The Acadiana Advocate 05-03-2026

GOLDEN TEMPO WINS THE 152ND KENTUCKY DERBY 1C THE

ACADIANA

ADVOCATE

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

|

S u n d ay, M ay 3, 2026

H

$2.50X

ELECTION 2026

Redrawing U.S. House map could begin this week STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE

Bags of recycled oyster shells are unloaded from a boat and placed along the shoreline during a Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana event at Morgan Harbor Pass in St. Bernard Parish on April 17. The shells are used to help build a living shoreline to reduce erosion and create habitat.

ä See JAIL, page 3A

ä See MAP, page 4A

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Birds gather and take flight from recycled oyster shells placed along the shoreline at Morgan Harbor Pass in St. Bernard Parish.

St. Landry Parish jail security under scrutiny again

Brown for release abuse battery involving child Wrong inmate walks free, authorities say cessing failed to verify Johnson’s endangerment, remains at

BY JOEL THOMPSON

procedures at the facility.

Authorities say DeMarkus Staff writer Johnson walked out of the The escape of an inmate jail around 9 p.m. after posfrom the St. Landry Parish ing as another inmate, Jaylen jail Monday night is raising Brown, who was scheduled new questions about release to be released. Deputies pro-

WEATHER HIGH 77 LOW 53

Business ......................1E Living............................1D Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Lottery..........................2B Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

© D. YURMAN 2026

PAGE 6B

identity and allowed him to leave, according to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office. Brown was later released as planned after the error was discovered.

Johnson, who was being held on a charge of domestic

Staff writer

large. His bail has since been revoked.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Mark LeBlanc said Johnson wore a face mask and feigned illness during

Pair of coastal projects create solutions on the edge of the marsh using oyster shells, mangroves, concrete breakwater

ä See SHORELINE, page 6A

BY TYLER BRIDGES The process of redrawing Louisiana’s congressional districts could begin as soon as Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the voting map and Gov. Jeff Landry put the brakes on that looming vote.

State senators say they have been holding feverish talks behind the scenes to devise a plan to address the ruling last week that Louisiana’s House congressional map is unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on race when it was drawn. On Thursday, saying he would not allow Louisiana to vote on an illegal map, Landry declared an emergency that canceled the May 16 primary for the six U.S. House elections.

A key person in what hap- Landry pens next is state Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen. He is both the chair of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee — which is where the redistricting bills will likely start — and sponsor of one of those bills.

“I’m sure we’re going to have fireworks somewhere,” Klein- Kleinpeter peter said.

On Friday, Kleinpeter said he hopes his committee will take public testimony and pass a redistricting bill on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that that plan may be too ambitious. Lawmakers would face a tighter timetable if the committee has to wait a week but would likely still have enough time since the regular legislative session doesn’t end until June 1.

The decisions have thrown Louisiana’s elections into disarray after absentee voting had already begun for the May 16 primary and just before a week of early voting began on Saturday.

These developments will mean new districts for Louisiana’s congressional delegation — which currently has four Republicans and two Democrats — unless one of several lawsuits that have just been filed gum up those plans.

Together, these events have also spawned confusion and lots of questions. Here are the best answers we have so far.

‘LIVING SHORELINE’

On the far reaches of the Louisiana marsh, a few dozen volunteers were engaged in a weightlifting workout with unconventional equipment: 30-pound bags of recycled oyster shells.

The volunteers for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana passed the oyster bags in a line of people toward a muddy shoreline along the eastern edge of the Biloxi Marsh, the last piece of land before the Chandeleur Islands.

“We are protecting a small but mighty sliver of the marsh,” said Fiona Lightbody, CRCL’s program manager for oyster recycling.

They were building what is called a “living shoreline,” a growing tool for coastal protection across Louisiana,

Redistricting bills already filed for regular session of La. Legislature

FINE JEWELRY & DISTINCTIVE GIFTS

AMBASSADOR CAFFERY AT SETTLERS TRACE 337-981-8071 • SHOP ONLINE AT LMFJ.COM

101ST yEAR, NO. 307

2A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Supreme Court asked to weigh mifepristone case

A maker of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to block an appellate court ruling that cut off mail-order access to the drug just a day earlier, in what was the biggest jolt to abortion policy in the U.S. since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Danco Laboratories, which is also a defendant in the lawsuit in question, asked to block the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision while appeals are pending, saying the appellate ruling “injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions.”

The appeals court’s unanimous ruling Friday marked a substantial victory for abortion opponents seeking to stem the flow of abortion pills prescribed online, which they view as subverting state bans. It requires that mifepristone be distributed only in person and at clinics, overruling regulations set by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

“We’re now going to see, I think in a way we haven’t before, what the nation will look like when abortion bans are actually in effect,” said Mary Ziegler, an expert on abortion law and a professor at University of California at Davis School of Law.

Activists’ detention up Spain-Israel tensions

SOLARES, Spain — Spain’s foreign minister on Saturday called for the immediate release of an activist detained by Israel after an aid flotilla bound for Gaza was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters.

Saif Abukeshek, a dual SpanishSwedish citizen of Palestinian origin, was detained for questioning in Israel on Saturday along with Thiago Ávila of Brazil. A legal aid group said both men had launched a hunger strike.

Dozens of other activists were picked up by the Greek coast guard following the Israeli action and taken to the island of Crete.

“This is a case of illegal detention in international waters, outside the jurisdiction of Israeli authorities. I have made this clear to my Israeli counterpart,” José Manuel Albares said in an interview with public radio.

An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, said it had visited the two men at a detention site in the Israeli port city of Ashkelon. It said both reported being on a hunger strike after allegedly being repeatedly beaten while in custody.

“Adalah maintains that the treatment of the two activists, including the use of isolation, prolonged blindfolding and physical beatings, constitutes a grave violation of international law,” the group said.

In an online post, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Abukeshek and Ávila were being questioned for possible links to the armed group Hamas. It said the two men had been granted consular visits.

Whale stranded off Germany released

BERLIN — A rescue team on Saturday released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said.

Nicknamed Timmy by German media, the whale was spotted swimming near Germany’s Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters near the coastal city of Wismar, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it toward deeper seas were livestreamed across the globe.

The environment minister for Germany’s MecklenburgWestern Pomerania state gave the green light for the attempt to save the whale, proposed by a private initiative, despite some warnings from the scientific community that it may be too much for the animal.

Jens Schwarck, a member of the private initiative who was on site, said the whale was released around 9 a.m. local time, according to the German news agency dpa. The agency reported that the whale was released about 45 miles from the coast of Skagen, Denmark.

lll

Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Israeli strikes kill 7 winner at ‘very high risk’ in Lebanon Jailed rights lawyer in hospital after health crisis

Catholic convent in border village bulldozed

BY BASSEM MROUE

BY SARAH EL DEEB and ADAM SCHRECK

Associated Press

Associated Press

BEIRUT — The health of imprisoned Iranian rights lawyer Narges Mohammadi was at “very high risk,” her foundation and family said Saturday, adding that Iran’s Intelligence Ministry was opposing her transfer to Tehran for treatment by her own doctors.

Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in her early 50s, was urgently transferred to a ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHID SALEMI hospital in ZaVehicles drive past a billboard on Saturday with graphic showing the njan in Iran’s northwest on Strait of Hormuz and sewn lips of President Donald Trump in a square Friday after a in downtown Tehran, Iran. cardiac crisis and fainting. Her Her legal team is pursuing the charging fees at times. family has said matter with the General ProsecuThe U.S. on Friday warned her health had tor’s office, the foundation said. against transfers not only in cash been worsening but also in “digital assets, offsets, Mohammadi in part from a Fragile ceasefire holds informal swaps, or other in-kind beating she received during her Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas payments,” including charitable December arrest.

Araghchi, spoke by phone with donations and payments at IraMedical teams in Zanjan have counterparts in Qatar, Japan, nian embassies. requested her records before Italy and South Korea a day afThe U.S. has responded with a performing any treatment, while ter U.S. President Donald Trump naval blockade of Iranian ports recommending that she be trans- rejected Iran’s latest proposal to since April 13, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up ferred to Tehran, her foundation end the war.

Trump said Friday that “I’m not its ailing economy. The U.S. Censaid.

But her Paris-based husband, satisfied with it, so we’ll see what tral Command on Saturday said Taghi Rahmani, said the Intel- happens,” without giving details. 48 commercial ships have been Iran’s state-run IRNA told to turn back. ligence Ministry opposed ONFLICT news agency said Tehthe transfer for angiog- CO raphy, or imaging of the IN THE ran handed over its plan Iran hangs two men T blood vessels. He spoke MIIDDLE to mediators in Pakistan Iran on Saturday said it hanged in a voice message shared on Thursday night. two men convicted of spying for EAST AST with The Associated Press The three-week cease- Israel. by the foundation.

The judiciary’s news outfire appears to be holdThe Norwegian Nobel Commit- ing. Negotiations continued by let, Mizanonline, said Yaghoub tee in a statement urged Iranian phone after Trump called off his Karimpour was accused of sendauthorities to immediately trans- envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week- ing “sensitive information” to an officer in Israel’s Mossad infer Mohammadi to her medical end, the president said. team, saying her life is in their Trump also has floated a new telligence agency, while Nasser hands. plan to reopen the Strait of Hor- Bekrzadeh allegedly sent details “She has the mental resilience muz at the mouth of the Persian about government and religious for imprisonment, but her body Gulf, where about a fifth of the leaders as well as information does not have the readiness. The world’s trade in oil and natural about Natanz. The city is home Ministry of Intelligence wouldn’t gas typically passes. to a nuclear enrichment facility even mind if (she) died,” her husbombed by Israel and the U.S. Firms warned about sanctions last year. band told Sky News.

Iran has hanged more than a He added that their children The United States has warned hadn’t seen Mohammadi for over shipping companies they could dozen people over alleged espioa decade, since 2015. face sanctions for paying Iran to nage and terrorist activities in Before her arrest on Dec. 12, pass safely through the Strait of recent weeks. Rights groups say Mohammadi already had been Hormuz, adding pressure in the Iran routinely holds closed-door serving a sentence of 13 years standoff over control of it. trials in which defendants are unand nine months on charges of Iran effectively closed the able to challenge the accusations collusion against state security strait by attacking and threaten- they face. and propaganda against Iran’s ing ships after the U.S. and Israel Associated Press writers Colgovernment, but had been re- launched a war on Feb. 28. Tehran lin Binkley in Washington and Nasser Karimi in Tehran conleased on furlough since late later offered some ships safe pas2024 over medical concerns. sage via routes closer to its shore, tributed to this report.

Drone kills 2 in Kherson strike as Russia claims front-line progress

GET IN TOUCH Customer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COM or 337-234-0800 News Tips / Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-5; Closed Sun Advertising Sales: 337-234-0174 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Classified Advertising: 225-383-0111 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com

BY SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 750-mile

BEIRUT — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least seven people and wounded others on Saturday while the Israeli military demolished parts of a Catholic convent in a border village, officials said.

Israel’s military on Saturday issued a new warning for residents of nine southern villages to evacuate. Israel and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17.

In the border village of Yaroun, Israel’s military used bulldozers to destroy parts of a Catholic convent that had been empty as a result of the latest fighting.

“What we heard is that it was destroyed with bulldozers,” said Gladys Sabbagh, the superior general of the Basilian Salvatorian Sisters. Sabbagh told The Associated Press that the convent included a school that had been closed since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, as well as a clinic that was recently moved to the nearby village of Rmeich.

She described the convent as a small compound housing just two nuns, who left because of the war. Sabbagh did not have further details as Yaroun’s residents have been displaced.

The Israeli military issued a statement saying that as the army was destroying Hezbollah infrastructure in Yaroun, a house that had no religious signs was damaged. It added that as soon as the military knew it was linked to a church, soldiers “prevented any further damage from being done.”

The military added that Hezbollah used the compound in the past to fire rockets toward Israel on several occasions. It added that the military does not strike religious institutions intentionally.

The Catholic Church in Lebanon rejected claims that the compound was used for military purposes.

“We are against all practices against places of worship and churches.

These are places to spread peace, love and education,” said Rev. Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Center for Information. “These are not military bases.”

The demolition at the convent came days after images of an Israeli soldier wielding an ax against the fallen statue of Jesus on the cross in the southern Lebanese village of Debel had sparked widespread condemnation, in Lebanon and internationally.

The Acadiana Advocate (USPS # 25-866) is published daily by Capital City Press, LLC at 203 W. Third St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA ISSN 2643-7252 and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Acadiana Advocate, Circulation Accounting, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Newspaper carriers are independent contractors and not employees of Capital City Press.

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

Firefighters put out a blaze at a building following a Russian drone attack on Saturday in Odesa region, Ukraine.

front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

All home delivery subscription sales are non-refundable. Should you discontinue your subscription during term, the subscription will end with the expiration date on your subscription, and there will not be a refund of a prorated amount. Subscribers who purchased their subscription before Feb. 1, 2023 and wish to cancel can request a refund of a remaining balance at https://www.nola.com/app/forms/refund-request-form/. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Capital City Press, LLC or its designee. All subscriptions purchased that include a special edition will have the special edition value deducted prior to any refund provided to subscriber upon cancellation of service. Standard subscription rates may be effective upon renewal. All standard subscriptions include digital access and e-Edition, a digital replica of the printed Advocate edition(s). The apps are free for tablets and smartphones. Smartphone apps may not be supported on all devices. The Advocate standard subscription rate is $80.89 per 4-week period, plus tax. The Acadiana Advocate standard subscription rate is $68.48 per 4-week period, plus tax. Standard digital subscriptions include e-Edition with the rate of $31.15 per 4-week period, plus tax starting 1/1/25. Special editions included in home delivery subscriptions are 1/30/26, 3/11/26, 4/15/26, 5/27/26, 7/8/26, 8/19/26, 9/30/26 11/26/26, 1/22/27, 3/10/27, 4/14/27, 5/26/27, 7/14/27, 8/18/27, 9/29/27 and 11/25/27 and are billed at $6.23 each. The Thanksgiving Day edition will be billed at your regular Thursday rate plus $6.23. To opt out of special edition delivery, email help@theadvocate.com or call 225-388-0395. By opting out of special editions you will not receive that day’s newspaper. Thanksgiving Day is not a special edition and opting out for that edition isn’t permitted. Prices shown are in U.S. dollars. Prices subject to change. Other restrictions may apply. We no longer provide credit for temporary delivery stops of 14 days or less. During a temporary delivery stop donations are made to our News in Education program. This program provides newspapers and digital access to schools across Louisiana. This program is paid for by sponsors and temporary stops so that students may use the newspaper for educational purposes in the classroom. During a temporary delivery stop of the print edition subscribers have unlimited digital access to theadvocate.com, nola.com and the apps for tablet and smartphone. Seasonal delivery times from August 2025 through February 2026 will extend to 8:00 a.m. on weekends. Subscribers may also choose to access our digital replica e-Edition of the printed Advocate, Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and Acadiana Advocate only. As a highly valued customer, we also value your privacy. All personal information collected by The Advocate will be used for administration and customer verification; it may be used for promotional purposes in accordance with The Advocate’s privacy policy. Please refer to our policy located at https://www.theadvocate.com/new_policy/ for information regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

By providing your phone number and email address you agree that we can call or email you to confirm delivery service, satisfaction and/or sales promotions as they may occur from The Advocate.

The Acadiana Advocate: 203 W. Third Street, Lafayette, LA 70501

H

lll

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3A

Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting sees shift in focus

topics like the Iran war and shareholders by announcing A caricature of Abel playing Focusing on businesses “It’s scary,” Buffett said Attendance down the risks and benefits of arti- that he would step down. later in the meeting. For exhis favorite sport of hockey Abel then announced the is front and center on comficial intelligence also came Abel opened the meeting ample, AI could easily creas business symbolic move of retiring memorative boxes of See’s with a detailed discussion ate an extremely convincing up. discussions take Vice Chairman Ajit Jain jerseys with Buffett’s and Candy. At the Pilot Travel of how Berkshire’s biggest fake version of the leader of said Berkshire would be Munger’s names on them Center booth, pictures of businesses are performing. a country with nuclear weapcenter stage willing to insure ships cross- that will hang in the rafters Abel and Buffett are plas- He gave a granular explana- ons, he said.

BY JOSH FUNK

AP business writer OMAHA, Neb. — The folksy wisdom and jokes that were a staple of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting for decades when Warren Buffett led the show was mostly replaced Saturday with detailed business discussions led by new CEO Greg Abel.

Attendance is down significantly this year with the arena only a little over half full, but still no other corporate meeting can come close to matching the crowds at Berkshire’s Woodstock for Capitalists. For years, more than 40,000 attended to listen to the 95-year-old Buffett and — before his death in 2023 — Buffett’s longtime partner Charlie Munger was always part of the fun. Buffett gave up the CEO title in January, but he remains chairman and did make a few comments during the meeting.

Berkshire’s businesses were the focus, but timely

JAIL

Continued from page 1A the release process, making identification more difficult.

“Only his eyes were visible,” LeBlanc said in a television interview, adding that Johnson avoided eye contact and spoke in a raspy voice.

The Sheriff’s Office has not detailed what identification procedures are required when inmates are released or whether those protocols were followed in this case.

An internal investigation is underway.

Parish President Jessie

ing the Strait of Hormuz if the price was right and the U.S. Navy escorted those ships.

Jain said he believes there is enough capacity across the insurance industry to take on that risk and there is definitely a need for it because that waterway is the path for so much of the world’s oil supply.

“The short answer is it depends on the price,” Jain said.

Abel said the war in the Middle East is definitely creating challenges for Berkshire’s businesses because oil is such a fundamental input, but he’s confident that the managers will find a way to deal with that.

“We very quickly move to what is the best solution for our customers,” Abel said.

Buffett’s contributions Saturday’s meeting began with a video tribute to Buffett beginning with a clip showing the standing ovation Buffett received last year after he surprised

Bellard criticized the Sheriff’s Office response, saying basic safeguards could have prevented the escape. He told KADN that issuing jailspecific identification cards to inmates would help avoid similar incidents.

“This is happening too often in St. Landry Parish,” Bellard said, also raising concerns about delays in notifying victims and the public.

The SLPSO said Johnson’s alleged victims have been notified of his escape.

Bellard has previously questioned staffing levels at the jail, arguing that limited personnel makes it difficult

of the arena.

Buffett again praised Abel and said he’s glad that he made the decision to promote him now.

“He’s very, very smart about businesses,” Buffett said during a live interview that aired during the meeting. And Abel is close to earning his American citizenship after growing up in Canada. He has been with Berkshire more than 25 years.

Buffett complained that too many people treat the stock market like a casino and gamble with their investments. He said the world would work better if more people treated each other well.

“If the whole world lived by the golden rule then it would be such a more wonderful society,” Buffett said.

Signs of the transition were peppered throughout the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall where Berkshire companies sold their products.

tered on a semitrailer truck windshield, but Abel is in the driver’s seat. And shareholders lined up to buy a Squishmallow version of Abel to go with the latest versions of the popular Buffett and Munger stuffed dolls.

“Sadly we miss Warren and Charlie and that show which was fun, but it’s a business meeting for a lot of us and hearing what the businesses are doing is what it’s all about,” investor Chris Bloomstran, who is president of Semper Augustus Investments Group said.

Also, many people travel to Omaha primarily to meet up with like-minded value investors, who practice the approach that Buffett employed, and attend some of the investment conferences and meetings that are scheduled around Berkshire’s shareholder meeting.

“That’s why I’m really here, really here is to network with other people,” said Bob Robotti, who runs his own investment company.

to maintain security and oversight.

“One deputy on a floor with around 100 inmates is impossible,” Bellard said. “The previous administration had two deputies and a rover making regular checks. We didn’t have people breaking out of the jail. ” This comment came following the escape of several inmates from the jail after they managed to chip away at one of the cell’s cinder blocks.

The incident follows other recent breakdowns involving inmate custody in the parish, including the escape of a Duson man during a

transport from a drug treatment facility last month.

That man, Michael Vavasseur, was killed by police days later after a pursuit.

Guidroz did not respond to requests for comment. Authorities did not say Johnson posed a threat to the public.

However, he was arrested in 2024 after an hourslong armed standoff with police.

The Sheriff’s Office said Johnson’s escape remains under investigation and urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact authorities or submit an anonymous tip through St. Landry Crime Stoppers.

Easing the transition

tion about the performance of Berkshire’s insurers, its BNSF railroad, utilities and manufacturers. He talked about how Berkshire is using artificial intelligence “to solve problems at our companies.”

But Abel also used a deepfake video of Buffett asking a question about Berkshire’s long-term prospects at the start of the Q&A session to highlight some of the cyber challenges and risks AI presents.

Big bank muscle.

Small bank hustle.

Only First Horizon brings together the best of big and small. Like a powerful network of banking centers, ATMs and online tools local banks can’t match. With local decisionmakers big banks overlook. When the best of big meets the best of small, you get it all. firsthorizon.com

Abel stressed over and over that Berkshire’s basic approach that trusts CEOs to manage the day-to-day operations of their companies will not change, and he won’t feel pressured to spend the company’s nearly $400 billion in cash prematurely.

“One of our greatest strengths at Berkshire is patience and being disciplined at allocating our capital,” Abel said. “We’re not anxious to deploy capital into subpar opportunities.”

4A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

H

MAP

cludes 24 parishes in north Louisiana. Five Republicans are running for the Public Service Commission seat held by term-limited Eric Skrmetta in a district that covers suburban New Orleans.

Two Republicans are challenging Joseph Cao for his seat on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

As scheduled, voters will also decide whether to approve the five constitutional amendments.

Continued from page 1A

What does Landry’s executive order mean for Louisiana’s House elections?

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. Clay Higgins, Rep. Cleo Fields and Rep. Troy Carter are no longer running for reelection on May 16. The same goes for their challengers.

Landry’s move also voided the election for the 5th Congressional District seat that Rep. Julia Letlow is vacating to run for the Senate. That affects four Republicans running in that race: State Sen. Rick Edmonds, of Baton Rouge; Rep. Michael Echols, of Monroe; Sen. Blake Miguez, of Erath; and Misti Cordell, of Monroe, who chairs the state Board of Regents.

It also affects the lesser-known Democratic candidates.

Why are some conservatives upset with Landry and Murrill?

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Who will draw the new congressional map?

Mulitple lawsuits are challenging Gov. Jeff Landry’s move to suspend Louisiana’s congressional elections so a new map can be drawn.

State legislators carry out the redistricting duties, and the governor will have a major say because he will have to approve their map. Lawmakers won’t need a special session to carry out that work. Four legislators filed redistricting bills to be heard in the regular legislative session currently underway, in case the Supreme Court rejected the existing congressional map in time.

The bills to watch are on the Senate side, legislators said.

State Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, has three bills, while Kleinpeter, Sen. Ed Price, DGonzales, and state Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, have one each.

Under two of Morris’ bills, the Legislature would eliminate either Fields’ or Carter’s seat.

Under his third bill, lawmakers would eliminate both majorityBlack seats.

Kleinpeter described his bill as a “placeholder,” meaning he filed a bill just to have one that can be changed. Price’s bill would keep the current 4-2 partisan divide, meaning it stands little chance of passage in a Legislature with a Republican supermajority.

Johnson’s bill would reimpose the previous congressional map with a 5-1 partisan split.

When will the Legislature begin to redraw the congressional map?

ing with Miguez on a possible map.

Miguez has angered his colleagues by running for the 5th CongresIf the Senate and Governmental sional District seat even though he Affairs Committee adopts a new lives no closer than 70 miles from map on Wednesday, the full Sen- the district. ate might vote on that measure on Thursday. That bill would then pass What will happen to Rep. Cleo to the House and Governmental Af- Fields and Rep. Troy Carter? fairs Committee.

Several factors could push back It seems likely that one or both of that schedule. Kleinpeter said he is them will lose their job. not only giving extra consideration It’s possible that the Legislature to the views of Speaker Johnson, will draw a map that pits them Scalise and Higgins in the redesign against each other. Then the quesbut also to four state Senate col- tion would be whether it is weightleagues who are considering run- ed toward Baton Rouge (to favor ning for the House: Edmonds; Sen. Fields) or New Orleans (to favor Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport; Carter).

Kleinpeter indicated that he Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge; and Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Mon- would favor a Baton Rouge-centric district — if the new map retains roe.

Edmonds is already campaigning one Black-majority seat — because for the 5th Congressional District of the post-Katrina population shift seat. Pressly is eying a possible to the capital city. But Senate Presicampaign for Speaker Johnson’s dent Cameron Henry, a Republican seat if Democrats win the House who represents both Jefferson and in November and Johnson then re- Orleans parishes, may favor a New signs. The same logic applies for Orleans-centric district to give his home area a greater voice in WashTalbot with Scalise.

Cathey is looking at possibly run- ington. ning for the 5th Congressional District seat. Kleinpeter said he is ask- What is the new date for the ing the four senators to offer maps congressional elections? for their districts.

“I’m having to juggle a lot of difWe don’t know that yet. But legferent options,” he said. islators indicate that it’s likely Kleinpeter added he is not work- that they will return to the open

primary system, meaning that candidates would qualify for the six House races in July or August and compete in a primary on Nov. 3. In any race where no one received at least 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters would compete in a runoff election in December.

What does Landry’s executive order mean for the other races on the May 16 ballot?

Those elections will still be held. Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill say the Supreme Court ruling affected only the congressional elections, so the others will go forward as scheduled. The marquee election on the ballot pits U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy against state Treasurer John Fleming, Letlow and Mark Spencer, a business owner.

Three candidates are competing in the Democratic primary: Gary Crockett, Nick Albares and Jamie Davis.

Two Republicans — Judge Blair Edwards and Judge Billy Burris — are facing off for a Louisiana Supreme Court seat that covers the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Two Democrats and two Republicans are running for the Public Service Commission seat held by term-limited Foster Campbell in a district that in-

Talk show host Moon Griffon is among the loudest conservative voices blaming Landry and Murrill for the election confusion, because the two insisted that legislators redistrict the House seats in 2024 and create the district that Fields won at the expense of then-U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, a Republican.

“The state was never required to draw new congressional maps in the first place, and the map that was drawn looked like children with crayons had been given the assignment,” Graves posted on social media Wednesday.

Landry and Murrill said in 2024 that the Legislature had to draw the new congressional map because U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick was poised to do so.

Political insiders said Landry targeted Graves because he supported a rival of Landry’s during the governor’s race.

What does the new election schedule mean for Graves?

Graves represented the Baton Rouge-based 6th Congressional District for 10 years until Landry and state legislators redrew the boundary lines in 2024 and gave him an unwinnable district. He didn’t run for reelection as a result.

If legislators draw him a more favorable district now, he would be the best-known candidate, and he’d have the most money, with $3.6 million left over in his campaign account.

For now, Graves is trolling Landry and Murrill on social media for pushing the map redesign two years ago that cost him his district — and that the Supreme Court has now overturned. Graves said they need better lawyers and suggested they contact billboard trial lawyer Morris Bart.

Want to be part of an awesome Crew?

TOP

WORKPLACES

You can get a paycheck ANYWHERE. Here, you’ll get career training, be recognized, rewarded, and HAVE FUN on your path to success.

GREAT BENEFITS • FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING • HOLIDAYS OFF • COOL CULTURE

APPLY AT

WORKATCANES.COM

lll

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 5A

6A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

H

Bags of recycled oyster shells are stacked along the shoreline during a Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana event at Morgan Harbor Pass in St. Bernard Parish on April 17.

STAFF PHOTOS

By BRETT DUKE

SHORELINE

Continued from page 1A considered a promising nature-based strategy in the battle against land loss. By no means a solution on their own, especially considering the state’s huge coastal dilemma, such projects can, however, play a meaningful role when combined with other approaches, scientists say.

And in a state that cherishes its oysters, recycling them for coastal protection and to produce more of the beloved shellfish holds special appeal. Last month’s work in the Biloxi Marsh, near a site formerly inhabited by the Chitimacha Tribe, was a pearl of an example.

Over the course of six days, CRCL placed 250 tons — over 550,000 pounds — of oyster shells to construct 1,000 linear feet of new reef, built to encourage oyster habitat and reduce shoreline erosion. They also planted 4,000 mangroves in the area.

Anyone eating oysters in New Orleans and Baton Rouge may have contributed.

The organization has collected shells from restaurants in those two cities over the last dozen years and returned them to Louisiana waters, creating thousands of feet of new oyster reef.

The structures have a twofold benefit: The reefs promote more oyster growth while the structures reduce shoreline erosion.

Oysters, because of the way they feed, also improve water quality by filtering it, while the reefs they form are beneficial to a wide range of marine life.

Placement is important.

In the case of the new CRCL reef, it complements a nearby project built by the state’s coastal agency. Pilings and poles marking the state’s Biloxi Marsh restoration project could be seen in the distance from the CRCL boats carrying the thousands of pounds of oyster shells.

“We’ve been strategically aligning our project with other work being done by the state,” Lightbody said.

“Because our reef, by itself, will have some value of impact, but added onto this much larger project, it’s just a multiplicative effect of ecological benefits.”

From gray to green The two coastal projects may be working symbiotically, but their methods are very different. While the volunteers planted native grasses and lined the receding marsh with oyster shells, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority used different types of concrete to build a roughly 12-mile stretch of breakwater.

Still, both projects are considered what scientists call a “living shoreline.” The state’s concrete breakwater will eventually be covered in new oyster reefs, too.

Standing on the stern of the large oyster boats CRCL was using to build the reef, Craig Gothreaux, a fish biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, passed bag after bag of oyster shell to another volunteer waiting in the shallow water.

Gothreaux has volunteered for a number of CRCL’s reef builds, which he noted replicates the traditional process of returning oyster shells to the water to create new habitat for the species. He explained

that Louisiana lacks “hard substrate,” like rock, that marine organisms need to grow on.

“Both of these living shorelines represent that hard material,” Gothreaux said of the two Biloxi Marsh projects. “It’s just using different materials to achieve that.”

The causes of land loss in Louisiana are many, but shoreline erosion is an important one. That’s where living shorelines can play a role since they keep waves and tides from repeatedly battering the marsh.

Louisiana Sea Grant notes that living shorelines “can combine plantings with structural elements.” In other words, that can mean oyster bags stacked along the shore — such as with the CRCL project — as well as cement domes with holes for oysters to attach, like the state project.

Beyond oysters and concrete, living shoreline initiatives might also incorporate rock jetties, vegetation and recycled sand, such as in a Jefferson Parish Bucktown shoreline project.

Gothreaux explained the spectrum of shoreline techniques ranging from the greenest — which would use vegetation only — to the grayest, like a bulkhead.

“Depending on the environment and the wave energy, you kind of have to go to a grayer or a harder technique,” he said.

‘Right at the front lines’ The state’s living shoreline falls on the grayer, more engineered side of the spectrum, though the agency still designed the Biloxi Marsh project to attract oysters and other marine habitat.

David Chambers, a CPRA field engineer for the project, said that the concrete structures “serve as a kind of refuge” for fish and other sea creatures potentially hiding from predators, but also help reduce wave energy that accelerates erosion.

Completed in July 2023, the state’s $66 million Biloxi Marsh project used settlement funding from the 2010 BP oil spill to construct nearly 12 miles of breakwater and “marine mattresses,” or bags filled with rock, near the shoreline.

Unlike the volunteer project, the breakwaters don’t touch the marsh edge and sit away from the shore.

“The thing that I liked about what (CRCL) did was that it was right at the front lines of coastal erosion,” Chambers said, allowing the waves to break before reaching into the marsh.

Rudy Simoneaux, chief of engineering at CPRA, said that living shorelines are very effective at attenuating wave energy, though the structures like those in the Biloxi Marsh are historically more expensive and complex to install than rock or bulkhead.

“Living shorelines are not the agency’s primary method for shoreline protection, but they have been done before,” Simoneaux said.

The agency doesn’t currently have any large-scale living shorelines underway, Simoneaux said, but that doesn’t rule out a future scenario where implementing one would make sense.

Any project that would help the agency reach its primary goal of protecting the shoreline is a method worth pursuing, he said.

‘A house and a skyscraper’ During a lunch break from reef building, Andrew Ferris, a coordinator for CRCL’s native plants program, explained that as sea levels rise, the new oyster reefs will grow with it.

“A wall or a rock dam — these things have a discrete lifespan that a living shoreline just doesn’t have,” Ferris said.

Still, he compared the difference in scale between the nonprofit project and the state agency project as “the difference between a house

Recycled oyster shells line the shore at Morgan Harbor Pass in St. Bernard Parish.

and a skyscraper.” The $500,000 CRCL volunteer project yields a fraction of the footage of the state project, but it also reflects a difference in aims, Ferris said.

There is also a less visible goal associated with

such projects, he said. New coastal advocates can be recruited by illustrating the connection between a night out at a restaurant with marsh protection.

“We are part of the coastal ecosystem, and we have

always been part of the coastal ecosystem down here,” Ferris said. “And so part of our living shoreline projects are that we are creating a more engaged and educated base of Louisiana residents.”

Spacious, intelligent, sophisticated: Discover the redesigned 2026 Mazda CX-5 at Acadiana Mazda

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Acadiana Mazda.

The next generation of one of Mazda’s most popular vehicles has arrived in Acadiana, and early demand suggests it could quickly become one of the region’s most sought-after SUVs. The all-new 2026 Mazda CX-5, a complete redesign of the brand’s longtime best-seller, is now available at Acadiana Mazda. With upgraded technology, more interior space and an elevated design that’s sleek and refined, the latest version builds on a model that has already sold more than 4.5 million units globally.

“The CX-5 has been a top seller for Mazda since its inception. It’s what made Mazda so well-known, especially in the SUV segment. This is the first time they’ve redesigned it, and it’s such a beautiful refresh,” said Christa Billeaud, Acadiana Mazda Dealer Principal. “It’s much more elevated and sophisticated, as opposed to sporty.”

Inside, the cabin has been reimagined with a minimalistic design and a strong focus on technology. A 15-inch touchscreen display anchors the interior, replacing traditional knobs and buttons with a fully-digital interface. Drivers can use the display to see the views from the CX-5’s multiple cameras, plus connect their devices to play their favorite music or podcasts and see turn-by-turn directions via the state-of-the-art navigation system.

“The display is going to appeal to people who are tech-savvy and who like a very clean appearance with an upgraded driving experience,” Billeaud said.

Beyond technology, the redesign emphasizes comfort and functionality, particularly for families. The 2026 CX-5 is larger than its predecessor, offering more space for passengers and cargo.

Rear seating has been expanded in both width and height, making it easy for adults and children to ride comfortably. Plus, the doors open wider than before, creating a new level of accessibility.

“Some customers who were coming in with the idea of looking at our bigger vehicles are looking at the CX-5 and saying it fits their needs perfectly,” Billeaud said. “It can be great for a growing family or a single person who wants a vehicle with a lot of room. It’s not just for one group of customers.”

Under the hood, the 2026 CX-5 continues to offer Mazda’s reliable 2.5-liter engine paired with standard all-wheel drive, a feature that remains a major selling point. The mechanics mean that the CX-5 can handle any weather conditions that might come up in Louisiana, from heavy summer rains to winter ice storms.

“The utility and versatility is second-to-none,” Billeaud said. “We even had someone purchase one recently because she is moving to a snowy climate and wanted a vehicle that could handle the terrain. This is a vehicle that people can drive with confidence. The CX-5 has been a national top safety pick for many years, and the expectation is that the 2026 model will rank just as highly.”

Even with significant upgrades, the CX-5 remains competitively priced. Models at Acadiana Mazda range from $31,000 to $44,000, which Billeaud

said has been a pleasant surprise.

Acadiana Mazda received its first delivery of the new CX-5’s in late March, and soon sold seven within three days. Billeaud said the dealership’s strong sales figures mean it will receive more CX-5s in the coming months.

“The more we sell, the more we are allocated, and because we have been doing so well, Mazda has allocated us additional ones,” she explained.

“That means we’re going to continue to have a really strong CX-5 selection and good numbers in our inventory.”

Customers can visit Acadiana Mazda in-person to see the selection and test-drive their favorite.

But, if they have already decided they’re ready for the CX-5, Billeaud said the dealership will work with customers on pre-orders and deposits so they can be ready to hit the road as soon as their vehicle arrives.

“We actually do a lot of pre-orders. People can call us and get the process started at any time. We can get it ordered and get them exactly what they want,” Billeaud said. “Our sales team is phenomenal.

They know every detail about these vehicles and can answer any question, but at the same time, there’s no pressure at all. We often have people who want to come in and go for a test drive, then they contact us weeks or months later ready to make a purchase. That’s completely fine. We work on the customer’s timeline.”

The same is true for the Acadiana Mazda service department, whose technicians are highly-trained to maintain and repair all vehicles.

“Mazda makes these vehicles so well that there aren’t a lot of repairs needed,” Billeaud noted.

“Our technicians are always learning about the technology and materials being used now so they can get drivers back in their vehicles quickly, even if it’s just for routine maintenance.”

As SUVs continue to dominate the local market, Billeaud said the 2026 CX-5 is the perfect opportunity to experience a vehicle that blends performance, practicality and elegance.

“The CX-5 has always been a strong competitor, but I think other brands are going to be watching Mazda very closely now,” Billeaud said. “This is the one that they are going to want to beat.”

Acadiana Mazda is located at 1700 Southwest Evangeline Thruway, Lafayette. To learn more about the 2026 Mazda CX-5, stop by in person, visit www.acadianamazda.com or call the sales department at 337-232-9666.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 7A

lll

Mexican governor, Spirit Airlines shuts down mayor indicted Firm says it can’t keep up with higher oil prices

by U.S. step down Officials face drug charges

BY AAMER MADHANI, RIO YAMAT, JEFF AMY and MIKE CATALINI

Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.

The ultralow cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”

Although Spirit had gone bankrupt twice before, the company said high oil prices, which have been rising because of the war with Iran, made it impossible to stay aloft.

The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available.

Some passengers arrived Saturday for flights and were stunned to find them canceled, while workers learned overnight they were out of jobs.

“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” Spirit’s announcement said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that Spirit had a reserve fund set up for customers who bought directly from the airline to get refunds.

People who bought from third-party vendors like travel agents would have to seek refunds from them.

Duffy said United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest were offering $200 one-way flights for people who had Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase for a limited time. Other airlines would also help Spirit employees who might be stranded, as well as offering them a preferential application process as they look for work.

Spirit said in a statement it was working to get more than 1,300 crew to their home bases and that the final Spirit flight landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The company advised customers that they could expect refunds but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.

The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cashstrapped business to keep it from going under, but a deal was not reached. Of the potential bailout, Duffy said Saturday “we often times don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”

President Donald Trump had floated the idea of a bailout last week after the airline found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years with jet fuel prices soaring because of the Iran war.

‘They got you there’ Five Spirit flights were still showing as “on time” on Saturday morning on the departure board in Atlanta.

A trickle of passengers who hadn’t heard the news were still showing up.

“What!?” exclaimed Taylor Nantang as she, her husband and four children arrived for a Saturday afternoon Spirit flight from Atlanta to Miami for a spurof-the-moment vacation.

The family had driven down from Tennessee to the Atlanta airport.

“So the whole airline at every airport is out of business?” asked Nantang. “Oh my, that’s crazy.”

Other passengers wondered whether the airline would still answer its customer service phone, or when the refunds for canceled flights might arrive on their credit cards.

Joshua Sigler, who had bought a ticket Friday for a flight Saturday to Miami,

BY FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF AMy

An airport employee walks past the Spirit Airlines counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after the airline’s shutdown. said he would just return home after learning of the cancellation, rather than try to take advantage of deals other airlines were offering to stranded Spirit passengers.

He said he had gotten no communication from Spirit, which he had flown multiple times in the past. “They get you there,” he said of past flights. “It was cheap.”

‘Boo-hoo crying’ Former Spirit flight attendant Freddy Peterson was on a Spirit flight from Detroit that arrived in Newark around 11 p.m. Friday.

He said that despite rumors flying on social media Friday, things seemed kind of normal, with more than 200 passengers on the plane.

“All our aircraft were packed,” he said.

Peterson, 60, said he set his alarm clock for 3 a.m.

Saturday to check the company website at the hour of the rumored shutdown and learned all Spirit flights were canceled. He said Delta Air Lines brought him and another flight attendant back to Atlanta on Saturday morning, with Peterson leaving from there to drive to his home in Shellman in southwest Georgia.

“I’ll probably do the boohoo crying and all that other stuff once I get in my car.”

Peterson said he had been a flight attendant with Spirit for 10 years and the company has “done wonders for me.” He said the airline’s reputation for bargain basement chaos was largely undeserved, but he did fault management for not communicating with the employees in the closing days, saying a promised employee town hall was canceled.

Bailout fizzles As late as Friday after-

MEXICO CITY — Two members of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party in the northwestern Sinaloa state said they would temporarily step down from their posts after the United States charged them and eight other politicians and security officers with drug trafficking in a bombshell indictment that has shaken Mexico’s political establishment.

In a short video announcement at midnight Friday, Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya, the highest-ranking official named in the indictment, denied accusations that he protected the Sinaloa cartel and helped it smuggle drugs into the U.S. in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes.

“My conscience is clear,” said Rocha, 76, a longtime ally of influential former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “To my people and to my family, I can look you in the eye because I have never betrayed you, and I never will.”

But he said he would take a temporary leave of absence from the position he has held for six years to defend himself against what he called the “false and malicious” allegations and cooperate with the Mexican government’s investigation.

Juan de Dios Gámez Mendívil, the mayor of the Sinaloa state capital Culiacán named in the indictment, also said he would take leave and denied the charges. Another defendant and member of the

ruling Morena party, Sen. Enrique Inzunza, said he would continue serving in the Senate while defending himself from the accusations.

In a special vote Saturday, the state’s local congress appointed as interim governor Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde, an ally of Rocha who previously served as the state’s secretary of government.

Rocha and Gámez Mendívil had enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution as sitting governor and mayor. But in leaving their posts even temporarily, the officials lost their blanket protection from prosecution, Arturo Zaldívar, a former Mexican Supreme Court justice who now advises Sheinbaum, posted on X. “They can be detained like any person,” he wrote.

Sheinbaum has struggled to strike a balance between the interests of her progressive Morena party and pressure from President Donald Trump to step up the fight against cartels.

In a nod to her party’s anticorruption platform, Sheinbaum said she wouldn’t defend anyone found to have committed a crime.

But she vigorously defended Mexico’s sovereignty, vowing that if federal authorities uncovered “irrefutable” evidence linking the 10 indicted officials to cartel crime, the accused would be tried in Mexico, not the U.S. — a move that risks backlash from an American administration that has threatened military action against cartels on Mexican soil.

“We will never subordinate ourselves because this is a matter of the dignity of the Mexican people,” she said Friday.

the Trump administration also bears responsibility, arguing that the airline’s current crisis reflects a chain reaction of policy missteps rather than a single decision. He pointed specifically to Trump’s decision to strike Iran as “bad foreign policy,” saying the conflict drove up jet fuel prices and Spirit’s operating costs.

“They were already in trouble,” DeHaven said, describing the situation as “a compounding effect in terms of policy.”

Supporters of a rescue including labor unions representing Spirit’s pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers said a collapse would put thousands of Americans out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and increasing airfares. About 17,000 jobs could be impacted, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.

Budget-conscious and leisure travelers would likely feel Spirit’s absence the most, especially in places where the airline has a big footprint such as Las VeWhite House blames Biden gas and the Florida cities The White House had of Fort Lauderdale and Orblamed President Joe lando.

Biden’s administration for Spirit’s tenuous financial situation. Biden, a Democrat, opposed a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in 2023. On Saturday, Trump administration officials took to social media to amplify voices of conservative critics who faulted Biden for FOR A LIMITED TIME Spirit’s demise.

On Saturday, Duffy blamed Biden as well as his predecessor Pete Buttigieg.

“Many at the time said that this was a disaster. This merger should have been allowed,” he said.

Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said

noon, Trump had said his administration was looking at a bailout for Spirit and had given the budget carrier a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded takeover.

Spirit proudly disrupted the penny-pinching portion of the airlines industry with its no-frills, low-cost flights and provocative ads like its “Check Out the Oil on Our Beaches” campaign after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, referencing suntan oil, but alluding to the crude spilled on the Gulf Coast.

However, Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.

Receive

$30 OFF

your next purch�se of Johnston & Murphy men’s or women’s shoes when you buy �ny p�ir of regul�r-price J&M men’s or women’s shoes.*

*Valid 5/3/26 - 5/19/26. $30 voucher good through 6/21/26 only on regular-price Johnston & Murphy men’s or women’s shoes priced $99.99 or higher.

Selection varies by size and store. Call 1-800-345-5273 to find a Dillard’s store near you.

8A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Troop withdrawal plan adds to U.S.-Europe friction Pentagon to pull 5,000 troops from Germany

BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and EMMA BURROWS

Associated Press

BERLIN — Germany’s defense minister on Saturday appeared to take in stride a Pentagon announcement that the United States plans to pull some 5,000 troops out of the country, President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to reduce America’s commitment to European security.

Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and he said European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defense. But he also emphasized that security cooperation benefited both sides of the transAtlantic partnership.

“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa.

The planned withdrawal faced bipartisan resistance in Washington, with swift criticism from Democrats and concern from Republicans that it would send the “wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full=scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year.

Trump’s decision comes as he seethes at European allies over their unwillingness to join his campaign with Israel against Iran.

He has lashed out at leaders like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Merz last week criticized the war in Iran, saying the U.S. is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and calling out Washington’s lack of strategy.

In another sign of friction, Trump accused the European Union of not complying with its U.S. trade deal and announced plans to increase tariffs next week on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25%, a move that would be particularly damaging to Germany, a major automobile manufacturer.

At least one EU lawmaker called the tariff hike “unacceptable” and accused Trump of breaking yet another U.S. commitment on trade.

A pullout of 5,000 soldiers from Germany would amount to about one-seventh of the 36,000 American service members stationed in the country. The Pentagon offered few details about which troops or operations would be affected.

The withdrawal is sched-

Air Force: Ex-Qatari 747 nearly ready to fly as Air Force One

By The Associated Press The U.S. Air Force has finished modifying and testing a Boeing 747 jet donated by Qatar for temporary use as Air Force One and expects to have it ready for President Donald Trump to use this summer, the service announced late Friday.

The jet is currently being painted red, white and blue, the Air Force said in a news release.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury jet a year ago despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting an expensive gift from a foreign nation, as well as concerns about security and cyber intelligence. Trump has defended the gift as a way to save tax dollars.

Trump has said he wouldn’t fly around in the aircraft when his term ends. Instead, he said, the plane would be donated to a future presidential library.

uled to take place over the next six to 12 months.

Trump previously said he would pull 9,500 troops from Germany during his first term, but he didn’t start the process and Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.

More broadly, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. personnel are usually stationed in Europe — depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations. The U.S. increased its European deployment after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022. NATO allies like Germany have expected for over a year that these troops would be the first to leave.

Pistorius, in his comments to dpa, said, “We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our security,” while stressing recent efforts by Germany to boost its armed forces, accelerate procurement and develop infrastructure.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart, in a post Saturday on X, said the trans-Atlantic alliance was “working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany.”

“This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defense and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security,” she added, noting “progress” toward a target among NATO allies to each invest 5% of their economic output to defense.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that the “decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.”

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the branches of the U.S. military didn’t have prior knowledge of the decision to draw down the 5,000 troops and learned about it “in real time.”

In response, the Defense Department reiterated on Saturday that it conducted a thorough review of its force posture in Europe.

“The decision to withdraw troops in Germany follows a comprehensive, multilayered process that incorporates perspectives from key leaders in EUCOM and across the chain of command,” acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez wrote in an email, using the abbreviation for U.S. European Command.

Most U.S. troops in Germany come from the Army and Air Force.

Germany hosts several American military facilities, including the head-

quarters of the U.S. European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical center in Landstuhl, where casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated.

U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.

Withdrawal of 5,000 troops — the size of a brigade combat team — from Germany would likely have limited impact on combat power, but “in terms of messaging of U.S. commitment though, it’s very different,” another U.S. defense official said.

The only permanent brigade combat team in Germany is the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, alongside an aviation brigade and other assets, which is considered to have an important role in America’s — and NATO’s — ability to deter threats.

