The Times-Picayune 06-04-2026

NICK SABAN TESTIFIES IN SUPPORT OF COLLEGE SPORTS BILL

JeffersonParishneeds more trees, studysays

But‘significant barriers’ lieahead

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish doesn’thave enough trees.

Vast areas of the populated parts of the parish, including Elmwood, swaths of Metairie’s commercial districts, most of Marrero and the entirety of Gretna have little to no tree cover, astateofaffairs that’s well known

to parish officialsand residents but hadn’t been cataloged in anycomprehensiveway Now,anew study hasmapped and quantified thelack of trees in hopes of promptingpublicsupport forinvestmentsthat would help beautify neighborhoods and streetscapes —and could bring other benefits

The Urban Forest Master Plan, commissioned by Jefferson Parish and horticulture groupFriends of Jefferson theBeautifuland released in April, saysthe suburbanparishisindesperate need of more trees to combat

rising temperatures and increasing floods after decades of development andhurricanes eliminated much of the parish’spreexisting forest

Thestudy,which measured tree coverage using high resolution aerial imagery andtree mapping software, found that about 17%ofthe land area of Jefferson Parish is covered by atree canopy (not including areas outside of the leveeprotection system). On the east bank, which is almost entirely built out, thecanopy size dwindles

ä See TREES, page 4A

Louisiana

mostly ends inspection stickers

N.O.,BRareas retain rulesfor safety checks

BY ALYSEPFEIL Staffwriter

Drivers across mostofLouisianawillnolonger need avehicle inspection sticker —though many in the Baton Rouge andNew Orleans areaswill still have to complywith other inspection rules in those places.

“The inspection sticker is now EXPIRED in Louisiana!” Gov.Jeff Landry wrote in asocial media post after aTuesdaybill-signing ceremony,calling it “costly and burdensome.”

Most drivers will no longer need to get abasic safety check every yearortwo. Instead, they’ll have to get anew Louisiana VehicleIdentification Program sticker,which will have a QR codethatlists the vehicle identification numberwhen scanned. Drivers will get the new QR code sticker when registering avehicle. It will have an annual cost of $6 that will be collected by theOffice of Motor Vehicles at the time of

registration and again everytime theregistration is renewed, which could be at one-,two- or four-year intervals. For example, someone whorenews aregistration every two years will pay $12. Thestate’snew QR codesticker listing the VINwill be rolled out beginning Jan. 1. Before that date,drivers do not need to visit theOMV to get the

ä See STICKERS, page 7A

House votesto stop war with Iran

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON The House forthe first time

Wednesdayapproved awar powers resolution that would haltthe U.S. military action against Iran, defying PresidentDonaldTrump as ahandful of Republicansjoined with Democrats to end the threemonth-long conflict that has reorderedpoliticsat homeand abroad.

“It is timefor thepresident to do theright thing.The people are tired of suffering because of his warofchoice —suffering at thegas pump, suffering at the supermarkets.”

REP. GREGORy MEEKS,D-N.y.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hadtriedto prevent an outcome that wouldshowthe mountingoppositiontothe war,abruptlyshutting down floor action two weeks ago when the resolution was on the verge of approval. But displeasure hasonlygrown as the conflict drags on and as Trump struggles to negotiate aplan for peace.

“Enoughisenough,”saidRep.Gregory MeeksofNew York, the topDemocrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who led the effort.

“Itistimefor the president to do the right thing,” he said. “The people aretired of suffering because of his war of choice —suffering at the gas pump, suffering at the supermarkets.”

The roll call Wednesday was215-208, but next steps are uncertain. Trump would likely reject any measure from Congress to limit his commander-in-chief authority.Still, the tally,with four Republicans joining Democrats, was arebuke of the president’swar strategy,and cheers erupted in the House chamber

It’s the fourth timethe House hastried to

ä See HOUSE, page 4A

ST.TAMMANY PARISH

It’s notclear when,orif, charges will be filed

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

ASt. TammanyParishSheriff’s Office incident report released Wednesday provided newdetails aboutthe allegation that Sheriff Randy Smith attacked one of his harshest critics last week at anorthshore steakhouse as state officials continue to investigate thecase. At least nine people witnessed what officials called a “disturbance” at Keith Young’s Steakhouse near Madisonville on Fridayand twoSnapchat videos were obtained as evi-

dence, according to the documents,which werereleased through apublic records request. The report lists Smith as a suspect in the encounter and notes that the Sheriff’s Office deputy who responded to the restaurant turned over thecase to Louisiana Bureau of Investigation officials once they arrived at the scene. Northshore resident Bobby Couvillion, avocal online critic of St. Tammanypoliticians, including Smith, said last week that Smithchokedhim while he sat at therestaurant’s bar

Smith

ä See SHERIFF, page 7A

STAFF FILEPHOTO By BRETTDUKE Vehicle

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Palm and crape myrtle trees grow along Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie on Wednesday.

Ford issues recalls for several models

Ford is recalling almost 420,000 vehicles because of a seat belt issue that may result in an injury if a crash occurs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a report Tuesday that the recall includes certain Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles with model years 2018 through 2022.

The issue involves seat belts that may lock inadvertently, not allowing them to retract or extend Vehicle owners will receive a notification in the mail about the recall. They can take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have both front seat belt retractors inspected and to replace retractors involved in the recall for free.

Ford also issued a do-notdrive warning for thousands of Bronco Sport and Maverick due to problems with the vehicles’ suspension systems

The NHTSA said that the front lower control arm ball joints may have been incorrectly installed or incorrectly repaired at an assembly plant, and the control arm could disconnect from the front wheel knuckle Dealers will inspect and repair the front lower control arm ball joints as necessary, for free.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332 or the NHTSA at (888) 327-4236 for more information about the recalls

Child dies after inflatable castle tossed into air

MONTREAL A 3-year-old girl died from injuries she sustained when strong winds tossed an inflatable castle into the air during a party at a Montreal park last weekend.

Eleven people were injured with six of them sent to hospital when a bouncy castle and a tent were tossed by high winds on May 31 at Parc Ouellet in LaSalle, a borough in southwest Montreal, emergency medical services said

The government agency Environment Canada said wind speeds were up to 31 miles per hour on Sunday afternoon during a party held by a church.

Cathy Denis, owner of an inflatable-structure rental company in Quebec, said she doesn’t install or operate bouncy castles or similar inflatables when forecasts call for wind speeds exceeding 24 miles per hour

She said that limit is important because inflatables present a large surface area and sudden gusts can move the structures, even when they are properly installed.

Germany seizes tons of cocaine, arrests suspects

BERLIN German authorities said Wednesday they have seized more than 8 metric tons of cocaine from a container that was supposed to be carrying cacao beans, and two suspects were later arrested in Spain.

German customs investigators put the street value of the cocaine seized in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven at about $582 million.

The drugs were seized on Feb. 9. The arrests were made in El Ejido, in the Spanish province of Almería, on May 14.

The container had arrived from West Africa and was destined for Spain, investigators said in a statement Instead of cacao beans, officials found more than 400 packets wrapped in black foil, each containing about 20 blocks of compressed cocaine

The shipment was destroyed in Germany before the container was sent on its way to Barcelona. Investigators identified two suspected organizers of the shipment and arrested them during a handover of the container

One of them, the manager of an import company, has been linked to a previous cocaine shipment by Spanish customs, the statement said.

Trump admits calling Israeli PM ‘crazy’

Israel, Lebanon agree to renew fragile ceasefire

BY KAREEM CHEHAYEB, MATTHEW LEE, JOSH BOAK and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press

BEIRUT President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “crazy” in a phone call that involved expletives, saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran.

But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both “wartime” leaders.

“We’ve worked very well together I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force One.”

In an interview on the American business-news channel CNBC, Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have “tactical disagreements” but have “common goals” and “agree on the main things.”

“He respects me. I respect him We always find a way to work out our differences,” the prime minister said.

The president’s comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.

Talks have dragged on for weeks and have been strained by Israel’s broadening war with the Iranian-backed militia group in Lebanon The conflicts have become increasingly intertwined as Iran insists that any potential truce in the war there must also quell the fighting in Lebanon.

Israel, Lebanon renew ceasefire

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.

In a joint statement released after a fourth round of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said

the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas.

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement said. “All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”

The latter is a reference to Iran, which supports Hezbollah and has insisted that Israeli attacks on Lebanon be halted as part of a tentative agreement with the U.S. to end the conflict with Iran.

Hezbollah is not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks, which have been held at the ambassadorial level in Washington since the beginning of last month.

“All parties condemned Iran’s attacks on countries in the region and ongoing activities that undermine stability throughout the Middle East, whether through support for proxies and all other acts of aggression,” the statement said.

A new round of discussions will be held during the week of June 22 with an eye toward “reaching a comprehensive agreement.”

Military warning rattles coastal city Israeli strikes over southern Lebanon continued, especially in and around the battered cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. Two overnight strikes near Tyre, a coastal city, killed four Syrians and two Palestinians.

Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that Hezbollah members were among them Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas in recent days because they were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast.

After the warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.

600 firefighters battle fire at the U.S.-Mexico border

BY KAREN KUCHER

The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)

SAN DIEGO Six hundred firefighters, aided by helicopters and air tankers, were battling a stubborn brush fire along the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday that so far has charred more than 2,600 acres of vegetation on both sides of the border

The blaze, which sparked Monday afternoon in Mexico before crossing into the U.S., south of Dulzura, was reported to be 5% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire officials.

Aerial mapping of the burn area estimated total acreage at 2,617 acres early Wednesday Officials said 1,625 acres were in the U.S. and 992 acres were in Mexico.

One night-flying helicopter worked up until midnight making water drops on the fire, and officials ordered two air tankers and four helicopters to make water and fire retardant drops Wednesday, said Cal Fire Capt. Oscar Sotelo. He said the fire was burning east and was expected to grow after the marine layer burned off.

“The fire did go down in intensity and they are expecting the intensity to pick

up during the day,” Sotelo said. Although no structures were immediately threatened, the fire is about a mile from Tecate Peak, where radio communications equipment is housed, and a mile from a high-voltage power line that feeds San Diego. Sotelo described the area as being “a pretty rural, inaccessible area.”

Evacuation warnings were issued around 5 p.m Tuesday for businesses and homes north of Conchera via Road at Cochera via Drive, south of state Route 94, east of Little Tecate Road at SR-94 and west of U.S. Border Patrol Road at SR-94. The Red Cross opened an overnight shelter at the Spring Valley Community Center where residents and their pets were welcomed.

According to Baja California Civil Protection officials, the fire began shortly after 2:15 p.m. Monday near Rancho Las Uvas and the border fence, between Tijuana and Tecate.

Mexican officials on Tuesday had said the fire charred more than 520 acres south of the border and reported it mostly under control there. Sotelo said Cal Fire was told Mexican officials are moving their resources to fight the fire on the east side.

Pentagon hires convicted rioter to military post

Man was freshman at Citadel when he joined attack

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration has given a man convicted in the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol a job in the Pentagon’s policy office, according to officials and internal records.

“Mr Elias Irizarry is a qualified, patriotic young professional, and we are proud to have him as a political appointee,” acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez said in a social media post this week.

Irizarry, whose appointment was first reported by The Washington Post, was convicted in 2023 of a misdemeanor trespassing charge after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. He showed contrition when he was sentenced to two weeks behind bars in 2023, court documents show Internal Pentagon records described to The Associated Press show that Irizarry has been assigned to the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy which is tasked with providing national security advice and support on military strategy and planning to the defense secretary It was not clear from Valdez’s statement how long Irizarry had been in the post, and the Pentagon declined to provide more information.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on social media:

“This administration thinks a convicted Jan. 6 rioter should be doing that kind of work?????”

Irizarry was a 19-yearold freshman at the Citadel military college in South Carolina and a Civilian Air Patrol cadet when he joined the attack on the Capitol, court documents show He climbed through a broken

window, entered a conference room, carried a metal pole through the Capitol and took photos before leaving the building, the records say

“Because of his training, Irizarry was undoubtedly aware of the safety threat posed by a mass of angry rioters to the Congressional members and staff inside the building,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

Irizarry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge in October 2022. In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sentenced Irizarry to 14 days behind bars. Before learning his sentence, Irizarry told the judge he brought “great shame upon myself, my family and even my country,” according to a transcript.

“The idea of Americans being willing to fight other Americans and tear down the very institutions that millions of other Americans sacrificed and built and protect is horrible. It is something I have to live with being a part of,” he said.

Irizarry is not the only convicted participant of the Jan. 6 riot to find a job within the Trump administration.

Jared Wise, a former FBI agent charged with joining the crowd, was hired at the Justice Department last year to serve as an adviser to the department’s pardon attorney Wise was on trial in Washington when Trump returned to the White House in January and immediately pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in the attack. The case against Wise was dismissed before the jury reached a verdict. He announced on social media in April he had resigned from the department, saying: “I returned to Washington to fully expose the abuses by the FBI and DOJ against J6 defendants, but it became clear that this will only happen from outside of government. So I left and will do so.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MOHAMMED ZAATARI

Rescue workers use an excavator on Tuesday as they search for victims under the rubble of a building that was hit Monday in an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon.

Bessent refuses to say

if Trump is exempt

Treasury secretary won’t clarify president’s IRS immunity

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Treasury Secre-

tary Scott Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether President Donald Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president’s allies.

“There’s continuing litigation, and I’m unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessent told lawmakers at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.

It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers looking to get answers from Bessent at a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department’s budget and came a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with the IRS audit immunity would still be in effect for the Republican president.

After several failed attempts to get Bessent to answer, Sen Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said, “It’s been very clear you’re dodging this and you’re trying to use it as an excuse. It’s just outrageous on behalf of the American republic.”

A White House representative did not respond to an Associated Press inquiry about the status of the settlement. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump did not confirm whether the compensation fund had been scrapped or was simply on hold. “I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know,” he told reporters. “As far as I’m concerned, it was a beautiful thing,” he said.

The administration decided to scrap plans for the compensation fund, which could have included payouts to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, after bipartisan outrage and a fierce political backlash that

threatened to stall key elements of the White House agenda. Still, the status of the IRS immunity deal as part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS remained unclear, though Blanche said Tuesday that “nothing has changed” in that regard.

Last week, a federal judge in Florida overseeing Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, who had initially dismissed the case, reopened the case and ordered the president’s attorneys to respond to allegations that Trump abandoned his claims to avoid the court’s scrutiny of the deal.

When she initially dismissed the case, Kathleen Williams, the judge handling the lawsuit, admonished the Justice Department for a lack of transparency and said no agency “submitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring that the settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed.”

Matt Platkin, a former New Jersey attorney general now at the law firm Platkin LLP, which is representing lawmakers and judges challenging the settlement agreement, called it “one of the greatest scams in American history.”

He told The Associated Press that Blanche’s testimony on Tuesday over plans to scrap the weaponization fund and grant Trump audit immunity “underscores the need for the court to continue its inquiry in Florida.”

Lawmakers on Wednesday tried to grill Bessent on the agreement without success.

“Secretary Bessent owes the committee an explanation of what the Treasury knows about the dirty settlement. That’s because his department was involved from beginning to end,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Wyden asked Bessent: “Does the IRS audit immunity given to Trump, his family and his businesses still stand?”

Bessent declined to answer, citing the unresolved legal dispute.

Senate begins vote on funding immigration enforcement

Legislation was delayed for weeks

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, KEVIN

FREKING and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Republicanled Senate is moving forward with legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies after forcing the Trump administration to say it will drop its settlement fund for political allies and stripping a separate proposal for White House security from the bill.

The Senate voted 53-46 on Wednesday to begin debate on the roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. The legislation was delayed for weeks as Republican senators navigated the various obstacles to passage created by President Donald Trump and the White House, but they are now moving quickly to pass it after paring it back to its original form.

“Right now, the goal is to get the base bill across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Still, Republicans will need to find enough votes to beat back multiple amendments that Democrats — and some Republicans say they will offer to permanently ban Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund.

After fierce Republican pushback, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday that “we are not moving forward with the fund, period.” But shortly after the Senate voted to move forward with the bill on Wednesday, Trump repeatedly defended the settlement in response to reporters’ questions at the White House.

When asked directly whether the fund is dead or just on hold, Trump responded: “I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know.”

“I love it,” Trump said of the settlement. “I think it’s so important.”

Republicans are using a process called budget reconciliation that enables them to pass the legislation without any Democratic votes, but they must first wade through

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a long series of amendment votes that could pose problems for the bill. That process is expected to start on Thursday Amendments test unity

Republicans said they felt reassured by Blanche’s promises to scrap the fund, which was part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. GOP senators had revolted and left town two weeks ago after the Justice Department announced the payouts, which could potentially go to participants in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and other Trump allies.

Democrats say they want it written into the law

“It is only a matter of time before Blanche and Trump go back on their word,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted Wednesday morning. After Trump’s comments, Schumer posted on X that “this is EXACTLY why” Democrats would be forcing votes to ban it.

Some Republicans also planned to try and put Blanche’s promise in writing. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has said he will offer an amendment to block any attempt at resurrecting the fund.

“We’ve got a sufficient number of Republicans who have been

very clear they’ve got concerns there,” said Tillis.

Thune said earlier on Wednesday that Blanche’s comments were “extremely helpful” and that he thought most GOP senators were satisfied. He said he was working with Tillis and others who have discussed amendments as he tries to ensure he has enough votes for a simple majority in the 53-47 Senate.

“Keep in mind, we’ve got to keep them all together, make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it,” Thune said. Money dropped for ballroom

The legislation was also delayed by the opposition to $1 billion in security funding for the White House, including for Trump’s new ballroom, that was added to the original bill. Democrats and some Republicans questioned using taxpayer money for the massive project in a time of economic hardship for many voters. Democrats had planned amendments to strip that language, as well.

As various side issues temporarily derailed the legislation, Republicans have said their top priority is passing the ICE and Border Patrol funding that Democrats have blocked for months in protest of the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

But success requires GOP unity in the Senate and the House before it can reach Trump.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D right, speaks to reporters on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington.

down to just 15%.

Though the study says New Orleans has acanopy that covers just 18.5% of its area, the coverage is vastly smaller thanestimates for some other Southern cities.

For instance, the tree canopy coverageofCharleston, SouthCarolina, is about 64%, while the national average for urban areasis about 39.4%.

Supporters say reforestation is needed now more than ever,especially in the face of rising deaths due to extreme heat in Louisiana and an ever-present need for improved drainage as floods become more common. Green infrastructure is also seen as helping to lower energy bills, improve air quality andincrease property values, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful hopes to increase the tree canopy to 40% over the next 15 years, starting with the planting of about 1,440 trees across areas most bereft of greenery by 2031.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but it’s also today,” said Nora Vaden Holmes, co-president of the organization, inarecent presentation to the council.

‘Never fullyrecovered’

The 164-page study concluded that about half Jefferson Parish’sneighborhoods and municipalities have less than 20%tree coverage. It identified 12 areas as most in need of new trees, including Elmwood, parts of Metairie, Harvey and Gretna.Also most in need were Shrewsbury, Rosedale North and South andBellemeade.

TheJefferson Parish Council commissioned the study from Dana Brown and Associates for $94,000 in 2022 in response to anew reforestation plan by New Orleans, which set the goal of planting about 7,000 trees per year to reach a10% tree canopy in every neighborhood by 2040 —about 100,000 new trees total.

The struggles to reforest in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish are largelythe same.Bothareasdeveloped their land with vast swaths of concrete,rooftopsand narrow easements along roadways, makingitdifficult to find viable green space for new trees to grow On topofinfrastruc-

ture obstacles, Hurricane Katrinawiped outabout 200,000 trees in Jefferson Parishand left manyresidentshesitanttoreplant out of fear that new trees would cause more damage in future storms.

“Hurricane Katrinadecimated much of Jefferson Parish’stree canopy,and while we’ve made progress, we have never fully recovered,”Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng saidina statement.

Residents also reported problems with utilitycompanies over-trimming existing vegetation, and inconsistent policies and code enforcementregarding treesasadditional issues, thestudyfound. In Old Metairie, for example, the parishcan charge property owners up to $500 per day forunlawfullyremoving treesonprivate property until apermitisobtained,whichisstricter than anywhere else in the parish.

Lookingahead

Themasterplanstated that the parish will face “significantbarriers” in bolstering its tree canopy and will require amultiprong approach rooted in expanding tree planting programs,

implementing new and consistent tree protections and educating the public on whichtrees aresafestto plant in the swampy New Orleansarea.

Holmes said Wednesday that Friends of Jefferson the Beautifulhas commitment from parish council members to help fund themaster plan, and thatthey would begin to apply for grants using theresults of the study

Thenonprofitwill start with ashort-term goal of increasing the tree canopy by 5% over the next five years, and identified in the master plan threelocations in each council districtwhere trees should go first

The study estimatedit would cost about $1.9million total to achieve that initial goal based on contractor pricing, although Holmes said they would likely be able to work with theparish to significantly reduce those costs.

Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful currently plants over 600 trees peryear through projectsliketree giveaways, memorial groves and community meetings.

Email LaraNicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate. com.

curb the U.S. war against Iran. The Senate advanced its own warpowers resolution last month when ahandful of GOP senators broke ranks with the Republican president in arare show of politicalpushback from his party Each timeDemocratshave pushed forward the war powers resolution, thevote tallies have inched higher as political unease with the U.S. war swells.Trump had campaigned forthe White House on apromiseto end U.S. entanglements abroad and focus more on domestic issues, but the war has shifted attentionback to the Middle East.

Johnson insisted Trumpis “laser focused” on the domestic front, particularly ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress

The speaker said he spent three hours at the White House with the president this week and Trump is calling on allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume the flow of commerce. Since the U.S. joined Israel in launching the Feb. 28 strikes on Iran, Americans have seengas prices spike at the pumps, adding to inflationary pressure on consumer spending. Iran has been able to interrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, avital channel for alarge segment of the world’soil, naturalgas and related products such as fertilizer

“We’re working on that finalpiece,”said Johnson, RBenton. “The entireworld hasaninterest in theStrait of Hormuz being reopened for commerce. That’s what he’sworking on.” Whileaceasefire in the conflict was declared in April, it remainsuneasy and uncertain.Talks for amore durable end to the fighting have dragged, increasingly complicated by Israel’s broadening war withIranbacked Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Meanwhile, military strikes between theU.S.and Iran continue to flare. The war powers resolution from the House would not

immediately stop the war, but it would provide asymbolic —ifnot legal —step against furthermilitaryaction

The resolution next goes to theSenate, where four Republican senators last monthjoinedDemocrats in advancing asimilar measure to curtail the U.S. campaign against Iran. The Senate has yet to takea final votetoapprove or reject its own war powers resolution.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Wednesday at aHouse Foreign Affairs Committeehearing thatthe Iranians would think that the administration’s“hands are going to be tied” if Con-

gress approveda war pow-

ers resolution. He said they would think “wewon’tbe able to do anything to them so why make adeal?”

It’snot theonly action Congress is taking in the national security arena as Democrats, in the minority, work to peel off Republican supportfor measures beyond thewar against Iran.

The House also voted Wednesday on another Democratic-led effort, a procedural step toward ameasurethatwould au-

thorize U.S. support for Ukraine’smilitaryoperations as it battles Russia and would help reconstruct the war-torn country. That vote is expected later this week

TheHouse also expected to consider awar powers resolution to block U.S. action in Lebanon.

While Congress has the authority under the Constitution to declare war,the president also haspower as thecommander in chief to engage in military action, creating alegal dispute over which branch of government hasultimate say in matters of warand peace. If the Senate joins the House to approve the resolution, it could set the stage for afresh legal test of war powers. Under the WarPowers Act, theWhite House hasa 60-day windowtoseek approval from Congress for military action. The administration,however,has indicated thatbecause aceasefire has been declared in the current conflictinIran, the hostilities have ceased.

