The Advocate 04-26-2026 by The Advocate

Shootingsparkschaos at D.C. dinner

Trumpunharmed;Landrydescribes evacuation at WhiteHouse

BY SEUNG MIN KIM, AAMER MADHANI, COLLIN BINKLEY, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and DAVID BAUDER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Aman armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside ahigh-profile journalists’ dinner attended by President Donald Trump and multiplesenior U.S leaders on Saturday night, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret

Service agents swarmed him and took himintocustody.The president wasuninjuredand was hustled away Guestswent diving undertables as the scene unfolded and some reported hearingshots outside the vast subterranean ballroom in the Washington Hilton where theevent was beingheld Onelaw enforcement ofﬁcial said agunman had openedfire. Alaw enforcementofﬁcer was shot in the

bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, several sources toldThe Associated Press.

The shooting suspect —described by Trumpasa“sick person” —was identiﬁedasColeTomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement ofﬁcials told theAP.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re notimpactful, theyleave you alone,”Trump,

See SHOOTING, page 6A

Federaldecisionimpedes plan to raiseLa. homes

Ahome

raised in LakeCharles as partofaU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers project.

U.S. Army Corpsof Engineerspauses elevationstudies

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Louisiana has increasingly looked to home elevations as away of dealing with ﬂood risk in areaswhere largescale levee projects are not cost-effective, but arecent decisionbythe U.S.

ArmyCorps of Engineersiscasting uncertaintyover thoseefforts.

TheCorps has frozen studies examining potential homeelevations, including threeinLouisiana, while it determines whether those types of projects should continue to be part of its mission.A top Army officialhas also noted concerns over thecosts of amajor home elevation project that is ongoinginsouthwestLouisiana.

The pause has left it unclearifthe Corps or some other agency will eventually carry out thousands of voluntary

homeelevations already approved under ﬂood protection plans statewide, including in St. Tammany Parish and alongthe state’ssouth-centralcoast in Iberia,St. Mary andSt. Martin parishes.

Stateofficials have been urging the Corps to complete the three studies that had been nearly finished before they were paused. Those studies were looking at ways to address flood risk in theLafitte area, along the Amite River

See HOMES, page 7A

President Donald Trump speaksatthe White House after ashooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington on Saturday

Mall video appearsto show armed suspect

BatonRouge police detail investigation,arrest

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Videorecordings of the fatal Mall of Louisiana shooting on Thursday appear to show Markel Lee, 17, holding asemi-automatic pistol during the event, Baton Rouge police say Lee was arrested Friday and chargedwith one count of ﬁrst-degree murder, ﬁve counts of attempted murderand one count of illegal use of aweapon. According to an arrest warrant issuedFriday,detectives saw Lee on multiple surveillance videos from inside the mallnear the food court where the massshooting took place. Investigatorssaidone angle “clearly showed that this subject was holding an object appearingtobea semi-automaticpistol in his right hand.”

In reviewing video from inside the malland the exterior,detectives saw Lee ﬂee the scene and enter avehicle. License plate scanners wereable to identifythe car,and the vehicle’s registration information gave investigators the owner’saddress.

After executing asearch warrant, detectives showed ascreenshot of the video, in which the suspect appeared to be holding a gun, to hisgrandmother,who conﬁrmed it was her grandson, Lee.

Martha Odom,a17-year-old high school student from Lafayette, was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead at Our Lady of the Lake hospital.

Five others were injured, including Donnie Guillory,43, who was in critical conditionas of Friday evening.

Policesaidthe shooting took place after an argument between two groups.

It is stillunclear howmanyshooterswere involved as well as how many weapons were

PHOTO PROVIDEDByU.S.ARMyCORPS OF ENGINEERS

was recently

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Chicago officer killed, another hurt in shooting

CHICAGO One Chicago police ofﬁcer was killed and another critically injured after they were shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Saturday morning by a man they brought in for treatment at the emergency room, according to police and hospital officials. The suspect was taken into custody Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said in a department-wide message to police, obtained by the Tribune, that an ofﬁcer assigned to the Albany Park District was shot and killed while transporting the suspect inside the Lincoln Square hospital. Another officer was also shot and remains in critical condition Saturday afternoon, he wrote.

Snelling called the shooting “a devastating loss for our department and our city” and called on the department to support the fallen officer’s family “This officer gave his life to protect his fellow Chicagoans, and we will never let our city forget his sacrifice,” he wrote. The message did not name either officer Endeavor Health, which operates the hospital, said the suspected gunman was taken to the emergency department around 9 a.m He fired shots at the officers about two hours later and escaped the building, at which point he was apprehended, officials said in a statement

They also said the man was wanded when he arrived at the hospital per “public safety weapon detection protocols,” and that he was escorted by law enforcement at all times No staff or patients were physically harmed during the shooting, the statement said.

U.S. strike on alleged drug boat kills 2

WASHINGTON The U.S. military said it launched another strike Friday on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Paciﬁc Ocean, killing two people.

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafﬁcking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 183 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea.

The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs

The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafﬁcking charges and has pleaded not guilty

In the latest attack Friday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat floating in the water before an explosion left it in flames.

Australia, New Zealand, Turkey mark WWI battle

ISTANBUL Officials and visitors from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey gathered in northwest Turkey on Saturday to commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli

The solemn ceremony began at 5:30 a.m. near a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or Anzacs, first landed at Gallipoli at dawn on April 25, 1915. The hourlong event included mournful hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths by the participants, which included representatives from many countries around the world.

The Gallipoli campaign, part of a British-led effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire, ultimately failed, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides during the eight-month conﬂict It aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and knock the Ottomans out of the war

The battle helped forge Australia and New Zealand’s national identities as well as friendship with their former adversary, Turkey

Ceasefire talks with Iran stumble

Top Iranian diplomat leaves Pakistan and Trump says he told U.S. envoys not to go

BY MUNIR AHMED, SAMY MAGDY and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

ISLAMABAD The latest ceaseﬁre talks between the United States and Iran appeared to fail Saturday before they began, as Tehran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump soon afterward said he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.

The negotiations were meant to follow historic face-to-face talks earlier this month between the U.S., led by Vice President JD Vance, and Iran, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. But Iranian officials have questioned how they can trust the U.S. after its forces started blockading Iranian ports in response to Iran’s war grip on the Strait of Hormuz waterway

“If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump said on social media, adding: “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” The White House on Friday said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be going to Islamabad.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad on Saturday evening, two Pakistani ofﬁcials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

“Shared Iran’s position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” Araghchi later said on social media.

Another ceaseﬁre, between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, was shaken Saturday as each side ﬁred at the other and Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.”

Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran. It has paused most fighting, but the economic fallout is growing two months into the war as global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer and other supplies are disrupted by the nearclosure of the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have continued to make military threats. Iran’s joint military command on Saturday warned that “if the U.S. continues its aggressive military actions, including naval blockades, banditry and piracy” it will face a “strong response.”

Even before Saturday’s developments, Iran’s foreign ministry said any talks would be indirect and that Pakistani officials would convey messages. In Pakistan, Araghchi met with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about what he

called Iran’s red lines for negotiations.

Araghchi went on to Oman, a mediator in talks before the war and the country on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. The foreign minister will visit Pakistan again on Sunday before visiting Russia, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Trump later told journalists that within 10 minutes of him canceling the envoys’ trip to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal, with no details. He stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”

Contentious points in talks include Iran’s enriched uranium and the standoff on the Strait of Hormuz as well as concerns about Iran’s missile program and its support for armed proxies in the region

Tehran has noted that indirect talks with the U.S. last year and early this year over its nuclear program, the issue long at the center of tensions, ended with Iran being attacked by the U.S. and Israel, adding to its wariness.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, is nearly 50% higher than when the war began because of Iran’s grip on the strait, through which a ﬁfth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime. Iran attacked three ships this week, while the U.S. maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines.

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country was sending minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean to help remove Iranian mines from the strait once hostilities end.

Also Saturday Iran resumed commercial ﬂights from Tehran’s international airport for the ﬁrst time since the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb 28. Flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Oman’s capital of Muscat and the Saudi city of Medina, according to state-run television.

Since the war began, authorities say at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,496 people in Lebanon, where new ﬁghting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah broke out two days after the Iran war started. Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a ceaseﬁre between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy But Israel struck southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least six people it aid were Hezbollah militants, and several rockets and drones were launched at Israel from Lebanon.

Additionally, 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 U.S. service members in the region and six members of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon have been killed.

Ga. wildfires continue to threaten residents

than 120 homes

destroyed

By The Associated Press

NAHUNTA Ga Two wild-

fires in southeastern Georgia continued to threaten homes and lives on Saturday as officials warned that strong winds could spread the flames Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called it a “dynamic situation” in a video posted to social media and begged residents to “please evacuate” if ordered to do so.

“This fire is going to move rapidly once these winds get here later today,” he said.

The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since Monday and has destroyed at least 87 homes. Georgia

Gov Brian Kemp said Friday that is the most for a

single wildﬁre in the state’s history The blaze was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.

An infrared flight that detects heat was conducted overnight Friday, helping ofﬁcials to better map the ﬁre. A joint statement issued by multiple govern-

ment agencies said the ﬁre’s perimeter was more than 14.8 square miles and it was only about 10% contained.

Meanwhile a second ﬁre about 70 miles to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, has burned more than 46.9 square miles and destroyed at least 35 homes. Started by sparks from a welding operation,

Russia, Ukraine exchange attacks, killing and wounding dozens

BY ELISE MORTON and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed at least ﬁve people and wounded 46, authorities said Saturday

The bodies of four people were found in the ruins of a house destroyed in overnight attacks, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

“The Russians have been hitting Dnipro and other cities and communities practically all night,” Hanzha wrote on Telegram of the attacks, which caused fires to break out across Dnipro and partially destroyed several apartment buildings, businesses and a private house.

Another person was killed in a separate Rus-

sian attack on Dnipro Saturday afternoon, according to Hanzha, in the same residential area hit by the overnight strikes. He said that 46 people were wounded in total.

To the southwest, two people were wounded in overnight drone attacks on the Odesa region. Residential buildings, port infrastructure and cars were damaged in the south of the region, regional head Oleh Kiper said Saturday

In Russia, a woman was killed and a man was seriously wounded by a Ukrainian drone strike in the border region of Belgorod, local ofﬁcials said.

Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s Luhansk region — of which Russia earlier this month said it had taken full control, a claim denied by Ukraine — said

Saturday that three people were killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village. Ukraine did not comment on the attack, and the claim could not be independently veriﬁed by The Associated Press.

Following the overnight attacks, Romania’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that drone fragments were found in a residential area of the southeastern city of Galati, as well as on a farm some 18.5 miles from Galati, near the NATO member’s border with Ukraine. No casualties were reported.

Romania has conﬁrmed drone fragments on its territory on multiple occasions.

The overnight attacks followed a prisoner swap Friday, in which Russia and Ukraine exchanged 193 service members.

that wildﬁre was also about 10% contained.

Fireﬁghters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the ﬂames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

An unusually large number of wildﬁres are burning this spring across the Southeast.

Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme

drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024. In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.

Customer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COMor225-388-0200

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHID SALEM

A woman walks past anti-U.S graffiti painted on the wall of the Tehran University on Enqelab-e-Eslami street on Saturday in downtown Tehran, Iran.

PHOTO PROVIDED By OFFICE OF GOV. BRIAN KEMP Smoke rises Friday from a wildfire in Brantley County Ga.

and military spouses

Senator Cassidy introduced the bipartisan Improve and Enhance Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act.

This bill will help Louisiana businesses hire more veterans and military spouses into quality, high-paying jobs.

Cassidy’s bill has broad support from employers and veterans organizations and will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

Roommate chargedinkilling of 2USF students

BY HOLLYRAMER Associated Press

Aformer University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’sgirlfriend —two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappearedearlier this month, authorities said Saturday Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the ﬁrst degree with aweaponinthe deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy,students at USF,accordingtothe Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa, where he was ordered held without bond. A hearing is set for April28. Limon’sremains were found on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning, but Bristy is still missing, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said on Friday Abugharbieh, anativeborn U.S.citizen,was initially taken into custody on Friday at his family’shome on preliminary charges that

Ex-Idaho

By The Associated Press

DOUGLASR.CLIFFORD

Detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’sOffice join an investigation Fridayinside theLakeForest subdivision of Tampa,Fla., where authorities said aman wastaken into custodyinconnectiontothe search for twomissing University of South Floridagraduate students.

include unlawfully moving a deadbody, failure to report adeath, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery.Onlinecourt records do not list an attorney for him. Messages weresent viaemail andphone to the

public defender’sofficein Hillsborough County.

Officers encountered Abugharbieh as they respondedtoareport of domesticviolence at his family’shome, just north of the campus, and were able to

move his relativestosafety.But then he barricaded himself inside andrefused to come out. ASWATteam responded —along with a drone, arobot and crisis negotiators —beforeAbugharbieh came out with his hands

up, apparently wearing nothing but ablue towel.

Limon and Bristy,both 27, wereconsidering getting married, arelative said. They disappeared from campus on April16. Limon was last seen at his home in an off-campus apartmentcomplexwhere he lived with Abugharbieh. Bristy,who livedoff campus, was last seen an hour later at acampus science building.

An autopsy is being done on the remains to determine the manner andcause of Limon’s death, and those results are expected Saturday morning, Maurer said Friday

Abugharbieh hadbeen aUSF student but wasnot currently enrolled. University recordsshowed he had attended the school from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, and had pursued aB.S. in management, auniversity spokesperson said.

Limonwas studyinggeography,environmental science and policy,and Bristy wasstudyingchemical en Technology University.The school,which spelledher last name as Brishti, said in a statementSaturday that she was aPh.D. candidate and

describedher as atalented and promising student.

“Her sudden passing has deeply saddenedall of us,” Vice ChancellorMohammad Ismail said. “The university family pays deeprespect to hermemory.Atthe same time, we demand punishment for those involvedin her death and compensation forthe victim’s family.” The search forBristy continues. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’sOfﬁce. Abugharbieh had several previous arrests, thesheriff’s officesaid. He was charged with battery and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling in September 2023, and with battery thatMay —both classifiedincourt records as misdemeanors. Court records show Abugharbieh entered into adiversion program forﬁrst-time offenders charged with misdemeanors. He completed the program in 2024 and the charges were discontinued. Aphone call to his lawyer in that case was notimmediately returned.

governor andU.S.Interiorsecretary Dirk Kempthorne dies

BOISE, Idaho Former Idaho

Gov.and U.S. Interior Secre-

tary Dirk Kempthorne has died at age 74, his family said in awritten statement

Saturday

Kempthorne died Friday evening in Boise, the statement said. No cause was given, but he had been diagnosedwith colon cancer last year

“Beyond his public service, he was adevoted husband, father,and grandfather whose greatest joy came from time spent with familyand thepeople he met along the way,” his family said. “He had arare gift for truly seeing others —remembering names, stories, and the small details that made each person feel known and valued.”

Kempthorne, aRepublican, was elected mayorof Boise at age 34 and served

seven years before winning theU.S. Senate seat vacated by Sen. Steve Symms. Ratherthan runfor reelection in 1998,heenteredan open election forgovernor, trouncing his Democratic opponent bygarneringmore than two-thirds of thevote. President George W. Bush appointed him Interior secretary in 2006, aposition he held until theend of Bush’spresidency andduring which he lived on ahouseboat dockedinthe Potomac River.Kempthorne was responsible for thepolar bearbeing listedasa threatened speciesin 2008,though environmentalists often foundhim too accommodating of the oil and gasindustry

“AsGovernor,Dirk left an enduringmarkonour state,” Idaho Gov.Brad Little said in awritten statement.

With the partnership of his wife, Patricia, Kempthorne

“championed children and families, strengthenedpublic education, and led transformational investments in our transportation system thatwill beneﬁt Idahoans for generations.”

In a2023 question-and-answer session with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Kempthornerecalledhelping evacuatenearly 400 U.S. citizens and Afghanallies from Afghanistan two years earlier,asmany were being sought by theTaliban following theU.S. military’schaotic withdrawal. Kempthorne and othersworked frantically for months to raisemoney andgarner thesupport of diplomaticchannels to charter busesand an Airbus A340 to help resettlethe evacuees in the U.S. and Canada.

At one point, with the ﬂight fully booked, theorganizers receiveda listofmore people who needed to leave urgently “Thatnight, at atotal loss for answers, alone,I knelt

in prayer,” Kempthorne recalled.“Isaid, ‘Dear God, we cannotleavethese people behind, please give apath forward.’ ”

He said he then had avision of Mother Maryhold-

ing the infant Jesus. It gave him an idea: The babies on the ﬂight didn’tneed their own seats, as their parents could hold them. The organizers conﬁrmed that with the airline andwereable to

addanadditional50people to the flight, Kempthorne said. Kempthorne is survived by his wife, as well as their children Heather and Jeff and their families.

BREC will host apublicmeeting on Thursday June 11th to reviewthe survey findings and presentthe master plan recommendations.

“Right now, thedesignteamisjusttaking everythinginand listening. As they listen they developconceptsand thinkabout big pictureitems,” Harmssaid. Sheadded that once theconceptsare ready, they will be reviewed with astakeholders’ focusgroup that includes representativesfromrecreation,various sports, economic development, religious institutions neighborhoodsand more

As planning effortscontinuefor oneofBaton Rouge’smostbeloved greenspaces,community memberssharedtheir inputthrough BREC’s Public Input Survey forthe City-BrooksCommunity Park Master Plan

Thousandsofresponses arenow beinganalyzed to help BREC leadersbetterunderstandwhat thecommunity most wantstosee from this initiative.The feedback will help inform the overallmasterplanbeing developedbySasaki andguide future recommendationsfor thepark.

“Wehavereceived strong feedback from the community,”saidAngelaHarms,BRECDirector of ProjectDevelopment.“Theinput helpsus better understand howpeoplecurrently usethe park,whatexperiences they wouldliketohave there, andany challenges or opportunitiesthey seemovingforward.”

The154-acreparknearLSU includes an outdoor basketball court, dogpark, nine-hole golf course, 50-acrelake, playground,swimmingpool, tennis center,walking pathsand greenway/connectivity trail, as well as an area forsoccer, baseball and football.The KnockKnock Children’s Museum andBaton RougeGallery arealsolocated on the property.BREC’sCity-Brooks Park &Lakes Vision Plan seekstoexplore thefutureofthe 100-year-old property whilebalancing these existing uses,inadditiontoits historic nature andenvironmental connections.

“A lotofwhatwehave heardisthatpeople want access to do more at thepark, whether that’s walking, running, lettingtheir kids play or experiencingartsand culture,”Harms said.“I thinkone of thebiggest themes is that people are lookingtodoasmuchastheycan with thepark. At thesametime, we must balancethatwithour capacity,avoid overprogrammingand ensure we areutilizing thespace to itsbestpotential.” Harmsadded that therehavebeennumerous responsesfromthose whouse theparkfor running, golfingand passiveuses, such as picnicsand family outings.

“Everythingright nowisstill pending,”Harms said.“As we evolve as acommunity,wemust meet modernneeds.Thatmight result in tweaking things or adding somethingnew.Whatwewant people to know rightnow is that everythingis stillflexible. Nothingwillbebuilt or changed tomorrow.Our goal is to take allthe feedback we receivethisspringand reveala more refined master plan vision forthe park this summer.” Ultimately,Harms said thelong-term goal is to transformCity-Brooks CommunityPark into aworld-class experienceinthe parish that integrates greenspaces,the adjacent system of lakes, recreationalopportunities andcultural amenities.

“Thisparkisatthe heart of thecityand has so much potentialbecauseofits size andthe varietyofusesthatare available,”she said “A lotofpeoplehavegrown up thereand it’s a specialplace forthem. We understandthispark is closetotheir hearts.Wewanttorespect that whileutilizing it to thebestofits capabilities so future generationscan createtheir own memories there. Visitwww.brec.org/lakesvision formoredetails

Kempthorne

TAMPABAy TIMESPHOTO By

Supreme Court to hear cellphone tracking case

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Okello Chatrie’s cellphone gave him away Chatrie made off with $195,000 from the bank he robbed in suburban Richmond, Virginia, and eluded the police until they turned to powerful echnological tool

been used against him They challenged the warrant as a violation of his privacy because it allowed authorities to gather the location history of people near the bank without having any

evidence they had anything to do with the robbery Prosecutors argued that Chatrie had no expectation of privacy because he voluntarily opted into Google’s location history

A federal judge agreed that the search violated Chatrie’s rights, but allowed the evidence to be used because the ofﬁcer who applied for the warrant reasonably believed he was acting properly

PHOTO By MARIAM ZUHAIB

safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.” There was no immediate indication of any other involvement, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had “no reason” to believe anyone else was involved. Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.

“There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public at this time,” Bowser said at a separate news conference All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration on a night when the nation is at war with Iran.

mediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately re-enter Security outside was also extremely tight.

Republican Rep Mike Lawler of New York a guest at the dinner, said he heard a pop and “we didn’t know what the hell it was. And then you heard all sorts of things clatter.” Lawler said he gets “death threats often” and said “I think we live in a climate where everybody recognizes it’s a problem, but I don’t think people fully appreciate how much of a problem it really is.”

Gov Jeff Landry said he and ﬁrst lady Sharon Landry were able to safely evacuate the dinner

“I’m back and safe and everything’s okay,” the governor said calmly in a phone interview shortly after evacuating.

Landry said he and his wife were sitting at ABC’s table, “pretty close up to the main stage.” They were close to Rubio and other members of Trump’s Cabinet.

Then he heard the muted sound of gunﬁre from a ﬂoor up above the ballroom.

“It was almost like somebody dropping a pot or something,” the governor said Landry knows the hotel well; it’s where Washington Mardi Gras, the annual gathering of Louisiana political, business and nonproﬁt leaders, is held.

Landry praised how law enforcement handled the incident, saying he did not feel threatened.

“The Secret Service came in, they got everybody down,” Landry said. “I mean, they did a great job of taking everybody out.”

Landry said he was able to leave the scene and make it back to his hotel without incident.

House Speaker Mike Joh nson, R-Benton, said in a statement on X that he and his wife, Kelly, were also there.

“We’re thankful no innocent people were harmed and everyone is now safe,” Kelly said. “We’re grateful as always for the law enforcement and first responders who acted so quickly to bring the situation under control.”

Johnson added: “Praying for our country tonight.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, also said he was there.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the brave members of law enforcement who acted quickly to protect all of us attending tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Scalise wrote on X. “This is an event meant to bring people together Violence has NO place in our country.”

It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an at-

tacker in his immediate vicinity — including the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local fireﬁghter

“Today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” the president said. But he also said, “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said charges related to Saturday night’s attack will be ﬁled shortly, and that the nature of the charges would be obvious considering what had happened at the dinner Blanche stressed that “the investigation is obviously ongoing and just started.”

FBI Director Kash Patel, flanking Trump, said the agency is examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene, as well as interviewing witnesses from the dinner He urged anyone with information to come forward.

Dinner turns to disorder

Guests were dining on a spring pea and burrata salad when noise began — noise Trump said he initially thought was a tray dropping but some journalists believed were ﬁve to eight gunshots.

The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the

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room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening; hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.

“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. He fell brieﬂy — he apparently tripped — and was helped up by Secret Service agents. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities ﬂooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.

After an initial attempt to resume, the event was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.

“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.

The House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said “The violence and chaos in America must end.”

The banquet hall — where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks — was im-

The event had initially appeared set to resume after the disorder Servers refolded napkins and refilled water glasses in preparation for Trump’s return. Another worker prepared the president’s teleprompter for the remarks he was scheduled to make.

Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the correspondents’ dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr outside the Hilton an event that prompted redesigns of the property that increased security and added a special presidential suite near the entrance where chief executives could be taken. Trump was dispatched there brieﬂy after the incident Saturday night. Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual dinner in Washington for his ﬁrst time as president is putting his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display Trump arrived to an event

where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.

Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.

The Republican president did not attend during his ﬁrst term or the ﬁrst year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.

Trump entered the banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his ﬁnger Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.

Between berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administration’s animus toward journalists has been a ﬁxture of Trump’s second term.

A few dozen protesters stood across the hotel in the run-up to the event. One was dressed in a prison uniform, wearing a Hegseth mask and red gloves. Another carried a sign saying, “Journalism is dead.” Staff writer Tyler Bridges contributed to this report.

Landry

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

U.S. Secret Service agents respond on stage during the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington on Saturday.

HOMES

and in Tangipahoa Parish.

The state’scoastal leadership says thereare other possibilities for carrying out home elevations if the Corps chooses to ultimately back away

That could involve another federalagency withexperience in such projects, such as the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency or Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Butthere is currently little clarity on what may

chief of planning for the state’scoastal authority

“And these are firms that have lifted thousands of homes. GrandIsle is agood example.”

The ownerofone of the first housestoberaised in the Southwest Coastal program, located in Lake Charles, said he wasglad to haveparticipated, buthe wondered whether it was the mostefficient way to deal with theproblem.

The rental house is in a low area and had ﬂooded in the past. His tenant had to live in ahotel during theel-

evation work, but the overall processwentsmoothly,said the owner,Chris Brown, 56. He questionedwhether it would be cheaper to simply buy people out, though he acknowledged the many complicationsrelated to that, including where residentswould move.

“My thinking was, it’s free, andIdon’t want this to happenagain,”said Brown, referring to the ﬂooding. “I would have neverpaidtodo this on my own.”

Email Mike Smith at msmith@theadvocate.com.

ON THERECORD HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON &MAJORITy LEADER STEVE SCALISE

‘Wehavethisgreat level of trustbetween us’

WASHINGTON —U.S. House

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise,R-Jefferson, made history in October 2023. They became the two top leaders of theHouse of Representatives, from the same state —aﬁrst.

Scalise and Johnson both graduated from LSU sixyears apart and had worked together foryears, but over the past 26 months their relationshiphas been especially close —tothe point that sometimes when discussing politics and policy they ﬁnish each other’ssentences.

Mark Ballard

Johnson and Scalise sat down a few days ago in the Speaker’sOfﬁce with Washington correspondent Mark Ballard

The conversation has been editedfor length and clarity.

JOHNSON: For much of this Congress, we’ve had aone-vote margin in our majority.We’ve been able to accomplisha record number of landmark pieces of legislation, over500 billsﬁled, 100 executive orders codiﬁed,a record number of congressional review acts passed.

None of that really would have been possible if you had thetop two leaders who saw one another as rivals, which is what typically happens in this institution. Because Steve and Ihave known one another for so long, we come from the same place. We understand how one another thinks, and we agree on everything. We have this great level of trust between us, no daylight between us.

SCALISE: Yeah, the factthat Mike and Ihave such adeep-rooted friendship and astrong level of trust has been critical in moving forward an agenda with areally tight majority when you need to getdown to the crunch-time decisions, becauseyou neverhave to worry about the motives.

Our jobs are different, too, because, you know,the speaker gets the big problem. So, you know, members have personality conﬂicts all the time, and they bring those to the speaker

My job is to manage all the committees and to set the ﬂoor schedule.

But as he’sdoing his job and I’m doing my job, we’re alsoinmeetings talking with different groups of members about policy items that we’re going to be bringing as parts of our agenda. Neither of us worry aboutwho’s making commitments thatcan’t be carriedthrough on, because we have astrong understanding of what each other’score philosophy is and alsowhatour requirementsare, what we need to deliver for the country

JOHNSON: Itell members all the time.I’m never going to askyou to violate acore principle, butyou are required, sometimes,togive up on your preferences.

Because you’re in alegislative body and you have 434 colleagues, you’re never going to get 100% of what you want, veryrarely.That’s justthe nature of the beast

And some people are morereluctant to accept that realitythan others, put it that way.Sowehave to work through their problems and peccadillos.

When it comes to crunch time, because we’re able to go out— like Iknow that if Steve is in a room with asubgroup of members or acaucus or whatever,I know that he is saying anddoing what Iwould do in that scenario because we’re united in that cause. It just makes abig difference. The way that Congressisset up my appreciation of the history of the institution is that normally, you have the top two ofﬁcers —in particular,the No. 2guy —has always kind of been waiting,and looking for an opportunitytoleap-

frog theguy in front of him. And that’s just the nature of politics.

Theother thingthat we have in common that makes this work is that neither of us are concerned aboutwho gets the credit for something.

Yousee thelittle plaque on my desk over there? It’s areplica of what was on Reagan’sdesk. “There’snolimit towhat aman can doifhedoesn’t mindwho gets thecredit.”

SCALISE: Both of us came into politics under Ronald Reagan, andyou know that kind of Reaganconservatism still breathes through both of us.

JOHNSON: We’renot in competition at all between one another, andascrazy as it sounds, that’san innovation in Washington.

BALLARD: What happened with FISA?

(TheHouse last week couldn’t reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Some conservative Republicans wanted reforms, such as requiringwarrantsbefore the federalgovernment can spy on Americans suspected of cooperating with foreign governments, and refused to reauthorize. Unable to get enough votes, Johnson pushed through a10-day extension to allowtime for Republicans more time to hammerout thoseissues.)

JOHNSON: FISA is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation; every time it has to be reauthorized.

And thesummary is we have very different viewpoints at different corners of our conference on thecentral pieces of it.

Forexample, awarrant requirement:Wehave ahandful of members who say,Iwill not vote for FISAunless it includes it.We have an equal number saying, I will not vote for it if it’sin. And FISA, just the way it worked last week, is you had members comeinatthe last minutewith new ideas, different ideas.

We had theintelligence committee chair and thejudiciary chair tryingtoprocess all that and get it together

Andwejust ran out of time.

SCALISE: We had 56reforms last time it was reauthorized, which were actually really good reforms andare working.

Andfrankly,those arethe reasons that the president supports it today,because the president

faced some of theabuses in the past,and that’swhy we reformed it last time.

BALLARD: On May 1, we hit 60 days (on the“military action”in Iran, requiring Congress to determinewhether to continue the attacks.) What’sthe House going to do?

JOHNSON: We’ll see. We’reinthe middle of apretty heated conﬂict Hopefully,weall hope that it resolves quickly Idon’tthink there’sa prospect of boots on theground.

Ithink that it was awell-deﬁned operation, and Ithink we met the objectives.

Now we’ve got to get theStrait of Hormuz reopened, obviously Andwe’re hopeful that ends well, so we won’tget out in front of that.

SCALISE: Andthere have been votes on the House ﬂoor,twice now,toforce the president to end militaryoperations in Iran.

Andwe’ve defeated them both times We’ve voted against it.And it’s amajority of the House has said, basically,wesupport thepresident because we are opposed to stopping him from further action.

BALLARD: Well, on that, there’s alot of criticism that theHouse does President Donald Trump’s bidding to thepoint that Congress is no longer acoequal branch of government,the way the Founding Fathersintended.

JOHNSON: Ithink thecriticism is patently absurd. And let me tell you why Look,the voters gave us amandateinthe 2024 election.

The president got arecord number of popular votes,and we got our highest popular vote total in history for HouseRepublicans We were delivered auniﬁed government.And in uniﬁed government, when one party controls theWhiteHouse, Senate, and the House, obviously,itbehooves the leaders of those chambers in the legislative branch to work with thecommander-in-chief of the executive branch to movethe agenda along, the America First agenda. We all ran on it. We all said we madepromises we’d deliver on it. Andthe best way to deliver on that is as acohesive team. Now,this does not mean that we have yielded any authority.You know,mybackground is in constitutional law.I’m ajealous guard-

ian of Article 1. There are lines that cannot be crossed. Andwhen we get close to one of those lines, Ihave afrank conversation with thepresident. But I do that privately and not publicly because he’sthe president of my own party

The president and Iconfer constantly.Iadvise him all the time.

It is afrequent occasion where he’ll call with an idea and say ‘Mike, I’d like to do XYZ. Can we do that?’

‘Well, no, sir,that’snot possible for these reasons.’

Or ‘yes, sir,that’sanidea. We can work on that through our committee process.’

Or ‘no, that’snot something that Ithink is wise forthe country.’

Imean, these are constant conversations, but Idon’t, I’m not debating the president in public, and that’swhat some of the press corps on the Hill would love to see.

BALLARD: How did passing the OneBig Beautiful Bill Act, your biggest success, differfrom the FISAeffort?

SCALISE: Six months before the election, we weremeeting with thepresident, talking during the campaign, talking with him about, ‘Hey,ifwewin the House, Senate, and White House and get the trifecta, these are things we can do.’ We were already laying the groundwork forthat bill months before theelection.

It ended up being one bill.

Go watch November,December, January.There was ahealthy debateinWashington over whether to do two bills. Many in the White House were saying to do twobills.

JOHNSON: Or three or more.

SCALISE: President Trumphimself never really chimed in, but Iwas talking to the president on aregular basis, advocating strongly forone bill. The speaker was advocating strongly forone bill because there werereasons it would have been much harder to get thetax component done in asecond bill because that’swhat somewanted to do.

We would have never got the tax piece, meaning everybody in America’staxes would have gone up. No tax on overtime and tips, which everybody’sbeneﬁting from today,that would have never happened

Mike can handle big pieces of it on his own.

Icould go handle big pieces on my own and put out ﬁres, solve problems, bring coalitions to-

gether separately,and then put all those pieces together

And by the way, this guy,you want to talk about character traits.

He has the patience of Job to never lose his cool in settings where you see other people running around with their hair on ﬁre and, you know,panicking, saying we’re not going to be able to get something done that we do get done.

It’s because Mike keeps a steady hand, listens to everybody respectfully,but ultimately gives asolid, direct vision, and then we all go carry it out.

JOHNSON: And about 60% of workers in Louisiana can benefit from either or both, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. Imean, it’sreal, and we have along fact sheet of Louisiana, but then the stories reflect that we’re in the top five.

So, our state came out pretty well.

SCALISE: And alot of the jobs that are coming to Louisiana directly beneﬁt.

So if you look at the billions that have come into our state in terms of investment, jobs, you know,the Meta facility,the Amazon facility, the Hyundai steel plant. Venture Global is almost a$20 billion facility right there.

Imean, those are major jobs, major investments in Louisiana. Alot of it —wedid immediate expensing, bonus depreciation, brought those (tax write-offs) up to 100% in the bill and made that permanent, so that brought certainty Nobody has to worry about their taxes going up afew years from now because we made those permanent. They don’texpire in a fewyears.

If you look at what that’sdone in termsofbringing morejobs to America, and again, as the speaker pointed out, Louisiana’s beneﬁted morethan moststates when you look at the rankings based on how that investment’s ﬂowed through the country

JOHNSON: As representatives from Louisiana,ofcourse, he and Iare advocating constantly for ourstate andits ability to accommodate thatinvestment and the urgencyofthe people in the state to have those opportunities. We hope thatcontinues to payoff.

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTOByLILLyROBBINS |U.S.REP.MIKE JOHNSON’S OFFICE

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, at left, and House Speaker MikeJohnson, R-Benton, conduct ajoint interviewwithThe TimesPicayune |The Advocate Washington, D.C., correspondent Mark Ballard in Johnson’sU.S.Capitol office.

BuyingEvent

&CURRENCY

Islamic militants, separatists claim attacks across Mali

BY MARK BANCHEREAU

Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal Islamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali on its website Azallaq. It said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group. Mali has previously faced insurgencies fought by affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.

The Malian army said in a statement that “unidentiﬁed armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers ” It said in another statement later the situation was under control.

An Associated Press journalist in Bamako heard sustained heavy weapons and automatic riﬂe gunﬁre com-

ing from Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 9 miles from the city center and saw a helicopter over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali’s air force. A resident living near the airport also reported gunﬁre and three helicopters patrolling overhead.

The U.S. Embassy in Bamako issued a security alert citing reports of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the international airport, and urged U.S. citizens to shelter in place and avoid travel

there.

A resident of Kati, a town near Bamako that is home to Mali’s main military base, said he was woken by the sound of gunﬁre and explosions. Gen. Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military junta, resides in Kati. The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion during the attack a nearby shopkeeper told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Videos on social media

showed militant convoys in trucks and motorcycles moving through Kati’s deserted streets, while residents looked on fearfully Residents of Sevare and Mopti, two towns in central Mali, also reported attacks by gunmen.

Other videos in the northern towns of Kidal and Gao showed gunﬁre exchanges in the streets, with dead bodies lying on the ground.

Insurgents entered Kidal, taking control of some neighborhoods and leading to exchanges of ﬁre with the army,

a former mayor of the town told the AP by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad movement, said in a post on Facebook that its forces had taken control of Kidal as well as some areas in Gao, another northeastern city The AP could not independently verify his claim.

Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the separatist rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a signiﬁcant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.

Azawad separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali.

A resident of Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, said gunﬁre and explosions started in the early hours of Saturday and could still be heard in the late morning.

“The force of the explosions is making the doors and windows of my house shake.

I’m scared out of my wits,” the resident said by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety The resident said the gunﬁre came from the army camp and the air-

port, which are right next to each other Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the assault seems to be the largest coordinated attack in years in Mali.

“It’s especially concerning that JNIM apparently has been coordinating today’s attacks with Tuareg rebels. Jihadists and Tuareg rebels teamed up in 2012 when they overran northern Mali, sparking the region’s security crisis.” Laessing said. Mali, alongside neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, has long been battling armed groups affiliated with alQaida and the Islamic State group.

Following military coups, the juntas in the three countries have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants. In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako’s airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.

Hungary’s Orbán steps back after landslide election loss

instead focus on rebuilding his nationalist-populist political community, he announced Saturday in a video on social media.

BY JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not take his seat in parliament following a landslide election loss this month, and will

Hungary’s April 12 election brought an end to Orbán’s 16 years in power when voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for a center-right challenger who

promised to crack down on endemic corruption and restore Hungary’s democratic institutions that had been eroded under Orbán.

That challenger, the Tisza party led by Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar, won a two-thirds majority in parliament that will allow it to undo many of Orbán’s policies.

Since the election, the long-serving prime minister’s future role in Hungarian political life, and whether he will retain a role

in government, has been uncertain.

But in a video posted to Facebook, Orbán said his party’s caucus in parliament would be “radically transformed” following the election loss, and that he would not take his seat.

“Our task now is not in parliament,” Orbán said, but in the “reorganization” of his political camp that he calls the “national side.”

“I have led our community for nearly four decades,” Orbán said. “This camp has

always been the most united and cohesive political community in Hungary.”

Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law, which eroded under Orbán’s rule, and to hold accountable those who he says were responsible for overseeing and beneﬁting from widespread ofﬁcial corruption.

When the new parliament forms on May 9, it will be the first time since Hungary’s transition from state socialism in 1990 that Orbán has

not held a seat among lawmakers.

In his statement, Orbán suggested he would remain the president of his Fidesz party after the party’s congress convenes in June to elect its leader Magyar’s party gained 141 seats out of 199 in parliament, the largest majority in Hungary’s post-Communist history Orbán’s farright, eurosceptic Fidesz party will control 52 seats, down from 135 before the election.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

An aerial view taken Saturday shows Bamako, Mali. Islamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali, including Bamako, on Saturday, officials say.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ

U.S. says it’s huntingfor minesinpushtoopenstrait

BY BEN FINLEY, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and DAVID MCHUGH Associated Press

CO IN T MI EAST

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump says the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, avital sea route foroil shipments whose disruption is increasingly threatening the global economy Sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite atenuous ceaseﬁre between the United States and Iran in the weekslong war,experts say.Any future claims that the U.S. cleared thewaterway where 20% of the world’soil typically passesmight fail to convince commercial freighters

brieﬁng atthe House Armed ServicesCommitteeonTuesday.

Whenasked aboutthe estimate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reportersFriday that themilitary would not speculateona timeline,but he did notdeny it.

“Allegedly that was something that was said,” Hegseth said at aPentagon newsconference. “But we feel conﬁdent in our ability,inthe correct period of time, to clear anymines thatweidentify.”

Trump said he has ordered the Navy to attack any boat laying mines in the strait.

they have been destroyedin the war

crewed vehiclesthatuse sonar andother technology to ﬁndmines,Wills said.They also carry chargestodestroy the explosives.

U.S. Navy ships mayalso have explosive ordnance disposalteams,including divers, that can hunt forand destroymines, Wills said. Helicopters cansearch for mines using lasers.

Eventually,shipping companies will be willing to take somerisks to travel through the strait “particularly given howlucrative it is,” Savitz said.

NFLICT HE DDLE AS

“Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,”the president said on social media Thursday. “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue,but ata tripleduplevel!”

Adm. Brad Cooper,the top

If Iran has setmines in the strait,theyare notthe spiky balls ﬂoating on the surface seen in the movies, Salisbury said. The explosivesare likely sitting on the seabed or moored to it by acable and

WorldWar II —and in some cases,World WarI —just because it is so resource intensive and it takes alot of time,” he said. Teams on theNavy’slittoralcombat ships can deploy remotelyoperated, un-

UnderIran’sapproval procedure forvessels wanting to transitthe strait,ships must take adifferent route than before the war —tothe north, near Iran’scoastline.

Insurers areadding a clause that requires ship ownerstocontact Iranian

authorities to ensure safe passage, said Dylan Mortimer,U.K. marine war leader forinsurance broker Marsh That certiﬁcation does not mention mines speciﬁcally andisintendedtoprotect against the entire spectrum of threats, including missile and drone attacks or seizures, Mortimer said. But mines do,atthe very least, play apsychological role, aphenomenonMortimer called the “specter of threat.” “That plays in the Iranians’ favor,because whether there are minesthere or not, people think there’smines there and they will operate accordingly,” Mortimer said.

