responding to calls forservice. It will expand to include peripheral crimes observed on scene. Next, the vendor will release a feature to scan forcrimes en route. Since mostcrimes are committed by known criminals, adding the facial recognition option just makes sense. After aerial imagery of your property exists, whywouldn’tauthorities look for zoning violations? The fines could fund new drones. Afew new drones dedicated to finding citations could fix the parish budget and, obviously,keep us all safe. The police and Landry do not mention that crime is at historic lows. There’sno emergency.There is no crisis. Don’tbefooled by empty promises of security from AI-powered surveillance. There is no need to surrender your privacy or to give the government flyover rights to your property.The door to surveillance only swings one way.

Matthew Wollenweber is aNew Orleansbased security engineer,privacy advocate andprogressive organizer.

STAFFPHOTO By MICHELLE HUNTER

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’sOffice has deployed first responder dronesaround the parish to respond to scenes and assist deputies.

Food truckparkplanned fordowntownLakeCharles

TheChuck Stop would includegathering area,developerssay

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

Following the lead of larger cities, two Lake Charles entrepreneurs are bringing afood truck park to downtown Lake Charles.

Eric Blanchard said that while visiting friends in Austin, he noticed that there are alot of places for people to get togetheroutside, play games and get food from local food trucks.

So, for the past ﬁve years, he has been working to bring asimilar business model to Lake Charles.

Within thenext30days, Blanchard and his business partner,James Guilbeaux Jr., will see construction start up on The Chuck Stop, which will be located at 510 Broad St. in Lake Charles.

“We’ve seen alot of the food trucks come into the city over the last ﬁve to seven to 10 years,”Guilbeaux said. “There’salways little

pop-ups here or eventshere, but there isn’tadedicated space where you can roll up and have multiple choices.”

TheChuck Stop will start with five spaces forfoodtrucks with electricity andwater hookups;however,theyhave plans to eventually have seven spotsupand running.

In addition to spots for the food trucks,there will be amenities at the spot to make it aplacepeople wanttohang out.

“We’llhave adiningarea, which our plan is to have that covered andwaterproof and have some air movement(so) that it’s cool during thesummertime,” Guilbeaux said.“(There will be)a gaming area. And it will be kid-friendly, pet-friendly.We’ll also have probablysomeshipping containers that will berepurposed and whatnot for bathroomsand forserving like beers and stuff like abar container andwhatnot.”

Plans for phasetwo of construction wouldinclude abar at the property.

TheChuck Stop will be located within theCharpentier Historic District, which Blanchard saidwas

Honduran mansnared in stingpleadsguilty

TV show caught attempttomeet with minorfor sex

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

AHonduran man, arrested last year in asting set up for Chris Hansen’s“TakeDown” streaming television show,pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to attemptingtomeetwitha minor for sex.

WilliamAlexander Ruiz Ponce, 28, pleaded guilty to acountofattempted enticement of aminor and two counts of attempted transfer of obscene material to aminor

Ruiz Ponce was one of 11 suspects caughtina February 2025 series of stings conducted by the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,where undercoveragents pose as minors in online chats

These “proactive investigations” seek to ﬁnd child predators before they claim avictim. For each of the dozens of stings LPSO has conducted alongside Hansen, suspected predators were directed to ahome in Denham Springs where they believed they wouldbe meeting up with ateenager for sex. According to arelease from the U.S. Department of Justice, Ruiz Ponce is a Honduran nationalwithout legal authorization to be in the country As part of his guilty plea, Ruiz Ponce admitted to having used social media and text messages to try to convince aperson he believed to be a14-year-old girl from Denham Springs into asexual relationship with him

Ruiz Ponce admitted to planning ameeting with the“girl”and traveling 35 minutes to Denham Springs to meet with “her” in February 2025.

Ruiz Ponce’s conversation with the agent became more sexual after being

CENTERS

Continued from page1B

other health care facilities, protecting women and babies.The bill would not apply to centers that do not offer health care services.

Erica Inzina, policy directorofLouisiana Right to Life, which holds immense sway in the Capitol, pushed back against the notion that pregnancycenters arenot properly regulated. Medical care at pregnancy centers is administered by health care providers who are already subjecttothe licensingrequirementsoftheir profession, Inzina said. Dorothy Wallis, CEOof Caring to LoveMinistries, which operates the Care Pregnancy ClinicinBaton

theoverall intent

“I live in thehistorical district, so to me, it’spersonal,”Blanchard said. “I want to see our neighborhood andour area have more to do.Tome, there was no otherplace but downtown.

However,being located within the district meant that therewere speciﬁc requirements forapproval.

“Any new development, and this would be considereda newdevelopment in that district, whichis ahistoric district, it’sanoverlay district,the historic preservation commissionreviews the design standards and the proposal through their public hearing and review process,”said Lake Charles Director of Planning DougBurguieres. “So, they hear it at the public hearinglevel.They meet once a month,and they review thesubmitted documents, theplans, what the facility is goingtolook like, how it’s going to be used, and they voteaccordingly.”

In fact, Blanchard said that they hadtogotothe historical district multiple times, as well as the Lake Charles City Council.

OFFICER

Continuedfrom page1B

toldshe was 14, according to aconversation between an LPSO detective and Hansen during the “TakeDown” episode that documented Ruiz Ponce’s arrest.

“It’s fine with me, send me more photosofyou,” Ruiz Ponce reportedly texted the agent afterbeing asked if he was OK with talkingtoa14-year-old,according to messages read by the detectiveduring the episode.

Before their meeting, Ruiz Ponce sentthe agent sexually-explicit images of himself, includingofhis genitals. He also asked for the agent’s location and expressed an interest in havingsex

According to the detective featured in “TakeDown,” Ruiz Poncesent nudesofhimselfinside a porta-potty,takenwhile he was at work on aconstruction site.

“Now I’mwaitingfor yours, to see your cute body without clothes,” Ruiz Ponce textedthe agent, amongmore explicitmessages read by the detective during the episode.

The convictionwill land RuizPonce in prisonfor a minimumof10years, with amaximum punishment of life inprison. Duetohis charges, Ruiz Ponce could also possibly be required to pay a$250,000 fine, be under statesupervisionfor therest of his life, or register as asex offender

Upon completion of his sentence,RuizPonce is also subject to deportation or removal, according to a DOJ news release. Ruiz Ponce’sinterview with Hansen can beseen on season 13, episode 8of “TakeDown,” whichaired on TruBlu in May2025.

ALouisiana House of Representatives resolution honoring Hansen and his televisioncrew fortheir work with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce was adopted last monthafter being introducedbyRep. Kellee Dickerson, R-DenhamSprings.

Rouge, argued thebill was unnecessary “Weself-regulate,” she said, addingthat her facility has aboard-licensed medical director Such comments garnered sharp repliesfrom some Democrats on thecommittee, includingstate Rep. Mandie Landry,D-New Orleans, who is widely considered one of the mostprogressive voices in the Legislature. “Self-regulation of ahealth carefacility is, Ithink, the opposite of what the Health and Welfare Committee wants,” Landry said She contended that the bill would notaffectWallisif her clinic wasalready operatingappropriately After alengthy discussion, Freeman offered to voluntarily deferHB611 —but not before coming down on

computers following a March request by theEvangeline ParishSheriff’s Office to investigateallegations against several public ofﬁcials,accordingtoState Police.

During the investigation, detectives said theﬁve public officialsaccessed state andgovernmentcomputer databases and sharedsen-

BLOTTER

Continuedfrom page1B

The two have been going through the approval process for more than two years. Blanchardsaidthey willbeoffering leases, in avariety of lengths, for licensed food trucks to rent.

Lake Charles Director of FinanceEmily McDanielsaidthat to operate within the incorporated areas of thecity of Lake Charles, the owner of afood truck is requiredtohave an up-to-date itinerant vendor license, which costs $100 ayear

“As part of the requirement to obtain this license, the truck must have acurrent address on file, identifying where they are operating,”McDaniel said. “The city requires aletter of permission on ﬁle fromthe landowner.Thislicense is obtained through the city of Lake Charles Occupational License Division at City Hall.”

In addition, the owners of the food trucks areresponsible forcollecting andremitting sales taxes withthe Calcasieu Parish School BoardSales TaxOfﬁce,according to McDaniel As far as regulations go, the food trucks are regulated through the

sitive information from the systems with an arrested defendant regarding an ongoing criminal case.

The disclosed information includeddetails about allegedvictims in active investigations.

Twoother officers, Ville Platte police Sgt. Darrian Guillory and911 dispatch officer Chasessica Basco, were arrested on the same counts.

Guillory andBasco’semployment status is unknown.

Ville Platte Chief Perry

injuries that werenot considered lifethreatening and were transported to a hospital for treatment.

Anyone withinformation regarding this incident or anycriminal activity is urged to contact theOpelousas Police Department at (337) 948-2500 or St. Landry CrimeStoppers at (337) 948-8477. Allcallers can remainanon-

BOUDIN

Continuedfrom page1B

disabilities.

“WhenI first found out Olivia was agirl, my heart ﬂutteredatthe ideaofbeing agirl momand putting herinpageants anddance classes,”AlexisMillersaid

“When Ilearned about her diagnosis, those dreams felt unattainable. ButI always say God is the ultimatephysician, and at the end of the day,hehas the ﬁnal say.”

That dream has now come full circle. Alexis Miller who once held pageant titles herself, says watching her daughter stepinto this role is something she will never takefor granted.

“Ifpeoplecan seewhat she’scapable of,maybeit changeshow they see other kids like her,”Phillip Miller said. “That’swhatthisisreally about.”

Olivia’spersonality shines in thesimplest, most joyful ways. She loves being around people and is especially drawn to lights and movement, often reacting instantly to the world around her. At home,she enjoys playing outside, swinging,

critics, whoshe said insinuated the proposal was not in line with pro-life values.

Freeman found it “personallyinsulting,”she said, “thatsomeone would say this is against ourbabiesand mamas.”

Afiscal note forHB611 found it would cost thestate over $600,000 annually, mostly to payfor ﬁve new HealthDepartment staffers to drawupand implement theregulations.

Freemanexpressedskepticismabout that estimate.

“I have very big questions about the ﬁscal note because if LDH’sjob is to regulate healthcare facilities, it’s already baked intotheir numbers. They alreadyhave alot of money to do oversight,” Freeman said in an interview that took placeafter she deferred thebill.

Louisiana Department of Health. Blanchard saidseveral food truck owners have reached out to express interest. In fact, Blanchard said they plantomeet witharea food truck owners soon to discuss whatisneeded at the food truck park and what maybe best forlease lengths.

“Before we say any deﬁnite thing on thetrucks,”Blanchard said “Wewanttohear what they have to say.”

However,Blanchard said the hope is to have somelong-term leases.

“In an ideal scenario, we would like atruck to be there for awhile,” Blanchard said. “What’sthe exact time frame? Idon’tknow,but we don’twant it to be where one truck comes in and is there foraday and then they’regone. We want customers to be able to know what’s there, so that they can come to ﬁnd their favorite food truck and plan forthat, versus having to worry about following them around everywhere.”

TheChuck Stop is expected to be up andrunning by the endofthe year

Thomas and Evangeline Parish 911Director LizHill were not available for comment. Lewis is wellknowninthe Opelousas communityand hasgaineda levelofviral fame on social media for herinteractionswithElijah Duplechain,anOpelousas child with Down syndrome. Lewis wasarrestedin2012 on accusations of obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office stemming from an investigation into a conspiracy to commit felony theftwhile working at the

ymous. This investigation remains ongoing, andwarrantshavebeen issued in the case.

Lafayette man faces 102 counts of childporn ALafayette manwas arrested Wednesday, accused of possessing child sexualabuse material, authorities said. Derek James Saltamachia, 48, of Lafayette, is accused of 102 counts of possession of child sexualabuse material

watching “Curious George,” cuddling withher family and eating ice cream.