Jefferson

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

The tops of afew trees pop out of the landscape in Elmwood in Jefferson Parish on Wednesday.

Continued from page1A

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE Speaker of the House MikeJohnson, R-Benton, prepares to talk to reporters atthe Capitol on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks halt their record-breaking rally

NEW YORK Oil prices rose Wednesday following the latest flare-up in fighting to threaten the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and U.S. stocks retreated from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% from its all-time high for its first drop in 10 days The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 620 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.

Weighing on the market was a climb of 1.9% for the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, which brought it back to $97.81. It rose after both the United States and Iran said they launched retaliations for earlier attacks or attempted ones.

Palo Alto Networks helped drag the market lower, and it fell 5.6% even though it reported profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations Investors may have been looking for even more after its stock came into the day with a surge of 61.3% for the year so far, more than quintuple the S&P 500’s already big 11.2% rise.

Airport could soon run on 100% solar power

A large solar array is being planned to fully power Northeast Philadelphia Airport

A bill that still needs approval by City Council would authorize a contractor to build a 1.5-megawatt solar farm. In return, the city would purchase the energy for the airport for 25 years at a set rate. It would become the largest municipal on-site solar project within city limits. There are larger privately run solar arrays. The plan is a partnership between the city’s Department of Aviation, which manages both PNE and Philadelphia International Airport, and the Philadelphia Energy Authority

“The Department of Aviation is committed to purchasing or generating 100% renewable energy through collaboration with the City of Philadelphia Office of Sustainability,” Jessica Noon, sustainability manager for the airports, said at a hearing Tuesday by the council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities Noon said Reactivate LLC, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Invenergy, will own the solar array It will be responsible for construction, daily operations, and long-term maintenance. EU launches tech sovereignty initiative

BRUSSELS European Union leaders, worried about the continent relying too heavily on American companies for AI and cloud computing services and Asia for microchips, are pushing back.

The 27-nation bloc unveiled a “tech sovereignty” package on Wednesday with measures to promote homegrown European alternatives to Big Tech services and hardware.

The efforts by Brussels have gained urgency as leaders worry about dependence on technologies from foreign providers, which they say could be “weaponized” against Europeans. Those fears crystallized after the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor was sanctioned by the Trump administration, which led to Microsoft canceling his email account, sparking fears of a “kill switch” hidden in U.S tech services.

“Europe wants to be in the position to make its own choices, avoiding risky dependencies on single dominant suppliers, one company or one third country,” European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, who oversees tech sovereignty, told reporters in Brussels.

“Because we live in a world where geopolitics and technology go hand in hand. Those who champion technological innovation will shape the future, and we must ensure that Europe plays a leading role in this.”

Dallas Neiman Marcus to close

Iconic location to shutter in September

BY BRIAN WOMACK

The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS Neiman Marcus will close its downtown Dallas department store, ending months of speculation and delivering another blow to the central business district landscape.

The iconic store is set to shutter at the end of September as the company turns its focus on the NorthPark Center amid a bankruptcy process with Saks Global,

which acquired Neiman Marcus at the end of 2024. The closure will close the chapter on a multidecade run for the shop that had acted as a fashion beacon for the region.

“It is not an easy decision, but it is a final decision,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of Saks Global. “ The rationale is really we’ve looked at multiple criteria, but it’s mostly the criteria of what are the customer preferences and where is demand, and what we see is that there’s a shift in the retail map in Dallas.”

The downtown Dallas store was a flagship property for Dallas-

founded and headquartered Neiman Marcus until the chain was purchased by upscale competitor Saks Global in 2024. For more than a century, the building the epicenter of luxury retail in North Texas and welcomed some of the world’s biggest names in fashion such as Christian Dior, Sophia Loren and Gloria Vanderbilt.

With the change, Neiman Marcus plans to infuse elements of the downtown store and its history into the NorthPark site, according to the company This includes reimagining the Neiman Marcus Cafe into The Zodiac Room and celebrating other pieces of its history

The downtown store was first set to close at the end of March in 2025 after weeks of back and forth between city and business officials and the company amid a lease dispute. Yet an 11th-hour announcement staved off the shuttering with the site set to be kept open through the holiday shopping at the end of last year — and then the lifeline was extended into 2026. The NorthPark business does more than 10 times the sales of the downtown business, van Raemdonck said. And sales, despite the attention the store attracted last year, declined in 2025.

Trump administration seeks new path forward with tariffs

First attempt hit legal roadblocks

BY PAUL WISEMAN and ELAINE KURTENBACH AP business writers

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is in a hurry to rebuild the tariff wall the Supreme Court tore down less than four months ago.

The administration this week has proposed slapping double-digit tariffs on products from dozens of major U.S trading partners after an investigation into imports of goods allegedly made with forced labor And more tariffs are likely coming.

Under the proposal released in Washington late Tuesday 16 economies including Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan and the United Kingdom — would face 10% levies for allegedly failing to enforce bans on forced labor Another 44 trading partners including China, Japan, India, South Korea and Switzerland — would be hit with 12.5% import taxes. The tariffs are part of Trump’s push to replace revenue lost when the U.S. Supreme

Court struck down sweeping global tariffs he’d imposed last year. This latest barrage is likely to unsettle key trading partners that have been hit with waves of tariffs since Trump returned to the White House early last year

“The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. “This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field.” Greer’s office said failure to prevent such imports is “unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce.”

Trump’s tariffs are paid by U.S. importers who usually try to pass along those higher costs to customers.

The administration, mindful that Americans are growing increasingly unsettled by high prices with midterm elections just months away said that it would limit the impact by exempting from the latest proposed tariffs a long list of products, including aircraft parts, food products (from coffee to beef) and rare earth minerals crucial in the production

of smartphones and cars. Also spared would be products from Canada and Mexico covered by a North American trade pact.

The new tariffs would not take effect immediately They are subject to public comment and review Public hearings on the proposed duties are due to begin on July 7.

The plan drew immediate pushback. A Chinese government spokesperson denied the forced labor allegation and called for resolving economic issues through dialogue, saying a trade war doesn’t serve anyone’s interests.

“There is no such thing as forced labor in China, and we oppose using it as an excuse to engage in political manipulation,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing.

The U.S. has long said imports of goods that include material from China’s farwestern Xinjiang are at risk of using forced labor Beijing denies allegations of forced labor in the Muslim majority region.

But critics saw the proposed tariffs as a pretext to reinstate tariffs on dozens of countries across the globe that hadn’t passed legal muster

Humanoid

BY NILESH CHRISTOPHER Los Angeles Times (TNS)

robots are learning to do your job — in the kitchen

Fernando Flores can spend eight hours a day pouring the same cup of coffee

He is not a barista. He’s a robot puppeteer, trying to train humanoids

He manipulates mechanical controllers to make nearby robot arms pick up a pot of coffee, pour it into a mug and put the pot back in the coffee maker. Flores checks for spills, then empties the mug back into the pot by hand and does it again — hundreds of times.

“The repetitiveness, it can cause some discomfort,” said Flores, who has the title of senior robotic pilot

at San Francisco startup Encord. “It becomes second nature after a while.”

This Sisyphus of Silicon Valley is on the front lines of a rapidly expanding industry of robot trainers, preparing to teach and operate the army of humanoid robots scheduled to march out of nearby factories in the coming year Encord practices, records and sells data about movement to the companies racing to bring humanoids to homes, offices and factories. If tech companies’ optimistic plans are to be believed, a swarm of American-built robots is about to hit the market Tesla’s Fremont factory stopped car production this year to make

way for production lines for its Optimus robots, with unbelievable plans to ramp up capacity to 1 million units a year Palo Alto-based 1X Technologies is already manufacturing its 66-pound, 5-foot-6 humanoid named Neo at its factory in Hayward. The company received 10,000 preorders, and its first shipment is expected later this year Figure AI’s humanoid factory in San Jose has increased its manufacturing capacity to produce one Figure 03 robot an hour, with the goal of producing 12,000 a year Goldman Sachs projects the global market for humanoids could reach $38 billion by 2035. The AI of these humanoid robots needs an immense amount of data

on human movement. How humans write, speak, code and compose was easily scraped off the internet, but the bots need more information to master how to stand, step, lift, squeeze, pour and perform other physical movements That is where companies like Encord come in. The $10 billion invested in robotics in 2026, according to CB Insights, has spawned an industry focused on training robots Initially, that meant humans strapping iPhones to their foreheads, recording actions like cooking, cleaning and performing household chores. That, however, doesn’t capture the exact torque, force and grip required for a robot hand to work flawlessly

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AURELIEN MORISSARD

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arrives May 6 for the G7 trade meeting in Paris.

and then punched and kicked him before bystanders pulled Smith away The incident report didn’t address the specific allegations, but appeared to confirm some of the injuries Couvillion said he suffered, noting that the victim in the attack suffered a busted lip and bruises before he was taken to an area hospital

The incident report, along with a report from St. Tammany Fire District No. 2 which was released late Tuesday, offered the first official accounts of an encounter that’s become the talk of St. Tammany and represents perhaps the biggest political and personal challenge for Smith since he was elected sheriff in 2015.

Smith has not been arrested on any counts related to the fight, and is continuing to serve as sheriff, according to his office.

He has not publicly commented or responded to calls or text messages, but his lawyer has said he is cooperating with the investigation

The Sheriff’s Office turned over the investigation to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, and a spokesperson for Murrill’s office on Wednesday said officials were still reviewing evidence and there was no update on the case. Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims declined to comment

Contacted by phone on Wednesday, Couvillion said, “It’s unfortunate that the eyewitnesses had to witness such a horrific act by the highest ranked law enforcement officer in our parish.”

“I have faith that the Attorney General’s Office will do the right thing,” he said.

Sheriff’s Office response

According to the documents, the encounter was reported to authorities at 4:31 p.m. Friday as a “disturbance” in the dining room at Keith Young’s.

Capt. John Evans arrived on scene around 5 p.m., about 30 minutes after the reported incident, the Sheriff’s Office report showed. While conducting his investigation, Evans learned the case was being turned over to the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations, which is the investigative agency overseen by the state Attorney General’s Office. Several witnesses were on the

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QR code sticker Instead, they will simply get the new sticker when their registration is up for renewal in the coming months or years.

Drivers in some major metro areas, however, will still have to periodically trek to inspection facilities to comply with requirements there.

The cities of New Orleans, Kenner and Westwego run their own local vehicle inspection programs.

The new state law does not impact those local programs “The city is currently reviewing the legislation that removes the requirement for brake tags and vehicle inspection stickers,” said Jonah Gilmore, spokesperson for New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno. “We are evaluating the law and its potential impact on opera-

scene, the report indicates, and their names were redacted Other submitted evidence included 36 photos of injuries to Couvillion and two Snapchat videos, one that was 12 seconds long and another that was two seconds long.

The report referred to Couvillion as the victim and lists injuries as a “busted upper lip,” an “abrasion to left elbow” and “redness.” The Sheriff’s Office was cleared from the scene at 8:20 p.m. on Friday the report says.

The Sheriff’s Office has declined to provide an audio recording of the 911 call, citing exemptions in state public records law for records related to ongoing investigations.

Fire response

Other records provided by St. Tammany Fire District No. 2 show that two firefighters responded at 4:36 p.m. to what it referred to as an assault at Keith Young’s.

The pair was on the scene within five minutes, records show They were dispatched from a station that is located about a mile away from the steakhouse, according to Fire Chief Randy Hess.

The firefighters were advised it

“The city is currently reviewing the legislation that removes the requirement for brake tags and vehicle inspection stickers.”

JONAH GILMORE, spokesperson for New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno

tions within Orleans Parish to determine how the city will proceed.”

And the capital region — the parishes of Ascension, Iberville, Livingston, East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge — are still subject to federal Clean Air Act emissions testing requirements.

“In these parishes vehicles will continue to obtain emissions control stickers and pay the associated $8 fee,” according to a fiscal analysis of the legislation. About 314,000 emissions control stickers are sold annually the analysis says.

was safe to enter the steakhouse per the Sheriff’s Office and found a patient sitting in the dining room, records showed. The patient’s name was redacted in the records, but Couvillion has publicly identified himself as the victim.

Couvillion told the firefighters he had neck pain and his upper lip was “busted.” He was not actively bleeding, but the firefighters noticed blood on his shirt. They put a neck brace on Couvillion “for precaution” and then handed him over to a private ambulance company

The firefighters were cleared from the scene at 5:02 p.m., around the same time that Evans arrived on scene.

Up next Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Suzanne Carboni confirmed on Wednesday that Smith, a career law-enforcement officer, remains atop the department and continues to go to work.

“He is the sheriff and is doing his job as the sheriff,” she said. It’s not clear when the Attorney General’s Office will provide additional information on the incident. It’s also not clear when, or if, charges will be filed.

Drivers in the New Orleans area and capital region will also be required to get the new Louisiana Vehicle Identification Program QR code, according to the OMV Starting on June 30, law enforcement officers will be prohibited from issuing tickets for not displaying an inspection sticker

Under the legislation, House Bill 1085, personal vehicles will no longer need state inspection stickers effective Jan. 1, but commercial vehicles and school buses are still required to do regular safety inspections.

A spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Insurance said it has received no indication from auto insurers that ending the inspection sticker requirement will affect insurance rates and that department has “no reason to anticipate that it would.”

Staff writer Marco Cartolano contributed to this story

If Smith were to take a leave of absence or otherwise step away from his position, the department’s chief deputy, Jeff Boehm, would likely take the top post, Carboni said.

In general, if a deputy is charged with a crime, whether or not the person is forced to resign or take a leave of absence is determined by the office’s public integrity bureau on a case-by-case basis, Carboni said.

Under state law, an arrest for a misdemeanor or a felony wouldn’t force Smith’s removal from office, according to Rafael Goyeneche III, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission. Only a felony conviction would trigger removal, he said.

Normally, when a law enforcement officer is arrested, there is often an administrative reassignment, such as to desk duty, or potentially a suspension while the matter is investigated, Goyeneche said, though he noted that there are fewer examples of what happens when a sheriff is under investigation.

St. Tammany Parish officials have avoided commenting directly on the incident in recent days, but

social media accounts and pages focused on the northshore have been abuzz with commentary and memes about what transpired at the popular restaurant.

Smith is among the most wellknown politicians on the northshore, having won parishwide office three times after serving as the chief of police in Slidell. He’s been able to point to low crime rates during his tenure, but has also faced criticism for his handling of high-profile cases, such as the death of Nanette Krentel. Community group Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, which has historically been critical of Smith, said in a social media post soon after the incident on Friday that Smith should resign if Couvillion’s allegations turn out to be true. Parish residents may demonstrate their feelings about the incident at the end of this month, when voters will be asked to renew a 4.31-mill property tax that the Sheriff’s Office says generates about $13.6 million and pays for deputies’ salaries and benefits.

Email Willie Swett at willie. swett@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By WILLIE SWETT

Attorney General Liz Murrill is investigating an incident involving St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith at Keith young’s Steakhouse on Friday. Bobby Couvillion, a frequent critic of Smith, has accused Smith of attacking him at the popular steakhouse near Madisonville.

DOE backing away from addressing civil rights

BY ANNIE MA AP education writer

WASHINGTON For generations, the federal government enforced civil rights laws with an eye toward remedying historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color The Department of Justice pressed schools to desegregate. The Department of Education worked to promote equal opportunity and held schools accountable for racial bias.

But under the Trump administration, efforts to address deeprooted inequities for students of color are being cast as discriminatory against White students Programs that have long withstood legal scrutiny are now quick to be deemed “illegal DEI” diversity, equity and inclusion — by the White House. Schools that do not comply have faced threats to their funding, and in some cases, lost federal grants.

Civil rights lawyers describe the Republican administration’s actions as a complete inversion of legal history

“It’s literally flipping the purpose of civil rights law on its head, not just harming Black students and students of color, but entire school communities,” said Michael Pillera, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law “It’s unmoored from the actual history of our country and untethered to the reality of life in this country.”

The administration has opened investigations or joined litigation over a wide range of efforts to address racial inequality. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is investigating programs to increase the number of teachers of color in Rhode Island and Iowa. Grants to districts to train teachers or recruit school mental health workers have been discontinued for mentions of diversity in recruitment.

In a statement, the Education Department said programs receiving federal money must follow the law, which prohibits discrimination based on race.

“Serving student needs and fol-

lowing the law are not irreconcilable mandates. Advocates and educators have no reason to stress if they abide by the law,” said Amelia Joy, a department spokesperson.

The administration investigated Chicago Public Schools and withheld more than $20 million when the district refused to end its Black Student Success Program, which aims to increase access to advanced coursework for Black students and reduce overly harsh discipline.

Complaints find new traction

A similar effort to close racial achievement gaps in Los Angeles is under the same pressure.

The Los Angeles Unified School District created the Black Student Achievement Plan after an outpouring of student activism following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis It supports schools with extra teachers, counselors and curriculum in Black history

Initially, the district chose schools partially based on the number of Black students enrolled. In 2023, Defending Education, a Virginia-based conservative group, filed a complaint to the Education Department, alleging discrimination against non-Black students

The district said it would no longer consider Black enrollment and instead focus solely on metrics such as high absenteeism and low test scores emphasizing that all students could take part.

After the changes, the Education Department in 2024 said it saw no evidence of a violation. But when Defending Education filed its complaint again this year, the department’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation.

Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at Defending Education, said it refiled the complaint after district leaders were recorded saying the program had not materially changed, despite the new criteria.

“Our goal is not to make L.A Unified a target, but rather to make sure that when people say that they are eliminating racially discriminatory aspects of programs, that they’re actually making good on their word,” Perry said.

In a written statement, the school district said its programs are aligned with state and federal laws and are open to all students

Makeda Walker-Deen, a junior at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, said the program has supported her in several ways through high school.

A program counselor directed her toward college preparation programs, which made it possible for her to visit the University of California-Berkeley, and Stanford, colleges where she is thinking of applying. Psychologists and social workers she connected with have helped her navigate pressure and anxiety

“I think that the things a lot of critics are saying are so unreasonable,” she said. “They’re saying that a program that’s meant to help Black students, other students of color, is discriminatory. We’ve been discriminated against in school systems basically our entire lives.”

The district has seen signs of impact. In recent state testing, Black students in the district outperformed the average Black student in California.

“When you provide teachers and school personnel with knowledge and skills to help your lowest performing students, everyone wins,” said Tyrone Howard, an education professor at UCLA who consulted on the initiative.

Organizers worry pressures on the program will slow efforts to address inequities for Black students.

“Where is the uproar about the failings of the public education system for Black children?” said Christian Flagg, director of youth organizing at Community Coalition, which lobbied for the creation of the achievement plan.

“We have had this student group at the bottom for so long, these massive gaps for so long. But when we do something to try to address it, there’s a problem.”

Targeting separate L.A program

The pivot in the federal government’s approach to civil rights in schools has taken several forms under Trump.

The Justice Department has released school districts from courtordered desegregation plans dating to the Civil Rights Movement, describing them as outdated and burdensome. The Education Department has stripped funding from some districts that used it to create magnet schools intended to be more diverse.

In correspondence discouraging districts’ diversity programs, the administration has repeatedly cited a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, which prevented colleges and universities from directly considering race in admissions.

While that ruling pertained only to admissions, the administration last winter notified schools that any differential treatment based on race was unconstitutional. A federal court struck down that guidance last year, but advocates say schools may still preemptively end equity programs to avoid drawing federal scrutiny

In Los Angeles, the Justice Department has tried to end another racial equity effort.

In the 1970s, courts ordered the district to address the harms of its segregated schools. The case led to a short-lived period where Black students and White students were

bused to different schools. The more lasting programs included the district’s magnet schools, and a special designation for “Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian or Other Non-Anglo” schools. That program offers smaller class sizes and additional parentteacher conferences when 70% of the students zoned for that school are students of color The vast majority of district schools qualify

In January, the conservative 1776 Project Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the designation, describing it as “a program of overt discrimination against a new minority: White students.”

The next month, the Justice Department filed its own complaint and asked to join the lawsuit.

The district’s “desegregation program has outlived its usefulness to the point of being unconstitutional,” a federal prosecutor said in a news release.

Decades of inequity show that is not true, said lawyer Mark Rosenbaum, who years ago represented students of color in L.A.’s desegregation case.

“The opponents of desegregation always said, ‘Drop desegregation, and we will put resources into these schools,’” Rosenbaum said. “You know, we are still waiting for that to happen.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAE C. HONG Makeda Walker-Deen,

Landry says he’ll sign judges bill

Judge set for removal says she was ‘deeply blindsided’

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry on Wednesday pledged to sign legislation to eliminate several judgeships in New Orleans, after he criticized lawmakers for approving a bill that tapped

a criminal court judge he favors for removal.

Landry’s remarks came as advocates waged a last-ditch campaign urging him to veto Senate Bill 217 after lawmakers ignored a “last in, first out” protocol to include Criminal District Judge Rhonda

Goode-Douglas in the losses. The move spared Judge Leon Roche, who has less seniority Landry called Goode-Douglas the “best judge” on the bench but claimed Wednesday that her inclusion was a ploy by Democrats that wouldn’t prevent his signature.

“Cutting excess judgeships in Orleans Criminal Court is fiscally responsible and data-driven. What should have been a simple and fair process was turned into a spectacle by TYPICAL Democrat gamesmanship,” he wrote.

125K attend gathering

of tall ships in N.O.

Room occupancy in city up compared to 2025

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Historic sailing ships from Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Sweden and the United States Coast Guard lined the French Quarter wharf last weekend.

New Orleans was the first stop in a five-city exhibition of the old-fashioned vessels called Sail 250, which is part of the country’s semiquincentennial celebration

The event was a big hit, with long lines of land lubbers climbing the gang planks to tour the picturesque vessels There were 125,000 people at Sail 250 from May 28-31 based on data derived from Placer.ai, a digital marketing analytics company, according to the New Orleans & Company tourism bureau.

That’s about double the daily attendance of this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“Sail 250 showcased what we have always known, Louisiana is a key part of our country’s story,” Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement “From the Mississippi River that drives our economy to the culture and history that define our people, we were proud

New Orleans was the first stop in a five-city exhibition called Sail 250, part of the country’s semiquincentennial celebration.

to welcome the world to New Orleans and kick off America’s 250th anniversary celebration.”

The riverfront attendance figure was 500% higher than over Memorial

Day weekend last year, when there was no similar event, said New Orleans & Company Senior Vice

LaBeouf pleads guilty to misdemeanor battery counts

Actor gets suspended sentence, probation

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor battery counts Wednesday and received a suspended sentence and probation over his slur-

filled antics outside a Marigny bar on the morning of Fat Tuesday court records show Magistrate Judge Juana Lombard handed the “Transformers” and “Holes” star a sixmonth suspended sentence with two years’ probation over the three simple battery counts. District Attorney Jason Williams filed the charges last

month against LaBeouf following his arrest on Mardi Gras morning.

LaBeouf’s attorney, Sarah Chervinsky, issued a statement after the guilty plea.

“The police and DA investigation proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning — that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle,” Chervinsky said.

“There is no evidence it was about bias or prejudice, which is why the state only charged these low level misdemeanors. Mr LaBeouf came to court today wanting to take accountability for his part in what happened, and he has done so. Now he’s looking forward to focusing on family, work, and new creative projects.” New Orleans Pol i ce

Landry’s support for the bill came after Goode-Douglas said she was “deeply blindsided” and plans to keep serving, in her first statement since the Legislature came for her job over the weekend. A conference committee

See BILL, page 3B

Mass hearings latest tool in deportation push

Attorney calls strategy ‘sham’

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

More than 450 people were summoned early this week to New Orleans’ immigration court for so-called “mega master” hearings, spurring a flurry of deportation orders for immigrants who failed to show in the latest strategy driving the massdeportation campaign from President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Master” hearings — where immigrants seeking to stay in the U.S. are told how to prepare asylum claims and notified of upcoming court dates — are procedural fixtures of the country’s administrative immigration court system, typically scheduled months, if not years, in advance.