Those fears could mean it takes longer to restore conﬁdence that the strait is safe even after the war.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASGHAR BESHARATI

The sun rises behind tankers anchored on April 18 in the Strait of Hormuzoff the coast of QeshmIsland, Iran.

SCAN TO SEEBENEFITS

Palestinians vote in elections in West Bank, part of Gaza

BY SAM METZ and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Palestinians voted on Saturday in the ﬁrst elections held in part of Gaza in more than two decades, while tens of thousands of Palestinians cast ballots in the Israelioccupied West Bank.

The vote in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah was a largely symbolic “pilot” election, ofﬁcials said, part of the Palestinian Authority’s effort to politically link Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, unpopular in the West Bank and frozen out of U.S.-led postwar plans for ending Hamas rule in Gaza, hopes to establish an independent state in both territories

Hamas did not ﬁeld candidates in Deir al-Balah, which was damaged by airstrikes but spared an Israeli ground invasion in more than two years of war More than 70,000 people were eligible to vote for the municipal government.

Though turnout was low, voters said they were driven to the polls amid a near-total absence of public services.

There and throughout the West Bank, voting determines the makeup of local councils tasked with overseeing water, roads and electricity

“I came to vote because I have a right to elect members to municipal council so they can provide us with services,” said Ashraf Abu Dan in Deir al-Balah.

The West Bank turnout was near the level of previous local elections, surprising observers who expected that a low participation rate would signal apathy and eroded faith in elected ofﬁce.

Election ofﬁcials reported a preliminary 53.4% overall turnout after polls closed and 22.7% in Deir al-Balah.

Results in individual races are expected on Sunday Voters said they wanted a say over local decision-making.

“Municipal laws need to be enforced so people feel there’s justice,” said Khalid al-Qawasmeh, a voter in the West Bank city of Beitunia

The Palestinian Authority, which was formed as part of interim peace accords in the 1990s, is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people. It ad-

ministers semi-autonomous areas of the West Bank but was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2006

The authority’s popularity has been weakened by corruption and autocratic rule, its failure to establish an independent state while Israel expands West Bank settlements, and divisions with Hamas. Abbas, 90, was elected to what was supposed to be a four-year term in 2005.

Though it has not held presidential or legislative elections since 2006, the Palestinian Authority promoted the local races after reforms it enacted last year in response to demands from international backers.

“We’re talking about geographically linking the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” said Rami Hamdallah, chair of the Ramallah-based Central Election Commission and a former prime minister

With Gaza mostly decimated by war, the commission chose to hold its first vote in Deir al-Balah but had to improvise because it was unable to conduct traditional voter registration.

Hamdallah said Israel blocked the entry of materials like ballot paper, ballot boxes and ink into Gaza The commission repurposed materials instead, using wooden ballot boxes and ink from a vaccination drive last year

The commission said it did not coordinate directly with Israel or Hamas ahead of the vote. Associated Press footage showed security ofﬁcers keeping order outside polling stations COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees humanitar-

ian affairs in Gaza, did not respond to questions about blocking materials.

Palestinian voter turnout has gradually decreased but is relatively high by regional standards, averaging between 50% and 60%.

Abbas signed a decree last year reforming elections that now allow voting for individuals rather than slates. In January, another decree required candidates to accept the program of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which leads the Palestinian Authority It calls for the recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions.

Many cities — including Ramallah and Nablus — did not have contested elections.

With faith in political parties low, they were less important than families and clans in campaigning. Slates in major cities were dominated by Fatah, the faction that leads the Palestinian Authority and independents, some with ties to other factions.

In Qalqilya, a city where no slates registered to participate, Marwan Ennabi said elections didn’t reﬂect that Palestinian democracy was thriving or capable of changing the deteriorating conditions on the ground.

“This isn’t transparency,” he said. “This is chaos, chaos, chaos!”

The Palestinian Authority will appoint councils in cities without contested races. It sees local elections as a low-risk way to demonstrate progress political, ﬁnancial and administrative reforms, said Aref Jaffal, director of

Suspected Somali pirates hijack oil vessel headed to Mogadishu

BY OMAR FARUK Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia Sus-

pected Somali pirates hijacked a fuel tanker off the northeastern coast of Somalia, according to a local ofﬁcial and the British military The vessel was seized on Wednesday in waters between the coastal towns of Hafun and Bandarbeyla in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland along the Indian Ocean. The tanker had departed from the port of Berbera and was heading to the Somali capital of Mogadishu when it was intercepted, a colonel with the Puntland Maritime Police Force told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to a journalist.

That ofﬁcial said six armed men from the Bandarbeyla district carried out the hijacking.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations also issued a statement reporting a hijacking incident off the Somali coast. It said unauthorized people took control of the tanker and were maneuvering it “south within Somali territorial waters.”

preparing to transition to a new governance structure under U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan. That plan excludes both Fatah and Hamas.

The plan established an international Board of Peace

and a committee of unelected Palestinian experts supposed to operate and govern under it. Progress toward further phases, including disarming Hamas, reconstruction and transferring power, is stalled.

the al-Marsad Arab World Democracy and Electoral Monitor

With the authority incapable of addressing hundreds of new Israeli military gates and settler outposts constricting movement in the West Bank, he said councils have taken on greater importance, overseeing local health centers and schools that residents once accessed elsewhere.

Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and violently seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority a year later Hamas did not prevent Saturday’s vote from taking place in Deir al-Balah.

Hamas controls the half of Gaza that Israel withdrew from last year including Deir al-Balah, but the enclave is

As afixtureinradio,television, andwritten media alongthe Gulf Coastfor more than 15 years, Advisor GregoryRickshasinvitedcountlessindividualstojoin himinfinancialdiscussions—thekindsofconversations thatmayhaveoncefelttaboobutareessentialtobuilding financialliteracy within acommunity

“WhenIﬁrststarteddoingmyradioshow,Winning at Life®, therewas atimeIworried Iwas giving away toomanytrade secrets,”saidGregory Ricks, founder CEO, andwealthadvisor at GregoryRicks &Associates.“However,Ichangedmymindafterreadingastory aboutafarmerinGeorgiawhowasknownforproducing excellentyieldsofcorn.

“Inaninterview,hewasasked,‘Whatisyoursecret?’ He replied, ‘I sharemyseeds with my neighbors. If they grow poor crops, it couldaffectmineaswell, and we wouldall suffer.So, Imakesureeverybody hasthe best seeds.

AtGregoryRicks&Associates,theteamunderstands that ﬁnancial questionscan feel difficult to discussat times.However,theybelievethatnormalizingproductivediscussionsaboutmoney—andincreasingaccessto educationalresources—canhelpfamiliesandcommunities move forward together with greaterclarity BigQuestions,RealStakes Throughout themanyconversations Rickshas had withlisteners,clients,andeducationaleventattendees overtheyears,afewkeyquestionsconsistentlyrisetothe surface.Whileﬁnancesaredeeplypersonal,revisiting common topics canhelpindividuals take thenextstep in planning.

1.WhenshouldItakeSocialSecurity?

Oneofthe most common—and oftenunderestimated—topics involves Social Security decisions. Timing, spousal coordination,and long-termstrategy allplayarole,yetmanyindividualsclaimbeneﬁtswithoutfully evaluating theiroptions

“Peoplesometimes look at it as asmall decision,but it’s reallya bigone,” Rickssaid. “Ifsomeone is turning on$20,000ayearinSocialSecurity,thatcanrepresent hundredsofthousandsofdollarsovertime.Forahousehold,itmayapproachamillion-dollardecisionwhenyou consider theincomestreamitrepresents.

2.Willmymoneylast?

Anotherfrequentconcernislongevity—speciﬁcally whetherretirementsavings willstretch farenough. Thisquestionoftenleadstobroaderdiscussionsabout income planning,riskmanagement, andsustainable withdrawal strategies

“Peoplewanttobesuretheydon’t outlivetheir money,”Rickssaid.“Wearealwayslooking5,10,15,and even30yearsdowntheroadtobuildastrategydesigned to supporta clientfor as long as possible.”

3. What should Idowithmy401(k)or companyplan? As retirement approaches,manyindividuals are unsure howtotransitionfromsavingtogenerating incomefromtheiraccumulatedassets.Withoutaclear plan,retireesmayencounterunnecessarytaxesorinefficient income strategies Workingwithafinancialprofessionaltoconsolidate retirement accounts anddevelop an income plan may helpindividualsfeelmoreconfidentastheyestablisha foundation for retirement ClosingtheFinancialLiteracyGap In addition to answeringthese questions, Ricks focusesonaddressingcommongapsinfinancialliteracy

1.CompoundingInterest:WorkingForYou—or AgainstYou “Mostpeopleareaffectedbycompoundinterest,but fewfully understand howitworks,” said Ricks. “It’s importanttounderstandhow it canhelpgrowyour money—andhow it canalsoworkagainst youwhenit comestodebt. Compoundinterestisoftenconsideredoneofthemost powerfulforcesinﬁnance.Ononehand,itcansteadily growwealthovertime.Puttingmoneyawayearlyallows individualstouse time as an advantage, giving their savingsmoreopportunity to grow On theother hand,compoundinterestcan rapidly increase debt—especiallywithhigh-interest credit cards. Forexample,carryinga balanceona$1,000 purchase whilemakingonlyminimum payments can result in signiﬁcant interest charges, making it more difficult to paydownthe debt over time

2.StartingEarly—andStartingAnyway Time is oneofthe most valuable assets in ﬁnancial planning, yetmanypeopledelay saving for retirement untiltheyfeelfully prepared.While it is importantto paydowndebt,buildanemergencyfund,andsaveforthe future,Ricksencouragesindividualstoworktowardthis three-partgoalsimultaneouslyratherthansequentially Saving for retirement earlyand stayingconsistentcan make asigniﬁcantimpactinthe long run.

“Youcan’tgetthattimeback,”Rickssaid.“Evenifyou canonlysavealittle, it’s importanttobegin whilealso managing otherﬁnancialpriorities.

3.UnderstandingEfficientTaxStrategies

“Understandinghowtaxesworkiskeytomaintaining healthyfinances andworking toward amoresecure retirement,” said Ricks. Withouta clearunderstanding of howdifferent incomesourcesaretaxed,individualsmayunknowingly reducetheirlong-termwealth.Workingwithafinancial professionaltoexploreindividualizedtax-efficientstrategies—includingtheuseofRothaccounts,whichallow fortax-freegrowth—canprovidevaluableopportunities for thosewho have notyet considered theseoptions Bu ildi ng Fi na ncia lC on fidenc e ThroughCommunity “Growing up,money wasn’t somethingwetalked about,”Rickssaid.“Ithinkthatneedstochange.Families shouldbehavingopendiscussionssoeveryonecanlearn andgrowtogether. This philosophy extendstohow GregoryRicks & Associates operates.The firmtakes ateam-based approach,focusingnot only on individual clientsbut alsoontheirfamiliesandbroadernetworks.Ricksand histeamaimtohelpdevelopastrongerfinancialfuture throughsharedknowledge andcollaboration “Takeasteptodaytowardimprovingyourfinancial literacy,” Rickssaid. “Finda resource that helpsyou stayuptodate—whetherthat’slisteningtoaradioshow, reading,orfollowing apodcast.” TuneintoWinningatLife®onSaturdaysfrom10a.m. to 12 p.m. on WRNO News Talk 99.5 FM andWBUV News Talk 104.9FM. To requestasignedcopyofRetirementDeserves aHelpful Hand:AGuide to theDestination

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

Palestinian women line up Saturday in front of a polling station in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, to vote for local elections, the first in two decades in Gaza and

war

All-nighters in Congress createsdysfunction afterdark

Late-night votes areanage-old pressure tactic

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Justasthe Senateprepared to launch into alate-night vote series, RepublicanSen.JohnKennedy of Louisiana went to the ﬂoor to vent.

Frustratedand seemingly exhaustedWednesday,Kennedy said he wanted more time to debate his amendments to abudget resolution to fund immigration enforcement agencies. But he had another complaint.

“Frankly I am worried about the health of someofour members,” Kennedy said as 9p.m. approached. “Not that they’re in bad health,but it’s hard to stay up allnight.”

More than6hours later, just past 3:30 a.m., senators wrapped up another marathon voting session on amendments and filed out of the chamber,dazed, tired and resigned to soon doing it all again.

It’s acomplaint as oldas the Congress, with leaders in both major political parties often turning to the torturous grind of an overnight session to exhaust members, overcome objections and push legislation to passage. But it’sascenario that is playing out again and again, nearly businessasusual, as the House and the Senate fracture and careen from one crisis to the next.

Lawmakers say it’sa symptom of abroken Congress that leaders are increasingly forced to govern in the dead of night.

in the Senate this week was part of an arcane, complicated process called budget reconciliation that GOP leadersare using to try to fund the two immigration enforcement agencies thatDemocratscontinue to block. It’sbecome the default modeofgoverning for majorities in Congress as bipartisanship on major issues fades away

Reconciliation allowsthe Senate majority to bypass theﬁlibusterand pass budget-related bills along party lines. First, though, they have to get through two lengthy seriesofvotes and that’swhere the dreaded “vote-a-rama” comes in.

The process is open-ended, whichmeans lawmakers in both partiescan offeras many amendments as they want to put the other side on record —or, as Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska describes it, “to makeeach other miserable.”

back all-night sessions to pass it by Trump’sJuly 4 deadline. In the Senate, GOP leaders kept the long vote series open forhours on end as they workedtowin support from Murkowski and others.

“It’sinsane,” Murkowski said of the late nights. “My mom always said, ‘Nothing good happens after midnight.’”

Overnights more common

Overnight votes are certainly nothing newin Congress. The Affordable Care Act, PresidentBarack Obama’ssignature health care law,passed the Senate in the early hours of Christmas Eve in 2009 after weeks of negotiations, just in time forsenators to get homefor the holidays. Countless other big bills have been passed in the dead of night, as well. But lawmakers say the after-dark routine has gotten worse and morefrequent.

Lawmakers have become “less mature,”hesaid,asa growing numberact only in their own self-interest and hold up bills or delay proceedings.

“It’snot ahealthy lifestyle,”Cramer said,for the country or the lawmakers.

“There’sless concern for the team effort.”

Becoming anorm

In the last few weeks, Congress has repeatedly debated pressing national issues at night —leading to confusion and turmoil in both chambers.

Much of thedramahas centered,asitincreasingly does, on government funding.

In late March, Senate Republicans struck adeal with Democrats to reopen most of theDepartment of Homeland Security,including the Transportation Security Administration, while Democratscontinued to block moneyfor Immigration and CustomsEnforcement and Border Patrol afterthe

“The dysfunctionisgetting worse,” said Republican Sen. Kevin Cramerof North Dakota, who has been in Congress for 14 years.

shootings of twoprotestersinMinneapolis. It was a breakthrough, and Majority Leader JohnThune, R-S.D., passed thespending bill by voice vote—meaning there were no objections on either side —just past 2a.m.

Senators then flew home foratwo-week recess, leaving ﬁnalpassagetothe House.

But House lawmakers who were asleep when the ﬁnal Senate agreement was announced woke up and angrily rejected it,saying they wouldn’tpass legislation that didn’t include funding for the immigration enforcement agencies. Senators were then forced to ﬁgure outa newplan forreopening the department, and it remainsunresolved.

An equally contentious matter,the renewal of surveillance powers for federal spy agencies, alsodevolved into an after-hours affair

House GOP leaders kept members in session well pastmidnight lastweek while trying and ultimately failing to pass different ver-

LincolnMemorialReflecting Pool gettingabluecoating

Trumpsayswork will be done by July4

BY COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is having the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Poolcoated in aswimming pool surface hued in “Americanflag blue,” coveringupa decades-old granite surface that he saidwas “leaking like asieve” and wouldtake years to replace. The president announced the renovation at an Oval Office eventThursday,saying thecoating had already begun. He was inspired to tackle the project after afriend visited from Germanyand

lamented that the water was ﬁlthyand looked disgusting, Trumpsaid

“And Iwent over there with Secret Service in tow, andI said,isn’tthatashame?

That’s terrible,” Trump said, showing reporters aphoto of the site as it undergoes work.

The project is one more makeover refashioning the nation’scapital to Trump’s liking, followingothers such as the demolition of the White House’sEast Wing to make room foranew ballroom. Lined withstately elm trees between theLincoln Memorial andthe Washington Monument, thereﬂectingpool is one of the most iconic sites in the capital. It’s where Martin Luther King Jr.gave his famous “I Have aDream” speech in1963.

In Trump’stelling, the reﬂection pool project is a case study in business acumen. Thepresidentsaid he scrappedplans to have the granite replaced, which he said was estimated to cost $301 million and would take at least three years.

Instead, Trumpsaidhe called afew pool contractorsheknows from past real estateprojects—“Ihavea guy who’sunbelievable at doing swimming pools up theroad,” Trumpsaid.

The president went with a plan to clean the granite and lay down anew “industrial grade pool” surface for $1.5 million,hesaid. All told, it would take afew weeks Trumpnoted it would be ready well before July 4, when the nationcelebrates the 250thanniversary of its independence.

sions of aforeign surveillance bill. Scrambling to pass an extension of the law ahead of aMonday deadline, leaders eventually cobbled together a10-day extension past 2a.m.

Membersofboth parties were exasperated by the last-minute mayhem.

“Who the hell is running this place?” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. He said Republicans threw the bill together “on the back of a napkin in the backroom in themiddle of the night.”

“Just abouteveryone agrees that this is serious stuff, thekind of debate that Congress ought to have in theopen,” McGovern said.

TennesseeRep.Andy Ogles, aRepublican and member of the House Freedom Caucus who opposed theleadership bills, said the outcome was predictable.

“Wewarned them that this was gonna happen,”Ogles said. “Unfortunately,here we are at 2inthe morning.”

Time-consuming bills

The late-night vote series

Leadersgenerally hold the votes in the middle of the night, as they did Wednesday into Thursday,inhopes of exhausting both sides and forcing senators to stay on the ﬂoor andvote quickly.But instead of waiting around betweenamendment votes, Murkowski walked back and forth between the chamber and her “hideaway,” asmall office each senator has in the Capitol building.

“I’m at 14,291 steps,” she said just after11p.m., looking at hersmartwatch, which was also tellingher thather bedtime wasapproaching.She said if she couldn’tsleep, she mightas well get moreexercise.

Senators went through the same reconciliation process last year,inextremes,asthey labored forweeks to pass President Donald Trump’s package of spending and tax cuts,which he dubbed One Big Beautiful Bill.

The bill had barely enough Republican support to pass, andthe Senate andthe House held nearlyback-to-

“Part of what’schanged here is there’salot of heavy lifting that you have to do to get abill passed,” said Democratic Sen. RonWydenof Oregon, whohas served in Congress since 1981, when he waselected to the House. “I think at some point you’ve got to have aforcing mechanism, and one of the easiest is to stay up until the wee hours so that everybody is basically trying not to fall asleep on national TV.”

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey,arelative newcomer to the Senate electedin2024, saidthere’s an eventualquestion of whether anyone is watching. In the middle of the night, he said: “Are the American people paying attention? How do we get the message out?”

Still, he said, it’simportant that lawmakers get their work done at anyhour, especially when there is awar going on with Iran and lawmakers take long stretches away from Washington.

“I don’tmind being here,” Kimsaid.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

In thelast fewweeks, Congress has repeatedly debatedpressing national issues at night leading to confusion and turmoil in both chambers. Kennedy

EDUCATION

Talking to children about community violence

Experts help engage in ‘psychological

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

When parents ask if they should talk to their children about natural disasters or acts of violence in their communities, Melissa Brymer almost always answers yes.

Children are likely to hear about such events through the news, social media or their peers, said Brymer, director of the UCLADuke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. It’s important for children to know they can come to adults for help processing incidents that are frightening and confusing.

After a Shreveport man fatally shot eight children last week, including seven of his own, Brymer’s team immediately reached out to Louisiana ofﬁcials and the state Department of Education to make sure schools were equipped to support students. On Thursday, at least one person was killed and several injured during a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.

Brymer and her team have long deployed resources in Louisiana. They train community members and state employees in “psychological ﬁrst aid,” an approach for helping people in the immediate aftermath of a disaster that involves connecting survivors with resources and sharing coping strategies.

A clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and families who have been impacted by trauma, Brymer said violence in a community can af-

PROVIDED PHOTO

Melissa Brymer, director of the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, says to follow your kid’s lead of what questions they ask

fect children even if they are not directly involved. Simply hearing about violent incidents can cause children to feel scared or anxious and experience behavior or sleeping issues. Research shows that nearly 1 in 4 students across the country has been exposed to a traumatic event of some kind, which can impact their behavior and ability to learn

Brymer recently spoke about how parents and teachers can talk to children about violent incidents.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity

What does research tell us about the impact of community violence on children?

Some of the ways children are

Q&A WITH MELISSA BRyMER DIRECTOR OF UCLA-DUKE NATIONAL CENTER

impacted by mass violence includes startling easily after loud sounds; worrying about the safety of themselves or loved ones; sleep troubles; difﬁculties paying attention or focusing on tasks; having sights, sounds, people or other things remind them of the violence; feeling isolated, or numb, like friends and family don’t understand, or feeling distant from them; and being unable to get rid of thoughts, images or visions of the mass violence event.

Kids that might not have been as closely connected to the event are going to be anxious right now, but with support from adults in their lives we know they can heal. For those most impacted, there are speciﬁc trauma and grief treatments available.

What advice do you give parents about talking to children about violence in the community?

It’s really important that adults check in with their kids on what they’ve heard and (ask) if they have any questions or concerns so they know parents are willing to have that conversation. Sometimes things are wrong on social media, or kids say things wrong, so sometimes we have to clarify what kids have heard.

Sometimes we use books to help kids relate. You can describe how characters are feeling and then check in with the child to see if they’re having any of these feelings. There may be anger, sadness, fear

How can teachers and other educators address gun violence with their students?

Sometimes it shows up in the classroom if their classmate has died. It’s important to acknowl-

edge that person isn’t there and that we miss that person and maybe even highlight what that person brought to the classroom. Maybe they were a good artist or they helped out a lot.

For kids who might be closer to the event and may know more details, we want to have more private conversations.

Other kids that don’t know these details don’t need to hear it, but we want those kids closer to the event to get support. So that’s when we can use our counselors and nurses.

How should parents or primary guardians approach these conversations?

Adults need to get our own support before we talk to our kids.

It’s important for us to check in and initiate the conversation.

Often I’ve worked with kids who have said, “Nobody’s talked to me about it,” because everyone is waiting for the child to take the lead.

The children sometimes don’t want to upset their parents so they don’t say anything. Sometimes we have to show kids that we’re ready and willing to have that conversation, and if kids aren’t ready in the moment let them know they can come back to you at any time.

We can also talk about things we can do when we get distressed or upset.

If your child is upset about what they heard, if they’re missing their friend, can we practice regulating our breath together as a family? When we regulate our breath and calm our bodies down that can help kids feel more in control when something scary

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THE STATE HOW TO TACKLE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING LOUISIANA SCHOOLS. HAVE AN

happens.

Should these conversations vary depending on a child’s age?

When kids get to adolescence they’re going to want to talk about what happened and they might want to get into policies about gun violence or domestic violence or talk about other times they have worried about their safety Younger kids aren’t going to want to go into those details.

Follow your kid’s lead of what questions they ask. Sometimes they want to talk about it for a couple minutes and then go off and play and then come back. Sometimes younger kids might need shorter conversations.

Parents know their children and where they’re at developmentally Do you have any other guidance?

We suggest starting these conversations at a time other than bedtime, so if the child has some emotionality they have time to regulate their bodies before they go to sleep.

Maybe before dinner or after school.

Kids do better keeping the same routines, knowing when bedtime is, knowing there’s consistency There can be a little grace, but generally kids do better when they know what’s predictable — especially after something so unpredictable.

What mental health resources do you recommend for young people?

The national suicide and domestic crisis hotline is 988.

The National Center for Child Traumatic Stress has developed a guide for talking to children about mass violence. See tinyurl. com/3fwpdkzw

Email Marie Fazio at mfazio @theadvcoate.com.

THE GULF COAST

Surge of golf carts means more rules in beachside towns

Complaints

rise as cities clamp down

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

Every week, another wave of customers arrives to snatch up the golf carts

Janet Steele rents out from her business, Dauphin Island Rent and Roll

“We love it,” said Steele, who spends her days delivering rentals from her collection of eight black, blue, red and lime green vehicles in Dauphin Island Alabama

“We’re booking completely out.”

Her booming business is one small sign of a growing way of life across the Gulf Coast. From Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, an armada of golf carts is arriving on local roads and forcing leaders to take new and sometimes controversial steps to regulate them.

The trend is transforming coastal towns. In some communities, drivers are decking out golf carts with Saints stickers and LSU

ﬂags. Hundreds of golf carts are packing Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parades. Families are using them to run errands and to go trickor-treating.

“If I’m going a couple of miles down to the marina, or a couple of miles to the Publix grocery store, it’s a heck of a lot easier and frankly more fun to get in your golf cart and just go,” said Mike Alexander executive director of the Low Speed Vehicle Dealer Association, a trade group for golf cart retailers, who is based in Sarasota, Florida. “It’s a good lifestyle.” But even as many tout their convenience, the surge

is also raising new safety questions in beach destinations that draw thousands of Louisiana visitors. A child was hospitalized in March after a golf cart ﬂipped over near Pensacola, Florida. Residents across the region say they sometimes see golf cart drivers sipping beers, or passengers cradling unrestrained infants. On Dauphin Island, police instituted new safety checkpoints this month after a man accused of driving under the inﬂuence in a pickup truck allegedly rear-ended a golf cart and injured several passengers, including two children

“It was tragic,” Dauphin Island Police Chief Mathew Emlich said Not just fairways There was a time when

golf carts were conﬁned to fairways and country clubs and rarely ventured across busy roads.

But the trend is growing fast in coastal and Sunbelt communities where openair vehicles can cruise yearround.

Tallying the exact growth of the local golf cart market is difﬁcult, because registration rules vary by city But industry leaders estimate there are now close to two million golf carts and lowspeed vehicles around the country

The Low Speed Vehicle Dealer Association is predicting the global golf cart market will become a $12 billion industry by 2030, up from about $8.5 billion today Dealers are outfitting golf carts with new technology, including touch

screens, backup cameras and Bluetooth.

“Now they want all these bells and whistles like you find in cars,” said Brett Ladner who works at Quality Custom Carts in Bay St. Louis. “It’s become a little fancier.”

Cities confront surge

Some cities are expanding access: This month, Gulf Shores, Alabama, began allowing licensed teenagers to drive golf carts.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi, recently added a few dozen miniature parking spots for golf carts and other small vehicles.

The swarm is also creating new challenges for cities seeking to balance leisure with safety Leaders in Gulfport, Mississippi, have created new

rules in recent years that require inspections and restrict where golf carts can travel. The move followed frequent complaints about reckless teenage drivers.

In Diamondhead, Mississippi, leaders distinguished traditional golf carts, which reach speeds up to 20 mph, from low-speed vehicles, which go faster The city is requiring all lowspeed vehicles to include windshields, seat belts and blinkers by this fall, when violators will start receiving tickets.

“We’re trying to encourage people to follow the rules,” Diamondhead Mayor Anna Liese said “If you choose to ignore the rules and you get caught, it’ll be expensive.”

Many die-hard golf cart drivers argue the vehicles

are a blessing for communities: Their plodding pace forces speeders to slow down, and they take up less space in busy parking lots. Many golf carts and low-speed vehicles are also electric.

The fans acknowledge that some rules are necessary But they say the jumble of laws between cities can create confusion and frustrate drivers. For instance, some communities allow golf carts on roads where cars drive up to 35 mph. Other cities limit them to streets with 25 mph speed limits.

Some residents also worry that the risk of accidents could rise as the region’s population grows and trafﬁc increases.

There are signs that a balance between acceptance and regulation is emerging. Jason DuCre, a lieutenant at the Gulfport Police Department, said ofﬁcers are receiving far fewer complaints this year since the city began increasing enforcement.

Steele said cruising around her small beach community is usually easy because speed limits are low Most full-time residents own their own golf carts.

She still faces challenges, though. Golf cart prices are rising so much along the Alabama coast that Steele can only afford new vehicles from dealers in Texas and Louisiana. Prices there are about $1,000 lower for the carts, which typically sell for over $10,000. But her calendar keeps filling with new reservations. She expects this summer to be so busy that she took a key step to prepare for the rush. She bought three more golf carts.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

From Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, an armada of golf carts is arriving on local roads and forcing leaders to take new and sometimes controversial steps to regulate them.

China will send giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta again

By The Associated Press

BEIJING Atlanta will have giant pandas again.

China on Friday announced it will send two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta in the U.S. in Beijing’s latest efforts of panda diplomacy despite tensions with Washington, less than a month before a muchanticipated visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing

The China Wildlife Conservation Association said in a statement that male panda Ping Ping and female panda Fu Shuang, from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, will kick off a decadelong conservation partnership under an agreement it signed with the zoo last year

The association did not specify the pandas’ departure date but said the U.S. side was carrying out facility upgrades, among other preparation work, to create a more comfortable and safer environment for the pair Chinese experts provided technical guidance on the

Giant

upgrades, it said The announcement came weeks ahead of Trump’s planned visit to China in mid-May, during which

he is expected to discuss various issues, including trade, with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping. Zoo Atlanta said Thursday that

it was delighted and honored to be trusted as stewards of the pandas and to partner with the association.

“We can’t wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and to welcome our members, guests, city, and community back to the wonder and joy of giant pandas,” the zoo’s president, Raymond B. King, said in a statement.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters that the new round of cooperation on conservation would help improve the health and well-being of the giant pandas, advance global biodiversity protection and strengthen the friendship between the Chinese and American people

During an earlier giant panda agreement between the zoo and China that concluded in 2024, pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang gave birth to seven bears, the zoo said Lun Lun and Yang Yang and their two youngest offspring left Atlanta for China in October 2024, where the rest of their offspring

reside, it said.

Giant pandas have been a symbol of the U.S.-China friendship ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington in 1972, and China has long used its giant panda loan program as a tool of Beijing’s soft power diplomacy worldwide.

Beijing could also be renewing its cooperation with U.S zoos at a time of otherwise sour relations in a bid to boost conservation efforts for the mammals.

The association said Friday that the new round of cooperation will help China and the U.S. to advance in areas ranging from disease prevention and treatment to scientiﬁc exchanges.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, a leading international group, took pandas off its endangered list in 2016 and classiﬁed them as “vulnerable” instead.

In 2024, the National Zoo in Washington and the San Diego Zoo also received pandas from China.

BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN AP science writer

NEW YORK The top predator prowling the seas during the age of the dinosaurs 100 million years ago may have been the octopus.

New analyses of fossilized jaws reveal that massive, kraken-like octopuses once hunted alongside other marine predators They boasted eight arms and long bodies that extended more than 60 feet, rivaling other carnivorous marine reptiles.

“These krakens must have been a fearsome sight to behold,” University of Alabama paleontologist Adiel Klompmaker said in an email. He had no role in the new research. Dinosaur fans know that late Cretaceous-era waters were ruled by sharp-toothed sharks and sea reptiles known as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs

Why do octopuses get left out of the mix? Scientists have studied giant octopus relatives that roamed when dinosaurs were around, and researched some small octopuses that drilled into clams. But since their soft bodies don’t preserve well, it’s hard to ﬁgure out exactly how big the creatures got.

There’s also a perception that squishy invertebrates creatures without backbones — weren’t formidable enough to join the ranks of top predators. But octopus’ beaks made of stiffened chitin are tough enough to crush shelled and bony critters In the new study, researchers studied the jaws of 15 ancient octopus fossils that were previously found in Japan and Canada’s Vancouver Island. They also identiﬁed 12 more jaws from Japan using a technique they created called digital fossil mining, which closely scans rocks in cross-sections to reveal fos-

sils hiding inside. They compared the jaws to that of modern-day octopuses to estimate how large the creatures may have been, and determined that the ancient octopuses ranged from 23 to 62 feet in length. The largest jaw was substantially bigger than that of any modern octopus, said co-author and paleontologist Yasuhiro Iba with Hokkaido University in an email. They also found that the largest creatures’ jaws had signiﬁcant wear and tear including scratches, chips and rounded edges, suggesting that “the animals repeatedly crushed hard prey such as shells and bones,” said Iba. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Science. Without access to the octo-

puses’ stomach contents, it’s hard to know for sure what they were eating or whether they truly competed with other top predators for their meals. They could have snacked on fish or snails, snatching prey with ﬂexible arms and breaking it apart with their beaks.

Looking for octopus fossils in other places might help scientists get a clearer idea of how they factor into ancient food webs, said paleontologist Neil Landman with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

“It’s a big old planet,” said Landman, who wasn’t involved with the new research. “So we have lots to look at to piece together the marine ecosystem through time.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

pandas have been a symbol of the U.S.-China friendship ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington in 1972.

photo by:Tim Mueller Photography

Community invited to candlelight vigil

Event at mall Monday to honor shooting victims

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

A candlelight vigil will be held at

6 p.m. Monday for victims of the Mall of Louisiana shooting.

The event will be hosted by East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards, state Rep. C

Southern wants to expand law school

Leaders say plans in early stages

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Southern University aims to open a law school in Shreveport to expand the reach of the Southern University Law Center, according to a resolution approved by the Board of Supervisors.

A report presented to the board said there was a strong regional need and workforce demand for legal professionals in northwest Louisiana.

“Establishing a law school in Shreveport strengthens our mission to provide access and opportunity, while positioning the Southern University System to have an even greater impact across the state,” Southern University Board of Supervisors chair Tony Clayton said in a news release. Southern leaders said the new school in Shreveport could build upon the work of the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge to attract students in north Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.

“This initiative represents an important opportunity to extend the Law Center’s mission and impact,” Southern University Law Center Chancellor Alvin Washington said in the release. “We are committed to producing practice-ready graduates and increasing access to legal education for students who aspire to serve their communities.”

The new law school is in the very early stages, according to the release. The resolution allowed Southern leaders to continue evaluating the project’s feasibility, including aspects such as accreditation and program development.

Further details will be announced moving forward, according to the release.

Denise Marcelle and Cathy Tolliver, CEO of A Servant’s Heart Foundation

It will be held at the mall entrance near the Main Event building. Candles will be provided to all attendees by the state representative’s ofﬁce.

The organizers of the vigil said it

will be a time of prayer, reﬂection and an opportunity for the community to support one another in the aftermath of the tragedy

“This is a moment for our community to come together in faith, compassion, and remembrance,” organizers said. “We mourn together, we pray together, and we

begin the process of healing together.”

Community members, faith leaders and elected officials are invited to stand together in solidarity as Baton Rouge seeks healing and peace. On Thursday, gunfire erupted in the food court of the mall, killing 17-year-old Martha Odom of Lafayette and injuring five bystanders.

One victim, Donnie Guillory 43, remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Police have arrested one person in connection with the shooting and are looking for another Markel Lee, 17, turned himself in to police on Friday and was arrested on probable cause for firstdegree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon.

HEART TO HEART

14, smile at each other while practicing CPR on a training dummy

Hotel being built at College, I-10

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Helicopter pilot who stopped My

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Stabbing victim believes attack was racially motivated

Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed a motive

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

A Lafayette Parish woman says she believes she was the victim of a racially motivated attack after being stabbed while working as a caregiver at a senior living community

The victim, identiﬁed as Kierra Larcart, said in an interview Thursday that she remains hospitalized in intensive care. Larcart said

she believes the attack was racially motivated, alleging statements she said were made by the suspect after his arrest Authorities have not publicly conﬁrmed any motive or characterized the incident as a hate crime.

According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce, the incident occurred in the 400 block of North Domingue Avenue at approximately 8:30 a.m. Police said the victim was at the residence providing care when, for unknown reasons, the suspect armed himself with a kitchen knife and stabbed her

Larcart disputed portions of that account, speciﬁcally saying she was not employed as the suspect’s caregiver.

“I was not his caretaker,” she said. “I had no idea who this man was, so I’m not sure where that information is coming from.”

She said she had recently begun working with a client at Evangeline Village, a senior living complex, in April but had no prior interaction or relationship with the suspect.

“I didn’t hear anyone behind me. I just remembered feeling a knife in my back,” Larcart said. “I don’t

know why and these claims stating I was his caregiver are not true.”

Jarrod Degroat, 56, was arrested and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on a charge of attempted second-degree murder

Larcart said she was provided aid right after the attack by witness who heard her scream Once police arrived, she was transported to a hospital

Currently, Larcart said she is unable to walk and expects to begin physical therapy at some point.

“I just want to go home with my baby,” she said “I

currently can’t walk, and still don’t know when I’ll be able to go home.”

Sharon Harris, a resident of Evangeline Village, where the incident occurred, said she witnessed the aftermath of the attack and has been in contact with Larcart since.

“This young lady did not deserve this, and I may not be family, but I have been checking on her every day since this happened,” Harris said.

Harris said she believes the attack may have been racially motivated, citing statements she said were made by the suspect after

his arrest.

Although the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce has not conﬁrmed that account or released any statement indicating a motive, Harris said, “He made a statement to the police that he hates all Black women.”

Larcart described the incident as traumatic and said it has raised concerns about her safety

“I’m not able to work, and because I am in the ICU, I have not been able to be with my daughter I don’t know where my life goes after this,” she said. The investigation remains ongoing.

Bayou St. John project aims to gauge health of environment

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Standing on a marshy shoreline, Eva Hillmann tosses a long cord into an old bayou that tells tales of New Orleans’ entire history

She and her colleagues are hoping that their work along Bayou St. John will soon tell a few more. Hillmann, chief scientist for the Pontchartrain Conservancy, is involved in a project aiming to determine the health of the waterway that winds through the heart of New Orleans. The results will be highly personal for anyone who has ever ﬁshed, paddleboarded or simply strolled along it.

“We do recognize this is a valuable waterway in our community,” said Kristi Trail, the executive director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy, who accompanied Hillmann on a recent demonstration of the environmental group’s testing “The community’s curious about it, but we are curious too.”

The conservancy, a decades-old organization known for reviving Lake Pontchartrain in the 1990s, is collecting monthly water samples along different sections of the bayou, testing for qualities including heavy metals, bacteria, nutrients and algae.

An outgrowth of an earlier marsh creation project, it will offer insights into the health of habitats along the waterway, from transitional marshes to more hardened shorelines. Funding for the project came from a roughly $100,000 grant from the Coypu Foundation, Trail said.

The project began last year and will continue until November Residents have good reason to be concerned about the condition of the water in the bayou. In one famous example in 2019, crews removed about 750 tons of junk from the Lafitte Canal near the bayou, including a crushed car, a second car’s chassis, a truck bed and a sofa.

It is too early to say what the complete test results will show But preliminary numbers have been good omens.

Nothing negative

The cord Hillmann threw into the bayou near where it meets Lake Pontchartrain was connected to a handheld water meter The meter collects real-time data on qualities including temperature, salinity and pH. During the monthly samplings, a team of ﬁeld scientists logs these metrics and collects a water sample, which they send off to a lab.

Hillmann stressed that the team is still in the first portion of the sampling and that the scientists haven’t analyzed the entire dataset.

“I wouldn’t want to say anything too soon, but nothing drastically negative for sure,” Hillmann said of the preliminary results.

The scientists have also not yet had the chance to investigate another important question: What happens to the water quality during a storm? The group received additional funding to sample the water after heavy rainfall, which they deﬁned as two inches an hour

That hasn’t happened since the group started sampling.

Heavy rain could alter the makeup of the bayou, as water flows from the streets to the drainage system and into Bayou St. John.

“There may be pollution in our streets that drain into our sewer into the bayou,” Hillmann said.

“And so there might be a spike, for instance, in nitrogen if people fertilize their lawns and that then makes its way into the bayou.”

This could add to existing debris in the bayou, such as underwater bicycles or old cars releasing met-

als, Hillmann said. These conditions could be exacerbated with heavy rainfall.

Integral to New Orleans

The upper section of Bayou St. John — where Hillmann demonstrated the collection process holds a rich history foundational to the city itself.

Until the late 1800s, it was the main drainage outfall for the city, intaking water from a network of bygone tributaries and discharging it into Lake Pontchartrain, explained Tulane geographer Richard Campanella.

Indigenous travelers had long used the bayou as a path for trade and exploration. A portage road between the bayou and the Mississippi River served as a navigational shortcut that allowed people coming from modern day coastal Mississippi to bypass part of the journey up the winding river French colonizers continued to use the path as their burgeoning settlement grew along the Mississippi River

“In 1718, Bienville established New Orleans on account of that portage and that Bayou St. John

connection,” Campanella said “If it weren’t for Bayou St. John, New Orleans would have been located elsewhere.”

In the 20th century, the bayou was dammed off from the lake during construction of the city’s modern drainage system, ceasing its function as a natural outfall and navigational route, Campanella said. The bayou remained severed from the lake until 2013, when Louisiana officials dismantled the dam as part of a management plan crafted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That’s when the Pontchartrain Conservancy stepped in, too, creating the marsh beneath the Lakeshore Drive bridge over the bayou to establish habitat for fish, waterfowl and crab, as well as to improve the bayou’s water quality before it meets the lake. Grassy marsh filters the water as it flows through it.

The environmental group gathers water samples along different sections of the bayou — the marsh they created, a natural marsh area and more hardened shorelines.

The ﬁndings have been broadly positive, with low metal levels,

Hillmann said. But the scientists wondered whether the data was “a one-time snapshot.” The current water testing in the next year will offer a deeper understanding of the conditions in the city’s historic and beloved bayou.