After swift pushback from Democrats on Friday, Republican leaders of both armed services committees in Congress said Saturday they were “very concerned” about the troop withdrawal.

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama said the decision risked “undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin.”

They also said the Pentagon had decided to cancel the planned deployment of the Army’s Long-Range Fires Battalion. Parnell’s statement made no mention of that.

Wicker and Rogers said any significant change to the U.S. force posture in Europe warrants review and coordination with Congress.

“We expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and trans-Atlantic security,” they said in a joint statement.

They also noted that Germany has heeded Trump’s call to shoulder more of the burden of defense spending in Europe, while giving U.S. forces access to its bases and airspace in the war against Iran.

Trump has mused for years about reducing the American military presence in Germany, and has railed against NATO for its refusal to assist Washington in the war, which began on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

American allies in NATO have braced for a U.S. troop withdrawal since Trump took office, with Washington warning that Europe would have to look after its own security, including that of Ukraine, in the future.

Burrows reported from London. Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Washington and Jamey Keaten in Lyon, France, contributed to this report.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARKUS SCHREIBER

Bundeswehr troops demonstrate their capabilities on Thursday during a visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the army at the Bundeswehr base in Munster, Germany. The United States plans to pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany.

Lourdes leader fosters excellence in nursing

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes.

As National Nurses Week highlights the vital role nurses play in patient care, leaders at FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes say the profession also offers meaningful growth pathways, with expanding opportunities for clinical care, management, education and long-term career advancement.

For Sherelle James, DNP, RN, associate chief nursing officer, that journey reflects the evolution of nursing itself. What began during her childhood as an early fascination with caregivers visiting her grandfather grew into a 26-year career that spans hands-on patient care, leadership and education.

“Nursing is a calling for me,” James explained.

“It allows me to be of service to those in need.”

she said. “We have many wonderful nurses who thrive in bedside and clinical care roles, and they are truly the heartbeat of our organization. Then, when we see nurses early in their careers who show interest in leadership and supervisory roles, we find ways to help them continuously improve and use their skills in different ways.”

James said she is also proud of the successes of an emotional agility program that Our Lady of Lourdes began offering about two years ago.

During these sessions, nurses and leaders from different specialties discuss how to best handle different scenarios that are likely to arise.

“I think that has been beneficial to nurses who are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or burned out.

Answering the Call James started as a licensed practical nurse in There’s something special about hearing from 2000 before becoming a registered nurse three other nurses who have had similar experiences,” years later and, ultimately, earning a doctorate in James said. “The nurses are very thankful and have nursing. Today, she oversees nursing and clinical identified how they can better handle stressful support teams, helping shape policies, guide situations.” patient care strategies and ensure safety across Maintaining Motivation the organization.

Manson noted that giving nurses the chance “Sherelle is a go-to person who gets things done,” to share feedback and input has proven to be key noted Stephanie Manson, Our Lady of Lourdes to helping them maintain their motivation and market president. “Nothing is too big or too small well-being. In addition to supportive programs like for her to tackle. I always feel better knowing she’s the emotional agility groups, Manson said Our handling a situation or leading a project for us.” Lady of Lourdes leaders seek nurses’ input when Throughout most of her career James balanced evaluating new technology, treatment methods being a single mom, financial struggles and growing or patient amenities. her skill set – experiences that strengthened her “A key piece of retention is engaging nurses resolve and helped build a resilience she instills and including them in decision-making,” she in others to this day. said. “Nurses spend the most time with patients “I never lost sight of why I started,” James and develop a wonderful intuition. They are the explained. “My purpose stayed in front of me. first ones to notice if something is wrong with a My faith carried me through every setback, every patient and can use their clinical knowledge to late night, every moment of doubt. I knew that escalate or address the situation. That means it’s becoming a nurse meant I would have the privilege important for them to have a voice in everything of making a meaningful difference in the lives that involves patient care.” of people I cared for. That belief kept me moving While tools and opportunities may evolve, the forward, even when the path felt impossible.” foundation of nursing remains rooted in purpose.

For those who feel a calling to serve, nursing is Education in Action In addition to her executive responsibilities at Our a way to grow, lead and make a lasting impact.

“You are not only providing direct patient Lady of Lourdes, James is an adjunct instructor at LSU Eunice, teaching cardiac and hematology care care, but you are advocating for patients and to senior nursing students. The role allows James to their families. Nursing is a commitment that bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and requires strength, perseverance, resilience and real-world experience. She often sees her younger compassion every single day,” James said. “It’s self in her students and emphasizes not only clinical always important to stay connected to your ‘why’ care and the importance of compassion, but how and your purpose. When you do that, keep your to look for small gestures like a simple smile or faith strong and rely on your support systems, it a quiet thank you that lets nurses know they are can be the most rewarding experience.”

National Nurses Week is being observed May having an impact.

6-12, 2026, to recognize the vital role nurses play “A lifelong learner, Sherelle values continuous learning and is always up for new challenges,” in the healthcare system and local communities.

Manson said. “It’s important for her to mentor As healthcare continues to evolve, nurses remain others, teach nursing students and organize at the center – guiding patients, coordinating care and helping improve outcomes. This week is a time programs to encourage additional faculty.”

At first, James was hesitant to teach. “I don’t to say thank you and reflect on the lasting impact like to be in front of a crowd. But, when I looked nurses have in shaping healthier futures for all.

at the big picture, I realized I can touch the people who will care for future patients and ensure they have the education they need. It has been very rewarding. When I finish each class, I get a lot of thankful comments and meaningful questions.

That tells me they comprehend and understand.

It feels like an extension of nursing.”

Our Lady of Lourdes frequently looks for ways to help its nurses grow in their careers, Manson noted, whether that means assigning them key roles in new projects, enhancing their responsibilities or providing educational opportunities.

“Our mission is very important, so we look for nurses who are a good fit. We want people with a service-minded spirit who will provide compassionate care and an excellent patient experience,”

lll

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 9A

10A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Pope urges wealthy U.S. Catholics to keep donating

BY NICOLE WINFIELD

of the pope.

To become a steward requires a $1 million gift to a fund that then helps support papal projects, such as building orphanages or monasteries. For 2026, for exam-

Associated Press

ROME — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday encouraged some of the wealthiest U.S. Catholics to keep on giving to support his charitable works, in an audience that confirmed how the election of the first U.S.-born pope has invigorated American Catholics and their donations.

The Chicago-born Leo met with members of The Papal Foundation, a major funder of papal development projects in the developing world, in the Apostolic Palace at the end of their annual pilgrimage to Rome.

In his remarks, Leo thanked the foundation stewards for their generosity, which he said had allowed “countless people to experience in a concrete fashion the goodness and kindness of God in their own communities.”

He noted in particular the priests and nuns from poor countries who are able to study at Rome’s pontifical universities to earn advanced degrees thanks to scholarships funded by foundation’s grants, which combined over the past four decades have totaled more than $270 million.

While The Papal Foundation contributions to the Vatican remained strong during Pope Francis’ 12year pontificate, other donations to the Holy See tanked during the global financial crisis, COVID-19 and other strains. Some U.S. Catholics also soured

AP science writer

NEW YORK — The Eta Aquarid meteor shower soon will light the sky with debris from Halley’s comet. But a bright moon will spoil the fun this year, making the display harder to glimpse.

The shower will peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Viewers from the Southern Hemisphere typically see 50 meteors per hour during the peak, but the interfering moon could cut that number by half. In the north, skywatchers will likely see fewer than 10 per hour.

“For us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s not going to be as impressive,” said Teri Gee, manager of the Barlow Planetarium in Wisconsin. “The farther south you are, the better you’ll see it.”

Meteor showers happen when the Earth charges through trails of debris left behind from comets or asteroids. Those bits collide with Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds, producing streaks of light that are also known as shooting stars.

On any given night, a handful of stray meteors are visible under dark skies. Meteor showers yield a more exciting show and happen at predictable times every year.

Most meteor showers are caused by leftovers from comets, and the Eta Aquarids feature debris from one of the most well-known. Halley’s comet passes by Earth about every 76 years on its

the Philippines.

The foundation currently has as its members all the U.S. cardinals, and is governed by a board of trustees made up of Catholic laypeople and bishops.

Hospice of Acadiana nurses bring calm, confidence and compassion to life’s final chapter ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience on Wednesdays in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. on donating to the Holy See following years of unrelenting stories of mismanagement, corruption and scandal, as well as Francis’ known criticism of American-style capitalism.

The election of Leo seems to have reinvigorated the U.S. church, especially the donor class. On Saturday The Papal Foundation announced that its members had approved more than $15 million in grants for 2026, a record in the foundation’s 38-year history.

The foundation also announced that 25 new families had joined it in the year since Leo’s election, in the strongest sign yet that the

election of an American, English-speaking pope — and a math major with an eye to the Vatican’s balance sheet — has been good news for church fundraising.

“The growth we’re seeing is incredibly encouraging, as it reflects a shared commitment to serve, to give, and to bring the church’s mission to life in meaningful ways across the globe,” David Savage, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement.

The foundation was created by the late Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia in 1988, as a way for wealthy U.S. Catholics to directly fund charitable initiatives

Bright moon may dim the Eta Aquarid meteor shower

BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN

ple, some of the approved projects include the construction or renovation of a safe school for marginalized tribal children in India, and professional technical training for vulnerable women in

trip around the sun. It’ll next swing by in 2061.

To glimpse these meteors, it’s best to go outside just before dawn. Venture away from city lights and tall buildings to get a clear view of the sky. In this case, it might also help to find a spot that blocks the luminous waning gibbous moon, which will be 84% full.

Bring blankets and lawn chairs. Avoid looking at your phone and give your eyes time to get used to the darkness. Look to the east in

the vicinity of constellation Aquarius and bright star Eta Aquarii.

“You’re looking for bright streaks that appear in the corner of your eye for a fraction of a second,” said astrophysicist Nico Adams with SSP International, a nonprofit that promotes STEM education.

There’s no better way to enjoy the show than to experience it firsthand, Gee said.

“It almost feels like you’re discovering it yourself,” she said.

WE BUY, WE SELL YOUR SOURCE FOR PRECIOUS THINGS

Free Professional Appraisals Available Gold and Silver Bullion Bars & Coin ns Rolex watches • Sterling Silver atware flatware

Coin & Treasure

Bought • Sold • Traded Our 44 t h Year

2472 WEST CONGRESS

337-232-2573

Appointments Preferred - Walk-In’s Welcome

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Hospice of Acadiana.

For many nurses, the goal of their work is to diagnose, treat and heal patients. But for those working in hospice care, the mission is different – something quieter, deeper and profoundly human.

“We come to work every day knowing that we can truly change someone’s final moments. The goal is to honor their wishes and help them have as much peace and dignity as possible,” said Shawntel Moore, senior director of clinical services at Hospice of Acadiana. “Hospice nurses are steady hands in moments when people are scared. They are calm when people are uncertain. They are compassionate. You have to slow down, truly see the person in front of you and make sure the moments they have left truly count.”

Moore has spent more than 20 years as a nurse and 15 years as a nurse practitioner. In the two years since joining Hospice of Acadiana, she has come to see hospice nursing as a meaningful chapter where patients and families are supported in ways that extend beyond medical care.

That might mean small gestures, like buying a patient’s favorite cake or flowers, or bringing in a stylist for their hair and nails. It might mean simply sitting in silence with them during moments of quiet reflection. Or, it can be helping guide family members through questions, concerns and uncertainty.

“Loved ones are often overwhelmed, afraid and unsure what decisions need to be made. Our nurses step into that space with reassurance and confidence. We are able to take some of that burden off of families,” Moore said. “We can’t change the outcome, but we can affect the journey. We give family members the ability to sit with their loved ones, say what they want to say and help them find peace in their final moments.”

That level of care is made possible through a holistic, team-based approach. Hospice of Acadiana nurses work alongside physicians, social workers, chaplains and volunteers to care for the whole person – body, mind and spirit. Moore said there is a deep respect and appreciation for the role each person plays in easing a patient’s final journey.

“As a nonprofit, we are privileged to serve everyone who comes to us, and we know we are better as a team. We know this would not be possible without our nurses,” Moore said. “No matter someone’s background or circumstances, we know that peace comes when patients feel safe and understood, and know that they are not alone. Our nurses are able to provide that peace and comfort.”

Moore said that while hospice nursing is a beautiful and meaningful calling, it also carries a heavy emotional weight. That is why Hospice of Acadiana has created multiple forms of support for its nurses. Moore said there is always time set aside for conversation, reflection and healing.

Quarterly wellness programs are times for the staff to debrief and recharge. And, monthly dinners at a local restaurant give everyone a chance to unwind, laugh and enjoy one another’s company.

“When I stepped into this role, one of my priorities was making sure our nurses take care of themselves. You can’t pour from an empty cup,” Moore said. “If we take care of our nurses and other staff, they take care of each other. That creates an even better dynamic for our patients and families.”

Hospice of Acadiana is the only nonprofit hospice in the region and has served more than 32,000 patients and families since its inception.

Comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services include palliative care, grief counseling and symptom management. This work is supported by the Hospice of Acadiana Foundation, which ensures that everyone receives quality care and support. Visit hospiceacadiana.com to learn more.

Observed from May 6-12, National Nurses Week 2026 is a time to recognize the compassion, skill and resilience that nurses bring to their work every day. That impact is deeply felt in hospice care as nurses guide individuals and families through some of their most difficult moments. The week is a time to give thanks and acknowledge the profound difference nurses make each day.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 11A

lll

Nurses Week | May 6-12 For the care, compassion, and dedication shown every day, Hospice of Acadiana is proud to recognize and celebrate our extraordinary team of nurses.

As a nonprofit hospice serving Acadiana, Hospice of Acadiana provides care based on need—delivering comfort, dignity, and support when it matters most, backed by a 10/10 Hospice Care Index Score.

YOUR HOSPICE. YOUR CHOICE. When local nurses choose where to practice, they choose Hospice of Acadiana for our commitment to quality care.

You and your family have a choice, too. Ask for Hospice of Acadiana by name.

2600 JOHNSTON ST. HOSPICEACADIANA.COM 337.232.1234

12A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

LOUISIANA POLITICS High court decision opens door to countrywide battles Many states have already Several states on begun primary elections for the midterm verge of redrawing contests. Congressional In his initial reaction upon congressional hearing about the Supreme Court decision, President maps

Donald Trump said state legislatures should lean into WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, redrawing congressional maps and eke out a few likely won’t be only House member affected by the Su- more districts that would preme Court’s decision last elect a GOP candidate.

House Speaker Mike week to effectively elimiJohnson, R-Benton, wants nate his minority-majority Republican legislatures to congressional district. go back to work as he tries Louisiana v. Callais was to hold onto a GOP majorrendered as the November midterm elections ity. are getting under“All states that have unconstituway. Republicans are trying to keep tional maps should their bare House look at that very majority. Democrats carefully and I think think they have a they should do it beMark shot to pick up the fore the midterms,” Ballard Johnson told reportsix seats necessary to take the levers of ers Thursday. power in the House.

Facing significant headA 6-3 Supreme Court mawinds going into Novemjority found that the Voting ber’s midterm elections, Rights Act of 1965, under Trump earlier this year which minority voters have pushed Republican-led challenged electoral maps states to redistrict and add for decades, allows districts more GOP congressperto favor a particular party sons. Some Democratic-led but not a particular race un- states responded by doing less intentional discrimina- the same.

The initial round of retion is proven.

Black voters have backed districting tit-for-tat left Democratic candidates Democrats and Repubwith 80% to 90% pluralities licans flipping about the since 1960. same number of seats. That “With this decision, states doesn’t yet count Florida, no longer have to ensure where the Legislature is that communities of color considering new maps that have a constitutional right turn four Democratic seats to a congressional district — two of which are from in which they make up a minority-majority districts majority of the vote,” Amy that would be eliminated — Walter wrote in The Cook into safe Republican ones.

Political Report, based in The Cook Political Report Washington. with Amy Walter and Sa-

Bill on term limits faces headwinds

A proposed constitutional amendment to set a limit of two overall terms for governors, instead of two consecutive terms, has twice failed to pass the Louisiana House.

Currently, Capitol governors Buzz cannot serve STAFF more than REPORTS two terms in a row — but they can come back and serve again after a term out of office. Former Gov. Edwin Edwards was elected in 1972, 1976, 1983 and 1991.

House Bill 225, by Rep. Mike Bayham, RChalmette, would Bayham change the limit to two terms outright.

That would bar former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, from running again after serving from 2016 to 2024.

The bill passed out of the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs on an 11-2 vote. But Bayham has faced difficulty getting it past the House floor.

Because the bill proposes amending the constitution, it requires a two-thirds vote to pass, or 70 votes.

The House has twice voted on the bill, and it fell short both times — first in a E. Edwards 67-22 vote on April 22 and again on a 67-21 vote on April 28.

If the bill passes, the term limits would not immediately change. Voters would first have to approve J. Edwards amending the state constitution.

If approved, Louisiana’s rules would be would be similar to those for president. The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, approved by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states in

delegation.

“In a country where only 20 House seats are truly competitive, two more Republicans from Alabama could mean the difference between gridlock and advancing Trump’s agenda,” Tuberville, who is running for governor, wrote in an op-ed. “Alabama, which voted for Trump by 65% in 2024, by all rights should send an entirely Republican delegation to Washington.”

That percentage is statewide. Birmingham and Montgomery voters favored Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2024.

Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson and secondin-command as long as the GOP majority holds, know all too well the difficulties of navigating a one or two or three seat majority.

A small number of GOP STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE representatives can — and have — used their votes as Allen Whitehead delivers voting machines and signs to Harriet Tubman Charter School in leverage to get concessions Algiers on Oct. 10. The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais could have huge in legislation Republican implications for how election maps are drawn all over the country. leadership wants and Democratic members oppose. In that these Republican inevitable lawsuits that some cases, depending on bato’s Crystal Ball — two states will be able to draw will be filed over Gov. Jeff attendance, even a single respected political handiLandry’s suspension of the Republican objecting will cappers — estimated seven out all or some of their Democratic-held seats, if elections for Louisiana’s six kill legislation on party line districts could change parnot in 2026 than 2028,” said House seats. votes. ties due to the Callais rulKyle Kondik, managing ediSome states seem on the “This ruling strengthens ing. National Public Radio verge of going for it: Alaequal protection for all counted 15 House districts. tor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball voters, and gives people in Fair Fight Action and in Charlottesville, Virginia. bama, South Carolina and Louisiana and across the Black Voters Matter, two Just how many depends Tennessee. country greater confidence Atlanta-based voting rights on how fast GOP-dominated U.S. Sen. Tommy Tubergroups, calculated 19 seats states move to redraw their ville, R-Ala., urged the state that maps will be drawn fairly and not racially motidirectly tied to the Voting congressional maps to add attorney general to throw Rights Act, but 27 seats more Republican-leaning out a federal district court vated,” Scalise said. could go Republican over seats. order not to change until time.

Other Republican states 2030 the maps that helped Email Mark Ballard at “It certainly appears pos- will be watching the progelect two Black Democrats mballard@theadvocate. in the state’s eight-member com. sible, perhaps even likely, ress and outcome of the

1951, set a limit of two terms for U.S. presidents.

Before that amendment was ratified, only President Franklin D. Roosevelt had served more than two terms; he was elected four times.

Psychedelics bill advances A bill that would open the door for more research and testing of therapies that use psychedelic drugs like ibogaine and psilocybin is close to passing the Louisiana Legislature.

A growing body of research suggests those drugs can be powerful treatment tools for PTSD in veterans, drug addiction, and some mental health conditions. But they are illegal for general use and research has McMath been limited, given the potential for abuse if used improperly.

Senate Bill 43, by Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, would create a PsychedelicAssisted Therapy Program

y a w st Sweete The

Y A D ’S R E H T O M TO SAY HAPPY

at the Louisiana Department of Health that would support research for ibogaine and psilocybin. Money from a massive settlement the state reached with pharmaceutical companies over the addiction crisis could be used to fund the research.

The drugs would not be legalized for general use, and all research and clinical trials would need to be authorized by the federal Food and Drug Administration, with significant safeguards and procedural reviews.

The bill got a boost from President Donald Trump, who last month signed an executive order aimed at hastening research into psychedelics and removing some of the federal rules that restrict that research.

SB43 has broad support in the Legislature so far. It passed the Senate without opposition, and was unanimously approved by the House Health and Welfare committee.

See the Louisiana Purchase An original copy of the agreement for the Louisiana Purchase is on display at

PHOTO PROVIDED By GOV. JEFF LANDRy’S OFFICE

Gov. Jeff Landry, center, and his wife Sharon, right, check out a display at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge of an original copy of the agreement for the Louisiana Purchase. the Louisiana State Capitol as part of the nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

In one of the largest land deals in history, the United States bought 828,000 square miles of land from France for $15 million in 1803. That nearly doubled the size of the United States, adding territory from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. That land now includes all or part of

15 modern states, including Louisiana.

The exhibit is open and will last until July 11. It is free and open to visitors of all ages.

“This is more than an exhibit,” Gov. Jeff Landry said, when he announced the idea in his speech to open the legislative session. “It is a powerful opportunity for Louisiana to tell its story — to remind the nation that our state has always been central to America’s growth, ambition, and belief in the future.”

Tested and proven gutter protection.

LeafFilter accepts 200% more water than competitors**

LeafFilter®

Common hood style

America’s #1 gutter protection

1

Tested and proven, see how LeafFilter stacks up against other leading options — and why it’s trusted by over 1 million homeowners.

LeafFilter®

Common hood style

Filters 14+ gallons of water per minute

Can overflow during heavy rain

Does not disturb your shingles

Can disturb shingles / void roof warranty

Added to your existing gutter system

New gutters required

Surgical grade micromesh

Flimsy and cheap materials

Aesthetic profile

Larger, bulkier profile

We install year-round – Exp: 6/30/26

Schedule your free inspection and estimate today!

8646 GOODWOOD BOULEVARD

(225) 928-7000

1-877-582-6101 Promo Code: 285

Special offer– Save up to*

25% off

LeafFilter Gutter Protection

**Based on 6/12 pitch vs. hood-style competitors. The leading consumer reporting agency conducted a 16 month outdoor test of gutter guards in 2010 and recognized LeafFilter as the “#1 rated professionally installed gutter guard system in America. *Promotional offer includes 15% off plus an additional 10% off for qualified veterans and/or seniors. Cannot be combined with any other offers. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. See representative for full warranty details. AR 366920925, AZ ROC 344027, CA 1035795, CT HIC.0671520, DC 4.20223E+11, FL CBC056678, IA C127230, ID RCE51604, LA 559544, MA 213292, MD MHIC111225, HIC164488, MI 262300331, 262300330, 262300329, 262300328, 262300318, 262300173, MN IR810524, MT 2661922, ND 47304, NE 50145-24, 50145-23, NJ 13VH13285000, NM 408693, NV 86990, OR 218294, PA PA179643, RI GC-41354, TN 10981, UT 10783658-5501, VA 2705169445, VT 174.0000871, WA LEAFFLH-763PG, WI No. 537-DCFRR WV WV056912.

1

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 13A

lll

EDUCATION A S K T H E E X P E RT S

Schools can help combat food insecurity, advocate says About 1 in 4 children in Louisiana struggle with hunger

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of children facing food insecurity, with nearly 1 in 4 young people struggling with hunger.

Lindsay Hendrix, chief impact officer at Second Harvest Food Bank, has spent over a decade tackling the issue, particularly among the state’s K-12 students. Her team works to identify food insecurity across 23 parishes and collaborates with schools to establish food assistance programs, such as the Summer Feeding Program, which will serve breakfast and lunch to students at 99 schools this summer.

Food insecurity is when people, usually due to a lack of financial resources, are unable to easily access the amount of food needed to survive. Children facing food insecurity might have to skip some meals or fill up on junk food.

Research shows that students who don’t eat enough nutritious food are more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions and perform poorly in school. They might struggling with fatigue and inattentiveness or frequently miss class.

Now advocates like Hendrix are bracing for a new challenge. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which

Q&A WITH LINDSAy HENDRIX CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER AT SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK

can do to help.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What is food insecurity, and what does it look like in Louisiana?

Food insecurity is a USDA measurement that surveys a sample of people across the nation and asks respondents whether they’ve been able to meet their food needs over the last month.

Looking at statewide data, Louisiana is ranked third as having one of the highest food insecurity rates in the country among both adults and children. We have more food insecure children than a lot of states can even imagine.

In total, 248,000 Louisiana children come from a foodPHOTO PROVIDED By LINDSAy HENDRIX.) insecure household.

Lindsay Hendrix is the chief impact officer for Louisiana’s How does food insecurity impact a Second Harvest Food Bank. child’s development?

We talk to a lot of educaoversees several food assis- awaiting review by the Sen- tors, and they know which children in their classrooms tance programs, including ate Education Committee, struggle with hunger. free school lunch programs, would create a screening Usually those kids have said last year that it will process to detect food insediscontinue an annual food curity among public school trouble focusing. There’s often sleepiness, lethargy, insecurity survey, which students. House Bill 269, and they aren’t able to perthe agency called “redunwhich is pending approval by the House Education dant” and “politicized.” form well on tests or in their Committee, asks the state Hendrix said the loss of lessons because they’re not education department to data will make it more difretaining the information fund the Free School Break- they’re being taught. ficult to track hunger and There’s also evidence that ensure families and children fast Program, a federal shows a food insecure child get the resources they need. program that reimburses “Not having information schools up to one breakfast may be sick more often, so they miss more classes. about a problem is a probper student per school day.

It’s a lot of disruption in Hendrix spoke to The lem,” she said. the child’s day. Ultimately, Times-Picayune | The AdAt the state level, Louisiana lawmakers are taking vocate about why prevent- it negatively impacts their some steps to address child- ing hunger among students ability to succeed as they move along in school and is important and what hood hunger. life. schools and communities House Bill 218, currently

What signs should educators look for that indicate a child is struggling with hunger?

Teachers and staff should be on the lookout for a preoccupation with food.

Hoarding food, putting food in pockets, asking classmates for food, et cetera.

They should also look for poor concentration and focus, low energy, or shifts in behavior.

What are some ways schools can help combat childhood hunger?

They can make sure that a family is going through the qualification process for free and reduced meals and make sure the child is actually participating in those meals.

For a lot of schools, free and reduced meals are a big part of the day. Making sure that a child who is food insecure is able to access breakfast is important, as is being mindful of how the school sets up their day.

A lot of educators talk about how their students are missing that free breakfast because their bus gets in too late. Teachers often have to supplement with snacks they’re purchasing out of their own pockets to be able to feed kids so that they can focus in the morning.

Is Second Harvest working on any initiatives in schools?

Childhood hunger spikes in the summertime because kids who qualify for free breakfast and lunch are stuck when school gets out, so they come to summer feeding programs where

they can continue to get those meals.

We’re working on our largest summer food program on record. It’s called Summer Feeding, and it’s part of the USDA’s summer food service program in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education.

Ninety-nine sites have applied to receive breakfast and lunch meals across our service area. Last year we served 72 sites.

We’re also opening a new community kitchen at our Bayou Distribution Center in Houma, which serves Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary, that’s going to serve about 6,000 children this summer.

How can people help hungry students in their communities?

Supporting schools and teachers is really important. Teachers spend a lot of their own dollars serving their students, and they’re already underpaid for what they do.

It can also help to speak directly to your legislators about providing resources for schools to be able to serve food-insecure children. For example, the state created an initiative a few years ago where they provided infrastructure funding for state-funded universities to address college-level food insecurity, but there’s not something similar for K-12 public schools.

Whether community members want to directly serve schools themselves or influence policymakers, any of it can improve the situation that our students are finding themselves in.

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THE STATE HOW TO TACKLE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING LOUISIANA SCHOOLS. HAVE AN IDEA? EMAIL PATRICK.WALL@THEADVOCATE.COM

KICKOFF

TH

SATURDAY, MAY 30 BLACKHAM COLISEUM 10 AM - 2 PM 2330 JOHNSTON ST, LAFAYETTE, LA 70503

OV E

GREAT PRIZE 0 S R5

BENEFITTING BENEFITTING

FREE FAMILY FUN

FOLLOWED BY A 15 DAY VIRTUAL SCAVENGER HUNT!

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO REGISTER NOW, SKIP THE LINE, AND JOIN IN THE FUN!

FOR MORE INFO VISIT MILESPERRET.ORG/GOA

14A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Trump likes idea of government owning some firms did not immediately address But administration the shutdown of the carrier.

He compared the potook a pass on tentialhad acquisition to an earmove to buy a stake in Spirit Airlines lier Intel. Trump has watched

Safety. Style.

Stress-Free Installation.

CALL NOW 1.833.472.5859

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT ROURKE

President Donald Trump speaks Friday at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla. conservatorship of the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump says they are worth more now because he held on instead of privatizing the companies in his first term. “If I would have sold it, I would have felt like a schmuck,” he said Friday.

He is accessible to CEOs, speaking regularly on the telephone with them, yet he also can be demanding of them to support his agenda.

He has told Walmart to not raise prices because of his tariffs and suggested he would favorably “remember” companies that decline to seek refunds after the Supreme Court ruled his tariffs were illegal.

To critics, Trump’s desire to fund and hold ownership stakes in private business is a byproduct of an id in overdrive.

“This is entirely a reflection of a transactional-minded president who wants unilateral control of the economy,” said Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “At the end of the day, it is about power, it is about leverage

and it is about control.”

Others see some logic in competing against Chinese manufacturers that can churn away without regard to profits, undercutting factories in other industrialized nations and putting America’s preeminence as a military power and technological innovator at risk.

The investment in Intel was “a strategic move, necessitated by the growth of China as an economic peer and rival,” said Sujai Shivakumar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

“The key point is that we should not sacrifice our national economic and industrial framework in the name of ‘free markets’ or other ideologies,” he said. “Pragmatism, in various forms of industrial and innovation policy, have always been a feature of our economic system since the very beginning of our republic.”

During the 2024 campaign, Trump portrayed the administration of Democrat Joe Biden as communist and socialist.

“We will cast out the communists,” Trump said at an April 13, 2024, speech in Pennsylvania. “We will liberate our country from these tyrants and villains once and for all.”

Biden often stressed his belief in the power of free markets to help the middle class and he believed his efforts to raise corporate tax rates would help achieve that. “I’m a capitalist,” he said in his last State of the Union address, saying he was not opposed to companies making profits. “That’s great — just pay your fair share in taxes,” he said.

The Biden administration extended loans and grants to chipmakers and sought to leverage the government’s role as a customer of American businesses. But a key difference was that the investments were based on laws passed by Congress.

Trump’s unilateral approach is more nimble, his White House argues, saying that funding for his investments come from sources previously approved by Congress.

Trump specifically took

SPECIAL OFFER

Waiving All Installation Costs!

Add’l terms apply. Offer subject to change and vary by dealer. Expires 12/27/26.

Save 500 $ Save 1,000 $

on every window on every door!

with $0 down, 0% interest, and NO payments for 12 months*

Renewal by Andersen is the nation’s best window and door replacement solution‡ ULE ED

SELF-SCH TO

YO

T

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had no qualms about a government takeover of Spirit Airlines, so long as the terms could be portrayed as a financial victory in what would have been the latest addition to a taxpayer-backed conglomerate of business interests.

But the budget carrier ceased operations on Saturday after reaching an impasse with an administration that increasingly sees the government as an activist investor that will shape the path of the U.S. economy.

While Trump has long railed against Democrats and other opponents as communists — the antithesis of the free market ethos that helped America grow into a superpower — he has taken a shine to the government owning some of the means of production since he has been back in the Oval Office.

Trump sees opportunities in preserving legacy brand companies such as Intel and possibly making a tidy profit for Uncle Sam. The Republican president views the investments as critical for economic security and emblematic of his own dealmaking skills, overturning what had been GOP dogma that government should avoid picking winners and losers.

In the case of Spirit, a cash-strapped budget airline that faced surging fuel costs caused by the Iran war, Trump told reporters on Friday that the government would buy a stake in the company “ only if it’s a good deal.” His objection to a bailout was not ideological as much as it was about the upside.

“If we can help them, we will,” Trump said. “But we have to come first.” Trump

the computer chip manufacturer’s stock closely. “I’m very proud of that Company in that I am responsible for making the United States of America over 30 Billion Dollars in the last 90 days on that stock alone,” Trump posted on social media this week.

Communism wields big influence in countries such as China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba, where governments play a central role in providing goods and services. The ideology has morphed over its history from the premise that government should own all property to a system in which the government might own or control major companies.

In the United States, major government interventions in the private sector have been unusual outside of a recession. Trump aides say his interventions are necessary to compete against China’s industrial heft, yet the president has frequently tethered corporate America to his administration.

He has used his tariffs to solicit foreign investments and claimed that he controls how the money is being spent. The government has a “golden share” to limit what Japan’s Nippon Steel can do after buying U.S. Steel. His administration brokered an agreement to take a cut of computer chip sales to China

by Nvidia and AMD. Under Trump, the government has invested in rare earths company MP Materials to break China’s control of the metallic elements needed for smartphones, autos and other technologies. Add to that agreements for stakes in Lithium America, Trilogy Metals and Vulcan Elements as well as preferential financing for Westinghouse and ReElement Technologies.

The administration backed off ending the government

U

R

AP P

EN

Associated Press

SCAN

BY JOSH BOAK

loans and grants from Biden’s 2022 CHIPS and Science Act and converted them into a $11.1 billion purchase of Intel stock. In his 2025 address to Congress, Trump called the CHIPS Act a “horrible, horrible thing” and suggested the Republican majorities claw back funding to pay down the budget deficit.

With Spirit Airlines in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, his administration had been weighing a $500 million deal that would have given the government a stake in the Florida-based discount airline. Other budget carriers have been interested in similar packages.

That possibility drew objections from Republicans such as Sens. Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Tom Cotton, of Arkansas. Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted to save the jobs at Spirit Airlines and that “when the prices of oil goes down, we’ll sell it for a profit.”

Government investment can help to even the playing field for American companies competing against subsidized foreign businesses, said Monica Gorman, a managing director at Crowell Global Advisors who helped lead manufacturing and industrial policy in the Biden White House.

But Gorman said that it was unclear whether the Trump administration had fully grasped the risks of “making some bad bets.”

She stressed the importance of formalizing the process through legislation instead of relying on Trump’s whims.

“Congress really needs to step in and design a legislative framework for U.S. industrial policy that governs equity stakes as well as other mechanisms such as loans and grants,” she said. “All of these are important tools in the U.S. industrial policy tool kit, but we need more guidance on when and how to use them.”

OI N T

M

Schedule your FREE in-home consultation by May 31

225-605-9679 10414 Plaza Americana Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70816

*Offer not available in all areas. Discount applied by retailer representative at time of contract execution and applies to the purchase of 4 or more windows or an entry or patio door. To qualify for discount offer, initial contact for a free Window and Door Diagnosis must be made and documented between 5/1/26 and 5/31/26, with the appointment then occurring no more than 10 days after the initial contact. No payments and deferred interest for 12 months available to well qualified buyers on approved credit only and applies to purchase of 4 or more windows and/or entry or patio doors. Not all customers may qualify.

Higher rates apply for customers with lower credit ratings. Financing not valid with other offers or prior purchases. No Finance Charges will be assessed if promo balance is paid in full in 12 months. Renewal by Andersen retailers are neither brokers nor lenders. Any finance terms advertised are estimates only, and all financing is provided by third-party lenders unaffiliated with Renewal by Andersen retailers, under terms and conditions arranged directly between the customer and such lender, all subject to credit requirements. Renewal by Andersen retailers do not assist with, counsel or negotiate financing, other than providing customers an introduction to lenders interested in financing. Renewal by Andersen is an independently owned and operated retailer. HICPA registration #003807. “Renewal by Andersen” and all other marks where denoted are marks of Andersen Corporation. ©2026 Andersen Corporation. All rights reserved. †See Renewal by Andersen® Products and Installation Transferable Limited Warranties for details. ‡Review aggregator survey of the most 5 star reviews among leading national full service window and door replacement companies. For J.D. Power 2025 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards.

Renewal by Andersen Impact Resistant Windows

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 15A

lll

UPGRADE YOUR HOME WITH ITH TH CUSTOM IRONWORK

FREE INSTALLATION

UPGRADE TO A CUSTOM IRON ENTRY DOOR DESIGNED TO STOP FORCED ENTRY BEFORE IT HAPPENS.

BEFORE

WHEN YOU CALL TODAY

AFTER

Stop Refinishing Your Old Wooden Door!

Upgrade to a custom iron door that adds security, elegance, and value to your home.

Wrought Iron Fence, Gates & Rails

Enhance security and curb appeal with custom iron fences, gates and rails • Ornate wrought iron designs • Built to last and resist rust • Expert installation by local professionals • Handcrafted with USA-made steel

Glass & Screen Rooms

Enjoy your patio year-around with a luxurious glass and screen addition

$0 Down • 0% Interest Free Financing Available

877-281-8232 usaironworks.com Proudly USA-Made - Installed by Local Experts

16A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Father, daughter duo duped NYC’s art world yearslong scheme tricked galleries with fake paintings

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press

NEW YORK — A little over a year ago, the New York City art dealer Robert Rogal received a visit to his private showroom from a young woman, who seemed eager to offload a family heirloom.

Introducing herself as Karolina Bankowska, she carried a framed painting signed by Andrew Wyeth, resembling the watercolor landscapes the celebrated artist had completed early in his career. Intrigued, Rogal accepted the piece on consignment, figuring it might fetch between $20,000 to $30,000 at auction.

“The provenance was a little fuzzy,” he said. “But she seemed credible. It wasn’t an obvious counterfeit.”

In fact, Rogal now believes the painting was a fake — one of at least 200 carefully designed imitations that federal prosecutors say Bankowska, 26, and her father Erwin Bankowski, 50, tried to pass off to unwitting buyers.

On Tuesday, the duo plead-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

Art dealer Robert Rogal never listed this suspected forgery of an Andrew Wyeth painting in his New york gallery because the stamp on the back was ‘too clean.’ ed guilty to defrauding their victims — including some of New York City’s most prominent fine art auction houses — of at least $2 million.

The counterfeits, which were forged in Poland by an unnamed co-conspirator, were often reproductions of lesser-known works by prominent and prolific artists, like Banksy and Andy Warhol, prosecutors said.

Their most profitable fake, purportedly by the artist Richard Mayhew, was sold

by the auction house DuMouchelles last October for $160,000.

A representative for DuMouchelles said they had cooperated with federal authorities but were not authorized to discuss the sale further. Several other auction houses targeted in the scheme, including Bonhams, Phillips, Freeman’s and Antique Arena, either declined or did not respond to inquiries.

The father and daughter

— Polish citizens living in New Jersey — face charges of wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American–produced goods, a charge stemming from their duplication of the Luiseño artist, Fritz Scholder.

They face the possibility of more than three years in prison under federal guidelines, in addition to $1.9 million in restitution and possible deportation to Poland.

In court on Tuesday, Bankowska told a judge that

her “conduct was wrong and I am guilty.” Her attorney, Todd Spodek, said his client had placed more than $1 million in an escrow account.

Through a Polish interpreter, Erwin Bankowski also apologized. His attorney, Jeffrey Chabrowe, added that his client had “regrettably made a terrible decision in an effort to support his family.”

As news of the fakes reverberated around the art world, experts described the scheme as a classic of the genre — one that is far more prevalent than some in the industry would like to admit.

“The only unusual thing about this case is that the forgers got caught,” said Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at the City University of New York.

“People think of the art world as a genteel place full of cultured people who just want to share the wonder of beautiful art,” she added.

“You should assume there are a lot more fakes out there.”

Prosecutors said the father and daughter began commissioning a Polish artist in 2020 to create the fake artworks.

Using antique paper, they also forged stamps to attach to the paintings, adopting the names of since-shuttered

galleries where a given artist might have plausibly shown their work.

It wasn’t long before the sales began to draw scrutiny. In March 2023, representatives for the artist Raimonds Staprans caught wind of a forged painting, “Triple Boats,” for sale by an auction house. A few days after the reps contacted the auction house, the painting sold to a buyer for $60,000, prosecutors said.

Thompson, the professor of art crime, noticed other irregularities as well. The gallery stamp on the back of the faked Wyeth, for example, listed its year as 1976, but included a zoning address number that had been phased out in 1962.

Coincidentally, perhaps, the fake stamp bore the name and address for M. Knoedler & Co. One of New York’s oldest and most esteemed commercial galleries, Knoedler closed down in 2011 amid allegations of profiting from forgeries of paintings by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and others.

Ultimately, Rogal said he never listed the Wyeth, in part because the stamp on the back was “too clean.”

When he called Bankowska and told her to pick it up, she never responded.

U.K. PM urges tough action against Gaza protests after antisemitic attacks

BY SYLVIA HUI

Associated Press LONDON — Britain’s prime minister warned Saturday that tougher action was needed against people chanting certain phrases at pro-Palestinian protests, as concerns grew over the safety of British Jews after the stabbings of two Jewish men in London.

Keir Starmer said he would always defend the right to protest, but said there may be instances where some marches protesting the war

in Gaza should be banned. He suggested that repeated proPalestinian marches have had a “cumulative effect” linked to the rise in antisemitic incidents in the U.K. “When you see, when you hear some of those chants — ‘globalize the intifada’ would be one I would pick out — then clearly there should be tougher action in relation to that,” Starmer told the BBC. The Arabic word intifada is generally translated as “uprising.”

A 45-year-old man was

charged Friday with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed and wounded Wednesday in Golders Green, a London neighborhood that’s an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. Police called the attack an act of terrorism.

It was the latest in a string of incidents including recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital.

The U.K.’s most senior police officer warned Friday that British Jews are facing

their greatest ever threat, and blamed social media for making antisemitism more mainstream than before.

Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police, said British Jews are now the target of every extremist group spreading hate.

“The ghastly fact is that Jews are on everybody’s list, all of those hateful groups, whether you’re extreme right, whether you’re extreme left, whether you’re Islamist terrorist, whether you’re right-wing terrorist,

the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.” The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

Yo

u ar r M ts o He ve re

St

and some hostile states as well now with some sort of Iranian-related threats,” he told The Times. “There’s a ghastly Venn diagram that they’re at the middle of.”

Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack. Severe is the secondhighest on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

The government said the change was not due solely to

Erie Roofing Since 1976

Trust the Nation’s #1 Roofing Contractor Award-Winning Roofing and Customer Service

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get your FREE home value now

50% 50 % OFF Installation

FREE ESTIMATE

SCHEDULE TODAY! Call 1.855.877.0633 • $0 Down Today • Same Day Financing Available • Premium Warranty Protection

Join over 400,000 satisfied homeowners with an ultra-durable roof from Erie Home.

CALL TODAY! 1.855.877.0633

addressbatonrouge.com DRE#01901536 This website is a marketing and information program that sends all inquiries to state-licensed real estate professionals.

New orders only. Does not include material costs. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Minimum purchase required. Other restrictions may apply. This is an advertisement placedon behalf of Erie Construction Mid-West, Inc (“Erie”). Offer terms and conditions may apply and the offer may not be available in your area. If you call the number provided, you consent to being contacted by telephone, SMS text message, email, pre-recorded messages by Erie or its affiliates and service providers using automated technologies notwithstanding if you are on a DO NOT CALL list or register. Please review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use on homeservicescompliance.com. All rights reserved. License numbers available at eriehome.com/erielicenses/

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 17A

lll

Academy Awards organization announces 2027 rules International film eligibility expanded, AI addressed

BY LINDSEY BAHR AP film writer

The organization behind the Oscars is for the first time addressing the use of artificial intelligence in performances and scripts for the 2027 Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday released updates across many categories, stressing the importance of human authorship while not banning AI. The new rules also include significant changes to the much-criticized international film category, expanding eligibility to include films that won top qualifying awards from prestigious film festivals like Cannes, Venice and Toronto.

“As we do every year, we made a lot of, we think, really smart and progressive changes,” film academy CEO Bill Kramer told The Associated Press. “Obviously, as the academy becomes more global, we need to think about how we are inviting international films into the Oscars conversation.”

As part of its annual review of Oscar eligibility rules, the academy is tackling one of the global filmmaking community’s biggest concerns: generative artificial intelligence.

The new rules state that “the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination” and that the academy and each branch “will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award.” They’re also reserving the right to request more information from the filmmaking team about the nature of the use of AI and “human authorship.”

“Humans have to be at the center of the creative process,” said academy President Lynette Howell Taylor.

“As AI continues to evolve, our conversations around AI will do so along with that. But for the academy, we are always going to put human authorship at the center of our awards eligibility process.”

When it comes to the eligibility of performances, only roles “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” will be considered. The organization declined to comment on whether the upcoming AIrendered Val Kilmer performance would be eligible as the filmmakers have not yet submitted it for consideration.

A likeness is not an actor, for one, but it might also depend on how Kilmer is credited in the film: As Val Kilmer or something else? One could also take Andy Serkis as Gollum as an example of a human collaborating with technology for the final performance.

“We will review that on a

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT SAyLES

The organization behind the Oscars is for the first time addressing the use of artificial intelligence in performances and scripts for the 2027 Academy Awards. case-by-case basis,” Kramer said. “We, like everybody in our industry and world, we will be assessing this every year.”

There is less ambiguity in the screenplay categories, where the rules state that “screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.”

The film academy has often had to review its standards to meet the technological advances of the moment, whether it be sound, color or computer generated imagery (CGI).

As its membership has grown much more international, there have been increasing calls for an overhaul to the international film

category, which had been continually criticized as unjust, outdated and subject to political interference. That’s led to independent and dissident filmmakers often pointedly not being submitted to represent the country they’re from.

Last year’s Palme d’Orwinner at Cannes, for instance, was “It Was Just an Accident,” from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, was not submitted as Iran’s official entry for the 98th Academy Awards, but France’s.

Under the new rules, “It Was Just an Accident” could be considered eligible because it won the top Cannes prize and not

because a country chose to submit it. In addition to the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the Golden Lion at Venice and the Platform award at Toronto, other festivals with eligible qualifying awards will also include the Berlin International Film Festival’s Golden Bear, the Busan International Film Festival’s best film award and the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize.

All the international films will also be credited as the nominee, not the country or region, and the award will be accepted by the filmmaker.

The director’s name will also be listed on the Oscar plaque, “after the film title

and country if applicable.”

“That really reflects our desire to honor the film’s creative team. That is how we approach other categories,” Kramer said. “And as we become more global, as the filmmaking community becomes more global. I think it’s really about a focus on the filmmakers and less a focus of the country.”

The acting branch is catching up with the rest of the academy in allowing an actor to be nominated for more than one performance in a single category. If, say, this year’s best actor winner Michael B. Jordan has two extraordinary leading performances in two different films in 2026, he could possibly get two best actor nominations.

This is standard practice in the other categories. In 2001, at the 73rd Oscars, Steven Soderbergh was nominated for best director for both “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich,” winning the prize for the former.

The organization also clarified the eligibility of original songs used during a film’s end credits. For songs in which the first music cue plays over the end credits, that song must overlap with at least the film’s last 15 seconds before the credits roll in order to be considered eligible. This year’s original song winner, “Golden” was a key part of “KPop Demon Hunters” and used several times throughout the film.

“We never stop looking at ways to improve our eligibility process,” Taylor said.

4 N.J. residents charged with Visit Baton Rouge builds on illegally voting, lying on forms dynamic 2025 with renewed

By The Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. — Federal prosecutors in New Jersey have charged four residents with illegally voting.

The U.S. attorney’s office for New Jersey said in a statement Friday that the four people were not U.S. citizens when they registered to vote and cast ballots in federal elections, as federal law requires.

Their charges range from illegally voting in a federal election to making false statements when applying for citizenship and unlawful procurement of citizenship

or naturalization.

Prosecutors say all four voted in at least one federal election from 2020 to 2024, a period that included two presidential elections and one midterm election.

They say the defendants, after casting ballots, then submitted applications for naturalization in which they falsely claimed to have never voted or registered to vote in a federal election.

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said the charges reflect his office’s “commitment to protecting the integrity of our election system.”

Last year, the office launched a task force focused on election-related crimes such as voter registration fraud, casting of fraudulent ballots, voting by noncitizens and individuals voting multiple times in the same election.

Social media claims of widespread voter fraud surged after the 2020 election and have continued to be amplified by President Donald Trump and his allies.