Butwhat truly sets her apart is herconnection to others.

“She can feel the vibe of aroom,” Phillip Miller said “Whetherit’sa wedding or aquiet space, she reacts immediately.You can tell she understandsmore than people might think.”

Since being named ambassador,Olivia’sstory has already touched thousands.

“We’vebeen completely blown away by the response and kindnessfrompeople acrossthe stateand even the country,”Alexis Miller said.

“She’sreceivedover 10,000 reactions,and every time we

WEDNESDAY,APRIL 8, 2026

Opelousas PoliceDepartment. She wasarrested alongside Ville Platte policeOfﬁcer Nicholas Franks in an alleged conspiracy involving Lewis’ husband, Quinn Lewis, andatleast three other people suspected of theftinVille Platte. At the time,investigators found that Yolanda Lewis andFranksmet with the suspectsand coached them into making statements that would keep Quinn Lewis out of jail.

involving victimsunder 13. Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Saltamachia on Wednesdayfollowing atip fromthe National Center forMissing and Exploited Children.

Officials said the arrest stemmed froma joint investigation involving the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’sOfﬁce. Saltamachia wasbooked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center with bail set at $75,000.

go out, people recognize her.”

The family recently volunteered at the Acadia Parish Special Olympics, where strangers approached them with excitement.

“Peoplewereasking, ‘Is that the little famous queen from Facebook?’ ”Alexis Miller said. “Seeing everyoneinteract withher story and share such kind words is exactly whatthis is all about.”

She said the support and prayers they’vereceived over the years have carried them through someoftheir mostdifﬁcult moments, and now this role is giving them aplatform to reach even morepeople.

“I always knew my girl

was specialand that she would move mountains,” Phillip Millersaid. “Now we get to share her with the world and show what it truly meanstobe‘limitless.’”

During the festival, Olivia will parade with the queens, meet attendeesand represent amessage of acceptance and inclusion.

“Everyone should love everyone,” Alexis Miller said. “Nomatter color,race, gender,disability,everyone should feel included and this role is doing just that.” The 2026 Scott Boudin Festival will take place Friday through Sunday.For more information on lineup, tickets, and parking, visit scottboudinfestival.com

Landry talksHondo rodeo, LIVGolfinN.O.

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Editor’snote: This is partof1 of 2of Gov Jeff Landry’sinterview.The second part will be in Saturday’sedition.

Sports have been amajor focus of Jeff

Landry’stwo-year tenure as Louisiana governor.During thattime, he’shelped lure major sportingevents to thestate,signedalongterm lease agreement with the New Orleans Saintsand orchestrated an overhaul of theLSU athletic department. He conducted an exclusive 25-minute phone interview Thursday with columnist JeffDuncan in which Landrytouched on a variety of sports-related topics, including LSU’srecent hire of men’sbasketball coach

Will Wade,New Orleans’ bid to host the2031 Super Bowl, thePelicans’ planstorenovate the Smoothie King Center and the upcoming Hondo RodeoFestand LIV Golf tournament in New Orleans.

Here’stheir conversation:

Let’sstartwith the big event in town this weekend.

JayCicero (CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation) credits you for luring the Hondo Rodeo Fest to New Orleans.Whywas it so important to you?

It’sextremely important. Cause when you look at the number of NFR (National Finals Rodeo) championsthat come out of

Louisiana, we have as manyNFR champions as, say,Wyoming, which mostpeople would think of as abig rodeo state. Those cowboys and cowgirls, in, say,Wyoming or Texas or Colorado, often get an opportunity to compete on their own hometurf Plenty of times, Wyoming has Frontier Day (Rodeo) in Cheyenne. Colorado has their rodeo, Houston at the (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) and Fort Worth, Texas (Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo). There’stons of them. In Louisiana, our ä See LANDRY, page 4C

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It doesn’tseem like the best time to be playing your most bitter rival, but that’sthe realityofthe situation for theULRagin’Cajuns

Yes, the No. 10-ranked SouthernMiss Golden Eagles are comingtotown for akey Sun Belt seriesat6 p.m. Friday at Russo Field.

ä Southern Miss at UL 6P.M. FRIDAy,ESPN+

“Southern Miss, great opponent, great ball club, and they’vesustained success for along time,” said UL coach Matt Deggs, who will be serving the second gameofhis two-game suspension in Friday’sgame.

“They’re very accustomed towinning. They know what it looks like. And they’ve encountered alittle bit, not to the extent of us, but kind of the ups and downs, you know lately.With us, it’snever about the opponent. It’salways about us.”

It’sbeen astruggle of latefor the Cajuns, who have lost sixoftheir last eightgames

On Wednesday,ULscored arun in the eighth and ninth innings –onlyto seeRhett Centanni hit awalk-off solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth

Pitching options have been areal issuefor the Cajuns throughout their recentstruggles. As aresult, ParkerSmith (1-3, 3.00 ERA) has had to bear abig burden.

“Boy,he’sbuilt different,” Deggs said of Smith.

See UL, page 4C

MAJOROUTING

AUGUSTA, Ga. Fiveminutes into talking with Sam Burns and you would be imbued withthe feeling that he’s thekind of person you’d want landing your airliner in a40mph crosswind, or being thelead surgeon on your hernia operation. Stoic, unﬂappable, and agreat pair of hands.

The golf-mad, Masters garden gnome-buying public surely stampeded right over the fact that the former LSU All-American workedoverAugusta National Golf Club’spar-5sThursdaylike Katie Ledecky swimming the 1,500 against eighth graders, playing those four holes in acollective 5-under par.That’sbecausewhile Burns carved himself outa share of theﬁrst-round lead at theMasters, he does the sharing withreigning green jacket owner Rory McIlroy,both ﬁring 5under 67s. Rory’sstory—his quest to becomejust the fourth

man to winback-to-back Masters titles —iscertainly big news. But save somebandwidth forBurns, who found away to post his best-ever round here on aday when Augusta National played with the rumpled texture of asun-dried tomato.

The ﬁeld’scombined scoring average was 74.648, the highest foraMasters ﬁrst round since 2017.

“I drove it really nice,” Burns said. “I think historically people whohave success here play the par-5s really well, and we were able to do that today.It’sagood recipe around this golf course.” There is acommon thread running through Burns’ and McIlroy’sscorecards other than the identical numbers they shot (McIlroy birdied all the par-5s). Rory,of

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

a tick more than 40% of the time. Godchaux (31) andShepherd (32) areboth entering the ﬁnal year of their contracts, andWilliams (Arizona)and Bullard (Dallas) both signed free agent deals elsewhere this offseason Currently,the only interiordefensive linemenunder contract beyond this upcoming

season are John Ridgeway a youngsters Vernon Brought Boydand Coziah Izzard. New what it sawout of Broughton tion,but the2025 third-round ing off an injury that cost h gameofhis rookie season. So this could be aposition dress, bothfor this season an FLORIDADLCALEB BANKS, 6-FOO There is achance Banks is th defensive lineman togointh would put him out of the Sain

Landry

SamBurns reacts after missinga putt on the 17thhole during the first round of the Masters at the Augusta National

Scott Rabalais

McIlory shares the lead at Masters

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

AUGUSTA,Ga.— Rory McIlroy has been celebrating all week at Augusta National as the defending champion, and on Thursday he found something else to savor — a 5-under 67, his lowest start at the Masters in 15 years to share the lead with Sam Burns McIlroy hit only five fairways but still managed to settle into his round when he blistered a 3-wood out of the first cut over the hill and onto the green at the par-5 eighth. That set up the first of five birdies in an eight-hole stretch on a day he got nearly everything he could out of his round Only one other player in the last 10 years Hideki Matsuyama in 2021 — shot 67 while hitting only five fairways. McIlroy wasn’t the least bit bothered. There was a freedom in his swing, and nothing is more freeing than finally having a Masters green jacket.

“I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one I do,” McIlroy said.

“It’s hard to say because there’s still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about really where it goes.

“But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day.” Burns was among the early starters. He played the par 5s with three birdies and an eagle and wound up with his lowest score in his fifth Masters appearance.

“Historically people who have success here play the par 5s really well, and we were able to do that today So it’s a good recipe around this golf course,” Burns said.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world going for a third green jacket in the last ﬁve years, was 3 under through three holes in the tougher afternoon, when the light gusts began playing tricks and the greens got crispy He had one bogey and 14 pars the rest of the way for a 70.

The whole day was tough, and the forecast — this could be the

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

course, had his breakthrough moment in last year’s Masters, ﬁnally collecting the last major title he needed to become Europe’s ﬁrst career grand slam winner Burns is still looking for his major breakthrough. Like a Kailin Chio perfect 10 performance, he’s got all the required elements to be a major champion: hits it a mile, sharp iron player, superb putter, and we mentioned that never too high/too low personality of his.

His talents were on display on the par-5 second hole. At 585 yards, it’s Augusta’s longest, though it plays shorter as it runs steeply downhill. Burns piped a 392-yard drive(!!) down the middle, then hit a 6-iron from 213(!!!) that trundled down to four feet to set up an eagle putt.

ﬁrst Masters in 25 years without any rain — has everyone on edge thinking what the next three days could hold. Yes, the weather was gorgeous But dry and firm conditions are scary, even in this marvelous garden.

“It was very ﬁrm for a Thursday out there,” Schefﬂer said.

“We’ll see how much they want to push it.”

Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and a two-time winner on the European tour this year, was at 69 along with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama.

Reed was atop the leaderboard for so much of the day due to two eagles on the front nine that sent him out in 31.

But he dropped a shot on the 10th, and then was ﬂummoxed by what he thought was an ideal shot for his second into the par5 15th. Such are the ﬁrmness of the greens that his shot hit hard off the back of the green, bounded down the slope and didn’t stop rolling until it was in the pond on No. 16.

“Water?” Reed asked his caddie as he looked toward the green. “It landed on the green.”

He later described it as a

“head-scratcher.”

“I knew if it went over the green, we would be fine,” Reed said. “Didn’t really think I was going to go 30 yards over the green.” Justin Rose, twice a playoff loser in the Masters, was in range of the lead until he dropped three shots over the last five holes and had to settle for a 70, tied with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry

The greens are already are so firm that Rose quipped, “You might get a yellow jacket if you win.” That was a reference to the shade of the greens a yellow sheen means ﬁrm and fast, and that color on Thursday can make players nervous.

“I think it’s in their control, really how they want it to be,” Rose said. “I think overall every player would say they would like it ﬁrm and fast, but I think there’s a boundary to that.”

While the lack of a big wind made it manageable, Augusta National can still take a bite out of anyone with enough swirling gusts to bring indecision, or bad shots that wind up in the wrong spot.

“I would say my second shot into 2 was pretty nice,” Burns said in his deadpan, don’t-worryI’ll-have-your-safe-cracked-inside-10-minutes manner He had another powerful, pivotal stretch on the second nine, with birdies at 12, 13 and 15, the latter two again par-5s Burns pummeled. Somehow despite obvious exceptional golﬁng skills, the big titles have eluded him. In the 2024 British Open at Troon, Burns was one off Billy Horschel’s lead going to the ﬁnal round. But Burns’ game sank to the

forcing him to play from a splashy lie on the 15th hole, was his undoing. Burns shot 78 and ended up in a tie for seventh. The silver lining to those Sunday clouds is that it was his best ﬁnish in a major to date, an indication that Burns is getting closer to The Big One. There are other indications that, for Burns, getting close isn’t enough. Sam is good friends with world No. 1 and two-time Masters champ

76ers’ Embiid out due to appendicitis, to have surgery

HOUSTON Joel Embiid was diagnosed with appendicitis and will undergo surgery on Thursday in Houston, the Philadelphia 76ers announced.

The 76ers played the Rockets on Thursday night.