“If I was someone who recreated in Bayou St. John, like a paddleboarder or whatnot, I would be very interested in this water quality data,” Hillmann said. “The metals, the bacteria, the nitrogen, all of it is an indicator of how dirty or clean the water is.”

Email Josie Abugov at josie. abugov@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Eva Hillmann, chief scientist with the Lake Pontchartrain Conservancy, tosses a device that measures water quality into Bayou St. John near Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans on April 13.

the battle — but thousands of civilians died, and the conﬂict’s brutal nature had been captured on ﬁlm for the world to see.

Thompson arrived in Vietnam at the end of 1967 as a Chief Warrant Ofﬁcer with the 23rd Infantry Division. In the middle of March, a couple of weeks after the Battle of Hue City ended, his company was deployed for a seek-and-destroy mission against the Viet Cong 48th Battalion, thought to be hiding in Qu ng Ngãi Province in a series of hamlets known as My Lai.

Charlie Company received a series of orders to enter the village and destroy everything they saw Flying over the site after the operation had commenced, Thompson and his crew were shocked by what they witnessed They decided to do something about it, embarking on a journey that would come full circle decades later, with a chance meeting in the swamps of Louisiana.

‘Hero of My Lai’

Hugh Thompson’s story is a remarkable one in the history of warfare. “Hero” is a term used more often in novels than in history books, but it’s a label that has come to stick to Thompson’s actions at My Lai even though it took 30 years for the Army to present him and his crew with the Soldier’s Medal, which is the highest award for brave conduct not involving direct contact with the enemy On March 16, Thompson was piloting a helicopter above My Lai when he noticed something disturbing — a ditch full of bodies that he recognized as noncombatants. After landing in the village, Thompson and his crew began assisting injured and escaping civilians, eventually realizing that their fellow soldiers were responsible for the carnage around them.

Fast forward to 1997, when Trent Angers picked up Newsweek magazine and started reading about a little-known soldier who exhibited exceptional courage.

“A little blurb showed up about this U.S. Army helicopter pilot who had stopped the My Lai massacre, and who was being jacked around by the Pentagon,” said Angers. “I read how he set his chopper down, ordered his gunner to train his weapon on American soldiers who were committing a war crime by definition, and he filed a complaint with his commanding ofﬁcer that led to a cease-ﬁre. When I read that two-inch blurb, I thought, ‘This is the purest story of heroism I’ve ever heard in my life.’

“It said that he lived in Louisiana, and I had no idea where, but I said, ‘I’m gonna ﬁnd this guy and buy him a drink and just shake his hand and thank him, on behalf of humanity.’” Angers would come to know Thompson and his story very well, including the twists and turns of what happened after March 16. After reporting the events at My Lai to his chain of command, Thompson endured years of scrutiny and backlash from ofﬁcials who branded him a traitor for his testimony It was later determined that faulty intelligence led to the view that Viet Cong soldiers were hiding in the village, which was populated with unarmed civilians that day The orders, which included a directive from Lt. William Calley to round up villagers and kill them, were later deemed illegal by the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. Out of 26 soldiers charged, only one, Lt. Calley, was convicted of murdering 22 villagers and given a life sentence, which President Nixon commuted to three years under house arrest. My Lai had been deemed a “free fire zone,” where everyone present was assumed to be an enemy combatant. Up to 504 civilians died at My Lai that day, around half of which

Thompson described as “not draft age whatsoever” — infants, children and the elderly. The list of victims, including their name, age and sex, is published in the book Angers’ wrote after meeting Thompson, titled “The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story.”

In a twist of fate, Angers’ and Thompson’s paths collided not long after Angers read about him in Newsweek. Thompson had closed his Army career at Folk Pork, and decided to stay in the Lafayette area after falling in love with a woman who turned out to be good friends with Angers’ sister

Said Angers: “It’s Thanksgiving, I’m at my parents’ house, and I go upstairs to take a nap after we eat I’m in a dead sleep when my son pops in and goes ‘Pop, that guy from Vietnam is here.’ Then my wife comes in and says, ‘Trent, get your butt out of bed, Hugh Thompson is here.’”

The retired soldier was living in Broussard, making a round of holiday visits through Lafayette He had stayed in the area after retiring and going to work as a helicopter pilot for PHI. Later, he would go on to work for the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs in Lafayette Thompson died of cancer in 2006 at the age of 62 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pineville.

“He was adamant about getting every soldier, every military retiree, 100% of what they were entitled to financially in terms of health care. He would fight for them. He had that reputation around Lafayette, like, ‘if you want to get everything that’s coming to you, go see Hugh Thompson.’ His office was right at the corner of Pinhook and Jefferson,” Angers said. Angers began writing about Thompson for Acadiana Profile magazine, which he published from 1975 to 2010. Eventually, Thompson offered Angers the contract to be his biographer, beginning a relationship that would see them travel together back to My Lai to meet with a few of the people that Thompson and his crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were able to save back in 1968.

Traveling to Vietnam

In March of 1998, Hugh Thompson, Larry Colburn, Trent Angers and Mike Wallace of CBS News traveled to Vietnam to help dedicate a peace park in honor of the victims of the My Lai massacre. Andreotta was killed in action just weeks after the massacre, but Colburn and Thompson were able to meet with survivors while a camera crew ﬁlmed a segment for “60 Minutes.” Angers covered the trip

for Acadiana Proﬁle, publishing photos that brought the story and region to life for Thompson’s home audience.

“I remember seeing Mike Wallace crying and getting off camera because he was so emotional. I remember Hugh saying, ‘I didn’t do anything that any other soldier should have done. We were doing our job.’

Angers’ book, which he released in 1999, is a heartrending way to experience what Thompson, Colburn and Andeotta saw, felt and did on the day of the massacre. Its writing was a life-changing experience for Angers, who delved into research exposing the attempted government cover-up, and the decades of effort by journalists, ofﬁcials, citizens and veterans to commend Thompson and his crew for their actions — culminating in their being awarded the Soldier’s Medal on March 10, 1998.

“The Forgotten Hero of My Lai” was on the U.S. Army Chief of Staff ’s professional reading list, based on how it highlights the behavior and decisionmaking process of an ethical soldier Angers was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in literature for his work on the book, which saw him dive into archives that exposed attempts by President Nixon and others to sweep the event under the rug.

Angers said that he also faced some of the same blowback that Thompson did for shining a light on crimes committed by American soldiers.

“I was shocked when I got some pushback from a handful of people,” Angers said. “Some would say, ‘Well, I don’t think much of a guy who turns his weapon on his own people on the battlefield,’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t either, in general. However you have to understand, our people were murdering women and children.’”

Angers said that Thompson would come to understand that people had complex feelings about what he did but he never questioned whether he did the right thing.

“We’d go out and have a beer and I’d interview him, and he’d say ‘I think that the majority of our people did serve honorably in Vietnam. But some did not.’”

Learn more about Hugh Thompson’s story, and the life he built in Louisiana as a retired soldier, in “The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story (Revised Edition)” by Trent Angers. The book is available for purchase at Acadian House Publishing, and through major online booksellers.

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Trent Angers can be seen beside boxes of research material on April 1 at Acadian House Publishing offices in Lafayette.

PROVIDED By TRENT ANGERS

Larry Colburn, from left, Mike Wallace, of CBS News, and Hugh Thompson visit DaNang, Vietnam, in March 1998, for a segment of ‘60 Minutes.’

Albert GaryBatten, of Metairie, Louisiana,passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on April 21, 2026 at the age of 89. Eldest son of the late Albert J. Batten &Keturah Batten of Paragould, Arkansas (of Batten's Donuts), beloved husband of Sonya, father to Jodi& Nicole (Todd), brother to Karen Planchard (Greg), Robert Batten (Jean), and Rick Batten (Sandy), grandfather to Sabrina, Reed, and Miles, and uncle to Chris and Brent. Adored for the last 37 years by his stepchildren David Lopp (Leslie), Aleece Gottfried (Harry), the late Aaron Lopp, also step-grandchildren Shayna, Lindsay,and Rachel. Gary retired at the ripe young age of 80 from Burns &Wilcox, after spending his entire career building highly successful businesses in the insurance industry. However, if you knew Gary, you'd know that over his esteemed 60year career the things he built that he was most proud of were his relationships. Gary was the quintessentialactive listener, always devoting time to mentor the next generation, keenly skilled at recognizing talent and supporting people to achieve their goals. Among his colleagues, he was known for his optimism, integrity, and his companionship with others in the business. Both personally and professionally, he touched and changed so many lives. Too many to count. Working at avarietyof jobs to put himself through college, Gary started at Ouachita Baptist University and graduated from Arkansas State University. His firstinsurance job brought him to Texas, but ultimately, Louisiana became home, spending the last 50 years there as an industry leader. Throughout his career, he prioritizedgiving back to his field as president of the 1752 Club and the Deep South Chapter of the CPCU Society and through his work with the Casualty and Surety Society of New Orleans, the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana, and the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Louisiana. Gary always made time for his daily visits to the Heritage Health Club and golf at Chateau Country Club. His Monday ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) lunches with dear friends were sacred to him. Gary was so grateful his six uncles survived World War II, so he became acharter member of the New Orleans WWII Museum. Atheater chair in the museum will be dedicated in memory of Gary and in honor of the brave servicemen in his family. Anyone wishing to make a donation can support that cause in his name. The family would like to especially thank "Dr. J", Georgia and the Fresenius Kidney Center for their amazing support over the past 2.5 years. And sincere gratitude to Dr. Monty Glorioso for his decades of loving care.

Aprivate, familygraveside service was held on April 24 at Hebrew Rest Cemetery No. 3. To view and sign the family online guestbook and share your memories of Gary, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.co m

nephews. Doris was blessedwith eight grandchildrenand ten great-grandchildren. The family would like to express our deepest gratitude to caregivers Donna Collins and Tammie Knight. Agraveside service will be held Monday, April 27, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Midway CemeteryinMeadville,MS under the direction of Newman Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Chustz, Brayson Michael

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Brayson Michael Chustz on April19, 2026. Brayson will be greatly rememberedfor the love of his family. Avisitation will be held at Wilbert Funeral Home, Port Allen on Monday, April 27, 2026, from 10am until Rite of Christian Burialat12pm, conducted by Father Jerry Martin. Interment willfollow at St. JosephCatholic Church Cemetery, Grosse Tete. Brayson is survived by his mother and stepfather, Whitney and Eric Chustz; father andstepmother, Brandon and Meagan Chustz; siblings, Brody Chustz, JamieChustz, Brook Daigre, Jamison Chustz, Hunter, Austin, Evanand Blake; grandparents, Robby and Cindy Angelloz, Jamie Chustz, and Priscilla Chustz; greatgrandparents, BonnieEdmonson, Jeanette Kline and Jeanette Chustz; aunts, Bethany and Michael Martello, Amy Angelloz and Roosevelt Jones, Brittany Chustz and fiancé Josh, and Paigeand Christian Mougeot; and numerous loving aunts, uncles and cousins. Brayson was alight to allhis family and friends. Pallbearers will be Brandon Chustz, Christian Mougeot, Jesus Marin, Brayden Stelly, Ethan Gaudet, Roosevelt Jones, MichaelMartello, and Evan Chustz. Honorary pallbearers will be Kasyn Davidson, Jamison Chustz, James Chustz, Jr.,Brody Chustz, and Robby Angelloz. In lieu of flowers, the family would like for donations to be made in memory of Brayson Chustz to North Iberville High School Football. Please share memories online at www.wilbertservices.com.

Cooper, Thayer Thomas 'Tom'

Thayer "Tom" Thomas Cooper was born on April 12, 1953 in Franklin,LA. He died April 11, 2026 at his residence in Denham Springs, LA. He is survived by his wife of 48 years Terry Cooper AMass will be held at OurLady of Mercy Catholic Church locatedat445 Marquette Ave in Baton Rouge on April 30th. Visitation will begin at 9AMwith mass at 10 AM. To seethe full obituary, please visit https://www.c hurchfuneralservices.com/ obituaries/thayer-cooper.

rang clear, "DARLING!," as he pulled you in for ahug Whether he already knew you or not was of no consequence. Matty never met astranger.

Born onMarch 30, 1975, he spent his life connecting others in love, friendship, and fun. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama but grew up in Marietta, GA. He served in the United States Navy from 1995 to 2000, achieving therank of Petty Officer Second Class. During his service, he was stationed aboard theaircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy(CV-67) and completed deployments to the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. Mattgraduated from UGA witha degree in Political Science in 2003. He relocated to Baton Rouge where he found a close-knit family of friends waiting for him there. He suffered tremendous heartbreak after the unexpected loss of his partner, Jay Fitzgerald,in2012 who he grieved for the rest of his life.

Mattyhad agift for making strangers feel like old friendsand friendsfeel like family. Whether it was asurprisingly delightful conversation in line, along night filled with cocktails and laughter, or asimple check-in call, he showed up fully, every time.

Those who knew him will remember his love of the arts, the finer thingsin life, his red scarf, acommitment to feelings over facts(always), and the importance of good company above all else. Our darling friend was quick to laughter and easily moved to tears. He moved through the world with an openness that made people feel seen, welcomed,and included —nosmall thing in aworld that forgets that's the whole point

Though his pathwas not always easy, he built a community of friendships that ran deep and true. Many of our best friends and our best memories exist because of him. We, his friends, are honored to carry his story forward.To know him was to be invited in.

Aprivate gathering for friends and family to celebrate his life will be held in Baton Rouge on Sunday, April 26. Those wishing for additional informationmay reach out throughmutual friends. Please come cry, laugh and share your stories with us as we gather to raise aglass to ourdarling Matty.

In his spirit,talk unabashedly to someone new. Stay alittle longer. Laugh alittle louder.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Matty's honorcan be madetoCompanion Animal Alliance, Opera Louisiane, or Baton Rouge General Foundation.

Fennell, Geraldine Laurent

Geraldine Laurent Fennell, 90, alongtime resident of Baton Rougeand Denham Springs, LA, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2026. Born on March 17, 1936, in New Orleans, LA, to Stephen and Marguerite Laurent, Geraldine grew up with astrong sense of family and compassion that would define her life. She graduated from Istrouma High School in 1954 and went on to earn her nursing degree from Our Lady of theLake School of Nursing in 1957. Geraldine began her distinguished nursing career as aregistered nurse in Labor and Delivery at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in downtown Baton Rouge. In 1968, she joined the team at Woman's Hospital when it first opened,continuing her work in Labor and Delivery. Later, she served with agroup of OB/GYN doctors -DrHaile, Dr. DiBenedetto and Dr. Broyles. Adedicated and compassionate nurse, Geraldine took immense pride in her profession, viewing it as atrue calling

made

Immaculate Conception

Church in Denham Springs

She found great joyingenealogy, spending countless hours researching the histories of both theLaurent and Fennell families. She also delighted in crocheting, gardening, collecting antiques, attending LSU baseballgames, and—most of all—spending precious time with her large and loving family. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert (Bob) W. Fennell, Sr.; her parents, Stephen and Marguerite Laurent; and her siblings, Leopold and Marshall Laurent, Marguerite Foor, NaidaMae Altazin, and Nelda Coffee. Geraldine is survived by her seven children and their spouses, Bobby and Liz Fennell, Alan Fennell, Tom and Theresa Fennell, Diane and Jim McMahon, Brian and Gracie Fennell, David and Lisa Fennell, and Ron and Elena Fennell; 15 grandchildren, Joshua Fennell, Jennifer Reynolds, Melissa Brumbaugh, Jason Fennell, Matthew Fennell, Erin Larsen, Lauren Rube, Caitlin Miller, Spencer Fennell, Angelle Herman, Meghan Case, Rebecca Kirkland,Michaela Fakes, Adriana Fennell, and Gianna Fennell; 26 great-grandchildren, with two more expected;and numerous nieces and nephews. The family extends heartfelt thanks to thestaff of La Plantation, Garden View Assisted Living, and Clarity Hospice of Baton Rouge. Special appreciationgoes to nurses Paulette, Tammy, and Shelbyfor their compassionate care. Much gratitude as well to devoted caregivers Breonna, Latesha, and Mary for their kindness and comfort to Geraldine and to Anna Mae and Gloria, for their support and presence during the past year. Visitation will be held at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA,on Sunday, April 26, 2026, from 5pm until 8pm, and will resume on Monday, April 27, 2026, from 9am until religious services at 10am. Burial will immediately follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Josh Fennell, Jason Fennell, Matthew Fennell, Spencer Fennell, Vincent Musso, and Chad Laurent. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are requested in Geraldine Fennell's honor to the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Nursing Scholarship Fund (formerly Our Lady of the LakeSchoolofNursing). Contributions may be made online at franu.edu/ giving or mailed to FranUNursing Scholarships, 5414 Brittany Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808.

Antoinette "Toni" Trosley Foster went to join our Holy Lord on April 22, 2026. She went peacefully in her sleep with her husband of 73 years, Frederick Donald Foster by her side. She was born on October 23, 1935, in Wood River, Illinois, but settled in Baton Rouge in 1969. Avivacious personwho lit up the room with her smile and laughter,she never met a stranger. She was the hub of the family and gave her all This in-

family gave all to everyone. This included being afantastic daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, mother-in-law,and friend. She had an enormousheart and gave freely of her time and talent to her family and community. She served as aCub Scout den mother, Brownie Leader, homeroom mother, volunteer at church and for the American Cancer Society. The talents she possessed were innumerable. They included being afantastic cook and seamstress. She enjoyed life to the fullest enjoying tennis, golf, mahjong, bridge, and traveling just to name afew. There was nothing sheenjoyed more or would not do for her family. She will be sorely missed by her family and all who had the pleasure of meeting her. She waspreceded in death by her parents, Sam Trosley and Mary Tomlanovich Trosely; and sister Barbara Tomlanovich Scheihing. She is survived by her son, Dr. Tom Foster and wife Shannon Freneaux Foster; daughters, Cathy "Cat" Foster Pitre and husbandMichael Pitre, and Lori Foster Craig and husband Jeff Craig; grandchildren,Lauren Foster Hounshell (Adam), Tyler Foster (Emily), Brett Foster, Claire Garrett, Danielle Pitre Peterman (Robbie), Stefan Pitre (Tiffanie), and Kara Pitre; and greatgrandchildren are Madilyn Hounshell, Connor Hounshell, Addyson Hounshell, Patrick Foster, Carter Aucoin, Norah Pitre, Millie Pitre, August Pitre, and Gideon Peterman.A Private Memorial Servicewill be held for her family.

Sr., Dick Huntington

Dick Huntington Hearin, Sr., alifelongresidentof Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died peacefully on April 23, 2026, surrounded by his family. Dick was born on April 16, 1934, and had just celebrated an extraordinary 92 years. Dick was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 35 years, Victoria Chiles Hearin;his grandparents, Stella and Sol Barman, andEthel Lytle Hearin andDon Bussy Hearin, Sr.; his parents, Hazel and Don B. Hearin, Jr.; his brother, Don B. Hearin III; his son, Dick Huntington Hearin, Jr.; his grandson,Maxwell Mayer Preis; his stepdaughter, Susan Pierson of New Orleans, Louisiana; and his granddaughter, Anna Pierson of Phoenix, Arizona. Dick wasa truepatriarch and mentor who adored his family and took great responsibility for building ties andlifelong friendships, both personal and professional. He enriched the lives of all those he met through his knowledge of art, history, music business, and travel, exploring his passion for famous gardensworldwide. Of course, none weremore meaningful than his own, where he shared hislifelong love of nature andthe stately Southern oaks to which he had been rooted

stately which he had been rooted since childhood. Dick grew up on Claycut Road near Ward's Creek and attended Andover Academy in Massachusetts, before transferring to Darlington School in Rome, Georgia. He attended Louisiana State University and then transferred to Georgia Tech whereheearned his engineering degree. He began his career in 1956, working alongside his father, Don B. Hearin, Jr., at Hearin Tank Lines, continuing afamily business that dated backgenerations in Baton Rouge. Thefamily's early business history, shaped by perseverance through the Great Depression, evolved into alongstanding relationship with Standard Oil. Building on this relationship with Standard Oil/Exxon,hedeveloped Sunniland Pipeline Co. in Florida in 1965. Dick expanded his focus into real estate and business development as Managing Partner of Hearin Properties. He also played an important role in Louisiana's banking community, serving on the board of Fidelity National BankofBaton Rouge andcontinuing as a director of Hibernia National Bank following its merger. He played akey role duringthe merger of Hibernia and Capital One when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005. He was instrumental in the formation of Episcopal High School and the Hilltop Arboretum. Dickissurvived by his devoted wife, Janet Pierson Hearin, with whom he shared the last 31 years; his daughter, Victoria Hearin (Richard) Preis; his son, John O. (KK) Hearin; and Charyl B. Hearin; as well as his stepchildren,Lauren Pierson (Renny) DeVille, Kristin (John) Falgout, Jim (Karrie) Pierson, and John (Liz) Pierson. His grandchildren, who were forever touched by his role in their lives, include Mellie (Trevor) Bailey, Huntington (Hannah) Hearin, Charlotte Hearin, Victoria Hearin, Jack Hearin, Sam Hearin, Thomas Hearin, Jordan (Michelle) Hultberg, Richard (Kelsey) Hultberg, KK Hultberg, Matt (Rosie) DeVille, JohnMichael Falgout, David (Sophie) Falgout, Paul(Evan) Falgout, Rachel (Philip) Moody, Katherine (Jack) Lydiatt, Joe Pierson,Caroline Pierson, Renee Pierson, and Jane Pierson; and his adored great-grandchildren, Rafe and Wade Bailey, Emery, Josh,Maren and Henry Hultberg, Murphy, Dean, Noah, andTheo Falgout, and Tripp and Anne Marie Moody. Services celebrating the life of Dick Hearin will be held Monday, April 27, 2026, with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. until the Requiem Service at 11:00 a.m. at St. James Episcopal Church. Burial will follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. It is with the highest regard and gratitude that the family acknowledges the years of expert and compassionate care provided by Drs. Chastain, Broussard, Shoenfeld, LaVie, Hathorn, Annaloro, Pearce, and Couvillion, as well as the team at Pinnacle Hospiceinhis final days. The family extends their heartfelt appreciation to their dedicated friends and caregivers whoprovided compassionate, loving care and support during his life andfinal years: Father Donald Blanchard, Father Chris Duncan, Michele Meier, Janice Murphy, Shantel Duncan, Kendrick White, and Day Simmons. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Cen-

Batten, Albert Gary

Hearin

Foster, Antoinette Trosley 'Toni'

Legleu, Joseph Stanley

Joseph Stanley Legleu

was born on September 25, 1945, to Clovisand Sophie Legleu in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the youngest of nine children and, by all accounts, aman who spent the rest of his life making sureeveryone around him felt likefamily. Stan was aproud graduate of Baker HighSchool and studied at LSU before serving honorably in the United States Army Reserves. Stan went on to build adistinguished career in the ChemicalIndustry through hard work, earned knowledge, and unwavering integrity, becoming atrustedleader and mentor who believed deeply in people, opened doors for others, and inspired lastingloyalty in those who hadthe privilege to work beside him.

On November 23, 1968, Stan married his sweetheart, Linda Chauvin, at St. Pius CatholicChurch, a love story that would span 56 years and alifetimeof memories.Together they raised three daughters: Kerri, Kori, andKandice, and built ahome that was always open, always warm, and always full Stan had agift for fatherhood that extended well beyond his own family. In every sense of the word, Stan was the Gleu that bound people together. Stan is survived by his beloved wife, Linda Chauvin Legleu; his children, Kerri and Mike Neal, Kori and Michael Buxton, Kandice Legleuand Scott Allen; grandchildren Jordan &Riley Neal, Ashton Legleu, Kylie &Cameron Reed, Josie Neal, Lanie Neal, Gabe &Karli Buxton, Abigail &Jobi Riggs,

Zachary Buxton, greatgrandchildrenHarper Reed and Ella Buxton; hissister Connie Legleu; and awide circle of nieces, nephews, and friends who were lucky enough to know him

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clovis and Sophie,and hissiblings Kenneth, Betty, Lois, Ruth, Ruby,Pete, and Jack. Visitationwillbeheldat St. TheresaOfAvila CatholicChurch, 1022N Burnside Ave, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737, on April 27, 2026,beginning at 9:30 am, with the Funeral Service to followat11:00 am.

Anativeand resident of Donaldsonville enteredinto her eternal rest on April 19, 2026 at OLOL Hospitalin Baton Rouge at the age of

66. VisitationatDemby& SonFuneral Home on Sunday, April26thfrom4-6pm. CelebrationofLife services on April27that11am St Philip Baptist Church, Modeste. Interment St.Philip BC cemetery.

Valerie is survived by her childrenIsaac Phillips Jr.(Bianca) and Brittany Phillips,fivegrandchildren Tyrae, Maliyah,Brayden, Blake and Mitchell Jr., one greatgrandson Torin, one brotherLeonard Stevenson (Joann), one brother in law, Melvin Philip,one sisterinlaw, Catherine Stevenson, alongwith a host of family and friends. Arrangementsentrusted to Demby& SonFuneral Home

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OPINION

OUR VIEWS

In adifficult week, La.leaned on law enforcement

Amidday mass shooting at theMall of Louisiana in BatonRouge, athwarted attack planned againstafestival in New Orleansand adomesticviolencetragedy in Shreveport —all show just how much we relyonlaw enforcement officers to respond when our communitiesare threatened day after day In the mall shooting, tworival groups opened fire Thursday in afood court gunfight caught on surveillance cameras. When it wasover, five people were injured,and Martha Odom, a 17-year-old Lafayette student,was dead. She and severalofthose in thelineoffire were young people who were justout enjoying time with friends when shots rangout.We pray for the injured and mourn theloss of life.

Reports of an active shooter circulatedasofficials from the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office moved quickly to secure the scene. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse vowed to find those responsible and bringthem to justice. But the violence shatteredthe sense that there is any place immune from the epidemic of gun violence plaguingour society

Meanwhile, an attack in New Orleansallegedlyplanned by aNorth Carolinaman who threatened to commit amass shootingata festivalwas averted after amulti-state investigation involving the FBI, the LouisianaState Police andothers. Officials announcedWednesday they had asuspect in custody inFlorida.With Jazz Fest set to start the next day,the city was already seeing enhanced security It was family members whoalerted law enforcement that Christopher Gillum, 45, aformer policeofficer, had made threatsagainst Black people and seemed to wanttoharm himself. On April 21, avehicleregistered to Gillum was spottedbyalicenseplate reader in Okaloosa County,Florida, and he was later arrested. Though the technology makes some uneasy, it’s hard to deny that this is an example of theeffectiveness of cameras used in policing. We so often have to lamentmissed signs or lapses in our defenses,sowemustpraise when behind-the-scenes police work pays offinabig way. And let’s not forget, theweek startedwith a domestic violence tragedyinShreveport that left eight childrendead. In that case,officers wereable to track the suspect to two homes and locate him before he could endangerothers. The Shreveport Police Departmentand other first responders were left to process the grisly scene even as more homicides in thefollowing days added to their load. Over the past week in Louisiana, we sawlaw enforcementgrapple with some of the mostdifficultsituationsimaginable.Ifwehaven’tsaid it lately, they deserve our thanks. But police alone will not be enough to prevent thesesorts of things from happening.Wemust work together to stand against violence.All of us must remain caring,compassionateand vigilant.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

Sometimes, theLegislaturegets it right. That’swhat happened Thursday when aHousecommittee batted back abill thatwould have increased secrecy in the search for executivesatpublic universities in the state State Sen. Mark Abraham’s proposal would have created new exemptions in public records law for materials related to searches for top jobs,including presidents, chancellors, deans and coaches. Abraham, aLake Charles Republican said he was worriedthe statewould struggle to attract qualitycandidates if it couldn’toffer them conﬁdentiality in the search. The bill passed out of the Senate withonly two no votes. But after he spoke with this newspaper’sSam Karlin and beforethe bill was debated in the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs, Abrahamamended his bill to makeit slightly less troubling.

the bill’sopponents—which include good government and media organizations —and rework it. The committee’smove is worth celebrating. Louisiana’spublic universities are, you know,public. They are directly supported by taxdollarspaid by Louisiana residents. Secrecy is not just contrary to their mission, it’s contrary to their identity Thursday’smove wasn’tthe ﬁrst timethe specter of increased secrecy has raised its head, and it won’tbethe last.

Higher education leaders in this state have long sought to shield their actions from public scrutiny —remember the LSU presidential search that ended with thehiring of F. King Alexanderin 2013? Media organizations had to sue to getthe namesofﬁnalists in that case.

Instead of keeping all applicants’ information secret,the new version would have required universities to releasethe names of at leastthree ﬁnalists for the job. That was an improvement, but it wasn’tenough. Committee members even suggested Abrahamconvene with

More recently,LSU handed over the entireprocesstoselectafirm to develop itsnew arena to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, which, as aprivate entity, is not subject to public records laws. That process ended with the public knowing only two of the more than 19 firms thatexpressedaninterest. And the founder and then-CEO of the selected firm, OakView Group, was later indicted on acharge of bid-rigging in Texas (he was eventually pardonedby President Donald Trump).

When big decisions about public entities move behind closed doors, people become understandably cynical. Abraham’sisn’tthe only bill trying to ramp up secrecy around public university expenditures. Another one would exempt from public records the amount of public dollars paid to college athletes through revenue sharing, another bad idea that should be kicked into the sun. Unfortunately,that bill has passed the House and is headed to the Senate. It’strue that higher education is an increasingly competitive realm. Hiring good leaders is important. And sometimes that talent would prefer that process proceed wholly in secret. Abraham’sbill, which could comeback with new amendments, would have served that end, without question. But it wouldn’thave served Louisiana’staxpayers. If acandidate is truly interested, they shouldn’tbescared of public accountability.Props to the legislators on the committeefor recognizing that.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Elections always spur aﬂurry of opinion.

We have readers who will write supporting their preferred candidate or cause. And candidates who want to write letters to reach their voters.

With theupcoming party primaries on May 16, we have published manyletters from readers about the candidates. In general, we allow letters that

qualifying period. We have run letters from presumed candidates before the qualifying period, even if they have stated they will run. Often incumbents in ofﬁce write letterstoreach their constituents. Andwebelieve it is important for readers to hear those messages. Butonce they have qualiﬁed to run for reelection, we consider their letters as part of their campaign. the record.

That’swhy once early voting starts, we do not run letters about candidates. Early voting in this election begins May 2.

Turning to our letters inbox forApril 16-23, we continue to receive ahigh volumeofletters during the legislative session. This week, we counted 72 letters from readers and 10 of those had to do with bills being considered in the Legislature. Of those 10, eight letters were about the effort to consolidate courts in New Orleans. Outside of the legislative session, we received ﬁve letters about the warinIran and two letters about the closed primary system Speaking of that, we will continue publish letters about the process of voting throughout the election period. We would love to hear from you about your experiences when you vote in the May 16 primary.Let us know what worked and what didn’t.

Email Arnessa Garrett at arnessa.gartt@theadvocate.com

Arnessa Garrett

Faimon Roberts

Abraham

COMMENTARY

Senate candidates should go positive,and local

In the home stretch of theRepublican primary for U.S.Senate, all three major candidates can and should do better at focusing more on what’s important at home in Louisiana.

They also should “close the deal” in convincing voters that their conservative philosophies can serve, and have served, those local concerns. Consider,for example, an agreeable exchange at an April21 hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions between chairman Bill Cassidy, the incumbent in Louisiana’srace, and Health& Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr Cassidy was pressing Kennedy to make sure his bureaucracy ﬁnishes the last part of the technical approval process for how Louisiana will use federal money for Medicaid health services. The rules were changed in last year’sso-called “Big Beautiful Bill” in ways that could reduce federal payments, but Cassidy successfully inserted a28-word sectioninthe bill that essentially

“grandfathers in” some existing arrangements. Result: Louisiana avoids losing hundreds of millions of dollars for several years running as the state transitions to thenew rules.

is odd.

Most of Louisiana’s transition plans have been approved bythe feds, but one remains. Kennedy told Cassidythe senator could “call me at anytime to make sure it’shappening.”

On one hand, this involves a lot of complicated policy wonkery.Onthe other hand, thebasic fact is simple enough for one sentence: Cassidy,byusing his knowledge andhis chairmanship, is saving Louisiana—its patients, its medical personnel andits related businesses and jobs —vast amounts of money

Yetwehaven’tseen asingle word aboutthis from Cassidy’s reelection campaign. This is strange. The adagethat “all politics is local” may overstate thecase, butitremains true that much ofpolitics must remain local to beeffective. Acampaign where candidates fail to tout their own home-state accomplishments

Yetasmycolleague Stephanie Grace opined last week, the three major candidates are spending far too much time portraying the others as supposedly “liberal,” and by extension not enough toutingtheir own bona ﬁdes as conservatives and as servants of their own home state.

It’snot just Cassidy failing to boast about his crucial Medicaid provision, nor about how his legislative and medical expertise on multiple fronts is helping Louisianawhile giving the Trump administration conservative blueprints for nationwide reform.Itis his challenger,Rep. Julia Letlow, saying almost nothing about her work on what invariably is described as “the powerful Appropriations Committee.”

Rarely do House membersas junior as Letlow get slotsonthat prestigious committee, but she impressed enough people to garner that position and surely must have used it to beneﬁt Louisiana (or,asa conservative, to save federal tax dollars overall).Well, if so, let’shear speciﬁcs about it, and about how it shows she has theright stuff to represent Loui-

sianans in the Senate. Likewise, as Letlow has amuch shorter political resumethan her opponents, can she show conservative accomplishments from her career in Louisiana academia? Did she perhaps boost civic education or moreclassical education at her colleges? Didshe work to promotevocational education in ways that the Republicans’ bluecollar constituency would appreciate? We don’tknow,because her campaign and her bare-bones website don’teven feature an “issues” page. Yetthat’sthe sort of substance that could help counter Cassidy’sattacks. The third major GOPcandidate, statetreasurer John Fleming, has less money forthe airwaves, but his website does morethan the other two candidates to emphasize aconservative record that would appeal to Republican primaryvoters. Even there, though, morespeciﬁcs could drive his point home about how his record showsconservative successes forLouisiana and the nation. For example, he brags abouthaving co-founded thevery conservative House Freedom Caucus when he was in

Congress, but what did the group actually accomplish?

Likewise, how has Fleming’s work as state treasurer saved Louisiana taxpayer money or shownhow he can “deliver” for Louisiana as senator?

This matters. Granted, it’strue that inspirational “big picture” messages or,conversely,major attacks on opponents, can be effective scene-setters in tough campaigns. Yetdecades of political observation impels the conclusion that the closer Election Daycomes, the morevoters care about how their vote will directly affect them and their immediate communities.

For aRepublican contest, the candidate whocan best meld these twoarguments together —the home-state focus and the conservative effectiveness —can ﬁnish surprisingly strongly in the primary and carry momentum into an expected runoffcampaign.

All three candidates could have positive stories to tell. Now’sthe timetotell them.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin hillyer@theadvocate.com

Don’tdismiss idea of Landrieu runningfor president

Mitch Landrieu may runfor president in 2028. Or,hemay not.

After CNN publisheda story saying he was testing the waters, the former New Orleans mayor said he isn’tputting together acampaign at this point, but acknowledged thatheis“thinking about it.”

Just the possibility was enough to get local tongues wagging. And as you’d expect, there were strong opinions on the“go for it” side, andalso in the “you’ve gottobe kiddingme” corner

knowshow to build bridgeswith moderates andconservatives, as any successful Democrat in ared state must. Remember, Louisianans elected him statewide notall that long ago, even if the era when that was possible feels like ancienthistory today

Afew words to those in the latter camp: Don’tlet familiarity blind youtowhat Landrieu, 65, brings to the national conversation.

For one thing, he’sanexceptionally skilled communicator.He turned the dry-sounding “budgeting for outcomes” meetings he held while mayor into riveting viewing: Landrieu listened to each person’squestion, wrote it downonapad and then ended by addressing each questioner personally with both empathy and speciﬁcs.

And though people around here were mostly worn out by thetime the last of the Confederate monuments came down, his stirring ﬁnal speech was aviral sensation

It would be easy to say he was preaching to the Democratic choir back then, but Landrieu also

His resume is long and impressive in scope. He spent 16 years in the Legislature, where he was aleader of abipartisan reformcoalition; six years leading tourism, culture andrecreationaslieutenant governor;and twoterms as the mayor whopickedupthe pieces after Hurricane Katrina and guided the city notback to what it was but forwardtoward what it would become next. In the Biden White House, he handled the implementation of the administration’shuge infrastructure bill.

And there’sone more thingthat makeshim apotential playerin thewide-open ﬁghtfor theDemocratic nomination: He’sbeen studying the landscape, andhas a theory of the case that resonates in the current context.

These days, Landrieu is co-chair of Democratic SuperPAC called American Bridge. Hisparticular pieceofthe political puzzle is trying to understand why Democrats “got our asses kickedacross the board” with self-describedwork-

ing-class voters, andwhatmight make them give the party another look In focusgroups andpollingof the same people over time, he said in an interview, these people described themselves as notmiddle class—“they have alittleextra” —and notpoor people whotake “handouts.”

“Wedon’t have anything. We can’t breathe, we can’t make ends meet,” Landrieu said he’d hear This is whysomanyofthose folks gravitated to DonaldTrump, even if they might wellhave supported Barack Obama or

Joe Biden, Landrieu said; it was because Trump said he’d lower costs, cutinﬂation, stay out of foreign wars. He listened as some who wanted to give Trump the beneﬁt of the doubt decided, “Man, this feels nasty.”

“People are going: ‘Weare out of balance. We have lost our common sense. We are tired of hating our brothers and sisters at the dinner table andour aunts and our uncles at Thanksgiving. We don’tlike that,’” he said.

Landrieu recognizes that Democrats have abad rap with alot of

these folks. “They think we’re weak. They think we’re woke. They think we’re ineffective,” he acknowledged.

So how does he propose to counter that?

“Well, what you do is you win,” he said, “This was the opinion they had about us 15 months ago. But since that time, we’ve been winning (elections). And when you start winning, people start thinking you’re strong.” He also thinks Democrats need to be careful how they handle cultural issues.

“They would say to us, ‘Listen, we’re not homophobic or against immigrants. We’re not against trans kids. But quit talking about that every day.Just talk about cost. That’swhat we care about,’” he said.

“And by the way,they feel like all of us have violated the promise that we have made. Icall it the covenant, where, in America, if you get up every day and you work your ass off, you’re going to have ajob and be paid enough money and give your kids abetter future than you have. And they feel like they can’tdothat anymore.”

“They’re not caring about whether it’sDemocrat or Republican,’”hesaid. “They want that to change.”

Email Stephanie Graceat

Shreveport is whywecan’t stay silent when facedwithred flags

What happened in Shreveport aweekago was shocking to nearlyeveryone. Hardly anyone but the most evil, cold-blooded among us can hear about the killing of childrenand not wince. Many of us didmorethan that. If we didn’tcry,tearswelled up in oureyes, as they did mine.I shook with chills. Ihad aquickseries of tremors. Waking up Sundaymorning to the news that one, two, three, four,ﬁve,six,seven, EIGHT children had beenkilled by asingle perpetrator was something we weren’t prepared for as we startedour days. As night became daybreak and regular churchgoers like me prepared to go to our houses ofworship, Ibet Shaneiqua Pugh and Christina Snow were praying, praying that the Lord would spare them and their children from aman they onceloved. Shamar Elkins shot Pugh, his wife;Snow and eight children that morning. Seven of them were his own. An eighth child was their cousin, his nephew.Shaneiqua Pugh, Snowand athird woman, KeoshaPugh, were still in thehospital as ofThursday night.

journalists’ digging, Elkins may not have had along rap sheet with regular reports of domestic abuseand domestic violence, but there weresigns that something was off. Elkins was marriedtoPugh and hadchildren withher.Hehad arelationship with Snow and had three children with her.Heshot all 10, and he injured asister-in-law and another child. These children won’tsee another day:

n Sariahh Snow,11

n Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10 n Layla Pugh, 7 n Kayla Pugh, 6 n KhedarrionSnow,6

n Shayla Elkins, 5 n Braylon Snow,5 n Jayla Elkins,3 It was the deadliest mass shooting in the nationinmore thantwo years. It was the largest mass casualty since the Bourbon Street incident on Jan. 1, 2025, an event that took thelives of 14 people.

It’s unclear how much timepassed as Elkins shot and killed victim after victim in Shreveport,but it was about 80 minutes or less.

In neither of thesecases was the killer arrested, charged and convicted. In each case, the perpetrator died as the incident ended. It’s frustrating to watch situations like these,suggesting thatsomeone,somewhere, should’ve seen redflags that might lead to something sinister There is no guarantee red flags will prevent harm. But that’snoreasontoignore them. That’slike you telling adoctorabout ongoing chestand arm pain and shortness of breath, and the doctor suggesting that you drink some water and take anap rather thancheck to seewhether aheart attack might be in theoffing.

amurder-suicide in 2014 near Shreveport after he had been released from jail, only days after she sought aprotective order against him.

In this instance, there were red flags, signals and warnings that aman behind bars was so intent on causing harm that he killed GwenSalley the first chance he had. Red flags mean nothing if we don’tacknowledge them when we see them andsay something. That starts with us. We allget angry,disappointed, frustrated and upset for avariety of reasons, not the least of whichare feelings of being unappreciated, disrespected and unloved.