But current and former election officials have said such fraud is isolated and rare.

Taiwan’s leader lands in Eswatini in trip delayed by lack of overflight clearance

By The Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said he arrived in the African nation of Eswatini on Saturday, days after his government was forced to push back the trip when several countries withdrew permission for him to fly over their territo-

ries reportedly over Chinese pressure.

In a post on X, Lai said he arrived in Eswatini — Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa — to “affirm our long-standing friendship.”

He said that Taiwan, a selfruled democracy that China considers part of its territory, “will never be deterred

by external pressures.”

Lai was originally scheduled to visit the southern African country from April 22, but Taiwanese officials said that flight permits were revoked by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar over “strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.”

NOW IS A GREAT TIME FOR YOUR NEXT HOME PROJECT!

Metal Mart has the materials for your DIY project including bargains on seconds and thirds, drops, hardware and tools!

METALMARTS.COM

4401 NW Evangeline Thrwy, Carencro, LA

337-886-7944

metalmart35@mcelroymetal.com

energy and a diverse slate of events for 2026

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Visit Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge is proving that it’s more than Louisiana’s capital city – it’s a destination on the rise. With a year of record-setting events and positive momentum, 2025 saw significant tourism achievements in the region, and 2026 is shaping up to carry that energy even further.

One of the biggest success stories of 2025 was the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, which transformed the Raising Cane’s River Center into a fully-functioningbowlingcomplexfornearlyfivemonths.

From March through July, more than 50,000 bowlers and roughly 100,000 of their friends, family members and fans made their way to Baton Rouge.

The championships generated an economic impactofcloseto$150millionforBatonRouge, a 14 percent increase from the last time the tournamentwasheldlocallyin2012.Thefigure represents dollars spent at hotels, retail stores, restaurants, gas stations, the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, coffee shops and more.

“The real win was that the economic impact spilledoverfromtheRiverCenteranddowntown area into several other areas of Baton Rouge,” said Laura Cating, Senior Vice President of MarketingandCommunicationsforVisitBaton Rouge. “We heard from the owners of several restaurants and hotels who said this event made their year from a financial standpoint.”

That success extended into Baton Rouge’s growing reputation as a destination for athletic-based entertainment. In August, LSU’s Alex Box Stadium welcomed the wildly popular Banana Ball World Tour, featuring the Party Animals and Texas Tailgaters. With two sold-out crowds and a growing fanbase, the event brought a new kind of high-energy, family-friendly experience to the city.

Around the same time, Baton Rouge leaned intoitsartisticsidewiththelaunchoftheBaton Rouge Underground Film Festival, a four-day event that celebrates independent film and fosters a vibrant creative community. Hosted at the Manship Theatre, the 2025 festival far

exceeded expectations, drawing about 1,800 attendees, well ahead of the projection of 500 people. The 2026 festival is slated for August 27-30.

Now, all eyes are on 2026. Much of the momentum so far is being driven by Death Valley Live, a new concert series inside LSU’s TigerStadium.Theinitiativerepresentsafresh chapter in large-scale entertainment for the city. The inaugural Death Valley Live show on March 28 drew more than 65,000 fans to see country star Zach Bryan.

Baton Rouge’s combination of events that appeal to multiple demographics, combined withtouristdestinationsthatappealtoeveryone from history buffs to families with young kids to avid foodies, is helping the city maintain and grow its tourism momentum.

“We believe Baton Rouge has something to offer everyone at every time of the year. We’re reallyproudoftheaccomplishmentsandfeedback we received in 2025 and we feel 2026 is already off to a strong start. We’re excited to welcome even more people to Baton Rouge during the rest of the year,” Cating said.

Learn more about tourism impact at www. visitbatonrouge.com/about-us/why-tourism-matters.

18A ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

To celebrate National Pet Month, we are partnering with these companies to help local animals shelters.

SAVE $ 22 2

SAVE 83¢

LB

SAVE $ 98 2

LB

1

$ 57

— ONLY —

Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs

St. Louis Style Pork Ribs 10 - 11 OZ CONTAINER FRESH MADE IN STORE

Guacamole, Salsa or Pico de Gallo

86

¢LB

PREVIOUSLY FROZEN

LB

COUNT SAVE 10Mission up ¢ to 20 Soft Taco

3

— ONLY —

— ONLY —

5 COUNT BAG

3

2/$

Only ! ¢ 30 each

Rouses Chunk or Shredded Cheese

5

3/$

5

2/$

3 LB BAG

Fresh Hass Avocados LIMIT 2 8 OZ PACK

Tortillas

$ 79

When You Buy 2

When You Buy 2

— ONLY —

GREAT ON THE GRILL PREVIOUSLY FROZEN

SAVE up $ 98 to 4

Bland Farms Vidalia Onions

SAVE 9.12 - 11.5 OZ BAG up $ 97 On The Border to 3 Tortilla Chips When You Buy 3

SAVE UP TO $3 55 (MUST BUY 2)

SAVE UP TO $349 (MUST BUY 2)

Hot Boiled Louisiana Crawfish available 11 am - 7 pm daily.

Tuesday Only May 5, 2026

While supplies last. Weather permitting.

Not available at all stores. Check Rouses for Market Prices on Crawfish.

Mexican Yellow Rice • Enchilada Casserole Spicy Mac and Cheese • Mexican Corn • BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Live Crawfish sold in sacks by the pound.

Donny Rouse, CEO, 3rd Generation

SAVE $ 52 1

SAVE

SAVE

When You Buy 2

When You Buy 2

up $ 98 to

3

LB

1

GROUND FRESH SEVERAL TIMES DAILY!

VALUE PACK

93% Lean Ground Beef

5

SAVE up $ 77 to 6

up $ 98 to

6

$ 47 Taylor Farms 2/$ LB 10 - 13 OZ SELECTED

Chopped Salad Kits

2 LITER BOTTLE

When You Buy 3

4

2/$

Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper or Sprite

SAVE up $ 98 to 2

Louisiana Local SAVE UP TO $5 99

FAMILY SIZE General Mills Cereal

(MUST BUY 2)

1.75 LITER

31 4 $

Tito’s Vodka 32 OZ $ 99 Rouses Mixers

Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream

5

2/$

4 LB BAG GRANULATED

Rouses 100% Louisiana Sugar

Louisiana Local

Ore Ida Potatoes

or CDM Coffee

5

99

$

$ 99 French Market 12 - 13 OZ BAG OR 12 COUNT PODS

22.5 - 32 OZ SAVE UP TO $5 99 (MUST BUY 2)

largest selection & lowest prices on wine, spirits & beer

SAVE up $ 00 to 7

99

12 PACK 12 OZ

Corona or Modelo

16

$

10

3/$

SAVE up $ 50 to 3

When You Buy 2

18 - 18.6 OZ SELECTED

14 OZ CONTAINER OR 3 COUNT BARS

99

12 PACK 12 OZ

Topo Chico Margarita

16

$

99

1.75 LITER

José Cuervo Gold or Silver Tequila

36

$

750 ML

Don Julio or Lalo Blanco Tequila

39 99 THC

750 ML

Corazon Blanco Tequila

19

$

99

750 ML

Margaritaville Silver or Gold Tequila

14

$

99

750 ML

10

$

Fireball Cinnamon or Blazin’ Apple Whisky

99

12 PACK 12 OZ BOTTLES

Dos Equis Lager or Ambar

16

$

99

Prices good at Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville locations April 29th thru May 6th, 2026.

4 PACK 12 OZ

Louie Louie THC Seltzer

17 99

$

METRO

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

|

S u n d ay, M ay 3, 2026

1Bn

Seven indicted on child exploitation Former Teacher of the year among those charged

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lafayette in recent months has charged seven Acadiana residents, from Broussard to Basile, with child sexual exploitation, including enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity and distribution of child porn.

A Broussard Middle School

teacher, Christie Dunbar Oster, 38, of Broussard, was indicted April 30 on a charge of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. She was arrested in January.

An eighth-grade teacher, she was named Teacher of the Year in 2025.

Oster is charged with having maintained a sexual relationship with a minor victim, one of her students, for most of 2024. The

U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Oster used her cellphone to hold sexual discussions with the student and to instruct the student on deleting text messages to avoid detection.

Scott resident Luxe Arlen Thomas, 19, has been indicted in federal court on charges of producing and possession of child sexual abuse materials.

A former National Guardsman,

he was charged with producing child porn, interstate transportation of a minor to engage in sexual activity and other child sexual abuse materials-related crimes.

Thomas allegedly engaged in a monthslong pattern of abuse of a minor girl he understood to have intellectual challenges and to be in a foster system, according to the news release.

He allegedly traveled to another state to engage in “sexually explicit conduct” with the girl, then transported her back to Lou-

isiana to do the same, producing and possessing sexually explicit images as he did so.

Rickey James Hebert, 66, of Abbeville, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Lafayette on three charges: conspiracy to produce visual depictions involving the sexual exploitation of minors, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and receipt of child pornography, according to

ä See INDICTED, page 2B

Pollution report provides mixed picture Some La. areas get failing grades for air quality

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

Air quality in the Baton Rouge and Hammond metro areas has received failing grades for smog and fine particle pollution in a new three-year study, while New Orleans dropped in the national rankings despite faring better than those neighboring cities.

The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report for 2026 revealed a mixed picture for Louisiana air quality based on those two major pollutants between 2022 and 2024.

In northern Louisiana, the Monroe-Ruston and Shreveport-Bossier City metro areas were rated among the cleanest in the nation for ground-level ozone — more commonly known as smog — and short-term particulate pollution, respectively. Though most other parts of the state remained in compliance, many saw pollution rankings slip as they fell behind other states with improving air.

For Baton Rouge and Hammond, the ALA’s failing grade for ozone — due to Baton Rouge-area parishes — suggest noncompliance with federal air quality standards, the nonprofit says.

“Unfortunately, too many people in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro area are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution,” said Eric Weinzettle, the association’s director of advocacy. “This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, contributing to chronic health conditions, and making people who work outdoors sick.”

The association relied on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index ratings for ozone, 24-hour fine particulate pollution and annual fine particulate pollution. Those ratings rely on data from the state air monitoring network.

EPA has scrutinized ozone and particulates for decades due to their broad presence across the nation and serious health impacts.

Especially harmful to children, older adults and people with asthma, ozone can cause breathing problems, may be a cause of asthma and can lead to premature death, the EPA says.

Fine particulates are microscopic solid or liquid particles that can embed in the lungs and enter the bloodstream. They can cause breathing problems but also raise the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease.

For 2022-24, East Baton Rouge, Iberville and West Baton Rouge parishes all received an “F” for ozone from the association.

West Baton Rouge also received a failing grade for annual

ä See POLLUTION, page 2B

CRAWFISH CRAZE

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

ABOVE: Members of the band Four Horses perform at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival on Saturday at Parc Hardy in Breaux Bridge.

RIGHT: Jake Davis, of Knoxville, Tennessee, sucks the head of a boiled crawfish.

Pair of La. projects Board to consider Comeaux settlement win $20M in contest Lawsuit alleges procedure to close school wasn’t followed

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

The Lafayette Parish School Board has scheduled a special meeting for Monday to consider settling a lawsuit over its March 12 vote to close Comeaux High School.

The board is expected to retire into executive session for the discussion, which is typical when the topic is pending litigation.

In this case, 15th Judicial District Judge Valerie Gotch-Garrett at a trial on Wednesday also warned board members not to discuss the matter among themselves or with others except in an executive session because they remain under sequestration as potential witnesses.

The public may attend the meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the central office, 202 Rue Iberville in Lafayette.

Details of the proposed settlement probably won’t be disclosed to the public at the meeting.

Gotch-Garrett ordered the board to report to her courtroom at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to present the settlement agreement. If the board does not approve the proposed settlement or if Gotch-Garrett is not satisfied with it, she warned that she will continue the trial on the lawsuit that began Wednesday.

The trial was halted Wednesday after nearly eight hours of testimony by Superintendent Francis Touchet, three high school principals and School Board President Hannah Smith Mason. After a short break late Wednesday afternoon, Gotch-Garrett said the board and plaintiff were considering a settlement.

On March 12, the board voted to

ä See COMEAUX, page 2B

Groups address post-storm power, abandoned oil platforms

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Two Louisiana projects addressing post-storm electricity shortages and abandoned offshore oil platforms have won a $50 million contest aimed at funding scientific initiatives in the region.

The two winning groups — the Louisiana Public Health Institute and the Gulf Offshore Research Institute — will each receive $20 million. The National Academies’ Gulf Research Project announced the winners Thursday as part of the philanthropic Gulf Futures Challenge.

The public health initiative will develop at least eight solar

and battery-powered energy resilient hubs at healthcare centers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. In addition to installing the energy system to power the community health clinics through storms, the “Gulf Hub” network will strengthen infrastructure at the facilities and develop a data-sharing network in case of severe disasters where people must evacuate.

“Those are really safety net clinic providers that provide high-quality primary care, preventative care and behavioral health services within 100 miles of the coast,” said Taslim van Hattum, the chief program officer of the Louisiana Public Health Institute. “We are catalyzing a transformative vision for access to continuous care before, during and after disasters.”

The Mandeville-based Gulf

ä See CONTEST, page 2B

2B ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

COMEAUX

INDICTED

close Comeaux High as a high school for the 2026-27 school year and repurpose it as a career center and other districtwide purposes.

Suzanne LaJaunie and others sued the board, alleging it did not follow rules or the state’s open meetings law in voting to close the school.

Touchet and Mason testified Wednesday that they didn’t know they were required to hold a public hearing before voting to close a school.

Gotch-Garrett on April 13 ordered the school system to halt all work on the Comeaux High closure until the hearing Wednesday.

She was not happy when the School Board on April 15 voted to rescind its March 12 vote to close the high school and planned to hold a public hearing.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Gotch-Garrett warned she could hold the board in contempt for violating her order not to take action, but she would not do so. Mason apologized, saying she thought the board was doing the right thing by undoing the March 12 vote and restarting the process.

the federal indictment.

The alleged criminal activity occurred on or about Nov. 30.

Hebert was allegedly paying a Filipina woman to create live videos of minor children being sexually abused and otherwise engaging in sexually explicit conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged in a news release.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 30.

Donald W. Bergeron, 42, of Broussard, was indicted in April on three charges, including distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, court records show.

The indictment by a federal grand jury in Lafayette says Bergeron from around April 11 through Dec. 19, 2021, used social media messaging applications and cloud-based file storage services to send, receive and save images of child sexual abuse, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office states.

Bergeron allegedly has a prior conviction for incest with a child.

Scott Nicholas Martel, 36, of Basile, was indicted in March for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials.

The indictment alleges that on or about Jan. 31, Martel falsely portrayed himself online as having access to minors by using online names such as “BaileyMomof2daughters” to secure child sexual abuse materials from others in internet-based chat rooms, the news release states.

A February search of his phone, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, revealed child sex abuse materials he received in this way plus AI-generated pornographic materials involving Martel’s use of photos obtained online of minor children living in his area.

Carencro resident Cody Allen Bell, 34, was indicted April 30 on charges of receipt and possession of child porn.

According to the indictment, the alleged incidents occurred from around February 2021 until about May 31, 2022.

A tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by an encrypted message application led to the investigation. The tip advised that someone attempted to upload child sexual abuse materials to the messaging applications.

The NCMEC sent the tip to the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations, where detectives identified the suspect as Bell, the release states. Detectives found materials on Bell’s messaging account, cloudbased storage account and cellphone.

Opelousas resident Michael “White Mike” Roy Williams, 61, was indicted April 30 by a federal grand jury in Lafayette in two separate cases, one charging him with possessing child sexual abuse materials and the other charging him with possessing an explosive device, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The investigation started with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office receiving information that Williams possessed child pornography. Detectives obtained a search warrant for his smartphone and another search warrant for his home where they allegedly found an explosive device.

Continued from page 1B

POLLUTION

Continued from page 1B particulate levels, with a level nearly 1.1% higher than the federal standard.

Under the association’s scoring, the lowest parish scores brought down the entire metro areas.

The combined metropolitan statistical areas of Baton Rouge and Hammond, which the nonprofit lumped in with Baton Rouge, worsened by six spots nationally over last year, falling from 32nd to 26th worst for ozone.

To exclude or not The New Orleans metro area ranked 100th worst for ozone nationally, a nearly 7.5% drop from last year, but it still a received a “C.” The area saw greater slips in national rankings for short-term and annual particulate pollution but still received strong grades, the association says.

The combined ozone grade for New Orleans and Hammond was based on St. John the Baptist Parish,

Continued from page 1B

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Comeaux High School students line up to speak in opposition to the potential closure of the school during a regular meeting of the Lafayette Parish School Board on March 12 at board offices in Lafayette.

which has the lowest grade in the two regions. State ozone data weren’t available in Orleans or Tangipahoa parishes.

Adding to the mixed picture, Shreveport-Bossier City ranked among the best in the nation for shortterm particulate pollution, receiving an “A,” but was among the worst for annual particulate levels. Particulates in Caddo Parish were 7.7% higher than the annual federal standard for the three-year period, giving the area a failing grade.

The state Department of Environmental Quality, which operates state air monitors, has previously questioned how the ALA analyzes air data and declined to comment on its report.

The EPA allows states to exclude days with bad air from natural events for calculations that can bring regulatory consequences.

In recent years, DEQ has convinced EPA to exclude high particulate levels in West Baton Rouge for days in 2022 and 2023 due to Saharan dust storms and Canadian wildfires.

The EPA method also shaves off the three worst days of pollution in a year for a more evened-out picture. The association report also relies on an annual particulate standard that the Trump administration is reconsidering to boost oil production and manufacturing.

Arguing that people breathe bad air whether regulators count them or not, the ALA applies every bad air day under AQI standards, weights them based on severity and averages them over three years.

Air toxics not included The report, however, doesn’t look at many other pollutants, including air toxics from industries and other sources that contribute to risk for cancer and other ailments.

Ozone forms when compounds released from fossil fuel burning in cars, power plants, industrial facilities and other sources react with sunlight.

Going back to the early ’90s, the Baton Rouge metro area has struggled periodically with being in

“nonattainment” for ozone, forcing increased business costs and regulatory efforts.

In March 2017, EPA declared the area in attainment, but the ALA says its “F” grade for the Baton Rouge region correlates with nonattainment.

Iberville had Louisiana’s worst rating for ozone. The parish had the most bad air days at 29 over three years and had the highest weighted, three-year average at 10.2 days per year.

Preliminary data from the Baton Rouge Clean Air Coalition show seven of nine DEQ air monitors in the Baton Rouge area were at or below the federal ozone standard between 2022 and 2024.

But state monitors in West Baton Rouge and Iberville had average ozone concentrations 1.5% to nearly 6% above the federal limit for 2022 to 2024.

DEQ officials said they believed local and international wildfires in 2022 and 2023 contributed to those measurements and tried to have EPA exclude those

high days.

Jason Meyers, administrator for DEQ’s Air Planning and Assessment Division, said EPA declined to review DEQ’s proposal because it did not meet the requirements.

Desiree Lemoine, campaign manager for Industry Makes, which advocates for Louisiana manufacturing, pointed out that ozone and particulates can come from heavy traffic and agricultural burning.

She noted that Baton Rouge and Lake Charles, which also has a large industrial base, are near busy interstate highways.

“Cars sitting in traffic on sunny days cause ozone,” Lemoine said.

She suggested the association’s findings could be read positively because most metro areas had passing grades.

“I think this is something Louisiana should celebrate, considering the reputation we have outside of our state’s lines,” Lemoine said.

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

CONTEST

Continued from page 1B Offshore Research Institute, meanwhile, will give new life to idle oil and gas platforms. Kent Satterlee, the executive director of the organization, said the group aims to use the $20 million to repurpose five platforms into sites for ocean observation, habitat monitoring, fish farming pilots and other uses.

“Something of this magnitude is game-changing,” Satterlee said of the grant.

“It allows us to really implement our vision … and to put together a repeatable and scalable process that can be used by other organizations.”

Eight other finalists will receive up to $875,000 for their projects, which include three other Louisianabased initiatives focused on concerns including financing climate mitigation and transitioning to clean energy.

The shortlisted groups included a plan from Tulane to repurpose decommissioned wind turbines and a proposal from Louisiana State University to help finance expensive climate mitigation efforts.

“We asked the people of the Gulf for their visions for a brighter future, and they responded with a flood of exciting proposals,” said Lauren Alexander Augustine, executive director of the Gulf Research Program.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

An abandoned oil company platform is left in Bayou Sorrel in the Atchafalaya Basin in Iberville Parish in 2020. A Louisiana project addressing abandoned offshore oil platforms and another addressing post-storm electricity shortages each won millions of dollars in a contest aimed at funding scientific initiatives in the region.

residents in the region, van Hattum said.

The importance of building energy-resilient sites that can keep the lights on during storms has gained traction in recent years, including the resilient lighthouses at New Orleans churches established after Hurricane Ida. The public health project is designed to include features beyond ensuring the healthcare facilities can withstand grid interruptions during hurricanes, flooding and extreme heat.

Healthcare network This includes establishing The Gulf Hub initiative “a regional data network,” from the public health insti- van Hattum said, that will tute will provide healthcare ensure clinics have medical to hundreds of thousands of records for patients across

facilities.

“So if they are evacuating New Orleans and seen in Atlanta, a physician there is about to query through the Gulf Hub network,” she said.

The initiative is a partnership between primary care associations across four states, a host of universities including LSU’s School of Public Health and Southern University’s School of Social Work, and a host of nonprofit organizations.

Farms and sea For Satterlee, who leads the offshore research institute, repurposing the idle oil platforms is anything but a one-size-fits-all approach.

The organization plans to transform the degraded sites into a range of new uses, from clean energy pilots testing a mix of solar, wind and hydrogen systems to trial runs for extracting seawater minerals like lithium and cobalt.

Satterlee said the specific conditions of the platforms — such as its depth and the habitat around it — will affect how the scientists repurpose the structure.

“Some of our repurposing has a much higher probability of success than others,” he said.

For instance, ocean monitoring is “ready to go,” Satterlee said, and will be installed on all five platforms.

Aquaculture farming, however, is not ready for commercialization because government regulatory changes are needed, he said.

“We’re going to have to work with the government agencies to significantly streamline that process,” Satterlee said.

The organization has so far submitted a permit application to repurpose one platform in the South Pass area near the mouth of the Mississippi River, he said. The other platforms have not yet been identified.

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

Contact Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com

LOTTERY

FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2026 PICK 3: 1-7-4 PICK 4: 5-9-4-5 PICK 5: 6-3-4-3-8 MEGA MILLIONS: 16-21-27-41-61 MEGA BALL: 24 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3B

lll

THE GULF COAST TikTok star readies to open restaurant in Mississippi

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ

His audience — mostly women in their 30s and 40s nicknamed the “barefoot neighborhood” — expanded.

They also started enthusiastically contributing to fundraisers and charities Bounds began to spotlight.

For his birthday last year, Bounds raised over $370,000 by livestreaming on social media for 26 hours. The money went to food pantries and nonprofits across the region.

“The best part about him is he doesn’t want the credit,” said Christen Duhé, president and executive director of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which helped Bounds distribute donations.

“He’s not really in it for him.

He’s in it to do what’s best for other people.”

Staff writer

By dawn, Matthew Bounds arrives at the brick building that will soon become his new restaurant. Two weeks before opening day, his schedule keeps getting busier.

“We are in serious crunch time,” the social media star said in between texting a contractor and coordinating a dishwasher installation. “I’m having the time of my life right now. It’s pure chaos.”

For three years, the southern Mississippi native has grown his reach, video by video, post by post, until he earned more than 7 million followers across social media platforms — more than double the population of his home state.

His fame is the result of quick cooking tutorials, tailored for fans on the go.

But Bounds, 43, says he cares more about building community than gaining likes and views. He tries to make viewers feel welcome however he can: by cooking meals with cheap ingredients, by mixing Southern charm with occasional curse words, by wearing a T-shirt that says “y’all” in rainbow letters.

Now his career — and his audience — is expanding beyond the internet. Bounds released his third cookbook last month, which has sold about 17,000 copies so far and recently made The New York Times bestseller list.

He and his husband, CJ Bryant, will open the restaurant, called Neighbors Tap & Table, in Gulfport, Mississippi, this month.

These days, Bounds is too busy to film several videos a day like he used to — he is mostly reposting old recipes and hopes to share new

‘We all feel like we belong’ Bounds should be on the road.

Matthew Bounds, known as ‘your Barefoot Neighbor,’ has grown famous online by inviting If not for long days previewers into his kitchen for quick, easy meal tutorials. Bounds will open the restaurant, paring to open the restaucalled Neighbors Tap & Table, in Gulfport, Miss., this month. rant, he would be meeting readers, signing books and appearing on the talk show ones soon. The to-do list is circuit to promote his newpacked at the restaurant, where stacks of boxes are est cookbook, called “Keep still filled with glasses and It Simple Y’all: Every Day.” plates. Bounds is excited “I’m doing none of that beand nervous. cause it is 6:42 a.m. and I am “It looks like a mess right here in the restaurant in a now,” Bounds said Thursday. construction zone,” Bounds But “it’s very, very close.” said in one recent video.

“These are my days right ‘Your Barefoot Neighbor’ now. This is where I live, and I love it.”

His social media career His latest endeavor began began with a humble relate last year, when a friend quest: Would Bounds create screenshotted a Facebook a TikTok account to like vidpost with news that a reseos of his friend’s dog?

It was 2022, and Bounds taurant in downtown Gulfwas working as an insurport was for sale. By Januance adjuster. Consumed ary, Bounds and Bryant had with politics, he had delet- Matthew Bounds cooks simple, quick meals, including this signed a lease on the space.

“We keep throwing around ed all social media. But he recipe for one pot pimento cheese and sausage gnocchi. the phrase ‘soft landing obliged and even posted a few videos of yard work and cooking. off. Bounds soon quit his in- place’ whenever we talk home projects under the His easy meal tutorials — surance job, landed brand about this place,” Bounds username “yourbarefoot- featuring dishes like chili deals and sponsorships and said. “That’s what we want neighbor.” cheese tortellini and one became a full-time social it to be for people. We want it to be a really beautiful, Then he decided to start pan Salisbury steak — took media personality.

PHOTOS PROVIDED By MATTHEW BOUNDS

comfortable space that anyone can walk into.”

They plan to open May 16, serving small plates and shareables at evening happy hours. And “of course,” Bounds said, “we’re going to do a bangin’ lunch.”

Bounds says the restaurant will share the mission he cultivates on social media: to create a space where guests can “sit down a minute, put your feet up, hang out for a little while.”

But viewers say Bounds’ appeal comes as much from his welcoming attitude as it does from his firm stands against hate. Bounds, the son of a Baptist preacher, has credited that stance to a viral video in which he mentioned his husband and received some of “the most vile, hateful remarks I’ve ever seen.”

He didn’t let it fly. And last year, after a Mississippi Coast restaurant promoted a special for straight couples only, Bounds helped organize a tour called “Love the Coast” to patronize inclusive restaurants across the region.

“He doesn’t accept bullying and he doesn’t accept negative talk,” said Martha Allen Price, the executive director of Extra Table, a nonprofit food bank in Mississippi that Bounds has supported. “Matthew has created a neighborhood, and we all feel like we belong.”

On Thursday, Bounds was at the restaurant by 6:30 a.m.

Soon, electricians and contractors started arriving.

There were boxes to unpack, paint to touch-up, tables and chairs to assemble.

“I can’t wait to throw the doors open,” Bounds said this week, pausing for a moment in the chaos. “I’ve always wanted to have my own spot.”

ONE great state Scan to download

Scan to download

FOUR great apps

Scan to download

Scan to download

4B ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

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

FILE PHOTO By L.S. DELAUNE

A long line of Black voters seek to register in the corridor of City Hall near the office of the Orleans Parish registrar after the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.

OUR VIEW

High court ruling on Voting Rights Act doesn’t have to be end of the story The decision by the United States Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais to fundamentally alter the understanding of the 1965 Voting Rights Act is surely one of those landmark decisions — like Dred Scott, like Plessy, like Brown — that will define the court for decades to come. And like those cases, it is undoubtedly a milestone in this nation’s long march toward racial justice. Or perhaps, if the court is to be believed, the end of that march as it reaches its destination.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court upheld the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act itself, but it struck down Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District, agreeing with plaintiffs that it is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The district was created by the Louisiana Legislature in January 2024 in response to legal challenges to previous congressional maps that minority voters said unfairly diluted their power at the ballot box.

At the time, Louisiana, which has six congressional districts, was using maps created in 2022 and had one Black representative in Congress.

A lawsuit argued that because the state, where one-third of the population is Black, did not have two seats, or one-third of the delegation, determined

by Black-majority districts, that indicated the maps were in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of race. Facing judicial pressure, the state created a second district, snaking from Shreveport to Lafayette to Baton Rouge, where Black voters were in the majority. That led to the current case, where a group of 6th District voters who described themselves as “non-African American” filed suit, arguing the new maps made them the victims of a racial gerrymander.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito affirmed the court’s inclination in recent cases to move past race as the yardstick of fairness in American society. In cases involving affirmative action and criminal justice, it seems to be saying that it’s time to look to other measures of how our society is faring in upholding the Equal Protection Clause of our Constitution.

The ruling takes note that “vast social change has occurred throughout the country and particularly in the South, which have made great strides in ending entrenched racial discrimination.” It says that because of this, the framework of determining whether districts unfairly disenfranchise minorities needs to be updated.

In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Jus-

FILE PHOTO

Ellen Floyd, of Boothville, fills out a voter registration application in Buras under the direction of federal examiner Bruce Rhiddlehoover after the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.

tices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, said that the ruling ”will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity.”

It’s hard to see how that won’t be the case, particularly in today’s hyperpartisan climate. While we feel the court may be right to declare that Section 2 was too broadly interpreted, we also find it disturbing that the court gave Louisiana and others little guidance as to the way forward. The Callais case now returns to the district court, which presumably will have to hash out how the state should proceed. But adding to the chaos, officials have postponed elections for House seats scheduled for May 16, even though early voting started Saturday.

When the Supreme Court first held a hearing on Callais on March 24, 2025, we knew it was a momentous case. When the court asked for a rare rehearing Oct. 15, many felt the justices were deadlocked on key issues.

It is no surprise to us that Louisiana is at the center of a case so central to our civil rights. Our state has a history punctuated by racial strife as much as racial blending.

In the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, the court famously got in wrong, using the Louisiana case to enshrine “separate but equal” as the legal doctrine underpinning segregation for decades to come. In recent years, the descendants of Homer Plessy, a Black shoemaker from Treme, and John Howard Ferguson, the White judge who ruled that Plessy could not sit in a rail car reserved for Whites, have united to promote racial justice in an only-in-Louisiana kind of story.

So we know that even when the Supreme Court rules, that’s not the end of the story. The arc of the moral universe still bends.

Much of what the Callais ruling means in practical terms is still to be determined. We urge our legislators and governor, who put forward the current map, to proceed carefully. Louisiana is likely to eliminate its second majority-Black district, but it is still possible to draw maps that are fair and representative of the will of a broad swath of citizens.

Florida has approved new maps, and some other Republican-led states, like Mississippi, vowed to redraw maps as soon as the ruling came down.

When the Voting Rights Act was passed, the means and methods of disenfranchising Black voters were perhaps more transparent. There were poll taxes and literacy tests designed with the specific intent of excluding minorities when lynchings and other brutal intimidation tactics of the Jim Crow era couldn’t.

Nowadays, however, barriers to voting can be more subtle. Politicians have powerful tech tools to pick their voters, and we have seen an aggressive push by President Donald Trump and Republicans countered by Democrats to redistrict in time for midterm elections to help their party gain seats.

Will we see a frenzy of gerrymandering now that the gloves are off?

It is no secret that some politicians of both parties would rather a discouraged and apathetic electorate than one that holds them accountable. With this ruling, we must renew our commitment as voters. If politicians are certain that they can determine who holds power by slicing and dicing the electorate and pitting groups against one another, we still have the power to prove them wrong.

By doing so, we honor those who marched and fought and died for equal access to the ballot box.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING

KEVIN HALL

President & Publisher

RENE SANCHEZ

VP/News, Executive Editor

KARYN KEARNEY EVP/Strategic Partnerships

ARNESSA GARRETT Managing Editor/ Opinion

JUSTIN MITCHELL

Managing Editor/ Audience

HANK STUEVER

Managing Editor/ Enterprise

FRED KALMBACH

JENNIFER BROWN

JERRY DICOLO

EMMA DISCHER

Managing Editor

Managing Editor, New Orleans

KRISTIN ASKELSON Managing Editor, Acadiana

BARBARA LEADER Managing Editor, Shreveport

Senior Editor Senior Editor

ANDREA GALLO Senior Editor/ Investigations

JESSICA WILLIAMS Senior Editor

ROGER HOLMES Executive VP, Operations

LOU HUDSON

VP/Majors & Nationals

JIM MYERS

VP/Finance

ROBERT STOLL

VP/Distribution

ASHLEY WHITCHER VP/IT

KYLE WHITFIELD

VP/ Consumer Sales

ROBERT YOUNG

General Manager/ Advertising

G

GEORGES MEDIA GROUP JOHN D. GEORGES Owner

JUDI TERZOTIS

Chief Executive Officer Editorial Page

DAN SHEA

Chairman

ARNESSA GARRETT STEPHANIE GRACE WILL SUTTON QUIN HILLYER FAIMON ROBERTS

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 5B

lll

COMMENTARY Education money should move from Star to LA GATOR An April 22 Wall Street Journal investigative report provides good reason for Louisiana’s legislature to move some education money away from one controversial recipient, in favor of the LA GATOR scholarship program.

The main opponent of fuller funding for LA GATOR has been state Senate President Cameron Henry. The arguments he uses against that scholarship program, however, apply even more readily to a program called Star Academy — the subject of the Journal investigation — that last year received $20 million in LouiQuin siana government funding.

Hillyer A sensible solution would be to take half of this year’s allocation for Star Academy and give it to LA GATOR instead.

Let’s start with Star Academy, a product of a company called NOLA Education, based in New Orleans but operating in states across the country. For all we know, it might be the greatest thing since the first time someone put mint and chocolate together. The Journal story, however, suggests it may be a flop.

Described as a “school within a school,” Star Academy is a program of math and science instruction complete with specialized supplies and software, intended for students who have fallen behind academically.

NOLA Education and some school districts across the country say the program dramatically improves graduation rates and test scores.

The Journal’s own reporting, though, shows a number of jurisdictions contesting those statistics or expressing significant unhappiness with the program. A middle school in Nevada, for example, actually dropped from two stars to one in the state’s ratings. And in St. Mary Parish here in Louisiana, “after initial gains in standardized test scores at Franklin Junior High, scores

eral public?

Erin Bendily of the conservative Pelican Institute writes that, as it is, $42 million dedicated to education will go unused, thus reverting back to the state. Moreover, “lawmakers have a $577 million surplus left over from the previous fiscal year … and an extra $292 million in unspent cash from the current budget year.”

Clearly, Henry is being at least a bit disingenuous by contending that giving more to LA GATOR would amount to “spending money that we don’t have.” Granted, Henry is worried not just about this next year but about setting a precedent for funding levels in future years. Prudence is a good character trait. Still, the above numbers show that he protests at least a little too much.

Nonetheless, funds essentially are fungible. To an extent, money can be moved from one state government financial pot to another. That’s why a partial solution suggests itself. Even if Henry is worried about adding another $44 million to LA GATOR when there’s no peer-reviewed data but massive evidence of parental satisfaction, why not STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS take $10 million of the $20 million allocated The LA GATOR mascot poses for a picture with a group of students from different schools for Star Academy and use it for LA GATOR during an April 22 rally for the school voucher program at the Pentagon Barracks. instead? After all, Star Academy not only lacks peer-reviewed data, but also is subject just two years for formal, peer-reviewed to the significant questions raised by The have since fallen sharply.” University of studies, but there is indeed data of several Wall Street Journal.

Southern California education professor important kinds. The Louisiana Department Rough arithmetic says this reallocation of Patricia Burch suggested that the program of Education reports that of parents already $10 million could allow about another 1,400 hasn’t been subjected to evidence-based using LA GATOR, 99% say they would recstudents, on top of the current 5,600, to parscrutiny.

In other words, there’s no definitive data, ommend the program and 97% are satisfied ticipate in LA GATOR. Meanwhile, school and there are a significant number of red with their children’s academic progress. El- systems thrilled with Star Academy still flags. would have a $10 million pot from which to igible families have filed more than 17,000 Now consider LA GATOR, which provides applications for the program for the 2026-27 draw. state-funded savings accounts families can Then the state could closely monitor both school year, and a poll shows that 65% of use for a range of education-related options, Louisiana voters support “full funding” for programs — and determine in future years from private schools to home-schooling if one, or both, or neither, should receive it — meaning double the $43.5 million that needs to tutoring and special-ed offerings. further, significant funding. If Henry wants Henry says is the most he will allow.

The main argument Henry has used against evidence, this is the way to get it.

Why should Henry and the Legislature it, repeatedly, is the lack of data proving its skimp on a program so popular with the efficacy. ultimate test audience, namely the parents Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer Well, of course there hasn’t been time in themselves, and also popular with the gen@theadvocate.com

In Mississippi, immigration crackdown hits too close to home Paperwork errors happen. When it comes legal guardians didn’t entirely understand to complicated government programs, they the implications under immigration law of happen a lot. switching them from a private school to a You know the best way to fix a paperwork public one. error? Do a little more paperwork. And, if So last month, the two young men whose you’re going to be really proactive, change basketball coach has called them the heart the system so that it’s easier to understand of soul of the team were accosted by Immiin the first place. gration and Customs Enforcement agents Alas, that is not the Trump administraas they readied to board their bus to school, zip-tied in front of their friends and tion’s working premise these days host father, separated from one anwhen it comes to treatment of people from elsewhere in the world. other and taken to facilities in Jena, The horror show out of Mississippi Louisiana and Houston. over the last few weeks is just the As unlucky as they were to fall latest example of good people getinto ICE’s grasp, they were at least to have done so in an area ting caught up in a crackdown on Stephanie fortunate where most people voted for Presiallegedly bad actors — but one that’s Grace so scattershot and downright cruel dent Donald Trump, who had promthat it’s sweeping up people who are ised to crack down on the worst of doing their best to follow the rules, complithe worst but never said a word about going after kids at the local school. cated though they often are.

To its great credit, the community rose The good news is that two students at Hancock High School, 18-year-old Israel Makoka up in the teens’ defense and contacted federal representatives who could help. To and his 15-year-old brother Max, are back her credit, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith did, home in Diamondhead, meaning Israel can finding the family an attorney and helping go ahead and graduate with his friends. them navigate the process. Thursday, the That doesn’t change just how traumatizbrothers were released back to host parents ing these recent weeks must have been for Gail and Cliff Baptiste. It’s not clear exactly the natives of the Republic of Congo here what happened, but some combination of on student visas and their adopted community — all because their host parents and public shame and political pressure surely

played a part, and the ending for these two teens is happy, at least for now.

If only that were the case for the many others we’ve all heard about, and the many, many more we haven’t, who find themselves in similar situations.

I’m talking about the military spouses and the people picked up at court, which by definition means they were trying to comply with a legal process. I’m talking about immigrants who didn’t know there was a problem with their status or who saw their status suddenly changed by administrative whim.

I’m also talking about the few, like these brothers, who managed to get the attention of someone with political influence. People like Donna Kashanian, the New Orleans woman arrested while gardening after years in this country, who was released from custody after her friends and loved ones got her case in front of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. And People like Paola Clouatre, of Baton Rouge, a mom of two small children and wife of a Marine veteran who was detained for several months before being released with the quiet help of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy.

Like her fellow Republicans from Louisiana, Hyde-Smith apparently worked her influence behind the scenes. Like them, though, she didn’t use the opportunity to

speak out about the larger issues raised by the detentions.

What a shame, because people like her could really do some good for some more good people.

Even after immigration authorities’ ugly overreach in places like Minnesota, even after former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were fired, this latest incident suggests the administration has not pivoted from its reckless, senseless sweep.

Meanwhile, Republicans en masse continue to follow a Trump-authored script that highlights horrific but unusual instances of violent crimes committed by immigrants as evidence of the crackdown’s worth. When was the last time you heard one of them wonder how many other scared people who’ve never hurt a soul have been ripped from the their communities, threatened with deportation or sent to countries where they have no ties?

It shouldn’t take congressional intervention to save each of these individuals.

Not when simply clarifying the rules — and showing a little human decency — would do the trick.

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace @theadvocate.com.

Religious radio reaches most U.S. residents, including in Louisiana It’s probably no surprise to most of you shows that no matter what faith or which that most faith-based radio stations are religious practices we follow, a whopping based in the South. That includes Louisi98% of U.S. residents live in places where ana: About 74% of people who live here are faith-based radio stations can be heard.

Christians of some kind. But did you know There are about 17,000 AM and FM radio stations in our country, and about 4,000 of that nearly all U.S. residents live in places them are religious radio stations, accordwhere they can listen to faith-based radio stations? ing to the study. That’s about 25% of According to a 2023-24 Pew all radio stations in the U.S. Research Center study, of all The analysis from the Pew-Knight Christians across our nation, 33% Initiative goes beyond surface-level would call themselves evangelical factoids to show with charts, data Christians, about 23% identify as and maps where these radio staCatholics and about 11% consider tions are located, where they are Will themselves Black Protestants. concentrated and where it’s more Sutton likely that people in certain states “Mainline” Protestants make up 6% of that. listen to faith radio.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that about Louisiana isn’t among the states with the 21% of all those surveyed don’t claim any most religious radio stations, but we have faith or religion. One way or another, it more than most states. We’ve got 100 of seems they identify as a used-to-be whatthese stations, according to the survey.

Consider the number of faith radio staever, nothing special or “spiritual” if they bless their food, say prayers and have tions in these states: n District of Columbia (D.C.): 3 looked at a Bible or another holy book from n Wyoming: 39 time to time. I was surprised to see that n Montana: 68 Buddhists are 2% of our state’s religious n Arkansas: 79 population and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim n Mississippi: 85 faith followers are each less than 1% of n Louisiana: 100 those who live in the state. n Michigan: 135 A different Pew study released in March

n North Carolina: 182

gious programming.” About 39% of nonChristians listen to some type of religious n Florida: 227 radio. I was surprised to learn that compan Texas: 433 rable numbers of older and younger people Most of Catholic Louisiana is in the listen. Among those 55 and older, 47% state’s southern parishes. Certainly, there listen. Among those 18-49, 44% listen. Who are non-Catholics in the southern part of are these young people? Oh, I see. Pew inthe state, including Baptists, Episcopacluded streaming platforms.

A majority of religious radio listeners lians, Lutherans and others who fall under the Christian umbrella without seeing Pope — 59% — said they don’t listen to these stations for political commentary, and Leo XIV as their leader.

55% say they rarely or never hear political I asked Aaron Smith, director of data commentary. These factoids are fascinatlabs at Pew, to help me put Louisiana in context. ing: Among those who are Democrat or “Louisiana ranks 18th among all states Democrat-leaning, 48% said they neither in the total number of religious stations like nor dislike hearing it when they do located in the state,” he shared. But of sta- hear it. Guess what? The Republican and tions that play primarily religious content, GOP-leaning listeners said the same thing: 48% of them.

Louisiana ranks fifth.

We are a divided nation, economically, Smith said most religious stations conhousing-wise, politically, socially in so sider themselves Christian radio stations. many ways. But it seems the religious Some identify as Catholic radio. “Eight among us are listening to some of the same percent of these stations nationwide say faith-focused programming and feel much they are specifically Catholic radio stathe same about it. tions,” he added. “That’s exactly in line Thank God, Allah, Jehovah and Buddha with the share of religious stations in Louithat something is centering some of us. siana that are Catholic.”

Per Pew, “Large majorities of White evangelical Protestants (76%) and Black Email Will Sutton at wsutton Protestants (84%) say they listen to reli@theadvocate.com. n California: 221

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the

writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

6B ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

TODAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Mostly sunny and pleasant

Partly sunny and pleasant

Cloudy to partly sunny

An a.m. shower, then a t-storm

Less humid with clouds and sun

Partly sunny

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

77° 53°

LOW

HIGH

80° 60°

LOW

83° 71°

Beaumont 80/58 Port Arthur 79/64

Hattiesburg 77/48

Alexandria 80/55 Baton Rouge 78/52

Lafayette 77/53 Lake Charles 79/57

New Orleans 77/55 Houma 79/52

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

0s

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

LOW

84° 66°

YESTERDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Saturday

Jackson 77/52 Many 80/55

HIGH

78° 60°

TEMPERATURE

Longview 80/55

-0s

LOW

Monroe 80/54

Shreveport 81/56

-10s

HIGH

85° 70°

The winds today will be north at 5 mph. The Small Craft Advisory expired yesterday. We will wake to chilly and dry conditions.

Otherwise, it will be a beautiful day. Expect nice and sunny conditions with very low humidity. The UV Index is back at the “very high” level, so be sure to protect your skin. Temperatures this afternoon will be below average, rising only into the mid- to upper 70s. The weather for the ULL vs Georgia State baseball game in Lafayette is expected to be perfect with sunny and mild conditions and mostly calm winds.

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

MAY 9

HIGH

9:02p 3:08p 7:29a 10:55a 10:36a 10:01a 11:44a

FIRST

MAY 16

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

6:23 a.m.

7:47 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

7:16 a.m.

NEW

City

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

73°/52° 83°/64° 82°/66° 91° in 1943 45° in 1908

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

LAST

PRECIPITATION

Hi

TODAY

80 59 81 53 84 91 66 83 70

Lo

56 46 61 37 72 63 53 71 53

W

pc pc s pc sh s s t s

Hi

MAY 31

MON. Lo

84 69 83 53 85 79 79 83 82

68 52 69 40 70 56 61 73 59

W

LOW

FT.

HIGH

0.8 8:11a 0.0 1.7 12:25a 0.0 2.2 9:53p -0.1 1.8 1:03a 0.1 1.3 9:58p 0.0 1.7 8:21p -0.1 1.6 11:00p -0.1

pc s pc c r s sh t pc

MODERATE

READING 48 MAIN POLLUTANT Nitrogen oxide

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

FT.

---------------

---------------

LOW

---------------

FT.

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

---------------

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today 12:45a 6:57a Monday 1:38a 7:51a Tuesday 2:34a 8:47a Wednesday 3:30a 9:42a Thursday 4:25a 10:37a Friday 5:17a 11:29a Saturday 6:06a 12:18p

FULL

MAY 23

FT.

0.89” 2.95” 0.34” 17.93” 18.96”

City

New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

Hi

77 80 63 98 60 68 76 69 82

TODAY Lo

55 64 48 73 48 47 56 60 67

1:10p 7:22p 2:04p 8:16p 2:59p 9:12p 3:55p 10:07p 4:49p 11:02p 5:41p 11:53p 6:30p ----

W

s c s pc pc s s pc c

Hi

79 83 73 85 71 80 80 69 85

MON. Lo

63 63 57 63 58 56 61 57 67

W

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

© 2024 Consumer Cellular Inc. Terms and Conditions subject to change. For J.D. Power 2024 Wireless Customer Care Value Mobile Virtual Network Operator Study award information, visit jdpower.com/awards. Plans shown above include $5 credit for AutoPay and E-billing. Taxes and other fees apply. Credit approval required for new service. Cellular service is not available in all areas and is subject to system limitations.

40

33.21

+1.71

19

1.38

-0.67

18 29 8

2.21 18.59 3.36

-0.16 +6.65 +0.73

13 15

5.23 2.09

-1.44 +1.08

47 34 29 20 12 6

18.72 13.56 11.47 8.97 5.20 3.03

+1.22 +0.39 +0.33 +0.33 -0.30 -0.14

Forecasts and graphics, except for Damon’s Outlook, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

FREE Back by Pop SHOW ular De ER P mand!

AC K A GE !

relaxing warm bath, or enjoy a convenient refreshing shower while seated or standing with Safe Step Walk-In Tub’s FREE Shower Package! ✓ First walk-in tub available with a customizable shower ✓ Fixed rainfall shower head is adjustable for your height and pivots ✓ High-quality tub complete with a comprehensive lifetime warranty on the entire tub ✓ Top-of-the-line installation and service, all included at one

Now you can have the best of both worlds–there isn’t a better,

FREE SHOWER PACKAGE PLUS $1600 OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

Call Toll-Free 337-221-0958

All of our support teams are just a call or click away.