But in the past few weeks, the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review sent letters to hundreds of immigrants’ mailboxes across the Gulf South, summoning them to the en-masse hearings Monday and Tuesday in New Orleans. Those who failed to obey faced deportation orders.

The strategy was on full display at the immigration courts on the fifth floor of Canal Place mall in downtown New Orleans. Lines accumulated down the court complex hallway and court staff asked observers to wait outside the hearing

of

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

been

On Wednesday, Criminal District Judge Kimya Holmes heard arguments over Frank’s longdormant petition for a review of her conviction and sentence, as state prosecutors claimed it should be dismissed over the impact of it languishing so long. Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office stepped in last

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Crowds gather around the tall ships docked on the Mississippi River along Woldenberg Park in New Orleans for the last day of Sail 250 on Monday.

LaBeouf

Goode-Douglas

Climate plan still in place despite state’s rightward shift

Landry maintains stance on issues

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

Three years ago, the administration of then-Gov John Bel Edwards finished a broad plan to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions through 2050 and help industries transition to low-carbon production. That plan is still technically on the books despite the state’s right-wing shift under Gov. Jeff Landry, and lawmakers hoping to ditch it altogether are learning that doing so is not a simple matter

Landry, who has questioned human-caused climate change, has staked out a quiet middle ground not supporting the plan’s emissions reductions but remaining open to related projects that his administration says have “broad support.”

structure. They are asking how Louisiana has gotten to the point where nearly three dozen carbon capture projects are up for review

Enter state Rep. Charles “Chuck”

Owen R-Rosepine, a retired military intelligence officer, climate change skeptic and CCS critic.

Owen has called for the repudiation of the 2022 Climate Action Plan.

Owen says the plan never received the Legislature’s scrutiny, commits to a Paris climate agreement that the second Trump administration dumped in January 2025 and remains a justification cited in permits for CCS projects he opposes.

This position has run headlong into rural and conservative opposition over carbon capture and sequestration, a method of mitigating climate change by injecting carbon dioxide emissions permanently underground.

LSU scientists say it is safe technology, and big Louisiana industries see it as a way to lower the carbon intensity of their fossil fuel-based operations without giving up on oil and gas. There are also major federal tax credits in place to support it But critics worry about threats to groundwater pipeline leaks and land rights infringements from the deep injection wells and their infra-

Earlier this month in a compromise, he agreed to a resolution calling for an oversight hearing.

Owen said he wants to expose the “shenanigans” that led to the adoption of climate goals that, he says, give businesses a false impression of what Louisianans want. “I’m trying to recalibrate where we are in this state,” he said.

Owen said he wants to shift to a more full-throated endorsement of oil and gas development, though he isn’t opposed to renewable projects that can stand on their own economically The House Natural Resources and Environment Committee would hold the hearing, possibly this fall, the committee chairman has said.

The panel includes members skeptical of climate change and oppose CCS, but also has a separate majority which has blocked most bills to bar or limit CCS. The technology is drawing billions of dollars in new industrial investment to

Five indicted in killing of Marine vet in N.O.

Man caught in crossfire of shootout

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Five people accused of being involved in the shooting death of Marine veteran Michael Garcia earlier this year in New Orleans have been indicted for murder, according to Criminal District Court records.

An Orleans Parish grand jury handed up a 15-count indictment Thursday that formally charged all five on counts of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The defendants are Caron Fortenberry, 25; Mi’Janae Ingram, 20; Bennalyn Ingram, 39; Joshua Emery Sr., 33; and Byron Dubose, 23. Emery was indicted on four additional counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and Dubose faces one count of the same weapons charge.

District Judge Leon Roche ordered the defendants held without bail, court records show

The five indicted were among seven people arrested in connection with Garcia’s death. New Orleans police also booked 21-yearold Alshawn Watts on a murder charge. Police detained Terrence Leavell, a 49-year-old New Orleans man with prior felony convictions, at the scene and later booked him for manslaughter and illegal use of a weapon.

HEARINGS

Continued from page 1B

rooms At the conclusion of one hearing Monday afternoon, a judge ordered 40 “in absentia” deportation orders for people who failed to appear Another judge issued 33 deportation orders in an afternoon session Tuesday “That’s more (deportation orders) than the entire docket would usually have been,” said Homero López, a New Orleans-based immigration attorney and former immigration judge.

The emerging strategy, which attorneys say has been employed in select U.S. cities but appears to have ramped up this week in New Orleans, highlights a shift toward less publicly visible tactics in the administration’s bid to deport millions of people.

It comes after bipartisan rebukes of militarized U.S. Border Patrol sweeps late last year, which yielded hundreds of detentions in New Orleans and the killings of

Louisiana, and these members see it as critical for oil, gas and petrochemical industries, including the fast-growing LNG industry, to make low-carbon products sought in Europe and Asia.

where we are. This is the world that we’re living in. It’s not going away,” Domangue added.

diverse interests and “that Louisiana could speak the words ‘climate change’ out loud and the sky would not fall.”

Neither he nor Watts were named in last week’s slate of indictments.

No arraignment dates have been set. District Attorney Jason Williams described Garcia as “an innocent victim whose life was tragically taken during a reckless act of violence.” He said that while the state isn’t currently pursuing murder charges against Leavell or Watts, prosecutors haven’t closed their files.

“We intend to pursue charges commensurate with each individual’s alleged conduct and involvement as supported by the evidence,” Williams said in a statement.

New Orleans police allege Garcia was caught in the crossfire of a narcotics-related dispute April 7, when a group of people opened fire at North Claiborne Avenue and Desire Street.

Court documents described a conflict between rival dealers that escalated to violence, leaving more than 60 shell casings from four firearms scattered across the intersection.

The group of shooters were targeting a man driving a Nissan Maxima. One bullet struck the driver, who crashed into Garcia’s Jeep. The driver fled the scene on foot.

Leavell admitted to officers that he returned fire at the group of shooters to protect his nephew, who was behind the wheel of the Maxima.

Email Matt Bruce at matt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

two U.S. citizen protesters in Minneapolis.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for the DOJ’s Executive Office of Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts, attributed the recent mass hearings in New Orleans to a “scheduling adjustment” meant to expedite a backlogged immigration system.

The office “makes scheduling adjustments as needed to ensure cases do not languish,” said the spokesperson, Kathryn Mattingly, adding that “unnecessary delay hurts both aliens with meritorious claims and the American public who wish to see aliens with nonmeritorious claims removed as quickly as possible.”

“As it continues to add new immigration judges,” Mattingly added, “(the office) will continue to make scheduling adjustments to ensure all cases are handled in a timely and lawful manner.”

‘Veneer of due process’

What the federal government described as a scheduling matter Lopez termed a “sham” meant to

The hearing could put these legislators in the position of defending some of the plan’s proposed solutions while not endorsing the science behind climate change itself.

State Rep. Jessica Domangue, RHouma, who sits on the committee, said there’s no question in her mind that the climate has been changing, but she isn’t sure it is tied to manmade emissions versus natural cycles.

Domangue, 43, said she grew up in a family that lived off the shrimping industry and struggled through the oil bust of the 1980s. Her votes to protect carbon capture are aimed at supporting her oil and gas-reliant district in Terrebonne Parish, she said. She said countries want low-carbon products from wherever they can find them, and worries what kind of message killing the climate plan would send.

“I know that companies are watching every piece of legislation that’s coming out of this body, and they’re watching, and they want to make sure that we’re continuing to move towards the goal of these lowcarbon emissions, whether we like it or not,” Domangue said.

‘Not going away’

Since 2018, about $100 billion in CCS-related projects have been proposed for Louisiana, state economic officials say

“Whether Trump likes it or not, whether I like it or not, this is

TALL SHIPS

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President for Communications Kelly Schulz.

Throughout the entire city, Schulz said, the number of visitors was 454,000, an increase of 140,000 over 2025.

Sail 250 was certainly an important factor in the increase, she said, but there were also other events, including the Louisiana Department of Education convention that drew 7,000 attendees, the North America’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony, and the normal holiday weekend visitor uptick.

The influx of tall-ship fans was also a boon to hotels across the city, Schulz said. Based on data from the Smith Travel Research Report, room occupancy was mostly up compared to 2025, though Sunday’s figures are not yet available For example, on Memorial Day hotels were 49% full, compared to 33% in 2025.

Only Saturday night’s occupancy rate was lower Schultz pointed out that hotel occupancy figures provide only part of the picture, since they do not account for day trippers, short-term rentals and visitors staying with friends or family

“It was incredible to welcome ships from around the world and see families, residents and visitors come together along our riverfront for a truly memorable celebration,” Mayor Helena Moreno said in a statement. “Events like this give us a unique opportunity to showcase the culture, hospitality, and spirit that make New Orleans unlike anywhere else in the world.”

Anecdotally, some downtown

deter immigrants from being able to thoroughly present their claims to a judge before receiving a deportation order

“Even though they’re giving it the veneer of due process, it’s clearly a sham,” he said.

There are signs that the strategy is being employed elsewhere. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that “mega” hearings had been convened at the immigration court in Minneapolis.

In New Orleans, some immigrants traveled far distances to attend this week’s hearings. One man came to tell a judge he had moved from New Orleans to Georgia.

In at least two cases, judges held off on issuing deportation orders for people who did not appear but who the judges said appeared to have moved out of the region. They ordered fresh notices of upcoming hearings mailed to their new addresses.

The new strategy of swiftly calling large hearings does not necessarily ensure immediate detention or deportation of immigrants. But attorneys say the practice can produce deportation orders at a scale

A consensus developed by years of scientific study has concluded the climate is warming from manmade emissions from burning fossil fuels. Seas have been rising for years, a change expected to sharpen in the coming decades in Louisiana, driven by warming temperatures and land subsidence.

Domangue’s coastal district near Houma could see between 3.3 feet and 8.5 feet sea level rise by 2100, according to projections from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Developed from a consensus of industry, environmental groups, scientists and others meeting publicly over 15 months, the 2022 Climate Action Plan laid out the scale of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Called for in the United Nations Paris climate agreement, “net zero” is meant to keep global temperatures from rising further than they have already during the world’s industrial era.

The state plan doesn’t have the force of law, but anticipates emissions reductions through CCS, coastal protection, increased industrial electrification, more efficient gas-fired power plants and several other methods.

‘Sky would not fall’

Charles Sutcliffe, Louisiana’s first chief resilience officer under Edwards, said his task force to develop the plan included legislative appointees and demonstrated that a consensus could be reached from

Development of the plan’s science-based recommendations “involved over 140 experts and nearly 50 public meetings,” he added

“It also showed that by doing that hard work, we could attract billions of dollars in federal grants to both reduce our disaster risk and improve our infrastructure, and we could send a signal to the private sector that Louisiana was ready to lead the next generation of energy production just like it had the last,” said Sutcliffe, now a senior resilience adviser with the National Wildlife Federation.

“And we could do it all with an eye on improving people’s health and lives. I am not sure which parts of that need repudiating.”

As CCS storage and CO2 pipeline projects have begun to roll out, however the usual political dynamic around environmental issues has been scrambled, with left-leaning environmental groups finding uneasy common cause with rural conservatives generally in favor of oil and gas to oppose CCS

Louisiana’s oil and gas industry and chemical sectors are also defending CCS, not so long after oil majors spent decades casting doubt on climate change.

The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and Louisiana Chemistry Association, which favor carbon capture, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Louisiana chapter of the Sierra Club, which opposes carbon capture, opposed Owen’s resolution.

businesses benefited from the tall ships’ visit.

With approximately 3,000 sailors and cadets enjoying shore leave, the French Quarter buzzed with activity, even after the onboard tours ended at 5 p.m. each day As general manager of Port of Call on Esplanade Avenue, known for its staggering Monsoon cocktails, Mike Mollere said the place was packed with uniformed mariners and sail ship enthusiasts.

“It was a holiday-like atmosphere,” Mollere said, “Mardi Gras-like.” Mollere acknowledged that “the name Port of Call may have had something to do with” the sailors finding their way to the establishment at the edge of the French Quarter But they visited other watering holes as well.

At Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street, the crowd “was

that makes it easier for the federal government to detain and deport immigrants.

“What the administration is calling a court proceeding is actually a mechanism for generating deportation orders in bulk,” said Caitlin Bellis, advocacy director for the National Immigration Project, an immigration advocacy group that dispatched an attorney to monitor the court proceedings this week in New Orleans.

Changes in immigration courts

The new strategy has surfaced amid the Trump administration’s wide-scale effort to pressure immigration judges — who, unlike federal District Court judges, are employees of the Justice Department who may be hired and fired at will to rule favorably toward the immigration crackdown.

The administration has dismissed about 150 immigration judges who were serving when the president took office last January, according to a New York Times investigation published in April, and has hired about 143 new judges in the same period.

amazing,” according to manager Kenny Burque They were “all in uniform” and “well behaved, every one of them,” he said.

Mostly the visiting mariners drank beer, he said. But at Tropical Isle, home of the Hand Grenade cocktail, visiting sailors sipped “a little of everything,” said bartender Tray Fray They also rarely had to pay for their beverages. As in other establishments, patrons often picked up the tabs for the visiting seafarers, who were polite and grateful.

“They said, ‘Thanks, no need to do that’ and that sort of thing,” Fray said.

On Thursday, Frey said, he saw clusters of sailors standing beneath balconies where some residents tossed them beads. “We were glad to have them,” he said. Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

Lopez, the immigration attorney and former judge, was among those dismissed after Trump took office after previously sitting on the Board of Immigration Appeals, the nationwide immigration appeals court. He described the new mass hearings as part of his administration’s overhaul of the immigration system aimed at limiting due process.

“This is the next step in saying, ‘Look, we gave you a process,’” he said. “People are being detained and being arrested without due process. Their response is going to be, ‘We’re giving you due process. You had a hearing, and you didn’t show up.’”

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER Tall ships rise next to the French Quarter on the last day of Sail 250 in New Orleans on Monday.

Landry

Shrewsbury man pleads guilty in killing of cousin

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A Shrewsbury man pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday in the shooting death of his first cousin, according to authorities.

Devin Tatum, 32, was charged with killing 28-year-old Darren Tatum, a married deckhand from Gretna.

Judge Donald Rowan Jr. of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Tatum to five years in prison with credit for time served, court records said.

The shooting occurred on the evening of July 31, 2022, at Devin Tatum’s home in the 1100 block of Lurline Drive in Jefferson.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies dispatched to the scene said they found Darren Tatum lying on the ground in the backyard with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Devin Tatum was trying to render aid to his cousin when they arrived, officials said.

Darren Tatum was taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans but later died of his injuries.

Devin Tatum allegedly told deputies at the time, “I shot him because he was coming at me.” Investigators learned that Devin and Darren Tatum had been arguing about a job opportunity At some point, Devin Tatum armed himself with a gun and warned his cousin to stay back, according to officials.

Devin Tatum told investigators he fired a warning shot into the ground as his cousin ran toward him and fired again as Darren Tatum closed the distance.

An attorney for Devin Tatum previously filed notice with the court that they intended to assert at trial that he acted in self-defense, according to court records

Devin Tatum faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

BILL

Continued from page 1B

emerged with a plan to cut Goode-Douglas’ post in Section E of the Criminal District Court instead of Roche’s Section I seat, and both sides of the Legislature voted it through.

“The enactment of this legislation represents more than the reduction of a judgeship,” she wrote of Senate Bill 217, “it overrides the expressed will of the voters who entrusted me with the responsibility of serving our community.”

The controversial cuts to three criminal court judgeships in Orleans Parish are part of a broader set of reductions targeting New Orleans courts. Backers call it an overdue realignment to accord with population and caseload trends. Critics describe it as part of a power grab on New Orleans

LABEOUF

Continued from page 1B

Department officers were called to R Bar in Faubourg Marigny about 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 17 after receiving a report of two men being assaulted. All three charges relate to the bar incident. LaBeouf was “reportedly causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive,” police said in a report. He allegedly punched an R Bar staff member trying to eject him due to his behavior

Video showed LaBeouf taking his shirt off before approaching men outside the Royal Street hangout,

Professional hockey will stay in Baton Rouge

Team will have new owners

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

About a month after the future of professional hockey locally darkened when the Baton Rouge Zydeco team president and owner left the organization, Mayor-President Sid Edwards and officials with the Raising Cane’s River Center announced the team will remain under new ownership. At a news conference Wednesday, it was announced that the owners of the Binghamton (New York) Black Bears will take over control of the team. The Black Bears have won the last three championships of the Federal Prospect Hockey League, the same league the Zydeco compete in.

The ownership group will

include Jacob Hector, a Baton Rouge native who owns Tiger Nutrition, Happy Scoops Ice Cream Parlor and Badger Mechanical, and Binghamton owners Matt Pace, Andreas Johansson and Ted Goldthorpe River Center general manager Wayne Hodes said after the Zydeco folded which was a mutual agreement — he engaged in negotiations with many teams and leagues to continue hockey in Baton Rouge, prioritizing obtaining a new owner, management and brand. The new hockey team will have a three-year lease at the River Center, with a requirement to sell an average of 3,000 tickets per game after the first season. If the team does not meet the threshold, the River Center can cancel the lease, Hodes said.

“Yesterday, we came in, we signed our agreement, so now they’re going to

move forward with full force,” Hodes said.

The new team will play in the 2026-27 hockey season, creating a tight timeline for the owners to whip the organization into shape.

The group will retain the Zydeco roster but will participate in a draft.

Pace said the new ownership group will work on earning the trust of the Baton Rouge community by engaging with fans and partnering with local businesses. He said the group became interested in investing in Baton Rouge hockey due to the region’s ability to “rally behind its winners.”

“While we are the ownership of this team on paper, this isn’t our team,” Pace said. “It’s your team. This is Baton Rouge’s team.”

There has been speculation the team will be rebranded as the Baton Rouge Kingfish, but Hodes and

Edwards said they would announce the name of the team in the coming weeks, along with providing a schedule and ticket information. Whether there will be public input in the naming process will be determined by the new owners, Hodes said.

In advance of Wednesday’s news conference, the local hockey team’s official Facebook fan page was renamed the Official Baton Rouge Kingfish Fan Group on Tuesday YouTuber Fed East Flash, who covers the FPHL, said the Kingfish will return under a new ownership group at the River Center in a video posted Wednesday

The Kingfish played in Baton Rouge in the late ’90s and early 2000s before moving to Victoria, Canada. Minor league hockey got a revival in the capital region three years ago when the Zydeco came to town.

The team came to Baton Rouge in part thanks to a sizable investment from the administration of thenMayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and the Metro Council. Edwards said he’s interested in helping the new team. “We’ve tightened our belts in the city-parish, but I am committed, and I’ll speak for our council as well. Whatever help and assistance this new organization needs, we certainly want to work with them,” Edwards said.

Hector grew up watching the Kingfish, he said, and will serve as a local voice on the ownership team, making up for the struggles of the Zydeco. He attributes part of the Zydeco’s demise to previous owners not owning up to their faults and said the new owners will emphasize communication with fans and local businesses.

sue their post-conviction claims.

Murrill’s office wants Frank’s petition for postconviction relief dismissed and a date for her execution set, in part because the state claims it can no longer mount an adequate counter-argument.

of LaCaze, a drug dealer. She claims he forced her to shoot the Vus at the threat of violence during the robbery and that she was “not a willing participant.”

Frank was convicted of one of the most notorious crimes in modern New Orleans history: The slayings of fellow police officer Ronald Williams II, along with 17-yearold Cuong Vu and 24-yearold Ha Vu at the Kim Ahn Noodle House in New Orleans East.

Her one-time co-defendant, Rogers LaCaze, also was sentenced to death after a separate trial but escaped that fate when he struck a deal in 2019 with former district attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

Frank has argued that a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her father left her vulnerable to the influence

SB217 also slates Judge Simone Levine, who beat out Roche to win the Section A seat in 2023, and Judge John Fuller, who just took his seat on the Section J bench, for removal. It reduces the court from 12 to nine district judges.

The Senate passed it Sunday, and the House on Monday sent it on to Landry, who laid the blame for the switch on Sen. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans, a cousin of Roche. The governor on Wednesday accused Carter of manipulating the process to spare his kin.

“Democrats can answer to their own constituents for that. I certainly won’t let it derail this legislation that has been needed in Orleans for DECADES,” he wrote. Carter said he opposed any judicial cuts in the bill in a statement issued Wednesday

“Let me be clear: I oppose any reduction of judges in New Orleans. I have op-

shoving one and punching others.

“Let’s fight, let’s fight,” LaBeouf can be heard saying in the video. Later a crowd held him on the ground before police arrived Police said LaBeouf hurled a homophobic slur repeatedly during the fight, arrest and investigation, at one point saying, “These f****** put me in jail. I’m a Catholic.”

Police later added a third battery count against LaBeouf over the same incident.

Williams’ office issued a statement after Wednesday’s guilty plea that said LaBeouf agreed to several conditions as part of a plea deal. The statement noted

Whether her attorneys can lay out the evidence at a future hearing was the subject of Wednesday’s debate in front of Holmes, a former prosecutor and capital defense attorney who had earlier barred Murrill’s office from handling the case, before a successful appeal.

State attorneys argued Wednesday that long delays missing evidence and several key witnesses who have died over the years have unfairly precluded them from attacking Frank’s claims.

Naila Campbell, a member of Frank’s legal team, argued that Murrill’s office had misplaced responsibility on Frank “for its own decision not to act for more than a decade, despite choosing to litigate her codefendant’s case, and asked the court to prevent her conviction and death sentence from ever being reviewed

posed this legislation at every turn,” he said.

“At a time when New Orleans has repeatedly found itself defending its right to local self-government, we should remain focused on the facts and not allow distractions to divide us from the work that still needs to be done.”

The bill also includes cuts to judgeships in Juvenile Court and Municipal and Traffic Court in New Orleans but spared Orleans Parish Civil District Court.

Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, the bill’s sponsor, and other lawmakers have declined to specify who decided to spare Roche and settle instead on GoodeDouglas, a former prosecutor who won office in 2020, or why

Goode-Douglas made it clear she wasn’t going willingly

“I was elected to serve the citizens of Orleans Parish in November of 2020 and have

that he was never charged with a hate crime.

“We are not interested in elevating anyone’s profile because of who they are,” Williams said. “Our responsibility is the same in every case: to follow the facts, apply the law, and seek accountability where it is warranted.”

The DA’s statement said LaBeouf’s victims supported the agreement.

“The agreement creates meaningful legal consequences and enforceable conditions moving forward. If those conditions are violated, there are real penalties attached,” Williams said Staff writers Marco Cartolano and Missy Wilkinson contributed to this report.

in light of this exculpatory evidence.”

Frank, who turned 55 in April, seemed jovial as she sat in the courtroom on Wednesday She turned around multiple times and flashed a warm smile at supporters sitting in the audience.

She was represented by a team of attorneys from the Mwalima Center for Justice, a New Orleans deathpenalty defense firm formerly known as the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana.

Convicted in 1995, Frank is the only woman on Louisiana’s death row She’s trying to avoid becoming just the third woman and the first in over 80 years — put to death in the state.

Following a 15-year respite, Louisiana resumed the practice of executions under Landry in March 2025, when Jessie Hoffman was put to death by nitrogen gas for a 1996 rape, kidnapping and murder that began in New Orleans.

Questions around records

Kurt Vorhoff, a special investigator for the Attorney General’s Office, said he visited the former restaurant

diligently served the members of this community with fairness and equity to all parties,” her statement read.