Elkins’ proﬁle is developing as Shreveport police continue to investigate one of ournation’sworst ﬁlicides. Based on lawenforcement reportsand

The French Quarter New Year’s Day mass shooting made international news after Shamsud Din-Jabbar,42, drove arented Ford pickup truck along the world-famous street. In only15seconds,onasingle street, he killed 14 people.

Istrongly support theworkofdomestic violence counselors, social workers and organizations to prevent physical and verbal abuse and to interrupt these behaviors before theyare passedontofuture generations. These health professionals and volunteersregularly look for redﬂags. I’m glad theydo.

Remember Gwen Cox Salley? She’sthe reason Louisiana has alaw allowing judges to sethigher bail conditions for those arrestedondomestic violence charges. Her estranged husband shot and killed herin

There’snoone person, no one group responsible for catching the red ﬂags that caused GwenSalley’sdeath, the deaths of Din-Jabbar’svictims and the deaths of Elkins’svictims. Each of us, individually,isresponsible for our own self-control, regulating our emotions and seeking help if and when we know something is off.

We’re also responsible for speaking up whenwesee red ﬂags.

Think about and remember Sariahh, Mar’Kaydon, Layla, Kayla,Khedarrion, Shayla, Braylon and Jayla.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate. com.

Quin Hillyer

Will Sutton

Stephanie Grace

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

In 2022, Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu speaks during anewsbriefing at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Big fall lands Nussmeier with Chiefs

Quarterback was last of seven LSU picks

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

There are draft-day surprises, and then there’s what happened to Garrett Nussmeier Nussmeier, the LSU quarterback who widely was expected to be selected in the second or third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, fell past the third round of picks on Friday and then the fourth, ﬁfth and sixth on Sat-

Fitzpatrick brothers enter Zurich record books

Brothers take commanding lead into final round

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Softened by an inch of rainwater from an early morning thunderstorm that swept through New Orleans the TPC of Louisiana rarely has been less imposing than it was Saturday

ä Zurich Classic

NOON SUNDAy, GOLF CHANNEL

With the wind stiﬂed, the greens holding and the players allowed to lift, clean and place their balls, the course was laid bare for the ﬁeld of 35 two-man teams in the third round of the Zurich Classic. And no team took advantage of the optimal conditions more than Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick.

Feeding off each other’s aggressive play during the best-ball format, the Fitzpatrick brothers shredded the course for 13 birdies and an eagle en route to a tournamentrecord score of 15-under 57 to take a commanding four-stroke lead into Sunday’s ﬁnal round.

“Amazing day,” said Matt Fitzpatrick, after sharing a celebratory hug with his father, Russell, outside the scorer’s tent. “It probably hasn’t sunk in yet how well we played. It was just hole after hole.”

The Englishmen’s three-round score of 30-under 186 is also a record since the tournament went to a team format in 2017.

“Playing alongside my brother, who happens also to be one of the best players in the world, is pretty fun,” said Alex, who is playing under a sponsor’s exemption. “When he’s playing well, it’s pretty cool to watch.”

Two teams are four shots back at 26

ä See ZURICH, page 4C

urday He wasn’t chosen until the Kansas City Chiefs decided to scoop him up with the 249th overall choice — the 33rd pick of the seventh round.

Nine quarterbacks and six LSU players were selected ahead of Nussmeier

Four of those former Tigers heard their names called Saturday: tight end Bauer Sharp, wide receiver Barion Brown, linebacker Harold Perkins and Nussmeier Sharp, Brown and Perkins all went in the sixth round. Sharp was the No. 185 overall selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Brown went ﬁve picks later to the New Orleans Saints; and Perkins was the

second-to-last pick of the round, going No 215 overall to the Atlanta Falcons. Overall, LSU had seven players selected in the draft Cornerback Mansoor Delane was the lone Tiger picked in the ﬁrst round on Thursday going to the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 6 overall pick. Two LSU players were taken in the third round on Friday, when the Indianapolis Colts took safety AJ Haulcy with the No. 78 overall pick, and the Chicago Bears drafted wide receiver Zavion Thomas 11 picks later Entering the 2025 season, Nussmeier was

Dawn would not yet have broken in north Texas when John Tyson would hear the familiar sounds of a garage door jolting to life, the hum of a car engine, the garage door sliding back down the tracks and coming to a rest sometime around 5 a.m.

That would be his teenage sons, Jaylon and Jordyn, beating the sun to their local Lifetime Fitness. Later, John would hear the garage door open again, marking his sons’ return for a quick breakfast before they headed to school.

This is the easy way to explain how one family produced two ﬁrst-round draft picks — Jaylon, the 20th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, and Jordyn, whom the New Orleans Saints selected eighth overall Thursday in the NFL draft.

Jordyn Tyson poses for a photo after being selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints on Thursday in Pittsburgh. AP PHOTO By BEN LIEBENBERG

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Matt Fitzpatrick lines up a putt on the first hole during the Zurich Classic on Saturday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale.

ä See TYSON, page 6C

ä See LSU, page 6C

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier looks to make a pass at pro day on March 23.

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Injury couldbeneﬁt2027LSU rotation

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU’sworst fear on themound hasbecome true.

Cooper Moore is out for the year.The junior right-hander,who exitedhis startagainstOklahoma on March 20 and hasn’treturned since,will undergo season-ending surgery to repair afracture in his right elbow,LSU coachJay Johnson conﬁrmed to The Advocate on Monday

Basically,Moore has astress fracture at the tip of his elbow Johnson said he’ll need four-to-ﬁve months to recover from the injury

“The thought was he could throw through it,” Johnson said on his radio show,“but what this does is it allows him to recoupa medical redshirt and allows him to still be ajunior next year.”

The big question remaining for Moore is whether he’ll be back in the purple and gold next season.

The Kansas transferisdrafteligible in July,even if Johnson said Monday that he will be back in 2027.

“He’llbeback and pitching for LSU next year,” Johnson said, “and he’ll still have the junior leverage type deal in the draft.”

The risk of taking Moore in the draft is substantial because ofhis injury and the fact that he threw only eight inningsinSoutheastern Conference play. Buthe did have an impressive campaign last season at Kansas, andheposteda 3.38 ERA this year withjustseven walks in 32 innings before getting hurt.

Moore doesn’thave the biggest frame and isn’tthe hardest thrower on the staff, but he pounds the strike zone and has one of the best changeups on the team. Thatskill setwas supposed to be asteadying force for ayoung rotation this season.

“There’snot as many spots in pro baseball, and if he’snot able to pitch, it harms that,” Johnson said Tuesday.“Iguess somebody could

LSU pitcher Cooper Moore delivers apitch against Sacramento State in

Box Stadium.

ä Fora fullreportof LSUatMississippi State. GOTO THEADVOCATE.COM.

takehim,but you’re takinghim with no pitching on thehorizon “I know our conversations, and that’sall Ican go off of.”

LSU would beneﬁt from having Moore back forthe same reasons that he was valuabletothe Tigers this season.The trio of sophomore right-hander Casan Evans Moore and sophomore righthander William Schmidt gave LSU its deepest starting rotation in Johnson’stenure —three true starters for aprogram that usually operateswith only two.

Next year,LSU will hope

Schmidt andEvanstakesteps forward in their development Bothhaveshowedﬂashes of their immense potential this season. Schmidt has67strikeouts in 50 innings. Evanshas 76 strikeouts in 522/3 innings, although he was scratched from his Friday start againstMississippi Statewith arm soreness. Finding consistency next season will be thekey to their success.Evans hasa 5.47 ERA, while Schmidt gave up seven earned runs in his last start against Texas A&M. “I thinkifweget alittle bit more out of our starters, nota lotmore,” Johnsonsaid, “(combined) withthat contribution (from the bullpen), we’re going to be in games.”

Given that LSUwill need to replace most of its lineup next season,it’sapromisingsignfor Johnson that hisstarting rotation maybeset for 2027. Starting pitching is what won LSU anational championship last season, and it hasguidedthe program through its highest highs since 2023, when the Tigers arguably had the best college pitcher of his generation in Paul Skenes. Moore’sinjury, and Evans and Schmidt’sgrowing pains have resulted in LSUtaking astep back in thatdepartment this year.But for2027, Johnson potentially has found himself in an unprecedented spotwith his starting rotation since he’sarrived in Baton Rouge —all threearms coming back for another year

Benson backsDumarsamidsweepingchanges

LSU softball team falls to Mississippi State LSU’shopes of evening its SEC softball series against Mississippi State got offtoagood start when Sierra Daniel hita one-outhome run in the ﬁrst inning.

But things turned sour for the Tigers (32-16, 9-11 SEC) as the Bulldogs answered with ﬁve in the bottom of the ﬁrst in a5-2 victory on Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi. LSU, which lost Friday’sseries opener 5-3, can salvage agamein the series when the teams meet again at 11 a.m. Sunday

The Bulldogs (32-16, 8-12) started their half of the ﬁrst with apair of singles off Cece Celura (6-5) before PaigeErnstes hitathree-run homer fora3-1 lead. After an LSU ﬁelding error,Xiane Romero hit a two-run shottoright to make it 5-1. That was more than enough for Bulldogs pitcher Peja Gold (15-9), who went the distance and struck out 11.

Packersreceiver Reed signs $50.25M extension

Green Bay Packers wide re-

ceiverJaydenReed has signed a three-year contract extension with $50.25 millioninnew money and $20 millionguaranteed.

Reed would have been entering the ﬁnalyear of his rookie deal this season if he hadn’tagreed to an extension.

The 2023 second-round pick from Michigan State hascaught 138 passes for1,857 yardsand 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 310 yards andthree more scores over his first three seasons. He playedjustseven games last season because of ashoulder injury and had 19 receptions for 207 yards and one touchdownplus three carries for 28 yards.

After getting hurt Sept. 11, Reed underwentsurgeries on his shoulder andfootlater that month, and he didn’tplay again until Dec. 7.

Rockets coach: Durant’s status unclear for Game 4

Houston coach ImeUdoka said SaturdaythatinjuredstarKevin Durant was doing better but his status forGame 4against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night was still unclear with the Rockets facing elimination.

Durantmissed Game 3witha sprained left ankle Friday,when the Rockets blew asix-point lead withless than 30 seconds to go in regulation of an eventual 112-108 overtime loss to fallto0-3 in the ﬁrst-round series. Durant, 37, missedthe opener of theseries becauseofa bruised right knee. He returned forGame 2, scoring 23 points in 41 minutes of the 101-94 loss, during which he injured his ankle late in the game.

Reds slugger Suárez put on IL with oblique strain

JoeDumars, when asked two weeksago what his message to frustrated New Orleans Pelicans fans would be, had this to say: “Weare going to build. We aregoing to win.” Building isn’talways easy.Neither is winning Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes it takes making changes. In the case of the Pelicans, it may take alittle bit of both The Pelicans’24th season ended two weeks ago withalosingrecord and the team sitting at home for the playoffs.

The Pelicans have finished under .500 in all but eight of their seasons. They’ve won just two playoff series and never have advanced past the first round. Dumars, whojust finished his first year as the team’s executive vice president of basketballoperations, wants to changethat So does team owner Gayle Benson.

“Our focus remains steadfast,” Benson said in astatement to The Times-Picayune onFriday. “Putting atop-tier product on the court and working tirelessly towards achampionship. Anything less is simply unacceptable.” Benson said she is fully committed to Dumars’ vision.That vision has beenunder scrutiny ever since Dumars was ﬁrst hired last April.

The criticism started with Dumars being hired just two days after Benson fired David Griffin. The criticism grew even more when Dumars traded away the team’s2026 first-round pick dur-

ing last year’s draft to select Derik Queen. The noise has grown deafening over the past two weeks as Dumars began making sweeping changes in the organization.

Several team employees were told they were notgoing to be retained. The cuts affected allaspects of theteam. Assistant coaches Jarron Collins, Casey Hill, Corey Brewer and Jordan Maguire were let go with theircontracts expiring.Several members of the medicalstaff, including head athletic trainer TomMaystadt, won’t be returning.

The changes also included members of security as well as longtime equipmentmanager David “Big Shot”Jovanovic. Jovanovic,who hasbeen with the team since it arrived in New Orleans in 2002, deserved to go out on better terms. Hopefullythe team makes sure “Big Shot” gets aproper farewell someday Change, much like the Pelicans’ history,isn’talways pretty Dumars’ plan is to reset the culture for afranchise with along history of losing. The Pelicans ﬁnished 26-56 this season,the third-worst record in an 82-game season in franchise history Dumars spent much of hisﬁrst yearinNew Orleans assessing every area of the team with the intention of making changes where needed. He could have

come in andmadesweeping changesbefore thestart of the season. Instead, he decided to use his ﬁrst season to observe.

“You can’t skip thisstep of ﬁguring outwho youare andwho exactlyisinthe building,”Dumars said.

Now some of thepeople who were in the building won’t be anymore.

Benson backs Dumars in whatever he wants to do to getthings turned around.

“I wanttoafﬁrm my unwavering support for Joe Dumars,” Benson said. “The decisionshe hashad to makeoverthe past year andjust recently wereincredibly tough, yetnecessary as we evaluate the best path forward for long term success.”

Despite speculation on social mediathatthe ﬁrings arefor costcutting measures, Benson insists that is notthe case.

“Joe is adedicated leader who hasmycomplete trust andaccess to allofthe necessary resources he needs,” Benson said. “There arenoﬁnancialconstraints when it comes to building awinning team. Any suggestion or comments otherwise is completely false.”

According to asource familiar with thechanges, some of the positions that were terminated could be filledasearly as this week.The assistant coaching positions, however,won’t be filled until the team hiresanew head coach.Dumars begantalkingto candidates this week for the head coaching position, according to a source familiarwiththe search James Borrego, whoserved as interim coach after Willie Green was fired, is oneofthe candidates

for the job.

The team plans to ﬁll all of the vacantpositions except two. Those two positions are ones where theduties included traveling between New Orleans and Birmingham for the G-League team. With the Birmingham Squadronrelocating to Kenner, those two positions are no longer needed

Soon,Dumars will have all of his people in place. Once that happens, we’llget amuch better idea of what direction the franchise is headed under his leadership.

“I really want to win for (the fans),” Dumars said in that news conference.

Dumars said he saw the potential during his ﬁrst season.

“I was not only impressed, but intriguedatwhat this can be here,” Dumars said. “… We don’t believe we are that far away from winning.”

Pelicansfans have heard similarpromises before about how close theteam is. The results just haven’tbeen there. As the fans’ patience and pocketbooks continue to gettested, their skepticism grows.

It’suptoDumars to change that.

But in order to change things, sometimes you have to change things.

That’swhat Dumars is doing. Will it work? Will he be able to geteverybody on the same page andget thefranchise pointed in the right direction? Time will tell.

One person who’salready onboardisthe woman who hired him.

“I am fully committedtothat vision,”she said.

The Cincinnati Reds placed designated hitterEugenio Suárezon the 10-day injured list on Saturday, retroactive to April 23, with amild leftoblique strain. Suárezwas scratchedfromthe lineup for Friday night’sseries opener with the Detroit Tigers. Nathaniel Lowe replaced Suárez as DH and homeredtwice in the gameincluding atwo-run, walkoff homer in the Reds’ 9-8 win. Suárez, whosignedaone-year, $15 million contract with the Reds in February,isbatting .231 with three homers, three doubles and 11 RBIsin25games. Suárez spent eight seasons in Cincinnati before being traded to Seattle in 2022. In related moves on Saturday, theRedsoptionedright-hander Kyle Nicolas andrecalledrighthanderJoseFrancofromTriple-A.

Illnessforces Swiatek to withdraw from tourney MADRID Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Madrid Open because of an unspeciﬁed illness while playing her round-of-32 match against American Ann Li on Saturday Li got the walkover win when the fourth-ranked Swiatek withdrew with Li winning 7-6 (4), 2-6, 3-0. Swiatek,the 2024 Madrid champion, requireda medical timeout while down 2-0inthe deciding set. She returned to thecourt but called it quits after Li held serve. The Polish star beat Daria Snigur in straight sets in her secondround opener on Thursday Li, who is ranked No. 34, recorded asecond career win over atop10 opponent.She will face Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16 of the Madrid Open.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

the fourth inning on March 7atAlex

Benson

Dumars

Rod Walker

THE VARSITYZONE

Dunham quarterback Elijah Haventakes off his jacket to reveal his commitmenttoAlabama during an event at Elite TrainingAcademy in Baton RougeonSaturday.Haven chose AlabamaoverGeorgia.

Haven choosesTide

Nation’s topQBsayscoachingstability at Alabamamadedifference

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven, the nation’stop-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2027, sat with his family every night this week mullinghis decision:Alabama or Georgia?

On Friday night, after along talk with his family,the ﬁve-star quarterback made up his mind.

On Saturday,Haven stood before acrowd of kidsatayouth camp he hosted and unzipped his black jacket to reveal his commitment to Alabama.

“About last night, just sat down with the family,trust my instincts, trust my heart,” Haven said about why he decided on Alabama. “What we thought aligned, and so we’re ready to rip the Band-Aid off.”

The6-foot-5, 215-pound quarterback broke several state records this past season, including singleseason records for touchdown passes(62) and total touchdowns (73) and career touchdowns with 180. His season culminated in aDivisionIII select state title.

He said he’shappytomakethe decision and gear his focus on his ﬁnal season of high school football.

“It’sdeﬁnitely arelieving feeling to get this done,” he said. “I feel like Ican put my focus on what really matters, the team, andmylast high school season.”

He discussed his decisionat Elite Training Academy in Baton Rouge after hosting ayouth football camp there.

Haven said the biggest factor in his decision to commit to the Crimson Tide was the stability offered by the coaching staff.

“It got crazy in the process, with coaches moving to different

“I felt like they were the most consistent. We had the longest relationship.That ultimatelyled to my decision. Bamajust felt like home.”

ELIJAHHAVEN, Dunham quarterback

schools, getting ﬁred fromjobs,” Haven said. “Bama was just the most consistent, and we were able to build avery strong relationship with them.”

On Jan. 16, Havenwhittled his choices to four schools:Alabama, Georgia, Floridaand Auburn. Florida and Auburn both fired their head coaches this past season, andHaven cut his list down to the Crimson Tide andBulldogs.

“That was ahuge issue for us,” his father, Kwame Haven, said. “I telleverybody who is willing to listen that the most important part for me was stability and development.”

LSU and PennState aretwo other schoolsthat offered Haven and underwent recent coaching changes.

“Alabama, as well as Georgia, were the top two that offered that,” Kwame Haven said. “With Alabama recently extending coach (Kalen)DeBoer,the signs were pointing that this is meant to be for Elijah’s decision.”

DeBoer signed aseven-year, $87.5 million contract, announced by Alabama on Wednesday

“Coach DeBoer is great,” Haven said. “He’sgotten to know me and my family really welloff the ﬁeld.”

Havenpointed to Alabama’s quarterback development, too, citingTySimpson being drafted in theﬁrst round of NFL draft by the LosAngeles Rams

Havenprioritizedhis family in therecruiting process. Alabama made it apriority to gettoknow his entire family,hesaid.

Havensaidthe coachingstaff rememberedhis younger brother’s name, Emmanuel, when he took visits to the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, campus.

“Thatmeans alot to me,” Haven said. “My family being apart of this is something Idon’t take lightly.For them to not only prioritize me,but my family as well, that deﬁnitely set them apart ”

He saidGeorgia did agreat job recruiting him, but the longevity of hisrelationship with theCrimson Tide coaching staff led tohis decision.

“I felt like they were themost consistent,” Haven said. “Wehad the longest relationship. That ultimately led to my decision. Bama just felt like home.”

Dunham coach Neil Weiner, whocoached former LSU cornerback and current Houston Texan Derek Stingley,offered guidance in helping Haven with hisrecruitment

“Every story’salittlebit different,” Weiner said, “but at the end of the day we just want the best thingthat’s for the kids. Ijust try to help listenand provide alittle guidance where they need it.”

Weiner acknowledged how Haven chosetocommit to Alabama, arival school of the university in his own backyard —LSU.

“It’ssomething thatheprays about,and it’s something that he putsa lot of thought into,” Weiner said. “He’s very analytical about it. Ithink he’sreally at peace with that. He realizes he’snot turning his back on anybody,he’sjust opening his arms up for adifferent community.”

Port Allenhires Boudreauxascoach

BYJACKSON REYES Staff writer

Port Allen High Schoool announced Harold Boudreaux as its next boys basketballcoach on Friday night in aFacebook post. Boudreaux, who played at LSU from1989-92, was most recently the head coach of Southern Lab, where he led the Kittenstoa1613 record and Division IV select championship appearanceasthe

Walker’s ace Coombs shuts down Live Oak Wildcats complete series

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

The Live Oak baseball team brought anever-say-die mentality into Friday night’splayoff gameatWalker,but the seventhseeded Wildcats had an ace in the hole. That ace, sophomore pitcher Ethan Coombs, kept Live Oak in checkall night and gave the Walker hitters morethan enough timetodotheir part. In the end, Walker finisheda two-game sweep of its Division Inonselect series with a 9-1 win at Walker Coombs retired the first nine battershefaced before giving up LiveOak’s only hit of the night, MacBeadle’sleadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth. The Eagles put two more runners on base via awalkand ahit-by-pitch, but Coombs escaped when Isaac Ott’sflyball to leftwas just short of the fence forthe third out. Coombs setdown the next five batters, and relievers Kade Thomas andArlan Oliviercombined to record the final four outs. “Wehad agame plan. It was to just throwstrikesand let (Live Oak)hit,” said Coombs, who improved to 6-0. “I did that to the best of my ability. Igave it all for my team.The offense behind me, thedefense behind me —I couldn’tbehere without them.”

Seventh-seeded Walker (27-9) took Game 1onThursday 5-4. On Friday, the Wildcats scored ﬁrst with two runs in the top of the third. They led3-1 through ﬁve innings, and broke the game open with six runs in the sixth.

Walkeradvances to face No. 2Sam Houston, which compled atwo-game sweep of No. 18 Haughton with a7-3 victory on Saturday For No. 23 Live Oak (18-20), the

loss ends aseason in which the Eaglesfinishedona high note.

The Eagles won their last six regular-season games to earn a spot in the playoffs and defeated District5-5A rivalPrairievillein the opening round of the playoffs.

“I’ll be honest, Idon’tthink our (overall) record speaks for our team,” Live Oak coach Cary Myers said. “The last 11 games our guys fought like it wasa totally different season.”

Live Oak started Colt Childres on the mound, and he worked out of jamsinthe first two innings afterWalkerput two men on base each time. Walker broke through with tworuns in the third. Walker put runners at the corners with ahit-by-pitch and abunt single. From there, the Wildcats manufactured two runs on astolen base, agroundout and asacrifice fly

The teamsmatched single runs in the fourth inning before Walker pulled away with asix-run sixth. The Wildcats sent 10 batters to the plate andtook advantage of ﬁve hits and three walks. The big blowswere back-to-back triples by Owen Jeansonne and C.J. Martin.

“The exact gameplan we had, we executed it,” Walker coach Mike Forbessaid. “Weput ourselves in position to score runs allnight. We didn’t alwaysget the job done, but when you keep putting yourself in situations, eventually theodds are in your favor to get abig hit. We were able to bust it open there in the sixth.” Walker’sJeansonne and Karter Hebert each had twoRBIs, while Jake Rappold ﬁnished with three.

Nonselect

Division I

No. 8Hahnville 4, No. 16 Central 3 No. 5St. Amant 8, No. 4East Ascension 2 No. 10 LiveOak 10, No. 2Sam Houston 4 No. 3West Monroe 11, No. 11 Barbe 4 Semifinals No. 5St. Amant vs.No. 8Hahnville,Friday No. 3West Monroe vs.No. 10 LiveOak, Friday Division II Quarterfinals No. 1North DeSoto 9, No. 9Pearl River 1 No. 5Iota 3, No. 4North Vermilion 0 No. 3Brusly 10, No. 6Lakeshore0 No. 2Lutcher 14, No.7Grant 4 Semifinals No. 1North DeSoto vs.No. 5Iota, Friday No. 2Lutcher vs.No. 3Brusly,Friday

No. 6seed “Weare excited for the experience, passion,and winningtradition coach Boudreaux brings back to Port Allen High School!”Port Allen High wrote in the Facebook post Boudreaux takes over aPelicans program that finished 18-11 and

lostinthe secondroundofthe Division III nonselect playoffs last year He has coached for24years with stops at Southern Lab, McKinley and Brusly Boudreaux led Southern Lab to a state title winin2022. He also led the Kittens to astate title appearance in 2025. He will now takeover aprogram that won four straightstate titles from 2020-23.

Division III Quarterfinals No. 1Jena 5, No. 8Berwick 0 No. 5Sterlington 16, No. 4Winnfield1 No. 3French Settlement4,No. 6Pine Prairie 2 No. 2Kaplan 4, No. 10 Doyle 3 Semifinals No. 1Jena vs.No. 5Sterlington, Friday No. 2Kaplan vs.No. 3FrenchSettlement, Friday Division IV Quarterfinals No. 1LaSalle 3, No. 8DeQuincy2 No. 4Logansport 15, No. 5Merryville 0 No. 11 Grand Lake 3, No. 3Lakeside1 No. 2Oak Grove11, No. 7Oakdale0 Semifinals No. 1LaSalle vs.No. 4Logansport, Friday No. 2Oak Grovevs. No. 11 Grand Lake Friday Select Division I Quarterfinals No. 1Mount Carmel 3, No. 8Alexandria2 No. 4John Curtis 9, No. Ponchatoula3 No. 3Chapelle

Boudreaux

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

LEARNMORE

Casan Evans LSU Baseball, Pitcher

Sundayin

WEATHER

ZURICH CLASSIC

FROM THEGALLERY: WEATHER, TICKET,TV, PARKINGINFOFOR FINALROUND OF THEZURICHCLASSIC

LEADING/LURKING

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Two-man teamsplaythe following

TICKETS/PARKING

TV/STREAMING

Avondale: Hit and hope Morning clouds with good chance of scattered afternoon thunderstorms.Winds south8-14 mph. High 84.

With arecord-breaking 15-under 57 on Saturdayinbestball, brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick have a54-hole score of 30 under going into Sunday’s final round of foursomes. Theyhold afour-shot cushion over Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer (the second-round leaders) and Davis Thompson/Austin Eckroat —both at 26 under

format:

Thursday: Four-ball (best ball)

Friday: Foursomes (alternate shot)

Saturday: Four-ball (best ball)

Sunday: Foursomes (alternate shot)

Daily tournament tickets are $45 each. Activemilitary are admitted free, as are children under 15 with paying adultatthe Lapalco Boulevard gate only. Public parking is at NOLAMotorsports Park,11075 Nicolle Blvd., with an entrance near the third green.

ESPN+ is streaming its finalround coveragestarting at 8a.m. Sunday. Golf Channel begins itscoverageatnoon, withCBS starting at 2p.m.

Golferstakingadvantage of theirexemptions

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The five players who got into the Zurich Classic of New Orleans ﬁeld via sponsor’sexemptions all made the cut Friday and will each pick up acheckatthe end of Sunday’sﬁnal round at TPC Louisiana.

While most of the attention this week has gone to 54-hole leader Alex Fitzpatrick and 18-year-oldphenom Blades Brown,South African Casey Jarvis was in thespotlight Saturday Jarvis was paired this week with Canadian A.J.Ewart,and the duo carded an 11-under 61 in the best-ball format aftershooting 64 in best ball on Thursday.They shot 69 in foursomesFriday and with Saturday’ssolid round are tied for 10th with ascore of 22-under 194.

That’snot bad considering the pair never had met until Tuesday when Jarvis,who plays on the DP World Tour,was added to the ﬁeld after missing the cut at theMasters.

“I was kind of left stranded without apartner,and the Tour informed me about Casey playing and if Iwould want to play with him,” Ewart said. “I didn’thesitate.” Neither did Jarvis

“Obviously,Imet A.J. on Tuesday …and felt like it was love at ﬁrst sight,” Jarvis said with alaugh. Hotstarts

Saturday’sthird round produced early fireworks as morningrain gave way to clearing skies andlit-

ZURICH

Continued from page1C

under,includingthe pairingof Alex Smalley and HaydenSpringer,who entered Saturday’sround with aone-stroke lead.Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat arealso at 26-under 190. Butthe Fitzpatrick teamwill enter Sunday’salternate-shot competition as the prohibitivefavorites, especially afterposting around of 7-under 65 during alternate-shot play Friday

Play begins Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

The leaders tee off at 12:50 p.m.

“I don’tthink we can takethe governor switch off (Sunday),” Smalley said. “Like Tiger (Woods) said, he wanted to be aggressive to conservative targets, soI think we’ll pick out good targets (Sunday) and try to hit the best shots that we can.”

While Zach Bauchou delivered the shot of the day with aholein-one on No. 3, Matt Fitzpatrick produced perhaps the most pivotal shot on the 492-yard,par-4 No. 12. His 284-yard drive left him 210 yards from the green, and he stuck a5-iron approach shot within 5feet of the hole. His birdie putt gave the Fitzpatricks the outright lead for the firsttime in the tournament and fueled afurious finish that saw them birdie fiveofthe final six holes

“It was an amazing day out there,” Alex said. “Wegot to like (hole No.) 14, and it was like, yeah, we’re going back to Mr.B’s (Bistro). We’ll probably stick with what we did the other night.” This wasn’taone-man show either.Matt, the world’s No. 3-ranked player,carded six birdies and an eagle at No. 7, but Alex, who is playing on asponsor’sexemption, had seven birdies of his own.

“He was brilliant today,” Matt said of Alex. “… Ifelt like we were almost one player in away Iwas helping him on the greens He was giving me the opportunity to be aggressive into thepins andstuff.”

NOTEBOOK

tle wind bythe time theﬁrst players teed off shortly after 10 a.m.

It didn’ttake long for fans to be rewarded with theﬁrst big shot of theday,which Zach Bauchou provided at the198-yard, par-3 third hole

Taking deadaim at theﬂag, Bauchou landed his tee shot just below the hole. After twolittle bounces, theballdoveintothe cupfor the tournament’sninth ace overall —and just the second at No. 3— since the Zurich Classic wenttoa team event in 2017.

It was theﬁrst hole-in-one in this tournament since Eric Cole carded one at No. 14 in the ﬁrst round in 2024.

Nice carry-over

Max McGreevy and Kevin Roy were also hot earlySaturday as they opened with abirdie-eagle showing after starting their third round on the backnine.

It continued asigniﬁcant turnaround for theduo, whowere on the vergeofmissing the cut late Friday afternoon. But McGreevy’s clutch 291/2-foot birdie puttonthe ﬁnal holeearned them aspot for theweekend,making the cut right on the number at10under

Starting their third round on the back nine,McGreevy madea61/2foot birdieonthe par-410th, and Roy canned a35-foot eagle putt at the par-511th toget to 13 under for the tournament. They wereonly 5under for the ﬁnal 16 holes,however,shooting an 8-under 64.

Alex Fitzpatrickswingsonthe first green during theZurich Classic on SaturdayatTPC Louisiana

Alex and brother Matt Fitzpatrick shredded the course for13birdies and an eagle en route to atournamentrecordscore of15-under 57 to takeafour-strokelead into Sunday’s final round

“Playing alongside my brother,who happens also to be one of the best players in the world, is pretty fun.When he’s playing well, it’s pretty cool to watch.”

ALEXFITZPATRICK, golfer

The heavy storms forced tournament officials to delay tee timesbyacoupleofhours Saturdaymorning. Because of thesog-

gy playing conditions, preferred lieruleswere implemented, allowing players to clean, lift and place theirballs beforeshots.

“Itwas very gettableout there,” MattFitzpatrick said. “If youdrive the ball (well), you can be aggressive to these pins. Thegreens are soft, andthey’re pure, as well, so youcan make putts andbeaggressive.The score was deﬁnitely there, and obviously it’snicefor us to do that.” Alex said he was awakenedby lightning at 7a.m. andthought play might getcanceled because the storm was so intense.

“Honestly,I didn’tknow if we were going to playornot when Ilooked outside,” he said. “But coming out here anditbeing soft, especially in thefour-ball format, you knew you were going to have some opportunities. Icertainly didn’tthink we would have the score we have. We deﬁnitely exceeded our expectations.”

Bauchou produced the shotof the day when he carded aholein-oneonthe 212-yard, par-3 No. 3tobrieﬂyput his team in the lead early in the round. It was only the ninth hole-in-one since thetournament went to ateam format in 2017.

STAFFPHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

in Avondale.

ScottRabalais

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

SamStevens, left, and Zach Bauchou, right, wait to putt on the ninth holeduring the Zurich ClassicatTPC Louisiana in Avondale on Friday.OnSaturday,Bauchou recorded ahole-in-one.

OUTDOORS RARE BIRDS

BY JOEMACALUSO

Contributing writer

Joseph Guercio grew up bird hunting. He saidhis father took himinto doveﬁelds and duck blinds throughout his formative years

Yetitwasn’tuntil his college days that his healthy pastime became apassion

“A friend at LSUbrought me to south Texas for aquail hunt and that sealed the deal for me,” Guercio said. It turnedout to be more than aone-thing-led-to-another scenario that led the 30-year-old to take the reins —along with others —inthe rebirth of the national Quail Forever’sAtchafalayaRegion Chapter

Before he knew it, Guercio said he was asking questions, talking to older hunters in search of other bobwhite quail hunting grounds and, ﬁnally,buying an English setter

“She (his setter) sealed the deal for me,” he said. “(Lyla) opened up aworld of bird hunting. She is adog bred to point and hunt and Iwould do her adisservice notto work her and get her into the ﬁeld.”

Other than maybe adozen hunting preservesinthe state and southwest Mississippi, quail hunting is an afterthough in the state. Like most southern states, hunting “wild” quail is amemory —adistant memory in Louisiana. Quail populations are so low that southern states have banded together to fund aKnoxville, Tennessee-based study to increase numbers.

MONDAY

RED STICK FLYFISHERS

FLY-TYING SESSION: 7p.m., Bluebonnet Regional Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge. Open to thepublic. Materials and tools available for beginners. Website: www. rsff.org

TUESDAY-THURSDAY

STATECOMMERCIAL FISHING

LICENSES: 8a.m.-3:30 p.m., 468 TexasGulf Rd., Bourg New or renewallicenses &boat registrations. Also (closed Noon-1 p.m. all venues): 9a.m.-3:30 p.m., May 4-5, 1025 TomWatson Rd LakeCharles; 9a.m.-3:30 p.m., May6-7, 200 Dulles Dr., Lafayette. Call LDWF (225)765-2898.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

FFI GULF COAST CLASSIC:

9a.m.-5 p.m. daily,Gulf State Park Learning Campus, Gulf Shores, Alabama. Seminars, casting clinics, ﬂy tying, exhibitors. FlyFishing Film Festival May2.Gulf Coast Council of Fly Fishers International event. Website: www fﬁgulfcoastclassic.com

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

LA. HIGH SCHOOL &JUNIOR

BASSMASTER STATECHAMPIONSHIP: Doiron’sLanding, Stephensville.

HUNTINGSEASONS

TURKEY: Area A, through May 3; Area B: through April 26; Area Cclosed. SQUIRRELS: May2-24, statewide, privatelands only

Habitat loss is themain factor in the decline, and somehunters and landowners believe invasive species like ﬁreants invading nests has contributed.

About 10 years ago, folks olderthat Guercio,men whose fathers took them on quail hunts50, 60 and 70 years ago, believed Quail Forever,along with federal and state initiatives, could help bring wild quail backto Louisiana.

In theinterim, the U.S. Forest Service’seffort to bring back long-leaf pine in theKisatchie National Forestand Wildlife and Fisheries’ efforts on the Sandy HollowWildlife Management Area have shown some increases in quail numbers.

Still, theoriginal Atchafalaya Chapter founders knew that wasn’tenough. They knew some members had aged out of thisvolunteer movement andCOVID-19 had scattered others.

Thenextstepwas torecruit Guercio, whowill serve in the president’sspot along with new ofﬁcers Joseph Ruocco,Scott McKinzie, Peter Broderick and Dane Murphy,who will work with Quail Forever regional rep Jason Kindall. Guercio said all of what’s happened in thepast few years “checked two boxes for me.”

And, like other ownersof pointers, setters andBrittany spaniels —the upland-game working dogs Guercio said there is athrill

NOTEBOOK FISHINGRESULTS

Livingston (4) 7.11. 2, Nathaniel Watts, Livingston (4)3.65. 3, Blake Harper, Livingston (1) .71. Big bass: Nobile, 2.38. Adult division: 1, Ben Nobile, Livingston (5) 13.16. 2, JakeRichard, Port Allen (5) 10.55. 3, Henry Giluso, Hammond (5) 9.43. Big bass: Nobile, 4.87. Bassmaster Elite MUSKOGEE, Okla. Final top five from the four-dayGamakatsu Bassmaster Elite held on the Arkansas River with anglers, their hometowns, number of bass weighed in parentheses (five-bass daily limit), total weight in pounds andounces and prizewinnings. Also listed are Louisiana anglers, thebig bass and contingency winners. The top 50 in the 101-angler field moved

AROUND THECORNER

MAY4-7 —NATIONAL R3 SYMPOSIUM: Hilton Downtown, Des Moines, Iowa.Focus on recruitment &retention,and Reactivation of hunters/recreational shooters &wildlife conservation withstate, federal, NGO,industrypartners.Website: cahss.org/ symposium

MAY5—GULF COUNCIL SSS COMMITTEEMEETING: 7:30-11:30 a.m (CDT), virtual meeting to review gulf ﬁshery independentsurvey forabundance by species in Gulf of America. Website: gulfcouncil.org

MAY6-9 —NRA AMERICA’S RIFLE CHALLENGE MATCHDIRECTOR SUMMIT: Camp Atterbury,Indiana. Club and range volunteersincomprehensive instruction on safe, efﬁcient &engaging conduct of range competitions. Call NRA Public Affairs (703) 267-3820. MAY7—LA. WILDLIFE& FISHERIES COMMISSIONMEETING: 9:30 a.m JoeHerring Room, state Wildlifeand Fisheries headquarters, Quail Drive, Baton Rouge

FISHING/SHRIMPING

MAY1—OPENING DAY/ PRIVATERECREATIONAL RED SNAPPER SEASON: Daily with 4-per-daycreel limit with 16inch minimum size “keeper” restriction.

SHRIMP: Special inshore whiteshrimp season through May10 from Atchafalaya River Ship Channel west to Freshwater BayouCanal;inshoreseason closed in Zones 2&3&portionsofZone 1 except Breton/Chandeleur sounds. All outside waters open.

in seeing their dogs work aﬁeld.

“Wejust want to get (the dogs) on somemorebirds,” he said. “Weneedtoget focused on habitat, andwith habitat comes more birds and more opportunity to hunt andtogiveLyla, abig dog who likes to hunt,the ability to enjoy the quality of life she deserves.”

That said, the newly formed committee wants to engage more upland bird hunters andwillholda meetand-greet Five-Stand Clays Shootout at 4p.m. May 6at theBridgeview Gun Club in PortAllen.

It’s to benefit the Atchafalaya Region Chapter.It’s an individual competition —noteams —and theearly rounds will determine qualiﬁers for a“top-scorer shootout.”

There will be food, drinks anda rafﬂefor guns andgear valued at more than$300. Participants must provide their owngun, ammunition, protective eye and earwear.

Thechapterhas set afundraising banquet on Aug. 27. For details, email Guercio: ch3089@qfofﬁcers.org

It’s back

The private recreational red snapper season opens Friday.This state-managed season is open tostate-certiﬁedcharterboat operations, but charterboatswith federal permits willhave to wait until June 1toﬁsh.

Theseisafour-per-day limit. Red snapper must measure aminimum of 16 incheslongduring the seven-day-a-week season.

to the thirdround, and the top 10 advanced to the ﬁnalround: Top5: 1, JacobFoutz, Philadelphia, Tennessee (20) 72 pounds,4ounces $100,000. 2, Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minnesota(20) 65-7, $20,000. 3, PatSchlapper,Eleva, Wisconsin (20) 64-10, $15,000. 4, Jason Christie, Dry Creek, Oklahoma (20) 63-8,$12,500. 5, Fisher Anaya,Eva,Alabama (20) 63-0, $11,750. Louisiana anglers: 25, Caleb Sumrall, New Iberia(15) 42-3, $6,000. 30, Tyler Rivet, Raceland(15)40-6, $5,500. 52, Greg Hackney,Gonzales (10) 26-6 Phoenix Boats BigBass: Cole Sands Johnson City,Tennessee, 6-13, $2,000. Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag: Seth Feider,ElkoNew Market, Minnesota, 21-3, $2,000.

OPEN RECREATIONAL SEA-

SONS: Gray triggerfish;flounder; lane, blackfin, queen and silk snappers &wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed for goliath &Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.

CLOSED SEASONS: Red

snapper; greater amberjack; blueﬁntuna; gag, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/ federal waters. Commercial greater amberjack season closed.

LDWF UPDATES

n Possible daily closures of Fort Polk-North Wildlife Management Area and Fort Polk-Vernon WMAbecause of militaryactivities. For updates go to website: home. army.mil/polk/my-Fort-Polk/ fort-Polk-hunting

n Closed: Hope Canal Road/ boat launch (Maurepas Swamp WMA, levee construction) EMAIL: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com

Guercio, left, the incoming president of the AtchafalayaRegion

chapter,poses with his dog, Lyla, and Joseph Ruocco, the incoming

reviving after COVID-19, will have ameet-and-greet and five-stand ClaysShootout

BridgeviewClub in Port Allen on May6

Showingthe way

NorthPass, an area most folksknowasPass Manchac, hardly draws atop-anything spot in thelistoftop bassﬁshing areas in our state.