844-238-7868

+1.90 +0.23 +0.70 +1.00 +1.00 +0.63 +1.01

Now

100% U.S. BASED CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Switch & Save Today.

15.50 35.40 37.70 21.60 13.40 9.65 7.00

Featuring our Free Shower Package Plus 15% Off

Plans start at $20/Month.

We’ve been ranked “#1 in Customer Service among Wireless Value MVNOs, 16 Times in a Row.”

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

SAT. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

1Selling Walk-In Tub

#

AWARD-WINNING CUSTOMER SUPPORT 16 TIMES IN A ROW.

FLOOD STAGE

data as of 7 a.m. Saturday

pc c s pc pc s t c c

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

BIG WIRELESS COVERAGE, WITHOUT BIG WIRELESS COST.

TODAY

GOOD

With purchase of a new Safe Step Walk-In Tub. Not applicable with any previous walk-in tub purchase.

Offer available while supplies last. No cash value.

Must present offer at time of purchase.

Call Today for Your Free Shower Package

337-221-0958

FINANCING AVAILABLE WITH APPROVED CREDIT CSLB 1082165 NSCB 0082999 0083445 13VH11096000

OFFICIAL NEWS PARTNER OF THE LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS

SPORTS

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

|

S u n d ay, M ay 3, 2026

1Cn

Lucroy’s speech inspires Cajuns in win

BY KEVIN FOOTE

ä Georgia State at UL 1 P.M. SUNDAy, ESPN+

At the end of Jonathan Lucroy’s acceptance speech for getting his number retired, the former UL catcher looked at the dugout and challenged the current Ragin’ Cajuns to meet the program’s high standards established by his former coach Tony Robichaux.

Apparently, they listened.

The Cajuns promptly went out and demolished Georgia State 14-1 in seven innings in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Russo Park.

Lucroy’s No. 21 is now on the wall in center field next to Ron Guidry’s No. 3. Guidry joined the large group of family, friends and former teammates on the field for the pre-game ceremony. The only other retired

jersey number is Robichaux’s No. 36.

With the win, UL improved to 28-18 overall and 10-12 in Sun Belt play, while the visiting Panthers dropped to 23-23 and 10-12.

The Cajuns scored three runs in the second, seven more in the third and then another three in the fourth to take control of the game.

Colt Brown got it started with a solo homer to left-center to lead off the third.

Blaze Rodriguez scored on the back half of a double steal, and Drew Markle added a sacrifice fly for the 3-0 lead.

The seven-run third featured three walks, two hit batsman and a balk. In addition to the help the UL offense received, it also got a double from Rigoberto Hernandez and an

Staff writer

RBI double from Markle.

In the fourth, Donovan LaSalle extended the lead to 13-0 with a long three-run home run.

UL was playing a doubleheader because Friday’s opener was postponed by rain. Consequently, bullpens are always a big concern.

Starting pitcher Andrew Herrmann was able to throw a seven-inning complete game, only giving up a solo home run in the top of the seventh to Wesley Bass.

In the seven innings, the senior southpaw yielded five hits, walked one and struck out six in 88 pitches.

The Panthers, meanwhile, used four different pitchers — all allowing either three or four runs in the game.

Noah Lewis, Colt Brown, Steven Spalitta and Markle all had two hits to power the Cajuns’ 10-hit attack.

WOMAN’S TOUCH

PROVIDED PHOTO By UL ATHLETICS

Former MLB star and UL catcher Jonathan Lucroy speaks at a ceremony retiring his number on Saturday at Russo Park.

LSU solves an issue to beat Gamecocks Tigers snap nine-game losing streak in SEC play

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF ROBERSON

Golden Tempo, ridden by Jose Ortiz, wins the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

Golden Tempo makes DeVaux first female trainer to win Derby

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train the winner of the opening leg of the Triple Crown.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Golden Tempo — who was at the back of the pack early — charged down the stretch to make history for DeVaux in the 1 1/4-mile race, winning at odds of 23-1. Renegade was second, with Jose’s brother Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, and longshot Ocelli was third.

“I don’t even have any words right now,” DeVaux said.

“I just can’t. Just so, so, so happy for Golden Tempo.

Jose did a wonderful job, a masterful job of getting him there. He was so far out of it.”

DeVaux is just the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. She won the Derby in her first opportunity, eight years since DeVaux starting her own stable.

“I’m glad I can be a representative of all women everywhere that we can do anything we set our minds do,” DeVaux said.

The offense wasn’t going to fix itself overnight.

Two weeks ago, Jay Johnson called LSU’s two-out hitting issues a “deep-rooted” problem. He said his players needed to shorten their swings and hit the ball up the middle and to the opposite field more often. More hard-hit line drives and ground balls and fewer fly outs. ä South “It’s not the era that these Carolina at players that we are coaching right now have grown up in,” LSU 2 P.M. SUNDAy, SECN+ Johnson said after LSU’s loss to Texas A&M on April 17.

“A lot of them talk about exit (velocity) and distance and home runs.”

It took a few lineup changes, but those issues Johnson described may not be as deeprooted as he once thought.

LSU beat South Carolina 6-1 on Saturday during the first game of a doubleheader at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers leaned on an array of opposite-field singles, big two-out hits and quality at-bats to pull away from the Gamecocks early and break their ninegame losing streak in Southeastern Conference play.

They scored five runs on six hits in the first two innings, taking a 5-1 advantage by following the playbook Johnson laid out for them two weeks ago.

Freshman Mason Braun led off the first inning with a single. Fellow freshman Omar Serna followed him with a double before sophomore Derek Curiel hit into a ground out, allowing Braun to score. LSU (26-21, 7-15 SEC) added another run on sophomore Cade Arrambide’s opposite-field single.

Three more runs came across in the second inning on a Curiel one-out single that drove in Braun and a two-run, two-out, opposite-field single from junior Steven Milam.

ä See LSU, page 3C

ä See DERBY, page 3C

Saints’ WR room starting to fit Moore’s vision

BY MATTHEW PARAS

but the dynamic of the room has been overhauled in that span.

The latest additions — headlined by New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore first-round pick Jordyn Tyson — stand always has said he wants his wide receiv- to make the Saints much more explosive and versatile than 2025. But the makeover er room to resemble a basketball team.

The group now has enough bodies to fill also has set up what should be an intriguout an NBA roster. ing and competitive offseason, given the After the NFL draft, the Saints have 12 Saints eventually will have to trim the powide receivers — including the three they sition ahead of their initial 53-man roster selected last week. That’s only one more in late August. than New Orleans entered training camp “Every quarterback in our league, you with in Moore’s first season at the helm, know, wants and needs weapons, right?”

Staff writer

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said after the draft. “They need guys to get the ball to, and hopefully they can do something special with it. And so I don’t think it’s unique to Tyler (Shough), but I do think that we needed that.”

Outside of established star Chris Olave, the receiving corps is made up of rookies looking to make their mark, young players at a crossroads and those on the fringe aiming to prove they belong.

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU center fielder Derek Curiel races home to score a run against South Carolina in the second inning on Saturday at Alex Box Stadium. LSU won 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.

2C ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

H

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV AUTO RACING noon NHRA: Qualifying, S. Georgia FS1 2 p.m.

AMA Supercross: Round 16 NBC 2:30 p.m. NASCAR: Würth 400 FS1 3 p.m.

Monterey SportsCar Champ. NBCSN COLLEGE BASEBALL 11 a.m. Missouri at Georgia SECN 1 p.m.

Duke at North Carolina ACCN 1 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Texas ESPN COLLEGE SOFTBALL 11 a.m. Nebraska at Penn St. BTN 1 p.m.

Oregon at UCLA BTN 4 p.m.

Florida St. at Boston College ACCN GOLF

5 a.m.

11 a.m. noon 2 p.m.

2 p.m.

Turkish Airlines Open Golf PGA: Cadillac Champ.

Golf LPGA: Mexico Riviera Maya Open CBS PGA Tour: Cadillac Champ.

CBS Champions: Regions Tradition Golf HORSE RACING noon America’s Day at the Races FS2 MLB 11:30 a.m. Toronto at Minnesota NBCSN 3 p.m.

Chi. White Sox at San Diego MLBN 6 p.m.

Texas at Detroit NBCSN NBA 2:30 p.m. Orlando at Detroit, Game 7 ABC 6:30 p.m. Toronto at Cleveland, Game 7 NBC NHL 5 p.m.

Montreal at Tampa Bay, Game 7 TNT

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

8 p.m.

Minnesota at Colorado, Game 1 TNT MEN’S SOCCER 5:55 a.m. SPL: Celtic at Hibernian CBSSN 9:30 a.m. EPL: Liverpool at Man. Un. NBCSN 1 p.m.

EPL: Tott. Hotspur at Aston Villa USA 2 p.m.

La Liga: Real Madrid at RCD ESPN2 WOMEN’S SOCCER noon NWSL: Portland at Chicago ESPN2 2 p.m.

NWSL: Denver at Boston CBSSN 4 p.m.

NWSL: Rac. Louis. at NJ/Ny CBSSN 11 p.m. UEFA: Bayern Mun. at Barc. CBSSN TENNIS 7 a.m.

Madrid — ATP/WTA Tennis WNBA 4 p.m.

Preseason: New york at Conn. ION 6 p.m.

Preseason: Las Vegas vs. Dallas ION

Tigers add ‘retired’ transfer Posen Former five-star recruit hasn’t competed in three years

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia 7-5, 6-3 to win the Madrid Open title on Saturday.

The two players, whose countries have been at war since Russia’s invasion in 2022, did not shake hands at the net after the match or pose together at the awards ceremony.

The 23rd-ranked Kostyuk collapsed back onto the clay court and held her hands over her face after converting match point when Andreeva’s final shot flew long. After getting to her feet, she did an acrobatic backflip while the crowd cheered. Andreeva, meanwhile, slumped into her court-side seat and wept into a towel.

Kostyuk finished her victory speech with “glory to God and glory to Ukraine.”

The win was Kostyuk’s third WTA title.

Staff writer

Seidler family strikes deal to sell control of Padres

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Ashley Cowan waves to the crowd during team introductions before the meet against Auburn on Feb. 13 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU NOTEBOOK

LSU is expected to look to add one or two more transfers during this cycle. The Tigers lose only three seniors who were regular contributors last season: Ashley Cowan, Emily Innes and Courtney Blackson.

overall environment are exceptional and it truly felt like home.”

“My journey hasn’t been conventional, but stepping away gave me the clarity to see exactly what Cowan gets SEC honor I wanted, and the motivation to go Cowan, a senior, completed her after it.” career by earning the Southeastern Conference Brad Davis ComTwo transfers so far munity Service Award for gymPosen is LSU’s second transfer nastics. in this cycle, joining former Penn A native of Hillsborough, North gymnast Skyelar Kerico, who compet- Carolina, Cowan competed at LSU ed from 2023-25 but did not have a from 2023-26 and won the 2024 routine in 2026. Both are from New SEC uneven bars title.

“She came as a walk-on and Jersey — Posen from Manalapan, earned her way to the point where Kerico from Toms River.

she won an SEC championship and ended up on an athletic scholarship,” Clark said.

“She exemplified persistence, hard work, commitment, leadership and academic excellence.

She’s just what you want a studentathlete to be. There’s no one more deserving.”

LSU swimmer Jacob Pishko also earned the Brad Davis award for men’s swimming and diving. Both Cowan and Pishko will receive $7,500 postgraduate scholarships and are eligible for the SEC’s male and female community service leaders of the year awards, which will be announced later this month.

Kaplan delivers victory to reach title game Notre Dame falls in semifinals

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

SULPHUR — The Kaplan Pirates are no strangers to having to play from behind.

It’s something they’ve been forced to do several times this season.

While the early deficits have drawn the ire of coach Brittany LeBouef, that experience proved beneficial in Saturday’s Division II nonselect semifinal game against French Settlement at Frasch Park.

Trailing 5-0 entering the bottom of the third inning, the second-seeded Pirates scored unanswered eight runs to defeat No. 3 French Settlement 8-5 and advance to the Division III nonselect state final.

The Pirates will face No. 5 Sterlington at 3 p.m. Sunday on Field 15.

“It feels great,” LeBouef said.

“I’m super proud of my kids and my coaching staff. We put in a lot of work and we trusted our game plan and came out on top.”

French Settlement jumped out to 5-0 lead in the third inning, but the Pirates wasted little time responding.

“When we came off the field after they scored five runs, I just told them ‘Hey, we are OK. We don’t need to score five runs all at once. We just need one run at a time. We got a lot of game left.’

“They trusted it and the energy

For the second consecutive year, the LSU women’s tennis team opened play in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Stephen F. Austin.

The Tigers won the doubles point, then picked up singles wins from Kayla Cross, Carolina Kuhl and Kinaa Graham to post a 4-0 win over the Ladyjacks at the LSU Tennis Complex on Saturday.

The win moves LSU into the final match of the Baton Rouge regional at 2 p.m. Sunday. LSU (20-9) will face Rice (18-6), which avenged an early-season loss to TCU with a 4-2 win in Saturday’s first match.

LSU picked up doubles wins from Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald at the No. 2 position, and Addison Lanton and Kuhl at No. 3.

Kostyuk wins Madrid Open by taking down Andreeva

BY SCOTT RABALAIS The LSU Tigers added another gymnast from the transfer portal — and one remarkable story.

Ariel Posen signed with LSU this week, three years after she retired from collegiate gymnastics at Georgia because of multiple leg and knee injuries.

“The story continues,” Posen wrote on her Instagram account.

“I’m back!! I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be using my remaining eligibility to continue my gymnastics career at LSU on a full athletic scholarship.”

LSU coach Jay Clark said he ran into Posen in December while attending the wedding of former Tigers gymnast Elena Arenas. Posen wasn’t a guest — she was serving drinks and hors d’oeuvres at the reception.

“She said she was thinking about making a comeback, that she wanted to be part of something,” Clark said. “When we were there for our meet (in January at Georgia), Haleigh (Bryant) and I ran into her downtown. It sparked a thought.”

Not long afterward, Clark got a call from Pete Arenas, Elena’s father, who owns a gymnastics training facility in Athens, Georgia.

“He said, ‘She’s been in my gym for five weeks and she looks great on two events — bars and beam,’ ” Clark said. “ ‘She may be a great addition.’ ” Clark decided that Posen, a former five-star recruit, would be, at least on bars and beam, for the 2027 season. Whether Posen has any eligibility beyond that remains to be determined.

Posen went on to thank LSU’s coaching staff “for this incredible opportunity.

“The moment I stepped onto campus, it just felt right,” she said.

“The coaches, the girls, and the

LSU women’s tennis team advances in NCAA regional

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

The Kaplan Pirates overcame an early 5-0 deficit to beat French Settlement 8-5 in the state semifinals. never died. The life was never sucked out of us and that’s what makes a championship team.”

The Pirates scored seven runs in the bottom of the third inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by pitcher Lexi Green.

“I thought it was going to be a dog fight,” LeBouef said. “I wasn’t expecting that many runs to be scored on either side. I’m just glad we got the win. Our kids never doubted it for a second that we were going to come back to win this game.”

Green, who finished 2 for 3, was the winning pitcher after allowing five unearned runs on nine hits and one walk, while striking out eight.

“She did an excellent job in the circle,” LeBouef said. “I thought once she got going, she was

(tough). She didn’t panic.”

In addition to Green, the Pirates’ top hitters were Kadey Duhon, who hit her first career home run to give Kaplan an 8-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth.

“We’re fired up,” LeBouef said.

“Hopefully we can bring a state championship back to our town.”

Class C

pecially coming off of last year.”

Hebert tossed seven shutout innings, allowing six hits, one walk and striking out 10.

“She really did a wonderful job for us,” Hanagriff said. “She kept them off balance and did a great job of hitting her spots.

She was very aggressive with her pitches and that was a big part in her keeping them in with no runs on the board.”

The Warriors were led by shortstop Heaven Williams (2 for 4, triple, three RBIs), Emily Abshire (3 for 3, triple, two RBIs, three runs) and Alexis Miller (13, RBI).

“Each and every inning, we put the ball in play and made things happen,” Hanagriff said. “We got some timely hits and continued to put runs on the board. That helped us to put pressure on them.”

Division III select NO. 2 PARKVIEW BAPIST 5, NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 2: The Pios’ hopes of returning to the state final were dashed in the semifinals by Parkview Baptist.

Maddy Teare and Cate Romero both had a hit and drove in a run for Notre Dame (30-3).

Camille Menard took the loss after allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits in one inning.

Parkview Baptist’s Jalayah Slaughter got the win after allowing two earned runs on four hits and four walks, while striking out 14 in seven innings.

NO. 1 NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN 8, NO. 13 SIMPSON 0: For the first time since 2022 when it finished as the state runner-up, Northside Christian is headed back to the state final.

Behind a dominant pitching performance by Brooklyn Hebert, the Warriors cruised past Simpson.

“It feels great to be going back to the final,” coach Ryan Hanag- Email Eric Narcisse at riff said. “It really feels great, es- enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

The San Diego Padres have reached an agreement to sell control of the team to an investor group led by Kwanza Jones and José Feliciano.

The family of late owner Peter Seidler formally announced the deal Saturday. The sale must be approved by Major League Baseball.

The deal with private equity billionaire Feliciano and his wife took shape last month at an MLB-record valuation of $3.9 billion. The Padres’ announcement didn’t give specifics on the members of the investor group or purchase price.

Seidler’s family began to explore a sale in November, two years after the death of the popular Peter Seidler, who became the primary owner in 2020. His brother, John Seidler, has served as chairman since his death.

Furyk picks U.S. assistants for 2027 Ryder Cup team

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk said Saturday that Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink will be two of his assistants for the 2027 matches at Adare Manor in Ireland.

Furyk announced the selections at the Kentucky Derby. Both were under consideration as captain.

Leonard played in three Ryder Cups, two of them U.S. victories.

This is Leonard’s first time as a Ryder Cup assistant. He was an assistant under Furyk at the 2024 Presidents Cup, and Furyk referred to him as “my right-hand man.”

Cink played on five consecutive U.S. teams, including part of the 2008 U.S. victory at Valhalla. He was an assistant captain to Zach Johnson in Italy in 2023, a European victory.

Young holds six-shot lead going to final round

DORAL, Fla. — Cameron Young didn’t have as easy of a time in the third round of the Cadillac Championship as he did while building a big lead Thursday and Friday.

It didn’t seem to matter, either.

Young is still in full control at Trump National Doral after his round of 2-under 70 on Saturday got him to 15 under for the week.

He had a six-shot lead over a group that includes top-ranked Scottie Scheffler.

Si Woo Kim (69) and Kristoffer Reitan (69) also were 9 under. Ben Griffin (68), Nick Taylor (72) and Matt McCarty (69) were 8 under.

Young shared the lead through three rounds at the Masters — tying for third at Augusta National after Rory McIlroy beat him by two shots.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3C

lll

UL settles for No. 8 seed after DH split

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Lexie Delbrey hadn’t been a regular part of the UL pitching rotation recently.

But the UL coaching staff still believes in the senior pitcher.

She produced in a big way Saturday, giving up no earned runs in 51/3 innings to pick up one win of a doubleheader over South Alabama at Jaguar Park in Mobile, Alabama.

UL rallied for a run in the sixth and another in the seventh inning for a 2-1 win over South Alabama in the first game, but the momentum faded with a 4-3 loss to the Jaguars in the second game.

As a result, UL finishes as the No. 8 seed and won’t get a firstround bye in the Sun Belt Tournament, which is scheduled to start Wednesday in Lafayette.

A win in the second game would have meant a No. 6 seed and not having to play until Thursday.

Instead, the Cajuns will be the No. 8 seed and play No. 9 Troy on Wednesday.

UL finished the regular season at 28-26 and 11-13, while the Jaguars improved to 29-25 and 13-11.

South Alabama snapped a 29-game losing streak to UL with a 4-0 victory Thursday.

Delbrey’s stellar effort wouldn’t have mattered without UL producing just enough offense. Neither team did much at the plate in the first game with the Cajuns outhitting the Jaguars 4-3. Both teams stranded only two runners.

South Alabama got a run in the fifth on Ansleigh Smith’s two-out RBI single.

An inning later, UL hitter Mia Norwood singled and scored on Kennedy Marceaux’s two-out RBI double to tie the game.

In the top of the seventh, Brooke Otto doubled and Erin Ardoin ran for her. After Haley Hart’s sacrifice bunt, Ardoin scored the eventual game-winning run on a wild pitch.

Delbrey ended up allowing the one unearned run on three hits, no walks and one strikeout in only 57 pitches. Julianne Tipton pitched the final 12/ 3 innings to get the vic-

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL’s Lexie Delbrey threw 51/ 3 effective innings in Saturday’s 2-1 win over South Alabama. tory after not allowing any hits or walks.

South Alabama jumped on Tipton for three runs in the first inning of the second game. Olivia Branstet-

game. In the second, two walks and a single preceded a Dayzja Williams RBI ground out. Later in the second, Marceaux got a run home on a ground out.

In the fifth, Hart singled and Cecilia Vasquez later got an RBI bunt single to tie the game at 3-3.

But the Cajuns settled for just one run in that frame and that was the story of the loss. UL outhit South Alabama 8-7 but stranded 10 runners to only three left on for the Jaguars.

As a result, Gracie Dees gave the Jaguars the winning margin with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth off of Sage Hoover.

Hoover pitched 22/ 3 innings, allowing the one run on four hits, no walks and two strikeouts.

Tipton gave up three runs in 31/ 3 innings.

South Alabama ace Rylee Harrison continued to baffle the Cajuns, surrendering no earned runs over six innings with no walks and four strikeouts.

ter led the way with an RBI triple before a double steal and Sydney Stewart’s run-scoring ground out got the third run home.

Email Kevin Foote at UL slowly got back into the kfoote@theadvocate.com.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABBIE PARR

Horses in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby compete at Churchill Downs on Saturday in Louisville, Ky. Golden Tempo won the race.

DERBY

Continued from page 1C During the week, DeVaux shifted from downplaying what it would mean to be the first woman to train a Derby winner to understanding she’s a role model to girls who might want

LSU

to follow in her footsteps. She’s just the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

Jose Ortiz showed off the riding prowess that has made him so successful at Churchill Downs in recent days to win the Derby for the first time in his 11th try. It came a little under 24 hours since he also won the Kentucky Oaks, the top race for

3-year-old fillies.

The Kentucky Derby went on with just 18 horses after Great White was a late scratch for flipping over and throwing his jockey off his back. Track veterinarians made the call to scratch the long shot who got into the field Wednesday when Silent Tactic was ruled out because of a foot injury.

LSU 6, South Carolina 1

Continued from page 1C On a windy day with gusts blowing in from center field, stringing together quality at-bats and hitting the ball low and hard were going to be keys for the Tigers. They executed that game plan through the first two innings against South Carolina (22-25, 7-15).

“When we pop-up to short, ground out to short, (hit a) fly ball to center field, the appearance is we’re trying to do too much,” Johnson also said after the Texas A&M loss. “And trying to do too much is not a plan or a sign of a mature offensive baseball team. And that’s my responsibility. And that will get fixed.”

LSU had only one extra-base hit on Saturday, but power hasn’t been a big issue for the Tigers this season. They entered Saturday seventh in the conference in home runs. Their problem has been generating “professional” at-bats up and down the order.

“We have plenty of home runs, honestly. We actually do,” Johnson said. “If you attached professional at-bats — which is what we’re known for (and) is a staple

DOWNLOAD

by Arrambide in the fourth. But the lead the Tigers had built was more than enough for the pitching staff to finish off the game.

“It’s a lot easier to pitch ahead than (when you’re) chasing runs and chasing zeros,” LSU sophomore right-handed starter William Schmidt said. “They did their job.”

Schmidt, in his eighth SEC start, got through six innings for the first time in conference play. He surrendered five hits and fell behind in the count to enough hitters early in the game to drive up his pitch count, but he also walked only one batter and struck out seven.

After Schmidt, Johnson turned to fifth-year senior right-hander Grant Fontenot to record the last nine outs. The veteran struck out four batters and allowed just one of why we have two national cham- hit to finish off the game. pionships — with the power on this “That was sick,” Schmidt said of team, it would be plenty.”

Fontenot’s effort. “It saves a lot of Milam and freshman William guys (for the rest of the series).”

Patrick finished with two hits.

LSU faced South Carolina in Along with Milam, Curiel and Ar- Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheadrambide drove in multiple runs. er, but that game was not over by The Tigers were 3 for 9 with run- press time. Visit theadvocate.com ners in scoring position and 5 for for a full report.

17 with runners on base.

LSU’s only run after the sec- Email Koki Riley at ond came on a fielder’s choice koki.riley@theadvocate.com.

South Carolina LSU (22-25, 7-15 SEC) (26-21, 7-15 SEC) ab r h bi ab r h bi Craddock 1b 4 0 1 0 Braun 1b 2 2 1 0 Bak cf 3 0 1 0 Serna c 3 3 1 0 LeCroy c 4 1 1 0 Curiel cf 4 1 1 2 Lizama lf 4 0 1 1 Arrambide dh 4 0 1 2 Harman 3b 4 0 0 0 Milam ss 4 0 2 2 Scobey ss 4 0 1 0 Yamin lf 3 0 0 0 Evans 2b 3 0 0 0 Harden lf 1 0 0 0 Randolph dh 3 0 1 0 Ruckert 2b 3 0 0 0 Yuhasz rf 3 0 0 0 Patrick rf 4 0 2 0 Reaves 3b 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 32 1 6 1 TOTALS 31 6 8 6 S. Carolina 100 000 000 — 1 6 1 LSU 230 100 00X — 6 8 1 E — Evans (8); Ruckert (5). DP — S. Carolina 2; LSU 2. LOB — S. Carolina 5; LSU 8. 2B — LeCroy (7); Lizama (8); Serna (8). HBP — Serna; Reaves.

South Carolina IP H R ER BB SO Phiilips (L, 3-6) 6 8 6 5 4 3 Marlatt 2 0 0 0 1 3 LSU IP H R ER BB SO Schmidt (W, 5-4) 6 5 1 1 1 7 Fontenot (S, 3) 3 1 0 0 0 4 WP — Phillips (7); Schmidt (10). HBP — by Phillips (Serna); by Marlatt (Reaves).

Umpires — HP: John Brammer 1B: Randy Rosenberg 2B: Seth Buckminster 3B: Joseph Smith Start — 1:03 p.m. Time — 2:29 Attendance — 10395

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

Almost everybody has something to prove.

Take the players at a crossroads.

Last fall, the Saints acquired Ja’Lynn Polk from the New England Patriots and claimed Trey Palmer off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Polk and Palmer didn’t appear in a game last year because of injuries, and now that the Saints have invested a first-round pick in Tyson, their path to meaningful on-field action got a lot more difficult.

Polk or Palmer likely would have to beat out Devaughn Vele for the third spot, if Olave and Tyson start as expected. Vele, like Polk and Palmer, was acquired late last summer, but the former Denver receiver seized his chance midway through the year after Rashid Shaheed was traded and Brandin Cooks was released. Vele, 28, emerged as a go-to target in the intermediate portion of the field — with 15 of his 25 catches traveling 10-19 yards through the air.

Polk and Palmer are each at a crossroads for different reasons.

Polk, a 2024 second-rounder, had a horrific rookie year (12 catches for 87 yards) that saw the Patriots give up on him ahead of his second season, which was further derailed by a season-ending shoulder injury. Palmer showed promise as a 2023 sixth-rounder, but more often than not he was buried on Tampa Bay’s depth chart.

Neither player is solidified enough to assume his roster spot is guaranteed. On that front, they join a crowded group that includes Bub Means, Kevin Austin, Ronnie Bell and Mason Tipton — all players who have seen snaps the last few seasons because of injuries but will have to earn their spot in 2026.

NFL teams usually keep 5-6 receivers on the 53-man roster, with some clubs going as far as to keep seven. For New Orleans, one of those spots may be occupied by a return specialist, as it drafted Barion Brown from LSU in the sixth round. Technically a receiver, Brown made his impact on kickoff returns by returning an SEC-record six touchdowns in college.

Brown is a logical candidate to be the returner next season, but the Saints have other options — rookie cornerback Lorenzo Styles and running back Ty Chandler — there if they want to pivot and free up the roster spot for a more conventional wideout.

In Moore’s first season, the Saints ended up keeping eight of their nine draft picks on cutdown day. That would be good news for not only Brown but also fourth-

AP FILE PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer catches a ball during a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 23 in Tampa, Fla. rounder Bryce Lance — a 6-foot3 wideout from North Dakota State who had a strong history of production in the FCS and ran an impressive 4.3 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.

The selections of Lance and Tyson also demonstrate how much the receiving room has changed in the last year. Loomis said the Saints’ goal was to get taller at the position, and both players — Tyson is 6-2 — add much-needed size. Before trading for the 6-5 Vele in August, the Saints were set to be one of only two teams in the NFL without a wide receiver taller than 6-3.

Look close enough now, and the receivers have started to resemble a basketball team of all shapes and sizes. But to keep with the basketball analogy, the Saints also have a group that embodies the position-less, one-through-five style that has spread throughout the modern NBA. Olave, Tyson and Vele have the flexibility to each play the X, Z and slot positions at wide receiver. That frees up Moore to keep defenses guessing by mixing up where each player lines up.

While some draft analysts have voiced concerns about whether Tyson and Olave are too similar as receivers, there are notable differences between them. Tyson is 2 inches taller and more aggressive at the catch point, which could translate to being better at contested catches. Olave, entering his fifth season, is a polished route runner who wins just as much with his technical footwork as he does with his speed.

Tyson, Olave and even Vele have injury concerns. But if they can stay healthy, that’s a trio that complements one another in their differences, while also having enough overlapping traits that can be hard to stop.

Just like a basketball team.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

ONE great state FOUR great apps

4C ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Teurlings sweeps Loranger to reach state semis

BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

Teurlings Catholic is one step away from the chance to compete for a third straight baseball state title.

The No. 3-seeded Rebels completed a sweep of No. 6 Loranger in the Division II select quarterfinals on Saturday at home, breezing past the Wolves and Texas signee Hayes Holton 6-1.

“We came out and answered the bell,” Rebels coach Brooks Badeaux said. “We put pressure on them every inning. That team (Loranger) has a bunch of great competitors, but they ran into 29 great competitors, too.”

The Rebels (25-12-1), who will face the No. 2 St. Charles/No. 7 E.D. White winner, took a 2-0 lead in the second inning without a hit.

Brennan Storms and Evan Vincent reached base on errors, with Storms scoring on a Mason Gonzales sacrifice fly and Vincent crossing the plate after Holton threw the ball into the outfield on a pickoff play and it rolled under the center fielder’s glove. “(Holton) had his strikeouts, but I knew if we threw strikes — we’ve been playing good defense all year — if we could get

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Teurlings Catholic’s Will Power and the Rebels advanced to the state semifinals with a quarterfinals sweep of Loranger. two runs, I liked our chances,” Badeaux said.

Rebels starter Kade Schambough threw a lot of strikes, pitching six innings and allowing four hits with three walks and striking out five. Meanwhile, Holton walked

only two but hit three batters and uncorked three wild pitches over five innings.

“It’s come to what we expect,” Badeaux said of Schambough.

“He’s kinda spoiled us. He’s efficient, pounds the zone, gets ground

balls and lets the defense play behind him.”

Shortstop William Power, a UNO signee, smashed a solo home run in the fifth inning off Holton to push the lead to 3-0. Power and cleanup hitting third baseman Brennan Storms each scored twice, while Gonzales drove in two runs and Jackson Breaux chipped in two hits.

“It was a (future) Division I college player vs. a Division I college player,” Badeaux said of the Holton vs. Power matchup. “Will won that time. (Holton) left a pitch up. It’s what we kinda knew. He kept bouncing his breaking ball, left a fastball up, and Will got it.

Will’s a great player.”

Karter Deculus and Vincent, who pitched six innings to get the win in Game 1, each had a hit and scored a run in Game 2. Lincoln Guillory pitched the final inning of Game 1 (3-2 win) to collect a save.

Dylan Helms finished Game 2 on the mound.

“The kids played great,” Badeaux said. “They got out here early — it rained all night — and busted their tails to get the field ready. That’s the nature of this program: the harder you work for something, the harder it is to surrender.”

In the second inning, Gonzales

wasn’t able to get a bunt down but hung tough against Holton, who throws a 97-mph fastball, and lofted a sacrifice fly to score the first run.

“That shows you the kind of winner he is,” Badeaux said of Gonzales, “when he can flush it (not executing the bunt) and move onto the next pitch. That’s what we preach, and the guys have done it pretty much the whole year.”

The Rebels are attempting to send Badeaux out with another championship after news surfaced that he and the school would be parting ways after the season.

“It’s a tribute to their character,” he said of the team’s resolve. “It’s going to be my last season. They made that pretty clear. It’s no surprise what happened about three weeks ago.

“You think that’s a good time to do that to a team? No, that’s not a good time...it’s horrible. But this is about them, and what they do is lock in every day. They’re competitors whose focus is tunneled in.”

Loranger (20-10), located in rural Tangipahoa Parish northeast of Hammond, was making its first quarterfinal appearance in nearly 15 years. The Wolves committed six errors in Game 2.

SCOREBOARD Odds

Central Division

Sports Betting Line MLB

Cleveland Detroit Chicago Minnesota Kansas City

W 17 16 15 14 13

L 16 17 17 19 19

Pct .515 .485 .469 .424 .406

GB — 1 1½ 3 3½

Athletics Texas Seattle Houston Los Angeles

W 17 16 16 12 12

L 15 16 17 21 21

Pct .531 .500 .485 .364 .364

GB — 1 1½ 5½ 5½

Sunday

American League FAVORITE LINE Toronto -112 at BOSTON OFF at N.Y YANKEES -210 Cleveland -120 Kansas City -120 at DETROIT OFF National League FAVORITE LINE Milwaukee -132 Cincinnati -120 Philadelphia -142 LA Dodgers -142 at CHICAGO CUBS -156 Atlanta -221 Interleague FAVORITE LINE San Francisco -118 N.Y Mets -132 at SAN DIEGO -184

UNDERDOG LINE at MINNESOTA -104 Houston OFF Baltimore +176 at ATHLETICS +102 at SEATTLE +102 Texas OFF UNDERDOG LINE at WASH +112 at PITTS +102 at MIAMI +120 at ST. LOUIS +120 Arizona +132 at COLORADO +182 UNDERDOG LINE at TAMPA BAY +100 at LA ANGELS +112 White Sox +153

NHL

Sunday

FAVORITE at TAMPA BAY at COLORADO

LINE -159 -187

UNDERDOG Montreal Minnesota

LINE +133 +155

Pro basketball FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

Eastern Conference New York 4, Atlanta 2

Saturday, April 18: New York 113, Atlanta 102 Monday, April 20: Atlanta 107, New York 106 Thursday, April 23: Atlanta 109, New York 108 Saturday, April 25: New York 114, Atlanta 98 Tuesday, April 28: New York 126, Atlanta 97 Thursday, April 30: New York 140, Atlanta 89

Detroit 3, Orlando 3

Sunday, April 19: Orlando 112, Detroit 101 Wednesday, April 22: Detroit 98, Orlando 83 Saturday, April 25: Orlando 113, Detroit 105 Monday, April 27: Orlando 94, Detroit 88 Wednesday, April 29: Detroit 116, Orlando 109 Friday, May 1: Detroit 93, Orlando 79 Sunday, May 3: Orlando at Detroit, 2:30 p.m.

Boston 3, Philadelphia 3

Sunday, April 19: Boston 123, Philadelphia 91 Tuesday, April 21: Philadelphia 111, Boston 97 Friday, April 24: Boston 108, Philadelphia 100 Sunday, April 26: Boston 128, Philadelphia 96 Tuesday, April 28: Philadelphia 113, Boston 97 Thursday, April 30: Philadelphia 106, Boston 93 Saturday, May 2: Philadelphia at Boston, n

Cleveland 3, Toronto 3

Saturday, April 18: Cleveland 126, Toronto 113 Monday, April 20: Cleveland 115, Toronto 105 Thursday, April 23: Toronto 126, Cleveland 104 Sunday, April 26: Toronto 93, Cleveland 89 Wednesday, April 29: Cleveland 125, Toronto 120 Friday, May 1: Toronto 112, Cleveland 110, OT Sunday, May 3: Toronto at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Western Conference

L.A. Lakers 4, Houston 2

Saturday, April 18: L.A. Lakers 107, Houston 98 Tuesday, April 21: L.A. Lakers 101, Houston 94 Friday, April 24: L.A. Lakers 112, Houston 108, OT Sunday, April 26: Houston 115, L.A. Lakers 96 Wednesday, April 29: Houston 99, L.A. Lakers 93 Friday, May 1: L.A. Lakers 98, Houston 78

Minnesota 4, Denver 2

Saturday, April 18: Denver 116, Minnesota 105 Monday, April 20: Minnesota 119, Denver 114 Thursday, April 23: Minnesota 113, Denver 96 Saturday, April 25: Minnesota 112, Denver 96 Monday, April 27: Denver 125, Minnesota 113 Thursday, April 30: Minnesota 110, Denver 98

Oklahoma City 4, Phoenix 0

Sunday, April 19: Oklahoma City 119, Phoenix 84 Wednesday, April 22: Oklahoma City 120, Phoenix 107 Saturday, April 25: Oklahoma City 121, Phoenix 109 Monday, April 27: Oklahoma City 131, Phoenix 122

San Antonio 4, Portland 1

Sunday, April 19: San Antonio 111, Portland 98 Tuesday, April 21: Portland 106, San Antonio 103 Friday, April 24: San Antonio 120, Portland 108 Sunday, April 26: San Antonio 114, Portland 93 Tuesday, April 28: San Antonio 114, Portland 95

Major League Baseball American League New York Tampa Bay Baltimore Toronto Boston

W 21 19 15 15 13

Friday’s Games

Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 0 Boston 3, Houston 1 Texas 5, Detroit 4 N.Y. Yankees 7, Baltimore 2 Toronto 7, Minnesota 3 N.Y. Mets 4, L.A. Angels 3 Chicago White Sox 8, San Diego 2 Kansas City 7, Seattle 6 Cleveland 8, Athletics 5 N.Y. Yankees 9, Baltimore 4 Toronto 11, Minnesota 4 Cleveland 14, Athletics 6 Houston 6, Boston 3 San Francisco at Tampa Bay, n Texas at Detroit, n Chicago White Sox at San Diego, n N.Y. Mets at L.A. Angels,n Kansas City at Seattle, n

Friday’s games

L 11 12 17 17 19

Pct .656 .613 .469 .469 .406

GB — 1½ 6 6 8

National League

Atlanta Miami Washington Philadelphia New York

W 23 15 15 13 11

L 10 17 18 19 21

Pct .697 .469 .455 .406 .344

GB — 7½ 8 9½ 11½

Chicago Cincinnati St. Louis Milwaukee Pittsburgh

W 20 20 19 17 17

L 12 12 13 14 16

Pct .625 .625 .594 .548 .515

GB — — 1 2½ 3½

Pct .625 .613 .516 .424 .406

GB — ½ 3½ 6½ 7

West Division

Los Angeles San Diego Arizona Colorado San Francisco

Friday’s Games

W 20 19 16 14 13

L 12 12 15 19 19

Chicago Cubs 6, Arizona 5 Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 0 Pittsburgh 9, Cincinnati 1 Milwaukee 6, Washington 1 Philadelphia 6, Miami 5 St. Louis 7, L.A. Dodgers 2 Atlanta 8, Colorado 6 N.Y. Mets 4, L.A. Angels 3 Chicago White Sox 8, San Diego 2

Saturday’s Games

Chicago Cubs 2, Arizona 0 Pittsburgh 17, Cincinnati 7 Milwaukee 4, Washington 1 Miami 4, Philadelphia 0 San Francisco at Tampa Bay, n L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis, n Atlanta at Colorado, n Chicago White Sox at San Diego, n N.Y. Mets at L.A. Angels, n

Sunday’s Games

Cincinnati (Burns 3-1) at Pittsburgh (Ashcraft 1-2), 12:35 p.m.

Milwaukee (Patrick 2-1) at Washington (Littell 0-4), 12:35 p.m.

Philadelphia (Luzardo 2-3) at Miami (Paddack 0-4), 12:40 p.m.

San Francisco (Mahle 1-4) at Tampa Bay (Matz 4-1), 12:40 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Wrobleski 4-0) at St. Louis (May 3-2), 1:15 p.m.

Arizona (Kelly 1-2) at Chicago Cubs (Boyd 1-1), 1:20 p.m.

Atlanta (Strider 0-0) at Colorado (Freeland 1-2), 2:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Holmes 3-2) at L.A. Angels (Kochanowicz 2-0), 3:07 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Kay 1-1) at San Diego (Vásquez 3-0), 3:10 p.m.

College softball State scores, schedule Friday’s games

Auburn at LSU, ppd.

UL at South Alabama ppd.

Southland Conference tournament

Hammond bracket Game 3: No. 4 Incarnate Word 9, No. 8 Texas A&M-Corpus Chrisi 0, 5 innings Game 4: No. 1 Southeastern Louisiana vs.

No. 5 Lamar, ppd.

Lake Charles bracket Northwestern State vs. Stephen F. Austin, ppd.

No. 3 Nicholls vs. No. 2 McNeese State, ppd.

Saturday’s games

UL 2, South Alabama 1

Carolina vs. Philadelphia

College baseball

Toronto (Yesavage 1-0) at Minnesota (Ryan 2-3), 11:45 a.m.

Baltimore (TBD) at N.Y. Yankees (Fried 4-1), 12:35 p.m.

Houston (TBD) at Boston (Suarez 2-2), 12:35 p.m.

San Francisco (Mahle 1-4) at Tampa Bay (Matz 4-1), 12:40 p.m.

Cleveland (Messick 3-0) at Athletics (Civale 2-1), 3:05 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Holmes 3-2) at L.A. Angels (Kochanowicz 2-0), 3:07 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Kay 1-1) at San Diego (Vásquez 3-0), 3:10 p.m.

Kansas City (Bubic 2-1) at Seattle (Castillo 0-2), 3:10 p.m.

Texas (Leiter 1-2) at Detroit (TBD), 6:20 p.m.

Central Division

Hammond bracket Game 4: No. 5 Lamar 2, No. 1 Southeastern Louisiana 1 Game 5: No.1 Southeastern Louisiana 6, No. 4 Incarnate Word 4 Game 6: No. 5 Lamar vs. No.1 Southeastern Louisiana, n Lake Charles bracket Game 3: No. 6 Northwestern State 4, No. 7 Stephen F. Austin 2 Game 4: No. 2 McNeese State 6, No. 3 Nicholls 5 Game 5: Nicholls State 11, Stephen F. Austin 1, 5 innings

Southland Conference tournament

Hammond bracket Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. loser of Game 6, if necessary, 1 p.m.

Lake Charles bracket Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 11 a.m.

Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. loser of Game 6, if necessary, 1 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

East Division

SECOND ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

Sunday’s games Southland Conference tournament

Sunday’s Games

NBA Playoff

East Division

West Division

LSU 25, Auburn 0 South Alabama 4, UL 3 LSU 7, Auburn 2

Southern 12, Mississippi Valley State 2 Charlotte 10, Tulane 0 Georgia State at UL, ppd.

UNO at Nicholls State, ppd.

Southeastern at Lamar, ppd.

South Carolina at LSU, ppd.

Saturday’s games

LSU 6, South Carolina 1 Southeastern Louisiana 6, Lamar 2 UL 14, Georgia State 1, 7 innings Georgia St. at UL, n Tulane at Charlotte, n UNO 10, Nicholls State 4 Southern at Mississippi Valley State, n South Carolina at LSU, n

Sunday’s games

Tulane at Charlotte, noon Georgia State at UL, 1 p.m.

UNO at Nicholls State, 1 p.m.

Southern at Mississippi Valley State, 1 p.m.

Southeastern Louisiana at Lamar, 1:05 p.m.

South Carolina at LSU, 2 p.m.

Hockey NHL Playoff FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

EASTERN CONFERENCE Buffalo 4, Boston 2

Sunday, April 19: Buffalo 4, Boston 3 Tuesday, April 21: Boston 4, Buffalo 2 Thursday, April 23: Buffalo 3, Boston 1 Sunday, April 26: Buffalo 6, Boston 1 Tuesday, April 28: Boston 2, Buffalo 1, OT Friday, May 1: Buffalo 4, Boston 1

Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 3

Sunday, April 19: Montreal 4, Tampa Bay 3, OT Tuesday, April 21: Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 2, OT Friday, April 24: Montreal 3, Tampa Bay 2, OT Sunday, April 26: Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 2 Wednesday, April 29: Montreal 3, Tampa Bay 2 Friday, May 1: Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0, OT Sunday, May 3: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.