“Contrary to what has been previously stated during legislative hearings, I have no intention of retiring and plan on seeking reelection this fall.”

All of the remaining seats on the court are up for election in November

Goode-Douglas echoed concerns about the possible impact on efficiency in a courthouse with some of the nation’s longest average waits for murder cases to resolve. Supporters claim the Orleans Parish judiciary is out of proportion to the

in the 4900 block of Bullard Avenue on May 22. He also testified that he reexamined evidence from Frank’s trial.

The entirety of documents and exhibits was stashed in a large cardboard shipping box in the custody of the Orleans Clerk of Court.

Vorhoff suggested some key pieces of evidence, including a 9 mm Beretta handgun and sketches and photos of the restaurant, went missing from an evidence room damaged in Hurricane Katrina.

Orleans Parish Assistant District Attorney Brad Scott said the trial notes of Frank’s trial attorneys, Robert Jenkins and Frank Larre, are also missing. Both men are now deceased Scott ran through a litany of questions he said he won’t be able to ask them about their trial defense to refute Frank’s claims of ineffective counsel.

“We’re not going to have the answer to any of these questions,” he argued. “So the state is materially prejudiced. Not just because they’re dead, but because there are no notes. So we can’t know why he (Jenkins) strategized things the way he did.”

Part of the state’s case

number of judges in other parishes with high volumes of felony cases.

“The judiciary belongs to the people,” Goode-Douglas wrote. “Their voices matter, their votes matter, and their faith in our democratic institutions must always be respected.”

She only learned of the change about 7 p.m. on Sunday in a text message, she told Times-Picayune columnist Will Sutton on WBOK on Wednesday morning. She said she still hasn’t received an explanation.

hinges on a provision of state law that was revamped last August. Act 393 amounted to a sweeping restructuring of post-conviction relief, imposing strict timelines and procedural requirements that force prisoners to push their petitions through the courts at an expedited rate. If petitioners miss the deadlines, they run the risk of being automatically barred from relief.

A subsection of the law calls for postconviction claims to be tossed if prosecutors can show events outside the state’s control hampered a response or rebuttal Scott, the prosecutor, sought to convince the judge to dismiss Frank’s application due to the “prejudicial delays.” Under the new law, if a petitioner fails to seek an evidentiary hearing or lets the case languish two years without action, the delay can be construed as prejudicial to the state, the law states. Holmes gave attorneys deadlines to submit follow-up briefs and set an Oct. 9 court date, when she said she’ll render her ruling.

Email Matt Bruce at matt.bruce@theadvocate. com.

“Trust me, I’ve called up and down Baton Rouge and no one can tell me how they came to Section E,” she said.

Rep. Candace Newell, DNew Orleans, said she too was taken aback by what she called a “‘what the hell’ moment” that came as she sat Sunday night in the Legislature.

Goode-Douglas was “not a judge that has had any disciplinary actions to where we would see fit that she needs to be the one to be removed,” Newell said.

Goode-Douglas expressed dismay at having to run against one of her colleagues in the fall if Landry signs the bill as he said, but she said she won’t step aside.

“I deserve to be on the bench,” she said.

Aucoin,Kathleen

Bachemin,Beverly Batiste,Roland

BoyerSr.,Pheris

Champagne-Williams, Sharon

Clark,Albert

Davis, Vicki

Goodman,Myra

Hawkins, Lucile

Jackson, Janice

Johnson, Darlene

Johnson, Ronald

Lyons,Janet

Mays Sr., Lee

McKee, Cynijah

Miller, Jaheim

Morris, Sam

Narcisse,Cledman

Neves,Dale

Onezine,Iola

Rives, Katherine

Serpas,Richard

Smothers,Albert Williams,Cynthia

NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Morris, Sam

Charbonnet

Champagne-Williams, Sharon Neves,Dale

Williams,Cynthia

DW Rhodes

Smothers,Albert

Estelle JWilson

BoyerSr.,Pheris

Gertrude Geddes

Clark,Albert Greenwood

Aucoin,Kathleen

Littlejohn FH

Mays Sr., Lee

Majestic Mortuary

Bachemin,Beverly

Batiste,Roland

Jackson, Janice

Lyons,Janet

St Bernard

CharbonnetLabat

Johnson, Ronald St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Hawkins, Lucile

Rives, Katherine West Bank

DavisMortuary

Johnson, Darlene

Onezine,Iola

Robinson FH

McKee, Cynijah

Miller, Jaheim

Narcisse,Cledman

Obituaries

lengthybattlewithdemen‐tia. Shewas predeceased by herdevoted husband of 61 years, Leroy(“Lee”)J Aucoin;her son, Darren (“Dee”)M.Aucoin; herpar‐ents,GerardL.Wingerter andDolores J. Wingerter; hersisters, JoAnnW Kopelman,Linda W. Blan‐chard, andMarlene W. Arceneaux; hergrandchil‐dren,RyanJ.Aucoinand Shelby E. Aucoin;and her nephew,Richard C. Arce‐neaux, Jr.She wasa loving mother of LeeJ.Aucoin (Shawn),Sandi A. Brous‐sard (Gabe),and CindyA Bodden (Tony);a loving grandmotherofTaylorE Aucoin,Madison A. Al‐barado (Adam),and Aaron G. Broussard; anda loving great grandmotherto CadenJ.Albarado, Aubrey M. Albarado,and BennettT Albarado.Kathy is also sur‐vivedbymanynieces. She devotedher life to herchil‐dren,grandchildren,and greatgrandchildren.She traveled far andwidefor nearly allofher grandchil‐dren’s sporting events.She hosted countless family gatherings with herfamily foraslongasshe was able.She lovedto shop Shehad astrongfaith and prayer life andwas ade‐vout Catholic.She wasa graduate of Redemptorist High School in NewOr‐leans. Sheworkedasan account representative for severalcompanies in the NewOrleans area andas an office managerfor an office supply company. Relativesand friendsare invitedtoattend thevisita‐tion at Greenwood Funeral Home,5200 CanalBlvd., NewOrleans,on Saturday June 6, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., with mass immediately fol‐lowing thevisitationat noon.Interment will take placeatGreenwood Ceme‐tery immediatelyafter the mass. Thefamilyinvites you to shareyour thoughts,fondmemories, andcondolences online at www.greenwoodfh.com

Bachemin,Beverly Marie

BeverlyMarie Bachemin of LosAngeles,California, passedawaypeacefully on April21, 2026, after atwoyearstrugglewithillness. Shewas born on January 20, 1940 to Myrtle Casmier Bachemin andEdward LeonardBachemininNew Orleans, Louisiana. Beverly attended McDonough#37 andAlbertWickerElemen‐tary Schools. Shegradu‐ated from St.Mary'sAcad‐emyHighSchool in the French Quarters in 1957. In 1959, shegraduated from StraightsBusinessSchool with an associatedegree in business administration In 1961, Beverlyrelocated to LosAngeles andworked in thegarment business forone year before moving to Washington D.C. to join theU.S.Departmentof Labor. Beverlylived in Washington D.C. forsixty plus yearsand worked in varioustop management positionswiththe Depart‐ment of Labor. Beverlyen‐joyedtraveling around the worldaspartofher job andalsowithfriends and familyfor vacations. She enjoyedclassical music. Sheplayedanorgan anda baby grandpiano.She was preceded in deathbyher parents, hersisterOlanda Bachemin Shannon, and hertwo brothers,Cordell StevensBacheminand Ed‐ward Felton Bachemin of NewOrleans Louisiana. Shewillbesadly missedby familyand friends in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., andhereinNew Orleans, Louisiana. Relativesand friendsofthe familyare all invitedtoattend aMemor‐ialService on Friday,June 5, 2026 at 11:00amatSt. Martin de Porres Catholic Church,5621 ElysianFields Ave.,New Orleans, LA 70122. Visitation will begin at 10:00am. Inurnmentat Mt.OlivetCemetery. Pro‐fessionalarrangements entrustedtoMajesticMor‐tuaryService,Inc.(504) 523-5872.

Roland Batiste, sonof thelateHerbert Batiste andthe late Hannah R. Batiste, wasbornonMarch 1, 1953, in NewOrleans,LA. He peacefully enteredinto eternalrestonJune 1, 2026 at theage of 73. Roland ac‐ceptedChristatanearly ageatNew Hope Baptist Church andwas laterbap‐tizedatFirst Assembly of God. He grew up in Uptown NewOrleans andwas edu‐catedinthe neighborhood schools. He received his GeneralEducation Diploma from Booker T. Washington High School.Hewas an in‐telligentman who mas‐teredmanycrafts. He re‐ceived technicaltrainingin weldingaswellasACand refrigeration. He also re‐ceived his2nd classEngi‐neeringCertificate in Boil‐ersand Refrigerationin 1979. He wasemployedas an Engineer at Southern BaptistHospitaluntilhe became disabled in 1999. He also worked with his UncleWally repairingre‐frigerators, washersand dryers throughout the GreaterNew OrleansArea. Roland’s love formusic wasshowcased through performing in talent shows andwriting songs. He also hada love forBilliards and wasconsideredasone of thebestplayers of hisera Roland wasmarried to Beulah Solomonand to theirunion twobeautiful daughterswereborn, Rolandaand Kimberley. Despitethe marriage end‐ingindivorce,theymain‐tained agood relationship andwereequally involved in theupbringingoftheir children.Hemaintaineda greatrelationshipwithhis girlswhich made it an honorfor them to care for himinhis lateryears Roland wasdefinitely a #GirlDad.Thiswas noticed even more whenhis grand‐daughters, Kieraand Ca‐maronwereborn. In the last yearsofhis life,heen‐joyedspendingtimewith hisdaughters andgrand‐daughtersatSt. Bernard Nursingand Rehabilitation Center.While there, he also looked forwardtoFish FryFridays with hisson-inlaw, Brown. Roland also en‐joyedregular visits from hisfriendofover60years Larry “Rebo” Thomas When they were younger theywereknown as “The women’spet andthe men’sthreat”.Rolandwas aman of fewwords but wasa manofhis word Roland wasa devotedson, brother, father,grandfa‐ther,cousin, nephew,uncle andfriend. He served as thefather figure to his nieces andnephews who grew up in thehomewith him. Roland leaves to cher‐ishhis precious memories, hislovingdaughters Rolanda(Aldwyn aka Brown) Baptiste andKim‐berley Batiste; hisgrand‐daughtersKiera Spears andCamaron Batiste; his uncle Randolph (Mable) Royal; hislifelongfriend Larry “Rebo” Thomas anda host of otherrelatives and friends. Roland waspre‐cededindeath by hispar‐ents,Herbert Batiste, Sr andHannahR.Batiste,his brothers,Herbert Batiste, Jr.and Lawrence Batiste. Relativesand friendsofthe familyare allinvited to at‐tend aVisitationonFriday, June 5, 2026 at Calvary Tabernacle C.M.E.,3629 DryadesSt.,New Orleans, Louisiana70115 from 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m(No Ser‐vice)followedbyInter‐ment in Providence Memo‐rial Park.Professional arrangements entrustedto Majestic Mortuary Service, Inc. (504) 523-5872.

Pheris StanleyBoyer, Sr alifelongresidentof NewOrleans,was born June 5, 1930, to Leonard Boyer, Sr andGeneva CheeksBoyer.Known for hisgentlespirit, warm smile,and deep devotion to hisfamily, he passed peacefully at hishomeon May31, 2026. Pheris en‐joyeda 40-year career with Southern Railroad (now NorfolkSouthern) as a diesel mechanic andlater worked part-timeatthe Boston Club. He andhis de‐votedwifeofseventy-five years, Marie, shared alife centered on family, faith andcommunity.A parish‐ionerofSt. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church for nearly sevendecades,he livedhis faith daily. He was also aproud lifetime Saints fan andheldseasontick‐etsfor more than 50 years. He is preceded in deathby hisson,Dr. Pheris Boyer, Jr.; hisparents,Leonard andGeneva Boyer; hissis‐ter, Lorraine BoyerJack‐son; andhis brothers LeonardBoyer,Jr.,Charles Armstead,James Williams andhis sister-in-law, Teresa JohnsonCordova He is survived by hiswife, Marie; daughter,Dr. Lynn BoyerSmith (Edward); grandchildren, Dr.An‐gelique Boyer, Pheris Boyer, III, andMichael Boyer; great-grandchil‐dren,Johanna andPheris BoyerIV; hissister, Gloria Williams;daughter-in-law, MarieSuzette Boyer; brother-in-law,Edmond Cordova, Jr.; caregivers Ella Batesand Janice Robertson, andmanyrela‐tivesand friends. Rela‐tives, friendsand parish‐ioners of St.Katherine Drexel Catholic Church, andstaff of Serenity Hos‐pice areinvited to attend a Mass of ChristianBurialon Saturday,June 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.,withvisitation beginningat9:00a.m.at St.Katherine Drexel (for‐merlyHolyGhost), 2015 LouisianaAvenue,New Or‐leans, LA.70115. Father John Asare-Dankwah, Cele‐brant. Interment: St.Louis Cemetery #3,3421 Es‐planadeAve NewOrleans LA 70119. Arrangements entrustedtoEstelle J. Wil‐sonFuneralHome, Inc. 2715 Danneel Street NOLA 70113. Information: (504) 895-4903. To sign online guestbook,pleasevisit www.estellejwilsonfh.com.

Sharon TheresaCham‐pagne-Williams wasborn on May19, 1958, in NewOr‐leans, LA andpeacefully departed this life on May 18, 2026, just oneday be‐fore her68thbirthday. She waseducatedwithinthe OrleansParishSchool Sys‐tem, where shebuilt life‐long friendshipsand mem‐oriesinthe city sheloved dearly.Beloved daughter of AliceRitaHughesand thelateSgt.Leonard J. Champagne, Sr In addition to herfather, Sharon is also preceded in deathby an adoringhusband,Albert Williams;grandmother Mary Carr Dabney;sib‐lings, LeonardJ.Cham‐pagne, Jr Lenn Green and favorite cousin,Elsa Holmes.A womanfullof love,strength, personality

andwisdom, Sharon dedi‐catedher life to herfamily. Loving mother of three children,Ashanti,Tanzania andBobby Champagne, Sr Esteemed mother-in-lawof Dr.FawnU.Champagne Sharon’s greatest joywas beingsurrounded by her family, especially her grandchildren, Cornaie, Bobby, Jr.and Zyquan Champagneand Kewe Ukpolo;great-grandchil‐dren,SireDavis andSamir Brooks, who broughtend‐less lightintoher life BelovedsisterofTimothy Smithand George “Billy” Green,Jr.;sister-in-law of Anna Smith; Also survived by her best friend of over 60 years, Brenda Marzett; Godson,KenwonMarzett; favorite nephew,Christian LeonardChampange; bonus sons,Jashadand JamalMcCoy andKeith Franklin,along with ahost of nieces,nephews, cousins, extended family, andfriends who lovedher immeasurably.Relatives andfriends of thefamily; employees of OchsnerHos‐pital/Lieselotte Tansey Breast Center,HomeCare Solutions, Tulane Univer‐sity Office of HumanRe‐sources, Champagne Trucking,LLC,Audubon Fertility, Headquarters Bar‐bershop, Feelgood Con‐structionand TheChair Boutique areinvited to at‐tend thefuneral.A Cele‐brationService honoring thelifeand legacy of the late Sharon T. ChampagneWilliams will be held in the Chapel of Charbonnet LabatGlapion Funeral Home,1615 St.Philip Street,New Orleans, LA 70116 on Saturday,June 6, 2026 at 1p.m., Rev. Damian J. BrownofSecondSt. John BaptistChurch andLittle Zion M.B.C.,Officiating. In‐termentPrivate.“Happy Hour”/Visitation will begin at 12 noon in thechapel. A Jazz Processional will con‐cludethe service. Arepast will be held in theFamily Center at thefuneral home.Pleasesignthe on‐line guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors(504) 581-4411.

Clark, Albert

Albert"Chui" Clark, age 73 wasbornonMarch 12,1953 in NewOrleans,LA departed this earthly home on Saturday, May23, 2026. He wasa member of the Good Fellas S&PClub, Black Liberation Movement, Neighborhood UnityMERGE, Louisiana Chapter Prisoners of Conscience, Committee & Black Panther Party Cubs POCC/ BPPC,Universal Negro Improvement Association/Marcus Garvey Organization, and Angola 3. Albertwas the companionofTabatha Johnson. Lovingfather of TianaClark andTyesha Johnsonwhomheadored. Beloved brotherofWilliam Clark, Sr.(Dr.Cheryl Banks -Clark) and Marcus Clark. He wasalso survived by a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, familyand friends. Albertwas precededindeathbyhis parents AlbertWashington andBeatrice Clark; siblings ClarenceRichardson, Latson Clark andJo-ann Nevels.Relatives and friends of thefamily, also theGood Fellas S&PClub, surrounding NewOrleans Metropolitan S&PClubs andthe Africian American Empowerment Organizations are invited to attendthe Celebration of Life Service on Friday, June 5, 2026 at Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home, 2120 Jackson Avenue, NewOrleans,LA 70113 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation from 9:00 a.m. until10:0 a.m. Interment

ProvidenceMemorialPark, 8200 Airline Hwy,Metairie, LA 70003. ATraditional JazzFuneral. Youmay sign theguest book on www.ge rtrudegeddeswillis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home Inc.,in charge. (504) 522-2525.

Davis,Vicki Rae

VickiDavis, born May1, 1969 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Roger and Vergie Davis passedaway on April 7, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. A1988 graduate of KennedyHigh School, she also attendedDelgado CommunityCollege. She joined the Saint Maria Goretti Gospel Choir because she loved to sing. In 2005 she left NewOrleans duetoHurricane Katrina. Vickileaves to cherish hermemories ason Raymond,daughter-in-law Chandler,a brother, Roger WDavis Jr,beloved daughterPrincess Victoria along with aunts, uncles,cousins andfriends. Familyand friends are invited to amemorial mass at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Resurrection Church,9701 Hammond Street,New OrleansLA. Visitation begins at 9:00 AM.The Rosary begins at 10:30AM. Arepass willfollow in Resurrection Church's Pastoral Center

Goodman,Myra Catherine(Crochet), age 78, of Texas City, departed this life on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She passed peacefully in thecomfort of herown home surrounded by familyand friends Born October 8, 1947, she wasa native of New Orleansand graduated from St.Joseph Academy High School in 1965. She workedfor many years as asecretary for theU.S. Army CorpsofEngineers, and later as an assistant teacher andteacher's aide in both private and public schools. Shewas an active anddevoted member of Queen of PeaceCatholic Church in La Marque,sang in thechoir, andregularly participated in church activities andevents. She wasa proudmember of OurLady of theMiraculous MedalCourt #1855 of the Catholic Daughtersof America for 43 years, servingascourt regent and heading itsannual arts& crafts show on numerous occasions. Sheled avery active social life, and she thoroughly enjoyed hostingfriends andfamilyat herhome. Sheloved dinner outingswith friends and rarelymissedcard night on Thursdays. Shewas an avidNew OrleansSaints fan andheld aspecial place in herheartfor her native city and itscuisine. Sheenjoyed cooking, crafts, and reading,and she hadapassion for collectingfinejewelry andantiques. Shewas abeloved mother, grandmother, godmother, sister,cousin, and friend, andshe wasa positive andencouragingpresence in thelives of everyonewho knew her. She waspreceded in death by herparents, Woodrow C. Crochet, Sr.and Myrl Miller Crochet, and herhusband of 28 years, DanF Goodman.She is survived by twosons, Ryan L. Goodman,and his wife,

Batiste, Roland

Goodman, Myra Catherine

Champagne-Williams, Sharon Theresa

Molly, and Sean R. Goodman; two granddaughters, VirginiaM Goodman and StellaL Goodman; abrother, Woodrow C. Crochet, Jr and his wife, Gay, one niece and one nephew.A funeral mass willbeheld at 10:00AMonSaturday, July 25,2026 at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 1224Cedar Dr., La Marque, with Fr. James B. Anderson, S.Th.D., V.F., officiating.Inkeeping with her wishes, cremation has taken place, and her ashes will be placed in the family tomb on Monday, July 27, at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans. All who wish to attend the mass and the placement of ashes are welcome. The Goodman Family would like to extend their thanks and gratitude to Living Hope Home Healthcare and Living Hope Hospice of Houston, as well as her caretakers, for the excellent andcompassionate care they provided, and to all of the Catholic Daughters, friends, andneighbors who did so much for her Condolences may be sent tothe family at their convenience. Amemorial service will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on 2026-0725 at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 1224 Cedar Dr.

Ainterment of ashes will be held from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM on 2026-07-27 at Greenwood Cemetery, 5200 Canal Blvd.

Lucile Taylor Smart Hawkinsdied Friday, May 29,2026. Alongtime resident of Covington, Louisiana, she died peacefully in Tylertown, Mississippi, at Loch Ross Farms, in the care of her daughter. She was 89 years old. Known by family and friends as "Puddin," anickname she received in infancy, she wasborn September 17, 1936, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Adopted and raised in the Carrollton neighborhood by loving parents William Graham Smart Sr. and Lucile Taylor Smart, their extended family became a source of great honorin her life. She relished a wonderful cadre of loving aunts, uncles, and cousins across the Southeast. Puddin attended St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, graduating in 1954. She remained a proud alumna, participating in her 70th class reunion in 2024. After attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in August 1958, she married John Carlton Hawkins, alsofrom NewOrleans. Over the next twenty years,the couple lived in Pensacola, Florida, Wills Point, Texas, and Huntsville, Alabama, beforereturning to greater New Orleans in 1979 to help care for her aging parents. Residing in Covington, John and Puddin renovated her parents' home at "Smartacres" along the Bogue Falaya River, which had been aweekend retreat throughout her childhood. There she hosted many gatherings of church friends, card groups, and family celebrations. She also took great pride in tending to her late father's prize-winning camellia bushes. John preceded her in death in 2009, bringing to aclose 51 years of marriage. Puddin was adevoted mother to their three children:daughter Sarah Hawkins Ross (Dennis) of Tylertown, Mississippi; son John Carlton "Jack" Hawkins Jr. (Diane) of Mandeville, Louisiana, and son Ralph William Hawkins (Debra) of Warner Robins, Georgia. "Aunt Puddin" also dearly loved her two niecesand two nephews, children of her late brother William Graham Smart,Jr. andhis wife Lane Ford Smart. Being agrandmother to her six grandchildren and her fourgreatgrandchildrenproved to be Puddin's most cherished role in life, and she was affectionately known by them as "Grammy" and "Mimi." They are Andrew Ross (Miriam) and children Kaylie, Emalyn, and Sawyer; Ainsley Ross McGovern (Grant) and child Grant Jr.; Michelle Hawkins, John Hawkins III, Lonnie Hawkins; and Ella Hawkins. Collectively, they give thanksfor many years f f l dl

of fun sleepovers, endless cardgames, thoughtful birthdaygifts, frequent WizardofOzviewings, and unrequested recitationsof her silly poetry. Shewas a tireless cheerleader amidst alltheiractivities and education. Puddin and John were active Christians and devoted Presbyterians throughouttheir marriage alwaysparticipating in congregations and their ministrieswherever they resided. During her decades of membershipat Covington Presbyterian Church, she servedinnumerous roles: deacon, ruling elder, SundaySchool teacher, and organizer of Presbyterian Women groups. For many years, she joinedother women in alively puppetministry, hercharacter"Lucy" playing apartinteachingBible stories and life lessonsto children. As adeacon, Puddin was adutiful visitor of friends in need during their time in hospitals and nursing homes. Her childrengive thanks for the many ways she exercisedher spiritualgifts of compassion, kindness, and encouragement. Aservice of witness to the resurrectionwillbe held at Covington Presbyterian Church on Saturday, June 6, at 11 a.m.,with areceptionto follow. Rev. Dr. Jeff Simms willofficiate,and family memberMiriamRoss —a candidate for Presbyterian ordination —willoffer words of remembrance. Despite her lifelong love of camellias, in lieu of flowers, herfamily suggests donations be made in her memoryto Covington PresbyterianChurch. E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. Please signthe guestbook at https://www. ejfieldingfh.com.