The team said further updates will be provided as appropriate. The 76ers are currently eighth in the Eastern Conference and on track for a spot in the play-in tournament, though they are only one game behind sixth-place Toronto. Embiid has been limited to 38 games this season, sidelined primarily by injury management in his knees.

He was held out against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday with “right oblique; injury management; (and) illness.” He has not played in both games of a back-to-back all season.

Falcons agree to 1-year deal with former Chiefs RT Taylor ATLANTA The Atlanta Falcons have reached an agreement on a one-year, $5 million deal with former Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor The agreement, which includes an extra $1 million in incentives, was first reported by ESPN and announced on social media by Taylor’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Taylor will have an opportunity to move into the starting right tackle position left vacant Wednesday when Kaleb McGary announced his retirement after missing the 2025 season with a lower left leg injury The right tackle position will be especially important to provide blindside protection for the Falcons’ two left-handed quarterbacks, Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa.

Bryson DeChambeau found that out on the 11th hole when he put his approach in the right bunker and it took him three to get out on his way to a 76. Jon Rahm turned potential birdie or better into a double bogey with a shot into the azalea bushes on the par-5 13th. He didn’t make a birdie in his 78. Only ﬁve players broke 70, and only 16 players broke par, the lowest in ﬁve years at the Masters for the opening round.

Ten players failed to break 80. One of them was Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, the No. 8 player in the world. He was among three players to take quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 15th.

McIlroy wasn’t sure want to expect in his 18th appearance, his ﬁrst as the Masters champion. Only twice had he started with rounds in the 60s, his best a 65 in 2011. That year, he went on to shoot 80 on the ﬁnal day There were still nerves. It’s still Augusta National.

“My hope was to get off to a solid start,” he said. “I feel like the way I played, 5 under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do.”

Scottie Schefﬂer, their young families often share houses during tournament weeks.

According to Golf.com, Burns asked Sheffler the morning of the final round at Oakmont how to close the deal in something like a U.S. Open. Sheffler described it as “a good chat,” but the Burns trophy case still remains light on a major championship trophy His Masters resume is a variation on that theme. Burns’ best finish here is a tie for 29th in 2023, though he said his home course, highly regarded Squire Creek in Choudrant near Ruston, is a good prep for Augusta with its big, sloping greens.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “it comes down to execution.”

As much as Burns clearly burns to win a big one, he is just as clearly not consumed by his profession. He is openly deeply religious and is raising a 2-yearold boy named Bear with his wife, Caroline.

“When I get back home, you kind of forget about golf a little bit,” Burns said. “You get to have the joy of being a dad and just hanging out with him. It’s a really good distraction. I’m looking forward to doing that this afternoon.”

A 2-year-old neither knows nor cares if you’re leading the Masters or not.

Maybe, major title or no, Burns has this golf thing already ﬁgured out.

Email Scott Rabalais at srabalais@theadvocate.com

Angels reliever Stephenson out for season with injury

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson will miss the 2026 season after having ligament and ﬂexor tendon repair surgery on his right elbow It is the continuation of injury woes for Stephenson, who was expected to be one of the team’s top relievers after signing a three-year, $33 million deal in January 2024. He missed the 2024 season after undergoing an ulnar collateral ligament repair with an internal brace in May 2024.

Stephenson was limited to 12 games in 2025 after he was diagnosed with a stretched biceps nerve. Stephenson, 33, had a setback in spring training after attempting to pitch through thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms he experienced in the offseason

Stanford freshman Okorie declares for the NBA draft

STANFORD,Calif.— Stanford star guard Ebuka Okorie will enter the NBA draft after leading the ACC in scoring as a freshman.

Okorie developed from an underthe-radar recruit out of New Hampshire into one of the top freshmen in the country in his one season with the Cardinal under coach Kyle Smith. Okorie thanked Smith and the coaching staff on Thursday in his announcement on social media to enter the draft.

Okorie’s 719 points scored in his lone season at Stanford are the third most ever for a Cardinal player in a season, trailing only Adam Keefe’s 734 in 1991-92 and Chasson Randle’s 724 in 2014-15.

Okorie was a first-team all-ACC pick and was an honorable AP AllAmerican.

Tigers’ Meadows leaves game on cart after collision

MINNEAPOLIS Detroit Tigers center ﬁelder Parker Meadows was taken away on a cart after a headto-head collision as teammate Riley Greene caught a ﬂy ball on Thursday Meadows landed on his back in a daze, barely moving with his hands pointed up and blood appearing on his face. After a few minutes, Meadows was able to sit up. Then medical personnel slowly helped him stand and move toward the cart to be taken for further examination.

Josh Bell led off the eighth inning for Minnesota with a shallow ﬂy that the left ﬁelder Greene called for with Meadows converging, before the 26-year-old tried slowing up and backing off at the last second. But

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIC GAy

Sam Burns chips to the green on the seventh hole during the first round of the Masters on Thursday at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVID J PHILLIP

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, celebrates after a birdie on the 15th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday in Augusta, Ga.

“He’stough. He’sa tough kid. If we named my most improved player,he’sitfor sure. He’sbecome not only good, he’sreally good.

“That spot that we’re using him in is, is, Iwish we had two of him.” In 24 appearances so far this season, opponents are only hitting .173 against him.

“What intriguesyou so much initially about Smitty is the strikes,” Deggs said. “Then he’sathletic, and he can ﬁeldhis position, hold runners …then it became strikes with stuff, and then it was strikes with atrue out pitch.” UL is expectedtogowith the same rotation as last

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

there’salso achance he slides because of his medical history —Banks played in just three games last season because of afoot injury and he broke his foot at the combine.

If, for whateverreason, he is available later in the draft than his talent would suggest, Banks would be a high-upside bet. He moves well for someonesobig which showed up at the combine and on his highlight reel. And there’sa competitive factor that teams will probably like: He suffered hisfootinjury in fall camp, tried to play through it, then returned for the ﬁnal two games of the season.

FLORIDASTATEDLDARRELL

JACKSON, 6-5, 315:He’sa physically imposing presence, bringing both height and length (7-foot-2 wingspan) to the forefront. Though he played at three programs in his college career,healso earned team captain honors in his ﬁnal seasonatFloridaState, something the Saints have traditionally valued in their prospects. Whichever team takes him will be betting on traits, as Jackson was never super productive,topping out at 31/2 sacks and4 tackles for loss in 2024.

CLEMSON DL DEMONTE CAPE-

HART,6-5,313:Capehart played six seasons at Clemson, eventually working his way through atalented rotation to crack the start-

LANDRY

Continued from page1C

athletes don’tget an opportunity to compete at a national level in their own hometown on your own home turf. And so Ithought it was extremely important. Look, Igrew up around horses and rodeoing and cattle. It’sjust agreat tradition, and those athletes, Ibelieve, deserved an opportunity to compete for big money right here in Louisiana.

And this event has more things going on than just the rodeo competition, right?

I’m hoping that people take an opportunity to come see what’sout there. It’safamilyevent, familyfocused. We’ve got some outdoor events. They’ve got mutton busting outside. We’ve got free entertainment in Champions Square. We’ve got some big-name entertainers that are coming in (Jason Aldean and Lynyrd Skynyrd). And we get to see abunch of great cowboys and cowgirls compete for alot of money

And as Iunderstand it, this is an opportunity to tie in the state’sagriculture industrywith theevent?

We looked long and hard to see where we could actually put this (event). There’s really only one city in the whole country that can entertain people better than anyone else, and that’sNew Orleans. Some people say why didn’tyou do this in Shreveport? Why didn’tyou do it in Monroe or Alexandria or Lake Charles? AndI was like, we wanted to put aworld-class event on, and

week –Sawyer Pruitt(2-2, 2.72) Friday and Andrew Herrmann (3-2, 3.62) Saturdayand Ty Roman (2-3, 5.06) started thethird game last weekend, but Sunday’s starter is undetermined. Deggs also announced Monday it’s possible Murphy Brooks and Landon Victorian could make their season debuts at some point this weekend. Ne it he rp itc hed in Wednesday’sroad loss to Southeastern.

The Eagles counter with southpaw Grayden Harris (5-1, 3.50, 43.2 IP,50K)Friday and right-hander Camden Sunstrom(2-2, 2.77, 39 IP,43K)Saturday Game three is to be determined, but Southern Miss also sports atrue closer in Camden Clark (5-0, 0.00, 5 saves) The Eagleshave a3.75

team ERA with 320 strikeoutson288 innings.

At theplate,Southern Miss is hitting .275 with 201 runs scored, 40 homers and seven stolen bases —compared to .249 with172 runs, 20 homers and59stolen bases.

Kyle Morrison (.358, 10 HR, 31 RBIs), Joey Urban (.325, 9HRs, 29 RBIs) and David Gillespie (.317, 8 HRs, 25 RBIs).

The Cajuns are downto just one hitterover.300in senior first baseman Lee Amedee (.345, 2HRs, 19 RBIs).

“We’re at thepoint where you’ve got to make your own breaks,” Deggs said. “You’ve got to attack thegame, and you’ve got to play good baseball, just dayinand dayout.”

Email KevinFooteat kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Clemson defensivelineman DeMonte

adrill at the NFL scouting combine on Feb.26inIndianapolis.

inglineup. Once he got in, he playedwell, earning all-ACC honors in 2024. He proﬁles as arotational run-stopper who winswith length and strength. It is worth noting that Capehart was also arrested before the2024 season for unlawful possession of aﬁrearm on Clemson’scampus.

SOUTHEASTERN DL KALEB PROCTOR, 6-2, 291:Proctor is abit of atough evaluation for the Saints speciﬁcally, because his relatively small frame for the position long would have been anon-starterfor

there’sonlyone city that has the numberofhotels in relationship to the (Superdome), andthat’sNew Orleans. And so yes, we getanopportunity to tie in all ofour agriculture.We’vegot the LSU veterinarianschool,the LSU andSouthern(Agriculture Centers). We’re trying to time all in and on top of that The ﬁrst lady (wife Sharon Landry) joinedwith (Love One Louisiana Foundation) to donate 35,000pounds of ground beef to the food banks throughout the state, so this is just one of these great opportunitiestoshowcase world-classathletes, have some fun anddoitina family-style atmosphere in NewOrleans

Could this be something that goes beyond just one year? Oh,this is just the beginning. We want to make Louisiana apermanent stop on the professional rodeo circuit. And this is just the beginning. This is not the end. This is nota one-off. …This (event) has an opportunity to showcase rural Louisiana and the great things that go on are around rural Louisiana. Whether it’srodeoing Whether it’scattle. Whether it’shorse racing, either at the thoroughbred level or the quarter horse level. Whether it’sequestrian sports such as hunters and jumpers, which seem to be starting to pick up, especially on the North Shore (of Lake Pontchartrain). Again, when you wrap thosethings around our agriculture and mechanical schools likeSouthern and LSU, and then you tie in the LSU vet school.

Let me ask you about another event coming up, that you were

LSUloses starting PG Richardtoportal

BY REED DARCEY STAFF WRITER

LSUwomen’sbasketball guard JadaRichard plans to enter the transfer portal, asource confirmedThursday Richard, an Opelousas native, started34ofthe 35 games the Tigers played this past season as part of abreakout campaign. She finished second on the team in minutes played, and she averaged 9.5 points per contest while shooting 45% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. Only Flau’jae Johnson, MikaylahWilliams and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored in double figures more times in 2025-26than Richard, who posted 19 10-point games and two20-point showings.

Coach Kim Mulkey told WAFB-TV on April 4that she expected tolose only one potential returner to the portalthis cycle: freshman point guard Divine Bourrage. Since then, though, LSU has seen two players who wereexpected toplay signiﬁcant roles next seasondecide to test the market. Freshman guard Bella Hines announced Tuesday that she plannedtotransfer Then Richard chose to enter theportal on Thursday Bourrage, Hines and Richard each signedwith LSU as high school recruits.

though she’sthe ﬁrst starter of the bunch to look elsewhere. The other five either cameoff the benchor struggled to crack Mulkey’s regular rotation. Richard hardly saw the ﬂoor duringher freshman season.Thatyear, sheaveraged fewer than five minutes per gamefrom the start of SEC play through theend of theNCAATournament.