Thenthe JuniorSouthwest Bassmasters shows up and shows us why it’s an annual stop on their ﬁshing calendar

Last weekend, 24 club members showed up at the NorthPasslandingalong with theiradult guidesand provedthatbass have re-

covered from the hit fish populations suffered from Hurricane Ida.

It’snosecret this area opensthe door to fishing the marshes between Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain and to the handful of nearby rivers and bayous bordering the twolakes.

The bass were hungry and thebiggest problemwas catching alargemouth long enough to meet the club’s12inch minimum size “keeper” rule amidst windy and choppy conditions, club reporter

Jim Breaux said. In all, ﬁve of thenine listed among the top three in the trio of three-year age groupings weighed afive-bass limit.The adultguideshad limits, too, withBen Nobile’s 13.16-pound catch leading the way there, and Aiden Giluso’s8.65-pound limit takingthe topspotamong the young anglers.

Breaux said the crew reported catching bass on topwaterlures,spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, softplastics and crankbaits.

CJ PATT ON General Manager

STAFFPHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

Joseph

Quail Forever

treasurer.The chapter

NFL DRAFT

Saints lean offense in draft, trade for defender

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Mickey Loomis went into this year’s draft hoping the New Orleans Saints would get faster

But to select three prospects with 40-yard dash times of 4.4 seconds and under, plus another first-rounder in Jordyn Tyson, who looked equally as explosive on tape? Well, not even the longtime general manager expected that.

“I think we drafted a heck of a relay team if we wanted to go that route,” Loomis quipped.

The Saints completed their second draft class under coach Kellen Moore on Saturday and this year’s class had one consistent thread: Get Tyler Shough more help Loomis said the Saints’ eight selections weren’t entirely made with the second-year quarterback in mind, but the numbers certainly reflect that idea. Five of the selections came on offense: Tyson, third-round tight end Oscar Delp, fourth-round guard Jeremiah Wright, fourth-round wide receiver Bryce Lance and sixth-round receiver Barion Brown from LSU.

The Saints drafted as many wide receivers (three) as they did defenders.

That followed an aggressive free agency period that saw the Saints revamp their rushing attack

“When you go through that postseason evaluation, and you start looking at, ‘OK, here’s the holes we need to ﬁll’ there was just more on offense as it turned out,” Loomis said. “So, some years, it’s offense Some years, it’s defense. So this year, it was offense.”

In addition to trying to jolt an offense that ranked 28th in points per game last year, the Saints also spent Saturday attempting to bolster their defensive line. New Orleans acquired edge rusher Tyree

LSU

Continued from page 1C

considered one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class and a potential ﬁrst-round pick. But a mysterious torso injury hampered his play as the Tigers limped their way to a 7-6 campaign.

The NFL Network revealed on Monday that Nussmeier’s abdominal pain resulted from a cyst on the quarterback’s spine. The discomfort it caused, he said, started during the second day of the preseason and lingered for the rest of the year Nussmeier said he still wasn’t 100% by the time he spoke with reporters in January at the Senior

TYSON

Continued from page 1C

The kids knew how to work

“Theworkiswhatthisfamilyalways drives back to whenever it’s time for usto make a move or do something that people outside of it say is extraordinary,” John Tyson said.

But success rarely can be wrapped up so tidily Dedication can take a young person places and lay a strong foundation, but it’s not enough to complete the equation.

The full picture of how Jordyn followed Jaylon’s footsteps into the first round is neither linear nor without its complications That was plain enough for anyone to see when watching Jordyn Tyson’s emotional reaction to learning he was drafted.

The tears flowed because it wasn’t that long ago that Tyson was unable to envision this sort of future for himself, because getting to this peak required some time spent in the valleys.

“I wasn’t supposed to be here,” Tyson said. “I was 5-foot-4 my sophomore year (of high school). I had no work ethic until my junior year It was not supposed to be here without God blessing me with an amazing family and amazing support system.”

He had to ﬁnd himself in the signiﬁcant shadow cast by his brother He had to prove himself when there were few big-time Division I football programs offering him scholarships. He had to learn how to pick himself up when injuries got in the way time and again

The garage door opened and closed hundreds of times in the dark, early mornings. The work got Tyson to New Orleans But there is so much more to his success, and it all starts back in the home he shared with his family

were showing “strong interest” in acquiring New York Giants edge Kayvon Thibodeaux. But the deal for Wilson likely quiets that speculation as he will join a pass-rushing rotation that includes Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Chris Rumph.

The Saints consistently were mentioned in trade rumors throughout the draft, but Loomis was emphatic the team did not actively pursue trading up from the eighth overall pick. He said the team received calls from teams above them who were interested in trading down, but that the cost for the Saints to move up was too high.

“I never made one call to move up from eight that was completely untrue,” Loomis said.

Instead, the Saints did not trade up in the draft for the second straight year They stood pat, taking chances on developmental prospects such as Wright and ﬁfthround safety Lorenzo Styles, the brother of incoming Washington Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles.

— two perceived knocks on the executive — so there shouldn’t be any questions. He said he felt “really good” about the class, even if the Saints didn’t address every need. Loomis, for instance, said he would have thought before the draft that they would have addressed Taylor’s departure earlier than they did. But Loomis was confident enough in the team’s evaluations, despite some of the Saints’ prospects carrying questionable medical histories.

Beyond Tyson’s well-documented injury history of a torn ACL (2022) and hamstring injury (2025), second-round defensive tackle Christen Miller has had shoulder injuries. Styles also is coming off shoulder surgery that will keep him out at least until training camp.

Loomis said there’s “risk” in every player, but the Saints have a vision for what they can do at the next level. For this year’s class, that involves helping the Saints get faster

Wilson the seventh overall pick in 2023 — from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a fifthround pick (No. 150). As part of that deal, the Saints received a seventh-round pick, which they used to draft Iowa cornerback TJ Hall. Loomis said they had long liked the 25-year-old edge rusher and are hoping to replicate the success they found by previously signing Chase Young, another high-end prospect who hadn’t exactly delivered on massive expectations entering the NFL But compared to Young, the

Bowl. He also noted that the injury affected his mechanics and that he needed to retrain them “from the ground up.”

In his first season as a starter in 2024, Nussmeier threw for more than 4,000 yards with 29 touchdowns before his numbers cratered during an injury-plagued final season with the Tigers. He averaged 6.7 yards per pass attempt and had only 12 touchdown passes. Nussmeier wasn’t the only Tiger who had to wait to hear his name called Saturday LSU did not have any players selected in the fourth or fifth rounds, and it wasn’t until the Buccaneers selected Sharp with the 185th overall pick in the sixth round that an LSU player finally came off the board.

“We’re just regular people doing extraordinary things,” John said.



When the Saints selected Jordyn on Thursday night, the conversation swiftly turned into a debate about risk and reward. His talent is bright and never has been questioned. He possesses rare qualities that are hard to ﬁnd in one person because they run counter to each other — speed and savviness, suddenness and ease, instinct and understanding. He has superstar traits.

But

But the injuries. There’s the risk. A torn ACL ended his freshman year at Colorado, and cost him most of his second season at Arizona State. A broken collarbone ended his junior season and kept him out of a College Football Playoff run by the Sun Devils. A hamstring injury cost him four games last year and bled into his pre-draft preparation.

NFL teams can’t just gloss over that information, especially for someone they’re considering at the top of the draft The injuries and the time missed take on a life of their own in the long time between the end of the college football season and the NFL draft.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham scoffs at the notion that Tyson is injury-prone. Beyond the fact that injuries are part of this violent sport, were people even watching what happened against Texas Tech? Try telling him that Tyson isn’t tough That was when the hamstring injury cropped up. Tyson felt it after hauling in a touchdown in the third quarter. Derek Eusebio Tyson’s teammate and roommate at ASU, remembered thinking he was done for the game. Turned out, Tyson had a lot more to give. He stayed in the game and played a massive role in secur-

2020 defensive rookie of the year Wilson has even less production through his ﬁrst three seasons. He has only 12 sacks in 50 games, only seven of which were starts.

“More than anything, (defensive coordinator) Brandon (Staley) has a vision for him fitting into our defense,” said Loomis, who indicated the Saints would not pick up Wilson’s ﬁfth-year rookie contract option ahead of the league’s May deadline. “It adds to a group we like already.”

The trade was completed a day after a report indicated the Saints

Sharp had 24 catches for 252 yards in his only season at LSU, ﬁnishing sixth on the team in receptions and receiving yards. According to Pro Football Focus, he racked up 145 yards after the catch, and his average depth of target was 4.9 yards.

Sharp transferred to LSU last offseason after spending a year at Oklahoma. He had 42 catches for 324 yards for the Sooners after having played the previous three seasons at Southeastern Louisiana.

Brown was the next Tiger off the board ﬁve picks later, going 190th overall to the Saints. He had 53 catches for 532 yards this past season, his ﬁrst and only in the purple and gold. He led the team in both cat-

ing the upset over the No. 7 Red Raiders. Trailing by three with two minutes left, Tyson hauled in four passes for 55 yards on the Sun Devils’ game-winning drive, none more important than the 33 yards he gained on a fourth-down scramble drill.

He tweaked his other hamstring on that fourth-down play because he was compensating. Still, Tyson stayed in the game and made another big catch on the very next play

“It’s just like, man, the dude is just tough as nails,” Dillingham said.

Eusebio was on the ﬁeld for that, and he was at Tyson’s side when he was recovering from the hamstring injury last season. It was a difﬁcult year for the Sun Devils, who couldn’t recapture the magic they rode to the CFP in 2024. Eusebio watched as people told Tyson to just shut his season down and turn his focus to the NFL draft after the injury against Texas Tech.

Instead, with their playoff hopes all but dashed, Tyson returned to play the final two games of the regular season.

“A lot of people say he was nursing his hamstring, blah, blah, blah,” Eusebio said “There are guys that have sat out all season because they knew they were going (in the ﬁrst round).

“He did not have to come back for us,like,wewerealreadyoutofit And he did. That tells you a lot about him.”

Before his career in the Air Force — where he met Tyson’s mother, Sandra — John played college football at Florida A&M. He knew injuries were part of the game, but he didn’t quite grasp the full toll they were taking on his son. Not until Jordyn told his father about how he persevered, and that is where the family comes back in.

There would be days, Jordyn said, when he wanted to quit. When the work to overcome another

Styles, like Brown, could be a returner for the Saints. He had a 100yard kickoff return touchdown at Ohio State. But if he develops, he could also fill an important role for the defense. Styles started last season as a nickel corner, and the Saints have a vacancy in the slot after the free agency departure of Alontae Taylor Wright, at 6-foot-5 and 331 pounds, impressed with his physicality at the Senior Bowl but the 23-year-old only became a fulltime guard in 2023 when he made the switch from defensive tackle. He had been a starter for Auburn over the last two seasons.

Loomis seemed more than satisﬁed with New Orleans’ haul. As he entered his news conference, he cracked a joke that he didn’t trade up and drafted a player from LSU

egories despite catching only one touchdown pass. According to Pro Football Focus, he also had 263 yards after the catch and picked up 25 ﬁrst downs. Brown transferred to LSU from Kentucky last offseason. In three years with the Wildcats, he had 122 catches for 1,528 yards and 11 touchdowns. His career-high in receiving yards came as a freshman, when he had 628 yards and averaged 12.6 yards per reception After Brown and Sharp were drafted early in the sixth, Perkins landed with the Falcons. Perkins spent all four years of his collegiate career with the Tigers. He burst onto the scene as a freshman edge rusher in 2022, then bounced around to different

setback felt like too much. And then he would receive a call, or a package in the mail, or his parents would show up on campus, and he would make it through to the next day chasing the dream.

John and Sandra since have separated,buttheycancountononehand the number of their sons’ games they’ve missed since youth sports.

“Those times when we showed up, he needed us, and we were there,” John said. “And eventually he made it through. Eventually he came out on the other side, and he realized, ‘I can make this work.’ ”

Injuries may continue to be a part of Tyson’s football story Even if he has ﬁgured some things out about his body as he said he has, even if he’s got his regimen dialed in to perfection, injuries are part of the game he plays.

Just don’t confuse the time he missed with a lack of toughness. Don’t underestimate the time he’s spent in the dark. And don’t forget whatisontheothersideofthatbut 

Shortly after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Saints had selected Tyson, the young receiver had a message waiting for him from one of the most important people in his life.

Jaylon couldn’t be there for his youngerbrotheratthedraftbecause he was playing in a playoff game for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But before he scored 13 points off the bench against the Raptors, he recorded a message for his younger brother

“We’ve been through so much together, and you’re my best friend,” he said. “I remember growing up, you used to hate being Jaylon’s little brother You’re not Jaylon’s little brother anymore. You’re your own person. You don’t understand, as a big bro, what you mean to me. It has nothing to do with football. I’m always going to be there for you.”

Lance, the brother of NFL quarterback Trey Lance, ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, and his speed was backed up with production as he recorded multiple 1,000-yard seasons at North Dakota State.

Brown, a kickoff return specialist who had an SEC-record six touchdown returns, ran a 4.4, while Styles led the Saints’ class with a blazing 4.27. Even Delp ran a 4.49.

But it was a class headlined by Tyson, whom Loomis praised for making tough catches that often resulted in ﬁrst downs and touchdowns — the kind of target that every young quarterback needs.

“He’s just the whole package, really,” Loomis said. “And look, if you’re going to be a top-10 pick in our league, you better have the whole package.”

positions across the last three seasons he spent in Baton Rouge. Coach Brian Kelly and his staff tried twice to play the 6-foot-1, 222-pound Perkins at inside linebacker, in part because that’s the position they thought he’d play in the NFL. But he wound up spending most of his time at Star — LSU’s hybrid linebacker-safety role. From that spot of the defense, he used his speed to drop into coverage, make tackles around the line of scrimmage and occasionally pressure opposing quarterbacks. Perkins’ slide into the sixth round was a mild surprise. Nussmeier’s fall was more of a stunner He had to wait much longer than anyone thought he would to land his ﬁrst NFL gig.

Back when Jordyn was a 5-4 sophomore, John remembers his son coming home, frustrated and crying. He was watching his big brother’s star ascend, and he was getting impatient with his own progress.

“He was like, ‘Dad, when am I gonna grow? When am I gonna grow? When am I gonna grow?’ ” John recalled. “I always said the same answer: ‘You’re going to grow, you’re going to be ﬁne. And we can’t not work, but we can’t not follow the process, because when you do grow, you need to be ready.’ ”

The work came from dad, the former athlete. His mother Sandra, ﬁlled in the gaps She taught the boys about finances and nutrition and encouraged them to try new things. But Jaylon truly showed Tyson what was possible. That wasn’t a fluke. John fostered this relationship in his boys for a reason. Their uncle, Russell LaRone Tyson, died before they were born John was devastated by the loss of his brother and best friend, and he vowed to ensure his boys would have the type of relationship where they could depend on each other

“They are truly each other’s best friend,” John said. “They are the ﬁrst and last people that they want to call when something great happens. I love their relationship I love the honesty, I love the truthfulness. I love the purity I love the vulnerability that they show with each other.”

Those early morning workouts with Jaylon are an important part of what led Jordyn to the Saints, but there’s so much more to it that made up the whole. His dream realized, Tyson was overcomewithemotion.Thisregular person did something extraordinary

“I promise you,” John Tyson said, “as God is my witness, I sleep at night knowing that my children are OK.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler scrambles as Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson pursues him during the second half of a game on Dec 29, 2024, at the Caesars Superdome. The Saints traded for Wilson on Saturday.

Mulkey adds second assistant from Miami

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Coach Kim Mulkey had two vacancies to ﬁll on her LSU women’s basketball staff this offseason.

Each time, she hired an assistant coach from Miami. Mulkey announced Saturday that she is hiring Murriel Page, a former WNBA veteran who’s spent the last 16 years as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. She starred at Florida from 1994-98, then played in the WNBA for 11 seasons after the Washington Mystics selected her with the third overall pick of the 1998 draft.

She also worked as an assistant on the Canadian national team that played in the 2024 Olympics Page has made ﬁve stops in her collegiate coaching

career: at Florida (2010-17), Central Michigan (2018-20), Georgia Tech (2020-22), Mississippi State (2022-24) and Miami (2024-26). Now she’s following assistant coach Fitzroy Anthony from south Florida to Baton Rouge.

“Murriel brings a tremendous wealth of experience to LSU,” Mulkey said in a statement, “and embodies professionalism in every sense. Our student-athletes will greatly beneﬁt from her perspective as both a player and coach at the highest levels of the game.”

LSU had to hire two new women’s basketball coaches because former assistant Gary Redus accepted the Rutgers head coaching gig in March and added longtime Mulkey aide Daphne Mitchell to his staff.

Mulkey initially hired former Tennessee assistant

The winner’s circle at Churchill Downs sits empty on April 22, 2020, in Louisville, Ky

Pletcher’s Renegade opens as Kentucky Derby favorite

By The Associated press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Renegade opened Saturday as the morning line favorite for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, looking to overcome the inside rail post position that has not produced a winner in four decades.

The colt trained by Todd Pletcher and set to be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr is 4-1 after drawing the No. 1 post in the field of 20 horses for the May 2 race. No horse has finished first in the Derby from there since Ferdinand in 1986, and the most recent to be in the top three was Lookin At Lee, who was second in 2017. Trainer Brad Cox’s No. 6 Commandment and No. 18 Further Ado are the second and third choices on the morning line each at 6-1, followed by No. 12 Chief Wallabee at 8-1 and The Puma at 10-1. Cox’s third entrant is 20-1 long shot Fulleffort, who drew the far-outside No. 20 post Cox’s jaw dropped when he saw Fulleffort’s draw, calling it “probably the one I’m maybe not as wild about, as excited about as the other two.” He was most happy with Further Ado at No. 18, with threetime Derby-winning jockey John Velazquez aboard “Very happy with that post: I wanted him to draw outside, and it looks like there’s some speed to the inside of him there,” Cox said. “I do like the 6 with Commandment. Hopefully he can break and go forward. It looks like there’s a little speed around him He can maybe save some ground going into the first turn, maybe even into the second turn.”

Gabe Lazo to replace Redus, but he accepted the Central Florida head coaching job only a few days after he agreed to move to Baton Rouge. So she quickly pivoted to Anthony, whose two-year, $700,000 contract was approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors on Thursday Associate head coach

Bob Starkey also agreed to a new deal because his was set to expire in July. He’s now under contract at LSU through the 2028-29 season. Page, a 6-foot-3 forward scored more than 1,900 career points and grabbed more than 1,200 career rebounds at Florida. She was named to the AP All-America second team in 1998. In the WNBA, Page played eight seasons with the Mystics and three with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Banchero, Bane lead Magic past Pistons

ByTheAssociated Press

ORLANDO Fla. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 25 points, and the Orlando Magic blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead before rallying to beat the Detroit Pistons 113-105 on Saturday for a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference ﬁrst-round series.

Banchero had 12 rebounds and nine assists. Franz Wagner scored 17 points for Orlando, which got 15 from Jalen Suggs and a 14-point, 17-rebound game from Wendell Carter

Two-time Triple Crown champion Bob Baffert has two chances to win the Derby for a seventh time and break a tie with Ben Jones for the most of any trainer, saddling No. 4 Litmus Test (30-1) and No. 14 Potente (20-1) Litmus Test was the last horse to get into the ﬁeld earlier Saturday when Steve Asmussen and owners decided Chip Honcho will skip the race and point toward the Preakness Stakes on May 16.

A year after Bill Mott’s Sovereignty won the Derby and then the Belmont Stakes, son Riley is training his ﬁrst two horses in the Triple Crown opener He has No. 2 Albus (30-1) and No. 11 Incredibolt (201). His dad’s bid to go backto-back is Chief Wallabee. “I don’t know him right now,” Riley Mott said. “He’s our competition. Very formidable, obviously, but we’re just focused on our horses and trying to control the things we can control — unlike the draw It’s been fun just trying to stay focused but enjoy the moment at the same time.”

Rounding out the ﬁeld are No. 3 Intrepido (30-1), No 5 Right To Party (30-1), No. 7 Danon Bourbon (20-1), No. 8 So Happy (15-1), Japanbred No. 10 Wonder Dean (30-1), No. 13 Silent Tactic (20-1), No. 15 Emerging Market (15-1), No. 16 Pavlovian (30-1), No. 17 Six Speed (50-1) and No. 19 Golden Tempo (30-1) If there are scratches, there are four also-entered possibilities to join the ﬁeld: Great White, Ocelli, Robusta and Corona de Oro.

Post time for the race is set for 5:57 p.m.

Cade Cunningham scored 27 for Detroit, which trailed 96-79 with 8:34 left — then outscored the Magic 26-8 over the next six minutes to grab the lead. But the Pistons, who got 23 points from Tobias Harris, couldn’t hold on. Game 4 is Monday night in Orlando.

“We’re looking forward to Monday man,” Banchero said.

It’s the 13th time since 1984, when the NBA went to the 16-team format, that a No. 8 seed has taken a 2-1 lead in a first-round series over a No. 1 seed.

Of the previous 12, five ﬁnished off the upset. Those teams: Miami in 2023, Philadelphia in 2012, Memphis in 2011, Golden State in 2007 and New York in 1999. And that doesn’t include Denver’s upset of Seattle in 1994, the first 8-over-1 series win in NBA history

THUNDER 121, SUNS 109: In Phoenix, Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 42 points in a brilliant shooting performance, Ajay Mitchell added 15 in place of the injured Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference ﬁrst-round series

Gilgeous-Alexander — the league’s reigning MVP — hit 15 of 18 shots on a variety of tough looks, frustrating a Suns defense that actually played decently for much of the game. Alex Caruso added 13 points off the bench while Chet Holmgren had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The defending champion Thunder will go for the sweep in Game 4 on Monday in Phoenix.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting while Jalen Green added 26.

KNICKS 114, HAWKS 98: In Atlanta, Karl-Anthony Towns had his first postseason triple-double, OG Anunoby

scored 22 points and the New York Knicks recovered after back-to-back losses to beat the Atlanta Hawks, tying the Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2. Towns had 20 points, 10

rebounds and 10 assists. The 11th-year All-Star became the fourth Knicks player to record a tripledouble in a playoff game, joining Walt Frazier Dick McGuire and Josh Hart. The Knicks host Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, and the series is now guaranteed to return to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday New York took control of the game midway through the ﬁrst quarter and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. The Knicks held a 68-44 advantage at halftime and extended that lead to 20 points by the end of the third quarter New York, who had onepoint losses in the previous two games, returned to form behind its core of Towns, Anunoby and Jalen Brunson, who scored 19 points. McCollum again led Atlanta in scoring with 17 points, but he didn’t have the same impact as the last two games. New York held McCollum scoreless beyond the arc after he made nine 3-pointers in the ﬁrst three games. New York also held Nickeil Alexander-Walker to 15 points and All-Star Jalen Johnson to 14.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey calls out to her team in the fourth quarter of the game against Tennessee on Feb 26 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

PHOTO By DARRON CUMMINGS

NBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

PROVIDED PHOTO Russell Cormiersings Belton Richard’spopular Christmas song ‘Tout mon veux pour Christmas,chère, c’est toi’ with Sheryl Cormier beside him on Dec. 7, 2019, at the Liberty Theater in Eunice.

ACajun musicqueen is missing herking

Sheryl and RussellCormier, of Carencro, gave new meaning to aproverb attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Behind every great man, there’sa great woman.” The Cormiers flipped the script with Sheryl in the spotlightas the Queen of Cajun Music, with Russell offering strong support. Their greatness changed on April 8when Russell died after along illness.The Cormiersweremarried 62 years, which included Sheryl’s36years as the first femaleprofessional Cajun accordionist. Born in 1945 in Grand Coteau, Sheryl was 7years old when her father issued his commandment —leave his accordion alone. The bandstand was no place for awoman But Sheryl didn’tlisten. By her teen years, she was playing accordion in agroup with her parents. She eventually became ahairstylistfor 15 years, but the accordion kept calling. In 1990, Sheryl quit the beauty shop to startthe Cajun Sounds band, which included Russell and son, Russell Jr , as the drummer.Through the years,the band recorded 45 songs, which brought tours as far as Canada and Europe. Winner of numerous awards, Sheryl was inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Throughout Sheryl’sreign as Cajun music’squeen, Russell worked as acarpenter and bulldozer operator. He was also by Sheryl’sside as avocalist, soundman and the band’svan driver.Heenjoyed singing stardom on two French waltzes, “Mon Coeur at Mon Amour (My Heart and My Love)”and “La Bouteille (The Bottle).” With lyrics of abrokenhearted “couillon,” or fool, who turns to whiskey for comfort, “The Bottle” remains adancehall favorite and one of the most covered Cajun hits Russell left the bandstand after stomach and lung cancer,as well as astroke, landed him in anursing home. He died alittle more than three weeks afterhis longtime queen turned 81. Tributes to Russellhavefilled social media, jam sessions and Cajun radio shows. Fiddler Gina Forsyth, who played with Sheryl’sall-femaleCajun band, summed up the feelings of many “I would listen to him sing with such soulfulness,inthe van, on the way from the gig,” Forsyth wrote on Facebook.“I told him Ithought he should sing more. He washesitant at first, but I’m so glad he finally did. And man, he could sing!” Herman Fuselierisexecutive directorofthe St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

“I HOPE ONE DAYWEARE THE ONES TO CHANGE IT, to make it winecountry for the South.”

JOSHUAREASON, SouthernUniversity AgriculturalResearch and Extension Centerenologist

Southern University growswinegrapesin BatonRouge heat,humiditytolaunchwinelabel

BY LAURENCHERAMIE Staff writer

An acre anda half behindan

unassuming building on Southern University’scampus, lessthana mile from theMississippi River,is home to one of Baton Rouge’smore unexpected sights.

At ﬁrst glance, it doesn’tlooklike much is going on, but therows and rows of plantsmarkedbywooden posts tell adifferent story. Astep closer,and thegrapesappear.At this time of year,the grapes are minuscule. They still need three to four months to grow until it’s time to harvest.

Southern UniversityAgricultural Research andExtensionCenter is growing wine grapes in Baton Rouge —inthe kind of heat and humidity most people would assume grapes would hate. Yetthese rows of vines are producing fruit, fueling researchand supporting

“It’sabeautiful thing,” said enologist Joshua Reason,ofgrowing grapes in Louisiana.

Last year,the program launched itsown wine label,the 801 Collection.Officials are now working through permits and certiﬁcations needed to sell to thepublic,a process expected to take alittlemore than ayear.The program is now expanding the vineyard to include sevenmoreacres anda winery building.

an ambitious goal: helping build a Louisianawine industry

People who work in thevineyard oftenuse thesameword:beautiful Butbeauty extends far beyond the surface. The Louisiana acreage may notlook likeNapaValley,but maintaining the vineyard is itsown kind of achievement.

Southern’sAgCenter established the vineyard on campus in 2020 to enhance the sustainability and proﬁtability of grape and wine production in Louisiana. Faculty,staff and students use the vineyard for research, plant management, outreach,educationand workforce training. The vineyard is part of the university’sviticulture andenology

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Herman Fuselier

ZacharyRichard performs during the2025 Festivals Acadiens et Creoles at Girard Park in Lafayette.

PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

STAFFPHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON SouthernUniversity AgCenter enologist Joshua Reasoninspects seedling clusters on avinetosee howclose theyare to flowering on April 13 in Baton Rouge. The task is to remove the male reproductive parts of the flower before it matures to prevent self-pollination.

COMMUNITY

Iota Master Chapter of Beta SigmaPhi

Members of the Iota Master Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi presented toiletries, socks and household itemstoGeaux and Deaux Ministries. Shownare Karen Sanders, co-founder and president of Geaux andDeaux Ministries, left, and Carolyn Miller,Iota Master Chapter member

Beta Sigma Phi

donates to nonprofit

The Iota Master Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi InternationalSorority recently presented adonation of toiletries, socks and household items to Geaux and Deaux Ministries.

The local faith-based 501(c)3 nonproﬁt is dedicated to providing care,housing and hope to individuals in need. Geaux and Deaux, led by co-founder and Pres-

ident KarenSanders,distributesdonated items directly to community partners and individuals requestingassistance. The organization supports awide range of local needs, including providing clothingand meals to peopleexperiencing homelessness.

The ministry also supplies toiletries, sheets, and clothing to O’Brien House, which offers residential treatment andoutreach programs for individu-

GFWC Lagniappe Club

Members of the GFWC LA Club hosted their 128th annual state convention in Baton RougeApril 1011. Shown are, from left, Nannette White, GFWCconsultant to junior clubs; Lucinda Martinez andLana Merliss, GFWC LA president.

PROVIDED PHOTO

als and families affected by alcoholism and drug abuse. In addition, it provides dishes, potsand pans to Start Corporation, an organization serving adults, teensand seniors facing challenges such as mental healthconditions, substance dependency,and developmental disabilities.

The Iota Master Chapter’s contribution supports the ministry’songoing mission to meet urgent needs throughout thecommunity

BatonRouge AmateurRadio Club

American Radio Relay League Sectional Manager HoustonPolson spokeonthe future directionofthe national association on March 31.Shown are, from left, DanLott; Jerry Clouatre; Elmer Tatum, Ascension Amateur Radio Clubpresident; David Ducote; Polson; Todd Hovinen and Joseph Roppolo, Baton RougeAmateur RadioClub president.

KreweMystique de la Capitale

The Krewe Mystique de la Capitale spring meeting and crawfish boil was heldApril 19 at Forrest Grove Plantation, during which the 2026-2027 board members were

100 Black Men of Metro BatonRouge

Representatives from EntergyCorporation present acheckfor $10,000 to representatives of 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rougeinsupport of theirnew transformative workforce development program. Gathered at the April16presentation are, from left, Cheri Ausberry, Entergycustomer service manager;Michael B. Victorian, president-elect 100 Black Men; DonJohnson, vice-presidentofprograms 100 BlackMen; and Seth Schilling,Entergy regional manager of customer service.

PROVIDED PHOTO

elected.

Gathered are, from left, front row, StaceyPereira, Renee Toepfer,Eva Smiland Daniel Duhon; middle row, Barbara Ruiz, Tammy Candler,Heather McCurdy, Andree Duhon, John Delgado and Tony Pittman; back row, Megan Harrell, René Mire, Grant McCurdy, Hussein Mohammad and HenryPere.

PROVIDED PHOTO

TRAVEL

Alleyesonthe skyatMonroe’sair show

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Since its inception in 2022, Monroe’sannual Red White &Blue Airshowhas evolved from aweekend of localentertainment to atravel destination.

“Weget people from all over the country forthisevent,” saidJohn McJunkins, director of development for the Chennault Aviation &Military Museum, which hosts the event. “As far as we’ve been able to tell, it is oneofthe largest and most economically impactful events that happens in northeast Louisiana.”

This year’sshow willtakeplace fromMay 1-3 at theMonroe Regional Airport, 5400 Operations Road, Monroe.

This year’stheme is acelebration of America’s250th anniversary,which willbehighlighted by drone shows on Fridayand Saturday nights. The show will feature an intricate drone light display staged by Dallas-basedAriel Illuminations, whichfuses technologyand artistry to create immersiveexperiences through its large-scale drone productions Intricate, animated, patriotic images will ﬁll Monroe’snight sky.

“Since we’re specifically celebrating America’s250th anniversary,the drone show willhave a patriotic theme,” McJunkinssaid. “And so we’re doing acouple of other things to highlight that.” Onesuch eventwillfeatureparatrooper reenactments.

“We’ll have paratrooperreenactors drop out of World WarII planes,” McJunkins said. “They’ll be using World WarIIgear on one day, andthey’ll be usingVietnam era gear on another day.Itwill be afull reenactment on bothdays.” Also in the lineup are ﬂightsbya Canadian RCAF Aurora CP-140; a

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

Meanwhile, static plane displays will be exhibited on the airfield, includingthe DreamBig Entertainment LLC F/A-18 Hornet “Topgun” Experience, where visitors can sit in the cockpit of the same type of fighterjets usedinthe 2022 film, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Though the show offers aweekend of entertainment for lovers of everything aerial, it alsohas another purpose.

Show Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City

ButBarksdale is amilitary base, andtheir airshowismoreofa campaign as amilitary tribute, McJunkins said. Monroe’sair show raises money forthe museum and continues to honor local veterans.

throughexpansive collectionsof artifacts and compelling stories.

The museum also is home to the Louisiana Aviation Hall of Fame and the ChennaultAviation Park featuring staticdisplays of historical aircraft. Those coming to the air show will also have achance to visit the museum before the gates open forthe show

The show will start between aboutanhourafter gatesopenat 3p.m. Friday and Saturday.Gates open at 11 a.m. Sunday Though acts are listed, they aren’tattached to aspeciﬁc schedule.

“Wecan’tlist the schedules, because alot of the acts aren’tﬁnalized until muchcloser to the air show,” McJunkins said. “Also, schedule dependsonavailability and various conditions.”

One of those conditions is weather.Ifconditions are safe, the show will go on.

The show will not be exactly the same each daybut will include someofthe sameacts, including “Twilight Shows” featuring lit planes after the sun sets.

Generaladmissiontickets are $15-$30 and are good for one day

Three day combo tickets are $42$560 and coverall three days. Single day VIPand preferred tickets also are available and include extra perks.

Titan Aerobatic plane;aghostwriter; aBeech 18, the ﬂagship plans in Matt Younkin’sair show ﬂeets; and performances by aerobatics pilots Mike “Spanky” Gallaway and John Scherff;pilot Dan Fordiceand his P-51D Mustang; aerobatics by the Jet Waco, 1929 Taperwing Waco biplane; Shannon Elliot and his World WarIIAT-6; the NextGen EaglesAerobatics Team; and Ben Ausbrooks and hisSteen Sky Bolt.

“The Chennault Museum runs the air show,but really it’sthe opposite—the air show sponsors the museum,” McJunkins said. “It’s fully hostedand run by the museum staff and volunteers related to themuseum, but it’s our primary fundraiser.So, agood chunk of our budget everyyear comes from this event, and that’sone thing we try to express on our social media, because oftentimes, we get aquestion of ‘Whydoyou guys charge for theair show?’”

The questionarises because no admissionfees are charged for the annual Defenders of Liberty Air

The Chennault Aviation &Military Museum, 701 Kansas Lane, Monroe, will be open from 9a.m. to 4p.m. on Fridayand Saturday during the airshowweekend. Admissionisfree to this institution named for Gen. Claire Chennault, who commanded the Flying Tigers squadron during World WarII.

Chennault wasborn in Texas but grew up in Louisiana and attended LSU.

The nonprofit museum opened in 2000 in the last remaining classroomsofthe Selman Field Navigation School —the largest navigation school in the United States during WorldWar II.Itnot only tells Chennault’sstory but commemorates veterans and soldiers from World WarItoIraqi Freedom

Tickets forparking are $20 fora single dayor$50 forall threedays. For both air show and parking tickets, visit redwhiteandblueairshow com.

Forvisitorsoptingtospend more timeinthe area, the Monroe-West Monroe Visitors and Convention Bureau offersa listofplaces to visit and stay,along with places to visit, including the DuckCommander Museum,the BlackBayou National Lake Wildlife Refuge and theBiedenharn Museum & Gardens at itswebsite, monroewestmonroe.org.

For moreshowinformation,visit redwhiteandblueairshow.com, and for the mostup-to-date information on any changesinthe show, visit the Red White &Blue Airshow’sFacebook page at facebook. com/redwhiteandblueairshow

Airbnb chargedfor anonexistent rental in California

The lesson for other travelers?

Christopher Elliott

Ibooked an apartment through Airbnb in Beverly Hills, making an initial payment of $1,236.There wasjust one problem: The address listed for the property didn’texist.Soon after,without my consent,Airbnb charged my cardanother $7,080 Airbnb then canceled my reservation and closed my account, even though Inever requested either action.When I called Airbnb,ittold me it couldn’tverify my account. EverytimeIspoke with arepresentative, Iwas given anew case number and told the issue would be resolved in afew business days. Instead, the cases were closed without resolution.

Idisputed the charges with Barclays, my credit card company. It reversed the $7,080 chargebut refused to returnthe $1,236,

saying Ihad voluntarily provided my card number to Airbnb,soitwasn’tfraud.

I’dprefer not to takethis to court.Can you help me getmy$1,236 back? —William Marell,West Palm Beach, Fla.

This one is atangle of Airbnb’s weakest points: fake listings, arbitrary account closures and a customer service system that can leave guests stranded.

Let’sstartwith thelisting. Airbnb requireshosts to provide accurate information and handles payments through itsplatform, acting as the host’slimited collection agent. In theory,once you’ve paid, your only responsibility is to show up. When ahost misrepresents or cancels, Airbnb is supposed to step in with an immediate refund.

In your case, the property never existed.That alone should have triggered afull refund. Butthere was asecond failure: Airbnb then added what appeared to be arandom $7,080 charge for arental that didn’t exist. For reasons that aren’tentirely clear,Airbnb then ﬂagged your account. Youfell into atrap many travelers knowtoo well: Airbnb assignscase numbers, then closes them automatically after aset time. If your account is later deactivated,Airbnb’scustomer service often refuses to discussthe case becausethe account is closed.

Youdid the rightthing by documenting everything andﬁling a credit card dispute. The problem is that Barclayssaw your $1,236 as avoluntary transaction, which

technically it was, even though you never got whatyou paid for That’satough —but not unusual —response from abank. Barclay’scould have done abetter job of investigating your initial complaint. Ithink abrief, polite email to one of the Airbnb executive contacts Ilistonmyconsumer advocacy site Elliott.org might have helped move things along. Behindthe scenes, Airbnb was willing to refund you if you withdrew your chargeback. That’s common practice. Companies don’tlike issuing refunds while adispute is pending. But it looks like you never received that message, and with your account shut down, there wasnoway for you to follow up with Airbnb.

Check vacation rental listings carefully before booking. Verify the address independently,and if something feels off, walk away Keep detailed records of your communication, and don’tgive up if the company tries to arbitrarily close your case. Persistence, backed by documentation, is often whatgets aresult.

After Icontacted Airbnb, it reinstated your account and processed the refund. You’ve now conﬁrmed that the $1,236 has been returned.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

The air showwill feature aerobatic performances by such planes as theJet Waco,a 1929 Taperwing Waco biplane.

HowsandwichesslicedintotoboggantimeinGermany

BY CAROL POOLEY

Contributing writer

Human Condition

As Ioverheard afriendrecounting her cherished memories of visiting beautiful, impressive and ornately decorated cathedrals in Germany,Ireﬂected on my own precious memories of that country Ilived in Heidelberg and then Mannheim from the agesof5to 7. Isuppose my age accounts for why my recollections are abit different. Iguess you’d call them ageappropriate. Iremember some of the cathedrals vaguely,but what stands out to me is encapsulated in aphoto with my three siblings. As kids, during the snowy winter months, we lived playingin the snow,building snowmen in the yard and making our snow angels. But the dearestmemory is the Christmas when my siblings and Iwere gifted withatoboggan from either Santa ClausorSt. Nicholas; it doesn’treally matter In Mannheim, we lived in

VINEYARD

Continued frompage1D

PROVIDED PHOTO

Fromleft,David, Mikie, Carol and Sue Pooley(Dille) takeinaday on their toboggan,a fondmemoryoftheir timeliving in Germany

Army-base housing and nearby was agreat hill or slope where all of us Army brat kids would spend

our days sledding. The trek up was well worth it forthe thrill of theride down. This joy wascut short one sad, unfortunate day when what I thought was my best-kept secret was exposed. Let me add, Ihave always been a“picky” eater.Asa child, the lunch break in the middle of playing outside during the day was something Idreaded. As so often happened while playing outdoors on snow days, my mittens becamesoaking wet. All that was necessary was a quick run into the house fordry ones and back out again to play As Icreptthrough the living room,Isaw my mom and dad peering over the expandable kitchen table, which could be slid open when that extra leaf was needed. Nextthing Iremember was their faces and eyes staring at me. Did Ireally say,“Ithink it was Mikie”?

All my well-hidden, or so I

thought, old sandwiches with small bites eaten were discovered. Wasitthe smell that ﬁnally revealed my secret stash of lunchtimerejects? Mikie became my accomplice and, thus, never squealed on me until that fateful day Idon’tthink Mikie got in trouble because somehow my guilt must have been exposed. To be truthful, my only regret wasnot being able to change my wetmittens and go back to sliding downhill on that wonderful toboggan. —Pooley lives in Donaldsonville.

Advocate readers maysubmit stories of about 500 words to TheHuman Condition at features@theadvocate.com or The Advocate, Features, 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. There is no payment, and stories will be edited.Authors shouldinclude theircityof residence.

research program —viticulturebeing thestudy ofgrowing grapes and enology being the art of winemaking. The vineyard currently includes 18 hybrid varieties and 35 muscadine varieties.

Most of the grapes are wine grapes, but there arealso table grapes, or grapes grown for eating

Hybrids are grapes that are crossbred with two different species (typically European vines with American vines), while muscadines are native North American grapes. Hybrid grapesare bred to better withstand conditions in speciﬁc regions, includingheat,humidity and disease pressure.

“I know muscadine wine, peoplelike it,but we want to promote more of thehybrids because it makes very beautiful wine,” said Devaiah Kambiranda, aplant and soil science professor with the university’s AgCenter who started the vineyard program. In thethickofthe Louisiana summers, Kambiranda and his teamare in the vineyard almost every day harvesting the hybrid grapes in mid-July andthe muscadine grapes in mid-to-late August.