Jackson, Janice MarieBreaux

Janice MarieBreaux Jackson, was born on Au‐gust 21, 1946 to Clifton Breaux Sr.and NancyCe‐lestineBreaux, thesecond of sevenchildren. Shewas marriedtoJohnnyJackson, on January 21, 1967 and settledinNew Orleans where they welcomed a daughter,Tonia.Janice went on to complete her certification as an ac‐countingclerk workingfor more than 20 yearswith KnightsofPeter Claver and Ladies Auxiliarybefore concluding hercareer.Jan‐iceissurvivedbyher sister NancyLouiseand brother IrvinBenjamin. Shewas preceded in deathbyher parentsNancy andClifton Sr hersiblingsClifton Jr Ronald Lee, Bernard, and BeverlyAnn. Sheleavesbe‐hind herhusband Johnny, daughter Tonia, son-in-law MichaelAnthony Wilson, andgrandsonMichael Hannibal Wilson.She also leavesa host of loving nieces andnephews Dana Burresch,ThomasTurner VI,and Dorian Turner (Bev‐erly);Kim,Gary, andCyn‐thia Breaux (Bernard); Chad andKeyna Skidmore (Nancy); Jeanette,Robert, andAngelaBreaux (Ronald);Maurice andAn‐drea Breaux (Irvin); and Melany andCliftonBreaux III(CliftonJr.). Relatives andfriends of thefamily areall invitedtoattend the Memorial ServiceonSatur‐day,June6,2026 at 10:30 am at BlessedTrinity Catholic Church,4230 S. BroadSt.,New Orleans, LA 70125. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am.Professional arrangements entrustedto Majestic Mortuary Service, Inc. (504) 523-5872.

Darlene“BigEyes” John‐sonentered into eternal rest at herresidence sur‐rounded by herfamilyand friendsonSaturday, May 16, 2026, at theage of 65 Shewas anativeofNew Orleans, LA anda resident of Harvey,LA. Darlenewas aretried housekeeper where sheworkedinthe French Quarters formany years. Shewas feisty and lovedspendingtimewith herfamily. Herlegacyof love,generosity, andre‐silience will live on through themanylives she touched. Belovedmother of Chantell Johnsonand LaronJohnson (Khadijah) GrandmotherofLeVell Johnson, Dajanell Johnson, Cedric Johnson, LaJon Jonhson,and Yusef Muhammad.Great grand‐daughter of TilahWilliams, TynajahWilliams, Calvin Williams,III,Da’Zani John‐son, andRy’LanJohnson Daughter of thelateHer‐bert andWillieMae Williams.SisterofJohn WayneWilliams(Con‐stance), Harold Williams, Perry JamesJason,Rose Grady(Curly),Diane Williams,CherylJohnson KarenWilliams, Beverly Johnson, AngelJohnson Sandra Johnson-Coleman (Dwayne) andthe late FrankJohnson.Darlene is also survived by ahostof nieces,nephews,cousins otherrelatives,and friends. Relativesand friendsofthe familyare in‐vitedtoattend theCele‐brationofLifeatDavis Mortuary Service, 6820 Westbank Expressway Marrero, LA on Friday,June 5, 2026, at 10:00a.m.Visita‐tion will beginat8:30a.m until servicetimeatthe parlor.Interment:Rest‐lawn Park Cemetery,Avon‐dale,LA. To view andsign theguestbook,pleasego to www.davismortuaryse rvice.com.

Johnson,Ronald

Ronald Johnsonde‐parted this life on Monday May25, 2026. Survivorsin‐cludea host of siblings theirspouses,nieces, nephews, otherrelatives andfriends.A Celebration servicehonoringhis life will be held at Christian Fellowship Family Worship Center,5816E.Judge Perez Drive, Violet,LAonSatur‐day, June 6, 2026at11a.m Bishop RonnieLondon, Of‐ficiating, Pastor HenryBal‐lard,Host-Pastor.Inter‐ment 10 a.m. in thechurch Please sign online guest‐book at www.charbonnetf uneralhome.com. Final arrangements entrustedto Charbonnet Family Ser‐vices(504) 302-1520.

Lyons, Janet

JanetLyons enteredinto rest on Tuesday, May26, 2026 at theage of 84. AFu‐neralService will be held on Saturday,June 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at PilgrimRest BaptistChurch #2,2200 LouisianaAve., NewOr‐leans, LA 70115. Visitation will beginat9:00a.m.In‐termentwillbeinHolt Cemetery.Professional arrangements entrustedto

Mays Sr., LeeEarnest

LeeEarnest Mays,Sr. wascalledhometobewith theLordonSunday, May 17, 2026. He leaves to cher‐ishhis precious memories hisdevoted anddedicated wife,Emelia; twosons, Lee Earnest, Jr.and Earnest LeeMays; bonus daughter, Emelia Angelique Wilfred; granddaughter, Myla Malani Mays;grandchil‐dren,Derinisha J’quellWil‐fred,Derrick Johnson, Jr andRonja’Naize Hill:one greatgrandson,Derrick JohnsonIII;his special bonus daughter,Mikeiona Sierra Carter (Myla’s mom);adoptivemother, Emma Butler;sisters ShirleyMays, LindaBurks (LakeProvidence),and Mary Jones(Glenn) (Lake Providence); sister-in-law, DarleneL.Essex(Erick) (ColoradoSprings); brother-in-law,Emile Lewis III; God-child, DarriyellLa‐triceWilliamsand ahostof nieces,nephews,other rel‐atives,Church familyand friends. He waspreceded in deathbyhis daughter CathyMays; hismother, Reat Mays;one sister EssieRaileyand one brotherJohnnyMays; fa‐ther-in-law, EmileLewis Jr.; mother-in-law, Thelma Lewis; sister-in-law, Bernadette Washington; andbrothers-in-law Michaeland GabrielLewis TheHomegoing Celebra‐tion will be held on Friday, June 5, 2026 at NewHope BaptistChurch,1807 Rev‐erend John RaphaelJr. Way, beginningat10:00 a.m. Rev. Jamaal Weath‐ersby, officiant. Church vis‐itationfrom9:00a.m.until thehourservice.Entomb‐ment Mount Olivet Ceme‐tery.Rev.David M. PatinSr. andGwienaMagee Patin, FuneralDirectors.Profes‐sional ServiceEntrusted to Littlejohn FuneralHome, 2163 AubryStreet,Cal K. Johnson, FuneralDirec‐tors/Manager,Info: (504) 940-0045.

CynijahAviyah“Cam” McKee. February 27,2015 –May17, 2026. Cynijahwas called into rest Sunday May17, 2026, at thetender ageofeleven. Cynijahwas born February 27,2015, to Dwayne andCyndrea McKee. Cynijahwas atal‐ented, joyful,fun-loving childwho enjoyedbeing with,learning, growing, andcelebrating herbig brotherD’wyne. Cynijah livedand grew up in Mar‐rero,Lawhere she at‐tended andwas a fifthgradestudent at C. T. Janet Elementary.Her hobbies were singing, playingher keyboard,painting, jew‐

elry,journal,pen,and can‐dlemaking, familygame andmovie nights.She played varioussportsat Pard Playground andwith TheShe League.Her pas‐sionsand planswereto become an eventplanner andsingonBroadway. Cynijahwas preceded in deathbyher Grandfather Darrell“Poppy” Heim Sr., Grand-NannyAlmedia “Pokey”Phoenix,and Aunt Maw-MawLinda Turner Sheleavesbehindher par‐ents Dwayne andCyndrea brotherD’wyne, grandpar‐ents LethaHeim, Derry (Delores)McKee, Brenda Turner,her auntsand un‐cles DarrellJr.,Le’Kisha, Kimberley, Jarvis,Shaletha Heim,LucretiaJenkins Derry Turner,Thaddeus, Keisha,Jay’Lonie McKee, andPaquellaWilliams, a host of aunts, uncles cousins, familyand friends who will love andcelebrate herforever.Celebration of Life will be held Saturday June 6, 2026, at Life Center Cathedral2100 Ames Blvd Marrero, La 70072. Host Pastor,BishopJ.D.Wiley, Pastor Terrance Green,Of‐ficiating. Visitation will beginat9a.m. andService will beginat10a.m.Inter‐ment will follow in West‐lawn Memorial Park 1225 WhitneyAve,Gretna, La 70056. Repast:St. Rosalie Cafetorium 628 1STAve Harvey,La70058. Funeral planning entrustedto Robinson Family Funeral Home,9611 LA -23, Belle Chasse,LA70037 (504) 208 –2119. Foronlinecondo‐lences please visitwww robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com

Jaheim J. Miller was born on January29, 2004, to HicksMiller andAshlie Terry anddepartedthislife on May18, 2026. Jaheim wasa 2022 graduate of Chalmette High School.He leaves to cherishhis pre‐ciousmemorieshis par‐ents,Hicks Miller andAsh‐lieTerry;siblings, Danielle Lewis, EbonyReese, Danzel Miller,Jarrard Payne, and Jordan Miller;grandpar‐ents,EloiseTerry and JamesTerry, Sr.; threeun‐cles andtwo aunts. Jaheim wasprecededindeath by hisgrandparents, thelate Freddieand Carrie Miller; great-grandparents,the late Warren andEvelyn (MeMaw)Perez;aunts, Carrie “Bert” Francisand Ramona Duplessis, andun‐cles,JessieMiller,Freddie “Bubbie” Miller,Jr.,Melvin “Mel”Miller,and Allen Lewis, Sr.Relatives and friendsofthe family; Pas‐tor, Officers andmembers of BethlehemBaptist Church andall othersur‐roundingchurches of Plaqueminesand St BernardParishesare in‐vitedtoattendthe service which will be held at Beth‐lehemBaptist Church,111 BethlehemLane, Braith‐waite, LA on Saturday,June 6, 2026, at 11 a.m.,Rev.Dr. MichaelW.Jiles, Sr., Offici‐ating. Visitation will begin at 9a.m.Entombmentwill follow in St.Bernard Memorial Gardens, Chal‐mette,LA. Finalarrange‐mentsentrusted to Robin‐sonFamilyFuneral Home, 9611 Highway23, Belle

Morris, Sam

SamMorrispassed away on May16, 2026, at theage of 82. Samissur‐vivedbyhis devotedwife Shella Morris,daughters: Shontra(Andre) Powell, andSheleth Hampton, and grandchildren: ZoeNoel Powell, AndreMaurice Powell, Jr., Samuel Langston Powell and Carsyn AlexandraHamp‐ton. Also,survivedbyhis sister GwendolynLee (Myron)and brother Jerome Reese, ahostof otherrelatives andfriends. Preceded in deathbyhis mother Aldora Reese, step‐father Dave Reese, Sr.fa‐ther A.B. Morris, sister EthiaReeseCharles and brotherDaveReese, Jr Family andfriends arein‐vitedtothe Celebrationof Life ServiceonFriday, June 5, 2026, for10:00 a.m. at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church,8282 I-10 Service Road South, NewOrleans, LA 70126. Visitation will beginat9:00a.m.Pastor Fred Luter,Jr.,officiating. Intermentwillfollowat SoutheastLAVeteran Cemetery,Slidell, LA Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

Narcisse,Cledman Joseph 'Joe'

Aman definedbyfaith, devotion,laughter, gen‐erosity, anda love that knew no bounds, Cledman Joseph “Joe”Narcisse tran‐sitioned peacefully from hisearthly home to his heavenly home on May21, 2026, in Pointe àlaHache, Louisiana, at theage of 71. Adevoted member of First Mount Zion BaptistChurch, Joeservedfaithfully as a Deacon until hishealthno longer permitted. He was knownforhis kind heart, unwavering faith,and ded‐icationtofamilyand com‐munity.Joe waspreceded in deathbyhis beloved wife,Joyce Narcisse, whose memory remained closetohis heartthrough‐outhis life.Heleavesto cherishhis memory his siblings,Felix “Blond”Nar‐cisse,KermitNarcisse (Samantha),Anthony Nar‐cisse,Francis Narcisse,and CaffieRiley; bonus chil‐dren,BrendaMerrick,

Johnson,Darlene 'Big Eyes'

Majestic Mortuary Service, Inc. (504) 523-5872.

Hawkins, Lucile Taylor Smart

Miller,JaheimJ

McKee, Cynijah Aviyah 'Cam'

OUR VIEWS

On this D-Day anniversary, we honorthe heroes whofoughtto preserve freedom

Editor’snote:This editorial, slightlyrevised, is published annuallyasatributetoD-Day

Whenthe United Statesput itsyoung men ashoreonD-Day 82 years agoSaturday, they were not alone

Although Americans remember Omaha Beach, where our troops saw some of the bloodiest fighting and suffered manycasualties, young men from at least adozen other countries fought and died on other beaches —all in the common cause of freedom.

By late spring 1944, after years of combat and human sacrifice, the tide hadbegun to turn against Adolf Hitler’sGermany.Evenasthe risks of the D-Day invasion weighedheavily on Gen. Dwight Eisenhower,who drafted —just in case —a statement of responsibility forfailure, victory in Europe was finally in sight. Yet, many more died before it finally came.

The hammer blows landed against theReich on D-Day made up history’slargest amphibious operation. The United States, Great Britain and Canada provided most of the troops,but they were joined by forces from every Alliednation that had suffered during thewar: Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands,New Zealand, Norway andPoland.

Theirheroiccampaign is memorializedatthe National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Now asprawling campus that has welcomedmore than 10 million visitors since it openedin2000, it began life as the National D-Day Museum, dedicated to telling the stories of those whoanswered history’scall thatstormyJune morning so far fromhome.

Louisiana is honored to host those whopass through its doors, especially themembersof our country’sGreatest Generation who served. Today,asalways, agratefulnation honors their struggles and sacrifices.

We also remember the dramatic innovations that sprang from America’sarsenals of democracy, particularly Louisiana’sshallow-draft Higgins boats, which madepossiblethe D-Day landings and those in the Pacific. Perhaps the most enduringoutcomeofWorld WarII, one embodied in theplanning andexecution of D-Day,isAmerica’srole as aworld leader.The late University of New Orleanshistorian Stephen Ambrose, who conceived the World WarIIMuseum, said that thedefining quality of Americans is our sense of optimism.It’swhat enables us to lead with hope,strength and adetermination to meet any challenge.

Those qualities may seem sadlylackingtoday.But by commemoratingsacrifice made by thousands of young men whopiled outofboats and onto beaches in service of agreater cause we honor their heroism andremind ourselves of the courage that freedom demands. Now, just like then, we must not forget that challenges far from our borders can have profound effects here at home. As it did on D-Day,meeting thosechallenges will require the best from allofus.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

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YOUR VIEWS

Loving fathersteach you lessonsyou maynot realize

If you grew up when Idid, you probably hadtohold the light. Ilearned so much from my daddy by holding thelight.“Daddy,can I help? Can Ihold the light? Please Daddy,let me hold thelight.” Iwould plead withbig brown eyes.“Ok,go get thelight.” Ilearned the power of persuasion. He would get thelight and the tools. In my eyes, there was nothing that man couldn’t fix. We had socket wrenches, crescent wrenches, needle nosepliers— you name it.“Daddy, do we need this?” “No, put that back.” “Daddy,doweneed this?” “No, put that back.” Ilearned to use the right tools. About half asecond into holding thelight,Iwas done. “On my God, whydid Iever want to hold thelight? Why? This is so boring. Are we done yet?” The thing about holding the light is,once you’reholding it, there

is no going back, and the jobwill last forever.Ilearned commitment, endurance and patience. When you hold thelight, it wastobe in an exact spot. “A little higher up. A littletothe left,hold still.” Ilearned to hold my position.

“Get your head out of the way.” When you hold thelight, youwantto see what is going on. What’shedoing? Is it going to work? Let me geta littlecloser.“Moveyour head.” The one holding thelight is notthe one who gets to see. Ilearned Icould not always be in charge and to trust the processeven if Icould notsee it.

As Igot older,Irealizedthathe didn’tneed me to hold the light, he just wanted to spend time with me. The lessonswere abonus. Ilove you, Daddy,and thanks forletting me hold thelight.

TRACIEELSWORTH Denham Springs

Crumbling tombs, high weedsmar cemetery visit

Irecently had to get permission from theNew Orleans Cemetery Division to gain entrance to Lafayette CemeteryNo. 1, as Ihad family in town who wished to see their family tomb.

Iwas simplymortified by the condition of the entire place. Lafayette CemeteryNo. 1isthe oldest cityowned cemetery,foundedin1833 and hasbeen closed since2019 because of the condition. Inow knowwhy.The tombs and walls are crumbling, and the weeds are thigh high, full of stickers that covered my clothes and arms as I

waded through the aisles. There has obviouslybeen no attempt to care for the grounds for years. Iamboth sad andangry.Ifthere is money to put colored lights on the CrescentCity Connection,then surely thereismoney to continue to care for our historiccemeteries. Icannotimagine theimpression this hasgiven my out of state visitors. If this is theway New Orleans cares for our dead and the history of thecity,then truly the city is doomed.

PATRICIA WATERMEIER Metairie

Ratepayers deservestronger protections

My electric bill keeps climbing, and no one can clearly explain why. Each month Iopen my utility statementexpecting stability,but instead Isee another increase that strains my household budget. What’smost frustrating is the feeling that everyday families like mine have little say in the decisions driving these costs.

Recent utility proposals and largescale energy projects raise serious questions about whoisultimately paying forinfrastructure upgrades. When massive new developments are added to the grid, the cost should not automatically fall on ordinary customers whoare already struggling with high bills and unreliable service.

Iamcalling forstronger protections forratepayers before any major utility expansion or fast-tracked approval is granted. Regulators should require full transparency about cost distribution and ensure that large commercial energy users pay their fair share, rather than shifting expenses onto residential customers.

We also need independent review of any proposals that could significantly increase demand on the power grid. Communities deserve clear answers, not rushed decisions that prioritize corporate interests over household affordability

No family should have to choose between paying their electric bill and meeting other basic needs. It is timefor utility regulators and policymakers to put fairness, accountability and transparency first LAUREEN DOUGLAS NewOrleans

Coaststudy underestimates thecreativityand couragethatexist

Sea monstershave been visiting my dreams. At first, Itreated them as privatesymbols,the kind my grandfather’sold sailor stories might have planted in melong ago. Butlately they feel less private. They feel civic. New Orleansknows water as both a blessing and threat. We dance beside it,build beside it,bury our dead beside it and pretend the bargain can last forever.Now Tulane researchers are warning that the city must think seri-

ously about an immediate retreat from thecoast. That is not just aclimate story.Itisa moral test. At thesame time, we are watching technology makewar,surveillance and displacement moreefficient than online shopping. Drones hunt from the sky.Algorithms sort human beings into targets, risks and costs. The old science-fiction warnings are no longer warnings. They are procurement plans.

So maybe the sea monster is the right image. It is what rises when buried truths become impossible to ignore. NewOrleans should not answer with denial. It should answer with imagination, courage and planning worthy of the city’ssoul. Please remember everyone, New Orleans wasthe only city on Earththat never surrendered to the robots. ERICWALTON NewOrleans or die

Sensible La.districtlines would benefitneither race or party

Quin Hillyer

Amidst the racially charged arguments surrounding Louisiana’scongressional districts, the reality is that the population distribution within Louisiana isn’tnaturally conducive to either political side’sfondest wishes. It’svirtually impossible to create asecond Blackmajority district without majorgerrymandering that violates traditional districting standards. Then again, aneutral application of those same standards naturally would produce asecond district in which aDemocrat, including amoderately liberal Black candidate, would be slightly favored to win.

One can reach this conclusion using race-blind principles along with parish population numbers readily available online. The point of this exercise wasn’t arithmetical exactitude butinstead to get within afew thousand people in each district ofthe average Louisiana congressional district size of 777,000 residents. Admittedly,Isaved hours of research time by using Chat GPT and Wikipedia for searches and arithmetic, while crosschecking their numbers against each other —and again, the principles, not exact numbers, are the point here.

With those caveats, here’swhat I found, using the court-recognized districting principles of compactness, contiguity and existing parish lines or obvious geographical features such as rivers or lakes.Inordinarylanguage, this means the maps should keep parishes whole to the greatest extent possible, while each district should appear as reasonably concentricshapes. Without racial gerrymandering, the lower part of Louisiana’stoe —the parishes of Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Lafourche and the West Bank of Jefferson, with sliversfrom Terrebonne and St. Charles —naturally creates not aBlack majority district, but at least a Black plurality one that, when combined with Hispanicvoters,forms anon-White majority. Also considering the voting patterns of tens of thousands of liberal White Democrats in New Orleans, an overwhelming likelihood is that aBlack Democrat would win.

The top of the toe, surrounding most of Lake Pontchartrain, would be, as now, a strongly Republicandistrict consisting of the parishes of St. Tammany,Washington, Tangipahoa, St. John the Baptist and

Sen. JayMorris, R-West Monroe, holdsupa proposed congressional map during a House andGovernmental Affairs Committee meeting on May21.

most of St. Charles, plus East Jefferson. Alongand inland from the southcentral coast, the “Cajun parishes” easily form another Republican-leaning district. The western portion of the state from the Gulf to the Arkansas line, roughly aslightly bulbous rectangle includingbothLake Charles and Shreveport, forms another such district —but with asignificant Black population in Caddo Parish. Alas, the numbers mean that one major parish can’tstayintact,so Rapides, inthe middle of the state,does getbisected The fifthofmydistricts is largely rural, so naturally it encompasses by far the largest amount of territory.Apart from the cities of Monroe and Ruston, it essentially takes in every non-Cajun, non-major-urban parish in the state,plus half of the Florida Parishes—the Felicianas, St. Helena and Livingston. (The tinyFlorida Parishes jut is unfortunate, but necessary for the numbers to work.)

Thatwould leave one more district that would be hotly contested. Not perfectly concentric, it nonetheless is far more compact and geographically sensible than the crazy-quilt District2 the Legislatureactually produced. In essence, it’s aMississippi Riverdistrict, plus some borderline Cajun parishes. It would include both East and West Baton Rouge parishes, along with Avoyelles, Point Coupee,Iberville, Ascension, Assumptionand St. James. For those from either side who obsess about race or partisanadvantage, this district would cause nervous nights. By

my wiki-aided count (again, the general trend, not the exact numbers, are what’s important), the district would have roughly 360,000 Whitevoters, 303,000 Black voters and just over 100,000 of “other” or “mixed” races, with Hispanics clearly predominating among those. Plus, asignificant percentage of the Whites would be Democrats. Meanwhile, some of us insist, with significant evidence, thatrace is not entirely determinative of political victory. Witness Mobile, Alabama, which for six consecutive elections chose amember of the then-minority race as itsmayor twice electing aBlack Democrat when the citywas majority White, thenfour timespicking aWhite Republican after the cityhad become majorityBlack. The “river district”above would almost assuredly mimic Mobile’sexperience, in which successful coalitionbuilding is rewarded. That’sa situation thatisfair,one thatinspires confidence in the system. The broader point:Aneutral computer programmed for compactness, contiguity, parish lines and geographical features would produce something similar to the plan above, without any racial or partisan thumbonthe scales Fora healthy representative democracy, one in which no group thinks the game is rigged against them, that’sthe sort of approach legislators henceforthshould take.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Chronicpilot shortages, ancient planes —Air Forceneeds upgrading

Does it matter what Helen of Troy looked like?