Fulwiley on the wings. She finished her sophomore year with morethan twice as many assistsasturnovers, and she could’ve played the position fortwo moreseasons. But now it appears that Richard wants to play elsewhere, which leaves LSU with aneed to find anew point guard

New Orleans. That may still be true, but the prototypes areshiftinginYear 2under defensive coordinatorBrandon Staley

While Proctor is notastall or heavyassome of his counterparts, he hasgood enoughlengthwith33-inch arms, and he dominated thelower level of college football at Southeastern, racking up nine sackslast year on hisway to Southland Conference Player of the Year honors.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com

involvedinlanding here in New Orleans: the LIV Golf New Orleans tournament (June 25-28) at City Park.Whywere you so committedto bringing that tournament here?

The thingthat really attracted me to that event was sitting down with Greg Norman after he had an opportunity to look at City Park, and he said that he believes that City Park is theonly place in theentire country where you can play golf and walk toahotel and (nightlife) entertainment. Again, it goes to show you thestructure that New Orleans has. And, of course, you know LIV is ahot-ticket item. They do things alittle different.They’re alittle bit unconventional in the way that they run agolf tournament, andI’m alittle bit of an unconventional fella. So Isaid, OK, this might be ﬁne.

And how wouldyou answer critics who wonder whyyou and state ofﬁcials dipped into thestate’s major event fund to lure an event likethat to New Orleans?

It’skind of like this: Entertainmentistobusiness what fertilizer is to agriculture. They bothincrease theyield. And, so, if you want to increase sales tax and tourism dollars and ﬁll our hotels up …Look to (get) LIV Golf tournamentjust to come to New Orleansatatime when thecity’sbegging to do something,which is in the slow summer months, and you if you really want to blow thetourism horn, then you want toget big events like that. And thecommon thread between the (Hondo) rodeo and the LIV Golf tournamentisthey’re both family-type events.

ESPNsaidthatRichard —aformer Lafayette Christian Academy star and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year —was the 90thbest prospect in her class, which means that she’sone of the nine top-100 players who have signed withthe Tigers across thelast three recruiting cycles.

Six of those players have now decided to enter their names into the transfer portal. Richard is oneofthem,

Ahead of her sophomore season, Richard improved hergametothe pointat whichshe could operate as LSU’slead ballhandler— a job that other,more experienced players have struggledtomanageinprevious years. Richard, though, looked like anaturalﬁtfor therole. She’sasharp outside shooter,adisruptive defender and awilling passer —one who provedthatshe could both feed the post and set up Johnson, Williamsand

TheTigers are also losing senior guard Kailyn Gilbert to the portal. She played a key role offthe bench during the 2024-25 season and decided to return for the 2025-26 campaign, but played in only the first five gamesofthe year before stepping away forpersonal reasons. As of Thursday,out of LSU’s four portal entrants, only Bourrage hasfound a new school. She signed with Illinois. This year,the transfer portal is open for all Division Iplayers through April 20.

AP PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Capehartruns

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSUguard Jada Richard dribbles past Texas Tech guard Denae Fritz in the third quarter of asecond-round NCAA Tournament game on March 22 at the PMAC

Partyfor the planet

EarthDay Baton Rouge2026 will takeplacefrom 10 a.m. to 4p.m.Saturday at Rhorer Plaza, 200 St.Louis St.Celebratethe planet with

andworkshops.Whether you’re an

is geared towardall. Free. eventbrite.com.

LIVING

The stage is set

‘Singeaux’ musical revuetocelebrate anniversary, while Shakespeare goes to aLa. dive bar

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Tenyears ago,the Musical Theatre Club at LSU was formed after the LSU School of Theatre optedtodiscontinueits musical theater class

Now acelebration is in order

“In honor of our10th year, we’re going to be performing songs from musicals that have been on Broadway in the last 10 years,” said Ashari Harper,who is co-directing the show with Kylie Broomﬁeld.

Both are junior theater majors in LSU’sSchoolofTheatreand Film. Harper is from Dallas, and Broomﬁeld is from Chicago

Andnow both arefirst-time directors of “Singeaux,” the Musical Theatre Club’sannual musical revue at the end of the spring semester

The curtainwillopen on this year’sshow at 7p.m. Friday in the LSU Union Theater.Admission is free.

The program features a 34-membercastperforming18 numbers from such musicals as “Wicked,” “Hadestown,” Six,” “Come From Away” and “Tina!”

ä See THEATER, page 6C

Members of the Musical Theatre Club at LSUrehearse ‘Ex-Wives’ from the Broadwaymusical ‘Six’ for the club’sannual‘Singeaux’ revue, which takes the LSU Union Theater stageonFriday.

‘SINGEAUX’AND ‘THE COMEDYOF ERRORS’

The Musical Theatre Clubat LSU’sannual ‘Singeaux’ revue

WHEN: 7p.m. Friday.

WHERE: LSU Union Theater, Veterans Drive, on campus.

ADMISSION: Free.

Louisiana Shakespeare Co.’s production of ‘The Comedyof Errors’

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Fridayand Saturday, and April 17-18.

WHERE: Black Box Theatre, Cary SaurageCommunity Arts Center, 233 St. Ferdinand St. ADMISSION: $26.50. VISIT: lashakes.org

JUDY BERGERON

BY JOHN WIRT

Rolando

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, April 10, the 100th day of 2026. There are 265 days left in the year

Today in history:

On April 10, 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators signed the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.

Also on this date:

In 1815, Indonesia’s Mount Tambora exploded in the biggest known volcanic eruption in 1,000 years, one that altered global weather About 92,000 people are thought to have died, including 82,000 who perished of starvation and disease and 10,000 killed by its direct impact.

In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in New York by

Henry Bergh. In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, bound for New York on its ill-fated maiden voyage. In 1919, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata was assassinated by forces loyal to President Venustiano Carranza. In 1963, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN593) sank during deep-diving tests east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing all 129 aboard. In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as “ping-pong diplomacy.”

In 2010, a plane crashed on approach in dense fog to the Smolensk airport in Russia, killing Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the ﬁrst lady and 94 other gov-

ernment and armed forces figures as well as many prominent Poles. In 2019, scientists released the first image ever made of a black hole, revealing a fiery doughnut-shape object in a galaxy 55 million lightyears from earth.

Today’s birthdays: Labor leader-activist Dolores Huerta is 96. Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount is 78. Author Anne Lamott is 72. Singer-producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is 67.

Musician Brian Setzer is 67.

Singer Kenny Lattimore is 56. Rapper-producer Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) is 56.

Singer Shemekia Copeland is 47. Actor Charlie Hunnam is 46. Actor-singer

Mandy Moore is 42. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 38.

Country singer Maren Morris is 36. Actor-singer AJ Michalka is 35. Actor Daisy Ridley is 34. Singer-actor Soﬁa Carson is 33.

THEATER

Continued from page 5C

Each song segues directly into the next, breaking only for intermission.

Last week, the cast gathered for its first dress runthrough on the stained carpet in a second-floor classroom in LSU’s Music and Dramatic Arts Building. The room doesn’t provide the airy space of a stage, but it’s wide enough to accommodate the choreography by junior theater major Layla Collado of Maryland. But the club definitely isn’t complaining.

“We’ve been rehearsing wherever we can this semester,” Harper said. “We’ve been in classrooms, and sometimes we’ll practice in the Greek Theatre.”

But by Thursday, the show moved to the Union Theater, where cast members were expected to hit their marks in costumes from their stock closet, LSU’s Costume Shop and on loan from Mid City Civic Theatre.

Since its inception, the club, like the musical theater class that inspired it, has attracted students in a variety of majors from across the campus. Many have described it as an escape from the everyday routine of school for a few hours each week.

And the reward? They get to perform in fall musicals and spring “Singeaux” revues. The Musical Theatre Club is supported by annual donations from John Turner and Jerry Fischer, along with $5 student membership fees. Though students must audition for shows, their participation is voluntary, and rehearsals always take place outside of class.

Back at rehearsal, Harper calls in the club members for the beginning of the second act. The entire cast, dressed in green, runs to the center of the spotty carpet and waits for the cue of the music.

And when the music starts, the classroom suddenly transforms into the Emerald

‘FIANCÉ’

Continued from page 5C

becomes a true last-minute cliffhanger.”

Per policy, TLC does not provide last names of cast members, the rest of whom include: n Catie, 26, Portland, Or-

City as the spirit of the musical “Wicked” ﬁlls the room. It doesn’t matter that the carpet is dirty and chairs are shoved against walls.

Music is magic, and the Musical Theatre Club knows how to wield it.

Shakespeare in a bar Shakespeare’s stories can ﬁt in just about any setting, even an old country dive bar somewhere in the depths of rural south Louisiana.

Doubts? Well, see for yourself when the Louisiana Shakespeare Co. opens The Bard’s “The Comedy of Errors” on Friday in the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre, 233 St. Ferdinand St. Not only will audience members watch the farce of mistaken identity play out, some also will be able to order drinks from the onstage bar

“We’ll also invite people to come up and dance,” director Shane Stewart said “So, it’s very interactive. That’s what we’re going for.”

Shakespeare’s original setting for “Comedy” was the Greek island of Ephesus, in which two sets of identical twins accidentally separated at birth arrive to a series of mishaps ﬁlled with puns, wordplay and slapstick

Yes, Shakespeare actually dabbled in slapstick comedy during his career, which plays well in this show

“We always try to do everything with a Louisiana theme, and a lot of the plays we’ve done in the past have been New Orleans-based, because that’s what people think of when they think of Louisiana,” Stewart said. But I grew up in St. Helena Parish in rural Louisiana, so I think of settings like old dive bars.”

And the setting has a way of enhancing the work. Why? Because Shakespeare wrote his plays not for scholars but everyday people.

The poetry of his prose may be studied by scholars, but his stories have universal appeal.

“A lot of times when people think of Shakespeare, they think of ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Macbeth,’ but Shakespeare is a

FRIDAY

SHOWS

DOWNTOWN ALIVE! WITH LES AMIS DE DTA! FEATURING RODDIE ROMERO, ANDRE MICHOT, RODRIGO MUNHOZ, DRAKE LEBLANC, JEAN TOR-

RES, DAVID CROCHET AND SAMI PARBHOO: Parc San Souci, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

DUELING PIANOS: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

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

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JENNIFER & DARYL: Cafe Sydnie Mae, Breaux Bridge, 6 p.m.

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

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

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

THE CAST: Agave, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

YVETTE LANDRY: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

AARON HEBERT: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m

GENUINE MUSTARD, X3-RO, LEEST AND HOLDING DAISIES: The Loose Caboose, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

ISAAC LEJEUNE: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

STREET SIDE JAZZ: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

JAKE KNOTT: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

JARED CRENSHAW + WELLNESS CHECK + WACK: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

BAYOU COUNTRY UNIT: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

‘80S VS ‘90S: Rock ‘n’ Bowl de Lafayette, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY

DONNY BROUSSARD BAND: Fred’s, Mamou, 8 a.m.

MIKE BROUSSARD NU

EDITION ZYDEKO: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8 a.m.

lot more than that,” Stewart said. “So, ‘The Comedy of Errors’ shows the other side of Shakespeare, and it’s fun with slapstick and silliness. And I can just remember watching old TV shows like ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ and ‘The Fall Guy,’ where they would have their sillier moments with characters like Boss Hogg and, and some of those characters just clicked with me, because there are brothers in ‘Comedy,’ just as there are two brothers in ‘The Dukes of Hazzard.’ I hate to say it, but I was a little bit inspired by that.”