About six to eight students help in the vineyardeach semester —many of them plant andsoilscience majors who assist with sample collection, weedmanagement andother agronomic work. While students work on research for the vineyard, they do not participate in the wine-making process.

He says the yield depends on the plant. Last year,Southern’s hybrids producedbetween 25 and35poundsper vine and the muscadines producedbetween 40 and 50 pounds.

Hybrids are picked by individualclusters using pruners,Kambiranda explained, whereas muscadine grapes are stripped with atarp on the ground, transferred to bins and brought to thebuilding.The fruit is washed, crushed and prepared for fermentation.

Local sommelier Scott Higgins explained that Louisiana would struggle to grow highquality international grapes because of the weather.These grapes rely on adiurnal temperature range, when the high and low temperatures of the day are far apart.

“A place like Napagetsto110 degrees duringthe day,but at

BALLAD

nightit’s55,”Higgins said.“The grapes hang longer,developing sugars during the day.Atnight, it cools off and stops the process.”

Ahigh diurnal temperature range helps achieve abalanced sugar-to-acidity ratiowiththe grapes,Higgins said.

In Louisiana, the international varieties would have to be pickedearlybecause of the climate and wouldn’tget enough “hang time ”That helps explain whyhybrid and muscadine grapes perform better here: they are better adapted to Louisiana conditions. Through abreeding technique knownasemasculation,growers can create cultivars with traits such as disease resistance or improved fruit quality

The studentswithSouthern’s program monitorfor different diseases, working on research on newly released and existing Pierce’s disease-tolerant grape cultivars. Kambiranda says the bacterial disease disrupts the watermovementofthe plant, stunting its growth. The emasculation process removes the male reproductiveparts of aﬂower before it matures, preventing self-polli-

Continued from page1 PROVIDED PHOTO Lafayette veteranBarry Guidry helped co-write ‘HeartLikean Eagle’ with ZacharyRichard in supportofWounded WarHeroes in Lafayette.

“He’saremarkably person for everything through, and we bond Richard. “Barry spends allofhis life taking ca veterans, and it was cation for me to appre the struggles that these women go through.” The song is an emotion to the veteran experie based on Guidry’slife. the opening ceremonies val International de Thursday,Richard andhis band debuted the ballad he co-wrote with Guidry,with lines like, “He puts on his cap, goes to work and rolls his chair outside the door,and sets out on his way to ﬁnd asoul in needofacure ” Said Richard, “we hadthe idea

SouthernUniversity AgCenter enologist Joshua Reason uses tweezers on aseedling cluster before it flowers in aprocess called emasculation.

nation, Kambiranda explained. First,one must separatethe male and female parts of the ﬂower,bag the stigma (a crucial part of thefemalereproductiveorganofaﬂower) and then takethe pollen from adesirable plant to dust on the female cluster— whichisthen bagged so it doesn’t pollinate with other grapes.

asong that would be his commitment.” aretiredU.S. Army served in places like rm, Bosnia andKososupportscauses like ar Heroes,which is a sedorganization that erans withmental health. mthe track will be ounded WarHeroes, Guidry and Richard. really happy to be part dRichard, whoisreaLouisiana French ngwriter,aswell as a poet.“It was alabor scommunity kind of the radar. We know that we have militaryveterans in thecommunity,but we don’talways know theextent of the challenges they face. Barry was able to open my eyes to that. And just

Kambiranda says theyusually get400-600 seeds out of theprocess, but only one-third germinate.This year,theyare increasing their output with 1,000 seeds.

“The grapes have to be tolerant to all thefungal diseases that are very prevalent in this

region, and it has to produce good fruit, right? Ultimately, fruit is what makes the juice. It has to overcomeall of this. Once in awhile,ithas to be tolerant to winter and frost, too,” Kambiranda said. “It’sachallenge, but we can grow —that’sthe message.”

Kambiranda andhis team collaborate with vineyards and farmers across Louisiana to share data.

“Ultimately,weare working forthe farmers,”hesaid. “Without farmers, we are not here.” Reason, apast student at Southern, has worked in the ﬁeld since 2020. He hopes that Louisianacan pull itsweightin the wine world one day,attracting tourists to visit because of the quality

“I hope one day we are the ones to change it,” Reason said, “to make it wine country for the South.”

Beyond Mardi Gras, south Louisiana is better known for sugar cane, soybeans and sweltering summers. Even so,the vines keep growing.

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

to seethe devotion that he gives to hiscommunity —he’sa very special person.”

The pair wrote the lyrics together,and Guidry said it wasaneducation for him to delve into songwriter with amaster

“I remember him strumming along, and we were humming some words, and as he started singing it, Igot chokedup,”said Guidry. “It became very personal to me. It’s loosely based on me, but it’sreally about the struggles that all veterans deal with that no one really sees, but we continue on,and try to makethe best of what we have.”

Guidrysaid that asongfeltlike the right vehicle for spreading awareness aboutWounded War Heroes, since music is central to theveteranexperience. “I’d neverwritten asong, andI can’tsing anote, but Ilove music,”

he said. “There are so manysongs outthere thatbring youback fromthese hard rock songs that take youbacktosome of your combatmissions, or songsthat make you cry when you comehome. I think music is oneofthe greatest things in the world that can soothe anybody’ssoul.”

ZacharyRichard is scheduled to play “Heart Like an Eagle” at the New Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival on Sunday followed by a performance at the Threadhead 20th Anniversary Celebration at Deutsche Haus in NewOrleans on April 28. Richard will thendebut the single at the Crowley Grand OperaHouse on May30before leaving to tour in Canada and France.

Email Joanna Brownatjoanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

SouthernUniversity AgCenter research associate MikeWalker walks throughrowsofhybridgrapevines at the school’s research vineyard in Baton Rouge.

AT THE TABLE

OriginsofGermanchocolate cake notwhatyou think

Roundorrectangular,it’sall in thenameofthisfamily-pleaser

BY DEBRA BROUSSARD TAGHEHCHIAN Contributing writer

When my family had areunion coming up,I asked my son and daughter,who nowliveout of state,“Are you coming to thefamily reunion?”

“I’m notsure. What are they cooking?” isalways the question asked.

Quite honestly,ifthe food is good, it is worth the trip. This is especially true here in southwest Louisiana, where we are known for ourdelicious dishes.

“Well, this year we are havingjambalaya, black-eyed peas and cabbagesalad. Thejambalaya will be cooked outside in alarge cast-iron pot. Johnny is making theblack-eyedpeas, and John is also going to make cracklings andfried sweet potatoes,” Ianswer And just like magic, that wasenough to getthe twoofthem to make the drive.

Of course, this wasn’tall the food served. Everyone brought somethingtocontribute.I made ahomemadepotato salad anda German chocolate cake. Others brought homemade desserts likeCajun teacakes, fruit cobblers, brownies and fruit salad. Lack of food choicesisnever an issue.

Ihad abirthday afew daysago,and everyyear Imake aGerman chocolatecake formyself This year,Idecided to share it at the reunion. Imadeupthe recipe for the frosting several years ago when Ifound grated coconut with heavy syrup in acan. The coconut is ﬁnely shredded, and the syrup ratio is perfect forthis recipe. Iadd afew more ingredients, cookitand then spread it onto the cake.

Alittleclariﬁcation aboutthe name German chocolate cake. Many people think thatthe cake wasoriginallymade in thecountry of Germany. Notso. It is named after Baker’sGerman’s Sweet Chocolate, abrand of sweet chocolate created by an American named Samuel German This cake with the coconutand pecan icingis from arecipe ﬁrst found and publishedinDallas in the 1950s. Typically,atwo-layer round cake,I decided to make my cake one layer this yearand cutit into squares for easy serving.I really like the single layerbecause the ratio of cake to icing is perfect.The cakelayer and spread of icing make foranot-too-sweetbite

Give this version atry.Maybeyou will hear what Iheard people askingatour family reunion —“Whomadethe Germanchocolate cake? Itis so good.”

GermanChocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake Makes 1(13-inch-by-9-inch) cake or 1(2-layer 8-inch) round cake; Recipe is by Debra

1box of Germanchocolate cakemix plus ingredients listed on box to makethe cake(eggs, oil, water, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

1(17-ounce) can grated coconut in heavysyrup, such as Ancel brand 4tablespoons butter

2. Grease and parchment paper line the bottom of your cake pan(s)and set aside.

3. Preparethe German chocolatecake mix according to box directions.

4. Pourcake mix into the pan(s) and bake according to box directions.

5. Removefrom oven and allow cake to cool for 5minutes on cooling racks. Removecake(s) from pan(s) and allow to cool completely

Broussard Taghehchian

1(5-ounce)can evaporated milk 1cup finely chopped pecans 2heaping tablespoons cornstarch

6. In a3-quart saucepan, add 1can of grated coconut in syrup,butter,evaporated milk and ﬁnely chopped pecans.

7. Heat over medium-high heat until hot and bubbling.

8. In asmallbowl, mixcornstarch and 1-2 tablespoons water, and stir to dilute the cornstarch.

9. Add cornstarch mixture to hot mixture and stir

10. Cook until mixture thickens and remove from heat.

11. Spread hot mixture onto cooled cake. If you are making atwo-layer cake, spread half of the mixture on one layer,top with the second layer of cake and then spread the remaining mixture on top. If you are making a13-inch-by-9-inch cake, spread themixture onto the cooled cake, making an even layer

PHOTO By DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN

TO TH∑∑ IPLEDGE

BY JANRISHER Staff writer

In 1986, Trisha Addicks drove three hours from her hometown in North Carolina to the University of Georgia for sorority recruitment. She had afriend, agray and peachcomforter —and was armed with the conﬁdence of naivety

On bid day,while girls up and down the hall tore open envelopes and screamed with joy,Addicks opened hers to ﬁnd it empty

She did not get in. No bid. No mistake. Nothing.

PNM, arrives on campus, she is assigned asecret score based on recommendation letters, an intro video,asocial media presence and connectionsmade before rush even begins.

The PNM is never told what that score is. Shecan only maintain it or subtract from it once the process starts. The sororities decide in privatewho comes back for the next round.The PNMﬁnds outthrough an app

Sorority recruitmenthas alwaysbeen competitive, but it hasbecomemore so

Robert Penn Warren’s daughter extendshis legacy

“Decades later and Ican still feel the trauma of that rejection,” she writes in her new book, “The Rush Bible: Secrets to Crush Sorority Recruitment and Find Your Forever Greek Home,” out May 12 from Simon &Schuster

“And make no mistake, it was trauma.”

She went back the following year.She pledged Chi Omega. And she never forgot what that empty envelope felt like.

What followedwas one of those careers that only makes sense when told backward. Addicks began helping friends’ daughters navigaterush —informally at ﬁrst, then with growing seriousness as the calls kept coming.

“I think the biggest thing that surprises peopleisthat I’m not bubbly and Southern —and I’m not astereotypical sorority girl or aging sorority girl,” Addicks said.

That said, in 2017, she turned her rush know-how into abusiness: It’sAll Greek to Me, anational rush consultancy.She has await list, ateam of coaches and clients from the SEC to the IvyLeague. Shewas featured in the 2023 HBO Max documentary “Bama Rush.” Her story is now in feature ﬁlm development with Elizabeth Banks and Brownstone Productions.

“The Rush Bible” is Addicks’ attempt to reach the young women she can’t.

“I get at least 10 calls and DMs aday,” she said. “People desperate to know what Iknow.”

And Addicks knows alot Her insight has agrowing audience. Over the past decade, LSU Panhellenic has seen steady growth in recruitment registration —increasing from 1,237 in 2015 to 1,609 in 2025, its highest total to date.

In her book, Addicks explains that beforeeach potential new member,or

Addicks writes that,in 2009, roughly 1,400 young women registered forrecruitment at theUniversity of Alabama. By 2023, that number had climbed to about2,600 —competing for roughly the same number of bids.

Thedynamic plays beyond the SEC. It goesout coast to coast, at engineering schools, small liberal arts colleges and universities where Greek life was barely afootnote 20 years ago.

As of late 2025, TikTok’s #RushTokhad millions of postsyielding up to 5billion views

The wholespectacle is more visible than ever, which has created adomino effect. More people want in. The competition is ﬁercer still.

“It has made the stakes higher,”Addicks said,“because more people want to be apartofit.”

Thebook is organized as a complete playbook:months of preparation before arriv-

ing on campus, adetailed guide to each of the four rounds of rush and frank instruction on how to absorb acut —inthe 15 minutes between being dropped from one house and having to walk into the next one smiling.

She shares detailed explanations behind her “rules of engagement” for PNMs looking to make the best impression during thevarious parties at sorority houses:

n Listen.

n Be positive.

n Avoid the six B’s: Ballots, Bible. Boys. Booze. Bucks. Brands

n Avoid one-word answers.

n Don’tﬁdget

n Askquestions.

Addicks says thebook’s goal is not only to demystify the process of rush itself, but it’salso about ﬁguring out how to conﬁdently present oneself.

Addicks knows what it means when asorority shows aPNM the basement during ahouse tourinstead of the best bedroom. She knew thecode words amajor SEC chapter once used to signal which girls they

AND

GREEK HOME’

Available May12but canbepre-ordered.

wanted. She has helped a senior at an Ivy League university —someone most consultants wouldn’ttouch —get abid.

Butfor all its insider intelligence, “The Rush Bible” keeps returning to an argument that has nothing to do with Greek life.

“Conﬁdently presenting yourself, knowing what you want and how to get it —those are skills that will carry you through job interviews, internship interviews, just life in general,” Addicks said. “I really want people to know that any young woman can get these skills —and it’s not just women going through rush.”

Oneofher favorite client stories involves ayoung woman who worked through the book’sself-reﬂection exercises and decided she didn’twant to rush at all. Her family had not expected that decision —Greek life was part of their identity.The young woman told her family she was choosing theater instead. Her mother called Addicks.

“She said, ‘The thing that makes me the happiest about this is that my daughter had theconﬁdence to tell us this,’”Addicks recalled “That was one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had.”

It is, perhaps, astrange measure of success for arush consultant tohelp someone opt out. ButAddicks has spent 40 years helping young women arrive —atrush, at work, at life —asthemselves.

Addicks learned that lesson thehard way,inadorm hallway in Athens, Georgia, holding an empty envelope while everyone around her celebrated.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

With the publication of “All the King’sMen” in 1946, Robert Penn Warren wrote himself indelibly into Louisiana’sliterary history.Warren’snovel about a populist governor corrupted by ambition wasinspired by Huey Long, wholoomed large in Louisiana when Warren began teaching at LSU. He later left the state and enjoyed alongcareer as awriter and teacher,dividing his time between his home in Connecticut and asummer place in Vermont. Warren died at 84 in 1989. “All the King’sMen” is getting a renewed proﬁle this year as the Louisiana Inspired Book Club’s summer reading selection. Warren was also acelebrated poet, which is worth remembering as Americans close out April’sobservance of National Poetry Month. His legacy helped shape the vision of his daughter,Rosanna Warren, who’sa successful poet, too.

Last year,Rosanna Warren published abeautiful essay in The American Scholar recounting her childhood years in ahousehold that brimmed with books and manuscripts. Rosanna’smother,Eleanor Clark, wasalso awriter,so the clatter of composition from twocorners of the house wasadaily affair Rosanna fondly recalled how her father“battered away at his stately typewriter,moored like atugboat on his desk; you could hear the clackety-clack of the keys, the bell’smetallic squawk each time he reached the end of aline, the thunk as he slammed the lever to return the carriage and attack the next line.”

Rosanna, like her parents, has agift forvivid imagery,a talent that informs “Hindsight,” her latest book of poems.

What I’ve always loved about her father’spoems is the way they’re grounded in the grit and gristle of everyday existence, even as they glimmer with spiritual insight. One of my favorite Robert Penn Warren poemsis“Audubon: AVision,” in which he imagines the famous bird artist foraging the woods forspecimens: “Alone, he played his ﬂute in the forest.”

What Warren seemstosay,without spelling it out, is that we’re all alone at times, drawing on the magic of music, language and art forconsolation. The poemsthat Rosanna Warren offers readers in “Hindsight” have asly wayoftelescoping from the commonplace to the cosmic, too. In one poem,“Naturally,” she even ﬁnds inspiration in aWalmart parking lot, where she’sshopping very early to avoid others during the pandemic.

“Weﬁddle our masks on over our mammalian noses,” she writes, “weglove our hairless simian ﬁngers and palms.”

It’s apoem about the oddity of social distancing, but also, quite possibly,about the general strangeness of life as ahuman being.

The world has sometimes seemed even stranger since those disorienting days of a global contagion, which is whythe poemsof “Hindsight” continue to resonate. In alovely poem called “Papier Mâché,” Warren watches a 5-year-old shred grim newspaper headlines for acraftproject.

“He’ll makesomething whole of all this havoc,” she writes. These poemsmake something whole from the havoc, too, atonic forwhat ails us.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com

Rossana Warren

Da an nny Heitm ny Heitman

Addicks

ng campus a detailed

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,April 26, the116thday of 2026. There are 249 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On April 26, 1986, in the worst nuclear disaster in history,anexplosion and ﬁre at theChernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive falloutto begin spewing into the atmosphere.Dozensofpeople werekilled in the immediate aftermath of thedisaster, while the long-term death toll from radiationpoisoning is believedtonumberinthe thousands.

Also on this date:

In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry,Virginia, on an expeditiontoestablish the ﬁrst permanent English settlementinthe Western Hemisphere

In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, theassassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded byfederal troops near Port Royal, Virginia, andkilled.

In 1913, Mary Phagan, a13-year-old workerata Georgiapencilfactory, was strangled; Leo Frank, the factory superintendent, was convicted of her murderand sentenced to death. (Frank’sdeath sentence wascommuted,but he waslynched by an antisemitic mobin1915.)

In 1937, during the SpanishCivil War, Germanaircraftbombedthe Basquevillage of Guernica,killing hundreds and devastating the village (the bombing would inspire Pablo Picasso’smural “Guernica”).

In 1964, the African nationsofTanganyika and Zanzibarmergedtoform what is nowknown as Tanzania.

In 1977, the legendary nightclubStudio 54 had its opening night in New York

In 1994, voting began in South Africa’s ﬁrstall-race elections, which resultedinvictory forthe African National Congress and the inaugurationof NelsonMandela as president.

In 2000, Vermont Gov.Howard Dean signed the nation’s ﬁrst bill allowing same-sex couplestoformcivil unions

In 2012, former Liberian President CharlesTaylor became the ﬁrst head of statesince World WarIItobe convicted by an international war crimes courtashe was found guilty of aiding andabettingwar crimes and crimes against humanity,including murder, rape, and theuse of child soldiers.(Taylor wassentenced to50 years in prison.)

In 2018, comedian Bill Cosbywas convictedofdrugging and molesting Temple UniversityemployeeAndrea Constand at Cosby’ssuburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. (Cosby was latersentencedtothree to 10 yearsinprison, but Pennsylvania’shighest courtthrew out the conviction and released him fromprisoninJune 2021, ruling that the prosecutor in thecasewas bound by hispredecessor’s agreementnot to charge Cosby.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 93. Composer-producer Giorgio Moroderis86. Olympic swimming gold medalist DonnadeVaronais79. Actor Giancarlo Espositois68. Actor JoanChenis65. Actor Jet Li is 63. Actor-comedian Kevin Jamesis61. Former U.S. Poet Laureate NatashaTretheweyis60. ActorMarianne Jean-Baptiste is 59. First lady Melania Trumpis 56. Singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (TLC) is 56. Country musician Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts) is 55. ActorTom Welling is 49. Actor Pablo Schreiber is 48.Actor Jordana Brewster is 46. Actor Channing Tatum is 46. New York Yankees outﬁelder Aaron Judge is 34.

‘Love’ doesn’thavetomean‘LOVE Love’

Dear Miss Manners: When writing letterstofriends —and Iamofthe generation that treats emails like letters —Iamoften unsure whether to end the letter with “Love” or “Best.”

When my mother was teaching me how to write letters, she said it should always end with “Love, Name” unless it was a business letter,inwhich case it should end with “Sincerely, Name.”

who break in with the chipper “Hi!”

Andyour banker might be startled at “Yours truly,” thinking you had declared yourselftruly his, and what was he supposed to do about that?

As time has gone on, Ihave noticed that unless someone is avery close friend, they usually endletters with “Best” (still saving “Sincerely” for business).SoIdothe same.

Has ending letters with “Love” become too presumptuous, cloying or, well, icky? Is there apoint at which someoneprogresses from “Best” to “Love,” perhaps as they progress from liking to loving?

Idon’treally LOVE that many people. Obviously if someone begins using “Love” withme, Iwill follow suit, but being theﬁrst to do so makes me uncomfortable.

GentleReader: Andnow even “Dear,” as asalutation, is considered emotionally compromising, at least by those

Ah,yes. Conventions are now analyzed fortheir literal meanings. But time was when it would not seem odd to write aletter such as: EsteemedSir, Youare acad not ﬁt forcivilized society.Beware. Iwill seek myrevenge.

Your humble andobedient servant, Name Andyoung ladies whoaddressed one another with “Love” werenot assumed tobenurturing wild passions.

Even Miss Manners ﬁnds herself succumbing to such scrutiny.When she sees the sign-off “Best,” she can’t help thinking, “Best what? Wishes? Regards? Bestyou can do?”

So you should probably conﬁne

“Love” tothose whounderstand it as an expression of warm friendship, and take it down to “Affectionately” or “Fondly yours” to those whodon’t.

“Sincerely yours” will do forthe rest.You are sincere, are you not?

Dear Miss Manners: I’ve participated

in alocal book club at my library for afew months. I’ve decided to leave the club due to the constant ﬂow of personal experiences that are, at best, tangentially related to the book.

Do Ineed to tell the host, or can I just stop attending? Should Itell the host that Ifound the personal comments to be excessive? The rest of the group does not seem to mind the personal comments, as manyattendees contribute to the format.

Gentle Reader: Rather than saying that members should be discussing literature, not their personal lives, could you just say that the club was not the right ﬁt foryou?

Miss Manners doubts that you need to say either —only that you ﬁnd you can no longer attend. But please do not criticize the other members. They are enjoying the club the way it is, and relating books to personal experiences is not an intellectual crime. Nor is having abook club that is more social than studious, although it does not suit you.

Perhaps the librarian can steer you to amore academically oriented club.

Send questions to Miss Manners to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com.

Dear Heloise: Moredriversnotice cars that only have one working headlight.Years ago, ﬁxing aheadlight meant buying abulb, unscrewing it, andreplacing it in minutes. Today,many vehicles requirethe removal of panels or bumper parts to access thebulb.Several friends recently complained about high repair costs. A mechanic explained that new assemblies aremore complex, and labor can take 1-2 hours.

So, if aheadlight burns out, check theowner’smanual ﬁrst. Some cars allow for simple bulb changes,which saves money If not, always request arepair estimate to avoid surprises. —ConnieButler, in Blair,Nebraska Preventing freezerwaste

Dear Heloise: Buying large packages of meat can savemoney,but dividing

everything into freezer portions can taketime and energy

Instead of doing it all at once, try spreading thetask outover several days

When Ireturn from shopping, I look at the“useby” or “freeze by” dates on the packages and write them on my household calendar

Then, aday or two before these dates arrive, Itake afew minutes to break larger packages into smaller portionsfor the freezer.Ikeepone package out for immediate meals and wrap the rest tightly in freezer bags

This method prevents the rush of trying to portion out everything at once and helps to ensure that nothing spoils before it gets frozen. Planning like this also keepsthe freezer organized andhelps rotate food so that older items getused ﬁrst. —Dawn, via email Tensionrod forstorage

Dear Heloise: The space undermy

sink usedtofeel like acluttered mess until Iaddedasimple tension rod. Iplaced aspring-loaded rod acrossthe cabinetand hung spray bottlesbytheir triggers, lifting them offthe base andinstantly creating more usable space. Now Ican seeeverything at a glanceand no longerneed to dig around forsupplies.

Keeping bottles upright also helps prevent leaksand spills thatused to happenfar toooften. After one toomanyspills, we clearly needed abettersystem. The open space underneathnow holds small bins for sponges, brushes, and extra cleaning items. Sincethe rodadjusts easily,itﬁts most cabinets without tools or apermanent installation. This quickﬁx hasturneda cramped area into an organized, easy-to-maintain space thatworks everyday —Kevin, in Omaha, Nebraska Send ahint to heloise@heloise.com

ARTS &CULTURE

Storyof USSNew Orleansfeaturedinnew exhibit

‘Praisethe Lord andpass theammunition’

The story of the USS New Orleans, adecorated heavy cruiser that served in almost every major Paciﬁc theater battle of World WarII, is acinematic drama in three acts.

More, actually Christened at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1933 with water from the Mississippi River,the ship’sinterwar duties tookittoEurope,South America and the U.S.territories of Alaska andHawaii.

Dave Walker

Undergoing repairs at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, it survived (while providing one of the war’s signature soundtrack songs) and wentonto ﬁght at the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway and the Solomon Islands.

Losing the bow and more than 180 crew members in abattle off Guadalcanal, the ship limped toward repairs andthenwas returned to action. Avictory lap brought it to New Orleans for the ﬁrst postwarMardi Gras.

All of this and more is told in the new changing exhibit at the National WWII Museum, “Come Back Fighting: USS New Orleans at War,”which will remain on view through Feb. 14, 2027.

“Though it was launched in NewYork state, it sort of had the New Orleans spirit,”

‘A Refugee’sOrigin’

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s ShellGallery will open “A Refugee’s Origin by K.T.Ho” on April 27 at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, 233 St. Ferdinand St. The showruns April 27 through May29, and there will be areception at 6p.m. May1 The showisamixed media exhibit exploring Vietnamese Diaspora, colonial legacy and survival. Admission is free.Visit artsbr. org/shell-gallery

At SullivanTheater Tickets areonsale for Sullivan Theater’s production

ahit song.

Docked withoutpower on Dec. 7, the crew engagedthe attackersbymanually working its guns, haulingammunition from belowdecks.

“In order to ﬁght the Japanese airplanes that were coming overhead,they couldn’t use alloftheir lifts anddumbwaiters for the ammunition,”Graff said. “And so they hadtoliftitall by hand.”

According to legend, Lt. Howell M. Forgy, the ship’schaplain, cheered them on with thephrase “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

Later crafted into song by Frank Loesser, the phrase became thetitle of aNo. 1chart hit for Kay Kyser andhis Orchestra. The Victory Belles vocal trio, which performs in periodmusical reviews at the museum, rerecorded the tune for the exhibit.

2027.

said Cory Graff, museum restoration manager and curator of theexhibit. “It seems to be sort of like the Forrest Gump of ships during World WarII. It was everywhere.”

An interactive map in the exhibittracks the USS New Orleans’ wartime journeys, which covered more than 400,000 miles.

The map’sdot for Pearl Harbordenotes where it served as unlikely inspiration for

of RayCooney’s farcical comedy,“Run for Your Wife,” opening May1 on its stage at 8849 Sullivan Road,Central. Tickets are$28-$34. Visitsullivantheater.com. Deadline approaching Time is running outfor photographers tosubmit their best shotstothe Louisiana State Parks 2027 Calendar PhotoContest. The deadline is May1 for amateur and professional photographers’ submissions. Winning images thatcapture and sharethe naturalbeauty wildlife,outdoor adventure and rich history foundacross Louisiana’sState Parksand State Historic Sites will be

featured in the ofﬁcial 2027

Louisiana State Parkspromotional calendar. The grand prizewinnerwill receivea $1,000 Louisiana State Parks gift cardand have their photo featured on thecalendar cover. Twelveadditional winnerswill each receivea$250 gift cardand be showcased throughout the calendar Formoreinformation,visit lastateparks.com/2027-calendar-photo-contest.

At theOld Mansion

The Old Governor’sMansion, 502 North Blvd.,will host “BatonRouge: The Road to Statehood,” apresentation by Natasha Whitton, at 5:30 p.m. April 30. Whittonisanassoci-

When you’re comparingplans ...

 Look forcoverage that helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe number of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundreds out of pocketbefore benefits are paid.

 Shop forcoverage with no annual maximum on cash benefits. Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1 That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection,you needto purchase individual insurance.

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensiveones. The best way to preventlargedental bills is preventive care.The American Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.

Previous dental work canwear out. Even if you’vehad qualitydentalwork in the past,you shouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dental problem only go up as youage.2

Treatment is expensive— especiallythe servicespeople over 50 often need.

Consider these national averagecostsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethis canbeareal burden, especially if you’re on afixedincome.

“Medicare&You,” Centersfor Medicare& Medicaid Services,2025. 2 “Aging changesinteeth and gums”, medlineplus.gov,4/17/2022. 3 FairHealth, Inc. National average dental fees.Datacurrent as of July 2025;subject to change

“Absolutely love” “I absolutelylove my dental insurance. My dentalofﬁce ﬁles the claims,leaving me with very littlebalancetopay.” DorothyP TN

AJapanese torpedo separated the ship’s bow during 1942’snaval battle of Tassafaronga.The bowdropped to the bottom of what was known as Iron Bottom Sound, so named for allthe wreckageaccumulated there.

Somehow repaired with logs, the New Orleans made it to Australia, traveling some of theway in reverse,toreceive a temporary “stub” bow. Thenitwas back to Pearl,thenBremerton, Washington, for full repairs.

“And so it goes back to war,believe it or not,” Graff said. “It becomes this sort of bruiserthatjust goes from place to place andpounds the heck outofwhatever (is-

ate professor of English and humanities at Baton Rouge Community College and was selected as afaculty fellow by The Great Questions Foundation

The lecturewill be delivered on the214th anniversary of Louisiana’s statehood, and will explorehow Baton Rouge has become the political, cultural and economic center it is today. Admission to themuseum is free. visitlaogm.org.

At MidCityCivic Theatre

Tickets areonsale for Mid City Civic Theatre’s inaugural production, Shakespeare’s “Much AdoAbout Nothing,” opening June 12 on its stage

land) is next in line,” including the Marianas, the Philippines and Okinawa. After V-JDay,the New Orleans ferried sailors back to the states. It is Graff’s suspicion that some of the Louisiana natives on board ﬁnagled astop in New Orleans en route via the Panama Canal to the Philadelphia Naval Yard, arriving just in time for Mardi Gras 1946.

Docked on the riverfront, the vessel was open for public tours. Crew members were issued 3-inch buttons with streamers that said, “I’m from the New Orleans.” “And they party like it’s1999, except it’s 1946,” Graff said.

What remained of the USS New Orleans was sold for scrap in the late 1950s, “bought for pennies on the dollar and chopped up into nothing,” Graff said.

Cut to July 2025, when ateam of deep-sea researchers scouring Iron Bottom Sound discovered the ship’soriginal bow.Planning for the exhibit “was underway already,” Graff said. “Believe it or not, it’ssort of serendipitous.” The concluding segment of the exhibit is ghostly video of what the researchers found, the ﬁnal resting place for the sailors lost in 1942.

Asection of one of the coconut repair logs is among the objects on view in the exhibit, which also tells its story through uniforms, photographs and souvenirs, as well as archival newsreels and oral histories from former crew members.

A6-foot scale model of the ship was commissioned for the exhibit, as well.

at 7155 FloridaBlvd.

Tickets are$20-$40. Visitmidcitycivic.org.

Danceconcert

Tickets areonsale for LSU’s 2026 Dance Concert and Physical TheatreShowcase at 7:30 p.m.May 1-2 at the ShaverTheatreinthe LSU Music&Dramatic Arts Building, Dalrymple Drive

Tickets are$12-$17. Visitlsu edu/cmda/events/index.php.

NASA camp at LASM

At BatonRouge Symphony

Tickets areonsale for the next performances in Baton Rouge SymphonyOrchestra’s “Concertsinthe Cosmos”series, “Vibrant Voyages: AConcert in theCosmos Exploring Land, Sea, and Space,” at 7:30 p.m.onbothApril 29 and April 30 in thePennington Planetarium at theLouisiana Art &Science Museum, 100 S. River Road. Tickets are$40-$60. Visitbrso. org.

Registration is open for the Louisiana Art &Science Museum’s NASAAstroCamp for students in theﬁfth through eighthgrades set for July 8-10 at themuseum, 100 S. River Road. Costis$325. A$75 nonrefundable depositdue at booking. Visitlasm.org.

The storyofthe USSNew Orleans, shownon visit toNew Orleans in 1935, is open at the National WWII Museum, which will remain on viewthroughFeb.14,

simulatedifferentconditions on the

of spices

TASTE TESTERS TEST

Food incubators around Louisianahelp elevatelocal entrepreneurs

Is

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Over thepastdecade, global companies have spent morethan $90 billion in Louisianabuilding new liqueﬁed natural gas export facilities and petrochemical plants —investments that have been largely driven by the state’scheap, abundant natural gas At the same time, job growth in Louisiana hasremainedﬂat andthe state’spopulation hasdeclined by 52,000 people.

That disconnect is thesubject of anew report from aNew Orleansbasednonproﬁt researchorganization, TheData Center,thatlooks into therelationship betweenthe explosive capital investment in the state in recent years and thecontinuation of adecadeslong, outmigration trend.

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

About adozenbottles ﬁlled withhot honey sit side by side in achamber at LSUKnapp Hall.

The chamber looks much like arefrigerator but hasaninverserole —itcan heat up and change lighting settings inside to test howfood products last in storage. Shelflife studies are just part of what food incubators like LSU’s Food Innovation Institute, or FOODii,offer for their tenants —entrepreneurs seeking totake their concepts to grocery store shelves. Ashelf-life study at acommercial labcan costabout $15,000 to $20,000, depending on factorslike product type andthe durationofthe test.At FOODii? The study costs about $1,000 to $1,200

or packaged

IDEAS INNOVATION &

andformer interim director of FOODii, said the accessible testing is part of what makes incubators avaluable part of the food ecosystem in Louisiana. “It’s aboutthe technologies, theinnovation that youreally need to put into food so those industries can go to thenext level and compete nationally and maybe internationally,” Adhikari said. The state’sbold ﬂavors and rich culture behind them have long captivated the palates of those beyond Louisiana, giving rise to entrepreneurs whowanttosharethe state’sculinary offerings. Food incubator programs nurture small business owners as they preparetoenter themarket, and the programsare amping up theirefforts around the region to reduce the industry’s high entrycosts andregulatory hurdles.

Achyut Adhikari, associatedirector of LSUSchool of Nutrition and Food Science

ä See INCUBATORS, page 2E

The report, which covers the years between2015and 2023, before Gov. Jeff Landry took office, comes as his administration has pursued an aggressive economicdevelopment strategythat haslandedsome of the largest capital projects in state history,including Meta’s$27 million artificial intelligence data center in north Louisiana andHyundai’s planned $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish. Butwith all the activity,the report questions whether the new wave of projects, which state officials say will total $100 billion in additional capital expenditures,willaddress longstanding problems.

“Nobody is reckoning with the fact that what has happened over thepast decade did not create jobs,” said AlisonPlyer,chief demographeratThe Data Center. “Instead,

they’re doubling down.” Susan Bourgeois, Landry’stop economic development ofﬁcial, said the administration has not shied away from the realities of the state’sstagnant growth and population loss. On the contrary,she said the mega projects her agency has successfully courted are part of abroader strategy.The administration is trying to leverage the state’straditional strengths in energy andreﬁning to attract new sectors, like logistics and lifesciences, with better paying jobs.

“Weknowabout thepopulation loss andthe continued slowing of GDP,” said Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. “That is whyweare doing so much to change all that.”

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

Achyut Adhikariholds atest bottle of hot honeyfrom aspecialunit that allows the researcher to

bottled

products in alab at the LSU School of Nutrition and Food.The unit is also testing bottles of barbecuesauceand packets

Adhikari uses apHmeter to test the acidity of food

Changing habits forparents amassing unsustainablecollege debt

For years, familieshave agonized over the rising cost of adegree, yet many have felt they had no choice but to take out whatever loans were necessary to sendtheir children to college. That financial desperation has led to historic debt levels among parents. The federalParent Plusloan program has allowed parents to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, including tuition, housing and food. As of the first quarter of the federalfiscalyear, which endedDec. 31, the total outstanding balance for Parent Plusloans was $114.9 billion, accordingto data from the Departmentof Education’sFederal Student Aid portfolio The growth of Parent Plus loans over the past 10 years reveals a sobering trend for American families: the total balance has surged by $43.8 billion. Interestingly enough, the number of parents borrowing has not jumped at the same rate. In 2016,there were 3.4 million recipients for this type of loan. Today,there are 3.6 million. This means that while thenumber of families using Parent Plusloans grew by only about 6%, the total amount they borrowed grew by more than 61%.

This data highlights that parents have been borrowing signiﬁcantly larger sums to cover the rising cost of college. The sticker price for elite schools is mind-blowing. For instance, George Washington

INDUSTRIAL

Continued from page1E

Sobering statistics

The Data Center report combined avariety of economic indicators that paint ableak picture of Louisiana’sﬁnancial well-being.

The study notes that while jobgrowth in the U.S. overall increased more than 10% between 2015 and 2023, employment in Louisiana grew just under0.2% during that time. Median household income in the state remainedflat at around $61,000, while the cost of living jumped19% between2018 to 2022 alone.

The report attributes much of the job loss in thoseyears to thefracking boom in theearly 2010s that caused oil prices to fall, gutting Louisiana’soffshore industry

Between 2014 and 2024, the number of oil and gas extraction jobs in the state was cut nearly in half —from 50,000 to 27,000.

The abundance of cheap natural gas helped fuel themajor investments in LNG and petrochemical refining that followed. But the report says that those projects have diminishing returns because they increasingly rely on automation, which means fewer jobs. At the same time, skyrocketing insurance premiums have outpaced the national average, causing realestate values to fall.In2015, Louisiana’s property values ranked 26th among the 50 states. By 2024, they were third from the bottom, behind Mississippi and West Virginia

The report also highlighted an array of health and environmental data that shows thestate has some of the highest ratesof air and water pollution in the country with the sickest population and the worst outcomes —key quality-of-life indicators that impact where families choosetolive.

“Weneed to develop clusters thatbuild on our strength,like water management, or that take awhole different tack because large corporations are increasingly going to replace workers with automation,” Plyer said “Weshould be very critical in our approach.”

Making adifference?

Since taking office, Landry has said he wants to pursuea variety of industry sectorsto grow the state’seconomy.Inhis first year,hestarted by making the state what he argued wasmore business friendly, by enacting apackage of bills that eliminated the corporate franchise tax and established a ﬂat corporate income taxrate among other things.

His administration has also created new incentives to attract mega projects like Meta to the state, discreetly rewriting a bill about rural broadband, for instance, into asales taxexemption on digital equipment —something Meta madea condition of coming to Louisiana Bourgeois has said such tax

eliminates certainincome-driven repayment optionsfor newParent Plus loans, effectively requiring highermonthly payments.

Michelle Singletary THE COLOR OF MONEy

University announced last month that for the 2026-27 academicyear, tuition for undergraduate students will rise to $72,000. For incoming freshmen, thebase rate forhousing and dining will be over $18,000. Thinkabout that. Just oneyear of college at this elite school costs nearly $100,000. Now,manyfamilies don’tpay the listed tuition price. The cost of attendance is often offsetbyﬁnancialaid,including scholarships, grantsand work study.But when there is ashortfall,it’scovered by loans taken out by students, their parents or even grandparents.

A2025 survey bySallie Mae found that parents cover nearly half ofcollege costs using acombination of income, savings and borrowing.

With new federalcapsonParent Plus loans, which limit borrowing to $20,000 per year or $65,000 total, this year’s May 1decision daywill bedifferent. There’s now ahard ceilingonfederal funds for parents whowant to rely on federal funds rather than more expensive private education loans. Additionally,the One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law last summer,

breaks arejustiﬁed and are a needed part ofeconomic development, arguing that “you have to spend moneytomake money.”

The administration hasalso unveileda neweconomic development strategic plan focused on prioritysectors that it sees as primed for growth, including energy and process industries,logistics,aerospace and defense,agribusiness, professionalservices, lifesciences andtech.

The plan calls for anew incentiveprogram for businesses that offer jobs with wages above theregional benchmarks, creationofa dedicated fund for site development, an increased focus on rural areas and small businesses, and more support for regional economic development organizations.

It also says Louisiana should seek to have thehighest wage growthamong Southern peer states and achieve population growthand migrationinto all regions.

Bourgeoissaidher agency is making adifference.

“From aproject perspective, we continue to bring opportunity,” shesaid. “From anarrative perspective,wehave to tell thestory that we aremaking gainsinthings like education andpublicsafety.Reversing the perceptionisthe only way we reversethe outmigration.” Multipronged approach

In NewOrleans,a report from the Brookings Institution andThe Data Center issued in the fall found thatwhilesmall businesses andentrepreneurs thrived afterHurricane Katrina, they arestruggling today andneed sustained investment if they are to continue to survive

Small businesses, the report notes, are key to athriving economyand growing population.

That report’spolicy recommendations includedestablishingapermanent business recovery and resilience fund, expanding and incentivizing commercial real estateownership, revisingland use policies to get more vacant buildings back into commerce and promoting community wealth building.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno’sadministration has also emphasizedseveralof those initiativesaspart of her approach to economic development.

Robert Travis Scott, who headed the Public Affairs Research Council for adecade in the 2010s and has followed growth in other southern states, said asuccessful economic development strategy hastoﬁre on multiple cylinders at once.

“The whole game is to diversify and regionalizeand try keepand attract theright talent forwhat we need,” he said. “It isn’tjust amatter of what the taxsituation is butofbuilding livable, walkable communities where peoplewanttolive.”