It’s the controversy that has launched athousand Xposts. Elon Musk, whoisafan of Homer,has kicked up afussbyobjecting to filmmaker ChristopherNolan casting the Black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in his forthcoming movie versionof“The Odyssey. The epic production presumably won’trise or fall based on its depiction of Helen, the legendary beauty who precipitated the Trojan War. That conflict is portrayedin“The Iliad,” while “The Odyssey” follows the Greek warrior Odysseus on his return home after the war,a story thatdoesn’tfeature Helenprominently The casting of Nyong’o,though, has raised the perennialquestion of whatHelen looked like,aswellasthe more pedestrianmatterof what the standard should be foractorsplaying people of adifferent race or ethnicity (or, these days, gender).

Helenwas aSpartan woman, married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. When she left him forParis of Troy,itstartedthe long battle between the Greeks andTrojans.

Everyone who saw her instantly understood why ayearslong war over her was worth it: “No wonder the Trojansand well-greaved Achaeanshavesuffered long for such awoman —she is terribly like an immortal goddess to look at.”

The genius of Homer’sdescription of Helen is thatheleaves it vague, and therefore up to the imagination. We know,though, that she wasn’tblack

The co-host of “The View”Sunny Hostin slammed allthe critics of the choice of Nyong’o as ignoramuses for not realizing that Africawas supposedly the sourceofAncient Greece. In so doing, she reliedona discredited book called“Black Athena”thatmaintained thatancient Sparta and Phoenicia colonized Ancient Greece. There is no evidencefor this whatsoever— onescholarly critic compared its highly politicizedclaims to “the Aryanscience of the Third Reich or the Lysenkoite geneticsofStalinist Russia.”

Ancient Greece wasIndo-European in origin; people who livedinthe area back thenlooked by andlarge,like people who live there now. Homer says thatHelen was“white-armed,” suggesting thatshe wasfair-skinned, and otherancient sources can be interpreted as saying thatshe hadlight hair and blue eyes, although there’s debate about this.

U.S. Air Force B-52s have been busy in thewar against Iran, as they were in Vietnam, and when they were crucial Cold Warcomponents of the nation’s nuclear triad of air,land and sea-based deterrence. Wars are mostly fought by young people, but today,geriatric machines participateinthe wild blue yonder Of the 76 extant B-52s, the youngest was built in 1962, before the Beatles’ first album and the Cuban missile crisis. According to Joseph Trevithick of the WarZone, adefensenews and analysis website, current planning envisions these heavy bombers in service until 2050, when the youngest will be 88 and will have outlasted today’sB-1sand B-2s. The B-52s have undergone many upgrades and are now in amodernization program: new engines and avionics. But as Trevithick writes, “At some point, the airframes will simply age out.” Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, now dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, writes in Forbes “the bulk of our Air Force”—10 aircraft types, more than 2,600 aircraft, twothirds of the entire force— “consists of geriatric fighter,bomber and trainer aircraft that were designed and built before the internet was invented,” having had their first flights morethan 50 years ago Former defense secretary Robert Gates, one of our wisestnationalsecurity thinkers, was imprecise when in 2024 he lamented that “our Air Force has stagnated in size.” The situation is worse than that. Since Operation Desert Storm (1991), the number of fighter squadrons has declined from 134 to 56, the number of fighter pilot flight hours per month has declined from 22.3 to under 10, and theaverage age of fighter planes has increased from 9.7years to 30.3years. What the AirForce calls its“advanced” trainer first flew in 1959 —the Eisenhower administration.

The Iran war hashighlighted the weakness of the nation’sdefense industrial base andthe precarious condition of its munitions stocks. The American Enterprise Institute’sMackenzie Eaglen, writing in the Dispatch, reports that U.S. forces expendedmore than1,000 Tomahawk cruise missilesina few weeks. Because average annual production has been 90 to 100, she says, “absent acceleration, replenishing this key armament …would take roughly 10 years.”

Ouradversaries in Beijing and Moscow know this, and know the production of sophisticated weapons cannot easily be surged. Readers of the 2024 report by the U.S. Commission on the National Defense Strategy knowthat today’sthreats are the most serious “since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war.” Deptula notes that the Air Forceis older,smaller and less ready to deter or win amajor war than at any timesince it became an independent service in 1947.

Thepilotshortage is now chronic. Today the game is more than2,000 short of requirements. The Mitchell Institute’s Heather R. Penney writes that the Air Force “has been unsuccessful in meaningfully improving its pilot retention rates for over twenty years.” To those who say unmanned systemsare radically reducing the importance of pilots, she says: “Algorithmsand software, no matter how sophisticated, cannot replace

the creativity, initiative, and judgment to decide and act through the fog and frictionofwar thatonly human cognition at the forward edge of the battlespace can provide.”

The war to defang Iran has been areminderthatthere are things, such as regime change, thatairpower alone cannot accomplish. But consider what airpower has done to implement the U.S. political objective of reducing that regime’s capacityfor projecting threats against other nations.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of Warnotes thatU.S.and Israeli operations achieved air dominance over Iran in 72 hours, partly because of Israeli attacks on Iran’sair defense radars in Apriland October2024. And the Iranian missile force is muchmore thanmissiles and launchers. It is crews, communications and computer networks, productionand logistical facilities. Airpower has struck one of the few ball bearing plants (crucial for ballistic missile guidance systems), at least 69 facilities associated with the production of missiles warheads and explosives, and at least 11 research and development facilities Rebuilding its production chain will take many years. All this without “bootson the ground.” Most developed democracies contentedly assumeperpetual peace, and are ever more casualty-averse.That this social-political fact converges with myriad military facts (the force structures of China and Russia) adds urgency onto making U.S. airpower again adequatefor its many missions.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Certainly,depictions on film have favored this interpretation. The 2004 movie “Troy” castthe gorgeous, blonde-haired, blue-eyed German actress Diane KrugerasHelen. All thatsaid, whatthe role most requiresis luminous beauty,and there’s nothing inherently wrong with casting actorsinroles thatdon’t match their ethnicity.Macbeth wasn’tAfrican American,but DenzelWashington played him compellingly in amovie version.

The problemisthat such casting decisions can be distracting, or even parodic. The Churchill movie “Darkest Hour” had the wartime prime ministertaking arandomtrip on the LondonUnderground and getting apep talk fromablack laborer.Why insult everyone’sintelligence with this kind of pandering? Also,there should be auniform standard. Whenever awhite actor or actress is cast in anotherethnic role it is condemnedas“whitewashing.”There wasa furorwhenScarlett JohanssonplayedMotokoKusanagi in the movie versionofthe Japanese manga series“Ghost in the Shell,”even though the character is a cyborg. Johansson had to back outofanother project where she was cast as atrans mandespite herself being acis woman. Aheadline in Allure magazine at the time read, “Scarlett Johansson Is Facing Major Backlash forSaying She ‘Should Be Allowed to Play’ Anyone.” What’sgood forLupita Nyong’o should be good forScarlett Johansson, and vice versa. But Hollywood wants to put its finger on the scale; it has preposterous, bean-counting standards forwhat filmscan be considered for Oscars based on the inclusion of “underrepresented groups” on screen and in other ways. If Nolan has done his job, this controversy will be overwhelmed by the power of Homer’s work, perhaps the second greatest story ever told.

RichLowry is on X@RichLowry

George Will

Rich Lowry

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

withmeteorologist Damon Singleton

DEATHS continued from Travis Merrick, Sr.(Amber) and Terrance Merrick; grandchildren,Bianca, Kalen,Story,Costen, Makenzie, Travis Jr., and BrianaWilliams; greatgranddaughter,Salaya; godchildren,Denardria Narcisse andArianne Parker-Flot;and ahostof nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Relativesand friends of thefamily, along withpastors,officers,and members of neighboring churches, areinvited to at‐tendthe CelebrationofLife Service honoring Cledman Joseph“Joe” Narcisse on Saturday, June 6, 2026,at First Mount Zion Baptist Church,32471 LA-23, Em‐pire, Louisiana70050. Visi‐tationwillbegin at 9:00 a.m., followed by thefu‐neral serviceat11:00 a.m. Pastor-ElectJordanL RobinsonSr. officiating. Entombmentwillfollowat Mount Zion Memorial Park Cemetery. Funeralarrange‐ments areentrusted to RobinsonFamilyFuneral Home. Foronlinecondo‐lences, please visitwww robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com

Dale Joseph

Dale Joseph Neves, age 66, peacefully enteredeter‐nal rest on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Born on March 7, 1960, in NewOr‐leans,LA, Dale is the beloved sonofthe late An‐tonio andMurielFazande Neves.Devoted brotherof Sonja Evangelista, Antonio Neves,Jr.,and Juliette Neves.Inaddition to his parents,Daleisalsopre‐ceded in deathbya brother,Ricardo Neves, whomheloved dearly.Dale attended theOlafFinkCen‐ter forPre-VocationalEdu‐cationand wasa dedi‐cated employee formany years at National Food Store.Later he worked at ARCofGreater NewOr‐

leans. Aproud NewOrlean‐ian,Daleembracedthe cul‐tureand traditions of his city. He lovedmusic,danc‐ing,secondlines andthe Mardi Gras Indian tradi‐tion. He wasa proudsup‐porterofVictorHarris known as “Spiritofthe Fi YiYi” andBig Chiefofthe MandingoWarriors, aSev‐enthWardtribe.Hespent the last 4years of hislife residingatRescare in New Iberia,LAwhere he gained a bonus family,manynew friends,and acommunity thatalsoloved,cared for and supportedhim.Dale was aloyal andfaithful memberofCorpusChristi Catholic Church,where he was afamiliarand cher‐ished presence amongfel‐low parishioners.Known for hisgentlenature, warm smile andkindheart,He touched thelives of many and wasloved by family, friends andhis church community.Thoughhewill bedeeplymissed, Dale’s memorywillliveoninthe heartsofall who were blessedtoknowhim.A Celebration servicehonor‐ing thelifeand legacy of the late Dale J. Neveswill beheldinthe Chapel of CharbonnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St PhilipStreet, New Orleans, LA70116 on Friday,June5, 2026 at 1p.m.Visitation12 noon in thechapel. Inter‐mentprivate.Pleasesign onlineguestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome. com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581-4411

Onezine, Iola Brenda Eugene 'The Chief'

Iola “The Chief” Brenda EugeneOnezine,age 83 answeredthe call of the HeavenlyFatheron Wednesday,May 27,2026, atOchsner MedicalCenter Kenner, surrounded by her loveones. Shewas anative and resident of Westwego Loving wife of late Joseph

Onezine, Sr.Beloved motherofDebra Eugene Walker, Myra Simmons Weatherspoon,Deirdre Onezine Simmons(Milton), and thelateBruce Sim‐mons, LauraSimmons,and JosephOnezine,Jr. Daugh‐ter of thelateSamuelEu‐gene, Sr.and Audrey Dixon. Granddaughter of thelate James andVictoriaEu‐gene, OpheliaCollins,and MarkDixon.SisterofSheila Ketchens(Albert), Annette Parker, Paulette Alexander, KurtDixon (Debra), and Tracy Eugene.Grand‐motherofDwayneEugene, Sr. Bridgette Walker,Bryan Simmons,Sr.,Toi Weather‐spoon,BrysonSimmons, Sr. (Jene),and Breione Weatherspoon,Godmother ofByron Davisand Harry Alexander.Alsosurvived by11great-grandchildren, 7 great-great-grandchil‐dren, anda host of nieces, nephews,other relatives and friends. Relativesand friends of thefamily, also pastors,officers,members ofProgressive Church,New HomeMinistries, Shiloh MissionaryBaptist Church Mount CalvaryInterna‐tionalWorship Center,Em‐powerment Church NOLA, Ephesus MissionaryBap‐tistChurch,TrueVineBap‐tistChurch,and allneigh‐boringchurches arein‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life at Progres‐siveChurch,437 Cohen Street,Marrero,LA, on Fri‐day,June 5, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.Apostle Sterling Mealancon,officiating. Vis‐itation will beginat8:00 a.m.until servicetimeat the above-namedchurch Interment: Restlawn Park Cemetery, Avondale,LA. ArrangementsbyDavis MortuaryService,230 Mon‐roe St Gretna,LA. To view and sign theguestbook, pleasegotowww.davismo rtuaryservice.com

Rives, Katherine Jane

KatherineJaneRives passed away on May 27, 2026, after alongillness in

Lafayette, Louisiana at the age of 74. She died peacefully with her friend and caregiver VerdaBoutteTrahan by her side.Jane was preceded in deathby her father, James D. Rives, Jr., and mother, Mary ThibautRives and is survivedbyher brothers, James D. Rives, III, Frank Williams Rives, and Bronier ThibautRives.Janewas an artist, equestrian, cat loverand adevout Catholic. She was bornon February 13, 1952, in New Orleans and livedin Houstonwithher family forfour years before they returned to NewOrleans. She attendedEcole Classique until thefamily moved to Covington, and then she transferredtoSt. Scholastica,fromwhich she graduated in 1970. Jane went to college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette and received several degrees there. She enjoyed theculture of Lafayetteand permanently settled thereafterfinishing her studies. Jane was akind, gentle personwho was always sensitivetothe feelings of others. She willbegreatly missed by her family and friends.

In lieu of flowers please donatetoPetsMart Charities; https://petsmart charities.org/ Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend the funeral services at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 W21st Avenue, Covington, LA 70433 on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11:00 AM withvisitation beginning at 10:00 AM until mass. Interment willtake place following theservice in PinecrestMemorial Gardens.

E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. The family invites youtoshare thoughts, fond memories,and condolences by signing an online guestbookat www.ejfieldingfh.com.

Richard StephenSerpas, age 84, on Friday, May 29, 2026, in LeagueCity, Texas. Survivedbyhis son Jeffery (Debra), brotherRaymond andgrandchildren Shaune Michaela, Emma and Logan.Precededindeath by hiswife of 60 years, Sylvia April Serpas, son Richard Jr.(Melissa), parents Gideonand Claire BaehrSerpasand sister Jeanne (Metge). The family will share detailsabout futureservicesastheybecome available. Richard born in NewOrleans, Louisiana, workedin Houston for NASA for 30 years, retiringin1993. The familyismost grateful for all theprayers andexpressions of sympathy received duringthischallengingtime.

Albert R.

AlbertR.SmothersdepartedthislifeonMay 24, 2026 at the age of 75. Husband of Cynthia Smothers.Son of Robert & Willie MaeSmothers. FatherofTaraBarrios & bonus daughterKeisha Thomas.Brother of 5living siblings and1 deceased sibling. He is also survived by 5grandchildren,1 great granddaughter anda host of nieces, nephews, other relativesand friends. Relatives, friends of the family, andemployeesof Bell Southare invited to attend aFuneral Service at Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave., NOLA 70125 on June 5, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.,visitation at noon. Internment: Mt Olivet Cemetery,2050

Caton St.NOLA70122. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral.com to sign the online guestbook. Funeral canbelive streamed @ www. fac eb ook.com / D.W.RhodesFuneralHome/ live.

M.

CynthiaM.Spiller Williams,age 82, wasborn onMarch 27, 1944 and passedawaypeacefully on Saturday, May23, 2026. She lived afulllifeasa retired UnitedStatesPostalSer‐viceclerk anda Trusteeof the church at FirstFree Mission BaptistChurch She will be lovingly re‐memberedbyher grand‐daughter, Roshonda Williams (Ryan);eight great grandchildren, ahost ofother relativesand friends.A Celebrationser‐vicehonoringthe life and legacyofthe late Cynthia SpillersWilliamswillbe heldatFirst Free Mission Baptist Church,919 Adams Street,New Orleans, LA 70118 on Saturday,June 6, 2026 at 10 am.Visitation9 aminthe church.The fam‐ily thanks OchsnerHospice for theircompassion. Pleasesignthe online guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion Directors (504)581 4411.

Serpas,Richard S.

Williams,Cynthia

Spiller

Smothers,

Neves,

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The secondofthreeorganized team activities is in the books forthe New Orleans Saints, and this week’sedition included asurprise guest in running back Alvin Kamara.

This hasbeen an interesting offseasonfor the Saints star, who is coming offhis worstseasonas aprofessional.

Kamara surprisingly showsupto OTAs,says‘no beef’withSaints

BY MATTHEWPARAS

Staff writer

“Obviously alittlebit unexpected,” coach Kellen Moore said. Afterweeks of uncertainty

See KAMARA, page 4C

Alvin Kamara didn’ttell anyone on the New Orleans Saints thathewas planning to show up to Wednesday’s offseason workout. The Saints running back, whohas awell-documented historyofskippingthese voluntary sessions, wanted the surprise to speak for itself. Mission accomplished. “I walked in thismorning and Iwas just talking (trash) to some dudes and they looked up,like,‘Man …who the (expletive)?’ ”Kamara said, recalling hisarrival.“They were like, ‘Oh (expletive), AK!’” His coach definitely was not in on the surprise

Legendarycollege football coach Woody Hayes once said there were three things that can happen when you pass the ball and that two of them were bad.

NewOrleans signed running back Travis Etienne to abig contract in theearly stages of free agency,then proceeded to further muddy the waters surrounding Kamara’sstatus with the team by refusing on multiple occasions to state that he would be part of theteam in 2026. From Kamara’svantage point, everything had been all quiet until Wednesday, when he showed up forthe voluntary workout with the rest of the squad. Thisalone wasnewsworthy,asithad been years since Kamara participated in anyofthe Saints’ voluntary offseason work.

His participation Wednesday felt like atacit acknowledgement of all that has transpired this offseason, even if he declined to add any fuel to the speculation when speakingwith reporters after practice.

Kamara said he flew from Miami to New Orleans late Tuesday night. He wentthrough light workwith his teammates Wednesday,taking second-team reps during thewalk-through period and going through drills with the rest of the running backs during someindividual position periods.

It is definitely tooearly to saythere has been any sort of resolution between the two sides, but Kamara making an appearance this week does at least feel like the start of something. Onto the observations.

Attendance

The following players were not seen during the open practice viewing period: running back Kendre Miller,wide receiver Chris Olave, defensive linemanZxavian Harris,defensivelineman

If Hayes,who died in 1987, were still around, he might say college athletics is facing two prospects, and both ofthem are bad. Unfortunately,collegesports leaders —coaches,athletic directors, school presidents and conference commissioners have only themselves to blame for being where we are in 2026. EitherNCAAschools must embrace federal legislation to curb their ills, which likely will bring with it plenty of unintended consequences. Or they can allow unchecked spending to continue, possibly bringing many schools (notjust athletic departments) to financial ruin and definitely resulting in college sports programs being cut all over the country

The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, unveiled last week by Sens. TedCruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), aims to do what NCAA schools have been unable or unwilling to do: address major issues facing college athletics today,most of

them relating to money In an age when Republicans and Democrats can’tagreeon what color the sky is, what does it say when both sides of the aisle believe college sports needs fixing?

They held ahearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesdaywith numerous major college sports figures testifying in regardstothe proposed bill.The most prominent wasformer LSU and Alabama football coach NickSaban Sabantalked about howNIL budgets went from $2.7 million nearthe endof his tenure at Alabama to $40millionfor some college football teams today.“Some teams,” if former LSU coach Brian Kelly is to be believed,includesthe Tigers.

“It’sbecome an arms race,” Sabansaid. “Who spends the most hasgot the best chance to win. But Ithinkit’sarace to the bottom, because if you don’tspend to win you lose yourfan base and youdon’thaveany revenue.”

The Protect College Sports Act, among other things, would seek to limit athletes to aonetime transfer without penalty, prohibit former professional athletes from playingincollege, cap eligibility at five years and prohibit acoach from leaving for another school before the

BYJOEY CAPPELLETTI and EDDIE PELLS Associated Press

WASHINGTON Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban and others testified Wednesday in support of abipartisanbillaimed at overhauling acollege sports system where players can increasingly earnmillions of dollarswhile moving freely between schools.

Theleaders of the Senate Commerce Committee held the hearing as theypush legislation unveiled last week that supporters hope can break thecongressionalgridlock over howtoregulate collegeathletics. But it’salready facing criticism from some senators andthe twomost influential conferences in college sports. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would regulate paymentstoathletes, limit them to one “free” transfer during their careers and create a“Lane Kiffin Rule”restricting coaches from leaving programsduring theseason. Cruz touted the proposalas “the last, best hope we have to save college sports.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Former Alabama footballcoachNick Saban testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill on WednesdayinWashington about abill aimed at changing the collegesports landscape.

“If youhad the biggest, baddest Ferrari thatyou could ever have and it was going 150 miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon, somebody needs to tap the brakes.And Ithink that’swhat we all need to do here,”Saban said in his opening remarks Notably absent from the the witness list,which included the Notre Dameathletic director and the commissioner of the newly reconstructed Pac-12 Conference, were anyrepresentativesfromeither theBig TenorSoutheastern Conference. Saban won seven national championships at SEC schools Ala-

bamaand LSU but said he was not in Washington to represent any conference or team.

The SEC and the Big Ten, the two most powerful conferences in college sports, oppose the bill, arguing it “leaves critical issues unresolved.”

Asked after the hearing about opposition from the SEC and Big

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler,left, and runningback

Alvin Kamara embrace during an OTApractice in Metairieon Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTOSByBRETT DUKE

Saints running back AlvinKamara runs adrill during an OTApractice in Metairie on Wednesday.

FRENCH OPEN

Top-ranked Sabalenka falls flat

BY JEROME PUGMIRE AP sportswriter

PARIS After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible.

“Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals on Wednesday

“We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”

Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while serving for the match at 5-4. What followed was a complete collapse as she lost 12 of the last 13 games against a player appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, looking increasingly frustrated and forlorn in the windy conditions.

Just like her loss to Coco Gauff in last year’s final, when she also won the first set before becoming undone with a slew of unforced errors, this one will take some time to get over

“You know those rooms where you just go in and you smash everything,” Sabalenka said. “Probably I will spend a whole day tomorrow over there destroying stuff. Maybe it will help, maybe not.”

Shnaider next faces Maja Chwalinska, who extended her remarkable Roland Garros run by beating No. 22-seeded Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Sabalenka stood still and screamed loudly after losing a point to fall 0-30 down in the sixth game of the decider and, although she saved two match points at 0-40 down, she lost when she sent a shot into the net.

“I just think it’s combination of everything,” Sabalenka lamented. “You overthink, then you make easy mistakes, then you miss opportunities.”

Her struggles were reminiscent of the match against Gauff, when

she remonstrated loudly, shouting to herself and glaring at her team box.

“I just have to sit back and openly think about what’s going on in my head in those tough moments,” Sabalenka said, recalling that match. “Because I’m quite an experienced player I have been through so many things, and I overcome so many things.”

Sabalenka had already looked agitated when serving for the first set but still looked in control as she served for the match in the second, holding a 30-15 lead.

“Of course I saw some moments of her frustration,” Shnaider said. “I know Aryna, that she’s a very emotional person.”

Shnaider, who was already on her best run at a major, broke Sabelenka before taking complete control.

“Well, honestly I am speechless.

Super happy,” Shnaider said. “I feel like I was trying to focus point by point. Not thinking about the score. She is the world No. 1, so I just trying to do my best. I just had to fight for every point.”

Sabalenka looked increasingly frustrated as the third set wore on and when she missed a volley

at the net in the fourth game of the decider she crouched and rested her head on her racket.

From qualifier to contender

The unseeded Chwalinska came through three qualifying rounds to become only the second Polish woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros, along with Swiatek.

Chwalinska said British player Emma Raducanu’s run to the 2021 U.S. Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier had inspired her

“It was such an impressive run, you know,” Chwalinska recalled. “Also, she was so young.”