Carolina 4, Ottawa 0

Saturday, April 18: Carolina 2, Ottawa 0 Monday, April 20: Carolina 3, Ottawa 2, 2OT Thursday, April 23: Carolina 2, Ottawa 1 Saturday, April 25: Carolina 4, Ottawa 2

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2

Saturday, April 18: Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 2 Monday, April 20: Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 0 Wednesday, April 22: Philadelphia 5, Pittsburgh 2 Saturday, April 25: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2 Monday, April 27: Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 2 Wednesday, April 29: Philadelphia 1, Pittsburgh 0, OT

WESTERN CONFERENCE Anaheim 4, Edmonton 2

Monday, April 20: Edmonton 4, Anaheim 3 Wednesday, April 22: Anaheim 6, Edmonton 4 Friday, April 24: Anaheim 7, Edmonton 4 Sunday, April 26: Anaheim 4, Edmonton 3, OT Tuesday, April 28: Edmonton 4, Anaheim 1 Thursday, April 30: Anaheim 5, Edmonton 2

Colorado 4, Los Angeles 0

Sunday, April 19: Colorado 2, Los Angeles 1 Tuesday, April 21: Colorado 2, Los Angeles 1, OT Thursday, April 23: Colorado 4, Los Angeles 2 Sunday, April 26: Colorado 5, Los Angeles 1

Minnesota 4, Dallas 2

Saturday, April 18: Minnesota 6, Dallas 1 Monday, April 20: Dallas 4, Minnesota 2 Wednesday, April 22: Dallas 4, Minnesota 3, 2OT Saturday, April 25: Minnesota 3, Dallas 2, OT Tuesday, April 28: Minnesota 4, Dallas 2 Thursday, April 30: Minnesota 5, Dallas 2

Vegas 4, Utah 2

Sunday, April 19: Vegas 4, Utah 2 Tuesday, April 21: Utah 3, Vegas 2 Friday, April 24: Utah 4, Vegas 2 Monday, April 27: Vegas 5, Utah 4, OT Wednesday, April 29: Vegas 5, Utah 4, 2OT Friday, May 1: Vegas 5, Utah 1

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Saturday, May 2: Philadelphia at Carolina, n Philadelphia at Carolina, TBA Carolina at Philadelphia, TBA Carolina at Philadelphia, TBA x-Philadelphia at Carolina, TBA x-Carolina at Philadelphia, TBA x-Philadelphia at Carolina, TBA

WESTERN CONFERENCE Colorado vs. Minnesota

Sunday, May 3: Minnesota at Colorado, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Colorado, TBA Colorado at Minnesota, TBA Colorado at Minnesota, TBA x-Minnesota at Colorado, TBA x-Colorado at Minnesota, TBA x-Minnesota at Colorado, TBA

Golf Cadillac Championship Saturday At Blue Monster at Doral Miami Purse: $20 million Yardage: 7,739; Par: 72 Third Round Cameron Young 64-67-70—201 Si Woo Kim 70-68-69—207 Kristoffer Reitan 70-68-69—207 Scottie Scheffler 71-67-69—207 Ben Griffin 70-70-68—208 Matthew McCarty 69-70-69—208 Nick Taylor 66-70-72—208 Akshay Bhatia 70-72-67—209 Alex Noren 74-69-66—209 Alex Smalley 65-71-73—209 Michael Kim 74-71-65—210 Rickie Fowler 69-70-72—211 Andrew Putnam 68-71-72—211 Jordan Spieth 65-71-75—211 Sepp Straka 70-73-68—211 Daniel Berger 76-68-68—212 Alex Fitzpatrick 72-66-74—212 Harry Hall 71-69-72—212 Brian Harman 68-70-74—212 Russell Henley 72-70-70—212 Kurt Kitayama 76-64-72—212 Aldrich Potgieter 69-71-72—212 Ryan Gerard 72-72-69—213 Lucas Glover 72-70-71—213 Chris Gotterup 73-71-69—213 Min Woo Lee 70-72-71—213 Denny McCarthy 71-71-71—213 Adam Scott 76-71-66—213 J.J. Spaun 72-69-72—213 Justin Thomas 70-73-70—213 Keegan Bradley 72-73-69—214 Pierceson Coody 72-72-70—214 Max Homa 70-72-72—214 Taylor Pendrith 71-67-76—214 Michael Thorbjornsen 74-71-69—214 Gary Woodland 68-69-77—214 Brian Campbell 70-73-72—215 Tommy Fleetwood 70-70-75—215 Ryan Fox 72-71-72—215 Hideki Matsuyama 70-71-74—215 Sam Stevens 71-71-73—215 Sudarshan Yellamaraju 74-66-75—215 Sam Burns 76-68-72—216 Ricky Castillo 73-71-72—216 Corey Conners 73-69-74—216 Jason Day 77-70-69—216 Max Greyserman 72-72-72—216 Nicolai Hojgaard 75-68-73—216 Maverick McNealy 71-74-71—216 Patrick Rodgers 71-76-69—216 Matt Wallace 74-71-71—216 Bud Cauley 69-71-77—217 Tom Hoge 69-74-74—217 Shane Lowry 72-75-70—217 Collin Morikawa 75-72-70—217 J.T. Poston 71-68-78—217 Jacob Bridgeman 79-71-68—218 Joel Dahmen 75-73-70—218 Harris English 74-72-72—218 Ryo Hisatsune 72-77-69—218 Viktor Hovland 75-71-72—218 Jordan L. Smith 73-73-72—218 Chandler Blanchet 75-72-72—219 Nicolas Echavarria 67-73-79—219 Sahith Theegala 69-76-74—219 Jhonattan Vegas 75-70-74—219 Sungjae Im 70-77-73—220 David Lipsky 71-75-75—221 Andrew Novak 71-78-72—221 Keith Mitchell 74-72-76—222 Justin Rose 74-75-73—222 Austin Smotherman 77-69-76—222

-15 -9 -9 -9 -8 -8 -8 -7 -7 -7 -6 -5 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 E E E E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +3 +4 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6

Saturday At Greystone GC Birmingham, Ala. Purse: $2.6 million Yardage: 7,249; Par: 72 Third Round Stewart Cink Colin Montgomerie Steven Alker Doug Barron Alex Cejka Matt Gogel Retief Goosen Soren Kjeldsen Ken Tanigawa Y.E. Yang Stephen Ames Harrison Frazar Scott Hend Thongchai Jaidee Fredrik Jacobson Dicky Pride Kirk Triplett Charlie Wi Ben Crane Ken Duke Ernie Els Vijay Singh

-15 -12 -10 -10 -9 -9 -9 -9 -9 -9 -8 -8 -8 -8 -7 -7 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -6

Regions Tradition

65-65-71—201 67-70-67—204 66-69-71—206 69-68-69—206 65-68-74—207 71-68-68—207 68-65-74—207 68-68-71—207 72-65-70—207 68-69-70—207 68-70-70—208 68-70-70—208 66-70-72—208 67-66-75—208 69-68-72—209 67-71-71—209 70-67-72—209 66-66-77—209 73-68-69—210 71-69-70—210 71-71-68—210 71-70-69—210

Paul Goydos Padraig Harrington Angel Cabrera Justin Leonard Michael Allen Greg Chalmers K.J. Choi George McNeill Rocco Mediate Rod Pampling Cameron Percy Bo Van Pelt Boo Weekley Steve Allan Shane Bertsch Ricardo Gonzalez Timothy O’Neal Scott Parel Kenny Perry David Toms Miguel Angel Jimenez Jerry Kelly Bernhard Langer Jeff Maggert Tag Ridings Rory Sabbatini Robert Karlsson Paul Stankowski Tim Petrovic Gene Sauers Mike Weir Darren Clarke Billy Mayfair Michael Wright Jason Bohn Richard Green Stuart Appleby Stephen Dodd David Duval Woody Austin Bob Estes Tommy Gainey Lee Janzen Scott McCarron John Daly Steve Flesch Tom Pernice Heath Slocum Mario Tiziani Joe Durant Jose Maria Olazabal Billy Andrade Chris DiMarco John Senden Chad Campbell

71-67-73—211 67-74-70—211 72-67-73—212 73-68-71—212 72-69-72—213 69-70-74—213 71-72-70—213 71-73-69—213 69-67-77—213 69-72-72—213 73-71-69—213 71-71-71—213 73-69-71—213 74-69-71—214 70-69-75—214 70-70-74—214 70-70-74—214 75-68-71—214 70-70-74—214 72-70-72—214 73-70-72—215 73-71-71—215 73-69-73—215 74-70-71—215 72-73-70—215 71-72-72—215 72-73-71—216 70-69-77—216 73-74-70—217 72-72-73—217 76-70-71—217 74-72-72—218 71-75-72—218 71-73-74—218 73-72-74—219 70-73-76—219 72-71-77—220 74-74-72—220 72-74-74—220 72-76-73—221 71-79-71—221 71-71-79—221 75-71-75—221 74-70-77—221 72-75-75—222 70-76-76—222 72-78-72—222 76-71-75—222 71-75-76—222 74-75-74—223 74-71-78—223 76-73-75—224 76-76-76—228 75-75-79—229 81-75-80—236

-5 -5 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 E E +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +7 +7 +8 +12 +13 +20

Tennis World Tour Mutua Madrid Open Results Saturday At Caja Magica Madrid Purse: €8,029,650 Surface: Red clay Results Saturday from Mutua Madrid Open at Caja Magica (seedings in parentheses):

Women’s Singles

Championship Marta Kostyuk (26), Ukraine, def. Mirra Andreeva (9), Russia, 6-3, 7-5.

Men’s Doubles

Championship Harri Heliovaara, Finland, and Henry Patten (3), Britain, def. Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, and Manuel Guinard, France, 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League ATHLETICS — Optioned LHP Brady Basso to Las Vegas (PCL). Recalled RHP Luis Morales from Las Vegas.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Reinstated LHP Dietrich Enns from the 15-day IL. Designated RHP Albert Suárez for assignment. Optioned RHP Tyler Wells to Norfolk (IL). Recalled LHP Nick Raquet from Norfolk.

DETROIT TIGERS — Sent 2B Zach McKinstry to Toledo (IL) on a rehab assignment.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Sent RHP Alek Manoah to Rancho Cucamonga (CAL) on a rehab assignment.

MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed RHP Cole Sands on the 15-day IL, retroactive to April 29. Recalled RHP John Klein from St. Paul (IL).

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Reinstated LHP Garrett Cleavinger from the 15-day IL. Designated RHP Yoendrys Gómez for assignment.

National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Sent 1B Tyler Locklear to ACL D-backs on a rehab assignment.

ATLANTA BRAVES — Optioned RHP Anthony Molina to Gwinnett (IL). Selected the contract of RHP Carlos Carrasco from Gwinnett.

CINCINNATI REDS — Sent LHP Nick Lodolo to Louisville (IL) on a rehab assignment.

Optioned RHP Zach Maxwell to Louisville.

Reinstated RHP Graham Ashcraft from the bereavement list.

MIAMI MARLINS — Optioned LHP Cade Gibson to Jacksonville (IL). Selected the contract of RHP Josh Ekness from Jacksonville.

NEW YORK METS — Agreed to terms with RHP Jack Weisenburger on a minor league contract.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Designated OF Dylan Moore for assignment. Reinstated C J.T. Realmuto from the 10-day IL. PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Reinstated SS Jared Triolo from the 10-day IL. Optioned 3B Nick Yorke to Indianapolis (IL).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms with RHP Aaron Shortridge on a minor league contract. Recalled RHP Orlando Ribalta from Rochester (IL). Sent LHP Cionel Pérez outright to Rochester.

Women’s National Basketball Association MINNESOTA LYNX — Waived Gs Reigan Richardson and Lani White and Fs Aubrey Griffin and Jade Masogayo. Signed F Emese Hof to a player development contract.

LIVING

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

|

S u n d ay, M ay 3, 2026

1dn

Casino tables, showgirls and baby formula

TAyLOR MILLS PHOTOGRAPHy

For Queen of Sparkles Jaime and Hunter Odom’s baby shower, 25 friends threw a casino-themed Baby Royale event on April 19 at The Colonel’s Club in Baton Rouge.

Inside the extravagant shower for La.’s Queen of Sparkles

BY JAN RISHER

Staff writer

When Jaime Glas Odom walks into a room, nobody wonders if she has a flair for the dramatic.

Glas Odom is the founder of Queen of Sparkles, the Baton Rouge-based clothing brand that has dressed LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, Jojo Siwa and various reality television personalities. Glas Odom has built an international following around the principle that more sparkle is almost always the right answer.

So when 25 of her closest friends — some dating back to second grade — gathered to plan the April 19 baby shower at The Colonel’s Club, they knew that nobody was bringing a casserole and calling it a day.

Instead, the baby shower theme was Baby Royale.

The execution was exactly what that sounds like.

Casino tables. Real chips. Real dealers. No money. Tiger Girls dressed as showgirls. Sushi served on personalized poker chips. A wing bar. A fry bar. An ice sculpture. A pianist — Rusty Yates, playing in the corner.

Custom-made neon signs. Feathered tablescapes. A scratch-off game called “Who Has the Daddy?” in which guests scratched off to find the real photo of father-to-be Hunter Odom instead of the many poses of Matthew McConaughey (who happens to look a lot like Hunter Odom).

At one point, the hostesses — all wearing matching feathered hats — emerged with sparklers and a lightup sign that read “Cheers, Mom and Dad,” in full Vegas-style fashion.

ä See SHOWER, page 4D

Owner Denise Zis established St. Rose Flower Farm in St. Martinville around 2018.

This family-run Acadiana farm offers pick-your-own flowers, a peaceful escape

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Danny Heitman AT RANDOM

Confessions of a Louisiana hawk-watcher I was walking to our backyard compost pile the other morning when I spotted a small gray mound near the sweet olive tree. There were little tufts of this and that — what I took to be the leavings of a mourning dove who had, it seemed, been quickly lifted from one world to the next.

I suspected one of our neighborhood hawks had enjoyed a recent kill.

Red-tailed hawks are common throughout Louisiana, and I often see one or two on morning walks down my city street. My days start

ä See AT RANDOM, page 4D

PROVIDED PHOTOS

For those who enjoy picking their own flowers, a family-run farm just outside St. Martinville offers visitors a chance to do just that while spending a day immersed in rural life.

At St. Rose Flower Farm, 1271 Leed Champagne Road, owner Denise Zis has created a destination where families and friends can cut their own flowers, sip fresh lemonade, interact with animals and enjoy a relaxed outdoor experience.

“I never had a plan to start a flower farm,” said Zis, a mother of eight, who is originally from New York. “I just wanted to have beauty in my home and at the same time we moved out to the country to kind of homestead.”

What began as a personal project has since grown into a seasonal attraction for the Acadiana community.

One of the farm’s most popular attractions is its spring U-

St. Rose Flower Farm welcomes visitors to enjoy the pet stable. pick, which is currently taking place from dawn to dark Friday through Sunday or by appointment other days. Guests can pick their own blooms directly from the fields. The farm provides supplies including garden clippers, flower food, mason jars and buckets for collecting flowers.

Visitors are encouraged to wear outdoor clothing, along with sun protection and bug spray.

Beyond flowers, the farm offers blackberry picking, petting animals, swings and shaded areas, creating an environment for visitors who simply just want to spend time outdoors.

“It’s not just about the flowers,” Zis said. “It’s about having a place where families can come and do something together. I have a family myself so I know how that inclusiveness matters.”

For Zis, who recalls visiting farms as a child and participating in similar pick-yourself experiences, she says those memories were some of the best she has growing up.

Now, she sees visitors creating their own.

“We’ve had people say they feel healing, or inspiration,” she said.

“Some people come and realize they want to grow flowers too.”

That desire to grow food and

ä See ST. ROSE, page 4D

2D ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Acadiana Center for the Arts hosts annual jazz brunch The Acadiana Center for the Arts recently hosted its premier fundraising event under sunny skies and cool temperatures. The aptly named Sunny Side Brunch lived up to its moniker. The April 12 event was held at the home of Carolyn and Kip Schumacher in near perfect

Kris Wartelle

weather.

This year’s jazz brunch drew a large crowd of sponsors and guests. The white tents for

seating, ladies and gents dressed in spring colors and smart hats, gave the party a very Kentucky Derby vibe. This event could also give any fancy New Orleans brunch some stiff competition. We witnessed one of the

EJ and Daphne Krampe, Carolyn and Kip Schumacher

liveliest auctions we can remember with

PHOTOS By KAyLA MCDONALD

Kelly Cobb, Tala Ehsan

bidders pledging more money than ever for items. It was all for a good cause, of course. Funds raised from the Sunny Side Jazz Brunch support the AcA’s performing arts programs. Those include national acts of music, dance, and theater in Lafayette.

Funds also help the expansion of AcA’s Arts in Education work in schools and

Jay and Margaret Ruffin

parishes around

Traci Aucoin, Miriam Bourgeois, Tina Fremin, Sally Herpin, Cecile Mouton

Acadiana.

Every year, the AcA hits a home

Mark and Connie Guidry

run with this event. AcA staff and leadership do an outstanding job of making sure those who attend have a great time while helping to bring more art

Karen and Adrian King

and music into the community. The hope is that with programs like these, everyone will get a chance

Jimmy and Melissa Bienvenu, Kim and Richard Broussard

Jourdan and Leslie Thibodeaux

Erica Day, Missy Andrade Jennifer Potier, Sharon Moss, Sarah Moss, Coury Moss

Todd Lambert, Samuel Oliver, Byron Reyes

to experience some of the magic

Nancy Broadhurst, Dr. Karen Wyble

the Acadiana Center for the Arts offers.

Making Acadiana residents aware of how vital such programs are to the quality of life in our community is among the AcA goals. If you want to find out more, check out the AcA website: acadianacenterforthearts.org.

Thank you AcA. Until next year, may your skies always be sunny and your mimosas always be cold.

Haley Thevis, Lindsay and Bailey Kidd, Linda Kidd

Marcus Thomas, Dr. Brent Rochon

Anthony and Emilia Pardo

YEARS

Inogen® Portable Oxygen Concentrators

Leave the tanks at home.

Convert the air around you into medical-grade oxygen.

At just under 3 lbs.*, Inogen® lightweight and compact portable oxygen concentrators easily deliver your prescription oxygen on-the-go.

MONDAY•8PM

KLPB 24

www.lpb.org

ww

.o r lp b w.

s

ive

g/l

am tr e

* Inogen Rove 4 weighs 2.9lbs. with a standard battery

CALL US NOW 1-877-760-2294

SM250015 EN_EX_USA | Rx Only. © 2024 Inogen, Inc. 859 Ward Drive, Suite 200, Goleta, CA 93111. Inogen® is a trademark of Inogen, Inc. The usage of any Inogen, Inc. trademark is strictly forbidden without the prior consent of Inogen, Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners or holders.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3D

lll

TRAVEL District aims to ‘make Fort Lauderdale cool again’

BY AMANDA ROSA

Miami Herald (TNS)

A vintage store next to a matcha cafe next to a romance bookstore across the street from a brewery next to a pilates studio. Crisp white walls decorated in murals you’d expect to find in Miami’s Wynwood Art District.

For the trend-seeking 20-something-year-olds of Fort Lauderdale, Thrive Art District, a commerce and arts hub near downtown, may be their new oasis.

“We say in private a lot, ‘We need to make Fort Lauderdale cool again,’ ” said Taymir Terrell, 28, who founded Alma Matcha with friend Jessica Binder, 29, and opened their Thrive location last October.

“Miami’s got their thing going,” Binder said. “Fort Lauderdale has got room for growth, so we want to be a part of that.”

What was once two city blocks of dingy industrial warehouses is now an alluring complex of stores, cafes, artist studios and event space meant to attract Fort Lauderdale’s burgeoning population of young professionals and South Floridians willing to drive from Miami and West Palm Beach.

Brothers Jonathan and Abraham Fish, Thrive’s co-founders and developers, said the idea was to bring something different to Fort Lauderdale.

“It has to be big enough to really change an area, to do something that’s really going to make a difference,” Jonathan Fish added.

“Fort Lauderdale is just perfect because there’s such a need for a destination like this over here.”

Thrive Art District, about 80,000 square feet of mixed-use space in the Progresso Village area, certainly aims to fill a niche. Tucked in between the historic Sistrunk neighborhood, the still under-construction FAT Village development and Flagler Village, a neighborhood popular with young people and families, Thrive is meant to cater to downtown Fort Lauderdale’s evolving demographics.

Fort Lauderdale, as Mayor Dean Trantalis boasted during his State of the City address last year, is in the midst of an economic “renaissance.” The post-pandemic years have been defined by a real estate boom, population surge and increase in jobs, especially in and around the downtown area. Unlike other major cities, downtown Fort Lauderdale has seen an 83% increase in families with children since 2018, according to data from the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.

From ‘gross’ warehouses It started with a car ride around town. Years before the pandemic, the Fish brothers were driving around Fort Lauderdale looking for a gem. They found it in on Fifth Street and Eighth Avenue, where there was a 60-foot-wide right of way.

“It just has so much opportunity,” Jonathan said.

The brothers, who used to work in the insurance industry, then started approaching owners to purchase the warehouses in 2016, eventually acquiring about 10 buildings. When they presented the idea for the art district to the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, “they thought we were dreaming,” Jonathan said.

“Now we’re heroes,” Abraham quipped.

City Commissioner Steven Glassman, who represents the area Thrive is located, recalled when the Fish brothers invited him tour the site six years ago, back when

MIAMI HERALD/TNS PHOTOS By CARL JUSTE

The Thrive Art District, an arts and commercial hub in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that caters to young professionals, is now open.

Maddison Haruch, right, prepares a matcha for a customer at Alma Matcha’s temporary location as the buildout for its permanent store is underway at the Thrive Art District in Florida. it was “really gross.”

“I looked at them and said, ‘Really?’ ” Glassman said. “It was such a blighted area. I mean, it was just one rag shop after another, greasy, dirty, derelict. I just couldn’t believe what they were telling me their vision was, but I love people with vision.”

The brothers’ vision and passion for the idea is what got Glassman on board. He worked closely with the Fish brothers, who invested about $20 million in the project, to get Thrive to the finish line.

The brothers said the city allowed them exceptions to certain city codes regarding setbacks in order to build the district as they intended.

Construction started in 2021.

Businesses and artists started moving into the district in 2024.

To date, Thrive is home to about 35 businesses and art studios

for about a dozen artists, where monthly rent starts at $600 for a small studio.

Incorporating art into the development was central to the Fish brothers’ vision, they said. Their father was an art dealer who raised his sons around art. But while their father was focused on the old masters, the brothers are more interested in street art and how it evolved from taboo to respected.

“We always felt that art is something that really unifies and creates something special. When you create a district, it’s very important that there’s a theme. What’s unique about the destination?”

Abraham said. “Ours, I would say, is the best way of going about it.”

Street art was the answer.

The Fish brothers say Thrive is home to, probably, “the largest outdoor gallery in the world.”

They started by inviting mural artists they were fans of to view the space and create a unique piece of art. Soon, other artists from South Florida and around the world reached out, they said.

“When you take an area that’s blighted, where nothing is really happening, and you activate it with arts and culture, it’s a magnet,” Glassman said. “It creates an energy. It just makes people want to be there.”

Booming businesses When Sotiria Sourlis came to Thrive for an Art Walk event, she immediately fell in love — with a storefront.

She wasn’t alone, Abraham said.

A couple of people wanted the space for themselves, but Sourlis and her restaurant Greek Sugar got the prize.

“I love the brightness of this

particular store. I love that it faces the music square where all the events are. High ceilings, my neighbors, all the art outside, all the culture in the neighborhood,” Sourlis said. “I love my view when I stand here and I see the tremendous mural in front of me. We’re happy to be a part of the Thrive community.”

The restaurant already has repeat customers, she said. One fellow Greek woman drove from Davie, Florida, for a taste of home.

Artist Chris Dyer, who sells custom glass artworks, had a similar love-at-first-sight story with Thrive.

“I drove past the neighborhood and I was like, ‘Let me do a sales pitch,’” he recalled.

He contacted the Fish brothers immediately and moved in last year.

The demand for space at Thrive, either for storefronts, studios or event scheduling, is high, the Fish brothers said. Thrive regularly hosts events including art fests, car shows, music performances, yoga classes and other wellness-related events.

The brothers are also in talks with cruise lines about bringing tourists to Thrive for excursions when they hop off the ships in Fort Lauderdale. Tourists can come do a tour of the art district, learn how to spray paint a mural or make their own custom bag charms at leather shop Atomic Freedom.

As small business owners and Broward natives, Binder and Terrell said Thrive’s rapid growth has been exciting to see. The art district, which is primarily occupied by local businesses, is exactly where they want Alma Matcha to grow, they said.

Though they could have opened a cafe anywhere, Miami or New York City, Binder and Terrell said there’s no place like home.

“This is what we want for us and for our our future kids and our our neighbors and our sisters and brothers. It’s not to say we won’t eventually do Miami and New York and all these other major places,” Terrell said. “But that doesn’t feed the soul.”

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By Christopher Elliott

Hampton Inn charged for canceled room after wife hospitalized My wife and I were booked into the Hampton Inn in Great Falls, Montana. On the morning of our trip, she woke up with a 102-degree fever and a severe cough. She was later diagnosed with pneumonia and had to be admitted to the hospital.

Christopher I called the hotel to cancel the reservation, Elliott but the desk clerk told me we’d still be charged the full $173 because it was a late cancellation. He said there was nothing he could do.

I called Hilton’s customer service line, and a representative said the property

would have to handle it. I asked for the hotel manager, but she was in a meeting. I left my number but never heard back.

I later wrote to Hilton’s corporate offices and even sent a certified letter to Hilton corporate, but no one responded. I just want a refund or a credit for a future stay. Can you help me? — Bill Chellis, Camano Island,Wash.

I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s illness, and I hope she’s feeling better. Hotels typically have strict cancellation policies — many require 24 hours’ notice or more to avoid penalties. In your case, Hilton was within its rights to charge for the night. But in the hospitality business, having the right to do something and doing the right

thing are often not the same.

Your paper trail shows you did everything you could to get help.

You called, you asked for a manager, you appealed to corporate, and you followed up in writing.

(By the way, you can find the names, numbers and email addresses of the Hilton executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.) That’s exactly what consumers should do when they have a legitimate request for an exception to policy.

Washington State has a Consumer Protection Act that broadly prohibits “unfair or deceptive” practices. While it doesn’t specifi-

cally cover hotel cancellations, it does give consumers a legal avenue if a company refuses to act in good faith. On a federal level, there’s no blanket law requiring hotels to waive penalties for medical emergencies, but the Federal Trade Commission does monitor businesses for misleading practices. The “may incur charges” wording in Hilton’s own cancellation notice arguably left the door open for some discretion.

When I contacted Hilton, it reviewed your case again. A representative said its front desk agent had correctly followed policy but confirmed that it overlooked

your follow-up requests. Hilton refunded your $173.

Your case is a good reminder that policies are not always the final word. If you have a valid reason — backed up by documentation — and you politely persist, companies can often bend a rule.

And when they don’t — well, you know how to find me.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems.

Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliott.org.

4D ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Grandma chooses incense over granddaughter’s health Dear Harriette: My mom has gotten and my work schedule makes it hard to pick my daughter up into burning incense lately, and right away. At the same time, it’s whenever I bring my 10-year-old painful to see my daughter daughter over, she has an clearly uncomfortable allergic reaction to it. She every time she’s in my starts coughing and sneezmom’s house. ing and has even gotten Now I feel stuck. I aprashes from it. I’ve asked my mom not to burn it on preciate that my mom is days when she watches helping me out with child Harriette care, but I feel like my my daughter after she Cole gets out of school, but she daughter’s health should SENSE AND says no because it helps come first. I don’t want to SENSITIVITy her relax and she likes the start an argument with smell of it. This has been my mom or seem ungratefrustrating because my mom is ful, but I also don’t want my child the one who offered to help watch to suffer every time she goes my daughter after school while over there. Should I find differI’m at work. I’m grateful for the ent child care or keep bringing help since child care is expensive my daughter to her grandma’s

house? — Smoked Out Dear Smoked Out: Your mother is being irrational and is not thinking about the responsibility that she willingly accepted. It is unconscionable to put her granddaughter in a space where she can’t breathe simply because she likes the smell. Ask your mother to reconsider her position. Point out how your daughter’s body reacts to being in her space — the coughing and rashes. Emphasize that you are talking about a health issue, not a preference.

If your mother refuses to budge, you will need to find another place for your daughter to go after school. It may be hard to pay for it, but your daughter’s

health is most important.

Dear Harriette: A couple of weeks ago, a group of old friends and I got together and ended up having a conversation about our love lives. Some of my male friends asked me what kind of partner I am interested in and offered to keep an eye out for decent candidates for me. It seemed like a fleeting conversation at the time, but since then one of those guys, who is married, has texted me a couple of times referencing the conversation — just small jokes about what we discussed.

Yesterday, he texted me late at night saying he’d love to continue the conversation and learn more about my likes and dislikes. It

felt borderline flirtatious to me.

Perhaps I am overthinking this because I’ve heard rumors that he and his wife are experiencing trouble in paradise. I haven’t responded. How would you handle this? — Borderline Inappropriate Dear Borderline Inappropriate: Trust your instincts. During daylight hours, text him back and thank him for his interest but tell him you don’t feel comfortable continuing this conversation. He may be well-meaning, but his overtures are crossing the line — you don’t have to say that; just don’t continue to respond.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com.

ST. ROSE

Continued from page 1D

Elizabeth Zis picks blueberries at St. Rose Flower Farm.

St. Rose Flower Farm features shaded areas.

AT RANDOM

Continued from page 1D early, and it’s a habit of mine to scan the sky while I stroll, curious to see if the moon is still up.

I don’t always see the moon, but sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll spot a raptor up above the tree line, circling on wind I can’t feel from my lowly vantage point on the sidewalk. He’s hunting for breakfast, which must be a challenge for a hawk who lives in the city.

My Peterson Field Guide, tattered now from years of consultation, tells me that the redtailed hawk is a common creature “of roadsides and woodland edges.” Its favored habitat is “open country, woodlands, prairie groves, mountains, plains, roadsides (and) field edges,” as Peterson puts it.

For open country hawkwatching in Louisiana, I like best the long drives we take to see in-laws in Acadiana. The flat terrain and wide pastures are a paradise for hawks, and it’s a lively thing to see them gliding high above the cows, who don’t look like they mind the company.

Hawks also seem to like recently reaped fields where the land, empty of everything but

flowers for her family laid the foundation for the farm. In 2017, Zis began selling her first bouquets by partnering with a local vendor. The first flower bouquet that she sold was out of a man’s truck, she said.

“He was selling oranges, and I asked him if he would sell some of my flowers out of his truck.”

From there, interest grew through small markets in nearby communities, where customers began asking about the business. While searching for inspiration for a name, Zis found it in a story she was reading to her children about St. Rose of Lima, who grew and sold flowers to support her family.

“I was inspired by that,” she said. “She had a large family like I did and sold flowers to make a living for her family, and I thought this is something I can relate to.”

The farm was formally established around 2018 with a registered name and has since expanded into an agritourism destination. In its early stages, it operated similarly to a community-supported agriculture model, offering mixed selections of flowers in bloom for pickup or delivery.

Around the same time, Zis experimented with a small sunflower patch where visitors could cut their own flowers, an idea that quickly gained popularity.

“People were asking, ‘Can we come cut our own flowers?’” she said. “So I said, if I ever have the opportunity to expand, I want to do a U-pick.”

Today, the farm’s spring U-pick season typically runs from late March through mid-June, with a second season in the fall from around October until the first freeze. Availability depends on weather conditions.

Visitors check in at the farm stand, where they can choose a jar or bucket, add water and floral food, and pick up garden clippers. Guests are instructed to cut individual stems while leaving part of the plant intact to ensure continued growth.

After gathering flowers, visitors can arrange their bouquets in a shaded hoop house area before returning clippers and making payment through a cash drop or digital options.

The farm operates largely on a selfserve system, a model Zis said allows flexibility while relying on community trust.

“I felt very strongly our community is honest and good,” she said. “The benefits were going to outweigh the risks… and it makes it more convenient for everyone.”

The farm offers two container options for U-pick visitors. Mason jars, priced

stubble, gives them a clear view of mice and other good things to eat. That autumn time after the sugar cane harvest seems like a festive season for hawks in our part of the world.

The hawks where I live don’t have such grand pickings, but they seem to get by.

There are two parks in my neighborhood and some open lots the hawks might like. I saw one at the park last year eyeing the squirrels. I’ve also seen them around my place, which is only half an acre but has enough birds and other wildlife to interest a predator in search of a meal. Sometimes, while sipping coffee on the patio, I’ll hear a red-tailed hawk nearby.

The sound is unmistakable, like a kettle shrieking to a boil.

The hawk’s most vivid calling card greeted me the other day as I was putting away the lawn mower. There, at the base of an oak, was a single, large feather — the kind of quill big enough for a Founding Father to scribble his thoughts. The pattern of white and tawny bars matched the profile of a red-tail.

The feather reminded me that I share my home with lots of other residents — including many, I’m sure, that I’ll never even see.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.

PROVIDED PHOTOS By DENISE ZIS

A lemonade stand offers up refreshments for visitors at St. Rose Flower Farm in Lafayette. at $20, are smaller, reusable and easy to transport, making them a popular choice for children. Buckets, priced at $45, allow for collecting a larger number of stems and creating multiple arrangements at home.

A variety of flowers are grown that work best in Louisiana’s climate with all of the planting schedules based on seasonal conditions.

Beyond the fields, Zis has also expanded her work through St. Rose Academy,

SHOWER

Continued from page 1D About 200 people attended the baby shower, and each left with Queen of Sparkles swag, including a limited-edition Baby Royale sparkly sweatshirt.

The casino concept started with a suggestion from Hunter Odom’s mother. Glas Odom — whose Las Vegas bachelorette party included all the glitz and glamour possible — immediately said yes.

“Having it at Colonel’s Club was perfect — the perfect venue for that kind of party,” Glas Odom said. “Everyone did such a great job.”

Leigh Manuel, who was maid of honor at the couple’s 2023 wedding and is Glas Odom’s longtime best friend, served as chief party planner. It was role she took on with enthusiasm and a dose of self-awareness.

“Especially for baby showers, I’m normally the girl who Venmos and that’s it,” she said. “But I knew that in this case, more is more.”

Glas Odom said the scale of the celebration caught her slightly off guard — which is saying something, given that she built a brand on maximalism. She acknowledged that she and her husband are outgoing, but that doesn’t

an online resource offering step-by-step gardening guidance and flower-growing techniques for home gardeners, particularly in Southern Gulf Coast growing zones.

Looking ahead, Zis said the goal remains focused on creating meaningful experiences for visitors.

“We’re not solving a flower problem,” she said. “We’re creating a destination a place where people can come and experience something.”

mean they are looking to be the center of attention.

When it comes to party planning, she said her tactic is to make the festivities “super colorful and loud — and it will take the attention away from us.”

Manuel and the rest of the planning team took that concept as direction.

Manuel spent a decade as a retail buyer, so she leaned into sourcing the details for the event.

“Jaime is easy to plan for. Everything is so colorful,” Manuel said. “I love to buy things, so that part was fun.”

She scoured Etsy. She made things herself. Other hostesses stepped in, including Megan Hutchins who handled the flowers and feathered tablescapes. The Colonel’s Club — which Manuel and Glas Odom’s longtime friend and University High classmate Jordan Piazza owns — handled food and coordination, including events coordinator Jessica Burris.

Bradley Easley, the Colonel’s Club’s manager, had his mother Tina Devall make all the desserts by hand. Devall was the one who placed the sushi on the poker chips, which may be the most onbrand detail of the soiree.

The party ran like it had been in the works for months.

Because the restaurant was open for Sunday lunch, the crew

only had 90 minutes to transform the place into a casino and display the dozens of details that turned it from a shower into a spectacle.

“Seeing it all come together was really cool,” Manuel said. “Jaime and Hunter thought it was almost as good as the wedding.”

For a woman who is, professionally and personally, the Queen of Sparkles, that is not a small thing to say.

For Glas Odom, the event pointed toward something larger than a party.

“It’s overwhelming with love, more than getting married,” she said. “And it’s all about this baby inside of me who doesn’t know how much love is coming.”

Glas Odom’s due date is midMay. She is still logging 10,000 steps a day.

She said she has wanted to be a mother for so long that she made a conscious decision to enjoy every moment of the pregnancy. By her account, she has, with one exception: sleeping has become slightly uncomfortable.

But for Manuel — who admits this was her first real foray into party planning — the baby shower landed exactly as intended.

“It was so fun,” she said. “I told them I already have two ideas for the first birthday.”

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

lll

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 5D

BOOKS

Author draws on La. folklore, culture in debut BETWEEN THE PAGES WITH KAyLA HARDy

BY JOY HOLDEN

Staff writer

Author Kayla Hardy, who has a doctorate in English specializing in creative writing and African American literature, is a mythology expert and award-winning author and screenwriter. Hardy served as an adjunct professor at Binghamton University and is an avid scholar and lover of Black folklore, mythology and Voodoo.

Her new book, “The Quarter Queen,” is a fantasy novel set in a racially divided, spellbound antebellum New Orleans where alchemists, witch hunters and enslavers all vie for power.

At the center is reigning Voodoo queen Marie Laveau and her daughter “Ree,” who is everything her principled mother is not: spoiled and rebellious. But when Ree finds Marie comatose in the bayou, she must uncover the secrets of her mother’s life in search of a cure. Told in alternating timelines between Ree in 1846 and Marie’s rise to power 25 years earlier, “The Quarter Queen” is a portrait of a mother and a daughter in the throes of racism, magic and resistance.

Although from Akron, Ohio, Hardy is inspired by her Louisiana Creole ancestry and familial lineage of root work and magic, and she aims to tell diverse-driven horror and dark fantasy stories.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What inspired you to write “The Quarter Queen?”

I spent my childhood summers in Louisiana, which was a culture shock, like people speaking French and Spanish and being Catholic but also practicing root work. I was like, “How can you do two things at once and really be two things at once?” I think that’s a question that probably stayed on

Kayla Hardy, author of ‘The Quarter Queen’ my mind for forever.

I grew up and wanted to be a writer, and I think I was always a super fan of Marie Laveau and the uniqueness of Louisiana culture.

At SUNY Binghamton, I was able to hone my skills as a Black folklore researcher, and at that time, I was reading a lot of Zora Neale Hurston and Voodoo rituals.

How did you come up with Marie Laveau’s internal conflict of a free woman of color who had power and yet, couldn’t or wouldn’t do something about the enslaved people around her?

Marie Laveau was a female of color and essentially the first in her line to be born free. Her mother and grandma were enslaved. There’s different narratives around if they bought their freedom or were released.

The book starts with Marie, and

PROVIDED PHOTO

it and did not make these rules.

That being said, we’ve always had a way of subverting these rules to then I build the world around her. carve our own sense of freedom.

Everyone talks about her as I wondered with Marie how this the great Voodoo queen and the must be on her brain all the time. spectacle around it. But I wanted I just can’t picture how she could to ask, “What was the interiority ever shut that off with her amount of her life like as a free woman of of privilege and power. color with all of this power, and I wondered if she wanted to figwhat did she do with it?” It’s a narrative about power. This is a ure out her role in this, if she felt fantasy with actual magical power, guilt. I think maybe sometimes so you can’t just be sipping tea all she would want to put the blinders day. on, because there’s only so much Now, we know in a real historical one can take with seeing those context that even enslaved folks horrors every day. How do we still went to Congo Square with free have our own sense of agency? people of color to gather and found Your characters are complex and nuanced. a way to keep on keeping on. You How did you develop those layers in your find a way to turn pain into joy. characterization?

Modern readers may look at free It’s a tough thing when you have people of color that were Creole a dual timeline. And also you need who might get a bad rap, but they to set up the “why” in the world. didn’t make the system in which You have to also care about Marie they existed. They were born into enough before she goes into the

coma. We have to get a glimpse of what Ree thinks the problem is.

Then Jon the Conjurer is an ideological villain, but he’s hardly the worst person in New Orleans. The problem is a system.

I started with Marie, who is our saint, so we have to have our sinner with Ree. I think the story is full of antiheroes. That’s the commentary on enslavement. We worry about our families, and is it fair to ask somebody to be a mother but also fight for everyone else?

What do you want people to know about this book who may be unfamiliar with Marie Laveau and Voodoo? And what can you say about her faith?

That it is anything but demonic.

The loa (spirits) are here to help guide people in areas between the world and the spiritual world. Voodoo can be a spiritual practice factored alongside Catholicism. I’m not endorsing Voodoo, but I want to illustrate that this was done and continues to be done in this small section of the world.

It’s one of those things I knew going into it about Marie. I didn’t want her faith and practice to be in contention because it’s literally not for many people. She believes in God, but the institution may be corrupt. God is much bigger than four walls.

Anything that is institutionalized has the ability to control or warp us, but that God is bigger than that. It’s funny because there is so much of God in this book. Christ came to the broken, and He may choose the outcasts or someone like Marie.

Email Joy Holden at joy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

13-essay collection recounts segregated New Orleans

BY RIEN FERTEL Contributing writer

“From the Back of a Bus Named Desire”

by Brenda Quant, University of New Orleans Press, 184 pages.

In the late 1950s, while waiting for a late-night bus with her mother, 10-year-old Brenda Quant took a ride on the Whites-only swing set at Washington Square. She became, in her words, “the happiest criminal in New Orleans.”

The nearest playground to her childhood home, Bunny Friend Park Review on Desire Street, was off-limits to her, as were the city’s other 100-plus Whites-only recreation areas.

There were only 19 — scattered, dilapidated, heavily policed — playgrounds reserved for Black children, so young Brenda was more than happy to oblige her mother’s transgressive encouragement.

She tested each swing, thinking about “the little White behinds that would sit in them the next day,” and, after finding the perfect seat and swinging “with the intensity of an Olympic athlete,” launched herself into the realm of moral lawlessness.

“I became a repeat offender. A habitual swing thief,” she writes. “I was never apprehended, and I am reported to be still at large, hiding out somewhere in New Orleans.”

A short, sweet essay on that episode leads off Quant’s debut, “From the Back of a Bus Named Desire.” A collection of memoir and history, the book emerged from a request by her godson, Shawn, for help with a Black History Month homework assignment on the Civil Rights Movement. A

PROVIDED PHOTO

Author Brenda Quant died in 2022, at the age of 75. ‘From the Back of a evil.”

Bus Named Desire’ is a moving tribute to her city and herself. lifelong teacher and activist, Quant, née Dyer, helped organize several social justice advocacy groups, including the Equal Rights Congress.

Shawn’s homework became her own. She began reminiscing, writing, publishing — work that led to the essays that eventually became Quant’s MFA thesis, earning her a degree in creative writing from the University of New Orleans in 2015 at the age of 70.

The collection’s 13 essays are straightforward and, at times, sneakily experimental. They are conversational and often quite humorous. The work of a student, yes, but one with a knack for personal storytelling.

Quant’s strongest material follows the narrative track established by that initial homework assignment, primarily what she calls the “inside-out world” created by

Jim Crow New Orleans.

She writes of being in 10th grade and hearing the venomous anti-integration chants from the self-described cheerleaders who rallied against Ruby Bridges’ enrollment at William Frantz Elementary, located just four blocks from her house.

Quant remembers squeezing through crowds of White passengers to make her way to the rear of the city’s segregated public buses, all the while “denying that any interracial touching was happening.” A plank of varnished wood, simply known as the “screen,” divided White and Black patrons.

The system forced riders to relocate the screens themselves, forward and back as passengers filled and emptied the bus, participating in their own partitioning.

It was, she says, “a moveable

In the waning years of segregated transportation, a group of her college friends tossed the partition out the window. You can almost hear Quant laughing to keep from crying as she writes what happened next. Her friends were all arrested, but not before “some whites boarded the bus, and with no screen … did not know where to sit.” When the end of the screen era finally came in 1958, the offending pieces of wood were set ablaze in a terrific bonfire.

Reading these essays, one can envision another path for Quant: that of the academic historian.

There are longer pieces here on the life of Harry Washington, who, once enslaved by our nation’s first president, in time found freedom in Sierra Leone; another on the legacy of rice cultivation. Although informative and well-written, these essays, set alongside the others, can’t

measure up to the author’s more memoiristic leanings.

More tantalizing is a hybrid essay on geophagy, the widespread, though often shunned, practice of eating earth. Quant tells of being a young dirt eater, the shame of salivating after rains for “the thick, musky emanations of wet earth.” Eventually she takes comfort in choupique, that local fish capable of living in droughtstruck ponds for several days.

She prized the taste of this socalled trash fish, which she likens to “mud on mud, in mud, with a side of mud.”

The collection ends with an exploratory exercise, a series of ekphrases, dramatically composed descriptions of visual art — think back to your high school reading of Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” — originating in an Ancient Greek form of rhetoric.

Literally meaning “to speak out,” this is where Quant excels.

There are nods to an aunt’s cherished antique umbrella, a set of furniture handcrafted by her father, a friend’s lush dessert: “Emily’s chocolate cake is the anti-vanilla, a velvety black hole blanketing out sound, subsuming and negating its crystal white ingredients noiselessly, hungrily … a comforting eclipse, reassurance that darkness will follow light.”

It’s perhaps fitting that the collection ends with such loving, lyrical personal odes. Quant died in 2022, at the age of 75. “From the Back of a Bus Named Desire” is a moving tribute to her city and herself.

Rien Fertel is the author of four books. He can be reached at rienfertel@gmail.com.

THIS WEEK’S BESTSELLERS FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY HARDCOVER FICTION

1. “Hope Rises” by David Baldacci 2. “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans 3. “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke 4. “Rites of the Starling” by Devney Perry 5. “The Auction (deluxe ed.)” by Sadie Kincaid 6. “Starside (deluxe ed.)” by Alex Aster 7. “The Faith of Beasts” by James S.A. Corey 8. “Judge Stone” by Davis/Patterson 9. “The Night We Met (deluxe ed.)”

by Abby Jimenez 10. “Go Gentle” by Maria Semple

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. “Through Mom’s Eyes” by Sheinelle Jones 2. “Poisoned Ivies” by Elise Stefanik 3. “Famesick” by Lena Dunham 4. “Drownproof” by Andy Stumpf 5. “Strangers” by Belle Burden 6. “The Manbook” by Nick Freitas 7. “I Choose Me” by Jennie Garth 8. “Rewired” by Lamarre/Smaje/Levin 9. “Around the Table” by Shea McGee 10. “London Falling” by Patrick Radden Keefe

TRADE PAPERBACK

1. “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi 2. “Game On” by Navessa Allen 3. “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman 4. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt 5. “Hans” by S.J. Tilly 6. “Dear Debbie” by Freida McFadden 7. “Want to Know a Secret?” by Freida McFadden 8. “Project Hail Mary (media tie-in)”

by Andy Weir 9. “Twisted Pawn” by L.J. Shen 10. “The Tempest Blade” by Danielle L. Jensen

6D ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

DINING SCENE Find classic Jazz Fest food all year, including ‘lost dishes’ For those who really dive in, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival can feel like its own season in New Orleans, and it’s short one. But Jazz Fest food lives on throughout the year in different ways.

Here’s how to get a taste of it when you want to satisfy an offseason Ian craving or bring a McNulty McNulty ty centerpiece dish to the next party, WHAT’S WHAT’S including a few that COOKING COOKING are now Jazz Fest memories.

Cochon de lait po-boy from Walker’s Southern Style BBQ, 10828 Hayne Blvd.

The cochon de lait po-boy has become one of the most popular dishes at Jazz Fest. Its vendor, Love at First Bite, has a dual identity with its restaurant, a counter-service barbecue joint on the lakefront in New Orleans East.

If you make the trip, it can be a surf-and-turf day with a stop at the adjacent Castnet Seafood, the fish market and purveyor of fine poboys and boiled crawfish.

Creole hot sausage po-boy from Vaucresson Creole Café & Deli, 1800 St. Bernard Ave. The Vaucresson family has been serving Creole sausage po-boys at Jazz Fest since the first one in 1970. It was harder to find outside of festival season until 2022, then they opened a new deli and cafe at the site of their historic butcher shop in the 7th Ward.

Now they’re working with chef Bunny Young, who has greatly expanded the menu of Creole plate lunches and home-style cooking.

Of course the po-boys are always available, and links are sold to cook at home too.

Creole file gumbo from Li’l Dizzy’s Café, 1500 Esplanade Ave. This definitive Creole gumbo is served daily at the Baquet family’s restaurant, now a mainstay of the Treme in its next generation. The festival dishes trout Baquet (with crabmeat) and trout Dizzy (with shrimp and crawfish) make periodic appearances as specials, and,

includes the Jazz Fest specialty of stuffed praline beignets (along with some savory stuffed beignets not served at Jazz Fest). For shipping see lorettaspralines.com.

Ya-ka-mein from Miss Linda Green “Old Sober” is a beefy, brothy remedy in a cup, the New Orleans street food classic. Linda Green is the queen of ya-ka-mein, and apart from Jazz Fest she and her family set up at numerous other festivals and hold frequent pop-ups, often at 2304 Washington Ave. For updates, see facebook.com/ChefLindaGreen/.

More from the past And because Jazz Fest memories endure, here are more flavors that are no longer at Jazz Fest but still within reach for the next meal.

Crawfish, spinach and zucchini bisque and more from Jamila’s Café, 7808 Maple St. For nearly 30 years, the Sbaa family imbued the festival menu with their North African specialties. While they said goodbye to the fest last year, the family restaurant is still open for dinner, STAFF PHOTO By IAN McNULTy serving all the dishes from its Jazz menu. That includes a dish Creole stuffed bread, served at Creole Lunch House in Lafayette, has also been a favorite flavor at Jazz Fest in Fest that’s a touchstone of the fest for New Orleans for many years. many: their uniquely green crawfish bisque. exceptionally good cheese. more rarely, so does the crawfish chocolate bread pudding, pork Creole stuffed bread from Creole Lunch He serves both styles each Sunbisque. debris and grits and shrimp and House, 713 12th St., Lafayette Natchitoches meat pies from Mrs.Wheat’s grits. Order through cottagecater- day at a pop-up at Parleaux Beer Creole stuffed bread is a handLocal maker Mrs. Wheat’s ships ing.com.

Lab, the Bywater’s family-friendly held flavor bomb, a blend of nationally, with a lineup of spicy taproom and beer garden.

Crawfish bread from Panaroma Foods seasoned beef, sausage slices, or mild meat pies, crawfish pies, Jama jama combo from Bennachin Restau- jalapeños for a mild bite and chedThis classic Jazz Fest dish is shrimp and andouille pies, and served at the Fair Grounds as a rant, 1212 Royal St. dar between it all. It was one of the crab and artichoke pies, in small slice of cheesy, meaty stuffed Jama jama, one of the signature low-key sleeper hits of Jazz Fest and large versions. bread. The Marksville-based flavors of the Congo Square area food from its debut in 1983, when They’re served at a few resmaker Panaroma Foods will ship at Jazz Fest, is a well-seasoned the Lafayette restaurant Creole whole loaves of crawfish bread, sauteed spinach dish that’s always Lunch House joined the food ventaurants, including the Howlin’ on the menu at this homey African dors.

Wolf Den (907 S. Peters St.), in the along with its sausage jalapeño eatery in the French Quarter, along freezer case at some groceries and bread and shrimp bread, from its Its last festival appearance was with poulet-fricassee (chicken on a in 2019, before the pandemic hiasold hot at many Louisiana gas sta- kitchens in central Louisiana. See nolacrawfishbread.com. stick) and fried plantains, together tus; its creator, Merline Herbert, tion delis. Order at meatpies.com.