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

My questionis, if the era of extraordinary federal borrowing for parents is ending, will parents shift more of thecollege cost burdenonto their children?

Should parents shoulderthe primary cost of college?

Ithink so

My husband andIﬁrmly believedwehad theﬁnancialobligation to payfor ourthreechildren’s education.Here’sthe mainreason: How would they be able to save enough as childrentopay forit themselves?

And for those who argue that your child will have “some skinin the game” if they pay, that’snot the measure of whether they will appreciate theeducation.Think of it as your scholarship to your kid, the same as if they hadwon money from an organization. Youcan set requirements for your continued support, as manyscholarships do.

Over the years, we managed our children’sexpectationsfor thecollege experiencetheycould have basedonwhatwecould afford.We preparedour childrenfor several alternativesifweweren’t able to save enough to avoidtaking out loans. Here’swhatwetoldthem andhow we handledthe college decision process.

Thevetopower

The decision of where they

INCUBATORS

Continuedfrom page1E

Unlike other business incubators that provide ofﬁce space, funding and mentorship to budding entrepreneurs, food incubators must also make sizableinvestments in kitchen equipment,food safety testing and production facilities. Inﬂation, rising fuel costsand fertilizer prices have made growing, producing, distributing andbuying food much more expensive Food manufacturing employs about20,000 in the state, andthe industry’sgross domestic product in Louisiana,groupedtogetherwith beverages and tobacco products, was valued at $3.2 billion in 2024, according to data fromthe Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Outside of FOODii, SouthernUniversity Shreveport runs afood incubator geared toward caterers, chefs andmobile food businesses, anda newprogram andfacilityfor food manufacturers is coming to Jefferson Parish.There’salsoaplethora of commercial kitchens and commissary kitchens. The resources for food entrepreneurs around the state showa growing interest and demand in the business, Adhikari said “It covers the whole circle of the food economy,” he said JosephFrancis, founderofPranam Superfoods, aFOODiitenant,said his antioxidant nutrition barstarted at theincubator in 2018. Francis, an LSU professor anddirector of the school’s Center for Comparative Oncology,researches antioxidantsand their health beneﬁts.

When he first started, he handmade twobars at atime,but with assistance from FOODii, he was able to increase production to 2,000 bars. Pranam bars are available at 30 stores, including Whole Foods, Maxwell’sMarket, Calvin’sBocage Marketand online at Walmart.

In the past seven years, Francis hasaveragedabout $60,000 in annual sales andislookingfor afacility to increaseproductionofthe bars. As a FOODiitenant,hesaid he wasable to scalethe business,conduct ashelflifestudy on his productand receive agluten-freecertiﬁcation

“For anybody whoisstarting out, it’sanexcellent place to be,” Francis said.

FOODii expansion

For more than adecade, FOODii has run food testing, training and production facilities for small businesseslooking to getonto grocery store shelves. Housedunderthe LSU AgCenter,FOODiistarted as afood business incubator in 2013, but staff realized thatthe greatest value that theprogram offeredtenantswas the university’stechnological expertise, creating an identity as an innovation institute

Its incubation services arestill offered, with about 45 tenants under FOODii, and anew 13,800-squarefoot facility is on theway for the program thatwill increase its capabilities.

The$5millionrenovation of its warehousejust outside the South Gatesofcampuswillallow forequipment to determine if products meet U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture regulations, in addition to Food and DrugAdministration compliance testingthat theprogram already conducts. Mostfood products fall

could go was not theirs alone, especially since we had the money they needed to pay forcollege. This should also hold true for families whohave no choice but to takeout loans.

Why wouldyou leave such a large ﬁnancial decision entirely in thehands of ateenager?

My husband and Itold our children they could apply to any school, butweweren’ttaking on debt.Wehad saved enough for them to get through local colleges without loans. They all decided that they didn’twant to graduate with debt, and they didn’t.

If themath doesn’twork, or if therequired debt exceeds the new federal caps, or will force you to take out expensive private loans, be prepared to say “no” to an unaffordable college choice.

Use your veto power

Lovingyour child meansprotectingthem from excessive borrowing and perhaps jeopardizing your retirementwith adebt load that you cannot carry

Thetwo-yearadvantage

Starting at acommunity college was always an option forour children. We didn’tbadmouth that choice.

Consider the savings: The average full-time student attending a community college in their own community pays $3,890 in annual tuition and fees, according to data from theEducation DataInitiative.

Your child can knock out core requirements —basic English, math andscience courses —at afractionofthe cost while living at home,saving on room and board. Oncetheyﬁnish their degreeatcommunity college, they can transfertoafour-year university.Whentheyreceive their diploma, it won’thave an asterisk on it. It will look exactly like the ones held by students who spent four years paying substantially more for their education. Community college isn’ta backup plan. It’salways been a smart money move

Thebrand-nametrap

Aprestigious public or private institutionwith ahefty price tagdoes notguarantee greater employment opportunities or crucialjob connections.

Yes, there arecertain companiesorhiring managers who exclusively recruit from elite colleges. However, thatalone is nota good reason to take on unmanageable student loans.

Look around your own workplace. You’ll likely ﬁnd colleagueswho graduated from awide variety of institutions, including community colleges, state schoolsand Ivy League institutions. Yetyou are all working in the same place.

EmailMichelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost. com.

AmoghAmbardekar,who is taking the helmatLSU’sFood Innovation Institute, stands near the larger bottling machine at the food incubator building on the edgeofcampus. ‘FOODiiisaliaison between everybody,’ Ambardekar said. ‘Atthe end of the day, thisisgoing to helpthe wholestate.’

under FDA regulations, but meat, poultry and egg products fall under USDA rules.

The facility will include ademo kitchen for training andprogramming for communityhealth education and aconveniencestore for studentsand the community to purchase tenants’ products. It’sexpected to be complete by the end of the year

Tenants can also tap into the university faculty’sresearch expertise in areas like nutrition.

“Theyare there to make business,” Adhikari said. “Here, we’re astate university.Weare here to serve Louisiana citizens.”

Amogh Ambardekar is taking over the helm of FOODii after working in innovation and commercialization for Burger King. He started his role at the beginning of this month and sees FOODii as the connector between all components of the food business, from growers to entrepreneurs to regulators.

Some interests for food innovators thatare top of mind include natural food colors and adding protein and ﬁbertotheir products, he said. Testingout these additions to food productsatFOODii helps lessen the risk for businesses before they enter the market.

“FOODii is aliaison between everybody,” Ambardekar said. “At the endofthe day,this is going to help the whole state.”

‘Weneedall handsondeck’

Monique Armand, the executive director of the MilamStreet Kitchen Incubator andCommunity Kitchen at Southern in Shreveport, said the incubator wasborn out of aneed to provide space for local food entrepreneurs to pilot their ideas while investing in the Allendale, LedbetterHeightsand West Edge neighborhoods, which have experienced “food apartheid.” MS KICK was part of aU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoodsplanning grant forShreveport andishoused under Southern’s Community andWorkforce Development department. The incubatorhas a24-hour access kitchen with space for tenants to host dine-in customers and events. Armand said the surrounding community beneﬁts from new culinary experiences fromtenants. There areﬁve tenantsslatedfor gradua-

tion, two who have moved into their own brick-and-mortars and two are connecting with other partners for further growth.

The incubator also runs acommunity garden and workforce development initiative in partnership with other community organizations.

“Weneed all hands on deck,” Armand said of MS KICK’smission.

‘A regional asset’

An $8.7 millionfood and beverage incubator is on the way in Jefferson Parish, the first of its kind in the area sinceNorco-based Edible Enterprises shuttereddue to damage fromHurricane Ida. The greater New Orleans area has given birth to food products like Zatarain’sand Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends, andthe incubator aimstopush entrepreneurs through the high barriers of entry to the industry

Running food incubators is acapital-heavytask, and most resources forthoselookingtobreak into the food industry,like commercial kitchens, are moregeared toward food truck or catering businesses, said Jerry Bologna, CEO of the JeffersonParish Economic Development Commission. Thatleaves agap in the market for food manufacturing resources.

“Webelieve thenextthatthe next Zatarain’sand thenextPaulPrudhomme is sitting out there, and they maybeintheir kitchen,” Bologna said. “They maybeworking for someone else at this time,trying to get their idea off the ground, and we really want to facilitate those entrepreneurs, to continue that culinary tradition that we’re known for.” He hopesthe incubatorwill promote the “cluster” of food manufacturers in the parish as amust-go spot for like entrepreneurs. It’ll focus on startups thatare looking to move intowholesale or commercial production.

The incubator is expected to open in 2028. JEDCO expects to be able to house “several dozen” tenants and has received much interest from local entrepreneurs, Bologna said, though formal applications have not launched yet.

“While this is in Jefferson and JEDCO is behind this incubator,it’s aregional asset, and nothing tells the story of our culture like ourfood,” Bologna said.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Nonproﬁt promoting resilience, addressing affordability

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

When William Stoudt was in elementary school in the late 1990s the Junior League of New Orleans helped launch Christmas in October, a program modeled after the national Christmas in April that enabled older and disabled people to stay in their homes by making critical repairs to the structures. Over the years, the local organization grew, went out on its own as a 501(c)3 and changed its name to Rebuilding Together New Orleans. Along the way, its mission evolved to focus on helping anyone in need make their homes stronger, safer and better able to withstand catastrophic storms and ﬂoods.

Rebuilding Together New Orleans has helped thousands of local residents over the past two decades

ﬁx and replace their roofs, weatherize the exteriors of their homes and upgrade their heating and AC equipment, among other things. In 2025 alone, the organization, which is funded by philanthropy and powered mostly by volunteers, ﬁxed up nearly 260 homes in the Greater New Orleans region, about 25% of those on its waiting list

In August, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the organization with help from the United Way, opened the Resiliency Center, a co-working space on St. Claude Avenue in the Bywater that brings together nearly a dozen nonprofits under one roof, all focused on aspects of creating stronger, safer communities.

In this week’s Talking Business, Stoudt, now the Rebuilding Together New Orleans executive director, explains why the mission of these organizations should be at the top of the mind for business leaders across the state Interview has been edited for length and clarity

There are so many needs that your organization addresses. What is the root of the problem?

I think it’s affordability The in-

Q&A WITH WILLIAM STOUDT

surance crisis is still very much a conversation — not just for the homeowners that we serve, but pretty much everyone. We’ve all gotten used to what the new normal is It’s like we’re in that pot, and the heat’s been turned up on the frog and no one realizes it Just because premiums didn’t go up 23% again last year doesn’t mean that the prices are sustainable. And as a result of this, our area is losing population. People are leaving. So how does this play into what Rebuilding Together does?

If we’re losing population, then we’re losing tax bases. And we’re losing people who work here and support our businesses. We’re los-

ing schools. And the more people we lose, the harder it is to insure those of us who are left because the pool is smaller

So, we have to ﬁnd a way to get out of the tailspin. And part of that is making homes more affordable and not just building them the same way but making them safer and stronger

Specifically, how do y’all do that?

We’re not going to just put lipstick on these houses. We are not just going to patch roofs, because they’re going to fail in the next storm. So, we are replacing them with fortiﬁed roofs or at least roofs that are built to fortiﬁed standards.

We have put more than 500 of these stronger roofs on houses

since Ida. That means 500 fewer people displaced by a disaster next time around, 500 people who are able to get back to work sooner, which enables other people also to get back to work.

What kind of demand exists for your services?

We have more than 1,000 people on our waiting list. Of those, about 400 need roofs. How do you fund this? How do you make the numbers work?

The numbers don’t really work at this point, but we have a lot of federal and city funding that we layer with local and private philanthropy The big box stores, local oil and gas companies, utility companies. It takes a village of companies that are doing the right thing. We leverage as many different revenue streams as possible.

What is your budget at Rebuilding? We have an annual operating

budget of $6.2 million, about $4.5 million of which goes to construction costs alone. We spend 91 cents of every dollar on construction. Tell me about the Resiliency Center, this new space you share with 10 other nonprofits, and how it came about?

So, the concept was, while so many people were talking about Katrina 20 years later we as an organization, and other partners, wanted it to be about the next 20 years. What is it that we need to do to make sure that our community continues to thrive? We didn’t want it to be a looking back. We wanted the Resiliency Center to be about looking forward.

Resilience is one of those words that a lot of us have come to resent. I think in New Orleans, it’s sort of a triggering word. But we still opened it as the Resiliency Center because we want it to be about reclaiming the narrative around resilience, and not a forced opportunity, not something that we have to do. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be resilient, whether it’s ﬁnancially or physically or in the way they get to work every day

Why should business leaders and those who live in prosperity care about the work you and your fellow organizations in the Resiliency Center are doing?

I mean if we don’t have people that can afford to live here, then we don’t have people that shop in stores, or go to restaurants, or work in hotels. And we can’t just think more tourists will save us. A city needs population.

Why wouldn’t

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

AROUND THE REGION

Robotaxis navigate bumpy road to operation in N.O.

Waymo has been testing on city streets for 6 months

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Nearly six months after an-

nouncing it was expanding to New Orleans, autonomous ride-hailing company Waymo has yet to debut driverless vehicles on Crescent City streets.

Though the white SUVs topped with spinning sensors and covered in cameras and radars have been spotted in New Orleans neighborhoods in recent months, company “specialists” are still behind the wheel and Waymo isn’t yet cleared to start picking up passengers.

“We need to hit the benchmarks set by our safety framework ﬁrst and foremost,” said Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher “Every city is different. The driving task is generally the same from place to place, but every city also has its own quirks.”

There’s no timeline for when the service will begin.

Before its fleet can start ferrying people around town, Waymo needs to clear several hurdles. The company needs to ensure its fleet can safely navigate Crescent City’s unique streetscape, complete with its notoriously unreliable traffic signals, wheel-engulfing potholes and erratic fellow road users.

Waymo also needs to obtain a certification from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, which a spokesperson for the state agency says it has yet to request Potentially further complicating Waymo’s plans to operate in New Orleans, the City Council is considering mandating that it obtain a city-issued permit — known as a certiﬁcate of public necessity and convenience — like those required for taxis, pedicabs and horsedrawn carriages.

“We’re not taking a position as far as whether or not Waymo can

operate,” said at-large council member JP Morrell.

“What we’re looking at locally is drafting language that would include them like any other forhire vehicle situation,” said Morrell, who has not drafted an ordinance yet.

“It’s important to make sure the playing ﬁeld is level whether there’s an automated driver or a real driver.”

A Waymo vehicle travels up Chartres Street in the French Quarter. Though the white SUVs topped with spinning sensors and covered in cameras and radars have been spotted in New Orleans neighborhoods in recent months, company ‘specialists’ are still behind the wheel and the autonomous ridehailing company isn’t yet cleared to start picking up passengers.

announced the test run was a success and it planned to expand its service to New Orleans.

The testing in Louisiana follows a year of rapid expansion across

“Every city is different. The driving task is generally the same from place to place, but every city also has its own quirks.”

The Waymo spokesperson said testing has gone as expected so far.

“Frankly, the only thing that could delay it is something like this proposal,” Teicher said.

Robotaxi rollout

The company ﬁrst sent its cars to New Orleans in February 2025 as part of its “road trip” program, where a small number of cars scout out a city’s roads to evaluate how well its system can adapt to a new locale. In November, Waymo officials

ETHAN TEICHER,Waymo spokesperson

the southeast for the Mountain View, California-based company

At the start of last year, its service was only available in three metro areas, all in California or Arizona.

Since March 2025, it has expanded to add Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas; Miami and Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta. Earlier this month, it began allowing the public to summon its cars in Nashville, Tennessee.

Pothole mapping Alongside its recent expansion

into the Southeast, Waymo announced a new partnership with the navigation app and fellow Alphabet subsidiary Waze intended to provide pothole detection data to cities and other transportation authorities.

Initially launched in ﬁve cities, the pothole pilot program is a byproduct of an existing practice.

“If you’re going to drive over a pothole, you want that rider experience to be smooth and comfortable, and so we’ve always collected data on potholes to improve the behavior of the Waymo Driver,” Teicher said, referring to the company’s autonomous driving software.

“And as we were collecting that data, we were also simultaneously hearing from cities that thought, ‘Hey, if you’re collecting this data, it would be really helpful to have it.’”

Under the new partnership, Waymo is supplying its pothole location data through Waze for Cities, a free

first quarter of 2026, her administration has filled 10,000 of them, she said Wednesday at a news conference marking her 100th day in office.

The city has a backlog of more than 2,800 pending pothole repair requests in its 311 system, with the average request remaining open for 724 days.

“I would argue that we already have an extensive pothole database,” Morrell said.

Teicher said Waymo will need to operate in New Orleans for a while before it can activate its pothole partnership and share their locations to Waze users and city officials.

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah. meadows@theadvocate.com.

Beyond isn’taplace —it’samindset. Andit’sabeliefthathas poweredusfor over80years We areJones Walker LLP,a ﬁrmdrivenbyanentrepreneurial spirit,adeepsenseofcommunity,and aﬁerce determination to deliverexceptional serviceand valuefor our clients.

Since1937, ourﬁrm hasbeencommitted to workingwithcommunityleaders to develop business opportunitiesacrossthe state. We aresteadfast in continuing ourdedicationtogobeyondinadvising clientsand supportinginitiatives andorganizations that make Louisiana abetterplace to live andwork

Louisianainnovatesat humanityscale.

Thecomplexityhereisourcredential. Engineers,shipbuilders,technicians,and founderswhooperateinourconditions developexpertisethattravels.

Researchersandfounderssolving problemsattheedgeofwhat’spossible arehardatworkinLouisianarightnow. Tomorrow’sautonomousvesselsare beingbuiltinourshipyards.Microchips criticaltonationalsecurityarebeing packagedinRuston.Thenextgeneration ofenergytechnologyisbeingrealized acrossthestate

Andthemomentumofourworkis growing.Foreverypublicdollarinvested inLouisianastartups,tenprivatedollars followed

Theworkhappeningherenowwilldefine industries,secureinfrastructure,and powereconomiesforgenerations.

Staff report

SouthLouisiana businesses and nonproﬁt groups recently announced the followingpromotions, new hires and resignations.

BatonRouge

In ve st ar Bank has hired Rob Raemsch to become chief creditofficer and executivevice president. Raemsch, who willover-

Fool’sTake: Apromising transformation

see the bank’scredit function,spent the past 17 years as senior credit ofﬁcer for Capital One.

Orbia Fluor &EnergyMaterials haspromoted Erick Comeaux from director of operations for growth to director of operationsfor the U.S. and plant manager of the company’sSt. Gabriel manufacturing site.

In his new position, Comeaux, achemical engineer will oversee day-to-day operationsofOrbia’s refrigerantsand energy materials businesses.

NewOrleans

The Louisiana Supreme Court hasappointed Brian Wiggins as its new judicial administrator Wi ggins pr evious ly worked as chief deputy judicial administrator,deputy judicial administrator for language access and trial court services, hearing ofﬁcer counsel for theJudiciary

Commission and as aresearch attorney Be fore his17-year career with th es ta te high court, he worked as astaff attorney for theLouisiana House of Representatives andservedinthe administrations of Govs. Mike Fosterand Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

Mary Bird PerkinsCancer Center has hired Dr.Jack

Winters to join its Metairie team

Wintersis aurologist with more thanthree decades of experience and an expert in reconstructive urology

Winters Bamburg

Across Louisiana Bonvenu Bankhas hired Dennis Bamburg as vice president andbusiness developmentofﬁcer Bamburg is aLouisiana state representative for Dis-

trict5 and theowner and operator of the Dennis Bamburg Agency He will work with the Bossier City-based bank’scommercial banking teamsacross northwest Louisiana and the capital region. Do you have personnel changes to shareorother ideas for our business coverage? Drop us aline at biztips@theadvocate.com.

Respected and established Canadian companyBrookfield Corp. (NYSE: BN) is undergoing a major transition, aiming to operate more like Berkshire Hathaway and Berkshire’s“clone” Markel —insurance businesses with aunique focus on investing, funded in partbythe premiums they collect. This approach has been highly successful for both of the latter companies Brookfield’sgoal is to grow distributable earningsby20% or more per year over the next five years. That’satall order, and one that investors shouldwatch closely.IfBrookfield succeeds,it will likely beat the market.

The company focuses on investing in ﬁve categories: infrastructure, renewable power,real estate private equity and credit. These are all areas that it believes will be important for global growth for years to come. And as it has apresence in over 50 countries worldwide, its foundation for growth is strong.

Brookfield has multiplegrowth drivers, includingits rapidly expanding wealth solutions division, its leading global asset management business, and its strong portfolio of operating companies. Brookfield is also interestedin taking advantage of global megatrends, including artificial intel-

ligence infrastructure, giving it a long growth runway. (TheMotley Fool owns shares of and recommends Brookﬁeld Corp. Note that there are some similarly named companies,sospecify correctly if youbuy.)

Fool’sSchool: Howlong to keep documents

Many,if not most, of us accumulate alot of ﬁnancial documents It’softenbesttouse ashredder whenyou’redisposing of them, but certainkinds of documents shouldbekept for certain periods. Here aresomecategories and examples,from the Federal Trade Commission and elsewhere: Keep forever: Birth and death certificates; adoptionrecords;marriage licensesand divorcedecrees; SocialSecurity cards;current passports,citizenship or residency documentation; military records; retirement plan information (including pensions and annuities); legaldocumentssuch as wills, health care proxiesand powers of attorney; andimportant health records.

Keep while you own them: Titles to vehicles,homeownership documents,mortgage or loan documents,rental agreementsand leases,insurancepolicies, brokerage statementswith your cost bases for investments, home improvement receipts, and receipts and warranties for major appliances

Keep for at least three years: Income tax returns,for most people. Selfemployed folks and those at risk of being accusedofﬁling fraudu-

lent returns, along withthose who claim lossesfrombad debts or worthless securities,are among the people who should hang on to taxreturns longer.(Youcan get the skinny at irs.gov.)Along with your returns, keep supporting documents such as W-2forms, 1099 forms,canceled checks and receiptsfor claimed purchases.

Three years is also agood guideline for paperwork tied to thesale of aformer home.

Keep for one year: Pay stubs, bank statements,credit-cardstatements, utilitybills and undisputed hospital or medical bills. (TheFTC notesthat if you can access any of these online, you can get rid of the paper copies.)

Most other documentscan be shredded (or cutup). These include ATMreceipts, offersof credit or insurance, credit reports and expired warranties, as well as expired driver’s licenses, other forms of identiﬁcation and credit cards.Basically,you don’twant to toss into thetrash any document withidentifying or ﬁnancial information on it, lest it fall intothe wrong hands

Ask theFool:

Fiduciaries, explained

What does it mean to hold a financial adviser to the “fiduciary” standard? —E.M., Flint, Michigan Afinancial adviser who is a fiduciary is required to makedecisions or recommendations that are in your best interest, not theirs. They mustalsodisclose any conflicts of interestand, generally,

how they’re compensated. Some financial advisers may only follow a“suitability” standard, recommending or doing whatever is suitable for their clients. That maysound fine, but what’ssuitable isn’tnecessarily what’sbest. Theymay be recommending something that will earn themasales commission, while not mentioning something betterthat offers no commission. A nonfiduciary adviser might even recommend the least suitable optionout of all suitable ones. (Of course,plenty of nonfiduciary advisers are ethical and mayserve you well.)

Registeredinvestment advisers and certified financial planners areamong those generally held to the fiduciary standard. According to the National Association of PersonalFinancial Advisors, “It’s estimated that nonfiduciary advice costs investors up to $17 billion a year.”

What are “bulls”and “bears,” financially speaking? —E.L., Bremerton,Washington The terms refer to the optimists and pessimists among investors. A“bull” expects an investment to perform well (is “bullish” on it) and may buy or own shares. Bears, on the otherhand, expect falling values ahead,soare likely to steer clear.They mayeven “short” a stock —aiming to proﬁt by buying high and selling low

Of course,while many take bullish or bearish positions, no one really knows howthe stock market or any individual stock will perform overthe short term. Over thelong term, though, the stock

market has always gone up. My Dumbest Investment: Youonly live once

My mostregrettableinvestingmove was putting allour savings into growth stocks in 2021.Why? YOLO —you only live once. N.L., online

In 2021, the S&P 500 index of 500 of America’sbiggest companies gained nearly 29%, so many investors were seeing great growth from their shares. The story was different in 2022, when the market pulled back by 18%. You mayhave also noticed that growth stocks tend to fall

Wiggins

Comeaux

Raemsch

Motley Fool

Economists saystrongdollarinLa. is notgoodnews

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

In much of Louisiana, a dollar goes further than al-

Top10Metros:Real Valueof$100

Four Louisiana metros in nation’s top 10 RANK METRO AREA

REAL VALUE OF $100(2024)

Working

NewLouisiana InternationalTerminal MakesBig Impact,

Thenew LouisianaInternational Terminal is theonly newdeepwater port under development in America,and it is astrategicimperativefor theregion:

•New Orleanswas foundedas aportcity over 300years ago,which means aworld-classcontainer terminal isn’t anew idea; it’s theoriginalone

•Increasingly, moderncargo ships cannot ﬁt under theCrescent City Connection since thebridgeclearanceisﬁxed, andshipshavegotten larger(16,000 TEUversus9,000 TEU)

•Working portsand strong communitiesgohandinhand, andSt. Bernard hasthe same opportunity- Now, we have thenumbers that show it:

Last week, GreaterNew Orleans, Inc. formally released an economic analysis of theproject, which showswhatthe Louisiana InternationalTerminal (LIT) will mean forSt. Bernard, thehostparish of thenew port:

•LIT will generate$33 million in newannual tax revenue at full buildout, a 58%increaseoverSt. Bernard’sentirecurrent taxbase of $57million

•LIT will addover4,300jobs to acurrent parish workforceof11,868 representing a37% increase in jobs forthe community

•The revenue will ﬂowdirectly to theservices St. Bernard residents depend on most:the school district gets $5 million peryear, law enforcement gets $5.1 million,the ﬁredistrict gets $2.5million, and drainage andleveesget nearly$1million each year

Theprojections areconservativeand independently veriﬁed.Three separate methodologies- LSU/Lewis Terrell&Associates,RAL Forensics,and GNO, Inc.’s IMPLANmodeling -wereused to develop theforecast, along with benchmarking of existing port facilities.

Furthermore, LouisianaInternational Terminal continuestomakeprogress. Recently,the privatepartnersbehindLIT announcedtheyhad formally incorporated as Louisiana International Terminal HoldingsLLC,marking a major milestoneinthe project’sdevelopment:

•Ports America is oneofthe partners.Theyare thelargest terminal operator in theUnited States

•Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) is thesecondpartner.TIL is part of theglobal MSC Group,the largestshipper in theworld

•PortNOLAretains responsibilityfor designing andconstructing the facility,while thenew LLCwill manage operations

Michael Hecht President&CEO

GNO Inc.

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LOUISIANA

Just six months after her lung cancer diagnosis, Shira Kupperman Boehler a New Orleans native, has created a foundation to help people get preventative scans for those who can’t afford them appeared on national talk shows about the importance of lung cancer screenings and wrote a book about her health journey and what women can do about their likelihood of getting lung cancer

LIFE-SAVING SCAN

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Shira Kupperman Boehler called herself an avid runner A kale enthusiast. She abides by all routine scans: annual Pap smears, colonoscopies, skin checks.

In September, Boehler’s husband, Adam, a health enthusiast in his own right, scheduled a whole-body MRI for her in New York City. She did not want to go. “I just get so claustrophobic,” she said. “But he was insistent, and he eventually got his way. Her MRI noted an abnormality in the right lung measuring approximately 3.8 cm. The ﬁnding was described in the report as “minor, ” “nonurgent” and “typically harmless.” She left with the impression that nothing was urgent or alarming Boehler, originally from New Orleans but living in Nashville now mentioned the ﬁnding to her friend, Dr Kim Lori Sander, a pulmonary radiologist at Vanderbilt University, who suggested a more sensitive test. The additional test revealed that the spot in Boehler’s lung had grown — to 4.1 cm in just a month After her initial CT-scan results, Boehler, at 43, had

See BOOK, page 2X

La. expert discusses pelvic floor therapy

Therapist explains role of treatment

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Most people will do almost anything to avoid talking about what happens below the waist. Blair Dathu has built an 18-year career on getting them to open up anyway

Dathu, a board-certiﬁed pelvic ﬂoor therapist and physical therapist, knows the region of the body she treats can make people uncomfortable.

Dathu, who has been working in South Louisiana for 18 years — the majority spent specializing in the pelvic floor muscle — spends her days helping patients navigate a wide range of pelvic floor issues ranging from trouble using the bathroom to organ prolapse.

“Our society puts a lot of taboo on discussing all things pelvis,” Dathu said. “A lot of my patients feel like they’re sort of suffering in silence or they’re the only human on earth experiencing the problems that they are because we’ve just put so much shame around our pelvises.”

Pelvic floor physical therapy can help those who are experiencing pelvic ﬂoor issues. Dathu, who currently sees patients in Houma at Ochsner Therapy and Wellness, answers frequently asked questions about pelvic ﬂoor therapy

What is the pelvic floor?

Dathu describes the pelvis as a close neighborhood with a variety of organs including the bladder, rectum and, for women, the uterus. There are three layers of muscles at the bottom of the pelvis. These muscles are called the pelvic ﬂoor, and they are used for many everyday activities: holding up the spine and internal organs, help with pooping, peeing and sexual function and, for women, being pregnant and giving birth.

When is it time for the therapy?

Because the pelvic ﬂoor has so many different roles, there are many reasons someone might need pelvic ﬂoor physical therapy

Dathu says these might include: n Urinary or fecal incontinence, n Constipation, n Pelvic organ prolapses, n Tailbone pain, n Anal-rectal pain, n Pain with intercourse, n Pain during vaginal exams, n Sacroiliac joint pain, n Endometriosis.

Because other medical concerns can cause symptoms similar to those caused by pelvic ﬂoor issues, patients are often screened for other health concerns before being referred to pelvic ﬂoor physical therapy

See THERAPY, page 2X

Dathu

PHOTOS PROVIDED By SHIRA KUPPERMAN BOEHLER

After her diagnosis of Stage 1 lung cancer, Shira Kupperman Boehler had part of her lung removed.

Behavioral Health Day coming to Baton Rouge

BY MARGARET DELANEY

Staff writer

Rally at the Baton Rouge Capi-

tol at A.Z. Gus Young Park, North Third Street, from 9 a.m. to noon on April 27 with Louisiana Mental Health Association and the Foundation for Suicide Prevention — Louisiana Chapter Wear white for behavioral health. Lunch and a vendor event to follow the rally Register for the event at the Louisiana Mental Health Association’s website

Ochsner Health CenterDenham Springs reopens

After a woman backed her car into Ochsner’s Denham Springs health center, at 30819 La. 16, the facility is now back open and accepting patients again. There were

no injuries associated with the accident, but Ochsner temporarily closed the center “to minimize disruptions for patients.”

Clinics help address high blood pressure, study says

A new study from Tulane University researchers found that a team-based program in community health clinics helped low-income patients reduce their blood pressure more than standard care alone. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was carried out in 36 federally qualiﬁed health centers in Louisiana and Mississippi, nonproﬁt centers providing primary care to many patients with limited incomes and limited access to care.

The multifaceted, team-based

program gave patients more sup-

port than they would usually receive, including clinic teams that followed an evidence-based plan to treat high blood pressure and help patients stay on their medications.

After 18 months, patients in clinics using the team-based program saw their systolic blood pressure drop by an average of 15.5 points, compared with 9.1 points in clinics providing enhanced usual care. Patients in the team-based program also showed more adherence to hypertension treatment.

Manning Family Children’s earns certification

Manning Family Children’s achieved certification as a Gold Level Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital. This certiﬁcation

recognizes the hospital’s health care team members’ commitment to best practices in infant safe sleep, “ensuring the highest standards of care for its youngest patients.”

Call out for research participants at Tulane

Researchers from the Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity at Tulane University are looking for participants in a study on family planning and pregnancy among women in same-sex relationships. Tulane’s study aims to better understand family-building experiences among sexual minority women in the U.S. South. Participants will be invited to take part in a 60-minute interview and will receive a $50 gift card for their time Interested in partici-

pating? Contact lead researcher Dovile Vilda at dvilda@tulane.edu. Groups team for free mobile dental clinics

Ochsner LSU Health and Southern University Shreveport are teaming up to bring free dental care to the community through a monthly mobile dental clinic — offering cleanings, ﬂuoride treatments, and consultations for all ages.

The clinic runs every ﬁrst Thursday at the Peggy Prescott Community Health Center, at 3810 Jewella Ave.

Health Notes is an occasional listing of health happenings around Louisiana. Have something you’d like to share? Contact us at margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1X

a more precise CT scan, a lung biopsy, a pulmonary test, a PET scan and lung surgery all in one week.

By October, Boehler was back at home, building the strength to run again in her home in Nashville. But, she left the experience with a new sense of purpose: share her story and tell anyone she could about the possibility of getting lung cancer as a healthy, nonsmoker

In just six months, Boehler has created a foundation to help people get preventative scans for those who can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs for lung cancer screenings; met with insurance companies and government ofﬁcials about changing the guidelines required to receive insurance-covered lung cancer screenings; appeared on CNN, Fox News and the Today Show; spoke at the Kennedy Center with Dr Mehmet Oz; and wrote a book about her health journey and what women can do about their likelihood of getting lung cancer, releasing on April 28.

Lung cancer in ‘never-smokers’ Boehler’s case is not as rare as most people assume.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In the United States alone, it will claim over 125,000 lives in 2026. While the total number of lung cancer cases is decreasing, the proportion of cases in never-smokers is rising.

Boehler’s father, a Tulane graduate and pulmonologist, taught her from a very young age the dangers of smoking. For her entire life, she has avoided both smoking and secondhand smoke.

Even so, the ﬁrst question many people ask her when she tells them her lung cancer diagnosis, is if she had been a smoker

“It’s a little insulting,” Boehler said. “We don’t place blame on any other types of cancer And I’m not a smoker anyway.”

Recent data from Northwestern University shows 10% to 20% of lung cancers in the U.S. occur in people who have never smoked. For comparison, in the early 1990s, never-smokers made up only 8% of the lung cancer population.

The transition could be related to the fact that there are less smokers overall in the United States or due to an increase in other environmental exposures (for instance, radon or pollution) leading to lung cancer

“If you have lungs,” Boehler said. “You can get lung cancer.”

The cancer biology often differs for never-smokers. Never-smokers are more likely to develop adenocarcinoma, the subtype Boehler had.

Despite the increase in neversmoker diagnosis, screening

Continued from page 1X

Although a referral is not required in Louisiana to see a physical therapist often patients are guided to Dathu’s practice after consultation with a primary care physician, gastroenterologist and gynecologists. The appointment

At a patient’s ﬁrst appointment, Dathu shares information about the pelvic floor muscles before asking patients questions about any pain they may be experienc-

guidelines in the United States remain largely tethered to smoking history The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual low-dose CT screening for adults aged 50 to 80 with a signiﬁcant active or prior smoking history — at least a pack a day for 20 years.

That policy, implemented in 2013, is grounded in evidence: the 2011 National Lung Screening Trial demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with low dose CT scans compared with chest x-ray However participants in this study were heavy smokers and between 55 and 74 years of age.

Because Boehler’s tumor was caught at Stage I, her prognosis was fundamentally different from that of patients diagnosed with later stages. She underwent surgical resection, removing the affected portion of her right lung.

“My lymph nodes were clear There was no evidence of metastasis,” she said.

When Stage I non-small cell lung cancer is detected early and completely resected, ﬁve-year survival often exceeds 70% and may approach 90% in some patients.

This stands in stark contrast to advanced stages, where treatment shifts to systemic therapy, and survival declines substantially

The sharp change in prognosis across stages underscores the power of early detection before symptoms ever appear like persistent coughing, coughing up blood, wheezing or shortness of breath.

Telling her story to thousands

In 2019, the Boehler family moved away from New Orleans.

Boehler went kicking and screaming Before she left, she was introduced to a one-line a day journal that documented a single sentence from every day for ﬁve years.

She started the journal in Janu-

ing, as well as their bladder, bowel and sexual function. Then, it is time for a physical exam. This may include an external examination of the pelvis during which the provider lightly touches the region to determine if a patient feels pain or tenderness. This may be followed by an internal examination of the vaginal or rectal canal to determine whether there is any pain, tenderness or restrictions.

If a patient is uncomfortable in any way, Dathu slows the pace and works with them on other alternatives to pursue physical therapy, like exercises. “It’s often really uncomfortable

ary 2020.

“I just thought if I could write one positive thing each day, I could get over missing New Orleans and being home,” Boehler said.

She didn’t know that a global pandemic and four more family moves were on the horizon. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she kept the journal alive. Her entry on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025: “I have lung cancer.”

“What else was there to say?” Boehler said.

She used this journal throughout her journey and recovery and used her single-sentences to help her write her medical memoir

The book “One Scan Saved My Life: How One Woman’s Story Will Change the Way We Detect Lung Cancer”, takes readers on a personally detailed and medically precise trek of Boehler living life with lung cancer. All proceeds from the book will beneﬁt her nonproﬁt, Cancer Doesn’t Care.

“The idea was to tell my story

for patients to answer some of my questions,” Dathu said. “But I remind them that I do this every day I ask patients about bowel movements, pain during sexual activity.”

From there, Dathu works with her patients to create a unique care plan that enhances their quality of life.

Success looks different for every patient: Some will measure success by their ability to better control their bladder or bowels, others by their ability to have painfree intercourse.

“My goal is to get my patients to a place where they no longer need me,” Dathu said. Sessions are typically 45 minutes

through a couple hundred pages versus having to call everyone in the phone book,” Boehler said. Boehler is three months cancer free. She is back to her pre-lung cancer life 6-mile runs and all — with her husband and their four children, ages 8 to 14. She still misses New Orleans and comes home to visit family —

to an hour once a week. Depending on the patient’s condition and compliance to Dathu’s at home checklist, six to eight appointments should be enough to address pelvic ﬂoor issues.

What exercises are used?

Pelvic floor physical therapy might draw to mind pelvic muscle strengthening exercises such as kegels, or biofeedback, which uses computers to assess the body while a patient performs exercises. While Dathu notes that kegels and biofeedback are components of pelvic ﬂoor physical therapy, it’s not a catchall answer for pain. Kegels can actually make pelvic ﬂoor

Health scans showed that Shira Kupperman Boehler had a spot in her lungs. It was cancer

and for Mardi Gras celebrations, of course.

She remains grateful for her husband’s persistence about getting a whole-body MRI. She believes it saved her life.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

conditions worse in certain cases.

Pelvic floor physical therapy also considers the mind-body connection a large part of addressing the tightness, tension or weakness in the muscle. Stress can be a signiﬁcant component to causing, or worsening, a pelvic ﬂoor condition.

“If you think about your pelvic ﬂoor pain, you’re going to be stressed about it and, as a result, have more tension in the pelvic ﬂoor muscle,” Dathu said. “Calming the mind and distressing can go a long way.”

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

PHOTOS PROVIDED By SHIRA KUPPERMAN BOEHLER

Shira Kupperman Boehler, second from left, will publish her new book, ‘One Scan Saved My Life: How One Woman’s Story Will Change the Way We Detect Lung Cancer,’ on April 28. She celebrated her book launch and signing in New Orleans on March 31 at Hotel St Vincent

Shira Kupperman Boehler called herself an avid runner A kale enthusiast She abides by all routine scans: annual Pap smears, colonoscopies and skin checks. Then she was diagnosed with lung cancer

Eat Fit LiveFit

Alifebydesign:

Terrance Osborneonart, balanceand becoming

Usually,thiscolumnisaboutfood healthandhabits.Butwell-being isn’tlimitedtowhat’sonourplate orhowwemoveourbodies.It’salso abouthowwethink,howwerespond tolifeandtheenvironmentswecreate aroundourselves.

Throughour“InspiringStories”series, wehighlightindividualswhoselives reﬂectdifferentexpressionsofwellness. Thisweek,NewOrleansartistTerrance Osborneoffersaperspectiverootedin creativity,intentionandadeepsense ofpresence.

TerranceOsborne’sworkisinstantly recognizable:boldcolor,movementand astyledeeplyrootedinLouisiana.Justas strikingistheenergybehindit:asenseof easeandclaritythatcarriesthroughboth theworkandthepersoncreatingit.

Thisstoryislessaboutwhereheisnow andmoreabouthowhechosetogethere.

TerrancegrewupinNewOrleans, surroundedbycreativity,butwithoutclear examplesofthelifehewouldeventually build.Hisstepfatherwasabusive,andthe modelsaroundhim—ofbothcareerand manhood—wereinconsistentatbest

“Ididn’thaveanexampleofhowtobea father,”hesaid.“ButIunderstoodthathurt peoplehurtpeople.Andmaybethatwas hisstory,butitwasn’tgoingtobemine.”

Asakid,artwassomethingothers respondedtoearlyon.“Myﬁrsthustlewas kidsbringingmetheirjeans,”hesaid.“They wantedBartSimpsonorMickeyMouse drawnonthem.I’ddoitwithpermanent marker—ten,twentydollars.”

Thoseearlypieceslikelydidn’tmake itthroughthewash.Buttheyshowed himthatwhathecreatedhadvalue. Everythingbegantoshiftwhenhemet artistRichardThomas.