Stewart’s version of “Comedy” is set somewhere within the late 1980s and the mid 1990s, when Garth Brooks was tops on the jukebox. And speaking of jukeboxes, Stewart and Jennifer Bouquet, the company’s executive director, put out a search for one before the play went into production.

“I wish we could have found a jukebox, but nobody had one,” Bouquet said. “We asked Playmakers (of Baton Rouge) and my friends who teach at different schools, but nobody had one. I guess we could have asked local bars, but they probably wouldn’t have wanted to give theirs up.”

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be music. What dive bar would be complete without it?

Show up early for a 7 p.m. music performance before each show, then get ready for a Shakespearian country music battle like no other

“We do use a lot of music in the play,” Stewart said. “We actually have a very special scene that involves music. In the script, there’s supposed to be a sword ﬁght, but this is set in a Louisiana bar. So, instead, we have a line danceoff, and we’re going to invite people to come up and dance in the dance-off.”

And in the midst of it all, The Bard’s words will ring loud, ﬁtting perfectly in their south Louisiana setting.

Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate. com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Baton Rouge bluesman Jonathon ‘Boogie’ Long plays the Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, at 8 p.m. Thursday.

beville, 6:30 p.m.

DITCH CRICKETS, PINECONE

HONEY AND DAN WALLY: The Loose Caboose, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

JUNIOR DUGAS: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

LET IT RIDE: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

BAJAA JAZZ QUINTET: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

LOUISIANA SURF DEPARTMENT: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

ABBEVILLE’S HUMAN JUKE-

BOX LIVE!: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

BEAUSOLEIL AVEC MICHAEL DOUCET: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

BLAKE LUGUETTE: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

STEVE RILEY AND THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS: La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

TOMMY G & STORMY

WEATHER: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

KROSSFYRE: Rock ‘n’ Bowl de Lafayette, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY THE SUNDAY PEOPLE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

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

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

SATURDAY MORNING JAM

SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

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

ZYDECO CAPITAL JAM: St. Landry Parish Visitor Center, Opelousas, 1 p.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

KALEB OLIVIER: Lakeview Park, Eunice, 2 p.m.

JONIVAN JONES: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JAKE KNOTT: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

SEVER THE WICKED, SLOWTHEKNIFE, SILVECAPBABY AND DIE WITH NATURE: Feed N Seed, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

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

AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

CHRIS HIMEL: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

HUNTER DEBLANC: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

PAPER JAM: Agave, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

RORY SUIRE: SHUCKS!, Ab-

WAYNE

Continued from page 5C

“That was a massive honor because Uncle Tim thought I was good enough to open for him,” Wayne said. “I liked being up there and seeing all the faces. But a lot of people were worried about me. My uncle just told them, ‘Y’all, he’s got this.’ Wayne’s other music work so far includes several songs released to music streaming platforms; appearing on the 2025 Louisiana ﬂoat at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California; and opening for McGraw last year at the Field of Dreams concert in Dyersville, Iowa.

Wayne recorded his latest single, “Guarandamntee Ya,” ﬁve years ago during a recording session that was a surprise high school graduation present from his uncle.

LES FRERES MICHOT: Prejean’s, Carencro, 11:30 a.m.

BACH BRUNCH FEATURING

CERTIFIED BLUES: Parc San Souci, Lafayette, noon

BAL DU DIMANCHE — JEFFERY BROUSSARD & THE CREOLE COWBOYS: Vermilionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

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

TRAVIS MATTE & CYPRESS

COVE: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3 p.m.

SYMPHONY SUNDAY IN THE PARK: New Iberia City Park, New Iberia, 3 p.m. JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MONDAY

DEWEY BALFA CAJUN & CREOLE HERITAGE WEEK: Louisiana Folk Roots, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

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

SAM SPHAR: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

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

TUESDAY

DEWEY BALFA CAJUN &

And I sang it.” Wayne grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, about 20 miles south of Nashville.

Despite his proximity to Music City and the stardom achieved by his uncle and aunt (Faith Hill), being a singer-songwriter wasn’t in his plans until his junior year of high school.

“The Marine Corps was the only thing I had in mind since I was 4 years old,” he said. “I did everything to get prepared for it. I was ready to go right after school.” But then Wayne’s high school guidance counselor informed him he needed an art credit to graduate. After failing at pottery and photography, he gave guitar a shot. And because everyone else in his class was already playing guitar he practiced the instrument until his ﬁngers bled, hoping to catch up.

CREOLE HERITAGE WEEK: Louisiana Folk Roots, Lafayette, 9 a.m. PAUL TASSIN: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

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

GREENLIGHT SESSIONS

OPEN MIC: The Jefferson Street Greenroom, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

GROOVE ROOM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

DEWEY BALFA CAJUN & CREOLE HERITAGE WEEK: Louisiana Folk Roots, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

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

DION PIERRE: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m. MERCREDI SHOW FEATURING JUNIOR LACROSSE: Pelican Park Mercredi Stage, Carencro,

Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m. ABI & KJ LIVE!: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 8 p.m. CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY DEWEY BALFA CAJUN & CREOLE HERITAGE WEEK: Louisiana Folk Roots, Lafayette, 9 a.m. ACOUSTIC LIVE MUSIC THURSDAYS — HUNTER DEBLANC: Calvary Creek, Broussard, 6 p.m.

KURT BOUDREAUX: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m. LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

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

DUSTIN SONNIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m. THE TROUBADOUR: Agave Youngsville, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

MAGNOLIA SISTERS: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

JONATHON “BOOGIE” LONG: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

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

Look for more “90 Day Fiancénewson Facebook,Instagram X, TikTok YouTube and TLC.com, and join the conversation using #90DayFiance.

egon and Josh 30, England n Marissa, 45, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and Edward, 32, Dominican Republic n Mallorie, 29, Athens, Alabama, and Rasit, 29, Turkey n Shea, 54, Paducah, Kentucky, and Anabelle, 54, Philippines n Ashia, 38, Alabaster, Alabama, and Maxwell, 28, Nigeria n Thomas, 31, Long Beach, California, and Paula, 41, Brazil

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

“I thought Uncle Tim was going to record that song and I was going to watch,” Wayne recalled. “I would have been happy with just that, but I got so much more. He brought me over to the microphone, made me stand still, shoved a pair of headphones over my head and said, ‘Here’s your vocal mix, your volume, overall mix and master volume. Here’s your lyrics sheet I hope you learned the song. Sing it.’

“That guitar opened the gate to everything else,” he said.

Wayne soon started singing and, less than a year after he’d picked up the guitar, wrote his ﬁrst song, a collaboration with singer, songwriter and actor Mark Collie.

“Everybody wanted me to sing it again,” Wayne remembered. “And the second time, people started dancing in the middle of the bar, dancing outside of the bar and coming in off the streets. It was awesome. It was that moment where I was, like, ‘This is what it’s about.’ I was enthralled by that feeling of being something everybody can enjoy I wound up diving (into music) after that.”

Wayne credits his aunt, uncle and parents with helping him take the plunge into music.

“They were always just Uncle Tim and Aunt Faith, but, growing up, when I watched these giants on stage, they were so big in my eyes that I never thought, ‘Give me a microphone. I can do that,’ ” he said. “It wasn’t until they told me Uncle Tim was one of my early-on believers. Aunt Faith told me she believed in me. My parents told me they believed in me, too. Everybody else believed in me, but I had to put faith in myself, belief in myself. Once I did that, I fell in love with it. I always loved music.”

While still a high school junior, Wayne accepted musician friend Tim Bumgartner’s invitation to join him on stage at the Legends Corner bar on Broadway in Nashville. One of the ﬁve songs they performed, Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love),” got a great reaction.

Email John Wirt at j_ wirt@msn.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By LIZ ODOM-DALTON

From left, Chase Duhe is the merchant Carlyle Runfalo is Angelo and Bekah Fontenot is the courtesan in the Louisiana Shakespeare Co.’s production of ‘The Comedy of Errors.

U.S. stocks rise but oil prices trim their gains

NEW YORK U.S. stocks rose Thursday, even though oil prices did too, as ﬁnancial markets moved more modestly a day after surging on optimism about a ceasefire in the war with Iran.

The morning began with moderate losses for Wall Street following drops for Asian and European stocks. But the S&P 500 erased its dip and ﬁnished with a 0.6% gain after Israel’s prime minister authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon. That eased worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday may already be in trouble because of Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 275 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% after both indexes likewise recovered from early losses.

Crude oil prices pared some of their gains, but they nevertheless remained higher for the day on uncertainty about when oil tankers can start fully ﬂowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s demands of Iran, and blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide.

Long-term mortgage rate eases to 6.37%

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased this week, a modest relief for prospective homebuyers who have been facing higher borrowing costs as mortgage rates climbed to the highest level in nearly seven months

The benchmark 30-year ﬁxed rate mortgage rate dropped to 6.37% from 6.46% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday One year ago, the rate averaged 6.62%.

This week’s decline in rates follows ﬁve straight increases. When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for home shoppers, limiting what they can afford to buy

The average rate is now back to roughly where it was two weeks ago. Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased this week. That average rate dropped to 5.74% from 5.77% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.82%, Freddie Mac said. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. U.S. economy grows at sluggish 0.5% pace

WASHINGTON The American economy, slowed by last fall’s 43-day government shutdown, grew at a sluggish 0.5% annual pace from October through December the Commerce Department reported Thursday in downgrade of its previous estimate.

U.S. gross domestic product the nation’s output of goods and services — decelerated in the fourth quarter after registering impressive growth of 4.4% from July through September and 3.8% from April through June. The latest number was marked down from the Commerce Department’s previous estimate of 0.7% fourthquarter growth. Federal government spending and investment fell at a 16.6% annual pace because of the shutdown, lopping 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP growth. Consumer spending expanded 1.9%, down a notch from the previous estimate and from 3.5% in the second quarter Spending on goods such as cars and clothing grew just 0.3%, down from 3% in the July-September period For all of 2025, the economy grew 2.1% last year, slower than 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2023

Inflation gauge rose before war

slightly from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 2.8%, the same as January Thursday’s data was delayed by a backlog of economic reports created by the six-week government shutdown last fall.

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — A key measure of inﬂation stayed high in February, before the war in Iran spiked gas prices, a sign that everyday costs were elevated even before the conﬂict began.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose 0.4% in February from January, up

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inﬂation also rose 0.4% in February from January, and it was 3% higher than a year earlier The annual ﬁgure is slightly below January’s reading of 3.1%.

Still, the monthly increases are at a pace that if continued for a whole year, would easily top the Fed’s 2% inﬂation target.

“Consumer inflation was firming even prior to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and it is primed to jump sharply higher in March,” Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a client note. “Even if a long-lasting deal to end the war is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, it would take months for oil, gasoline, diesel and other commodity supplies to snap back to prewar levels and thus for prices to settle back to preconflict levels.”

Thursday’s report is largely a warm-up for the more important inﬂation data to be released Friday,

when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier The annual figure

BY RIO YAMAT AP airlines and

travel

writer

A new reality is setting in for travelers worldwide: rising fees, fewer ﬂight options and difﬁcult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost.

The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and ﬁghting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.

“Volatility is the real story here,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University’s business school “Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future.”

Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler Budget airlines and the price-conscious customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch ﬁrst and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins won’t escape the higher prices and less convenient

BY KEN SWEET Associated Press

NEW YORK Calls are increasing inside Congress for investigations into the prediction market platform Polymarket after the latest instance where groups of anonymous traders made strategic, well-timed bets on a major geopolitical event hours before it occurred. On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that at least 50 brand new accounts on Polymarket placed substantial bets on a U.S.-Iran ceaseﬁre in the hours, even minutes, before President

schedules.

Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, brieﬂy topping $119 a barrel at one point, plunging Wednesday below $95 on news of a two-week ceaseﬁre that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and then climbing back toward $100 on Thursday as uncertainty over the fragile deal grew Iran again closed the key artery for global oil shipments in response to Israeli strikes Wednesday in Lebanon.