When Kalinskaya’s big forehand from the back of the court went out, the 24-year-old Chwalinska had her biggest win, having never been beyond the second round at any major before this tournament.

Chwalinska’s total prize money heading into Roland Garros was $864,030 and reaching the last four here earns her 750,000 euros (about $872,000).

Italian men’s finalist

In the men’s quarterfinals, 10thseeded Flavio Cobolli beat No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4 6-4,

6-4 and will face fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi for a spot in the final. Arnaldi advanced when Matteo Berrettini, yet another Italian, retired due to a left hip injury with Arnaldi leading 7-5, 5-2. Berrettini had his hip treated during a medical timeout earlier in the second set.

The strong Italian showing comes despite top-ranked Jannik Sinner getting stunned in the second round.

Second-seeded Alexander Zverev and No. 26 Jakub Mensik will meet in the other semifinal.

Another upset

It was another big upset in a tournament where defending champion Gauff (third round) and fourtime winner Iga Swiatek (fourth round) already tumbled out. Sinner last year’s runner-up, served for the match in a secondround defeat, and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic wasted a two-set lead in a third-round loss. That opened things up for lesserknown players. According to Opta, this is the first major without a former champion in either the men’s and women’s semifinals since the French Open in 1977.

Korda charges into U.S. Women’s Open on a roll

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES Nelly Korda fell just short of her first U.S. Women’s Open title a year ago, coming up second to Maja Stark in a finish that was painfully appropriate for her inexplicably winless calendar year But that disappointment at Erin Hills is a primary reason Korda arrived at venerable Riviera this week as the world’s No. 1 player and a favorite to raise the trophy at the 81st Open.

“I was just hungry for more,” Korda said of last year’s Open experience. “Last year was just a weird year of kind of not necessarily playing my best, but also when I did, not getting the bounces or just missing by a centimeter here and there. But I also learned a lot about myself. It made me hungrier to be in those positions.”

Korda has been eating this year, all right.

A dominant major title at The Chevron Championship. Three victories overall. Three more secondplace finishes, and an emphatic return to the top of the rankings.

Korda says she welcomes the pressure that accompanies her success, and she is thrilled to be under the spotlight and playing for the richest prize pool in women’s golf at the first women’s Open ever held at Riviera, the 100-year-old country club nestled in Pacific Palisades and patronized by decades of Hollywood royalty

“I’m just motivated to put myself into that position, to grind on off weeks, to just play the game,” Korda said.

“It’s really hard to explain, but there’s nothing better when you’re a very competitive person than being in the hunt on a back nine at a tournament. There’s a really big rush of emotions. Even if it doesn’t

Los Angeles.

work out, you constantly want to put yourself back into that, because all that work that you’ve put in in your off weeks. That’s what makes it worth it.”

Korda took the past two weeks off to make sure she was fully rested and prepared for the Open and for Riviera, a course she had played only once before this week. This tournament has never been held anywhere in Los Angeles County, easily the most populous in the U.S.

“It’s amazing out here,” Korda said. “I mean, the vibe of the place, knowing that so much history has been played out here, it’s a great place for us to play.”

Stark contrast

Stark began the week by returning the trophy she won by holding off Korda last year at the Open, but she wasn’t sad to comply with tradi-

tion. “I did kind of want to let it go, because it’s weird — it’s like I had it sitting in my room, and I just saw it every day,” Stark said “And I’m like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’ But I just want to move on I want the challenge again. It was fun to have it, but it’s more fun to play for it than to have it I guess.”

Stark had been on the fringes of the LPGA Tour field before her victory last year at Erin Hills but after securing her tour status with a major win, the Swede promptly missed the cut in five of her next seven tournaments. She’s now paying more attention to the mental side of her game, hiring a therapist and a sports psychologist.

The results are promising: Stark is up to 23rd in the world after making seven cuts in eight starts this season, finishing 16th in Cincinnati

Five-star

edge rusher flips from LSU to Miami

Five-star edge rusher Jaiden Bryant has flipped his commitment from LSU to Miami, he revealed on social media Wednesday Bryant is the No. 2 edge rusher in the country and a top-20 recruit nationally in the Class of 2027, according to the 247Sports composite. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound edge rusher had been committed to LSU since January He attends Irmo High School in Columbia, South Carolina, and is the topranked player in the state.

Bryant was the second-highestranked recruit in LSU’s 2027 class, trailing only five-star tight end Ahmad Hudson. LSU has four commitments in its class after losing Bryant’s pledge, with four-star quarterback Peyton Houston, four-star athlete Braylon Calais and four-star wide receiver Ah’Mari Stevens in the fold.

QB Williams strikes a pose for Madden NFL ’27 cover

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was announced Wednesday as EA Sports’ cover athlete for Madden NFL 27.

On the standard cover, Williams is depicted in a position similar to his pivotal, scrambling, fourth-and-8 jump pass to Rome Odunze in a stirring comeback victory over Green Bay in a wild-card playoff game on Jan. 10.

With his arm cocked to throw and his feet spread, Williams appears to soar above a silhouette of the Chicago skyline.

The deluxe edition features a tight shot of Williams with arms crossed over his white game jersey, a dark, night-like background and snow falling around him.

Being featured on the cover is “like my childhood dream was coming true,” Williams said in a statement.

Prosecutors drop charges against Falcons WR Branch ATHENS, Ga. — Prosecutors in Georgia have dropped two misdemeanor charges against Atlanta Falcons third-round draft pick and receiver Zachariah Branch.

The former Georgia player was arrested in Athens the weekend before the NFL draft and was charged with obstructing public sidewalks/streets and the obstruction of a law enforcement officer. He was released on a combined $39 bail.

At the time, the Athens-Clarke County Police said they were summoned to an early morning incident in which a large crowd had gathered outside a bar in Athens and was blocking the entrance to the building.

Branch’s attorney, Kim Stephens, issued a statement confirming that the charges had been dropped.

Padres designate outfielder Castellanos for assignment

three weeks ago.

First starts

Megha Ganne is beginning her pro career at Riviera just one week after last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur champion led Stanford to another NCAA title, making the winning putt to beat USC down the coast in Carlsbad, California. Trojans star and Irvine native Catherine Park is also making her pro debut at Riviera.

Ganne played in the final group of the 2021 Open as a 17-year-old high schooler at Olympic Club in San Francisco, eventually finishing as the top amateur As her pro career approached, she has been leaning on her LPGA Tour friends, including three-time major champion Lydia Ko.

“Being a professional is about the little stuff, and the stuff you can’t really see, like invisible little details,”

Ganne said. “That stuff comes with experience, time, maturity and having a good team around you.”

No matter how her debut goes, Ganne is graduating from Stanford next week.

Wie’s back

Michelle Wie West is coming out of retirement to play her first tournament since the 2023 U.S. Open.

The former wunderkind’s only major victory was at the Open in 2014, and the 36-year-old mother of two used her final year of exemption for a spot in this field.

Her husband, Jonnie West, will caddy for her at Riviera, while daughter Makenna will be watching.

“Last time I retired at Pebble Beach, Makenna was 2 and doesn’t really have any memories,” she said. “Hopefully being 6 now, she’ll have a lot more memories of being here this week.”

PHILADELPHIA — The San Diego Padres designated outfielder Nick Castellanos for assignment on Wednesday, one day after he received a video tribute in his return to Philadelphia. Castellanos was released by the Phillies in February just ahead of their first full-squad workout at spring training. The Phillies released him even though they owed him $20 million for the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract. The Padres took a flier on him and spent only the league minimum of around $780,000 for him this season. Castellanos never returned to his two-time All-Star form in limited action with San Diego. He hit .191 with a .560 OPS, four home runs and 20 RBIs in 39 games for the Padres.

Mets option Tong, recall Gerber to refresh bullpen

SEATTLE The New York Mets optioned right-hander Jonah Tong to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday before their series finale against the Seattle Mariners.

Righty Joey Gerber was recalled from Syracuse in a corresponding move.

Tong, the No. 35 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s rankings and second in the Mets organization, pitched 31/3 innings in Tuesday’s 8-3 loss, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out four and walking two. Tong, 22, appeared in three games this season as a bulk reliever after being called up May 22. In

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

Nelly Korda hits during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open on Tuesday in

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMMA DA SILVA

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after losing a quarterfinal match against Diana Shnaider of Russia at the French Open in Paris on Wednesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

LEFT PHOTO: Scottie Scheffler hits from the 17th tee during the third round of the PGAChampionship on May16inNewtown Square, Pa RIGHT PHOTO: RoryMcIlroywatches his shot on the 11th fairway during the finalround of the PGAChampionship on May17inNewtown Square, Pa

Skill trumps power

Scheffler,McIlroy seeMuirfieldVillage same way, butresults differ

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

DUBLIN, Ohio Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy think the same way about Muirfield Village, and what it takes to succeedatthe Memorial Tournament.

This is abig golf course, but it’s not all about power

“Here it’smore about placing the ball in the right spots and taking your opportunities when you can get them,” said Scheffler,who speaks from the experience of winning the past two years.

“For being such along golf course, Ifeel like it takes the driver out of my hand alot,” said McIlroy,who played for the14th time without ever getting that winner’s handshake from tournamenthost Jack Nicklaus off the 18thgreen.

The Memorial is one tournament McIlroy can’tseemtowin —he’shad onlyfivefinishesin the top 10 and never areasonable chance to win.

And it’sthe one tournament Scheffler can’tseem to lose.

Scheffler,the world’sNo. 1player,sets out this week to try to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win three straight times at the tournament Nicklaus built.

Nicklaus was asked why he thought Scheffler played so well at Muirfield Village, beyond the obvious of having great control of hisshots.Nicklaus raised hisright index finger and tapped the side of his head.

“He thinks his way aroundthe golf course,” Nicklaus said.“His golf swing is certainly not spec-

tacular from a standpoint of looking at balance the pathway of his clubisvery good. But he doesn’t put himself in position to make doubles and triples.”

Scheffler and McIlroy,Nos. 1and 2inthe world,lead another strong field at theMemorial withthe U.S. Open looming two weeksaway.Both went to Shinnecock Hills on Monday on their way to central Ohio —theydidn’tplay together —to scout the U.S. Open course. It’snot likethey run in the same circles or even play in the same events. This is the 12th event for Scheffler thisyear, the10thfor McIlroy.But they have played the same tournament only six times, two of them majors and The Players Championship Both have won this year,McIlroy’svictory being far more meaningful.Heheld off Scheffler at Augusta National to become only thefourth back-to-back winner ofthe Masters.

Scheffler,coming off another dominant season,won his first tournament of theseason at The American Express. Therestofthe year has been closecalls —three runner-up finishes in arow,three other finishes in thetop five.

“I felt likeI haven’tbeen as sharp as Iwould have liked to have been,” Scheffler said. “When you look at the margins in this game,they’re quite small. Ithink statistically I’m probably notfar offfromwhere I’ve been thelast couple years, it’sjust acouple shots here or there, acouple of those momentum shotswhere it

can kind of swing you in atournament.”

McIlroy has thecareer Grand Slam, andit’scherry-picking what else he would like to win. Courses mean alot to him. There’salso an Olympic gold medal to chaseonce everyfour years,and Riviera and MuirfieldVillage— the tournaments hostsare Tiger Woods and Nicklaus —are on his list

“I’ve been luckyenoughtowin at BayHill, but not while Arnold (Palmer) was alive,” McIlroy said. “SoIalways thought it would be cool to win here and takethat little walk up thehill off the 18th green and shake Jack’shand. Also, Jack and Ishare anice history.I’ve known him for nearly 20 years. He’sbeen nothing but great to me andmyfamily.So, yeah,thisis certainly oneI wouldlovetoget done.”

McIlroy skipped last year and playedthe RBCCanadian Open instead.Healso missed in 2017 when he was tending to sore ribs from an injury earlier in theyear But he’s playedall the rest of them at Muirfield Village, just not with anything to show for it.

That’snot unusual in golf. Woods never figured out how to win at Riviera,the Los Angeles masterpiece that’sone of his favoritesand nowistournament host for the Genesis Invitational. Nicklaus was runner-up seven times at the Canadian Open. His only win in Canada was as PresidentsCup captain in 2007.

“Obviously agreat list of champions on awonderful golf course,” McIlroy said of the Memorial. “I haven’tquite figureditout yet. It’s frustrated me over my career.But hopefully,thisisthe week that I put it all together.”

LHSAAmoving3ofits titlegames to

Boys basketball setto return to Cajundome; wrestling coming to N.O.

BY CHRISTOPHERDABE Staff writer

The LHSAA announced three venue site changes for state championships beginning with the 202627 academic year

The boys basketball state championships will move to theCajundome after 13 seasons at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.

The state wrestling tournament will take place at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans after being held in Bossier City and Baton Rouge in recent years.

Thepowerliftingstate championships move to the West Monroe Sports &Events Complex after two seasons at the Pontchartrain

Center in Kenner

The boys basketball tournament has been held in Lake Charles since 2014 and willreturn to the Cajundomefor the first timesince 2011 —exceptwhenselect schools held their tournament games at the Cajundomein2022.

The LHSAA in arelease said that moving the boys basketball tournament to Lafayette put it in “a centralized location forschools and fans traveling from every corner of the state.”

Moving the wrestling tournament will improve “accessibilityfor asignificantportion of the state’swrestling community,”the LHSAA said in its release.

Holy Cross won theDivisionI state title in February,snapping Jesuit’sthree-year title hold in a sport that also saw Brother Martin winstate as recent as 2022.

Contact ChristopherDabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

LSWA CLASS1AALL-STATE TEAMS

LannyReed,St.

Savarese, St. Martin’s; Alex Scheuermann, St.Martin’s; William Simon, Vermilion Catholic; LukeSpangler,Centerville; Carter Stelly,Opelousas Catholic; Landon Underwood, Central Catholic; Owen Vacarella,

Catholic; Connor

Scully, Central Catholic; Mia Sisco,WestminsterChristian-Lafayette; KennediSmith, Logansport; Brooklyn Steward, Merryville;Hallie Sutton, Glenbrook;Ava Taylor, Delta Charter;Hannah Thevis, Grand Lake;MadisonTrahan, GrandLake; PresleyWall, CedarCreek.

MAJORLEAGUEBASEBALL

NewPGA modeltoexpandfields at

BYDOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

cut

By The Associated Press

DUBLIN, Ohio The PGATour is making what CEO Brian Rolapp called substantial progress on a revamped model that would restore 36-holecuts to all the top tournaments. He said Wednesday the finished product probably won’tbeready until 2028 and would be asystem “that outlives any player.”

The tour is moving toward a model of two tracks thatRolapp first mentioned in March. The top track for the top performers would be roughly 16 tournaments, not including the majors or postseason. Track 1would have around 120 to 130 players. Track 2would be forthose aspiring to get to Track 1. Thepurses would be smaller and the title sponsors would pay less, though Rolapp sounded confident there would be sponsors willing to spend less for such tournaments Still under discussion is whether players could move up to Track 1inthe middle of the season depending on their performance, such as winning multiple times Key to anew model, Rolapp said, wasbringing back the36-holecut, which would make sense if the fields are going from72players

to 120 players or more. The tour nowhas “signatureevents” with 72 players and a36-hole cut at only threesuch events hosted by golfgreats.

“Atthe end of the day, sports is about how good the athletes are andwhat the competitive consequences are,”hesaid. “I think you’ll see that in Track 2. And I think you’ll seepeople fighting to stay on Track 1. And Ithink we have lost alot of that with the smaller field, no-cutevents.”

He said the tour wants to get back to thecompetitive meritocracy that makes golf unique.

Rolapp has leaned on the pillars of scarcity, simplicityand parity since he first appointed aFuture Competition Committee in August, leading to speculation that tour wouldgotoasmaller,more streamlined schedule that would create fewer opportunities.

Rolapp painted adifferent picture Wednesday while meeting with asmallgroup of reporters.

“I think when you see wherewe land, you’renot going to see that,” he said. “Butwhat you are going to see is an elevation of tournaments. Andyou’regoing to have a collection of Track 1that are special, that are bigger.I think what we have found as we’ve talked to sponsors both forTrack 1and Track 2, there’salot of demand for both.And the price points will be different

“The bigger events not everyonecan afford andmay not be

sort of consistent with their business goals,” he said. “That’sgreat. There’sother pricepoints too for it, and Ithink there’splenty of demand forbothTrack 1and Track 2inthat regard because there’s definitely people who want to invest differentamounts in these events.”

The postseason formatalsois being revamped. Rolapp said he invited all the PGATour’sbroadcast partners and even those with whom thePGA Tour does not have contracts, such as streaming services, to provide insight into the tour’sthinking towarda newmedia rightsdeal. Rolapphas pointed toward June 23 —a dayafter thenextboard meeting—for afull update.

“I feel good where we are, but Ialsohad expectations that it wasn’tgoingtobeeasy,”Rolapp said. “You don’thave agood process if there’snot tension. That meansyou’re not asking the right questions.”

Stillunderdiscussion aredetails that include which tournaments are going on Track 1and Track 2, the courses theyplay and perhaps going to bigger markets thetour is not in, such as New York,Chicago, Boston, Denver and Philadelphia, for example.

There also is the issue of players whodefected to LIVGolf, arival leaguethathas itsown setofissues now thatthe Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia will stop paying for it after this year

ANAHEIM, Calif. Earlierthis season, LosAngeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell had an incredible night to remember on defense, when he robbed the Seattle Mariners of three homeruns. This time, he wasonthe wrong endofaplay to forget.

Adellmisplayedaflyball into abizarre home run off his head Tuesday,a fielding blunder reminiscentofJosé Canseco’sembarrassing gaffe 33 yearsago withthe Texas Rangers.

Adell reached up to catch TJ Rumfield’sdeep flyfor the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning, but the ball grazed the outside of his glove before bouncing off his head and over the wall forasolo homer

“I was toward the line and Ifelt like Ihad alittle bit longer way to go thanInormallydoonaroute like that and just missed it,” Adell told MLB.com.“It hit off my hat. I don’tknow if Ioverran it and took astepover.But it was kind of the icing on the cake because Iwas (bad) all the way around the whole day today.”

There was brief confusion on the field when the ball caromed offadigital scoreboard above the fence and back into the outfield.

Rumfield stopped at second base, initially unsure of the ruling, before proceeding around the bases to give Coloradoan8-0 lead on the way to an 8-2 victory

“It’sone of those things where how it happened looks crazy,” said Adell, who also went 0for 4atthe platewith twostrikeouts. “Itlooks

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell misplays aball hitby ColoradoRockies first baseman TJ Rumfield that hithim in the head and then bounced out for asolo home runduring the fourthinning on TuesdayinAnaheim, Calif.

likeI’ve never played in the field before, which is disappointing, because it’sbeyond the truth. But it is what it is.I’m theonly one that really knows what happened. Iwas out there, and it happened to me, so it is what it is.I’ve gottojust keep going, and as ateam,we’ve got to keep going.”

It was similar to an infamous play on May 26, 1993, when Canseco lost track of along drive hit by Cleveland’sCarlosMartínez. The ball bounced offCanseco’shead and over the right-field wall for a homerun.

Rumfield’sgifthomer ended the night forAngels starterGrayson Rodriguez, whogave up three homers and eight runs in 32/3 innings.

Rolapp

Nicklaus

49ers prepare for Garrett after Rams trade

BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer

CLARA, Calif.

SANTA

— The initial news of Myles Garrett’s trade from Cleveland to the Los Angeles Rams hit San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster like a “gut punch.”

The game’s most fearsome pass rusher was joining the Niners’ division rivals, setting up two head-to-head matchups this upcoming season beginning with the opener in Australia

So Foerster went right to work to study Garrett and figure out how to deal with the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year “It was kind of a little gut punch at first, you’d feel like, gosh, here we go,” Foerster said Tuesday “But then I woke up really early this morning, earlier than usual. I came in and just watched tape. I said, he’s a tough football player He’s going to be a challenge for us to take care of. But we had a plan last year

You’re going to do the best you can Everybody has good players, and he’s a great player It’s good for them and it’ll be a good challenge for us.”

player is a different way to do it.

I’m not saying they’re the same guy Myles Garrett is an all-time great pass rusher He’s an unbelievable talent. But he’s still an edge rusher.”

Quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi took the big trade in stride, saying the Niners are used to going up against tough competition every week.

“Every game’s hard,” Lombardi said. “They have Myles Garrett. It is what it is. New players, free agency, trades, it’s so common nowadays. Everybody plays for different teams all the time. They have good players. I feel like every team we play has good players. But every week’s a challenge, so we’ll go out there and see what we can get done in the first week of the season.”

Roster shuffling

San Francisco played Garrett three times over that span, including a matchup last season when Garrett had one of his NFL single-season record 23 sacks to go along with eight quarterback pressures.

After that 26-8 win by the 49ers in Week 13, 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams told Garrett he

The 49ers haven’t had to deal with Garrett often as he spent his first nine seasons in the AFC playing for the Browns before the trade on Monday to Los Angeles for young pass rusher Jared Verse and a package of draft picks that Foerster said “came out of left field.”

Beckham understands need to earn his spot

The Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J Odell

Beckham does not expect to have a roster spot handed to him after returning to the New York Giants.

“I know I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Beckham said Wednesday after his first offseason workout practice with the team since signing Monday “I came here to earn anything Everything in my life, nothing was given to me. I came here to earn it, work hard every day and be the best I can for the team.” Beckham, 33, worked out for the Giants in April, and coach John Harbaugh said the conditions would have to be right for a reunion. Returner/receiver Gunner Olszewski tearing his right Achilles tendon last week precipitated the move to bring in Beckham, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios.

“Try to be aggressive and give ourselves as many opportunities

KAMARA

Continued from page 1C

about whether he’ll be on the roster next season, Kamara’s surprise appearance Wednesday was the latest twist in a saga that already has taken its fair share of turns. But the situation, even with the visit, is far from settled. The Saints have indicated they would like to address Kamara’s contract, but speaking to reporters for the first time since last season, the Saints’ all-time leading rusher said he hasn’t talked with general manager Mickey Loomis, nor has he been approached about taking a pay cut. Kamara is entering the last year of his contract and holds a cap hit of nearly $10.5 million, which was already reduced earlier this offseason when the Saints restructured the deal using an unconventional salary cap tactic called the 50% rule. The Saints also seemingly signed his replacement in March by giving a four-year, $52 million contract to Travis Etienne. Kamara, who reiterated that he had no problem with Etienne’s signing, said he’s “going to be ready” to play for the Saints next season. He also acknowledged there are some “conversations that may need to be had” to determine his status.

“Look, I’m prepared,” Kamara said. “I’m under contract. I still got my locker That’s really why I came. My locker’s still here. My fingerprint still works at the door Like I guess I’m here, right?

“That’s what that means You know what I’m saying? So yeah, man, I’m good.”

If Kamara’s unexpected attendance was a way to put pressure on the franchise to make a decision, the running back did not con-

as we possibly can to have the strongest roster we can,” Harbaugh said. “They’ll be competing for roles. They’ll be competing for their opportunity, just like everybody else. Let’s see how it goes.”

There is significant uncertainty at the position, with Malik Nabers working to rehab a torn ACL in his right knee. There is lingering doubt about Nabers being ready for the season opener Sept. 13 against Dallas Beckham making the team is no guarantee, but this isn’t just about nostalgia in New York after getting drafted by the Giants in 2014 and spending his first five NFL seasons with them

He has not played a game in the league since Dec. 8, 2024, with Miami after serving a six-game suspension last year for failing a performance-enhancing drug test.

He took time away from football and has been working out since to get in optimum shape.

firm the tactic. He said he wanted to show up at some point because of the number of teammates who had checked up on him over the last several months. Kamara said he made the decision to book a late flight Tuesday and arrived in New Orleans at 1 a.m. before showing up to the facility in the morning.