“Iworkedinhisgallery,”Terrance said.“Hehadstudentscomein,and

he’dteachus.Idon’tknowhowhedid it—teachingallday,thenworking withusatnight—buthedid.Hegave memyﬁrstpaintbrushandcanvasand said,‘I’mgoingtoshowyouhowto paint.Whenyousellthisone,buyyour ownsupplies.’”

“Asakid,youeitherthinkyouknow everything,oryoumakeyourself smaller,”hesaid.“Iwasmakingmyself smaller,untilImetRichard.Hewas loving,compassionate,generous.He showedmewhatthatcouldlooklike.”

“IlovedthatIcouldhaveanidea,put itonasurfaceandsomeonecouldsay, ‘That’sbeautiful,’”hesaid.“Itmademe feellikemyideashadvalue.”

Encouragedbyteacherswho recognizedhistalent,Terranceattended theNewOrleansCenterforCreativeArts (NOCCA),thenstudiedﬁneartsatXavier UniversityofLouisiana.

Still,becomingafull-timeartistdidn’t feellikeagiven.Thatshiftcameafter HurricaneKatrina,whenhesteppedaway fromteachingandcommittedfullytohis work—supportedbyhiswife,Stephanie, whomhedescribesashisbusinesspartner, bestfriendand“thepersonwhobrought structureintomylife.”

WhenIsatdownwithTerrancefor ourpodcastinterview,Iwasn’tsure wheretostart.

“It’salwaysgood,”hesaid.“Ifyoudon’t knowwheretostart,thepossibilities

areendless.Thenaturalwayistodo whatmovesyou—gowiththeenergy.”

Thatperspectivecarriesdirectlyinto howheworks.

“Mymeditationisactionmeditation, hesaid.“I’mcompletelyabsorbedinthe painting.IforgetthatI’minvolvedin anythingelse.”

Hedescribesreachingwhathecalls, “thegap.”Hesaid,“Youstopthinking,and whenyourealizeit,you’realreadyoutofit.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsner’sEatFit nonproﬁtinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

Butthemoreyougetthere,themorethat spaceopensup.”

Thesameworkthatbringspressure anddeadlinesisalsowhatbringshiminto thatstate.Outsidethestudio,hisroutines supportthatbalance.

“I’veeatenprettywellmostofmyadult life,”hesaid.“I’vegotallthesepictureson myphoneofthesaladsStephaniemakes. They’recolorful,they’rebeautiful—they looklikemypaintings.”

Hisapproachtomovementshiftswith hisschedule—sometimesstructured workouts,othertimessimplygetting outside,walkingtheneighborhoodwith hiswife.

Duringmoreintenseworkperiods,his focusnarrows.“ImakesureI’mhydrated,” hesaid.“Idon’teatalotwhenI’mworking. Itslowsmedown.”

Sleep,hesays,hasbecomeessential.“In mytwenties,Icouldstayupallnightand itdidn’tmatter.Now,sleepiseverything. Itaffectsmymood,andmymoodaffects mywork.”

Hisversionofaperfectdayissimple: goodsleep,morninglightinthestudio, musicplayingandtheworkinfrontofhim. “Whenyou’recreatingfromagoodplace, youfeelit,”hesaid.“That’swhatit’sabout.” ForOsborne,thatfeelingisn’t accidental.It’ssomethinghe’sbuilt choicebychoice—intobothhislife andhiswork.Andintheheartoffestival season,hisworkbecomespartofthat sharedexperience—meetingpeople exactlywhereheintended:inaplacethat feelsgood

ForadeeperlookatTerranceOsborne’s perspectiveoncreativity,balance andintentionalliving,listentothefull interviewontheFUELEDWellness+ Nutritionpodcast—availablenow whereveryougetyourpodcasts.

In 2024, just under two-thirds of Louisiana children were classified as “flourishing,” the fifth-lowest ranking in the country, according to data gathered by the U.S. Department of Health andHumanServices.

“Flourishing”isameasure of how well children are thriving within their family andcommunity. It represents socialization, curiosity,resilience andself-regulation. Flourishingin children is associated with higher levels of school engagement, and attributes of flourishing have been linked to areduced likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors and developing mood disorders.

Although the national averagefor “flourishing”children leveled out at 66.7% in the 2023-2024 school year compared to the 66.4%in2022-23, thetrend for“flourishing”children has been in rapid decline since 2016 when the averagewas 92.8%.

Manyfactors can influence whether or not achild is flourishing, including parental capacity (such as the health of parents,their ability to cope with stress and anysubstance use)and family dynamics(such as parent-child relationshipsand family activities). Promoting flourishing at home supportschildhood development and increases the

likelihood of well-being and success in adulthood.

According to America’sHealth Rankings analysis,the prevalence of children whomeet thecriteria for flourishing is higher among:

nGirls compared with boys.

nAsian children compared with Black children.

nChildren with aparent or guardian whograduated fromcollege compared with thosewhose parents or guardians have lowerlevels of educational attainment.

nChildren without special health careneeds comparedwith children with special healthcareneeds.

These states had thelowest percentageof“flourishing” children, in ascending order:

nOregon with 62%;

nUtah with 62.3%;

nMaine and SouthDakotawith 62.9%;

nLouisiana with 63.5%;

nArkansas with 63.6%;

nNewHampshire with 63.9%;

nNevada with 64.2%;

nMichigan with 64.3%;

nOklahoma with 64.6%

nIndiana with 64.7%;

nIdaho, Minnesota,West Virginia andWyoming with 65%. Thesestates had the highest

percent of “flourishing” children, in descending order:

nNebraska with 70.1%;

nNewJerseyand Texas with 69.7%;

nTennesseewith 69.3%;

nIllinois with 69.2%;

nMaryland with 68.4%;

nSouth Carolina with 68.1%;

TheLouisiana Health section is focusedonproviding in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This sectionlooks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state andnational health statistics and

examining tried and

methods on ways to livewell.

nHawaii with 67.9%;

nNorthCarolina with 67.7%;

nOhio with 67.6%;

nMassachusetts with 67.5%;

nDelaware with 67.4%;

nGeorgia with 67.3%;

nNewMexico, Pennsylvania and Washingtonwith 67%.

Health editions will also profile people whoare advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do youhavea health story? We want to hear fromyou. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.

BRO UGH TT OY OU BY

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

PhotocourtesyofTerranceOsborne

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EliteTraining Complex-Burbank 5444BurbankDrive BatonRouge,LA70820

Sportsphysicalsareavailable atnocosttoyou. Opentoathletesingrades6–12.

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FULL STORY

Documentarian uses visual,social mediatoteach Louisianahistory

BY JOYHOLDEN Staffwriter

When Elroy “E.J.” Johnson IV started teaching historyinBaton Rouge, hisstudents told himitwas aboringsubject. He persisted anyway,trying to ﬁgure out how to teach storiesofthe pastby using modern techniques.

ADallasnative,Johnsonwas ateacher at Prescott Middle School from 2012 to 2014 as aTeach forAmerica corpsmember.Hesoon discovered that he would have to use innovation toengagehis young students.

ButJohnson says his time teaching in Baton Rouge laid the foundation for what he does today as adocumentarian and projectmanager for theproject manager for the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates.

“I don’tthink,without thattime, I’dbe doing things I’m doing now,” he said. During the pandemic,Johnson started making content on Instagram and TikTokabout Black American historyin

Alexander Trapps-Chabala, genealogist and historian, colaborates with Johnson to research documentsand records for videosonsocialmedia.

Louisianaand Texas. He posted avideo on TikTok in 2020about Laurel Valley Plantation andwas surprised by the amount of attention it got.

He started ﬁlming himself as he traveled and researchedthe plantations that his ancestors had livedand worked on in Louisiana,several in Natchitoches Parish.

“I wasshowcasingthem, talking about historical ﬁgures and things that Iknew alot of people havenot seen,” he said.

“People often drive by real deep stories that show the groundwork of how Louisiana is today.”

As @thedirector_ej, Johnsoncurrently has 50,000 followers on Instagram and 88,000 followers on TikTok,with posts that have commenters from around the country.Hesays that his goal is to reach people far from Louisianawho have ancestral ties to the state so they can learn about their roots.

“For alongtime, history books were not giving the full story.I think alot of kids being able tosee their family story, their family culture, theirfamily regions is making them more interested,” he said.

Johnson’svideos include information on historical places like Saint Simon Missionary Church in Natchitoches, slave cabins on theMagnolia Mound plantation in Baton Rouge and midwives and healersinSt. Landry Parishatthe Rural African American Museum in Opelousas. One video explains plantation commissaries and scrip money,while others highlight small rural towns throughout Louisiana.Johnson often interviews Black elders, sharing his platform with the faces and voices of wisdom.

He also uses his own family’spictures as the foundation for lessons.

Aconnectiontothe ancestors

After his stint in Baton Rouge, Johnson moved to Texasin2014 to teach history,but he returnedtosouth Louisiana in 2022. With relatives in Natchitoches, hismove back to Louisiana felt natural.

“In many ways, beingabletocome teach in thestate that my grandmother did not go to high school in was kind of a full circle moment,” Johnson said.

While Johnsonreturned to Louisiana to work in marketing and media, he wanted to foster his love of storytelling that he found through making social mediavideos.Onthe weekends,hetook his camera out to document the culture around him.

“It was also away of me gettingto understand Louisiana more intimately being the place my ancestors have been for many generations,” he said.

Johnson collaborateswith Alex

Johnson wrote and directed ashort about jazz musicianJelly Roll Morton.

Trapps-Chabala,agenealogist and historian, to research documents and records forvideos on social media.The twowork together often on historical narratives. Trapps-Chabalasays that he goes to Johnsonifhedoesn’tknow something, and vice versa. They met about 15 years ago and wereinstrumental in organizing an informal online community, sharing Louisiana Black history

Trapps-Chabala, originally from California,has strong roots in theSouth. He moved to New Orleans for his genealogywork with NorfolkState University’s Sold Down River Project. He notesthat Johnson is on amission to “get the facts straight,” especially so that peoplewho aredisplaced from theSouth can connect to thehistory and culture of thearea. Trapps-Chabala says that Louisiana hasanabundance of writtenrecords thattraditional genealogy relies on, but historians have to use a sharp eye tointerrogate what’swritten.

“EJhas shown me that everything that’sonpaper isn’t always the truth, but at least we have adocument to build off of,” Trapps-Chabala said. “Wecan createanarrative that’s honest, looking at it fromall theangles, andexpress it in away that actually matters to people.”

He praisedJohnson’s abilitytobuild

ä See STORY, page 2Y

JanRisher

The thwack of home

Around 9p.m., the family up-

stairs makes its nightly trek from the front of the house to the back.

Except, there is no family upstairs.

We live in aone-story house.

My husband and Ihave been living in arental house forseven months while our real homeisbeing rebuilt after aﬁre destroyed it in August. Like every other place I’ve ever lived, the rental homebreathes and makes the occasional creak or sigh.

But in this case, this house has an abundance of other sounds.

These days, my husband and I look at each other sometimes and don’teven have to say,“Didyou hear that?”

We have theorized on what all the noises could be longer than we spent on our taxes. Sometimes, we are certain of the aforementioned family upstairs. We’ve named the imaginary lot the McAlisters.

My husband is convinced that the noise sounds like afamily on a schedule. Like at somepoint they say,“Time to put the kids to bed,” and they all go scurrying down the path they take every evening. Seven months in, the McAlisters remain the best explanation forwhatever is going on in the invisible, imaginary apartment upstairs, but we are certain that this is not how things are supposed to work.

Houses speak alanguage we learn eventually —but seven months is usually long enough to at least know the alphabet.

That said, this rental isn’ttalking.

Other houses have been more forthcoming.

The house sound Iremember mostvividly is from my childhood home. The house had an attic string in the hallway with a two-inch, smooth oblong wooden pull on its end. Iremember looking at that wooden pull when it wasimpossible to reach. Iremember jumping anyway.I don’t remember the ﬁrst timeI actually hit it, but doing so gave amostsatisfying thwack.

After that, Ijumped up and hit the wooden pull every single timeI wentdown that hallway Remarkably,myparents never minded —or, at least, never said so. The house is still there. Iwonder if it still has that attic pull and if any other child appreciated it like Idid.

The summer before my junior year in high school, my family moved away from the house and townthat built me to another small town 50 miles away,when my father becamethe high school principal in Magee, Mississippi. The school provided ahouse forthe principal. The house had amost unusual feature —the school district had built abrand new full-size track in what had previously been the house’sbackyard. My bedroom wasinthe back of the house. With abackdoor nearby,I had easy access to the track, which was the talk of the town. The track was the perfect place to meet people the summer we moved there. By people, Imainly mean boys. From my bedroom,I could hear voices and footsteps from the track in what wasbasically my backyard. That summer,I learned the difference between the sound of aCorvette engine and aTransAm engine. Without even looking out the

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Elroy‘EJ’ Johnson IV,a documentarian and historian, teaches stories of the past by using moderntechniques.

CovingtonHeadStart veteranretires

Educator helped preschoolers in programfor 50 years

BY LAURA ALLEN Contributing writer

At only 8a.m., the small Head Start classroom in Covington was already alive with the laughing and crying of 3and 5-year-old children.As the young students ﬁnished up abreakfast of biscuits, sausage patties and orange slices, they each dashed off to their favorite learning centers to cram in some playtime before circling up as aclass.

Amid the chaos, Johnnie Rushing —known to students, parents and faculty alike as Mr.Johnnie —took thetimetotalktoeachstudent.

“I like how Jayden is peeling hisorange over his plate,” Rushingpraised one child during breakfast.

“I like the way you’re cleaning up. Good job!” he complimentedanotherstudent later on.

Rushing, 73, is ateaching assistant at Covington Head Start and has been with the school readiness program for over 50 years. His impact on the lives of students and others in his community has been lasting, but after five decades in the classroom, Rushing has decided to say goodbye at the end of this school year

“I pretty much like what I do and Idid,” Rushing said, “but you got to know when it’stime.”

Rushing graduated from

STORY

Continued from page1y

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Johnnie Rushing,assistant teacher atCovington Head Start

GramblingState University in 1975 with adegree in social science. At the time, he planned on getting ajob in social work, but the Covington area offered little in that ﬁeld. Needing ajob,Rushing eventually appliedtoCovington HeadStart

“When Idid get the position, Isaid, ‘Well, I’ll work here probablythree or four years, thentry to move on,’” Rushing said. But the longer he worked with the students —watching as they broke outoftheir shells and began to excel academically and socially —the more he grew to love it.

“I kindofgot hooked,” he said Head Start is apreschool program forchildren ages 3to5years old—Early Head Starttakes childrenas young as 6weeks old—that was designed to servelow-incomefamilies. The federally fundedprogramwas established in 1965bythe Ofﬁce of EconomicOpportunity under President LyndonB Johnson. Just 10 years after

anarrative that is accessible to all levels of education andclasses across racial barriers. Heisable to tell hard and uncomfortable histories in away that results in empowerment.

Educationmeets media

Using photographyand documentary ﬁlm to tellastory is Johnson’sforte. In 2024, he was selected as amember of the Emerging Voices Cohort by the New Orleans Film Society,aninitiative dedicated to supporting rising documentary ﬁlmmakers.

From 2019 to 2021, Johnson directed and produced thefollowing documentaries and shorts: “The Oak Cliff Documentary,” “Building the Bridge,” “A Food Justice Story,” “From the Block” and two videos on Black women’shealth. His next project is adocumentary short about JellyRoll Morton, the Louisiana jazz legend. He reached out to Lafayettenative and LSU alumna Carly LeDayfor help on the production side.

“EJ mixes the history of things as

Johnson announced Head Start,Rushing joined the team in Covington.

At 22 years old, Rushing startedhis career at Head Start as abus driverand assistant teacher.After 13 years, he was promoted to a teaching position, which he heldfor fouryears, before returning to his previous position for another decade. Then,Rushing took afulltimeteachingassistant role, which he has worked as ever since.

Marcela Spivey,the center manager assistant at Covington Head Start, summedup Rushing’simportance to the school: “Mr.JohnnieisCHS, and CHS is Mr.Johnnie.”

Every day follows thesame schedule,and mostactivities aremarked by asong to help the children stay engaged and on task.

After breakfast, the studentsgather on the alphabet rug for circle time. The main teacher and Rushing sing the “Wish YouWell” song with the children for the students who areabsent that day

Before recess, Rushing leads the children in a circle around the alphabet rug, singing atransitional song before going outside “Walking around the letters, theletters,the letters.We walkaround the letters so we can go outside”—sung to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.”

Andafter playtime, Rushing sings “The Cleanup Song” just as loudly as the children, picking up blocks and reshelving picture books alongside his students No matter what it is the childrenare doing, Rushing is there to lend ahelping hand,say aword of encour-

well as thecreativeside of video,” LeDaysaid. “Theimpactispretty educational, not just visual. LeDay,founder and owner of Chateaux Rouge Cinema in Baton Rouge, said the two started ﬁlming the short in January.They are currently on post productionand working out amarketing campaign. They hope to show thefilm in theNew Orleans African American Museum during Juneteenth Fortheirnext project, Johnson and LeDay want tobring life and action to old portraits. The project is in its beginning stages, but the goal istorecreateportraits of the blackAmericanSouth. They plan to have actors act outthe portraits and include background information.

“Louisiana is aplace with alot of Black history,culture and traditions that arewellknown, but alot of timesthe people behind it,the stories behind theculture —how it got to where it is —isless known,” Johnson said. “So to highlight the stories of the enslaved and Black communitiesacross Louisiana is really importanttomeand helps lay the foundation for whywe know Louisiana culture to be so iconic.”

agement or offer up alisteningear,and the students are always excited to seehim.

Onestudent marveled at thefact that he and Rushing were bothwearing black tennis shoes,telling everyone about the pair’s (almost) matching outfits. Another child launchedhimself at theassistant teacher after getting dropped off, nearly knocking Rushing downwith his enthusiastic hug.

Rushing’skindness toward thestudents does not go unnoticed, and many of his coworkers admire him for his patience and work ethic.

Jarvia Robinson, Rushing’s co-worker of 13 years, said, “He is the most caring, kind, gentle, considerate, God-fearing, loving, hardworking,dependable,reli-

able person Iknow.”

Marilyn Young, asubstitute teacher at Covington Head Start, has known Rushing for45years, having met him when he was her oldest daughter’sbus driver. Rushingalsotaught Young’sson fortwo years, andshe credits Rushing for helping the boy overcomesomeofthe challenges that camewith his epilepsy

Evensome of Rushing’s former students remember him decades later

Theassistantteacher described howhecould be goingabout his day,grabbing aquick cup of coffee or running any number of errands, when adults will recognize him as their ﬁrst bus driver or Head Start teacher

“It’srewarding just to hear

that even at 4years old, children can remember the good things that happen,” Rushing said.

May 2026 marks the end of Rushing’scareer at Covington Head Start. What was supposed to be atemporary position right out of college turned into alifetime of educating futuregenerations in their earliest years, but Rushing does not regret the path that life unexpectedly led him down.

“Mygrandfather always saytome, ‘ifyou get ajob that youreallylike, you never work aday in your life,’”Rushing said. “That’s whathealways told me, so Iguess Irealizedthat maybe that was my calling, working with young kids.”

RISHER

Continuedfrom page 1y

window,Icould recognize who was out there. Often,the sounds inspired me to go on unplanned little runs.

The school stopped giving principals aplace to live long ago. The house is gone. The track has fallen into disrepair

Our homes since have had their share of sounds too, sounds we stopped hearing after living therefor as long as we did —an icemaker that startled guests, squeaky sliding glass doorswith their own distinctive screech, acreaky garage door and a double-hinged kitchen door with aparticular swoosh.

Thenthere was the house that burned.

It had old-fashioned circular air vents.Whenthe air conditioner was running full blast, the vent in the dining room emitted adistracting, high-pitched whistling sound. But on asummer night in south Louisiana, I’ll take that whistle over hot any day

These days, we are rebuilding that home on its original foot-

print. Thewhistling vent is gone now,alongwith everyother sound that housemade over its 81 years— most of them before we ever arrived. Usually I’m able to imagine things that don’texistyet. Ican seeastory on apage or picture

adress beforethe fabric is cut —the drape of it, the ﬁnished hem.But the new version of our real houseand the sounds it will make is something my brain just can’thold. Maybe I’m too much in the present to feel it yet.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Johnnie Rushing sits withhis students at Covington Head Startand has been with the school readiness program for over50years.

STAFFPHOTO By JANRISHER

Jan Risher holds up a1972 photo with herself and her younger brother Robin Risher in front of the housewhere theygrewupinForest, Miss.

Traffickingsurvivors ﬁndrest, artand apathforward

First-of-its-kind refuge helps healing process

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

On asunny spring afternoon at the Eden Emergency Center in New Orleans, a 24-hour facility forhuman trafﬁckingsurvivors, abedroom awaited anewcomer. There was ahandwritten welcome card and gift basket placedatop afreshly made canopy bed.

The faint scent of candle waxpermeated acraft room, where sewing machines stood ready.Down the hall, asmall art group worked with paint, pastels, pencils and watercolors.

Peer support staff member and artist Kellie, who described her role as “like a house mom,” facilitated the art session

“One of my favorite things we have done is the hands,” said Kellie, asurvivor who chose to be identiﬁed by her ﬁrstname only for safety purposes. “In one hand, you have what was in your past and what you want to let go of. In the other hand is what you want to hold on to.” In her piece, Kellie depicted letting go of her shame, guilt and pain, while holding on to hersenseof safety,self-worth, compassion and love.

Sometimes, clients are asked to draw things they ﬁnd beautiful —once,someone drew avape, Kellie said with achuckle. Housing director Ashlie Bissell has alsoasked newcomersto draw their worlds as they appear in that moment.

“That world looks different when they ﬁrst comein versus whenthey’re ayear or two (in),” Bissell said.“A lot of times, it looks alittle bit lighter.…alittle less

chaotic.”

The Eden Emergency Center,a10-bed facility in an undisclosed,tree-lined location,was theﬁrstofits kindinthe nation to partnerand be locatedonsite of ahospital system when it opened in 2023.Itis the newest site operated by Eden Centers for Hope and Healing, which launched its ﬁrst recoveryhomein2011 and asecond in 2022.

Together, the centers offerwraparound services andsafe transitional housingfor adultsurvivorsof human trafﬁcking.

Founded by KaraVan de Carrand Katherine Green, the ﬁrst Eden Housebuilt on amodel used by the MagdaleneSerenity House in Nashville. Thatmodel offerssurvivors asafe place to heal and rest while receiving services includingtrauma and addiction therapy,medical and dentalreferrals, legal aid, job

readiness, ﬁnancial literacy and parenting classes, at no cost, among other forms of support

At EdenCenters, the emergencycenter is often the ﬁrst stop for survivors.

Overthe course of a90-day program, the goal is to help them feel stable and safe after getting out of atrafﬁcking situation that may causeanxietyand PTSD.

“Theyjustneed somewhere to rest, and to sleep, and to gain theirgrounding,” said chief executive ofﬁcer Jennifer Best. “Number one, (they) processwhatjust happenedto them, and then two, ‘How do Imove forward?’ That’s wherewecame up withour emergency center.”

Survivors can attend therapeuticgroup classes, but arenot requiredto, and everyone gets their own privateroom— apoint of difference between Eden Emergency Center and a

traditional shelter

“Thatcan really help them rest, being able to shut the door and be here alone, and know that no one’scoming in,” said Stephanie Wilkins, chief clinical ofﬁcer

After the 90-day program, survivors may move into a two-yearresidentialprogramatone of two eightperson homes, if space is available. From there, they mayenter the Rapid Rehousing program,which providesongoing casemanagement and tieredrental assistance for housing of their choice.

Forthe ﬁrst three months, Eden Centers pays 100% of the rent. Thatamount decreases by 25% every three months, so that after ayear, survivors are prepared to pay theirrent in full. Currently,participantsare in school to becomesocial workers and paramedics, andothers have gone to work at nonproﬁtsand re-

covery centers.

“Wereally wanted our goal to be to build thatfoundationsothat they would be self-sufﬁcient at theend of it,”Bissellsaid.

Fifty families are currently housed in the Rapid Rehousing program, and Eden Center will soon open alocationinCharlotte, NorthCarolina

“The morethat people know about us,the more the word gets out, and they’re able to get services, which is great,” Best said. “But now we’rerunning out of room.”

About 70% of people who cometoEden Centers requesting services are turned away duetoalack of capacity, according to Best. TheCenters have run at full capacity since 2023, but TheEden Centers is

campaigning to increase its capacity to more than 100 beds

Each bed representsthe potentialfor an altered life trajectory

“I didn’twant to leave. I made friends here Iwill probably have forlife,” Kellie said of her timeliving at theEden Emergency Center.“Ileft here in March, and by that time I felt alot better, andmylife hasgottenprogressively better.”

Now,asastaff member, she gets to witness and facilitate that healing process. “Being able to walk alongside people is special to me …Isee survivors come in hereeveryday,” Kellie said. “AndthenIsee people who come out on the other side,and it is beautiful.

With thousands of Shellmen and womenacross thestate,we areworking everyday to reduce emissions, while increasing efﬁciencyinour operations

Our tomorrowdepends on whatwedotoday.Together, we arepowering progress forabrighterfuture. Louisiana is where we live and we’reproud to call it home.

STAFF PHOTO By MISSy WILKINSON

Fromleft,Jennifer Best, Ashlie Bissell, Kellie and Stephanie Wilkins facilitate healing for human trafficking survivorsatEden Centers.

PROVIDED PHOTO Everyresident at the Eden Emergency Center gets aprivate bedroom.

FAITH & VALUES

English choirs seek to protect tradition

BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

LONDON On a gray afternoon in the days before Easter, a dozen or so schoolchildren straggled into a side building at Rochester Cathedral and began their transformation.

Off went the jackets and backpacks, on came burgundy cassocks and white surplices. Then they trooped into the cathedral, opened their mouths and sang as one. The youthful gaggle had become a choir, giving voice to a tradition of choral music in the Church of England that has survived largely unchanged for almost 500 years.

“I think for me, it’s one of the sounds of our country,” said Adrian Bawtree, the choir’s music director “All of our cathedrals are beautiful, sacred spaces where you can come and just sit and be and you can be immersed, bathed, nourished, sent out back into the world transformed by an experience in 30 minutes.”

The epitome of that tradition is Choral Evensong, an evening service of hymns, psalms and prayers laid out by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the ﬁrst Protestant archbishop of the Church of England, in 1549. The service is performed by the choir, with the congregation participating simply by listening.

But that tradition is under threat as the demands of modern life, declining church attendance and tight funding make it harder to ﬁnd and train the next generation of choristers.

Enthusiasts are trying to reverse that, launching a campaign for the government to recognize English choral services as an important part of Britain’s culture under a U.N. program that seeks to protect “intangible cultural heritage,” as well as historic buildings and natural wonders.

Strengthen identity

The U.K. government is seeking nominations for a nationwide inventory of cultural traditions from Morris dancing to the craft of building dry stone walls — that should be preserved Protecting such traditions is crucial to strengthen community identity and bolster the U.K. economy as heritage tourism generates billions of pounds in annual spending, the government says. While many people have been introduced to English choral services through the angelic voices of the choristers in ﬂowing robes and Elizabethan ruffs who sing

The power of music

Looking for Louisiana faith

Staff report

Every week, Louisiana ministers stand before their congregations with something to say The newspaper wants to give them a wider pulpit. We’re inviting ministers from across the state — every faith tradition, every denomination, every corner of Louisiana — to contribute ﬁrst-person columns on faith for occasional publication in the Louisiana Inspired section. The topics are wide open, as long as they’re rooted in faith. Write about what your congregation is wrestling with Write about a text that has haunted you for years, or a moment of grace you witnessed last Tuesday

Write about doubt, community or why ancient traditions still matter in a complicated world. Write about what faith looks like in a flood zone, in a small town, in a hospital room. Write about something your tradition gets wrong about itself — or right. Write about why you do this work.

What we’re looking for:

n First-person voice. These are your words, your perspective and your faith The column should sound like you. We are not looking for an AI version of you.

at royal weddings and carol services, choirs perform every day in much more humble settings.

And many are struggling, according to the Cathedral Music Trust, which was founded in 1956 to stem the decline of church music after World War II. Last year it gave 500,000 pounds ($661,000) to 28 cathedrals and churches around the country

It can be a lot. Rochester for example, spends about 250,000 pounds ($330,000) a year on music, a substantial outlay for a provincial cathedral but less than some.

The trust hopes recognition of the English choral tradition will bring attention and muchneeded funding to choirs, which it says are an important training ground for the musicians of tomorrow, both religious and secular “Whilst it happens every day, it is actually quite fragile,” trust CEO Jonathan Mayes said “It takes an awful lot of work and it takes a lot of funding to actually make it happen and that doesn’t come without effort.”

Protestant Reformation

Preserving Evensong is im-

portant historically because the service was instrumental in the development and spread of the modern English language, said Diarmaid MacCulloch, an expert on Christianity and an emeritus professor at the University of Oxford.

The service is based on the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Cranmer to make English the language of the Church of England after it broke away from the Latin-dominated Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.

The idea was to create services everyone could be part of.

“It is very much a drama, and it is a drama which has been performed by the people of England from 1549 through to the present day,” MacCulloch said. “It’s far more a vehicle of public consciousness performance than any play of Shakespeare.”

And while a growing number of choirs including Rochester now take girls as well as boys, in other respects it hasn’t changed much since then.

“The service would be really quite recognizable to Queen Elizabeth I as much as Queen Elizabeth II,” MacCulloch said. “And that’s quite remarkable.”

Bawtree, the music director at Rochester Cathedral, is one of those working to preserve the tradition as he oversees the youngest singers, aged 9-13, known as choristers, as well as a youth choir for older children. All are backed by professional adult singers.

Bawtree said he was captured by church music the ﬁrst time he heard an organ play and a choir sing when he was about 9 years old. Now he wants people to know that services like Evensong make it possible for anyone to turn up and listen to beautiful choral music, regardless of their beliefs.

“When I heard it, it was like big octopus arms came and grabbed me and said, ‘You’ve got to be part of this.’ So I think I am trying to speak to that 9-year-old child and saying actually this is something that could speak to most people, if not everyone.

“And because I had that experience, I would like to share that with future generations and be passionate about that,” he said. “We talk in the world of mindfulness and the power of music to transform lives This is an extraordinary arena where that can happen.”

n Informative and accessible. Write for a general audience, not just your congregation. Assume your reader is curious but not an insider

n Grounded and specific. The best columns make a large idea small — one story, one moment, one question at the center n Between 550 and 750 words. No shorter, no longer n Original and unpublished. Columns should not have appeared elsewhere in print or online.

n Digital submissions only A few practical notes: Submission does not guarantee publication. Columns will be edited for length and clarity. Content that is primarily promotional — columns about a church event, fundraiser or building campaign — is not a ﬁt. Direct attacks on other faith traditions are not a ﬁt Honest, searching, personal writing about faith in Louisiana life absolutely is. To submit, email the following to Jan Risher at jan.risher@theadvocate.com:

n Your completed column (550–750 words)

n A headshot

n A bio of no more than 100 words

n The name and address of your church or place of worship

n The best contact phone number for the minister (not to be published) Louisiana has always had a lot to say about faith. We’re listening.

Minnesota prisoners turn time into tattoos with a purpose

BY RACHEL HUTTON

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Editor’s note: This story is created by Rachel Hutton for The Minnesota Star Tribune. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities solutions that can be adopted around the world.

Daniel Gonzales pressed a tattoo needle into Israel Ray Gaitan’s bare back, where a Mayan calendar spanned Gaitan’s shoulder blades. Gonzales had already logged 30 hours tattooing the elaborate design in honor of Gaitan’s mother Gonzales wasn’t sure how Gaitan sat through the ordeal: Tattoos in the spinal area hurt a lot. “Don’t let pain get you down and keep moving forward,” Gaitan said of the strategy that has guided him through 33 years of incarceration. This tattoo parlor resembles any other licensed by the state of Minnesota except for its location: Stillwater prison. Both Gaitan and Gonzales are convicted murderers serving time there.

Stillwater’s two-year-old tattoo apprentice program is one of the ﬁrst in U.S. prisons. The program offers a new rehabilitation option alongside the typical barbering and construction trades.

The idea behind it is twofold: Teach inmates job skills and reduce the spread of hepatitis C, which can be transmitted by unsanctioned, ad hoc tattooing in the cells.

Each year, the state Department of Corrections typically spends nearly $1 million on hepatitis C medications, prison administrators say Training prisoners to do

safe tattooing can reduce that expense, along with the cost to society when former inmates relapse into criminal behavior. Roughly half of released state prisoners return to prison within 5 years, and stable employment has been shown to reduce reoffending.

“This gives me a sense of purpose,” said Gonzales, who was licensed through the program a year ago and has 16 years left on his sentence “We’re all going to be out there one day.”

Tattooing in the cells

Incarcerated for the past decade, Gonzales learned to tattoo in the cells a practice he described as “tattooing from scratch, using damn near anything that you can get your hands on.”

He said inmates make their own tattoo guns from everyday objects, such as the barrel of a pen, the motor from a beard trimmer or a sharpened guitar string. Ink is made from soot.

Gonzales said infections are mostly warded off by wishful thinking, but he said he knew someone who once contracted an antibioticresistant staph infection.

Prisoners seek tattoos to differentiate and express themselves in an environment with little autonomy, Gonzales said. Everyone wears the same plain, Corrections Department-approved clothing in blue white or gray.

“When you come into prison, you’re really stripped of your identity,” Gonzales said. “Getting tattooed is a bold statement to say, ‘I’m an individual, I’m a person.’ ”

The apprentice program

Justin Jimenez, a tattoo artist who has owned Electric Blue Tattoo Co. in Forest Lake since 2019, was hired by Stillwater to mentor and train

prisoners in the program.

So far, four apprentices have graduated from the program After two were recently released, two newcomers ﬁlled their spots. Jimenez teaches the apprentices about the history of tattoo styles and blood-borne pathogens, and demonstrates tattooing by rafﬂing off free ink for prison staff.

The apprentices reﬁne their drawing skills on paper before learning to use tattoo machines on fake skin. Then they practice on themselves and each other before offering their services to other prisoners.

The apprentices have already inked a few hundred clients, who must be discipline-free for six months, pay $25 a session and have their design approved.

Some images, such as those with anything gang-related, nudity or vulgarity, are forbidden. Jimenez said the designs that program clients receive aren’t the crude inkings typical of prison tattoos.

The entire tattoo industry has become more professionalized, Jimenez said, as body ink has gone mainstream and shed its rough-andtumble stigma.

“It’s not all skulls and barbed wire anymore,” he said. “We’re doing tons of really ﬁne art.”

Prisoners have requested teapots, butterﬂies, ﬂowers and hearts, as well as tributes to family members. Many of the tattoos have sentimental value, said Marina Fuhrman, a Corrections Department manager who works with the program. Prisoners can also have old tattoos covered. One, for example, had a tiger’s face inked over a swastika Fuhrman said the tattoo parlor has improved the prisoner-staff dynamic. “This shop created its own culture, which gives people a sense of humanity and normalcy,” she said.

Added Jimenez: “It presented a common ground. Art is something that everyone from all walks of life can enjoy.”

Reducing disease, giving hope

While some have balked at the tattoo program’s $130,000 annual budget, which includes Jimenez’s salary, the initiative can combat the spread of an expensive disease The Corrections Department typically treats close to 100 cases of hepatitis C each year at a cost of $12,000 to $51,000 per inmate.

Though the number of hepatitis C patients has declined since the tattoo program launched, it’s uncertain how much it has contributed to the improvement; the Corrections Department doesn’t track cases acquired in prison.

But Fuhrman said violations for tattooing in Stillwater’s cells have plummeted since the parlor opened, dropping from as many as eight to 10 infractions a month to hardly any

She said the prison plans to continue the tattoo program until the facility’s planned closure in 2029. It will then be transitioned to another facility and possibly expanded. Stillwater tattoo artist Courtney Ocegueda, who is serving time for murder, said the program has given him hope of ﬁnding stability as he anticipates his release in 2033.

He said many Stillwater prisoners are trying to leave their former ways behind “being reckless and acting the fool” — and transform their lives for the better

“We’re trying to take advantage of what’s being given to us, so people can see we’re not just throwaways,” he said “We all got somebody that cares about us, and we’re trying to do better for them and for us.”

On the outside

Chris Calvillo, owner of No Joke Tattoo Studios in White Bear Lake, was imprisoned at Stillwater in the early 2000s. He said that if the prison had offered the apprenticeship program then, he likely would have taken the path to his dream job a lot sooner, instead of returning to crime and incarceration.

Calvillo employs several tattoo artists who were once in prison. Among them is Corey Schuck, who was licensed at Stillwater and joined No Joke after transitioning to work release last fall.

Schuck was convicted of felony assault, and the contours of his crime resemble those of other tattoo-program participants: after being provoked or angered, quickly retaliating with a weapon.

Those impulsive, violent acts are a striking contrast to tattooing, a process Schuck described as painstaking, almost meditative.

“I don’t think about my problems,” he said “I just think about pulling this line straight or shading this shade.”

Schuck said the patience he cultivated while in prison and learning tattooing improved his ability to keep his emotions in check “I’ve been calmer about things,” he said. “My reaction isn’t to quick-spit anger, like it used to be.”

Calvillo calls tattooing “a form of teaching patience within yourself.” He said he believes Schuck and other felons he employs aren’t inclined to return to their former criminal behavior now that they’ve made something of themselves and have so much at stake.

“It gives you a sense of pride, of being somebody,” Calvillo said of a career as a tattoo artist. “Those were decisions made when you didn’t have all that.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIN CHEUNG

Britain Choral Music Choristers sing during Evensong at Rochester Cathedral in Rochester England on March 27. Choirs are trying to reverse declining church attendance by launching a campaign for the government to recognize English choral services as an important part of Britain’s culture under a United Nations program

SUNDAY, April 26, 2026

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

todAY's Word — octoPuses: OK-tuhpuh-sez: Cephalopod mollusks with eight muscular arms.

Average mark 31 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 51 or more words in OCTOPUSES?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku

wuzzLes

The correct play

Today’s deal is from a team match. Both tables reached three notrump after identical auctions and both West players led the 10 of diamonds, low from dummy, low from East, and declarer won the queen. What next? Both declarers realized that they did not have the entries to set up the club suit and both focused on setting up heart tricks. At one table, South led a heart to the ace and then led the jack of hearts. East won with the king and led a club to dummy’s ace. South led a low heart from dummy, hoping for a 3-3 split, but West took his nine, cashed the queen, and led a diamond to East’s ace. East led the jack of spades to lock declarer in dummy and waited for his spade trick to defeat the contract.

At the other table, South realized that any play in hearts would work if the suit split 3-3, so he focused on possible 4-2 splits. He could only handle a 4-2 split if one opponent had a doubleton honor, so he led a heart to the ace and then a low heart. East took his king and led a club, but South con-

tinued with the jack of hearts to set up the rest of the suit. He now had three spades, four hearts, and a trick in each minor to make his contract. Note that South’s play in the heart suit would work just as well if the suit split 3-3.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

super Quiz

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your energy into discovery and getting things done. Don’t let emotional manipulation mess with your mind or your plans. Set your ideas in motion, and don’t look back.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Refuse to let your emotions get in your way Expect someone to play mind games with you or try to interfere with your plans. Own your intentions and execute your plans accordingly.

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2026 Tribune Content Agency

CANCER (June 21-July 22) It’s time to regenerate, not time to ramp things up. Spend your time with your besties or put some relaxation time on your schedule. Whatever you find comfort in doing, start the process LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Press forward with enthusiasm, and you’ll drum up support. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you’ll gather interesting tidbits from people associated with something of interest. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Learn from your experiences. Watch how others respond to something, and it will indicate what you should do next. Use emotional energy to hone a physical skill.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) All eyes are on you. Do your best to sparkle and to charm your way forward An interesting connection you make will change how you move forward and present your attributes.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You’ve got plenty going for you, so stick to the script and stay on point regarding what you want. Keep your facts straight.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stick close to home, relax and enjoy the people you love. Refuse to let outsiders interfere in your personal life. Spruce up your looks.

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level.

SUBJECT: AMERICANA

(Example: This magazine was the premier photo journal from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Answer: LIFE.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. This canine star rescued her owners from weekly predicaments from 1954 to 1973.

Answer________

2. What actor was known simply as “Bogie”?

Answer________

3. In the military, what is the meaning of AWOL?

Answer________ 4. Who was known as “Satchmo”?

Answer________ 5. This 1936 self-help book was written by Dale Carnegie.

Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

What were

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Problems will arise if you confront a personal situation. You’re best off focusing on something that doesn’t involve outside influences. A physical activity that challenges you will help you find peace.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Review your finances and set a tight budget. A residential or lifestyle change will help you lower your overhead and offer an incentive to address physical adjustments you want to make.

PISCES (Feb 20-March 20) Attend social events or make plans with

someone who brings out the best in you. A good laugh will help you put things in perspective and give you hope for a brighter future.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Excess is the enemy Indulgent behavior, overspending and exaggeration will all lead to trouble. Focus on your well-being and achieving peace of mind and happiness.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact.

goren Bridge

1. Lassie. 2. HumphreyBogart. 3. Absent without leave. 4.Louis Armstrong. 5. "How to WinFriends and Influence People." 6. Bonnie andClyde. 7. Lace. 8. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 9. Desi Arnaz. 10. Blondie. 11. Route 66. 12. SupremeCourt of theUnited States. 13. The use of federalmilitary personnel to enforce domestic law.14. PeteRose. 15.Johnson.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: Springworkisgoing on with joyful enthusiasm.— John Muir