“When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said. “That’s why there’s a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices.”

In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Gilad said airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust prices as they wait for energy markets to stabilize.

“At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees. Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the

Donald Trump announced the ceasefire late Tuesday on social media. These were the sole bets made on Polymarket through these accounts. In January, an anonymous Polymarket user made a $400,000 profit by betting that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro would be out of office, hours before Maduro was captured. In the hours before the start of the Iran war another account made roughly $550,000 in a series of trades effectively betting that the U.S. would strike Iran and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be removed from office. Such prescient wagers have

higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. That’s more than double what United earned in its most proﬁtable year

“For perspective,” Kirby wrote, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.”

According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.

U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees. United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras.

raised eyebrows — and accusations that prediction markets are ripe for insider trading. And the issue goes beyond these three geopolitical events, according to at least one report. Researchers at Harvard University released a paper last month where, using public blockchain data, they estimated that $143 million in proﬁts have been made on Polymarket by individuals who potentially had insider information about events ranging from Taylor Swift’s engagement to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y who sits on the House Financial Ser-

vices Committee as well as the subcommittee on digital assets and financial technology, sent a letter Thursday to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission demanding the regulator review and investigate these well-timed trades. The CFTC regulates the derivatives markets, which includes prediction markets.

“This pattern raises serious concerns that certain market participants may have had access to material nonpublic information regarding a market-moving geopolitical event,” Torres wrote The letter was shared exclusively with The AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Refuse to let anyone talk you into something you don't need. Scams are prevalent, and overpaying for a hyped-up product or inflated quote will set you back.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take care of unfinished business. An opportunity will surface if you apply for a position or go for an interview. Be sure to ask questions and get what you want in writing.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Be part of the solution, not the problem. Consider the positive changes you can make if you fact-check and research the best way to proceed. Talk is cheap if you don't follow through.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Take more time to appreciate what is going your way, and spend less time worrying and criticizing what isn't. Attitude is everything when you want to get things done.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Buckle up and get busy. Don't share too much personal information; listen, absorb and determine what and who are in sync with you. Equality is essential.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Love is on the rise, and healthy discussions that share expectations will help solidify a meaningful relationship. What you do to encourage, support and help others or a cause will make a difference.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Slow down, and think before you spend. Only offer what's feasible and make promises

you can fulfill. Discipline and ingenuity, along with completion, will lead to victory.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Put on your thinking cap, and you'll come up with an idea that will encourage a new adventure. Social events and sensitive topics of conversation will require finesse and delicate monitoring.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put some time, money and thought into your living arrangements. It's time to upgrade your surroundings to suit your needs. A proper workspace will help you be more productive.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan 19) Ease into whatever you want to do, and spare yourself taking on too much or upsetting a situation that is already festering. Don't dig yourself into a hole when it's time to climb out.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep a low profile, and you'll accomplish the most. A lifestyle change is on your agenda, and putting the pieces in place will put your mind at rest.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Keep life simple and affordable. Initiate positive change and healthy choices. Someone you encounter will offer insight into how you can use your skills more effectively.

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

toDAy's cLuE: t EQuALs y

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudokuis anumber-placingpuzzle basedona9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column andeach3x3 boxcontainsthe same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIPALDER

Bill Watterson said, “Weekends don’t countunlessyouspendthemdoingsomethingcompletelypointless.”Bearthatin mind as the weekend is about to start.

However,another of those words is relevant to today’sNorthhand: pointless. Andsometimes you have to bid with atrue Yarborough. South opens twoclubs, strong, artificial and forcing. North responds two diamonds, weak, artificial and forcing. South rebids two spades,naturalandforcing.Whatshould North do now?

Usually,withaverybadhand,responder gives asecond negative: either two no-trump (traditional) or three clubs (modern), according to partnership preference.Here,though,withfour-card support for opener’s major, responder shouldjump to four of that major. This indicatesatleast four trumps butno first- or second-round control:noace, void, king or singleton. Against four spades,Westleads the heartqueen.How should South plan the play?

Declarer has two heart losers, so can afford only one trump loser, not two. Thereisjust one layout that will save South: either opponentmusthaveasingleton queen. Declarer should take the first trick and lead hisspade king. And because this deal is seeing the light of

day,youjustknowthatwillwork.Finally, South might have rebid three no-trump, whichNorthwouldhavepassedbecause he could not be sure of an eight-card major-suitfit.(Thisisabadsequencefor Standard.)Then, if West hadled aclub, South would have had to make the same spade play.

McMeel Syndication

EachWuzzleisa word riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example:NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffourormoreletters.2.Words that acquire four letters by the additionof“s,”suchas“bats” or “dies,”are not allowed. 3. Additionalwords made by adding a“d” or an “s”may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words,orvulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’sWoRD REFusAL: rih-FYU-zul:The act of denying.

Averagemark29words

Timelimit 45 minutes

Canyou find 35 or more words in REFUSAL?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —EPIsoDIc

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Godcan restorebrokenlives and wasted years. Give your lifetoHim.— G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe garfield B.C.

thewebsite listed above. Bidders wishingtosub‐mittheir bidelectroni‐callymust ﬁrstberegis‐teredwithinLCG Vendor Access at thewebsite listed above. Theregis‐trationprocess cantake some time;therefore

mail) to thePurchasingDivision priortothe scheduled date andtimeofthe bid opening. Vendorsmay requestthe bidpackage electronically from Thomas Metrejeanattg‐metrejean@lafayettela gov. Vendorssubmittingbids electronically arere‐quired to providethe same documentsasbid‐ders submitting through themailassoon as avail‐able.Onlya bidbond, certified checkor cashier’scheck shallbe submittedasthe bidse‐curity.Electroniccopies of both thefront and back of thecheck or bid bond shallbeincluded with theelectronicbid Bids must be signedin accordance with LRS Title38:2212(B)5.A Cor‐porate Resolution or Cer‐tificate of Authorityau‐thorizingthe person signingthe bidisre‐quired to be submitted with bid.Failure to sub‐mita CorporateResolu‐tion or Certificate of Au‐thoritywiththe bidshall be causefor rejectionof bid.

Copies of thebidding documentsare available at thePurchasingOffice locatedat705 West Uni‐versityAvenue Lafayette,LA70506. Tele‐phonenumber(337) 2917187 (Attn:ThomasMe‐trejean).Bidding docu‐mentsshall be available until twenty-four (24) hoursbeforethe bid openingdate. Bidder must be properly licensed in accordance with LA RS 32:1254 and must includevalid copy of said licenseinthe bid submittedinaccordance with LA 38:2212.8. Each bidshall be accom‐panied by acertified check, cashier’scheck or bidbondpayable to the Lafayette Consolidated Government,the amount of whichshall be five percent(5%)ofthe base bidplusadditivealter‐nates. If abid bond is used,itshall be written by asuretyorinsurance companycurrently on theU.S.Departmentof theTreasuryFinancial Management Servicelist of approvedbonding companieswhich is pub‐lished annually in the FederalRegister, or by a Louisianadomiciledin‐surancecompany with at leastanA-Ratinginthe latest printing of theA.M Best’s KeyRatingGuide to writeindividualbonds up to tenpercent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as showninthe A.M. Best’s KeyRatingGuide or by an insurancecom‐pany in good standing li‐censed to writebid bondswhich is either domiciledinLouisiana or ownedbyLouisiana resi‐dents. Thebid bond shall be issued by acompany licensed to do business in Louisianaand counter‐signed by apersonwho is under contract with re‐siding in this state. The certified check, cashier’s check, or bidbondshall be givenasa guarantee that thebiddershall exe‐cute thecontract, should it be awardedtohim,in conformity with thecon‐tractdocuments within ten(10) days No bidder maywithdraw hisbid foratleast fortyfive (45) days after the time scheduledfor the openingofbids. Each bid shallbesubmitted only on thebid form provided with thespecifications. Bids will be evaluatedby thePurchaser basedon thelowestresponsible andresponsivebid sub‐mitted which is also in compliance with thebid documents. The Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause in ac‐cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernment strongly encourages the participationofDBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)inall con‐tracts or procurements letbythe Lafayette Con‐solidatedGovernment for goodsand services d l

DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISHDATES: 4/10/2026, 4/12/2026 DPR# 1005679 183669-apr10-12-2t $104.68 j nanceof theLafayette City Counciland the

the Council within 15 days after the first publication of this notice. If an opposition is filed, the Lafayette Parish Council shall not adopt the ordinance until ahearing has been held.

movableproperty which arenolonger needed for public purposes, the following described property,towit: misc

lcg moveableproperty for public auction &public internet auction vehicle #description serial/vin 31201933 2004 chevy trailblazer 1gncs13x34k153754 31201934 1998 jeep cherokee 1j4ft28s5wl201686 31201961 2021 fordexplorer 1fm5k8ab0mgc02408 31400336 2017 chevy tahoe1gnlcdkc3hr234599 70659604 2014

Any oppositiontothe proposed ordinance shall be made in writing and filed with the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council within 15 days after the first publicationofthis

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Publication Dates: April 10, April 17, April 24, 2026. 183833-636909-apr 10-17-24-3t $105.84 ORDINANCE NUMBER 2026-2 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING APPENDIX COFTHE SCOTT MUNICIPAL CODE TO REVISE, ENACT AND ADOPT FINES AND PENALTIESFOR TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR VIOLATIONS COMMITTED WITHIN THECORPORATE LIMITS OF THE

NUMBER 2026-1

CHAPTER

MANUFACTURED

OF THE SCOTTMUNICIPAL CODE TO AMEND AND REVISE SECTION 22-19, 22-21 AND SECTION 22-23

WHEREAS, Section 22-19, 22-21 and 22-23 of the Scott Municipal Code

MANUFACTURED HOUSING should be amended to revise the following:

WHEREAS, under Section 22-19 -Definitions:

Add: Mobile home mover means any person involved in the transportation, delivery,setup or moving of any mobile home, manufactured home or mobile unit as defined in this section.

WHEREAS, under Section 22-21 -Penalties:

Subsection (b) replaced with: “The owner of any mobile home, manufactured home or mobile unit, operator,park management, subdivision management, mobile home mover,general agent, contractor or any otherperson who commits, takes part in, or assists in any violation of this article, shall be guilty of amisdemeanor,and upon a first conviction shall be fined not morethan $200.00 or may be imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both. Upon asecond or subsequent conviction shall be fined $500.00 or may be imprisoned for not morethan 30 days or both.”