Raw and charbroiled Lady Nellie oysters at on its “Jazz Fest combo plate.”

Crawfish strudel and more from Cottage died in 2025 at age 84.

Parleaux Beer Lab, 642 Lesseps St. Praline stuffed beignet, crabmeat beignet, Catering, 1536 River Oaks Road, Harahan But her family still runs the little The off-bottom oysters at Jazz pralines, from Loretta’s Authentic Pralines, The Harahan-based caterer cottage restaurant and serves Fest are beauties, farmed off 2101 N. Rampart St.; and the French Market, Creole stuffed bread on its menu of and bakery has a “festival store” Grand Isle by Justin Trosclair. In 1100 S. Peters St. section on its website, offering plate lunches. When in Lafayette, addition to raw, this year he added Lorretta’s ships orders for its all of its Jazz Fest dishes in large, this is always worth a visit.

Creole candies around the country, party-sized quantities for shipping charbroiled oysters, which were plump, full of juice, snapping with and, at its Marigny restaurant and or pickup, including the incredEmail Ian McNulty at French Market stand, the menu imcnulty@theadvocate.com. ible crawfish strudel and its white chile butter sauce and topped with

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press Today is Sunday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2026. There are 242 days left in the year.

Today in history: On May 3, 1999, the Bridge CreekMoore tornado struck the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, causing 41 deaths and nearly 600 injuries; the tornado’s top wind speed of 321 mph was the highest ever recorded on Earth.

Also on this date: In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.

In 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “Gone with the Wind.”

In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to Blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

In 1979, the Conservative Party ousted the incumbent Labour government in British parliamentary elections; Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher would become the first female U.K. prime minister the following day.

In 1986, riding the long shot Ferdinand, Bill Shoemaker became the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby at age 54.

In 2016, in a stunning triumph for a political outsider, Donald Trump all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination with a resounding victory in the Indiana primary. (Trump would defeat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in November 2016 for his first presidential term.)

In 2021, an elevated overpass on a Mexico City metro line collapsed onto a road, killing 26 people and injuring dozens just as a subway train was crossing over the section. At least one car was trapped beneath the rubble.

In 2023, a 13-year-old student shot dead nine children and a school guard at a school in Belgrade, Serbia. The shooter was too young to face trial under Serbian law, but his parents, charged for failing to keep the weapons out of reach of their son, were convicted of child neglect. The boy’s father also was convicted of “grave acts against public safety.”

Today’s birthdays: Singer Frankie Valli is 92. Singer Christopher Cross is 75. Actor Amy Ryan is 58. Actor Bobby Cannavale is 56. Music executive-entrepreneur Damon Dash is 55. Actor Christina Hendricks is 51. Actor Dule Hill is 51.

Country musician Eric Church is 49.

Golfer Brooks Koepka is 36. Country singer Ella Langley is 27. Actor Rachel Zegler is 25. Soccer player Florian Wirtz is 23. Actor Maxwell Jenkins is 21.

Is it rude for thrift shoppers to brag? an interesting story, but she proceeded to Dear Miss Manners: I have some friends say that she was so spoiled by the prices who frequently announce to me how at such-and-such discount store, she just much money they are saving by shopcould not make the purchase elseping at discount stores, buying off-brand items and buying all of where. their clothing, including shoes, at Most of the time I have no resecondhand and thrift stores. sponse, but I did laugh at this one I am not wealthy, but I am a and say, “You must not have wantprofessional who works hard. I do ed them very badly.” Occasionally not shop at these stores because I’ll say, “Well, good for you.” Most Judith whenever I have tried in the past, of the time I just ignore the discusMartin sion, but it always feels awkward.

I am not satisfied: I don’t wear or use the items, and end up feeling Isn’t it just as rude to constantly MISS that I have truly wasted money talk about penny-pinching as it is MANNERS instead of saving it. to brag about how much money one Whether something is “expenspends?

Gentle reader: It is not quite the same. But sive” is subjective, isn’t it? I do not ever Miss Manners agrees with you that it is brag or tell anyone what I pay for anycertainly no more interesting. thing.

Dear Miss Manners: Would you please ask It is one thing to make general comeveryone to avoid completing someone ments about good shopping places, but else’s sentence unless you’re a close friend when one of my friends starts telling me of the speaker, understand the circumthe exact dollar-and-cents difference, I can’t respond. stances and know the context of what She will continue to repeat how much they’re saying? she saves as though she wants me to When someone does this to me, I bite my agree, which I usually don’t. tongue and have the urge to say, “If you For example, a friend announced that are telepathic, then we don’t even have to she could not buy a bag of chocolate chips continue this conversation at all.” But I’ve at the grocery store. I thought it might be outgrown the urge to be sarcastic.

Gentle reader: That is a relief. Miss Manners will reward you by spreading the word. Although she will warn you against giving close friends, and even partners and family members, your exemption.

They can be equally bad at predicting the end of your sentence — and even more infuriating if they get it wrong.

Dear Miss Manners: I would like to ask your readers to think twice about giving a surprise party.

The surprise may be much more enjoyable for the hosts and guests than for the person being surprised.

If you want to honor someone, why wouldn’t you do it at a time and in a manner that is agreeable to the person being honored? The surprise not only deprives the honoree of the joy of anticipation; sometimes the honoree may find the party painfully embarrassing or inconvenient.

Gentle reader: Or worse, if they have a heart condition.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

An overnight way to refresh smelly shoes Dear Heloise: Shoes can develop odors quickly, especially after long days.

A simple solution helped in my house: I sprinkle baking soda inside each shoe before bedtime and let it sit overnight.

Baking soda absorbs moisture and neutralizes Hints from odors. Shake it Heloise out in the morning, and the difference is noticeable right away.

After dealing with one too many unpleasant odors, I made this part of my routine. You can repeat it as needed. — Eric W., in Omaha, Nebraska

Keep the shower flowing Dear Heloise: Weak water pressure in the shower can make mornings frustrating. Mineral buildup often clogs the tiny

holes in the showerhead over time. I fixed mine without replacing anything by doing this: Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and secure it around the showerhead using a rubber band.

Let it soak for a few hours or overnight. The vinegar breaks down the buildup and clears the openings.

After dealing with uneven spray for months, I tried this and noticed the difference right away. Remove the bag, run hot water, and wipe the surface clean. The flow should improve almost instantly. — Teresa G., in Phoenix,Arizona

A clean blender Dear Heloise: Washing a blender can feel like a chore, especially after making something thick or sticky. I found a much easier way that skips the scrubbing altogether. Right after using the blender, I fill it about half-

way with warm water and add a small drop of dish soap. Then I place the lid on securely and run the blender for about 20 seconds. The spinning action reaches around the blades and sides, loosening food that usually sticks.

I started doing this after struggling to clean out peanut butter and smoothie residue that seemed impossible to remove.

Now cleanup takes almost no effort at all! Once the cycle finishes, pour out the soapy water and give everything a quick rinse. Most of the mess is already gone.

For the best results, clean the blender soon after using it so that food doesn’t dry inside.

Be careful not to overfill it and always make sure that the lid is tight before turning it on. This simple habit keeps the blender fresh, saves time, and avoids the hassle of deeply scrubbing

every time. — Olivia N., in Portland, Oregon

Keep ice cream scoopable Dear Heloise: Rock-hard ice cream can be tough to serve straight from the freeze, but a simple storage trick keeps it soft enough to scoop. Place the ice cream container inside a resealable plastic bag before returning it to the freezer. This helps block out cold air and slows down freezing.

I started doing this after bending one too many spoons by trying to dig into frozen dessert. Now the texture stays smooth and scoopable without waiting. It also helps prevent ice crystals from forming on top — a small change but a big improvement when dessert time rolls around! — Brian C., in Madison,Wisconsin Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 7D

lll

Employment ENGINEERING Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. in New Iberia, LA seeks to fill the position of Field Prof-General, L&P Seismic to apply expert knowledge of Hallibur‐ ton's Seismic logging products and technology to provide technical and operational expertise to external cus‐ tomer. Responsible for pre-job plan‐ ning, job execution, post job analysis and overall performance of company assets on most complex projects. Do‐ mestic and international travel re‐ quired 40% of the time. To apply, visit jobs.halliburton.com and enter #206356 in “search by keyword” field. If offered employment, must have legal right to work in U.S. EOE, including dis‐ ability/veterans.

GENERAL HELP H. Brown, Inc., seeks Laborers for work in Eunice, LA. Job duties include assist in fulfilling of crane/forklift/telehan‐ dler/rigging/heavy-haul transporta‐ tion equipment rental orders, by load‐ ing/unloading of ancillary items (reusable cribbing; industrial mats; jacks; filters; spare parts) associated with the equipment rental onto tractor trailers. Ensuring that ancillary items are secured to tractor trailers by use of straps. Assist in monitoring and stock‐ ing inventory in jack house. Wash‐ ing/cleaning/maintenance (greas‐ ing/lubricating bearings; booms; and hoists, refueling) of rental equip‐ ment/machines, as well as wash‐ ing/cleaning/maintenance/and gen‐ eral upkeep of transportation trailers.

General maintenance and upkeep of shop and shop grounds. No minimum education requirement. No training for the job opportunity required. No em‐ ployment experience required. Must be able to lift 50lbs. Random drug screen‐ ing upon hire (paid for by Employer). To apply for position, contact employer at (337) 457-8131 or by applying in person at 1678 U.S. Highway 190, Eunice, LA 70535. Rate of Pay $40,768.00/year.

GENERAL HELP Jack Rabbit Nursery, LLC seeks to hire a Supervisor/Nursery Grower in Glen‐ mora, LA. Job duties include but are not limited to: Supervise a crew of 41 male and female employees to ensure smooth produc‐ tion and shipping of plant material, testing soil for accurate PH levels for growing, supervising safe PPE prac‐ tices for soil + fertilizer/chemical mix‐ ing and fumigation of plant material, in‐ ventory management, setting efficient irrigation systems, plant growth trou‐ bleshooting, being able to lead multiple crews at a time when loading plant ma‐ terial and ensuring plant material is counted, stacked, and loaded cor‐ rectly, calculating maximum # of plants that can fit on different shipping methods, calculating weight for ship‐ ping methods, reporting to the owner on how employees and plant material are tracking, consulting with sales reps on current and future order fulfillment and inventory, ordering supplies and materials for everyday use, repairs and maintenance around work sites, etc.

Requirements: • Must be able to read, write, and speak FLUENT English AND Spanish • Must have basic math skills in order to do inventory management correctly.

• Must be able to carry up to 50lbs multi‐ ple times a day and be able to with‐ stand long hours on his or her feet.

• Must be willing to work in all climate conditions.

• Must have their own transportation.

• Must either have background knowl‐ edge or experience in horticulture or willing to undergo a rigorous training period.

The position requires 24 months of ex‐ perience as a Nursery Worker.

MAINTENANCE Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. in New Iberia, LA seeks to fill the position of Maint-Prof, General, L&P to perform preventive and corrective mainte‐ nance on Logging and Perforating sur‐ face and downhole equipment. Trains other Maintenance Professional L&P's, to gain knowledge and experi‐ ence in maintaining logging equipment and tools. To apply, visit jobs. halliburton.com and enter #207459 in “search by keyword” field. If offered employment, must have legal right to work in U.S. EOE, including disabil‐ ity/veterans.

MAINTENANCE Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. in New Iberia, LA seeks to fill the position of Maintenance Professional, Senior - L&P to perform preventive and corrective maintenance on Logging and Perforat‐ ing surface and downhole equipment; work directly under a General Mainte‐ nance Professional L&P to implement knowledge and experience in main‐ taining logging equipment and tools; visit field locations when needed to help solve equipment's operation problems. To apply, visit jobs. halliburton.com and enter #207560 in “search by keyword” field. If offered employment, must have legal right to work in U.S. EOE, including disabil‐ ity/veterans.

Merchandise WANT TO BUY Wanted: Records, CDs & music memorabilia. No collection too large. Call/text $1 & up 225-936-5600

Apply for this job by submitting your resume and contact information to

.theacadianaadvocate.com Public Notices

Pets Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS

CATS RAGAMUFFIN & RAGDOLL KITTENS www.CatsByFrancy.com/kittens $1500up! Reg. Shots & Guaranty 337-230-3150

When you need the news.

Wherever you read the news.

margarita.jackrabbitnursery@yahoo.com.

List of jurors randomly drawn and to serve for the term beginning on May 11, 2026.

ABDALLAH, MALEK MOHAMMAD ABRAHAM, CORNELL J AGGISON, DIMITRI ALLEN KING ALLEMAND, MARILYN FRANCE AMY, JESSICA M ANTIE ANDERSON, MATTHEW WAYNE ANDRAS, EVIE VOORHIES ANDRUS, MICHELE RENE ARABIE, TYLER JACOB ARCENEAUX, KIMBERLY L ARCENEAUX, GLENDALE ANTHONY ARCENEAUX, LANDRELD NICOLE ARCENEAUX, RIANNA DESHAY ARDOIN, ANITA WILLIE AUBREY, AMBER DENEA AYALA, ROSA MARIA BABIN, JOYCE B BABINEAUX, JULES D BAILEY, JOSHUA MICHAEL BARCOME, CATEY ELISABETH BATISTE, SYDNEY NICOLE BAYONE, CEDRIC L BAZER, RODNEY J BEGNAUD, BROCK JOSEPH BEGNAUD, OLIVE B BELLARD, BISHOP DEMOYEN BELLARD, MICHAEL C BEN, KIERRA LASHAY BENJAMIN, JOHNATHAN RAY BENOIT, MARIO F BERNARD, LISA RICHARD BERTRAND, JUDITH W BILLEAUD, EMMA MARIE BLACKWELL, SHAWANNA ROSHELL BLAKE, GEORGE ALBERT BLANCHARD, CYNTHIA BOBBA, LAKSHMIPRASANNA BONIN, LINDA L BORDEN, JAMIE BRANDON BOUDREAUX, CHAVONNDRIA AUNDRIEKAH BOUDREAUX, SHELLY MONIQUE BOURG, ANGELA LANGLINAIS BOURGEOIS, BROOKE DUPUIS BOURQUE, MARYLYN LANERIE BOUTIN, JACOB JAMES BOYD, GLADYS FELICIAN TRAHAN BOYER, MILLARD GERARD BRADLEY, ENDREKA MICHELLE BRANTLEY, PATRICK MICHAEL BRASSEAUX, DALE JOSEPH BROU, JOANN BONVILLAIN BROUSSARD, ANITA VEGA BROUSSARD, CHAD MICHAEL BROUSSARD, PAUL M BROUSSARD, MYA KATHRYN BROUSSARD, KEILAN MICHELLE BROUSSARD, BRIAN DAMARCO BROUSSARD, JALEN JAMAL BROUSSARD, JOSHUA BLAKE BROWN, KHRISTIAN ANJELLE BROWN, JENE BRITTANY BRUNO, RENEE BURKHEISER, RACHEAL LYNN BYRD-HODGES, JERRI KASSANDRA CALHOON, EDEAN CAMPBELL, NEALON JAMES CASTILLE, RANDY CHAPMAN, TIMOTHY PAUL CHAPMAN, ELIZABETH STROTHER CHAPMAN, SUSAN BAIRD CHARLES, STEPHANIE A CHAUVIN, DEANA MARIA CHEVALIER, ALLEN F COHEN, BRADFORD L COSBY, HENRY DAIGLE, AMANDA LYNN DAMOND, JASON CHARLES DARBY, ROBERT LEE DAVIS, LAURA GATES DAVIS, ROBERT ZANE DENNIS, JAMES PHILLIP DESHOTELS, ZACHARY BERCHMAN DOMEC, STACIE DOMINGUE, MEREDITH ANNE DOUGLAS, LATREVIA SHANTE DUGAS, FERMIN DUGAS, RYAN CHRISTOPHER DUGAS, CORY JEROME DUHON, DARRYL J DUPLECHIEN, FARREL W DUPLECHIN, CHARLES D DUPLIN, GINNY FAYE DURAL, PAULETTE LOUISE EAGERS, JACQUELINE NICOLE DAVIES EAGLIN, JOHN D EDWARDS, THEODORE GLENN EDWARDS, CHASITY ENOLA LEE ELLIS, JOHN TREVOR ELNIMER, AYMAN F R ESCOBEDO-HERNANDEZ, YILDA ROCIO FAUGOT, MAURICE B FOLEY, ALEX DAVID FOLSE, ADAM SCOTT FONTENOT, RICHARD LUKE FOREMAN, LARRY G FOSTER, RANIA ARMANI FRANK, CLAIRE ELIZABETH FUENTESCAMPOS, JOSEANDRES FUSELIER, JECKELL JOSEPH GABRIEL, ARTHUR GABRIEL, JACOBY TENELL GAD, MARIE ALANA HARGRAVE GALLIEN, TERRI S GANNON, HAILEY RUTH GARBER, SHANI LYNN GARCIA, MOLLY CLAIRE GARY, RICKY RAY GARY, MYLAINA NOELLE GARY, LEROY J GARY, CHINITA ANN GASPARD, CHANEY JULES GAUDET, ALEXA ERIN GAUTHIER, STEPHEN ERNEST

NEWS 24/7 ON

Subscribe today Scan the QR code

GAUTHREAUX, GRANT THOMAS GEORGE, LATRISA LINZER GESCH, ANGELA GILBILE, MAHESH GIROUARD, HOLLIE MICHELLE GIROUARD, ALLISON B GONSALEZ, JUAN JOSE GONZALEZ, MARLI R GONZALEZ, LOGAN ARMANDO GONZALEZ, KASSANDRA GOODMAN, JARVIS J GOTCH, ROSE BOYD GOUDEAU, JODY LYNN GRABERT, MADDIE GAILE GRACZYK, CALLEN W GREEN, REGAN HEATH GREEN, DERRICK LAMOND GUIDRY, CARROL J GUIDRY, JARED LEE GUIDRY, JOSEPH GUILBEAU, AINSLEY CATHERINE GUILBEAU, ASHLEY GALLAGHER GUILLORY, PAIGE NICOLLETTE HAASE, BARBARA PARKER HAMILTON, RACHEL M HAN, YANYAN HARDING, GARY LOUIS HARDY, SHAWN FELTON HARGROVE, JOSHUA WADE HARRIS, MARCUS LAMAR HAYES, GAY LYNN HAYES, STEPHEN LAWRENCE HEBERT, JACE MICHAEL HEBERT, AMANDA VIERCK HEBERT, PAIGE MARIE HEBERT, GRIFFIN CARL HELAIRE, AMILCAR J HENDERSON, TOBY JOHN HENSON, LACEY LYNN HERNANDEZ, CHRISTINA MARIA HIDALGO, MARY HIGGINBOTHAM HOWARD, JUAN TARYUS TRAKEIL HUDSON, MICHELLE JAGNEAUX, SPENCER MICHAEL JOHE, ANNE MCFATTER JOHNNIE, JAMARIAN ELIJAH WARREN JOHNSON, LINEY JOHNSON, CARMEN MARIE JOHNSON, CHRISTINE JONES, HEATH LAWRENCE JONES, MELISSA WHITEHEAD JUAREZ, ALEX Y KEELING, RIVER JOEL KEYS, OFELLOW JOHN KINGMAN, SIDNEY LAMAR KINGSLEY, CARRIE ANN KLEIMEYER, LISA A KNOTT, BUSTER JULES KOFFI, MARIE CLAUDE ASTRID KONDA, MOKSHIT REDDY KONDA, VENKATANARENDRAREDDY LABIT, TYSON JUDE LAFONTAINE, LARRY LAGRANGE, SARA L LAMBERT, ASHLEY KAYE LAMBERT, TERRY W LANDRY, ARIELLE MONE LANDRY, EUGENE D LANDRY, JULIAN ANTHONY LANTIER, JAKE CURTIS LARA, FRANCISCO LASSALLE, LEXI MARIE LAWRENCE, BEN RICHARD LE, DAVID DUYEN LE, VAN THI BICH LEBLANC, CARRIS C LEBLANC, ERIC P LEBOURGEOIS, HERMAN A LEGE, JENNIFER LYNN LEGENDRE, MICHAEL J LEGER, KENDALL P LEMOINE, LYDIA ALEXANDRA LEMOINE, DARLENE D LEMOINE, SAMUEL MICHAEL LEVINSON, ANDREW SCOTT LEWIS, IAN MICHAEL LEWIS, KATHERINE CORIANNA DORISE LINDON, TRAVIS JOSEPH LIVING, DAMON JAMES LOGAN, ANTONIO KATREL LORMAND, CANDY MARIE LOUVIERE, VIRGINIA A LUCAS, RAYMOND JOHNSEN LY, ANNIE BL LYMUEL, ARIEL LEXIS MAJORFAULK, JAN ERIN MALDONADO-GONZALEZ, JUAN ANTONIO MALVEAUX, JOHN CASEY MANDELLA, TRACEY MICHELLE MARSHALL, DELASHIA MARTIN, DUANE K MARTIN, KATIE L MATESE, SHARON B MATIS, VICTORIA FRANCIS MAYEUX, JULIA MCBANE, ALETA B MCCLOSKEY, JEANNINE S MCCRACKEN, NICHOLAS PRESTON MCQUADE, MANDY ELENA GONZALEZ MEAGHER, THOMAS E MECHE, BEVERLY LACAZE MEIER, VICTORIA ANN MEJIA, PABLO MELANCON, JILL D METZEL, AMBER FAITH MIGUES, FAITH CAROLYN MILLER, JOEL N MILLIKEN, SINEAD RUTH MILLS, JEROME O MILSON, LOVERICK DAVONTRELL MINCER, DAVID ALAN MITCHELL, LEANN MICHELL NICOLE MITCHELL, ALAINE’ MONAE MOHAMMAD, ASHRAF H MORENO, MORGAN FRANCES MORTENSEN, EARL T

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐ cally at https://lafayet tecsdgovla.tylerportico. com/va/vendor-access/ registration or in the of‐ fice of the Purchasing Di‐ vision at the Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐ ment Building, located at 705 West University Av‐ enue, Lafayette, Louisiana, until 3:30 pm Central Time on the 13th day of May, 2026 for the following: 2026 OR NEWER VACUUM TRUCK and will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and read aloud in City Hall lo‐ cated at 705 West Univer‐ sity Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Bids received after the above specified time f i h ll b

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

p for opening shall not be considered and shall be returned unopened to the sender. Bidders are encouraged to attend the bid opening virtually by using the following link https://us02web.zoom. us/j/85311683234? pwd=ZbzAfQJ7kvTxGap t7VYoMMxk9KwFB2.1 Meeting ID: 853 1168 3234 Passcode: 110043

p g y request the bid package electronically from Thomas Metrejean at tg‐ metrejean@lafayettela. gov.

In accordance with Louisiana RS 38:2212. vendors may submit their bid electronically at the website listed above.

Bidders wishing to sub‐ mit their bid electroni‐ cally must first be regis‐ tered within LCG Vendor Access at the website listed above. The regis‐ tration process can take some time; therefore, LCG recommends regis‐ tering days in advance of the time that bids are due. It is the sole respon‐ sibility of the bidder to ensure their bid is deliv‐ ered (whether electroni‐ cally via Vendor Access, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Vendors may h bid k

Vendors submitting bids electronically are re‐ quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Only a bid bond, certified check or cashier’s check shall be submitted as the bid se‐ curity. Electronic copies of both the front and back of the check or bid bond shall be included with the electronic bid.

Bids must be signed in accordance with LRS Title 38:2212(B)5. A Cor‐ porate Resolution or Cer‐ tificate of Authority au‐ thorizing the person signing the bid is re‐ quired to be submitted with bid. Failure to sub‐ mit a Corporate Resolu‐ tion or Certificate of Au‐ thority with the bid shall be cause for rejection of bid.

Copies of the bidding documents are available at the Purchasing Office l d i

MOSLEY, WARDELL JAMES MOUTON, ERIC DUANE MOUTON, LELAND JAMAR HAYMOND NAFF, LUCAS DEAN NAVARRE, JOHN JAMES NAVARRE, MITCHELL RAY NED, TRACY RENEE NEWTON, MARQUEL NICOLE NGU, HONGHANH VO NGUYEN, DIEP VAN NGUYEN, KEVIN TRAN ORTEZMEJIA, LUCY FABIOLA OUBRE, TRENT STUART OWENS, ROBERT B CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH PACE, SAMUEL MAURICE PARKER, HYATT HEATH PARKER, AMANDA L PARTIPILO, ANTHONY STEPHEN PATIN, MICHAEL L PATIN, NANCY MARIE PATTERSON, JON WESLEY PELLEGRIN, AMY THERIOT PERRET, PHILIP E PESSON, CHAD N PETE, MYRA PETERS, KEBBIE RENEE PETERSON, SARAH ELIZABETH PHARR, BOBBY VONTERY PLAISANCE, ALISA NICOLE POUSSON, WALTER I POWERS, KELLEY A PREJEAN, MILTON JAMES PREJEAN, TRINA M PRESLEY, HAYDEN DALLAS RABALAIS, ANNECATHERINE LEBLANC RANSONET, TOMMY JOSEPH REL, BRITTNEY LYNN RICHARD, ALTON JOSEPH RICHARD, KEVIN P ROBIN, SHANNON PAUL RODRIGUEZ, CARLEY BLANCHE ROGERS, AMBER RAE ROMERO, BARBARA B ROMERO, PAUL MARION ROTH, TIMOTHY J ROUSE, EDWARD ANTHONY ROUSSEAU, LINDA H ROUSSEAU, KRISTOPHER G ROYER, GAVIN THOMAS SANNER, KELLY THIBODEAUX SANSON, COLIN JAMES SANTIAGOLOPEZ, ANGELYVE SANTOS, LIZZETTE NADINE SCOLA, BENJAMIN AARON SCOTT, DEJOHN SEDATOL, SASHA JONES SELLERS, SYDNI NICOLE SEMERE, RACHEL MARIE SIMON, TOD JOSEPH SIMON, WESTON SCOT SIMON, TYLER GAGE SINEGAL, GERALDINE D SKELTON, ELIZABETH CLAIRE SLAGLE, ELMER CUTHBERT SMITH, BRUNO DYER SMITH, DEONDRA LEIGH ST PIERRE, NORMAN LAWRENCE STANSBURY, WANDA SPAIN STELLY, DAVID STELLY, CARL JOSEPH STELLY, JARED BLAKE STEVENS, MONICA SHERELL STIELPER, TAYLOR RENEE STONE, COREY DERREL STRINGER, JANNA FAY STUART, AMY STUTES, NICOLE RENEE SYLVESTER, REBECCA D TABB, RYON JAMES TAN, YEE SING TATE, HELEN H TATE, CASEY LEE TEJERA, ELLA FAITH THIBODEAUX, ENOLA M THIBODEAUX, BRETT MICHAEL THIBODEAUX, CORLANDRA MICHELLE THIBODEAUX, SKYLA PAIGE THOMAS, REGINALD THOMAS, SARAH CROSSLAND TRAHAN, BRITTANY CLAIRE TRAINER, ELIJAH TURNER, JASON WAYNE VALENZUELA, NATALIA ELENA VENABLE, SPENCER ELIAS VIATOR, RYAN JOSEPH VIDAL, THOMAS EDWARD VILLARREAL, SHERLYN VALERIA WAGNER, VERLINDA A WASHINGTON, BRIANA ANASTASIA WASHINGTON, REGINA RENEE WEBER, CHLOE EILEEN WEBSTER, CRYSTAL NICOLE WELLS, VALERIE WILLIS WEST, JASON FARRELL WHITE, MARY S WHITE, DAVIS EDWIN WIGGINS, SARAH LYNN PATTERSON WILLIAMS, STACY B JONES WILLIAMS, TRADAIJA ANGELLE WILLIAMS, RICKEY WILSON, JAMIE ROMERO WILSON, JANNA KIRSTEN WILTZ, JOSEPH L WINTERS, TOMMIE GANTT WOFFORD, GLEN TERRY XU, YINGFENG YOUNG, ELIZABETH MARY ZAUNBRECHER, FREDERICK ZENO, JAYLON JAMAL

184016-637455-MAY 3-1T $ 396.90

8D ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

g located at 705 West Uni‐ versity Avenue, Lafayette, LA 70506. Tele‐ phone number (337) 2917187 (Attn: Thomas Me‐ trejean). Bidding docu‐ ments shall be available until twenty-four (24) hours before the bid opening date.

siding in this state. The certified check, cashier’s check, or bid bond shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder shall exe‐ cute the contract, should it be awarded to him, in conformity with the con‐ tract documents within ten (10) days.

Lafayette Consolidated Government

No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyfive (45) days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Each bid shall be submitted only on the bid form provided with the specifications.

PUBLIC NOTICE ---

Bidder must be properly licensed in accordance with LA RS 32:1254 and must include valid copy of said license in the bid submitted in accordance with LA 38:2212.8.

Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the Lafayette Consolidated Government, the amount of which shall be five percent (5%) of the base bid plus additive alter‐ nates. If a bid bond is used, it shall be written by a surety or insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list bonding of approved companies which is pub‐ lished annually in the Federal Register, or by a Louisiana domiciled in‐ surance company with at least an A-Rating in the latest printing of the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide to write individual bonds up to ten percent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as shown in the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide, or by an insurance com‐ pany in good standing li‐ censed to write bid bonds which is either domiciled in Louisiana or owned by Louisiana resi‐ dents. The bid bond shall be issued by a company licensed to do business in Louisiana and counter‐ signed by a person who is under contract with re‐

Bids will be evaluated by the Purchaser based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid sub‐ mitted which is also in compliance with the bid documents.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in ac‐ cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ dated Government strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) in all con‐ tracts or procurements let by the Lafayette Con‐ Government solidated for goods and services and labor and material.

To that end, all contrac‐ tors and suppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐ prises in the purchase or sub-contracting of mate‐ rials, supplies, services and labor and material in which disadvantaged business are available.

Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling 2918410.

PURCHASING DIVISION

PUBLISH DATES: 4/28/26, 5/3/26 DPR # 1005687 185500 April 28, May 3, 2t $139.58

PUBLIC NOTICE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Notice is hereby given that sealed proposals will be received ONLY in the office of the Purchas‐ ing Division at Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐ ment Building, located at 705 W. University, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70506 until (10:00 AM Central Standard Time) on Friday, May 29, 2026 for the following: BANKING SERVICES And will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and the Proposers Name only will be read aloud in the Pur‐ chasing Office located at 705 West University Av‐ enue, Lafayette, LA. Pro‐ posals received after the above specified time will not be considered and shall be returned un‐ opened to the sender.

The bid opening will be available to attend via zoom. Attendance is not mandatory. The pass‐ code is 008489 and the in‐ vite link is https:// us02web.zoom.us/j/ 89640105244?pwd=NO1 VAG2GUW5eC0uVDlq rbGW7QUhnap.1 The meeting will be at the time of the bid open‐ ing.

Copies of the RFP specifi‐ i il bl

lll

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

p p cations are available at the Purchasing Office lo‐ cated at 705 West Univer‐ sity Avenue, Lafayette, LA, 70506, telephone number (337)291-8034, Attn: Keirston St. Amant.

p y draw his proposal for at least one hundred twenty (120) days after the time scheduled for the opening of proposals.

Each proposal shall be submitted as provided in the specifications.

A mandatory pre-pro‐ posal will be REMOTE ONLY. The conference will be conducted to ad‐ dress any questions that may be posed by prospective proposers.

The conference will be held on May 12, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. The link to access the on‐ line meeting is https://us02web.zoom. us/j/88139604537? pwd=LpJAXPyo71Ixkkx c9SUG7JxIDuDMO3.1 The passcode is 768626.

Proposals received from persons not attending this conference will not be considered.

LCG reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals submitted.

LCG further reserves the right to make an award without further discus‐ sion of the proposal sub‐ mitted. Therefore, the proposal should be sub‐ mitted initially on the most favorable terms that the Vendor can offer. At its discretion, LCG reserves the right to request best and final of‐ fers from the RFP final‐ ists. The Vendor should be prepared to accept this RFP for incorpora‐ tion into a contract re‐ sulting from this RFP. The contract may incorpo‐ rate some or all of the Vendor’s proposal. It is understood that the pro‐ posal will become a part of the official file on this matter without obliga‐ tion to the LCG. No Proposer may with‐ d hi l f

The original written or electronic language of the proposal shall not be changed or altered ex‐ cept by approved written addendum issued by the Purchasing & Property Management Division. If Contractor’s submittal is discovered to contain al‐ terations or changes to the original written or electronic documents, the Contractor’s re‐ sponse shall be declared as “nonresponsive” and the response shall not be considered.

The Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment strongly encour‐ ages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) in all contracts or procure‐ ments let by the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment for goods and ser‐ vices and labor and ma‐ terial. To that end, all contractors and suppli‐ ers are encouraged to utilize DBEs in the pur‐ chase or sub-contracting of materials, supplier, services and labor and material in which disad‐ vantaged businesses are available. Assistance in identifying said busi‐ nesses may be obtained by calling 337-291-8410.

PURCHASING DIVISION LAFAYETTE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT PUBLISH DATES:

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

4/29/2026, 5/3/2026, 5/10/2026 DPR # 994728 185416-apr 29-may 3-103t $129.60

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --AGENDA BOARD OF ZONING AD‐ JUSTMENT *COMMUNITY DEVELOP‐ MENT AND PLANNING AU‐ DITORIUM 220 WEST WILLOW STREET, BUILDING B THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 5:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF ACTION SUMMARY Regular Meeting – April 9, 2026 III. OLD BUSINESS 1. CASE NO.: 2026-13-BOZ APPLICANT: Crawford Gossen LOCATION: 625 Roselawn Blvd REQUEST: Variance of the accessory apartment regulations in a RS-1 (Residential Single-Fam‐ ily) zoning district.

2. CASE NO.: 2026-17-BOZ APPLICANT: Scott Irwin / Big Sams Express Tires LOCATION: 301 E Willow St REQUEST: Variance of the open space, landscaping, buffer & parking require‐ ments in a CH (Commer‐ cial Heavy) zoning dis‐ trict.

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

IV. NEW BUSINESS 3. CASE NO.: 2026-20-BOZ APPLICANT: Johnston Marketplace LLC LOCATION: 4410 Johnston St REQUEST: Variance of the parking lot development standards in a CH (Com‐ mercial Heavy) zoning district.

4. CASE NO.: 2026-21-BOZ APPLICANT: Dennis LaFleur LOCATION: 200 N Lock‐ sley Dr REQUEST: Variance of the setback requirements for an accessory building in a RS-1 (Residential Sin‐ gle-Family) zoning dis‐ trict.

5. CASE NO.: 2026-22-BOZ APPLICANT: Audubon En‐ ergy LLC LOCATION: 528 W Taft St REQUEST: Variance of the accessory building and carport setback regula‐ tions in a RM-1 (Residen‐ tial Mixed) zoning dis‐ trict.

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --Agenda City Zoning Commission Public Meeting 5:30 P.M., or immediately following the conclusion of the Lafayette City Planning Commission, whichever occurs later Monday, May 18, 2026 Community Development and Planning Depart‐ ment 220 West Willow Street, Building C Town Hall Auditorium I. Call to Order II. Chair’s Opening Re‐ marks III. Approval of the Min‐ utes April 20, 2026 IV. New Business With respect to the fol‐ lowing items, the Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing and vote on a recommendation.

1. Case No. 2026-10-REZ 403B South Buchanan Street CUP

6. CASE NO.: 2026-23-BOZ APPLICANT: Cristian Brothers Construction LOCATION: 605 Roselawn Blvd REQUEST: Variance of the residential setback re‐ quirements in a RS-1 (Residential Single-Fam‐ ily) zoning district.

A request for a Condi‐ tional Use Permit (CUP) for a bar/lounge in a D (Downtown) zoning dis‐ trict located generally north of Jefferson Street, west of Garfield Street, and south of Buchanan Street. Deferred from April 20, 2026.

V. OTHER BUSINESS

2. Case No. 2026-5-REZ 2000 Block South College Road Rezoning

VI. ADJOURNMENT *Alternate location: Town Hall Auditorium, 220 W Willow Street, Building C 186203-may 3-1t $21.90

A request to rezone prop‐ erty from CH (Commer‐ cial-Heavy) to RM-1 (Res‐ idential Mixed) located generally north of South College Road, west of Market Place, and south of Oak Branch. Deferred

When you need the news.

Wherever you read the news.

The newspaper of record for Acadiana

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

from April 20, 2026.

3. Case No. 2026-11-REZ 111 Porter Lane Annexa‐ tion A request for a zoning classification of RS-1 (Residential Single-Fam‐ ily) for property pro‐ posed for annexation into the city of Lafayette located generally north of Porter Lane, west of Saint Margarite Street, and south of Marcelle Drive.

V. Other Business 1. Briefing: Greig Street and Street of Love Ad‐ ministrative Rezoning 2. Director’s Report and review of Lafayette City Council action on mat‐ ters previously consid‐ ered by the Zoning Com‐ mission.

3. Discussion Item: Com‐ missioner’ Workshop 4. Discussion Item: Sepa‐ rate Planning and Zoning Commission Meetings VI. Adjournment 186040-may 3-13-17-3t $88.12

STAY INFORMED

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

TALKING BUSINESS La. Fish Fry CEO fanning the flames of national growth 3E

ONE BIG QUESTION Local small-business owners identify challenges 7E

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

|

S u n d ay, M ay 3, 2026

1En

STORMING THE FIELDS

‘We’re not saturated yet’: Louisiana’s local leaders hope for economic gains from youth sports complexes

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Last weekend at the Youngsville Sports Complex near Lafayette, 70 teams competed in a youth baseball tournament, hundreds of people played soccer nearby and ESPN trucks were there to broadcast the Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship games also happening on-site.

For Josh Smith, Youngsville’s assistant director of parks and recreation, the level of activity was nothing special.

“It was a quiet weekend, actually,” he said.

Welcome to the booming world of youth travel sports, which has transformed out-of-the-way areas across Louisiana — like a sugar cane field in Youngsville — into complexes with meticulously maintained playing surfaces, high-tech lighting and camera systems, busy concessions booths, concert venues and other creature comforts for young athletes and their families.

Over the last dozen years, communities statewide have invested hundreds of millions in facilities in Broussard, Ruston, West Monroe, Baton Rouge, Westwego and other locations as the youth sports industry in the United States has grown into a $40 billion annual colossus.

Parents with the means to do so spend hundreds or thousands a year on registration fees, equipment, lessons and travel in an effort to give their young baseball, soccer or volleyball players a competitive edge.

That spending has many political and business leaders in Louisiana and nationwide seeing dollar signs.

Over the last 30 years, more than 100 large “destination”-style sports complexes have been built across the U.S., from Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida to the Rocky Top Sports World in Tennessee.

IDEAS &

INNOVATION

ä See COMPLEXES, page 2E

ABOVE: The Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship took place April 23-26 at the youngsville Sports Complex near Lafayette.

PROVIDED PHOTO

BOTTOM: John Alario Jr., former president of the Louisiana Senate and former speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, throws a baseball to his grandson Maddox Alario, 6, following the dedication ceremony of the new Alario youth Sports Complex on Jan. 23 in Westwego.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

State looks to be at center of new nuclear energy sector

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

For the past year, former SpaceX engineer Ben Kellie has been building a nuclear power company that will use new technology to provide cleaner and safer energy to large, industrial users like petrochemical refineries and artificial intelligence data centers.

Last week, Kellie came to New Orleans in search of the kind of deals and financing needed to grow his Los Angeles-based company, Applied Atomics, at the state’s first Nuclear Strategy and Supply Chain Summit.

Hosted by Louisiana Economic Development, the two-day event at the Windsor Court Hotel brought together more than 200 investors,

energy executives, industrial contractors and federal regulators to network, mingle and discuss all aspects of a nuclear energy sector that many experts believe is on the cusp of a new era of explosive growth.

“It was impressive to have such a broad-based coalition of people interested in nuclear power in one room with a common goal,” said Kellie, whose company helped sponsor the event. “I think everybody is trying to figure out where this is going to go and how we build up over time.”

Gov. Jeff Landry wants Louisiana to be at the center of whatever that new nuclear energy sector looks like.

At a global energy conference in March in Houston, Landry unveiled his nuclear energy strategy for the

state. It seeks to position Louisiana as a hub for nuclear power plant fabrication — building the modular components that will make up the next generation of plants. It also calls for expanding existing plants like Waterford 3 and Riverbend.

At the summit at the Windsor Court, LED began working through the details of what it will take to implement that strategy.

“We have 200 of the most impressive people in the industry upstairs,” LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois said ahead of the summit. “We want feedback and direction from them about what they need. This will lead to the work plan about building Louisiana out as a nuclear leader.”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Ben Kellie, CEO of Applied Atomics, leads a panel discussion Wednesday at the Louisiana Nuclear Strategy and Supply Chain Summit at the Windsor Court Hotel. Kellie came to New Orleans in search of the kind of ä See NUCLEAR, page 2E deals and financing needed to grow his Los Angeles-based company.

2E ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

NUCLEAR

Continued from page 1E

‘Nuclear renaissance’

Attendees at the summit included leaders in energy services and utilities — Bernhard C a p i t a l ’s principal Jeff Jenkins, Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip Toups May and Turner Industries CEO Stephen Toups, who announced at the summit that his industrial construction company is expanding its nuclear fabrication business in Louisiana.

Representatives from major corporations, including Dow, Meta and the venture capital arm of Nippon Steel, were there, too.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Ho K. Nieh opened the summit with remarks on the Trump administration’s priorities, while David LaCerte, a former Louisiana secretary of Veterans Affairs who now sits on the Federal Energy Regu-

COMPLEXES Continued from page 1E

Though not on the same scale as the country’s largest facilities, Louisiana’s sports complexes serve locals throughout the week and tournaments on the weekends, bringing in revenue through rental fees, sponsorships and concessions while boosting local economies by hosting visitors needing meals, lodging and entertainment. Small businesses — from restaurants to T-shirt shops and entertainment centers — have cropped up around the complexes to provide related services.

Though popular, these sites — which are often built with public funds — can be controversial, as some studies question their economic benefits and others show the growth of travel teams is an unfair advantage for wealthy families.

In Youngsville, Mayor Ken Ritter said the investment in the town’s complex has paid off by balancing community access with Ritter rentals to tournament organizations.

“It definitely put us on the map,” Ritter said. “It’s a huge driver of quality of life, which has fueled population growth here.”

Tale of 2 sports complexes Neighboring cities Youngsville and Broussard — both suburbs of Lafayette — show how sports tourism can spark growth.

On the same day in 2011, residents in both towns voted to implement new sales taxes that would support their parks and recreation departments and raise money to build complexes that would be used by the community and also serve travel tournaments.

The now-121-acre Youngsville facility opened in 2014 on donated sugar cane fields.

The 122-acre Broussard Sports Complex debuted three years later, and leaders in both towns say the complexes have fueled dramatic growth.

In Youngsville, the city’s population grew from 11,000 in 2014 to over 20,000 this year, and many of the newcomers are regular users of the complex their tax dollars support. On weekends, they share the space with visitors coming from as far away as Japan, China and Venezuela. Combined, the locals and visitors led to 1.5 million visits to the site last year, according to parks and rec data.

Broussard’s sports complex, about 16 minutes northeast, had about 1 million visits in 2025, generating $21 million in related spending in a town that historically has been a hub for oil industry-related businesses. The population has climbed to about 17,000, a

latory Commission, hosted a “fireside chat.”

They were joined by dozens of investors and executives from companies that want a piece of what Landry in his opening remarks called “the world’s second nuclear renaissance.”

One attendee was scouting for sites to build what his company says will be a $7 billion facility that turns nuclear waste into fuel for nuclear power plants. Another was looking for opportunities for his London-based company, which plans to build small modular nuclear reactors atop offshore platforms.

Kellie is looking for a site in New Orleans for a testing and training center for Applied Atomics. The facility will house a nonnuclear simulator — a scaled-down version of one of the company’s power plants — that will also be used to train future employees.

“SpaceX didn’t reinvent the rocket. They took existing rocket technology and modernized it,” Kellie said of Applied Atomics’ business model. “That is what we are trying to do with nuclear — make it affordable, easier

lll

to build using modern soft- mand for power sources that do not emit the greenhouse ware to bring down cost.” gasses that cause extreme Cleaner, safer? weather.

Environmentalists note Landry’s focus on nuclear power aligns with President that while nuclear power Donald Trump’s interests. is cleaner in some respects The Trump administration than natural gas, it is not a has invested billions in nu- truly clean energy source, clear energy and pushed to like wind and solar, and its speed up the regulatory ap- radioactive waste carries proval process for new and health and safety risks.

Experts say the latest expanded nuclear power versions of cooling technolplants.

The movement long pre- ogy used in the kind of mini dates both the sitting presi- power plants generating a dent and governor. Presi- lot of the buzz at the moment dent Barack Obama started — small modular reactors paving the way for more that can be deployed behind nuclear power nearly two the fence of large individual decades ago. And President users or in energy “parks” Joe Biden’s 2021 Bipartisan that serve a group of sevInfrastructure Law and 2022 eral plants and refineries — Inflation Reduction Act both are safer than those used in set aside billions for new older plants. nuclear capacity.

“It’s fundamentally the At the state level, former same technology but smaller Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Lou- machines and in the process isiana Climate Action Plan in of making them smaller they 2022 included nuclear in the have invested in inherent recommendations to meet or passive safety,” said Mia goal of net-zero carbon chael Corradini, professor emissions by 2050. In 2023, emeritus in the Department the Louisiana Public Service of Nuclear Engineering and Commission unanimously Engineering Physics at the approved a directive to University of Wisconsinstudy new nuclear plants in Madison. the state.

Experts also point out Driving the interest is de- that even among the legacy

plants, like Waterford 3 and Riverbend, the safety record is good.

“Riverbend and Waterford 3 have been very well-run plants,” Corradini said. “It’s important to remember also that even with Three Mile Island (the Pennsylvania nuclear plant that nearly melted down in 1979), nobody was lost or hurt on-site.”

Chernobyl, the high-profile Russian disaster in 1986, was different. “That was a faulty design,” he said.

Bench strength

Atomics chief marketing officer. “We need someone to finance build-out of construction.”

Toups, of Turner Industries, believes Louisiana’s biggest role in the emerging nuclear sector will be in doing the kind of work his company does — fabricating the modular components that are portable, smaller and can be reassembled on-site for individual users.

“There are hundreds of companies like us that are going to make up this nuclear supply chain … building the stuff, the pipes, the modules, the subassemblies that are going to go in all the nuclear reactors,” he said.

Toups said Louisiana’s deep bench strength in industrial construction — seven of the 10 largest industrial construction companies in the U.S., including Turner, are based in the state — make Louisiana well positioned to build nuclear power plants.

“If there is a boiler maker or a pipe maker anywhere in the globe, they came from Louisiana,” he said.

The bigger challenge for widespread deployment of nuclear power at the moment is the cost. Nuclear power is expensive to build and the handful of projects in recent years have been built have come in late and over budget.

New designs take time to demo and scale up. Companies looking to ramp up are looking for clients and financing. Applied Atomics, which is backed by venture capital, has raised $8 million so far. It needs a lot more.

“We need companies that Email Stephanie Riegel need green power,” said at stephanie.riegel@ Leigh D’Angelo, Applied theadvocate.com.

roughly 30% jump since the complex opened.

Lafayette’s convention and visitor’s bureau and its economic development agency support both facilities, and their operators say there’s enough demand to justify both.

“We partner with Youngsville because some tournaments are too big for any one facility to host,” said Broussard Mayor Ray Bourque. “We understand our economy is bigger than our borders.”

Region’s biggest?

Youngsville and Broussard are some of Louisiana’s first big travel sports facilities. Several others have followed suit.

The 185-acre Ruston Sports Complex, completed in 2022, notched a half-million visits last year and is contributing to the growth of a once-sleepy town of about 22,000 people that will soon be home to the $370 million Radiance Technologies microchip packaging facility and the state’s first Buc-ee’s.

A few weeks ago, the facility hosted 92 travel baseball teams, which used every available field, according to Matt Cotton, the town’s parks and rec director.

Bourque For families of players who can’t attend every game in person, fancy cameras use artificial intelligence to track the ball to stream the action online.

About 30 miles east of Ruston’s playing fields, the West Monroe Sports & Event Center opened in 2024 with indoor space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and more.

In January, the New Orleans area welcomed the $45 million John Alario Jr. Youth Sports Complex. Leaders of the Westwego facility, which hosted its first travel tournament in February, are already hoping for an expansion that would bring dormitory-style rooms for teams.

One of the facility’s draws is its proximity to New Orleans.

“When you come here, you get to go on a swamp tour or take a side trip to the French Quarter,” said Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. “When my kids played travel sports, we were often stuck in a gym in the middle of nowhere with a crappy motel and bad coffee.”

In Baton Rouge, Elite Training Academy opened its indoor sports facility in 2024, and the owners are already planning a massive expansion.

Last week, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council paved the way for a tax incentive to support the academy’s plan to build what could be the biggest indoor sports in the region.

The business’s investors include billionaire Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane’s restaurants, and Joe

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

With the TPC Louisiana golf course at rear, a 90-acre swath of land sits along Nicolle Boulevard where plans call for buidling a $20.6 million-plus youth sports complex between Avondale and Marrero. The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District is building the complex, and Jefferson Parish will operate it.

Burrow, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and former LSU star.

Lake Charles is also getting in on the act, planning an indoor sports complex on the site of the demolished Capital One Tower using $23 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds.

Expenses add up Despite the optimism and investment in youth sports, some say complex operators need to set realistic expectations.

Ritter, the Youngsville mayor, said his town’s facility finished last year in the red, with $1.6 million in revenue and $3.8 million in expenses.

“Insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance all add up, so the complex is supported by a dedicated sales tax,” he said. “Our community made that investment early.”

Critics say the growth of travel sports — prompting families to spend thousands a year — excludes low-income kids. There also have been high-profile failures. In Arizona, one of the country’s biggest sports complexes — the 320-acre Bell Bank Park — filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The site was sold later that year and rebranded Arizona Athletic Grounds.

But in communities like Broussard and Youngsville, where the complexes have become part of everyday life, those concerns are far removed.

Kristi Comeaux, owner of the custom screen-printing and embroidery business LDD Concepts in Youngsville, has seen business and personal benefits from the town’s investment because her company makes shirts and souvenirs for leagues and teams, and her family members are regulars on game nights.

“Our sixth grader plays track, softball and soccer and we’re basically at the complex several times a week,” she said. “They keep it clean and safe, so she walks around the place like she owns it.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

FUTURE-READY SKILLS FOR TODAY’S WORKFORCE. Advance your career or empower your team with LSU Professional Development.

LEARN MORE AT CE.LSU.EDU/PD

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3E

lll

TALKING BUSINESS A S K T H E E X P E RT S

Fish fry producer sets growth strategy to boil Q&A WITH JOE TUZA

BY IANNE SALVOSA

Staff writer

Louisiana Fish Fry Products CEO Joe Tuza says he plans to make the Baton Rouge brand a national player.

Tuza is a newcomer to Louisiana and started his role last summer, previously working in Richmond, Virginia, for Sauer Brands, best known for Duke’s Mayonnaise.

Tuza sees a parallel between the loyal consumer bases of the 100-year-old condiment brand and the Louisiana Fish Fry Products, which was started in 1982

by Tony’s Seafood founder Tony Pizzolato.

The company already has a footprint across the country, with its top-selling fish fry mix present in 90% of grocery stores in America. Louisiana Fish Fry Products rakes in over $100 million in annual revenue and has more than 200 employees spread across its headquarters and production facility, distribution centers and warehouses.

“Being new here, I had misconceptions about Cajun food,” Tuza said in an interview at the company’s Plank Road headquarters, next door to Tony’s Seafood.

“People will say it’s too spicy, or it’s too complicated, or ‘I wouldn’t even know where to start to make that.’ Part of what we’re trying to do is demystify Cajun food for consumers and making it simpler for them.”

In this week’s Talking Business, Tuza talks reaching new consumers, sales growth and goals as the company’s new leader.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you talk a little bit about the audience you’re trying to reach?

I think the home chef hasn’t gone away. There might be more time crunch than they’ve had in the past.

One of the pieces that benefit us, particularly, say, a gumbo or

LOUISIANA FISH FRy PRODUCTS CEO

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

CEO Joe Tuza aims to grow the national customer base for Louisiana Fish Fry Products, the Baton Rouge-based brand started in 1982. The company already has a footprint across the country, with its top-selling fish fry mix present in 90% of grocery stores in America. jambalaya, is that proteins have become more readily available and easier to manage.

When you start thinking about mom, who’s leaving work at 4 or 5 and trying to figure out what’s for dinner that night. Because the kids are coming home from school or practice, and she’s like, well, “I have some sausage in the fridge, and I have a rotisserie chicken that I bought. What am I going to do with it?”

Those types of products for us, we call them our bases. Those types of products are really quick.

You can make products on a Tues-

day night, and you can have a Cajun meal in 30 minutes. That’s who we’re targeting with those types of products.

What are some of your other goals and priorities as leader of the company?

It’s critical that we remain a key part of Baton Rouge. It’s critical that we maintain the homeliness that the kind of part of the community that we are and maintain that.

We have employees who have been here for 40 years working here, and so there’s something right going on. My goal is to make sure that I understand what works

in that culture and how we amplify that going forward. That’s really critical for us.

Of course, sales growth is critical. Expansion is critical for us as an organization to survive. It’s a good opportunity for us to bring Cajun to the world. Our competitors aren’t necessarily Cajun companies.

Some of them sell Cajun foods and that we compete against, but not many of them wake up every day like I do and think nothing but Cajun food, and I think that’s what helps differentiate us as well is we as a company are 100% focused on the categories we are in.

What have you noticed among other companies that work in a similar vein, and are there any challenges or certain trends that you all may be experiencing right now?

If you’re running a soft drink business, you know 99% of households are going to buy soft drinks.

If you’re running a crawfish boil company, your opportunity is a little bit more limited. That probably is one of the tougher pieces we’re up against.

We do a really good job of the folks who buy us, they buy us a lot and so we will get folks who will buy our products, six, seven, eight, times a year, which is a lot for what we sell. How do we get those folks who aren’t buying us in the household ever, any of our products or any of our category to go, “Hmm, I should do something different for dinner tonight. What should I do?”

What we’re trying to do is offer as many solutions as we can.

How are you going to get there?

We have opportunities to get our products in the grocery store and distribution. We have one product that’s in 90% of grocery stores in America. The next product below that is in about 50%.

Our rates stay low so your bills can too At Entergy, our 12,000 employees work hard every day to maintain energy rates below the national average. We’re investing in new generation and reliability initiatives — while also attracting new large customers who can help offset some of the costs and keep your bills as low as possible.

A message from Entergy Corporation © 2026 Entergy Services, LLC. All rights reserved.

Just basic fundamentals, if we could get four or five items into 90% of the grocery stores in America instead of just one, that, by itself, is what I would call just sales execution, just getting it in the store, the first part.

The other area for us is going to be innovation. We’ve recently launched a number of new items that are that early on are showing great success. We came out with a Cajun Reserve boil, a premium crawfish boil or seafood boil product, came out with some new bases, seafood bisque, jambalaya, and we’re coming out with red beans and rice bases, so people can sometimes ... make products easily and quickly at home and in under 30 minutes.

Any plans in the near future to increase your team?

As the business grows, we definitely will. We’ve added a few new roles since I started here.

In the last six months, we’ve added some new roles under research and development to be able to make sure we’re creating some really great new products.

We’ve added a few sales roles.

Today, I went out and walked the plant with our vice president of operations, and tried to say, where are our bottlenecks if we were to grow this percent? We’re already having those conversations as to what’s next.

We’re adding headcount as needed. We’re looking to see where we can invest as needed, and we’re excited about where the growth is going to come from and how we’re going to get there.

We start moving into product lines that we can’t make here, we will use outside manufacturing the order to meet demands, but as of right now, most of which everything we make is made right here.

4E ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

AROUND THE REGION

Hancock Whitney is venturing into north Mississippi Newest branch marks bank’s ‘next chapter’

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Hancock Whitney Bank is continuing to expand beyond its traditional Gulf Coast base.

The Gulfport, Mississippi-based bank — which has a major presence in New Orleans — is opening a new branch in June in a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi.

The new Flowood financial services center, which joins a second Jackson-area location that’s been in operation for less than a decade, is one of only a dozen or so Hancock Whitney branches north of Interstate 20, which cuts across north Louisiana and bisects central Mississippi.

Most of the institution’s nearly 200 locations are clustered near the Gulf Coast in five states from

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

The Gulfport, Miss.-based Hancock Whitney Bank, which has a major presence in New Orleans, is expanding beyond its traditional Gulf Coast boundary.

Texas to Florida.

The planned opening signals the bank’s new focus on a metro area of about 600,000 people that’s less than a three-hour drive from its headquarters but wasn’t part of its footprint for more than a century.

“Our planned Flowood financial center represents the next chapter in our continued growth across the Jackson metro area,” Leigh Pace,

the bank’s area market president, said in a prepared statement.

“We’re growing with purpose to meet the evolving financial needs of Mississippians.”

Hancock County Bank was founded in 1899 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It acquired its New Orleans-based rival Whitney Bank in 2011 and a few years later began its expansion into central Mississippi. Now Hancock Whitney is the largest bank headquartered in the region.

Today, the institution has more than $35 billion in assets, $29 billion in deposits and about 3,600 employees. Roughly a third are located in greater New Orleans, and about half of that team works in Hancock Whitney’s downtown building, 701 Poydras St., the former One Shell Square.

Hancock Whitney declined through a spokesperson to comment on the planned expansion.

In an interview last year, however,

Hancock Whitney’s Greater New Orleans regional director, Liz Hefler, said the bank plans to grow by acquisition and continues to evaluate potential transactions.

Last year, it acquired the Tampa, Florida-based wealth management firm Sabal Trust Co. Hefler said the bank has been aiming to grow its market share by adding more consumer accounts, hiring more small-business bankers and growing loans, deposits and fee income in the middle market space, which includes companies with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion.

As of June 30, the most recent date for which figures are available, Hancock Whitney was the second-largest bank in Louisiana, with a nearly 13% share of the market, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It has less than 6% of the market in Mississippi, where it is the state’s sixthlargest bank.

Like its competitors large and small, Hancock Whitney is navigating challenges and opportunities unique to 2026.

Slowly falling interest rates mean lower loan yields but potentially more demand, and uncertainty surrounding commercial real estate — the office market, in particular — could mean credit losses, experts say.

Regional banks, meanwhile, struggle to compete with the economies of scale buoying their big bank competitors when trying to keep up with expensive technology and fraud prevention costs.

In that atmosphere, many banks are prioritizing fee-based income from wealth management and other services.

The new Jackson-area Hancock Whitney branch will offer personal, commercial and small business banking, along with wealth management, lending and other financial services.

ACADIANA INBOX Grant Guillotte was named executive vice president and chief banking officer of Crowleybased First National Bank of Louisiana.

Guillotte brings decades of experience to the position.

Guillotte His last job was as southwest Louisiana regional president for Hancock Whitney and he held leadership roles with CapSchmolke ital One. Guillotte is a graduate of LSU and a native of Franklin.

The bank also named Audrey Schmolke as senior vice president and private banking program manager.

Schmolke, previously a vice president and private banker at Red River Bank, will lead the development of First National Bank’s private banking program.

Buttross

Kieu

Brahan

First Horizon Bank added two associates and promoted a third team member.

Eddie Buttross was promoted to commercial banking group manager and will oversee commercial banking efforts in the market.

Christine Kieu was hired as senior private client relationship manager. She has 25 years of banking experience.

Melinda Brahan was named treasury management sales officer.

Acadian Ambulance’s National EMS Academy graduated 20 emergency medical professionals after they com-

B&G Foods operates more than 200 Taco Bell locations along the Gulf Coast.

engagement strategies for chambers of commerce. Participants will receive training and tools to effectively comEight business leaders will municate One Acadiana’s imchair teams of business and pact on region. community leaders Tuesday through Thursday for One Abigail Benoit was named seAcadiana’s 2026 Membership nior director of business manEvent. agement with Chairs include Landon BouAcadian Ambulance. dreaux, SLEMCO; Brad Gaubert, Benoit has Keaty Real Estate; Maurisha over 18 years LeJeune, Ameriprise Financial; in health care John Nugent, BeLocal Acadiana; operations Kayla Patel, Louisiana Works; and business Mary Pham, Acadian Ambudevelopment, lance; and Jaci Russo, Bran- Benoit including 13 dRUSSO. Co-chairs will be Corey Jack, Jack & Associates, years working with skilled and Diogo Tavares, of Northwest- nursing facilities before transitioning into hospice care. ern Mutual.

Greg Hamer, president of MorShe will oversee the comThe event is in partnership gan City-based B&G Foods, with Your Chamber Connec- pany’s business development was named as a member of tion, a nationally recognized team and focus on growth, Better Louisiana during the firm known for specializing retention, administration and first quarter. in innovative and high-impact more.

pleted a 12-week program of medical education.

Local graduates include Logan Abshire, of Morse; Nicholas Brasseaux, of Carencro; McKenna Chaisson, of New Iberia; Rhe’Monnie Francis, of Lafayette; Esteban Garcia, of Broussard; Raquel Gautreaux, of Duson; Charles Herring, of New Iberia; Verlin Idleman, of Lafayette; and Leslie Madrigal, of Bunkie.

Also, Connor McGee, of Carencro; Elizabeth Menier, of Ville Platte; Kevin Oppenheimer, of New Iberia; Damien Patterson, of Rayne; Tiffany Simpson, of Broussard; William Smalley, of Lafayette; Sydette Stelly, of Abbeville; Hunter Trahan, of Abbeville; and Taylor Turks, of Lafayette.

How is natural gas used in your home?

You might be surprised.

From heating and hot water to cooking and laundry, many everyday appliances rely on natural gas to operate efficiently and safely.

deltautilities.com

SAFE

RELIABLE

AFFORDABLE

Delta Utilities invests more

Natural gas keeps your heat, stove,

When cutting costs

than $100 million every

and hot water running — even when

matters, Louisiana

year so your gas keeps

the power goes out. When hurricane

families can save an

flowing, and your family

season arrives, that reliability isn’t

average of $723 a year by

stays safe.

just convenient, it’s essential.

heating with natural gas.

lll

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 5E

The future just landed in the Bayou.

Flying taxis have left the pages of science fiction for Terrebonne Parish.

Louisiana is one of just a handful of states selected by the FAA to test the next generation of aircraft.

The LIFTOff Louisiana program will generate the realworld safety and operational data necessary to guide responsible aviation policy across the country.

From shipyards to skyways, Louisiana is helping to shape what comes next.

The Future Flows Through Louisiana

6E ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

BUILDING PERMITS Issued April 22-28

Commercial alterations

GAS STATION: 812 Vincent Road, description, Live Oak Gas Station; applicant, SPEC; contractor, Dev Banga; $1 million.

RETAIL: 1879 W. Pinhook Road, description, Planet Fitness to move into Office Depot location; applicant and contractor, The MT Studio; $1.5 million.

INDUSTRIAL: 2200 Cameron St., description, covered canopy area for Louisiana Scrap; applicant, D+B Architecture; contractor, Thomson Brothers

Construction, $150,000.

APARTMENTS: 200 Oak Crest Drive, description, work at a unit at The Genesis Lafayette apartments; applicant and contractor, Acadiana Construction Group; $110,000.

APARTMENTS: 200 Oak Crest Drive, description, work at a unit at The Genesis Lafayette apartments; applicant and contractor, Acadiana Construction Group; $110,000.

CHURCH: 205 E. Bayou Parkway, description, work on St. Pius X Catholic Church; applicant, Hoffpauir Studio; contractor, J.B. Mouton; $750,000.

MEDICAL: 310 Youngsville Highway, description, dumpster enclosure for Oceans Behavioral Health of Acadiana Hospital; applicant and contractor, The Lemoine Co.; $20,000.

New commercial

INDUSTRIAL: 6133 U.S. 90 E., Broussard; description, warehouse; applicant, Jacam Building C; contractor, Trident of Lafayette; $250,000.

Commercial demolition

PHARMACY: 616 Jefferson Blvd., description, none listed

for Jefferson Pharmacy; applicant and contractor, Castle Row Construction; $10,000.

OTHER: 805 Rue du Belier, description, carport demolition; applicant and contractor, Rise Construction; $5,000.

OTHER: 415 Dorothy St., description, none listed; applicant and contractor, Romel Enterprises; $10,000.

New residential

391 LA. 1252, CARENCRO: Belaire Development & Construction, $514,750.

627 WHITMORE ROAD, SCOTT: Southwest Louisiana Builders,

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Supreme Rice to fund SoLAcc scholarships

Officials with Supreme Rice donated $25,200 to South Louisiana Community College as part of a continued partnership for workforce development.

The money will fund two $2,100 scholarships each of the next six semesters for students in SoLAcc’s welding and electrician programs, two high-demand fields, school officials announced.

“We know from our recent economic impact study that one out of every 97 jobs in Acadiana is connected to SoLAcc and its graduates,” said Lana Fontenot, vice chancellor for institutional advancement and executive director of the foundation for SoLAcc. “Partnerships with employers like Supreme Rice ensure that impact continues to grow.”

Office Depot’s lease with the shopping center ends in October and the store is expected to close by then, said Ryan Pecot, senior retail leasing and development adviser with Stirling Properties.

No details were available for Planet Fitness’ plans for the building, but the work is valued at $1.5 million.

Office Depot has quietly closed stores in recent years, reports indicate. The brand has closed about 1,100 stores since it merged with competitor OfficeMax in 2023.

The store has been there since summer 1996, when the shopping center was anchored by an Old America Store.

The shuttered Pizza Hut location next door could have a tenant soon, Pecot said. Negotiations are ongoing with another restaurant concept for the space.

Office Depot to close UL unveils FabLab Pinhook location at LEED Center A big-box office supply re-

tailer in midcity Lafayette will close later this year and a fitness chain will move into the space.

Planet Fitness was granted a building permit from Lafayette Consolidated Government to begin construction on the Office Depot space at 1879 W. Pinhook Road, documents show.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Center and Office of Innovation Management held a ribboncutting for its new fabrication laboratory.

The LEED center opened the REDII Works FabLab with a ribbon-cutting and

open house as guests can tour the space, see equipment demonstrations and learn how the FabLab will serve the community.

The lab is a free public makerspace designed to help entrepreneurs, students, creators and small businesses move ideas into action. It features 3D printers, computers, a vinyl cutter and a laser cutter and engraver for prototyping, design and small-scale production.

The lab was made possible through U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, part of the Rural Economic Development Innovation Initiative that supports business development in rural communities across Acadiana.

International grocer set for Bismillah site The building that last housed an international grocery store in Lafayette will reopen under new ownership.

A limited liability company registered to Sajid Dadwani, of Beaumont, Texas, bought the building at 2441 W. Congress St. and said he plans to open Desi Mart, a specialty grocery and kitchen that has locations in Lake Charles and Beaumont.

The Bismillah Grocery closed at that location last year after a seven-year run.

“We know the community

has missed having a reliable specialty grocer in this spot,” he said.

Plans include renovating the building and offering Indian and Pakistani grocery items, a halal meat department and a kitchen offering biryani, samosas and daily curries, Dadwani said.

M C Bank takeover gets federal OK The takeover of M C Bank by a group led by former IberiaBank executive Daryl Byrd got federal approval, bank officials announced.

The Federal Reserve’s board of governors granted regulatory approval of the proposed merger between the bank and Byrd’s group, DMMS Purchaser, and M C Bank.

The move will establish M C Bank as a stronger, more competitive financial institution, officials from both groups said.

The group indicated it will expand to the Atlanta and Baton Rouge markets.

M C Bank has branch offices across south Louisiana, including offices in Lafayette and Youngsville, and announced plans to build a multistory, full-service banking center in the Ambassador Town Center in Lafayette.

$612,125.

328 ACORN DRIVE: JW Contractors Group, $613,625.

307 CASTLE VINE WAY: Bailey Home Builders, $951,625.

121 CARROLLTON CIRCLE: SAAS Services, $975,000.

119 HAMILTON PARC WAY: Manuel Builders, $302,000.

203 ROSENSTIEL COURT: DSLD, $174,500.

405 JUDICE LANE, DUSON: DSLD, $279,375.

613 WHISPERING MEADOWS DRIVE, BROUSSARD: E.J. Rock Construction, $280,000.

120 CYPRESS RIDGE DRIVE, BROUSSARD: Van Alan Homes,

Fool’s School: Private equity

The most familiar way to invest in companies is through the stock market, where big and small investors can buy shares Motley of publicly traded busiFool nesses. Another way is via private equity firms that bypass the public markets.

In a nutshell, private equity firms typically raise money from institutions and wealthy investors and then buy (or help finance) private or public companies. (When public companies are bought, they are generally taken private, meaning shares are no longer publicly available.) The private equity firm will usually then manage the acquired companies, aiming to increase their value and eventually sell them for a profit. Sometimes that involves breaking up a company and selling it in pieces; sometimes aggressive cost-cutting involves sizable layoffs. It’s also common for private equity firms to take on debt to acquire companies (“leveraged buyouts”), and the acquirees are often saddled with much of that debt.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there’s a dark side to pri-

Working What’s

in Greater New Orleans business

$215,430.

300 BENSON GROVE DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Andries Builders, $355,000.

111 SUMMIT HEIGHTS DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Jay Castille Construction, $550,000.

112 CYPRESS LAKE DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Azna Commercial, $435,000.

109 MAPLEBROOK WAY, UNIT B, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $142,675.

109 MAPLEBROOK WAY, UNIT A, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $142,675.

106 SOUNDVIEW WAY, YOUNGSVILLE: Van Alan Homes, $632,000.

vate equity. For example, a 2026 report from the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights titled “Private Equity and Healthcare: Balancing Profit With Wellness” noted, “Private equity firms have invested more than $1 trillion in debt-financed healthcare deals over the last decade — often at the expense of patient care.”

Meanwhile, private equity firms have also been investing in real estate. An NPR report stated “private equity was outbidding aspiring homeowners, making it more expensive to buy a home and pocketing the appreciation in home values.” And CNBC has reported, “Real estate investors, both individual and institutional, bought onethird of all single-family residential properties sold in the second quarter of 2025.”

A little digging online will turn up more criticism of private equity, with many critics concluding that it does more harm than good. Supporters argue that it helps struggling companies survive and, often, avoid bankruptcy. The largest private equity firms include Blackstone, KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts), The Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management and Brookfield Asset Management. (Some of these are themselves publicly traded companies.)

with Michael Hecht President & CEO GNO Inc.

New Orleans Is #1 in the Nation for Recent Grads As Jazz Fest 2026 wraps, it’s pretty easy to make the case for living in New Orleans based on culture alone. But a new national ranking makes it clear this is also one of the smartest places in the country for young workers to build a career.

Glassdoor and Redfin just named New Orleans the best mid-sized city in the country for recent college graduates. The 2026 Best U.S. Cities to Launch Your Career report ranked cities across 13 indicators that include housing affordability, career opportunity, and quality of life, analyzing millions of salary reviews, employer ratings, job postings, and home sales.

They call it the “full financial picture,” and New Orleans shows up strong across the board: • • • • •

Average early-career earnings: $57,414 Typical starter home price: $175,000 Monthly mortgage payment as % of income: 24% Monthly rent as % of income: 32% What makes it great: Job variety, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, and strong transit access

And those opportunities are real. Greater New Orleans offers diverse career paths across healthcare, energy, education, aerospace, hospitality, and more. Why does that matter? Because 43% of young professionals say career growth matters most to their quality of life. Creating pathways to those opportunities is a priority for local leaders. GNO, Inc.’s GNOu initiative connects employers and universities to build industry-aligned curriculum and better match talent with demand.

Read the full Redfin ranking here

Part of what puts New Orleans over the top doesn’t show up in a dataset. Walkable neighborhoods, live music every night, world-class food, and a cultural calendar unlike anywhere else are not just amenities. These are the community features that bring young professionals to Greater New Orleans and keeps them here.

This report comes as young workers across the country are actively deciding where to live. 89% of workers aged 20–29 say they would relocate for a job if the pay supports their ideal lifestyle, more than any other age group. If you know a recent grad weighing their career options, point them to WorkNOLA.com for local job listings and DestinationGNO.com for everything they need to know about making the move to Greater New Orleans.

Turns out the best city in America to start your career also has the best second line.

Read the Glassdoor ranking here

A greater choice for business

gnoinc.org

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 7E

lll

ONE BIG QUESTION

What’s the biggest challenge of running a small business in Louisiana?

BY JONAH MEADOWS

dealing with the erratic nature of tariffs, the instability of the economy, supply chain disruptions, managing changing client expectations.

Another big one is handling the cash flow crunches while still being able to grow. Resiliency is absolutely necessary as an entrepreneur if you want to succeed. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint at heart. It’s just absolutely not.

Staff writer

While large corporations tend to dominate the headlines of business pages, statistics show small businesses serve as the backbone of the American economy.

According to the most recent U.S. census data, companies with fewer than 100 employees generate $11.6 trillion in annual business revenue and account for more than 32% of all jobs at firms with employees nationwide.

In Louisiana, which had just three companies on last year’s Fortune 1000, such firms employ an even larger share of the workforce — 37.6% of employees — and generate $145.7 billion in revenue every year.

In honor of National Small Business Week, which kicks off Sunday, we wanted to hear from small business owners across the state.

In the latest installment of our occasional One Big Question feature, we asked six business owners “What is the biggest challenge of running your small business?”

Cajun Nation Cajun Seasoning Co. co-founder Alfonzo Bolden, left, with his brother Troy

ALFONZO BOLDEN

GREG AND LISA ROACHE

Co-founder and co-CEO, Cajun Nation Cajun Seasoning Co., Lafayette food producer

Everybody has a seasoning now — everybody — and the biggest challenge has been staying ahead of that. We use a major co-packer in this area, and those same seasoning companies are using the same co-packer.

The lead time, at one time, was two weeks. Now, it’s four to five weeks. So, we’re trying to locate a second co-packer so we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket. That’s been the biggest challenge.

Also, as of late, a big challenge is the fuel surcharges impacting our shipping. Recently, it may be up as much as 10%, so it really impacts the bottom line.

IAM CHRISTIAN TUCKER

President and CEO, ILSI Engineering, New Orleans civil engineering firm

PROVIDED PHOTO

Between the budget shortfalls of the city and Sewerage & Water Board and other various different agencies, it’s a lack of opportunity.

Funding is limited, the federal government isn’t spending like they were before and that lack of trickle -down is real. I mean, meaningful opportunity to lead to prime work and to be trusted with projects that match our actual capabilities.

The expertise is here, the experience is here, the past performance is here. What’s missing is the trust from public agencies to put that work in our hands as locals only, instead of constantly giving projects to large multinational firms that depend on small firms like ours to really get the local work done and to understand what’s under the street and what’s under the surface and what’s above it, how to navigate the agencies and how to get real results that keep projects moving forward.

We live here. We hire here. We invest here. We regenerate dollars here. We’re a part of the tax base.

The challenge is not whether small business can do the work, it’s whether we’re given the opportunity to prove it at the level that we know we can deliver.

plant management, all with strong President and CEO, Gainey’s semi-engineering skills. But then Concrete, Holden precast concrete we need unskilled people, too. So, manufacturer getting quality people into the Lisa Roache: The most difficult company is a challenge.

LR: Contributing to it is the fact thing is communication and making sure that everyone is on the that people can get medical marisame page and aligned. Greg has juana cards so readily. We have a a lot of ideas. He has more ideas zero tolerance for drug and alcohol in an hour than most people have at our company, and after we make in a lifetime. Someone needs to be them a job offer, they fail the preable to hone those, take them and employment drug screen. It’s a reexecute them. If not, it’s chaos in ally bad problem when you think a company. of all the effort, because everyone Greg Roache: I’m the president, gets interviewed three times.

Lisa is CEO, and we’re husband and wife and we’re 73% owners, NENETTE GRAY so it’s very unique that owners ac- Founder and CEO, Lemonade tually can fulfill these roles. In or- Creative Marketing, Baton Rouge marketing firm RUSSELL PERRONE der to run a precast plant, we need lots of skilled positions — project Navigating through uncertainty President and owner, Perrone & managers, estimators, safety, would be my biggest challenge — Sons, New Orleans produce distribu-

tor

The hardest part is insurance, both auto and wind-hail insurance.

You can drive down our streets and you see billboard after billboard of personal injury attorneys going after trucks.

Every time one of my trucks gets on the road with our name to advertise, we are a target for these lawyers to go after if we’re in an accident. That’s really put a damper on wanting to do business in the state.

We’ve been through the Great Depression, we’ve been through World War II, and each generation has faced their problems, but most of our problems are not related to a particular industry taking advantage of bodily injury payouts.

Every time I wake up with an alert on my phone, I hope it’s not an accident because even a little 5 mph fender bender winds up costing a couple hundred thousand dollars.

LAKEISHA ROBICHAUX

CEO, Chief of Minds, Baton Rouge organizational development firm

Maintaining the visionary role, because oftentimes we tend to want to put our hands in a little bit of everything, so getting out of the day-to-day operations of things can be a challenge. We’ll get a project that I’m very interested in, and I want to jump in and say, “Hey, what’s going on? I think we should do this.”

We have to trust our team to do the work and implement it, even though we’re excited about it. You have to be positioned to let that work flow like it’s supposed to flow, so I can make sure we’re getting the revenue, the projects, that we have great culture across the organization and that the systems are working like they’re supposed to.

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah. meadows@theadvocate.com.

LOOKING BEYOND:

Jones Walker on Representing Louisiana’s Construction Industry Leaders Pt. I

Beyond Blueprints.

Few industries depend on such a vast array of raw materials and high-tech products, or have such complex business relationships among suppliers, designers, vendors, or contractors as the construction industry.

Jones Walker’s Construction Team helps clients from across the industry manage all of these moving parts.

We understand the complex dynamics between — and the unique priorities of — industry participants and craft solutions that minimize disputes, manage risks, and help keep projects moving from conception to completion.

Our clients’ projects are equally diverse and include major infrastructure, manufacturing facilities and plants, hospitals, marine facilities, and airports, as well as the products and services necessary to complete such facilities.

Strategies to Protect Owners in High-Stakes Construction Disputes.

Large commercial construction projects often face disputes over delays, defective work, cost overruns, and subcontractor failures. For Louisiana project owners, resolving these conflicts is a legal obligation and business strategy. Early planning, contracts, and claims can turn setbacks into recovery opportunities, protecting investments and strengthening delivery.

Chris Cazenave

Effective preparation evaluates project risk and contract structure, since delivery methods and pricing shape responsibility. Indemnification Bill provisions, schedules, and liquidated damages provide leverage, while aligned litigation strategy Shaughnessy and early insurer involvement support business objectives. Documenting issues, preserving evidence, meeting bond requirements, and presenting supported claims enhance credibility, resolve disputes, and safeguard project success.

Jones Walker is proud to help lead the way for Louisiana’s construction industry as it navigates a complex legal environment.

William H. Hines Managing Partner bhines@joneswalker.com 504.582.8000

201 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70170-5100 joneswalker.com

Attorney Advertising. No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other attorneys.

LA-26-20226

Scan the QR code to read the full article.

ALABAMA | ARIZONA | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | FLORIDA | GEORGIA | ILLINOIS | KENTUCKY | LOUISIANA | MINNESOTA | MISSISSIPPI | NEW YORK | TEXAS

8E ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Global experience.

Louisiana expertise.

Gallagher is committed to serving Louisiana, combining client-centric service with global resources. We’re a trusted partner for businesses and individuals seeking insurance, risk management and consulting solutions.

Connect with your local broker today AJG.com/Louisiana | The Gallagher Way. Since 1927.

© 2026 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., and affiliates & subsidiaries | GGBUS108266

Menopause isn’t just hot flashes PAGE 3

DISCOVERy | INNOVATION | LIVING WELL

HEALTH

LOUISIANA

N O L A.C O M & T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

S U N D AY, M AY 3, 2026

Molly Kimball 1N

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Daniel Cressy, Louisiana’s first patient to receive gene therapy for sickle cell disease, leaves Manning Family Children’s Hospital in New Orleans on April 21. Staff members held a small parade for him as he walked from his room and went outside for the first time in weeks.

BACK AT HOME First Louisiana patient out of isolation following sickle cell gene therapy

BY MARGARET DELANEY

dictable chronic condition. Next week, Manning Family Children’s will begin the process of harvesting stem cells The first patient in Louisiana to re- from a 14-year-old from Monroe.

Sickle cell disease is a chronic condiceive genetically edited therapy for sickle cell disease went home this week tion that causes intense pain throughout after months in isolation at Manning the body, often leading patients to mulFamily Children’s Hospital in New Or- tiple hospitalizations in their lifetime.

With new gene editing, doctors hope this leans.

Daniel Cressy, 23, is one of many pa- will be a “functional cure” for those with tients in line to receive this treatment sickle cell.

Louisiana consistently ranks among for a possible cure for painful, unpre-

Staff writer

states with the highest sickle cell disease prevalence per capita. About 80 babies are diagnosed each year. Medicaid covers care for roughly 3,000 people with the condition, but the total number living with it is unknown, though the state is building a registry.

In 2023, 1,430 people were hospitalized with sickle cell disease in Louisiana.

Sickle cell disease manifests in the first year of life, but babies with the condition often appear completely healthy.

Most parents only learn their child has the condition after a routine heel prick in the hospital.

That’s because, during infancy, the body still relies on fetal hemoglobin, a type of oxygen-carrying protein that’s produced in the womb.

But, in sickle cell patients, the gene that makes fetal hemoglobin is turned off shortly after infancy. Those with

ä See THERAPY, page 2X

After surviving brain bleed, La. patient returns to health care

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

To Mackenzie Johnson, boredom was the enemy.

As a daughter to two basketball coaches and high school counselors in Dry Creek — just outside of DeRidder — she was always at the ready.

She was 19. She was in school.

She was a healthy, ex-college athlete. Then, in the fall of her sophomore year of nursing school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she started having unusual

symptoms: headaches, nausea, vomiting, ear pain and personality changes.

“I just didn’t care about anything,” Johnson said.

On her 20th birthday, when she was home for Thanksgiving, her mother insisted she go to the doctor. They went to the ER. Johnson was sent back home that night with a migraine diagnosis. The next morning, she woke up and told her parents there was something wrong.

“My body is shutting down,” she told them. “I can feel it.”

After surviving a dangerous brain bleed while a nursing student, Mackenzie Johnson, right, went on to become a nurse practitioner.

At left is her surgeon, Dr. Cuong Bui.

She went back to the hospital and insisted on a scan of her brain.

That CT scan showed she had a hemorrhagic stroke, or bleeding in the brain.

The hospitals began to make calls to other programs that could treat Johnson. Dr. Cuong Bui, a vneurosurgeon at Ochsner Health, contacted them directly because he thought her brain bleed was something more rare.

One of the more common causes of brain bleeds is an aneurysm,

ä See BLEED, page 2X

PROVIDED PHOTO

Honoring Our Dedicated Nurses To our Ochsner nurses, thank you for sharing your voice, living your purpose and shaping the future.

Happy National Nurses Week!

Larissa A., RN | Lafayette N AT I O N A L N U R S E S W E E K

2X ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Psychedelic retreats spring up across the world Booming business has few safety guardrails

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Surging interest in the purported benefits of psychedelic drugs has given rise to books, documentaries and conferences dedicated to the mind-altering substances. Now add one more business to the list: psychedelic retreats.

Hundreds of outfits across the world are offering multiday trips where attendees pay for drug-assisted experiences claiming to promote psychological healing, personal growth and other benefits.

Many have safety procedures in place, but they still carry “potential for physical, psychological, and interpersonal harms,” researchers who surveyed dozens of retreats wrote in a recent paper in JAMA Network Open.

Currently no psychedelics have been federally approved in the U.S., although that may soon change. On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration to accelerate reviews of psychedelics that show potential for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. The order also directs law enforcement agencies to quickly lower restrictions on any psychedelic approved by the FDA.

THERAPY

Continued from page 1X the chronic condition have a mutation in the hemoglobin gene that makes blood cells stiffen and curve into a crescent shape that easily clots and gets jammed up in their joints, causing intense pain.

Dr. Benjamin Watkins, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist, came to Manning Family three years ago after participating in early clinical trials of using gene editing to mimic healthy hemoglobin at Emory University.

Those trials found a 97% success rate in reducing pain for people with sickle cell disease.

Cressy contacted Watkins and the team at Manning Family far before the FDA approved a stem cell gene therapy for sickle cell patients. He was first in line for the treatment when the New Orleans hospital started taking patients.

“I really just wanted to be cured so I could fly,” he said.

He sought treatment so he can get his pilot’s license, which the disease currently prevents him from obtaining. Once he found

BLEED

Continued from page 1X according to Bui. However, for Johnson, the bleeding was a cerebral cavernoma deep in her brain. The malformation is caused by a cluster of abnormally thinwalled blood vessels.

“It looks like a raspberry, and blood can leak out and ultimately bleed,” Bui said.

The causes of cerebral cavernomas are, by and large, spontaneous and unknown and most patients are asymptomatic until the bleeding causes irritation in the brain. For Johnson, the bleeding caused her to have seizures and some of the leaking blood went into the fluid spaces in her brain.

Johnson was picked up by Acadian Air Med and flown to Ochsner in New Orleans.

She was still talking on the flight and remembers mentioning to her mother that she wanted to be an in-flight nurse one day.

Less than 24 hours after landing, everything got worse.

Johnson stopped breathing while getting her CT scan.

Doctors intubated her and put her on life support.

“We were in a fight for my

been used for centuries by Indigenous cultures.

No matter where they operate, experts say there are no industrywide standards or regulations for how participants are screened, prepared or monitored afterward.

“If there is no regulation, what does that mean about the quality of care you’re going to have?” said Joshua White, founder of the Fireside Project, which runs a ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JESSIE WARDARSKI hotline for people experiencParticipants lay face down on the grass on Oct. 15, 2022, ing distress during psycheduring an integration circle at an ayahuasca retreat in delic trips. ”I certainly fear that there could be a race to Hildale, Utah. the bottom where there is no The only drug to come to expand their services, hire liability or accountability.” before the FDA thus far, more medical and coaching MDMA, was rejected as a staff and take safety more Standards vary PTSD treatment in 2024 due seriously than we’ve ever With essentially no overto concerns about its safety seen in the past.” sight, potential attendees are and effectiveness. on their own when vetting Dr. John Krystal, a Yale Psychedelic retreats different options.

School of Medicine psy“It’s really important that Virtually all the drugs ofchiatrist who has followed fered at retreats are illegal somebody interested in a the field, says psychedelics under U.S. federal law, in- psychedelic retreat do their should be approached as “a cluding magic mushrooms, research, talk to the organizserious medical procedure ayahuasca, MDMA and LSD. ers or facilitators to get more that carries risks that must Retreat companies will not information about what is be carefully managed.” always make that explicit or being offered and how,” said People who work in the sometimes claim that they Amy McGuire, a biomedical field say today’s retreats are are protected by a rare legal ethicist at Baylor College of far safer than those of prior exemption for religious or- Medicine and co-author of the decades, when psychedelic ganizations that traditionally JAMA Network Open study. experiences were almost use psychedelics.

McGuire and her colalways conducted underBut only a handful of leagues documented a wide ground with few safety pre- groups have formally ob- range of practices, including cautions. tained that legal status, in- some companies offering “The sheer visibility of cluding the Native American multiple psychedelic drugs psychedelics has led to more Church, which uses peyote in over the course of their redemand for these retreats,” its ceremonies. treats. said Brad Burge, who has Some retreats are held in Many retreats have health worked with psychedelic countries that don’t restrict professionals on site, but nonprofits, drugmakers and psychedelics, including their roles and responsibiliretreat operators for nearly Peru and Brazil, where aya- ties are often vague. In some 20 years. “That growing huasca — a psychedelic brew cases, they take psychedelics market has allowed retreats of Amazonian plants — has alongside participants, which

out his treatment would be the first, “I figured I should share what it’s actually like so other patients know it’s possible,” he said.

In March 2024, Manning Family Children’s became a treatment center for multiple gene therapies available for sickle cell patients.

Then, the process began for Cressy to receive treatment.

It took the hospital, and Cressy, 18 months to coordinate with Louisiana health insurances to cover the massive bill these therapies front — from $2.2 million to $3.1 million depending on the therapy. That doesn’t include the hospital stays, chemotherapy and other costs.

The gene therapies for sickle cell disease are intended for the most severe forms of the chronic condition where patients, despite doing everything right, they still stuffer.

Patients must be older than 12 and within the last year have had at least two vaso-occlusive events, extremely painful episodes that commonly lead to emergency department visits.

While these treatments are for both young and older adults, the therapy can

only prevent future damage to the body, not reverse the effects of years with sickle cell, according to Watkins.

life,” Johnson said. “My body was declining really fast.”

Johnson was taken to surgery, where Bui drained the excess blood to relieve the excess pressure in her brain.

Her brain bleed was coming from the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that controls motor control, habit formation and emotional processing.

It’s located in the center of the brain and is difficult to access surgically.

Bui and his team at Ochsner elected to monitor Johnson’s cavernoma instead of surgically removing the malformation.

“For some reason, unbeknownst to anybody, (the cavernoma) stopped bleeding,” Johnson said.

Johnson was on life support for a couple of weeks, in the hospital for a month and home by Christmas.

Since then, Johnson recovered with no issues. No more bleeding. No seizures.

Instead, she decided to continue life as she had before.

Before continuing her education, she looked to Bui for advice: Was this a good idea for her recovery? According to Bui, this was exactly what she should be doing.

“The saying ‘use it or you lose it’ applies to the brain just as much as it applies to our physical bodies,” Bui said. “In neuroscience, it’s one thing to take care of the immediate problem, but ultimately, what we do is we hope to restore or preserve function. It’s ultimately about getting back to normal function.”

That encouragement from Bui was what Johnson needed to go full steam ahead.

Despite long hours in therapy where the team at Our Lady of Lourdes retaught her basic motor skills like walking up the stairs, relearning simple math and how to do a puzzle, Johnson graduated nursing school in four years.

She did so with honors and with the help of her care team, best friend Heidi Garcia and her boyfriend Jordan Johnson, who drove her places, helped button her shirts, brewed her coffee and folded her laundry.

“We were only 20 years old,” Johnson said. “And they were stuck with me, but we got through it.”

After graduation, Johnson

Building back up Just two weeks after coming home from brain surgery, Johnson began her first semester of clinicals at UL nursing school. All the while, she was in occupational and physical therapy four times a week.

could impair their ability to respond in an emergency.

Important questions when evaluating retreats include: n Do retreat staff have training and equipment to handle a medical emergency? n Is there a hospital nearby and transportation to get there? n Do staffers spend significant time helping participants prepare and process the experience?

Websites that compile user reviews, such as Retreat. guru, are one source for this information.

One of the most important safety steps happens before any retreat begins: screening out people with serious medical conditions who shouldn’t take psychedelics.

More than half the retreats surveyed for the study excluded participants with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

“Psychedelic drugs may worsen symptoms of psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia,” noted Krystal, who was not involved in the research. “It is important that patients are carefully screened to ensure that appropriate patients enter treatment.”

Significantly, all the retreats said they rely on potential customers to truthfully disclose their medical history and health conditions.

That approach carries risks, the authors noted, since people suffering from severe afflictions may withhold information if they

Discontinuing medications Another potentially risky practice: Nearly 90% of the surveyed retreats require or recommend that attendees stop taking certain medications, including antidepressants, before using psychedelics. These so-called “washout periods” ranged from one day to six weeks before the psychedelic experience.

Medical experts say safely tapering off antidepressants like Prozac can take six to 12 weeks and requires professional supervision.

“The patient needs to realize that by going off their medicine they’re at greater risk of recurrence or exacerbation of their symptoms,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, a Columbia University psychiatrist. “They should be monitored regularly to make sure nothing bad happens.”

The rationale for halting antidepressants comes from research that combining those drugs with psychedelics may cause excess levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that influences mood, sleep and other functions.

But retreat operators may also be trying to make sure the medications don’t dull the intensity of the psychedelic experience, according to McGuire.

process,” Watkins said. “It takes two minutes.”

Then, they watched him.

For weeks or months after receiving new or altered cells, the body has to catch up. Within 24 hours, the genetically edited cells found their way to Cressy’s bone marrow. Then, those cells need to ramp up to make all of the white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets he lost during chemotherapy.

“These are like greatgreat-great-grandmother cells,” Watkins said. “They divide and replicate and

make more, new cells.”

When the bone marrow cells mature enough, a process that takes about four weeks, the new cells can make their way into the blood stream.

During that time, Cressy was isolated and given medication to control his pain and prevent viruses, bacteria and fungus from infecting is fragile new blood system.

This week, he headed home. He’s still on strict orders to stay away from possible infection.

“It’s kind of like having

a newborn,” Watkins said.

“And the side effects of having chemotherapy — hair loss, nausea, mouth sores — gets better as these stem cells grow then start to heal him.”

For now, Cressy is still looking to the skies for his next adventure. Before his gene therapy, Cressy applied for his pilot’s license with the Federal Aviation Administration but was denied due to his condition.

After his isolation period is finished, he plans to get back to flight training.

The FAA confirmed to Cressy that other sickle cell patients who underwent gene therapy were able to fly again. Cressy befriended one of them, creating a brand called “Privileged Pilots.” He has been speaking at aviation and sickle cell events, explaining the process to people who might want to do the same.

For now, Cressy is still on isolation while at home and will be continuously monitored by his doctors and team at Manning Family Children’s.

“I want people to see that what was once impossible is possible,” he said. “If I can do it, they can do it.”

started as a trauma nurse at Ochsner Lafayette General.

Then, years later, as she had reminded her mother, she became an in-flight nurse for Acadian Air Med. “I ended up flying as a flight nurse for the same helicopter that airlifted me to Ochsner five or six years ago,” Johnson said. “I transferred probably hundreds of hemorrhagic strokes.”

Not one to stand still for too long, Johnson went back to school after flying for a few years to pursue a masters for nurse practitioner at McNeese University. At the end of her courses, Johnson had to complete specialty hours working with patients.

She gave Bui a call.

“I just thought it would be amazing to learn from the man that saved my life,” Johnson said.

A few days and a four-hour

drive later, Johnson walked into Ochsner in New Orleans, not as a patient, but as a caregiver.

“Seeing her walking back into the clinic in scrubs instead of a hospital gown was definitely one of the more surreal moments that I’ll never forget,” Bui said. “To really stand next to someone in your clinic that you once were standing over their hospital bed, that I now see as a colleague, I think that’s incredibly powerful.”

Johnson spent four days with Bui and his neurosurgery team at Ochsner. She was in some of his surgeries.

She spoke to families. She even brought her mother and daughter to visit with the team.

“I’m very proud of her and what she’s done. She’s taken a personally bad medical situation. ... she’s turned one of

the hardest moments of her life to a purpose that’s bigger than herself. As caregivers, you can’t teach that kind of empathy,” Bui said. “Mackenzie has really earned it.”

Now 33, Johnson is married to her high school sweetheart, Jordan, and is a nurse practitioner at Bardin Dermatology in DeRidder. Despite doctors telling her children wouldn’t be in her future because of the pressure it puts on the body, Johnson has two young children.

She still has her cavernoma and revisits Bui and Ochsner every three years for scans.

“I was at the lowest of lows.

Now, I’m a nurse practitioner building a house with a third kid on the way,” Johnson said. “I’m trying to get some roots. I’m trying to make a difference in the community that I’m from.”

Harvesting, editing, healing Cressy’s stem cells were harvested in both August and September and sent to a genetics lab in Scotland, where the stem cells were genetically edited to reset his body’s switch for protection from the searing, unpredictable pain of his chronic disease.

Although there are three types of gene therapy offered at Manning Family Children’s, Cressy’s does not correct his sickle cells.

It reverts his genes back to his fetal hemoglobin — before the sickle cell disease switched on.

In early March, Cressy underwent chemotherapy for four days, removing the sickle-celled hemoglobin in his body to make room for the new genetically edited cells. While in hospital, the team at Manning Family thawed out his new stem cells, received at -180 degrees Fahrenheit from Scotland, transferred to a syringe and given to Cressy down a tube in his chest.