Appendix Cofthe Scott MunicipalCode SCHEDULE OF FINES AND PENALTIES should be amended to revise,

andadopt finesand penalties for trafficand misdemeanor violations committedwithin the corporate limits of the City of Scott; WHEREAS, pursuant to Act299 (2025),the filing feeauthorized by R.S. 13:86 payable to the Louisiana Judicial College hasbeen increased to $2.50, effective January 1, 2026. WHEREAS, said revised finesand penalties areset forth on the attached 2026 Revised Schedule of Fines andPenalties; BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor andCity Council for the City of Scott, Louisiana,inregularsessionassembled, thatthe following ordinance is adopted, to wit: SECTION I. -ADOPTION OF FINES AND PENALTIES The City of Scott hereby amends Appendix C SCHEDULE OF FINES AND PENALTIES of the MunicipalCode to revise, enact and adopt the finesand penalties for trafficand misdemeanorviolations committedwithin the corporate limits of the City of Scott, which revised finesand penalties areset forth

** *** CITY ORDINANCENO. CO025-2026 AN ORDINANCEOFTHE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZINGTHE LAFAYETTE MAYOR-PRES‐IDENTTOEXECUTE ACO‐OPERATIVEENDEAVOR AGREEMENTBYAND BE‐TWEEN LAFAYETTE CITYPARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT AND LAFAYETTE CENTRÉ DE‐VELOPMENTDISTRICT D/B/ADOWNTOWNDE‐VELOPMENTAUTHORITY FORA DOWNTOWNURBANCOREREDEVEL‐OPMENT PLAN;AUTHO‐RIZING THEDISBURSE‐MENT OF $100,000 IN CITY COUNCILDOWNTOWN COMPREHENSIVEPLAN RESERVEFUNDS;AND FURTHERAUTHORIZING THEUSE OF $400,000 OF THEFY2025-2026 DOWN‐TOWN CAPITALBUDGET ALLOCATION FORSAID PURPOSE BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, that: WHEREAS, theLafayette City-ParishConsolidated Government (“LCG”)is responsiblefor theeco‐nomic, cultural,infra‐structure, andcommu‐nity developmentofthe downtown area and broader urbancoreof theCityofLafayette;and WHEREAS, theLafayette Centre DevelopmentDis‐trictd/b/a Downtown De‐

velopmentAuthority (“DDA”)isa politicalsub‐division of theState of Louisianacreated by Act No.194 of the1983 Regu‐larSession of the LouisianaLegislature,as amended, forthe ex‐presspublicpurpose of haltingpropertyvalue deteriorationand formu‐lating redevelopment plansfor theCentral Business District of Lafayette;and WHEREAS, Section3Bof theDDA’s enabling legis‐lation requires that rede‐velopmentplans formu‐latedbythe DDAbesub‐mitted to theLafayette City Councilfor review andadoption; and WHEREAS, LouisianaRe‐visedStatutes33:4625(F) grants theDDA thepow‐ersofa parish redevel‐opment authority, includ‐ingthe authoritytocon‐duct surveys, studies, plans, appraisals,and re‐latedworknecessary to preparefor redevelop‐ment projects andto enterintoagreements with thelocal governing body in furtheranceof such work;and WHEREAS, ArticleVII, Section14(C) andArticle VI,Section 20 of the LouisianaConstitution, alongwiththe LocalSer‐vicesLaw (La. R.S. 33:1321, et seq.)and the CooperativeEconomic DevelopmentLaw (La. R.S. 33:9020, et seq.), au‐thorizepolitical subdivi‐sionstoengageincoop‐erativeendeavors with oneanother fora public purpose, includingeco‐nomicdevelopment,re‐developmentplanning, blight elimination, infra‐structureimprovement andjob creation;and WHEREAS, LCGand the DDAdesiretoenter into aCooperativeEndeavor Agreement(“CEA”) es‐tablishing thelegal ﬁ‐nancial, andoperational frameworkfor compre‐hensiveredevelopment planning work knownas theDowntown-Urban Core Redevelopment Plan (the “Redevelop‐k ) d

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

OF LAFAYETTE, STATEOFLOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A

MEETING OF APRIL 7, 2026 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA.

ATTENDANCE

COUNCIL:Kenneth Boudreaux (Chair,District 5), Liz Hebert (Vice-Chair District 3) Elroy Broussard(District1), Andy Naquin (District 2) and Thomas Hooks (District 4)

ABSENT:None

COUNCIL STAFF:Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Cindy M. Semien (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Kelly Comeaux (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs)

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF:MoniqueB Boulet (Mayor-President), Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer), Robbie Mahtook (City-Parish Attorney), and Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney)

(6:04:00) COMMENCEMENT

Call to order

Chair Boudreaux called the Regular City Council Meeting of April 7, 2026 to order

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

The Chair called upon Councilmember Naquin to cite an invocation and upon CouncilmemberHeberttolead the Pledge of Allegiance.

WELCOME AND CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Boudreaux made the following announcements:

•Wished ahappy birthday to Vincent Pierre, Municipal and Constituent Advisor,which he celebrates on April 12th.

•Wished ahappy birthday to ElroyBroussard, City Councilman, District 1, which he celebrates on April 15th.

•Thanked the LPD for their efforts in recently dealing with some challenging calls. He mentioned the positive feedback he received for how these callswerehandled

AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

•Hebert mentioned reminders from Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court, Louis Perret. Voting will look different and to be awareoftheir Party and wherethey vote.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: EXECUTIVE/MAYOR-PRESIDENT’S REPORT

a. Budget-to-Actual Comparison of Major City Funds –February 2026

Preliminary

Boulet noted that the monthly Budget-to-Actual Comparisons areto comply with statewide auditing procedures.

b. Audit Findings Update –March 2026

Bouletnoted that they arerequired monthly to give an update to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor on the report findings.

Boulet’sannouncements:

•Bertrand Drive unveiling is Wednesday,April 8th.

•Therewas alarge turnout for the State of the Parish. Boulet thanked the Councilmembers for their attendance.

•George Marks was introduced as the New Director of International Trade and Development for LCG. She stated that he is great at bringing people together and plans to do adeep dive into culture.

•The next Drainage meetings will be April 9th at 6PM at South Louisiana Community College, and May 12th at 6PM at Dupuis Recreation Center

•Festival Internationals will be held from April 22nd through April 26th. All areinvited to participate.

JOINT RESOLUTIONS

AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: JR-006-2026 Ajointresolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing anon-warranty cash sale of 116 Ransome Street (Assessment Number 6018571) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Hebert

NAYS: Naquin, Hooks, Boudreaux

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt failed.

1citizen is in opposition but did not wish to speak 4people singed in to speak

Harold Bernardstated this washis thirdtime speaking and read excerpts from aletter that he received from Russel Bourg.

Joey Dupuis, Harold’sattorney spoke on his behalf and says the Resolution should be passed or they will file alaw suit.

Heather Blanchardspoke again reiterating her and her husband have been maintaining the property

Kevin Blanchardsigned in to speak only if therewerequestions.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: JR-009-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council approving and adopting aNative Landscaping Guide for public spaces within the City of Lafayette and Lafayette Parish, motion to adopt by Naquin, seconded by Broussard, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt wasapproved.

Abbie Judice Acosta presented aslideshow that discussed the importance of Natives being planted. Boulet wants all landscapes to be on the same page with the

AGENDA

p ment Work );and WHEREAS, theRedevel‐opment Work will include acomprehensive park‐ing, transit, andmobility analysis;a parksand cul‐turalassetsanalysis; anda public-private partnershipopportunity analysis of catalyticsites within andadjacentto downtown,all designed to preparethe urban core forprivate invest‐ment andcoordinated public infrastructure im‐provements; and h d l

p WHEREAS, theRedevel‐opment Work will result in theformulation of a Downtown-Urban Core Opportunity Sitesand In‐frastructure Plan suit‐able foradoptionbythe Lafayette City Councilas theofﬁcial Downtown RedevelopmentPlanpur‐suanttoSection 3B of theDDA’s enabling legis‐lation,followedbythe formulationofDevelop‐ment Programspursuant to Section3Cofsaidleg‐islation;and

WHEREAS, LCGrecog‐nizesthatthe DDAis statutorily empoweredto conductthisRedevelop‐ment Work andthatthis CEAprovides theproper statutorypathway for theCityCouncil to retain approval authorityover theresulting Redevelop‐ment Plan andDevelop‐ment Programs;and WHEREAS, LCGhas previ‐ouslyset aside $100,000.00 within City Councilreserve accounts fora

NOTICE TO PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED SURPLUS ORDINANCE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,that Ordinance No.CO-023-2026 hasbeen introduced and is proposed for adoption by the Lafayette City Council on April 21, 2026, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government wouldtransfer to the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government. asurplus RAM 2016 Crew Cab pickup which is no longer needed for public purposes, the following described property,towit: DESCRIPTION VIN # RAM 2016 crew cab pickup 3C6TR4HT4GG129042 (Body:

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz

JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ

LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THECOUNCIL

PublicationDates: March27, April 3, April 10, 2026.

(Assessment

6016748) to an

adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the

sale’santicipated costs, motiontoadopt by Hebert, seconded by Hooks, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.7:JR-011-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing anon-warranty cash sale of 106 Happiness Street (Assessment Number 6016146) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motiontoadopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.8:JR-012-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing anon-warrantycash sale of 212 James Street (Assessment Number 6013271) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’s anticipated costs, motion to adopt by Broussard, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.9:JR-013-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing anon-warranty cash sale of 221 Conrad Street (Assessment Number 6014488) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motiontoadopt by Hebert, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION

AGENDA ITEM NO.10: CO-024-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the FY 25/26 operating budget and adjusting the manning tables of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by using prior year fund balance in the amount of $5,768 to provide funding for various salary adjustments within the Communications Department, motiontoadopt by Naquin, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.11: CO-025-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement by and between Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government and Lafayette Centre Development District D/B/ADowntown Development Authority fora Downtown-Urban Core Redevelopment Plan; authorizing the disbursement of $100,000 in City Council Downtown Comprehensive Plan Reserve Funds; and further authorizing the use of $400,000 of the FY 2025-2026 Downtown Capital budget allocation for saidpurpose, motiontoadopt by Hooks, seconded by Naquin, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: Broussard

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

23 citizens emailed in support.

KevinBlanchardgave updates and thanked them fortheir support and hardwork.

JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION

AGENDA ITEM NO.12: JO-008-2026 Ajoint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $150,000 from the Environmental Quality fund balance to the Environmental Quality Convenience Center Project within the Capital Improvements Department, Environmental Quality Division for additional funding needed, motiontoadopt by Naquin, seconded by Broussard, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.13: JO-009-2026 Ajoint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council amending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $180,000 from the Environmental Quality net income to the Dean Domingues Compost Facility within the Capital Improvements Department,Environmental Quality Division foradditional funding needed, motiontoadopt by Hooks, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

APPEAL

AGENDA ITEM NO.14: Appeal of Notice of Judgment of Condemnation and Order of Demolition 2010 Cameron Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506

AAB Case No.26-0999

Naquin made amotiontodeny the appeal, seconded by Hebert, and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Broussard,Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to deny the appeal was approved.

Kathy Trahan gave asummary of the case. The Appellant wasnot present.

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VACANCIES ON BOARDS/COMMISSIONS

AGENDAITEM NO. 15: Five (5)vacancies exist on the Transportation PolicyCommittee(the governing boardfor the Metropolitan Planning Organization) effective immediately Applicants must be either1)local elected officials, 2) officials of public agencies that administer or operate major modes of transportation in the metropolitan area, including representation by providers of public transportation

AGENDAITEM NO. 16: Avacancy will exist on the DowntownManagement Committeefor afour-year term effective July 1, 2026.

Individuals wishing to submit aresumefor the above volunteer vacancies must be aregisteredvoterand aresident of Lafayette Parish. Yearly ethicstraining for all appointees is required as is financial disclosure undercertain circumstances.Resumes aretobeforwardedtoJoseph Gordon-Wiltz,Clerk of the Council, P.O. Box 4017-C, Lafayette, LA 70502 or emailedtoBCLafayette@LafayetteLA.gov no laterthannoon, Tuesday April 21, 2026 with appointment(s) to be made at the Tuesday,May 5, 2026 Regular Meeting of the Lafayette City Council.

CONSIDER APPOINTMENT(S) BY THECOUNCIL, AS AWHOLE, TO BOARDS/COMMISSIONS

AGENDAITEM NO. 17: Appointment of Landon Boudreauxtothe Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission for an indefinite term, effective immediately This is ajoint appointment by the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council. Broussard nominatedTeresa Robertson andHebert nominatedLandon Boudreaux, andthe vote wasasfollows: BOUDREAUX: Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux ROBERTSON: Broussard ABSENT:None ABSTAIN: None Landon Boudreauxwas appointed.

INTRODUCTORYORDINANCES

Amotion to introduceagenda items 18 thru23, in globo, wasoffered by Naquin, seconded by Hooks.

18. CO-026-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enterinto an ActofDeposit on behalf of the Lafayette PoliceDepartment of MountedHorse Dutchto Senior CorporalJohn Domingue (Police Horse).