“It’s the easiest part of the

think it could stop them from attending.

“When you’re really desperate and hoping to access something that you think could help you, there’s an incentive not to be truthful,” McGuire said.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Daniel Cressy sits on a hospital bed on July 30 as his blood stem cells are harvested as part of the process to remove sickle cell disease at Manning Family Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. Cressy is back home after being in isolation after the therapy.

BEYOND THE SCALE Join us on a health journey through 2026 with ‘BEYOND THE SCALE: Addressing Louisiana’s obesity epidemic’ Do you want to start a health journey? We want to hear from you — not about weight, but about health, stress, food and life. As we move through 2026, we are inviting readers to come along a health journey with us.

Our next project will explore community obesity efforts. We pose one question to our readers: Tell us about a community group you participate in that makes you feel healthier.

Email your answers, comments or questions to Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3X

lll

Eat Fit Live Fit

Molly Kimball RD, CSSD

B R O U G H T TO YO U BY

Menopause isn’t just hot flashes — here’s what’s really happening

W

hen most people think about menopause, they think about hot flashes, night sweats or maybe even mood swings.

But what I’ve been hearing more and more from friends, colleagues and readers — is something different: “I just don’t feel like myself.”

That feeling can show up in ways that don’t always seem connected at first — skin that suddenly looks crepey, joint pain, brain fog or restless sleep.

You might notice changes in weight or muscle tone, or even shifts in cholesterol levels despite no changes to your diet or exercise routine.

What’s behind it? Often, it comes back to estrogen.

“We have estrogen receptors all over our body — brain, skin, heart and muscle,” says Elizabeth Lapeyre, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN at Ochsner Health and medical director of the Menopause and Women’s Wellness Center at Ochsner Baptist. “So when estrogen levels start dipping, that’s when we start noticing changes in so many aspects of our wellbeing.”

This “head-to-toe” effect is one of the most overlooked parts of menopause. It’s literally a system-wide shift.

Take the brain. Many women describe walking into a room and forgetting why they’re there, or struggling to find words mid-sentence. That’s not imagined. “There are three times in your life when your brain changes: puberty, pregnancy and perimenopause or menopause,” said Dr. Lapeyre. “It’s not permanent, but that’s why women start having these cognitive changes.”

Sleep often unravels at the same time, whether from night sweats or simply waking in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep.

And once sleep is off, everything else

follows: energy, appetite, mood and even metabolism.

Body composition shifts, too. As estrogen declines, maintaining lean muscle becomes more challenging.

That can show up as a gradual loss of strength, more abdominal weight gain and changes in how your body responds to the same routine that used to work.

Even cholesterol can change.

Estrogen has a protective effect on cardiovascular health, and when it declines, LDL can start to rise.

And then there’s skin. Collagen production drops quickly. Women can lose up to 50% of their collagen in the first five years after menopause. Skin can feel thinner, drier and more fragile almost overnight. It’s one of the more visible — and surprising — signs that something significant is shifting.

That’s also where a growing question comes in: What about using estrogen directly on the skin?

Topical estrogen for facial skin has been studied for decades, with some data suggesting improvements in skin thickness, hydration and elasticity.

“It’s important to note that not every symptom is going to be hormonerelated,” said Dr. Lapeyre. “There can be overlap with things like thyroid issues, sleep problems or stress — but too often, women are told everything is ‘normal’

without really digging deeper into what’s going on.”

Part of the hesitation around treatment comes from outdated fears about hormone therapy.

“A lot of the concern around hormones comes from older studies that we now understand were flawed,” said Dr. Lapeyre. “The way we think about hormone therapy today is much more nuanced and much more individualized.

And now we know that, for most women, hormone replacement therapy is safe, which is a big shift from what we used to think. And it does improve many of these hormone-related issues that women are experiencing.”

Hormone therapy can include estrogen, progesterone and, in some cases, testosterone. Each one has a specific role, and the treatments can be life-changing.

Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD, is a registered dietitian with Ochsner Health and founder of Ochsner’s Eat Fit nonprofit initiative. For more wellness content, tune in to Molly’s podcast, FUELED Wellness + Nutrition, and follow @MollykimballRD and @EatFitOchsner on social media.

Email nutrition@ochsner.org to connect with Molly or schedule a consult with her team.

Many FDA-approved options are bioidentical hormones, meaning they are chemically identical to what your body produces. That’s different from compounded hormones, which are custommixed and not FDA-regulated — an important distinction when it comes to consistency and safety.

Within that conversation, testosterone is one of the areas getting more attention — and often confusion. While it may help with energy and libido in some cases, it’s not without risk.

“Testosterone therapy in women is a bit of the wild west,” Dr. Lapeyre noted, emphasizing the importance of careful dosing and monitoring. Side effects can include acne, oily skin, enlarged pores, facial hair and mood changes like irritability or aggression, which can improve if dosing is adjusted or stopped.

Other side effects, like a deepening of the voice when too much testosterone is given, are not reversible.

The bottom line: If something feels off, it’s worth paying attention.

This stage of life isn’t something you simply have to endure. It shapes how you feel each day — your energy, your focus, your relationships, and how you show up for the people around you. With evolving science and more treatment options available, it’s worth having a conversation with your doctor about what might be right for you.

For a deeper understanding of what’s happening during menopause and how to navigate the physical and cognitive changes, listen to the full conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Lapeyre on the FUELED Wellness + Nutrition podcast, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Cholesterol guidelines affect patients as young as 9

BY KARL HILLE

The Baltimore Sun (TNS) BALTIMORE — Updated for the first time in six years, clinical guidelines for screening and managing cholesterol now recommend earlier screenings — as young as 9 years old — for those with a family history of heart disease, among other standards of care.

“Shifting the paradigm toward proactive prevention strategies earlier in life can meaningfully change the trajectory of cardiovascular disease and lead to better

health outcomes for people decades later,” Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin, a member of the guideline writing committee, said in a statement on the Hopkins website.

Introduced at the American College of Cardiology’s annual Scientific Session in New Orleans on March 28, the guidelines include a new framework to help doctors calculate personalized risk assessments considering each patient’s underlying conditions. These can include a family history of congested arteries, arthritis,

early menopause, and several pregnancy-related issues like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. The guidelines also encourage shared decision-making between doctors and patients and emphasize reducing blood levels of low-density lipoproteins, or bad cholesterol, and other fats and lipids at earlier ages.

“We know that lower LDL cholesterol levels are better when it comes to reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and congestive heart failure,” Johns Hopkins Dr. Roger S. Blumenthal, chair

BY THE NUMBERS

OVER 1 IN 10 LOUISIANANS AVOIDED HEALTH CARE DUE TO THE COST In 2024, 14.8% of Louisianans avoided or delayed needed health care due to cost, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Avoiding or delaying needed health care has been associated with increased preventable hospitalizations and missed opportunities to prevent disease and manage chronic conditions, all of which can lead to worse and more expensive health outcomes.

Health care prices are higher in the United States than in other countries. In 2024, U.S. health care spending grew 7.2%, reaching $5.3 trillion — that’s $15,474 per person.

On average, 11.5% of American adults could not see their doctor due to cost within the past 12 months. Louisiana had the sixth-highest percentage of adults who did not seek care due to health care expenses.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of avoiding care due to cost is higher among: n Women compared with men. n Adults ages 18 to 44 have a prevalence more than four times higher than adults age 65 and older. n Hispanic,American Indian/Alaska Native and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults compared

with Asian and white adults. n LGBTQ+ adults compared with straight adults. n Adults who have not served in the U.S. armed forces compared with adults who have served.

Additionally, 75% of adults ages 18 to 64 who were uninsured in 2025 said they skipped or postponed getting needed health care in the past year due to costs, compared with 37% of adults with health insurance. Even among those with health insurance, many adults are underinsured, meaning their coverage doesn’t allow affordable access to health care.

These states had the lowest percentage of adults who avoided health care needs due to cost in 2024, in ascending order: n Hawaii with 6.4%; n Vermont with 7.9%; n Iowa with 8%; n Massachusetts with 8.1%; n North Dakota with 8.2%; n New Hampshire with 8.6%; n South Dakota with 8.9%; n Maine with 9.2%; n Delaware with 9.5%; n Virginia with 9.6%; n Minnesota with 9.7%;

of the guideline writing committee, said in the statement.

“We also know that bringing elevated lipids and blood pressure down in young adults supports optimal heart and vascular health throughout a person’s life.”

The guidelines were jointly published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation on March 13.

They come at a time when one in 10 American adults has tested positive for high blood cholesterol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-

tion. Specialists believe the actual number of patients suffering from high cholesterol might be one in four adults. High blood cholesterol increases the risk of narrowing or hardening of the arteries, blocking blood flow, and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Blumenthal said 80% to 90% of a patient’s risk depends on habits that can be changed to support hearthealthy living and keep cholesterol levels within a normal range. These include eating a heart-healthy diet, engaging in regular, brisk

physical activity, avoiding tobacco, getting enough sleep and maintaining a healthy weight. He said focusing on lifestyle interventions should be a first or foundational approach.

In addition to screening children with a family history of heart disease, the guideline recommends that everyone get a one-time screening for lipoprotein(a), which can reveal genetic factors that increase individual risk for heart disease by 40% or more. Additional testing can help doctors refine care for each patient.

Avoided care due to cost Percentage of adults who reported a time in the past 12 months when they needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost: Less than 10%

10% to 12%

12.1% to 14%

14.1% to 16%

More than 16%

National average: 11.5 % WA S H .

WASH. MON T. MONT.

V T. VT.

N.D. N.D.

N.H. N.H.

MINN. MINN.

ORE .

ORE. I DA H O IDAHO W Y. WY.

U TAH UTAH

C O. CO.

CALIF. CALIF.

A RI Z .

ARIZ.

N.Y. N.Y.

MICH. MICH. N E B. NEB.

NE V. NEV.

M A S S. MASS.

W IS. WIS.

S.D. S.D. I O WA IOWA

K A N. KAN.

OK L A .

OKLA.

N.M. N.M.

M O. MO.

IND. IND.

OHIO OHIO W.V. W.V.

VA .

VA.

K Y. KY.

N.C. N.C.

T ENN. TENN. A RK .

ARK.

S.C. S.C. MIS S. ALA. MISS. AL A .

TE X AS TEXAS

R .I. R.I. CONN. C ONN. N . J. N.J. DE L .

DEL. MD. MD.

PA .

PA. IL L .

ILL.

ME .

ME.

Data not available

GA. GA.

L A. LA.

A L A SK A ALASKA

FL A. FLA. H AWA I I HAWAII

Louisiana: 14.8%

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2024 via America Health Rankings

n Pennsylvania with 9.8%.

These states had the highest percentage of adults who avoided health care needs due to cost in 2024, in descending order: n Texas with 17.4%; n Nevada with 16.7%; n Georgia with 16.4%;

Staff graphic

n Arkansas with 15.3%; n Oklahoma with 14.9%; n Louisiana with 14.8%; n Mississippi with 14.7%; n Florida with 14.3%; n Alabama and Colorado with 14.1%; n South Carolina with 13.8%.

4X ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

N AT I O N A L N U R S E S W E E K

Honoring Our Dedicated Nurses

Emily C., RN | Lafayette

This Nurses Week, we celebrate not only the compassion and dedication that define nursing today, but the bold vision shaping its tomorrow. From cutting-edge technology and advanced practice leadership to innovative patient advocacy and community impact, the future of nursing is brighter than ever.

Across our hospitals, clinics, classrooms and communities, Ochsner nurses are leading change, driving access to care, providing extraordinary patient experiences and redefining what’s possible in delivering the highest quality care.

This week we honor you – your voice, your purpose and the promising future you’re creating for yourself, our patients and the profession.

Q&A: Youth gaming labs support social emotional skills

GOODNESS | HOPE | SOLUTIONS

INSPIRED

LOUISIANA

N O L A.C O M & T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

S U N D AY, M AY 3, 2026

PAGE 2y

1N

Jan Risher LONG STORy SHORT

Between Clarksdale and home

Players shuffle tiles between games of Mah Jongg at the home of Pat Link on April 10 in Lafayette.

Cultivating community

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

The ‘Grande Dame de Mah Jongg’ in Acadiana shares joy in table top game

BY CATHERINE S. COMEAUX Contributing writer

Lafayette’s Grande Dame de Mah Jongg, Pat Link, is experiencing a peak in popularity, just like the strategic tile game she loves.

At 92, in what she calls her third era of life (teaching and tour organizing were her first two), she has turned her home into a Mah Jongg parlor where she welcomes players, up to six times a week, to clack tiles and enjoy the comradery that forms around the tables.

The game has multiple accepted spellings, but Link teaches and plays by the rules of the National Mah Jongg League, which uses “Mah Jongg.”

On a recent game day, Link welcomed new players to learn more about the game that is played obsessively by its adorers.

With coiffed hair, full makeup and an aura of calm concentration, she presided over her Vegas-style automated table in a back room of her home.

As the table sucked a set of tiles down a hole in its center, she gave players a quick history lesson while showing off her antique wooden tile set which included what she playfully called, “Mr. Babineaux’s red book of rules,” explaining, “I’m originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, but for some reason, I want to Cajun-ify Joseph Park Babcock.”

Babcock, born in Lafayette, Indiana, was an employee of Standard Oil in China who brought “Mah-Jongg” to the United States

Pat Link plays Mah Jongg at her home in the early 1920s. His red book of rules is considered closer to the rules of China where the game originated — closer than the over 40 known variations played globally.

The ladies around Link’s table — with its well-lit, self-rolling dice — had dabbled in some of these variations.

Carol Saucier, the longest-playing participant with 45 years of tile clacking un-

A fold-out card containing the official hands and rules of the National Mah Jongg League is kept near a player’s tiles during a game. The playable hands are changed each year by the League, and new cards are provided to members.

der her belt, learned the Wright-Patterson variation, created by the Officer’s Wives Club at the Air Force base of the same name. Someone had played Riichi, a Japanese form, on vacation once.

Before she connected with Link, Leslie Leonpacher learned a form of party Mah Jongg which the table dubbed “Cahj Jongg,” when they heard her description of the loose rules and lack of cards.

Around Link’s tables, players follow the rules of the National Mah Jongg League which uses “the card” — a small folding brochure covered in what appears to be colorful hieroglyphics but actually are lists of various hands (patterned tile combinations) needed to win. Link explained that, as you play, the patterns become ingrained in your mental muscle memory.

At the table, players swiftly discarded and pulled symbol-rich printed tiles, attention focused, calling out, “Three dot …

Eight bam … Six crack … Red dragon.”

“The game is stimulating and challenging. It’s neurologically good for you,” Link said.

“Unless you lose all the time, then you want to kill people,” one player said, countering with a smile, despite being down $2.

The monetary stakes are low, serving more as a way to keep score rather than to get rich; some days they play only for prizes.

Just when players have memorized the hands listed on the card, the Mah Jongg New Year rolls around on April 1, and the

ä See MAH JONGG, page 2Y

By the time you read this, I should be on the last day of my canoe trip down part of the Mississippi River — that is, if the good Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise, as my mom would say.

These days, I live closer to the Mississippi River than I ever have — less than a mile, as the crow flies. And yet, for all that proximity, this will be my first time paddling it.

Our all-female crew plans to put in at Clarksdale, Mississippi, and head south. We aren’t sure yet where we’ll be getting out — it depends on the current and our strong backs.

The Father of Rivers has defined so much of my life. Living my childhood in Mississippi and much of my adulthood in Louisiana, I’ve thought of the river itself as a bridge from one state to the other.

The river shaped the lives of those who came before me, too — including my great-great-grandfather, who came to New Orleans from Liverpool, England, then decided to head north on the Mississippi and got off at Vicksburg.

I wonder how carefully he considered that decision. I said yes to this adventure thinking I understood what I was agreeing to.

I did not.

The logistics alone have humbled me. In my mind, I had all the gear I needed. I’ve had it for years. Then, about three weeks ago, I realized I had none of the gear — ye olde fire strikes again.

Good neighbors stepped in and helped me fill the gaps — camping mattress, duffel bag, head lamp, large hat, sun clothes.

The required mosquito netting to drape over said hat arrived this week. This is not the American West, where my crew and I have paddled before. Out there, mosquitoes were not a concern, and the nights were so cool and clear we didn’t even sleep in the tents. We just lay under the giant sky dotted with stars from east to west.

On the Mississippi in April, the sky is still giant, but it comes with considerably more company.

As the trip has inched closer, I’ve felt a trepidation I’m not accustomed to feeling. The Mississippi River can be beautiful and brutal in equal measure. Something about this trip has asked more of me before I even get in the boat.

Songs, poetry and friends have pushed me forward.

In 2022, my husband and I drove to Lake Itasca in Minnesota, to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Standing there was more powerful than I could have anticipated. Families were wading across, children jumping

ä See RISHER, page 2Y

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

The mighty Mississippi River begins its journey in Lake Itasca, Minnesota. This little boy and his family easily walked across the river, in true Indigo Girls’ fashion — in five steps.

2Y ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

INSPIRED DISCUSSIONS A S K T H E E X P E RT S

Youth gaming labs support social emotional skills Q&A WITH BRENT DELARGE

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

FOUNDER OF UNCHAINED REALITIES

Years before esports programming became a thing in New Orleans, nonprofit Unchained Realities began with a group of friends who wanted to improve youth outcomes by focusing on athletics, education and community building.

Its founder, Gentilly native Brent DeLarge, has since expanded the organization into a gaming hub that offers internships, esports labs and social connections at schools, public recreation centers and other locales across New Orleans. Its subsidiary, NOLAGROWN also introduces kids to graphic design, screen printing and photography.

Through a partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Department, the organization cut the ribbon on its third and fourth esports lab last year.

Unchained Realities now has esports labs at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East, Milne Playground in Gentilly, Cut-Off Recreation Center in Algiers and the Lyons Center Uptown.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

to get into the esports space. I had a relationship with NORD, so I reached out to (CEO) Larry Barabino, and he brought me to the table.

What other places do you offer programming?

Our newest thing is we’re teaching at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center on Saturdays for four hours. We have two different PROVIDED PHOTO sets of kids that do curriculum Brent DeLarge supervises a group of students while they game in one of and play games with us. We do field trips where we go on site his programs. or they come to us and we talk How did you guys bring in the gaming to kids about the jobs they could aspect of Unchained Realities? about design and media for about pursue in the gaming world.

During the pandemic, communi- six weeks.

Can you give some detail about the curAnd how did you grow from there? riculums you’re teaching? cating through the game was one Maybe a year or two later the Sometimes the gaming environof the only ways to hang out with my friends. We thought, ‘We need YMCA reached back out to us, ment can be stressful. Kids get to do something like this for kids.’ and we ran free play where kids frustrated when they lose. We would come out and play video But we didn’t know what or how. teach them about triggers and games with us. We started learnWe later started working with social emotional learning skills to this school that was connected to ing more about the gaming space better manage their emotions. the YMCA and we got someone We introduced our kids to Unfrom an educational standpoint. to donate 10 gaming PCs. We had Can you tell me about how the partnerreal Engine, which creates games students unbox them. We didn’t such as Fortnite. ship with New Orleans Recreation Departknow much about curriculums We teach kids how to set up a ment came to play? but we started teaching lessons stream through Twitch or YouI heard that NORD was trying

Tube. We teach them how to use AI prompts to come up with their own esports teams. They pick team names, create a logo and then the kids print T-shirts with the logo they designed. For our music and sound design program, we take a video game clip and they learn how to do voice-overs and add sounds to it.

What kind of impact could gaming have on New Orleans youth?

When we first started with the YMCA, kids from an alternative school came to us two times a week. For whatever reason, the school and the YMCA parted ways and those kids could no longer come to our lab. But two of the boys ended up pulling (car) door handles one day and one of them was shot during the same exact time frame that they would’ve been with us. I’m not saying it would’ve never happened, but it wouldn’t have happened that day.

Email Joni Hess at joni.hess@ theadvocate.com.

RISHER

Continued from page 1y

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Pat Link, clockwise from top right, Jo Tu, Jane Sawvel and Dolores Champagne play Mah Jongg at Link’s automated table.

MAH JONGG Continued from page 1y

National League issues new cards with new hands to learn — one of the reasons cited when people talk about the cognitive benefits of the game.

At the nonautomated table in Link’s dining room, the tiles made a clicketyclacking sound as they were shuffled. Collectively shifting and tumbling the hard, smooth tiles, each player relaxed their focus and the chatting flowed. There was talk of plans for the weekend, upcoming tournaments and past games.

The question arose, “Why is Mah Jongg so popular now?”

“I would love to know,” said Link, who has been playing for 32 years and teaching the game for over a decade, adding, “I’ve met so many people. My life wouldn’t be as rich without Mah Jongg.

I’m never lonely.”

A couple of players cited the pandemic, as it was a game people could play outdoors. Coming out of those isolating times, people were eager to gather together and reconnect. Another person mentioned the 2018 movie, “Crazy Rich Asians,” which features an intense Mah Jongg scene.

No matter the reason, the game is hot right now — even the South Regional

Players slide tiles into the center of an automatic shuffling table.

Library branch of the Lafayette Public Library is hosting lessons. By her estimates, Link has taught over half of Lafayette’s players.

She has devised lesson plans to teach groups of four to six players the National Mah Jongg League variation in eight weeks. She starts with learning the tiles, then the history, then the “touchyfeely” of the tiles, followed by the rules in incremental steps. Her final advice to learners is to play online as much as possible to create the mental muscle memory required to play swiftly since the game is most fun

when it flows at a good pace.

(On realmahjongg.com her handle is “allons.”)

Link is an advocate of the National League rules — the standard for tournaments.

People seek her out for her commitment to the rules as well as her no-nonsense approach which she mixes with a dry sense of humor. Using the organizational skills she honed in her second era of life as owner of the tour company Allons a Lafayette, she recently helped her granddaughter host a highly successful charity fundraising tournament in Shreveport.

In Lafayette, she hosts an

annual tournament, scheduled for June 23 this year, at the Petroleum Club.

“For Pat, it’s about building community,” Leonpacher said.

One of Link’s recently widowed students shared that Mah Jongg helps her to fill the void after her husband’s death. It’s a planned event that allows her to meet people, giving her an added dimension to life.

“Pat is the Grande Dame of Mah Jongg,” said player and student Ali Romero. “If you get invited to play at her house, you say ‘yes!’ ” She recalled a time when

Link had encouraged her with a wry comment that made her laugh.

“When I was new, I was nervous. Pat’s kind of scary,” Romero said. “Once, I kept complaining about not having a good hand, and she said, ‘Well, Ali, maybe you’re not a good player.’ ” To an outsider, these words might sound harsh, but to sit at the table with Link and witness her take delight in the game is to know that her words are taken as encouragement by the players who adore her and show up regularly for the community she has created.

from stone to stone over the narrow trickle that would become one of the mightiest rivers on earth.

I stood watching them — knowing where that water was going and what it would become. I also couldn’t help thinking I knew a thing or two those young parents couldn’t yet imagine about where their children’s lives were going and who they might become.

I think of Lake Itasca every time I hear the Indigo Girls’ “Ghost.” The song traces the Mississippi from those Minnesota headwaters — small enough for those children and me to cross in five steps — to something so vast it hardly seems connected to where it began.

The mighty and the tender, always braided together.

Then there is Heraclitus, who wrote more than 2,000 years ago: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

I would substitute woman there, but the truth of it has outlasted the noun by millennia.

The river I paddle this week is not the river at Lake Itasca — not the river my ancestors went up or crossed, not even the river I saw last Tuesday from the bank.

And I am not the same woman who said yes to this trip, either.

One of my favorite quotes, often attributed to St. Augustine, has also been with me as this trip approached: “The deepest desire of the human heart is to belong, to be welcomed, to know you are seen and worthy of kindness.” I cannot verify he wrote it more than a thousand years ago, but I cannot argue with it, either.

The women I’m paddling with make me feel all of those things. Most of them I’ve paddled with before.

One of them found the outfitter, arranged the details and made the whole adventure possible.

What a blessing to have friends who make me feel like I belong. That is no small gift. Finding people who make me feel welcomed, seen and worthy of kindness is the journey I always want to take.

These women also make me laugh.

And somewhere between Clarksdale and wherever we take out, I suspect that may be what this trip is really about.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● 3Y

lll

THERE’S GOOD NEWS, TOO STORIES OF GLOBAL PROGRESS, COMPILED By FIX THE NEWS

streets by organizing collectively and influencing public policy, according to The World Resources Institute. In a city where only about 6% of residents own cars, most people rely on walking, cycling or public transport — yet infrastructure and funding historically prioritized NEW WEIGHT-LOSS PATHWAY vehicles, leaving commuters with Researchers at Stanford Medicine unsafe conditions. and the University of Colorado, During the pandemic, when transit Boulder, studied pythons’ extreme shutdowns exposed deep inequalities, “feast-and-famine” metabolism to a coalition of transport workers, uncover new clues about weight cyclists and community advocates loss. After eating massive meals, formed.The Move As One Coalition pythons experience dramatic united a diverse group of jeepney physiological changes and drivers, bus operators, commuters, produce hundreds of metabolites. disability advocates, women’s groups, One molecule — called pTOS — youth organizers, LGBTQ+ activists increased more than 1,000-fold. and cycling groups.

When scientists administered this “By organizing across sectors, the molecule to obese laboratory mice, coalition has turned fragmented it suppressed appetite and caused demands into collective action, weight loss comparable to GLP-1 reframing transportation as a public drugs like Ozempic. service that shapes the livelihoods, “Although it’s too soon to tell whether health and opportunities of millions,” STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON The World Resources Institute this metabolite, called pTOS, will translate to a new weight loss drug reported.

NEW WEIGHT-LOSS PATHWAY in humans, the study solidifies the Armed with data, the coalition found Courtland Potter, 7, lets Jeremy Humphrey of Ace’s Reptile Emporium place a ball python on her arms. After eating power of studying extremes in the that “just 1% of road spending massive meals, pythons experience dramatic physiological changes and produce hundreds of metabolites. One animal kingdom. Reptiles have supported public transport, walking molecule — called pTOS — increased more than 1,000-fold.When scientists administered this molecule to obese repeatedly gifted humans with or cycling.” Through advocacy, public laboratory mice, it suppressed appetite and caused weight loss comparable to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic. clinically significant drugs,” med. campaigns and direct engagement stanford.edu reported.

Llanganates-Yasuní Connectivity landscapes — which supports diverse policy efforts such as targeted social with policymakers, they secured The pTOS molecule appears to act Corridor as a Special Conservation habitats and allows the movement of security measures and more accurate major reforms — influencing decisions directly on the appetite and feeding Area, linking Llanganates National species. Because of this, the corridor data collection using administrative affecting an estimated $946 million behaviors of the mice, causing the Park in the Andes with the yasuní functions as a critical climate refuge. records alongside surveys. in immediate transport funding and obese mice to eat less than the Biosphere Reserve in the Amazon.

Sebastian Valdivieso, Country Director However, the statistics are still $12 billion in medium- and long-term control mice.After 28 days, the obese Covering about 2,159 square of WCS Ecuador, says this recognition considered “in development,” funding. mice lost 9% of their body weight. kilometers, the corridor represents a meaning further revisions are possible This includes the creation of helps to safeguard biodiversity and Although promising, the findings are major step in protecting biodiversity as methodologies improve. Despite supports local communities whose pedestrian boulevards, bike lanes and still early, and it’s unclear whether and sustainable land use.The progress, around one in five children a dedicated busway.The movement livelihoods depend on healthy pTOS can be developed into a safe initiative, launched in 2024, involved ecosystems. in Scotland still live in poverty, also improved wages and working and effective treatment for humans. ecological studies, community highlighting ongoing challenges.The conditions for transport workers.

CHILD POVERTY FALLS Still, the discovery opens a potential engagement and collaboration Scottish Government remains legally New data shows that child poverty new pathway for obesity therapies. among local governments, civil committed to reducing child poverty Fixthenews.com is a solutions in Scotland is declining, with rates society and more. to below 10% by 2030/31 under the journalism newsletter that finds stories of progress and The corridor spans from high Andean falling from 25% (2020-23) to Child Poverty Act. ECUADOR CONSERVATION 21% (2022-25), while remaining shares them with readers from páramo ecosystems to lowland Last month, the Wildlife PHILIPPINES’ TRANSPORT across the world. Acclaimed lower than the UK average.The tropical humid forests, creating a author Steven Pinker calls Fix Conservation Society reported that Commuters in Manila successfully improvement, as reported by the continuous ecological transition the News “the best source for Ecuador officially recognized the Child Poverty Action Group, reflects pushed for safer, more inclusive between Andean and Amazonian positive news on the internet.”

These are stories of global progress, compiled by the media group Fix the News and shared in partnership with The Advocate/The Times-Picayune.

Each story overview is linked to an original report or story with more information.

Powering Progress

TIFFANY Pressure Equipment Integrity Engineer SHELL GEISMAR

Louisiana is at the forefront of Shell’s energy evolution.

SHELL IN LOUISIANA IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ENERGY.

With thousands of Shell men and women across the state, we are working every day to reduce emissions, while increasing efficiency in our operations.

Our tomorrow depends on what we do today. Together, we are powering progress for a brighter future. Louisiana is where we live and we’re proud to call it home.

shell.us/louisiana | #PoweringProgress

4Y ● Sunday, May 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

FAITH & VALUES Congregation raises money to tackle medical debt

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

In the end, turns out it wasn’t much of a dilemma at all.

Mount Olivet Episcopal Church in Algiers Point in New Orleans had some money set aside and the thinking was that it would help purchase a statue of Mary. But then the church’s pastor, the Rev. Bill Terry, found himself researching a sermon on Christian engagement.

That research turned up a church in South Carolina whose congregation raised money to partner with a nonprofit, Undue Medical Debt, that purchases medical debt and then “forgives” debtors.

“So I did my due diligence,” Terry said one recent morning.

The company was legit. So was the debt relief program.

“I preached my sermon about it,” Terry said. “It fits with the beatitudes; they call us to relieve suffering.”

A church member was so moved that she pledged a donation, saying, “We don’t really need a statue, but people can use our help,” Terry said. “I agreed.”

So did the church leadership and many of its congregation of 30-35 people. And after a funding campaign that just wrapped up in the weeks after Easter, Mount Olivet was able to send around $17,000 to Undue Medical Debt.

‘It’s just math’ It might not sound like a lot, but that $17,000 was enough that the nonprofit could purchase $1.7 million of debt, said Allison Sesso, Undue Medical Debt’s president and CEO. In the coming weeks, nearly 1,500 New Orleans area residents will receive notification that their medical debt has been erased.

Because medical debt is typically part of a hospital’s “bad debt portfolio,” it’s often sold at pennies on the dollar, Sesso said. She said the company has erased more $40 billion in debt since its founding in 2014.

“It’s not magic,” she said, “It’s just math.”

Mount Olivet traces its roots to 1846, when services were held in the parlor of the Hughes Hotel a couple of blocks from the church’s current location on Pelican Avenue. The congregation formally organized in 1848 and was admitted into the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana in 1851.

Terry, 74, is a New Orleans native, Navy veteran and a former insurance underwriter who “became a priest in my 50s.” For

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

The Rev. Bill Terry hugs a member of the congregation after his final Mass at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church in New Orleans on July 23, 2023. Now at Mount Olivet Episcopal Church in Algiers Point, Terry has led an effort to raise money for medical debt relief. years, he led St. Anna’s Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue. He was a recognizable figure around Treme, with his white beard and ponytail and his commitment to annually chronicling the city’s murder victims with each of their names written on a large board outside the church.

He retired from St. Anna’s in 2023 and has been at Mount Olivet for the past couple of years.

“I’m a priest and retirement doesn’t work for me,” Terry said with a grin.

At Mount Olivet, Terry says, he not only found a charming, old church that has been a fixture in Algiers Point since the 1800s, but also a congregation that hungered to spread kindness and become known beyond the stained-glass windows of the sanctuary.

of debt, it is part of a local congregation shaping its image.

“This place (Mount Olivet) has been looking for an identity that goes beyond that lovely building on Algiers Point,” Terry said.

Several times during a conversation inside the church one recent morning, Terry refers to the Beatitudes — the blessings taught

by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew.

They include several well-known phrases, including “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” and “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

“Undue Medical Debt was a perfect fit. We’ve become a beatitudes church,” Terry said.

“Imagine you’re sitting at home worrying about paying off the bills and you get a letter that says, simply, your debt is forgiven,” he addLooking for an identity ed. “That sounds like something Partnering with Undue Medical Jesus would say.”

Terry was astounded as he reDebt doesn’t only help area residents struggling under the weight searched medical debt. Nearly a

quarter of Louisiana’s population, he said, struggles with medical debt.

“Most people don’t realize it, but medical debt is traded like a commodity in this country,” he said.

Sesso said for-profit companies buy and sell that debt. Undue Medical Debt buys blocks of debt but instead of then trying to collect it as some other companies might, it forgives the people carrying the debt.

Buying, selling debt

Undue Medical Debt isn’t new to Louisiana. In 2024 it partnered with the city of New Orleans and Ochsner Health to forgive some $59 million in debt for 66,000 New Orleanians. Ochsner also said in 2024 that it was teaming with Undue Medical Debt to wipe out the debt of nearly 200,000 patients across its system.

Terry said Mount Olivet members made donations, and the church worked with the nearby Old Point Bar, a well-known Old Algiers meeting spot, on a fundraiser in March. Band members and bartenders dug into their tip jars to help, he said.

Hazel Pomfret, a Mount Olivet member who lives in Algiers Point, called the debt relief effort a “nobrainer.”

“It puts us on the map,” she said.

“It tells people we care about the community.

Sesso said Undue Medical Debt analyzes a number of factors, including income and debt ratio, to determine eligibility. Then letters are sent to people telling them they’re now clear of that debt.

Some of the people might have been uninsured. Others had insurance that didn’t cover all the bills.

“It’s not a personal failing,” she said of people who face medical debt. “What did they do wrong? Email reporter Bob Warren at They got sick.” bwarren@theadvocate.com.

Looking Student teaches kids how to manage money for La. faith

BY DAHLIA BAZZAZ Seattle Times (TNS)

The newspaper is inviting ministers from across Louisiana — every faith tradition, every denomination, every corner of the state — to contribute first-person columns on faith for occasional publication in the Louisiana Inspired section.

Topics are wide open, as long as they’re rooted in faith. Write about doubt, community or why ancient traditions still matter.

Write about what faith looks like in a flood zone, a small town or a hospital room. Write about why you do this work.

Columns should be 550–750 words, first-person, written for a general audience, original and unpublished. Submissions do not guarantee publication and will be edited for length and clarity.

Promotional content and attacks on other faith traditions are not a fit. Honest, personal writing about faith in Louisiana life is.

To submit, email the following to Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com: n The 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.

Editor’s note: This story was created by Dahlia Bazzaz for the Seattle Times. 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.

SEATTLE — Seventeen-year-old Siddhi Tandon didn’t set out to start a financial literacy program. She was just trying to figure out what to do with her first paycheck.

Three years ago, the student at Lakeside School in Seattle had earned about $500 working as a camp counselor, and went to a Chase bank location to cash the check. After hearing about the different kinds of accounts she could open, she got her first sense of just how little she knew about money management.

“I realized this was going to be important in my life going forward,” she said. “This is such a gap and something I never learned in school.”

That experience — part confusion, part curiosity — pushed her down a financial literacy research rabbit hole. She pored over YouTube videos and articles that explained budgeting, investments, loans and the stock market. Then, last year, she decided to share that information with everyone else, starting an organization called “Cubs of Wall Street.”

Tandon now gives free financial literacy workshops to students at libraries and schools across Washington state, reaching more than 4,500 students so far. She also authored a book released in

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Tutor Ashlyn Miller helps Mason Gray, 10, and his brother, MJ, 11, with math skills during an after-school program on Oct. 8, 2024. Like Miller, Siddhi Tandon helps students by giving free financial literacy workshops at libraries and schools across Washington state.

February, “What I Learned About Money,” aimed at helping kids understand the basics of managing money early.

Her efforts reflect a broader gap lawmakers have repeatedly tried and failed to address in Washington. This year marked the third consecutive attempt to require financial literacy in schools; proposals with bipartisan support did not make it through the 2024 or 2025 legislative sessions, and again fell short this year. The issue has gained traction nationally, where more than two dozen states now require some form of financial literacy education, up from just five in 2018.

Her sessions are designed to

meet students at different levels. Some arrive already familiar with investing concepts, while others are starting from scratch.

The lessons begin simply, covering how money is earned and what it means to budget, and then move to more advanced topics like investing and different kinds of interest. Tandon often uses examples that feel accessible to younger audiences — for example, comparing investments to collectibles like Pokémon cards that gain value over time.

She also introduces foundational concepts like the 50-30-20 rule, which breaks income into 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% savings. But she’s careful to frame it as a starting point, not a rigid

formula.

“Budgeting is not simple. This is a really good rule to get kids started thinking about this,” she said.

Part of what makes the sessions effective, she believes, is that they’re led by someone close in age to the audience. Students are often more willing to engage, ask questions and see themselves in the material.

That relatability shows up in the kinds of questions she gets.

In some sessions, students reference financial research or specific stocks. In others, she explains what a bank account is. The range, she said, highlights just how uneven access to financial knowledge can be.

Tandon’s own learning curve included early mistakes. She remembers panic-selling a stock during a dip, only to watch it rebound the next day, a lesson in how volatile markets can be and why long-term thinking matters.

Now, she shares those experiences openly, along with practical steps students can take, like opening a bank account, understanding taxes on a first job or simply thinking differently about saving small amounts of money.

“Every bank account started is a huge win,” she said.

While she continues to expand her program, Tandon sees schools as a critical part of the solution, and an area where more could be done.

“School prepares us to get a job,” she said during a TedX talk she gave last year about her journey to becoming financially literate. “But what it doesn’t prepare us to do is manage the money that we earn from a job.”

For now, she’s helping to fill that gap herself.

SUNDAY, MAY 3, 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

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE / by Stephan Pastis

wonderword

scrabble grams

word game

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.

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 — HeritAGe: HEH-rihtij: Something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor.

Average mark 40 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 58 or more words in HERITAGE?

For more information on tournaments and clubs, email NASPA – North American SCRABBLE Players Association: info@scrabbleplayers.org. Visit our website: www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com.

Hasbro and its logo SCRABBLE associated logo, the design of the distinctive SCRABBLE brand game card, and the distinctive letter tile designs are trademarks of Hasbro in the United States and Canada. ©2026 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

cryptoquote AxyDLBAAxR iS LONgFELLOW One letter stands for another. in this sample, A is used for the three L’s, x for the two O’s, etc. Single letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of the words are all hints. Each day the code letters are different.

AnsWers to ALL PuZZLes Are on inside BAcK PAGe

Sudoku

ken ken instructions: 1 - Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

2 - The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

3 - Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

instructions: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

hidato directions: Complete the grid so that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

AnsWers to ALL PuZZLes Are on inside BAcK PAGe

Los angeLes Times sunday Crossword puzzLe — Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis “periodiC updaTes”

By Ben wildman-Tobriner & shaun phillips aCross 1 Cheerful 5 Wrigley product 8 Ocean liner?

13 Brazilian coins 18 Govern 19 Inspired by 20 Per __ 21 Kaitlin of “High Potential” 22 Upside found periodically in a bad situation?

24 On the wrong path 25 Shelter org.

26 __ turtle 27 Fills with love 29 Queen singer played periodically by Rami Malek?

31 “Come on now!”

33 In the past 35 Takes a rideshare 36 MLB stat 38 Flavor of many a bright green martini 41 Baking ware that’s only used periodically?

46 Cary Grant film that airs periodically on classic movie channels?

51 Due-in hr.

52 Parroted 54 Swimmer’s wear 55 Midsize car 56 Word 58 Clutched 59 Must pay 62 Pagoda instrument 63 Fancy tie 65 Tyler of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

67 Anise aperitif 69 Advantage in some situations, or an alternate title for this

puzzle 75 Beauty aisle brand 76 Dorm digs 77 Coins of the realm?

80 Basketball stuff 83 Civil rights icon Mandela 86 Olaf’s creator in “Frozen” 89 Udder part 90 Physicist Newton 92 __ Quixote 93 Bee keeper 95 “Rocky III” actor 96 Dickens novel that’s only read periodically?

100 Perfect standup material performed periodically?

102 Portrayal 104 “What a treat!”

105 “All the Light We Cannot See” novelist Anthony 108 Perseveres with 111 Warms 115 Hairstyling device applied periodically?

118 Like tiramisu and cannoli 120 Letter before sigma 121 Desert near the Sinai Peninsula 122 Victory celebration 124 Periodically prone to breaking the speed limit?

126 Elevator stop, in Paris 127 Fit to be farmed 128 Chart topper 129 Rae who plays President Barbie in “Barbie” 130 Broadway awards 131 Bristlelike grippers on gecko feet 132 Batteries in some remotes

133 Soapmaking supplies down 1 Clutch 2 Olympic sleds 3 God of Islam 4 Agnus __ 5 Choice when the Tide runs out?

6 Lower arm bones 7 Pre-eruption lava 8 Conspirator in “Julius Caesar” 9 Go (for) 10 Carrier whose primary hub is Charles de Gaulle 11 Headliner 12 Diggs of “All American” 13 Surfaces that hold tracks and ties 14 Borden mascot 15 In accordance with 16 Scottish waters 17 Hiccup 20 Bunch of clowns, maybe 23 Greenhorn 28 RN workplaces 30 Boring 32 Shelter sound 34 Significant stretch 37 Inseam unit 39 BlackBerrys, e.g.: Abbr.

40 Can opener 41 Like a movie making fun of its own plot holes 42 Great Basin people 43 Mockery 44 __ shed 45 Sports podcaster Katie 47 The 587-piece Pokémon Eevee, e.g.

48 Big fuss 49 “You __ do it!”

50 Cornwall lang.

53 Exchange words?

57 Fifth-largest

Hawaiian island 59 “What a treat!”

60 “Now, where __?”

61 Team’s adjective 64 Business card no.

66 Only OK 68 Oomph 70 Fellow 71 Got the measure of 72 The Miners of the NCAA 73 Museum piece

goren Bridge

74 Syndrome in “The Incredibles,” e.g.

78 Model Delevingne 79 “Not you too!”

80 Pulled off 81 Mex. neighbor 82 Pt. of USNA 84 Lacking sharp sound quality, briefly 85 Ridicule 87 __ Paulo, Brazil

wuzzLes

103 Intel org.

105 As a result of 106 Church instrument 107 John Milton’s “Lycidas,” for one 109 Letter before beta 110 Lower leg bone 112 Like many indie films 113 “If __ walls could talk ... “ 114 Bar mixers 115 Tech news site

116 College figs.

117 Grub 119 Times before eves, in classified ads 123 Legal org.

125 Snake __

super Quiz 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.

Overcoming adversity Today’s deal is from a recent team match in Turkey. We know that four spades failed at the other table.

We don’t know why West at this table chose to lead a club, dummy’s first-bid suit, but it gave declarer nothing that he couldn’t get on his own. Dummy’s jack of clubs won the opening lead.

The contract would be cold if the trumps split 3-2, so South cashed the ace of spades and led a spade to his king, getting the bad news. He led a low heart from his hand. The defense took two heart tricks and led a club to South’s king. South ruffed a heart in dummy and discarded a diamond on the ace of clubs.

NORTH ♠Q ♥ Void ♦8 ♣3 WEST EAST ♠ Void ♠J9 ♥Q ♥A ♦J ♦ Void ♣Q ♣ Void SOUTH ♠85 ♥ Void ♦ 10 ♣ Void

88 Military force 91 Features of PC towers, once 93 Rescue dog, e.g.

94 “Hard pass” 97 Home of the Large Hadron Collider 98 Summer in la cité 99 Go unused 101 Give some shade?

SUBJECT: NEW YORK CITY

year.

(Example: Which of the city’s airports is named after a former U.S. president? Answer: John F. Kennedy International Airport.)

Answer________

FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. Name the world-renowned 843-acre urban park in the heart of Manhattan.

Answer________ 2. What is the city’s most popular nickname?

Answer________ 3. What famous gift did France give the United States?

Answer________ 4. What is the name of the large public park located in the borough of the Bronx and home to a famous zoo and botanical garden?

The king of diamonds was followed by a diamond to the ace, leaving this position (at left).

South led a spade to dummy’s queen and led the club from dummy. He scored his eight of spades “en passant”. Very nicely done!

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

Answer________ 5. What is the name of the iconic suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn?

Answer________ GRADUATE LEVEL 6. What river flows under the Brooklyn Bridge?

Answer________ 7. A large Christmas tree is placed in this location each

8. Name the site of the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop.

Answer________ 9. What museum houses the painting “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh?

Answer________ 10. What is the name of the famous elevated park built on a former railway line?

Answer________ PH.D. LEVEL 11. Name any three of the five boroughs of New York City.

Answer________ 12. In 1626 the city was named “New _____” by the Dutch colonists.

Answer________ 13. What position did Zohran Mamdani assume in January 2026?

Answer________ 14. What is the name of the main library building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, known for its lion statues?

Answer________ 15. What is the name of the financial district street that is synonymous with the U.S. stock market?

Answer________

ANSWERS TO ALL PUZZLES ARE ON NEXT PAGE

zodiaC TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Claim what’s yours, but don’t argue over petty things. An innovative approach to your lifestyle, relationships and love will help you get what you want.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Get ready to go for it. You can be powerful without letting your ego get in the way. Avoid unnecessary arguments, and set the stage for your success.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Use your energy to engage in helping others or to participate in a cause that concerns you. A constructive idea applied to how you earn your

living will be the push you need to get ahead.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Get involved in an event, activity or pastime that motivates you to learn something new. Your input will make a difference, and the people you encounter will have a positive impact on how you live and move forward.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) An honest assessment regarding your skills will make a difference in how others perceive you. Let intelligence guide you and detail help you reach your objective.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You have more possibilities available to you

than you think. A change of scenery will spark your imagination and help you direct your energy accordingly. You have plenty to look forward to, so stop procrastinating.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Bantering with those closest to you will result in opportunities, insight and a fresh start. You will get good results from constructive ideas, joint ventures and being true to yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Start changing your surroundings to meet your needs. How you live will have an impact on how you

perform. Self-improvement is prominent.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Less talk will spare you grief. Focus on home, comfort and all the things that put a smile on your face.

Refuse to let outside influences interfere with your schedule.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Update your look, pamper yourself and live in and enjoy the moment. Take better care of yourself. Look after your emotional well-being and start mapping out your future.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Opportunity knocks; open the door. Get out, mingle and discover what’s

new and exciting. Rely on your judgment in financial matters to avoid scams and aggressive sales tactics.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Keep your thoughts and emotions to yourself, and offer patience, understanding and love to the people you encounter. Overreacting will ruin your day and disrupt your domestic environment.

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

dustin / by Steve Kelley & Jeff Parker

Answers to puzzles super quiz 1. Central Park. 2. The Big Apple. 3. The Statue of Liberty. 4. Bronx Park. 5. Brooklyn Bridge.

6. The East River. 7. Rockefeller Center.

8. Times Square. 9. Museum of Modern Art. 10. The High Line. 11. Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island. 12. New Amsterdam. 13. Mayor of New York City.

14. Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. 15. Wall Street.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points — congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points — honors graduate; 13 to 17 points — you’re plenty smart, but no grind; 5 to 12 points — you really should hit the books harder; 1 point to 4 points — enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — who reads the questions to you?

Cryptoquote Answer Saturday's Cryptoquote: I've never lost a game; I just ran out of time. — Michael Jordan

word GAme Answer hair hare hate hater hear heart heat heater hegira heir here hire hiree eager earth eater egret

eight either ether rage ragi rate reheat retag retie right rite irate tare tear terai thee their

there three tier tiger tire tree triage trig aerie ager agree arete gait gaiter gate gather gear

ghat ghee girth grate great greet grit

sudoKu Answer jumble Answer

Crossword Answers

jeFF mACnelly’s shoe / by Gary Brookins & Susie MacNelly

sCrAbble Answers

FoXtrot / by Bill Amend

wuzzles Answers

Ken Ken Answers

hidAto Answers