19. CO-027-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enterinto an ActofDeposit on behalf of the Lafayette PoliceDepartment of K9 TitantoSenior Corporal Ricky Fontenot (Police Dog).

20. CO-028-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish ConsolidatedGovernment to sell at public auction andpublic internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment and othermiscellaneous movable property whichare no longerneeded for public purposes, as per the attached list (Public Auction andPublic Internet Auction).

21. CO-029-2026Anordinanceofthe Lafayette City Council amending the FY 25/26 operatingbudgetofthe Lafayette City-Parish ConsolidatedGovernment by increasing revenues in the amount of $13,564.80 received from the UnitedStatesMarshalsService (USMS) andappropriating within the Lafayette PoliceDepartment.

22. CO-030-2026Anordinanceofthe Lafayette City Council authorizing the Lafayette Mayor-President to enterinto aCooperative Endeavor Agreementbyand between the City of Lafayette andDestiny Camp International, Inc. concerning the management andstaffing of the Martin LutherKing Pool.

23. CO-031-2026 An ordinance of the Lafayette City Council amending the Lafayette City-Parish ConsolidatedGovernment Code of Ordinances Chapter 94 to revise payments for underground line extensionsfor residential development.

The Chair thencalledfor avote to introducethe ordinances (items 18 thru 23),inglobo, andthe vote wasasfollows:

YEAS: Broussard,Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to introduce, in globo, was approved.

JOINT INTRODUCTORYORDINANCES

AGENDAITEM NO. 24: JO-010-2026A joint ordinanceofthe Lafayette City Council andthe Lafayette Parish Council authorizingthe Lafayette City-Parish ConsolidatedGovernment to sell at public internet auction surplus equipment andothermiscellaneous movable property whichare no longerneeded for public purposes, as per the attached list (Public Internet Auction), motion to introducebyHooks, secondedbyNaquin, andthe vote wasasfollows:

YEAS: Broussard,Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None Motion to introducewas approved.

(7:42:00) ADJOURN

There being no furtherbusiness to come beforethe Council, Chair Boudreauxdeclared the RegularMeeting adjourned.

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz

JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

183849-636943-apr10-1t

W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE LAFAYETTE,LA. ATTENDANCE COUNCIL: KennethP Boudreaux(Chair, Dis‐trict5), LizW.Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3) ElroyBroussard (District 1),AndyNaquin(District 2) andThomasHooks (District4)

ABSENT:None

COUNCILSTAFF:Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of theCouncil),Cindy M. Semien (Associate Clerk forLegislative Affairs) andKelly Comeaux(As‐sistantClerk forLegisla‐tive Affairs)

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: MoniqueB.Boulet (Mayor-President), Rachel Godeaux(Chief Administrative Ofﬁcer) KarenFontenot(ChiefFi‐nancialOfﬁcer),Robbie Mahtook (City-Parish At‐torney), andPaulEscott (AssistantCity-Parish At‐torney) (5:31:00)COMMENCE‐MENT

ordi‐nanceofthe Lafayette City Councilamending theLafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ment Code of Ordinances Chapter94torevisepay‐mentsfor underground line extensions forresi‐dentialdevelopment Theordinanceswillap‐pear before theLafayette City Councilfor public hearingand ﬁnaladop‐tion in theTed A. Ardoin City-ParishCouncil Audi‐torium locatedat705 W. University Avenue Lafayette,LAonApril 21, 2026, except CO-028-2026 which will be up for ﬁnal adoption on May5,2026. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERKOFTHE COUNCIL 183844-apr10-1t $23.62

TheLafayette Parish Councilmet in

AGENDA ITEM NO.1:Call to order ChairBoudreaux called theSpecial City Council MeetingofApril 7, 2026 to order. REPORT AND/OR DISCUS‐SION ITEM AGENDA ITEM NO.2:In‐terpretation of condi‐tional usepermitprovi‐sionsinthe Downtown zoning district forthe Bar/Loungeuse Boudreauxstatedthat government should not standinthe wayofbusi‐nessoperations. Mah‐took andEscottdis‐cussedindetailthe con‐ditional usepermitre‐quirements forthe down‐town zoning district for a bar/loungeuse (6:03:00)ADJOURN Therebeing no further business to come before theCouncil, Chair Boudreauxdeclaredthe SpecialMeetingad‐journed. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERKOFTHE COUNCIL 183846-apr10-1t $20.19

AT 705

PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTEPARISH COUNCIL MEETING OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATEOFLOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 7, 2026 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA.

ATTENDANCE

COUNCIL:Ken Stansbury (Vice-Chair,District 3), Bryan Tabor (District 1), John Guilbeau (District 4) and AB Rubin (District 5)

ABSENT:Donald Richard(Chair,District 2)

COUNCIL STAFF:Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Cindy M. Semien (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Kelly Comeaux (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs)

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF:MoniqueB.Boulet (Mayor-President), Rachel Godeaux (ChiefAdministrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer), Robbie Mahtook (City-Parish Attorney) and Paul Escott (Assistant City-Parish Attorney)

(4:31:00) COMMENCEMENT

Call to order

Vice-Chair Stansbury called the Regular Parish Council Meeting of April 7, 2026 to order

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

TheVice-Chair called upon Pastor Sean Walker with The Bayou Church to cite the invocation and called upon Major Daniel Stacks with the 2-156 Infantry to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

WELCOME AND CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vice-Chair Stansbury made the following announcements:

•Chair Richardwas unable to attend the meeting so he would preside.

•Wished ahappy birthday to Vincent Pierre, Municipal and Constituent Advisor,which he celebrates on April 12th.

•Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court, LouisPerret, was introduced and reminded all about the closed primaries coming. He announced the last day to register to vote in person was April 15th and the last day to register online to vote is April 25th.

•Welcomed home the troops of The 256th Brigade today from Africa.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS No Council Announcements were made.

AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: EXECUTIVE/MAYOR-PRESIDENT’S REPORT

a. Budget-to-Actual Comparison of Major Parish Funds –February Preliminary Boulet noted that the monthly Budget-to-Actual Comparisons areto comply with statewide auditing procedures.

b. Audit Findings Update –March 2026

Boulet noted that they arerequired monthlytogive an update to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor on the report findings.

Boulet’sannouncements:

•Therewas alarge turnout for the State of the Parish. Boulet thanked the Councilmembers for their attendance.

•George Marks was introduced as the New Director of International Trade and Development for LCG. She stated that he is great at bringing people together and plans to do adeep dive into culture.

•The next Drainage meetings will be April 9th at 6PM at South Louisiana Community College, and May 12th at 6PM at Dupuis Recreation Center

•Festival Internationals will be held from April 22nd through April 26th. All areinvited to participate. JOINT RESOLUTIONS

AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: JR-009-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council approving and adopting a Native Landscaping Guide for public spaces within the City of Lafayette and Lafayette Parish, motion to adopt by Tabor,seconded by Rubin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None

Boulet wants all landscapes to be on

page with the

of plants being utilized in the City.

AGENDA ITEM NO.5:JR-010-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Counciland the Lafayette Parish Councilauthorizing anon-warranty cash sale of 1209 EleventhStreet (Assessment Number 6016748) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Tabor and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None

ABSENT: Richard ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.6:JR-011-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Counciland the Lafayette Parish Councilauthorizing anon-warranty cash sale of 106 Happiness Street (Assessment Number 6016146) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motion to adopt by Rubin, seconded by Tabor and the vote was as follows:

YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None ABSENT: Richard ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.7:JR-012-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council authorizing anon-warrantycash sale of 212 James Street (Assessment Number 6013271) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’s anticipated costs, motion to adopt by Tabor,seconded by Rubin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin

NAYS: None

ABSENT: Richard ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.8:JR-013-2026 Ajoint resolution of the Lafayette City Counciland the Lafayette Parish Councilauthorizing a non-warranty cash sale of 221 Conrad Street (Assessment Number 6014488) to an adjoining landowner pursuant to La. R.S. 47:2202(B) for the price of the sale’santicipated costs, motion to adopt by Guilbeau, seconded by Tabor andthe vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None

ABSENT: Richard

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

REPORTAND/OR DISCUSSION ITEM

AGENDA ITEM NO.9:Presentation by GoodwillofAcadiana

Hope Johnson and Grayson Stepanek, representatives from Goodwill, gave apresentation and passed out flyers to the Councilregarding their organization. They shared several of the services that they provide, shared success stories and mentioned jobopportunities at Good Prints.

JOINT ORDINANCES FOR FINAL ADOPTION

AGENDA ITEM NO.10: JO-008-2026 Ajoint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Councilamending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $150,000 from the Environmental Quality fund balance to the Environmental Quality Convenience Center Project within the Capital Improvements Department, Environmental Quality Division for additional funding needed, motion to adopt by Tabor,seconded by Rubin, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury,Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None

ABSENT: Richard

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

AGENDA ITEM NO.11: JO-009-2026 Ajoint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Councilamending the FY 25/26 capital budget of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government by transferring $180,000 from the Environmental Quality net income to the Dean Domingues Compost Facility within the Capital Improvements Department,Environmental

ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was approved.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON BOARDS/COMMISSIONS AGENDAITEM NO. 12: Avacancy will exist on the Atchafalaya Trace Commission for athree-year term effective June 1, 2026. Individuals wishing to submit aresumefor the above volunteer vacancy must be aregisteredvoterand aresident of Lafayette Parish. Yearly ethicstraining for all appointees is required as is financial disclosure undercertain circumstances.Resumes aretobeforwardedtoJoseph Gordon-Wiltz,Clerk of the Council, P.O. Box 4017 C, Lafayette, LA 70502 or emailedtoBCLafayette@LafayetteLA.gov no laterthannoon, Tuesday April 21, 2026 with appointment(s) to be made at the Tuesday,May 5, 2026 Regular Meeting of the Lafayette Parish Council.

CONSIDER APPOINTMENT(S) BY THECOUNCIL, AS AWHOLE, TO BOARDS/COMMISSIONS

AGENDAITEM NO. 13: Appointment of Landon Boudreauxtothe Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission for an indefinite term, effective immediately This is ajoint appointmentbythe Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council. Tabor nominatedLandon Boudreauxand Rubin nominatedWilson Viator,Jr.,and the vote wasasfollows:

BOUDREAUX: Tabor,Stansbury, Guilbeau

VIATOR: Rubin

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Richard ABSTAIN: None Landon Boudreauxwas appointed.

INTRODUCTORYORDINANCE

AGENDAITEM NO. 14: PO-013-2026Anordinanceofthe Lafayette Parish Council authorizing the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to sell at public internet auction surplus equipment andother miscellaneousmovable property whichare no longerneeded for public purposes, as per the attached list (Public Internet Auction), motion to introducebyGuilbeau,secondedbyTabor,and the vote wasasfollows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury, Guilbeau,Rubin

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Richard ABSTAIN: None Motion to introducewas approved.

JOINT INTRODUCTORYORDINANCE

AGENDAITEM NO. 15: JO-010-2026 Ajoint ordinanceofthe

City Council andthe Lafayette Parish Council authorizing

(Public Internet Auction), motion to introducebyRubin, seconded by Tabor,and the vote wasasfollows: YEAS: Tabor,Stansbury, Guilbeau,Rubin

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Richard ABSTAIN: None Motion to introducewas approved.

COMMENT(S) FROM THEPUBLIC

AGENDAITEM NO. 16: Comments from the public on anyothermatter(s) not on an agenda andare within the legislative power of the Lafayette Parish Council.

BrettPatin thankedGodeau andStansburyfor their support with substandardroads.

Dr.JAbraham passed out flyers to the Councilmembers concerning Reading with Kids.org.

(5:20:00) ADJOURN

There being no furtherbusiness to come beforethe Council, Vice-Chair Stansburydeclared the RegularMeeting adjourned.

/s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ, LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

183848-636942-apr10-1t