The Saints seemed unprepared for Kamara’s arrival. New Orleans had the five-time Pro Bowler participate in individual drills but chose not to include him in any 7-on-7 work or team walk-throughs. During individual drills, Kamara’s reps came notably after Etienne and several other backs.

Moore said Kamara’s workload would be lighter since he has to go through an “acclimation process” of getting up to speed.

“I’m excited to be able to spend a little bit of time with him and just kind of see where he’s at,” Moore said. “But it’s good to see him.”

Even Wednesday, Moore appeared noncommittal about Kamara’s future The coach said Kamara could fit in “really well from an offensive standpoint,” but he deflected when asked several times whether the Saints had decided to keep him around for next season. The lack of a decision has been polarizing. Former Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu criticized the franchise for not acting in “good faith,” arguing the Saints were mistreating their all-time leading rusher. Mathieu suggested the Saints don’t have “the balls to outright cut him” and would rather Kamara retire.

Second-year running back Devin Neal said he had been speaking with Kamara “pretty consistently” this offseason, which is why he wasn’t completely shocked the veteran showed up to practice this week. Neal said Kamara had told

wouldn’t mind if he never had to face Garrett again and called him the “best ever.”

Now Williams and the Niners are scheduled to face him twice this season alone.

Foerster said looking back at that game, he felt as if the 49ers offense had a plan that allowed them to be successful despite the presence of Garrett.

Now Garrett joins a much

more formidable team in the Rams, who came up one win shy of reaching the Super Bowl last season. While Garrett provides a clear upgrade, the approach for the 49ers won’t change much.

“We had to take care of Jared Verse. We have to take care of Myles Garrett. It’s an edge player,” Foerster said. “It’s different than when it was Aaron Donald. To take away an interior

The 49ers signed safety Ashtyn Davis to a one-year deal to add depth at the position. Davis grew up nearby in Santa Cruz and played in college at California before being drafted by the New York Jets in the third round in 2020. In six seasons with New York and Miami, Davis has 217 tackles, 19 passes defensed, nine interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries in 84 games.

The Niners waived running back Jermar Jefferson, who was signed last week.

Wilson confirms retirement from the NFL to join CBS Sports

The Associated Press

NEW YORK Ten-time Pro Bowl

quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed Wednesday in a video posted to social media that that he’s retiring from the NFL to take a job with CBS Sports.

Wilson’s announcement came two days after news broke that he was finalizing a deal to become an analyst on CBS’ Sunday NFL pregame show

“As I enter this next chapter with CBS Sports and ‘The NFL Today,’ I’m so blessed to continue doing what I love most being around the greatest game in the world,” he said in the video.

Wilson played 14 seasons after being taken by Seattle in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft out of N.C. State. He spent his first 10 seasons with the Seahawks, leading them to their first Super Bowl championship in the 2013 season. He was traded to Denver after the 2021 season and spent two rocky years with the Broncos before play-

him he planned to attend at some point, though he did not specify when.

“Just to hear his thoughts about everything going on — the elephant is definitely in the room,” Neal said. “Just to see what’s going on what’s he’s gonna do, what we’re gonna do with him.

Kamara said he isn’t confused by how the Saints have acted over the last several months. He also disagreed with the idea that the franchise was acting disrespectfully by not providing a clear answer about whether it plans to keep him.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life, man,” Kamara said. “I learned not to take things personal Man, I’m blessed. Like it is what it is. We’re in a business that’s unique to a lot of spaces in the world. Nothing catches me off guard, man.”

So would Kamara be open to taking a pay cut to stick around?

“I haven’t had any conversations in regard to that, so I don’t know,” Kamara said. “I think there’s a time and a place for everything. If that conversation comes up, then I’ll have an answer for you when it comes up.”

For now, Kamara was set to embrace the people he hadn’t seen since the end of last season. Before practice began Wednesday, he hugged defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and enthusiastically greeted several other teammates.

He said afterward he even had a chance to catch up with Moore

“On my side, I feel no pressure,” Kamara said. “There’s no beef or bad blood I don’t think. I’m just doing what I do every year, working. Whatever decisions have got to be made, they’ll be made.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

AP FILE PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Seattle Seahawks quarterback

Russell Wilson holds the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb 2, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J

ing one season in Pittsburgh and another for the New York Giants. Wilson threw for 46,966 yards, with 353 touchdown passes and 114 interceptions. He joins Peyton Manning and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to throw at least 20 touchdown passes in each of their first three seasons

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

Nathan Shepherd and defensive end Chase Young The following players attended practice but did not participate in anything outside of walk-through: wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, defensive lineman Christen Miller and tight end Oscar Delp.

Shough starts strong

Let’s get the caveat out of the way: These are spring workouts and therefore are not necessarily indicative of anything that will happen from here on out. The Saints practiced without pads, and the most competitive thing they did was a pair of 7-on-7 periods. That being said, Tyler Shough made some impressive throws in those limited competitive settings — the sort of throws that show the strides he’s made since his rookie season ended. Last year around this time, Shough had the look of a player who was trying to play within the structure of an offense that did not want him to do too much. There were a lot of check-downs, even in 7-on-7 periods, in which Shough was taking the easy outlet rather than attacking the defense. That was not the case Wednesday, when Shough pushed the ball downfield to his targets Working without his presumptive top two wideouts — Olave and Tyson — Shough still made several big completions downfield in his 10 competitive reps

His best throw came when he found Ja’Lynn Polk streaking near the right hash mark about 20 yards down the field on a deep over route Shough quickly

and is one of seven quarterbacks to be selected to 10 Pro Bowls Wilson is the only player in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes and fewer than 15 interceptions in four straight seasons. He also had three seasons with at least 30 TD passes and 500 yards rushing, which is the most in NFL history Wilson is the shortest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Wilson will replace Matt Ryan, who joined the Atlanta Falcons as president of football after two seasons on “The NFL Today.” Wilson had considered returning for a 15th season, telling the New York Post last month that he was mulling an offer to join the New York Jets and back up Geno Smith.

His video featured highlights from his career and footage of him visiting patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It ended with him thanking his wife, Ciara, and the sport he dedicated his life to.

“I thank you, football. I am forever grateful,” he said

worked through his progression on the play and hit Polk in rhythm for a big gain. On the next play Shough hit Kevin Austin in almost the exact same spot after a scramble drill for another big gain.

In all, Shough completed six passes, with four of them coming in the intermediate part of the field. The only true deep shot he attempted landed just out of the reach of receiver Bub Means. Odds and ends

Defensive back Martin Emerson secured the lone turnover of the day when he intercepted a Spencer Rattler pass intended for Bryce Lance. The interception came on a batted ball and Emerson was in the right spot to make the play Emerson signed with the Saints in late April, and he is an intriguing player in the defensive backfield. He’s 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds and started 33 NFL games. If he can bounce back from an Achilles injury that cost him all of last year, he could play some meaningful football in New Orleans. Speaking of Lance, he had the biggest play of the day when he beat the defensive back across from him with a double move before hauling in a deep touchdown from third-string quarterback Zach Wilson. That is precisely what the Saints want to see out of the speedy fourthround pass catcher Devaughn Vele didn’t have a ton of action as a receiver Wednesday — he caught one of his two targets but, interestingly, he did see the field as a holder for kicks. That role presumably will belong to punter Ryan Wright, but with Wright not present, Vele handled those duties.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KyUSUNG GONG

From left, Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead, defensive end Myles Garrett and coach Sean McVay pose for a photo during a news conference after the team’s practice on Tuesday in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Englandturns to aGermantoend WorldCup drought

BY JAMES ROBSON AP soccer writer

MANCHESTER, England In abid to endits decades-long wait to win asecond World Cup, England has put itsfate in the hands of aGerman It’s fair to say theappointment of Thomas Tuchel was not universally well received.

“I’m sorry IhaveaGerman passport,” the serial-winning former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munichcoach quipped at his official unveiling in 2024.

He hadwoken up that morningto someunflattering headlines in the British media. The Daily Mail described it as a“dark day for England” and said the national team had gambled on a“GERMAN.The leaderofthe right-wing Reform Party Nigel Farage asked on X: “Why can’twehaveanEnglish manager?” Never mindthatTuchelwas a Champions League winner who hadlifted trophiesinthreedifferentcountries. Or the fact that England hasgonedown the foreign route before: aSwedish coach in Sven-Goran Eriksson and an Italian in Fabio Capello.

Time willtellwhether Tuchel is portrayed as ahero or villain at the World Cup. If England fails, his nationality might be raised again. ButEngland managers of thepasthavebeenthe subject of brutal criticism by fans and media, regardless of what it says on their passport.

Tuchel’spredecessor Gareth Southgate was widely credited withmaking England fans fall back in love withthe national team during hiseight-yearspell,yet he faced atorrent of abuse from sections of supporters during the 2024 European Championship, with plasticbeer glassesthrown in his direction after one match.

Southgate departed after leading England to back-to-back Euros finals andthe WorldCup semifinals in 2018.

He goes down as the nation’ssecondmostsuccessful manager afterAlf Ramsey,who ledEngland to the World Cup victory in 1966. If Tuchel can endEngland’strophy wait, he would become anational treasure.

“Everyone in the squad, the staff, everyone believes we can win it,” midfielder Kobbie Mainoo said.

Continued from page1C

Ten, Cruz said he remains confident the bill can pass Congress.

“We’re going to get the votes,” Cruz said. “If we do nothing, there is no alternative. As every witness testified, college sports is facing acrisis.”

Cantwell said at Wednesday’s hearing that the legislation is intended to restore competition to college athletics by ensuringsuccess is determined by howuniversities “build ateam, andnot because they haveabillionaire in theirback pocket.”

She also addressed the conferences’ opposition directly,suggesting they fear amorelevel playing field and the idea “that somebody’sgoing to come in and rearrange the deck chairs of those conferences, steal the eyeball schools, and then basically leave everybody with everything else.”

While Cruz and Cantwell, the two top-ranked lawmakers on theSenate CommerceCommittee, support the bill, passage through the Senate is far from certain. President Donald Trump has yet to comment on the bill publicly Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, an ally of Trump’s, saidhehad “grave concerns”about thebill. He said his most important concern was “it does nothing about protecting biological womenfrom competing with menand sports” —anissue that Trump has dealt with via executive orders but that hasnot come up in any version of

Continued from page1C

present school’sseason is completed. The latter was labeled the “Lane KiffinRule” for the new LSU coachwho left before Ole Miss’ first game in the College Football Playoff. The oneabout former pro athletes certainly could pertain to LSU men’sbasketball coach Will Wade’sstill growing roster

There are many other provisions in the bill, among them giving cover to the NCAA andthe new College Sports Commission to basically enforce aspending cap on how much each school can pay its athletes and pooling media rights for the various conferences that the bill’ssponsors arguewould create more revenue. Sabanadmitted the bill isn’t perfectand needs “adjustments.” The Southeastern Conference and Big Tenagreed. The two mega conferences, who essentially hold all of the power over the CFP,can’tagree how bigthe CFP should be. But they do agree the Protect College Sports Act needs work and declined to give it their support in ajoint statement released Tuesday The SEC and Big Tenhave a point —toapoint. The bill isn’t perfect. But their motivation quite transparently,appears to

these bills.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., aformer college footballcoach at Auburn, said Tuesday that “there’s going to have to be some changes” to the bill for him to support it HouseRepublicanleadership hadbeen working toward avote on its own college sportsbill, known as the SCORE Act, before theCongressional Black Caucus announced its unanimous opposition.

The CBC said the legislation shouldnot move forward after a recent Supreme Court rulingthat

effectively disabled akey provision of the Voting Rights Act.

Theysay athletic leadersare failing to address concerns aboutthe decision’simpact on Black political representation.

On Wednesday,the Congressional Black Caucussentaletter to Cruz and Cantwell urging the committeetopauseconsideration of their bill as well.

“Meaningful engagement and action by college athletics leadership should be viewed as a necessary first step,” the letter stated.

TheSEC and Big Tenhaveapoint —toapoint.The bill isn’t perfect. But their motivation,quite transparently, appears to be the protection of their mediarights.

be the protection of their media rights.

“The posture of these two commissioners indicates that they do notcare about thefate of the other conferences or smaller schools,” Cody Campbell, aTexas Tech billionaire booster and head of its board of regents, saidearlierthisyear.“Nor do they care about the lifechanging opportunity provided to women and to athletesinour Olympic sports.”

Not long after Campbell’s comments, Arkansas announced plans to cut itsmen’s and women’stennisprograms. They have since been reinstated because of thebacklash, but the threat to non-revenue programs —basically everything outsideof football, men’sbasketball anda few baseball teams —isreal Kirby Smart said at last week’s SECspring meetings that he’s a proponent ofthe SECmaking its own rules to make its programs more stable. Idisagree with that, but he alsosounded the alarmto the real threat to Olympic/nonrevenue programs

“My biggest concern for our sport is that we willruinall the other sports,” Smart said

“People say,‘That’sjust the way

it is.’Idon’t agree with that. We developOlympians. We (football players) sit in classrooms next to someone whoswims anddives.”

Maybe youdon’t care whether collegescontinue to lavish unchecked dollars on footballand men’sbasketballbecause that’s where themoney is,atthe expense of everything else. But that’snot theintent of college athletics or thecollegeexperience. LSU offers 330 differentdegreeprograms. ShouldLSU only offer degrees in business, prelawand medicine because that’s where themoney is?Ofcourse not. College sports spent itsway into this financialpickle. It won’t figure away outwithout some oversight from somewhere. It may sound comical to think the federal government, which has created theenormous national debt, should be able to help.But college athletics clearly has provenitcan’t help itself.

“We’re allgrasping for somebody to give us some direction on what to do,” LSUwomen’s basketball coach KimMulkeysaid at the SEC spring meetings. Sometimes, youhavetograsp for the least badoption

Apoint of contention was the fact that Germany has long been England’sbiggest soccer rival. Since winning the 1966 World Cup final againstWestGermany, England hasoften struggled againstthe Germansinmajor tournaments.

Some England fans have brought 20th century history to the rivalry with provocative chants taunting Germany about World WarII. Debate aboutTuchel’snationality,however, dissipated quickly, helpedbyhis easygoing charm when dealing with the media and aperfect winning record during England’sWorld Cupqualifying campaign.

According to professor Jan Rüger,author of the upcoming book “Great Powers: AHistory of Britain and Germany,” the wider reactiontoTuchel’s appointment pointstoachange in Anglo-German relations after the tensions that prevailed in the decades following two world wars.

“There werequestions, but it certainly hasn’tturned into an ongoing saga in the way in which it would haveinthe 1990s or even around theturn of thecentury,” Rüger said. “Then it would have been unthinkable to have aGerman manager

“Germany really isn’tthe bad guy anymore. That’slongsince passed. Idon’tthink it worksportraying Germany as thebogeyman.”

Tuchel is the14th coach tasked withthe challenge of ending England’s trophy drought, which now stretches to 60 years. After Southgate’sdeparture, the English Football Association saidit was looking for acandidate to “win amajor tournament.”

Southgategot closer thananyonesinceRamsey despite amodestcoaching career before being handed the national job.

His successappeared to be groundedindeveloping aconnection both withinhis squad and with supporters. As aformer player who missed apenalty in asemifinal shootout defeat to Germany at Euro 1996, hisemotional understanding of what it means to represent England appeared to resonate with anew generation.

As aforeign coach, Tuchel cannot bring that samedynamic to the role.

He does,however, fitthe description of awinner of major tournaments, having led Chelsea to the ChampionsLeague in 2021. He was also aChampions League finalist with Paris Saint-Germain.

“I love the difficult decisions and Ilove the tough decisions because they bring in the end clarity,they bring acertain edge, and it’swhat you need to go all the way,” Tuchel said. “FromDay One, we said we will always try to select and build the best group, whichismaybe not necessarily just to collect the best talents.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

Sen. TedCruz, R-Texas, chairmanofthe Senate Commerce Committee, speaksduring ahearing on CapitolHill on Wednesday in Washington.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

players pose for ateam photo before the startofthe international friendly soccer match between England and Japan in London on March31.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERICGAy

Newyork Knicks center Karl-AnthonyTowns shoots between SanAntonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, andforwardJulian Champagnie during the firsthalf of Game 1ofthe NBAFinals on Wednesdayin San Antonio. Thegameended before this editionwenttopress.

Alittle prep goes a long way forchicken thighs with veggies

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service(TNS)

For this easy,hands-offdinner,the oven does all the work Bone-in chicken thighs, coated in rich pastasauce, roasted on asheet pan will stay tender, juicy and full of flavor

To save time, the potatoes and asparagus get ahead start in the microwave before finishing alongside the chicken soaking up all those delicious pan juices. Lining the sheet pan with foil makes cleanup easy.Itjust needs aquick rinse and you’re done.

Creamer potatoes are small, about ¾inch in diameter,and new potatoes are alittle larger and measure about 2inches in diameter.Both are tender, flavorful potatoes that havea short spring season. Either can be used.

HELPFUL HINTS:

n Any type of pasta sauce can be used.

n Green beans can be used instead of asparagus.

ChickenThighs with Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

oven and add the potatoes and asparagus to the empty side of the sheet.

5. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the chickenand place the sheet back in theoven. Bake 5minutes.A meat thermometer should read165 Ffor the chicken.

6. Divide the chicken, potatoes and asparagus in half and place on two dinner plates.

NUTRITIONINFOPER SERVING: 547 calories (34 percent from fat), 20.5 gfat (4.4 gsaturated, 7.6 gmonounsaturated), 167 mg cholesterol,

CowboyCaviar (akaTexas Caviar)

PHOTOSByLIZ FAUL

Beandonthere, ethat

BGoingbeyondthe traditionalred beansand rice, here are3recipes to tryfeaturing popularlegumes

eans are having amoment.

Lately,they seem to be in thecultural zeitgeist.

At local markets in New Orleans, Ihave seen awidevariety of heirloom beans on the shelves.

Lastmonth, Iwent to adelicious bean popup, called “Luci’s Beans,”bychef Luci Winsberg at Really Really Nice Wines on Magazine Street.

Lastweek, Iread areport by National PublicRadio titled “What’sEating America.” It discussed the resurgence in popularity of beans amongst Americans. The renewedpopularityoflegumes was attributed to the fact that they are versatile, inexpensive and healthy In Louisiana, we don’tneed to be convincedofthe value or flavor of beans. Red beans and rice is aclassic New Orleans dish

Lemon-Garlic White Bean Dip with Fennel

Serves 8. This recipe is adapted from arecipe from America’s Test Kitchen.

FOR THE DIP:

1teaspoon olive oil

olive oil)

½teaspoon salt

ä See LEGUMES, page 2D

4green onions (scallions), white and lightgreen ends chopped 2(15-ounce cans) small white beans, likecannellini beans (drained and rinsed) 1lemon, zested and juiced 1teaspoon ground cumin 1tablespoon oliveoil (or lemon

1. In apan over medium heat,add theolive oil, then the chopped green onions; stir until the green onions are lightly brown.

2. Addthe drained beans, lemon juice, garlic, cumin andsalt. Turn the heat down to low andstir the ingredientstogether

3. In the bowl of afood processor,orblender,add thewarm white beanmixture from the pot along with olive oil and blend until smooth. Thenspoon the blended bean mixture into aserving bowl.

4. For the topping, dry

LEMONFENNEL TOPPING: 2teaspoon fennelseeds (toasted and crushed)

1teaspoon lemon zest

1fennelbulb,cored and sliced thin

1teaspoon olive oil(optional drizzle on top)

toastthe fennel seedsin asmall pan, over medium to low heat, for 2minutes. Once the seeds are cool, pour them out of the pan and crush them using a mortar andpestle(or just roll them with arolling pin). This step will unlock thesweet, warm licoricelike aroma from the fennel seeds.

5. Addthe crushed fennel seeds, lemon zest and sliced fennelbulb over the top of the dip. Add asmall drizzle of olive oil. Serve with sliced fresh vegetables, crackers or chips.

2Guinnessrecipes youcan eatinstead

Liz Faul

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

CowboyCaviar (aka Texas Caviar)

Serves 10-12. This recipe is adaptedfromarecipe from America’s Test Kitchen.

2(15-ounce) cans of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1(15-ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1red bell pepper,stemmed, seeded and chopped

1green bell pepper,stemmed, seeded andchopped

1jalapeño chili pepper,stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

1celeryrib finely chopped

3garlic cloves

½cup fresh cilantro

½cup fresh parsley

½cup olive oil

¼cup red wine vinegar

½teaspoon salt

2teaspoons of green jalapeñohot sauce (optional for additional spice)

1. In alarge serving bowl, addthe drained and rinsed black-eyed peas, black beans, chopped bellpeppers, jalapeño pepperand chopped celery.Stir the beans and vegetables together

2. In the bowl of afood processor,orblender,add 3garlic cloves, cilantro, parsley, olive oiland red wine vinegar; blend on alow speed until the herbs are finely chopped and mixed with the oil andvinegar.Add the salt, taste, addmoresalt ifneeded. Add jalapeño hotsauce for additional spice. 3. Pour the herb sauce/ dressingover the bean and

pepper mixture. Mix it all together so thedressing covers the beans and vegetables.

4. Chill for at leastone hour beforeserving with your favoritenacho chip.

Black Bean Cakes withSourCream

Serves 10-12. Recipe is by Liz Faul.

1-3 tablespoons cooking oil

1onion, chopped

2garlic cloves, chopped

1teaspoon ground cumin

1teaspoon dried oregano

½teaspooncayenne pepper

½teaspoon salt

½cup pankobreadcrumbs (or finely ground nacho chips)

2(15-ounce) can of black beans, drained

1egg SERVE WITH: Sour cream Tajin spice blend

Sliced lime

Sliced avocado (or guacamole)

1. In alarge panover medium heat, add 1tablespoon

LEGUMES

Continued from page1D

that has been enjoyed in homes and in restaurants for generations.

After eating Winsberg’s creative bean dishes, Iwas inspired to think more about cooking with beans at home Ilooked through cookbooks and, considering what Ihad in the pantry,Imadecowboy caviar,awhite bean dip and black bean cakes.

Cowboy caviar,orTexas caviar,isthe perfect side dish for asummer barbeque.This dish does not contain any caviar,itisjust aname that was created by Helen Corbitt to make it more elegant. Ihave eaten this dish for yearsbut I never thought to look up its origin story.Iwas delighted to learn that this popular bean salad was created by a fellow dietitian.

Corbitt began her career in the 1930s as ahospitalbased nutritionist in New Jersey and New York. However,she was not satisfied

of cookingoil. Then add the onion andcook for about 2-3 minutes. Addthe chopped garlic. Stir the onion mixture.

2. Addthe cumin,oregano, cayenne and saltand stir the spicesinto the onion mix. Turn offthe heatand letthe onions and spices cool.

3. Place thebreadcrumbs in ashallowbowl. Setthe bowl of breadcrumbs aside to coat theblack bean cakes.

4. In the bowl of afood processor, addthe drained black beans, the egg and the cooled onion/spice mix. Lightlypulse the food processor to combine all theingredients, but stop before themix is asmooth paste. It is easier to work with athicker mix. If the bean mix is toothin, try adding some of

in that position, and looked to do somethingmore with food and nutrition.She foundajob in Texasteachingand developing new recipes and cookbooks.

Corbitt sought to use local fresh ingredients and present them in atasteful way.She didnot care for traditional black-eyedpea dishes,so shecreatedthis tangybright alternative beansalad that has endured the test of time.

Imakecowboy caviar by mixingbeanswith fresh bellpeppers andjalapenos Then Imakea dressing that is essentially similar to achimichurri sauce with oliveoil, red winevinegar andalot of herbstobind theingredientstogether.It is best made in advance and chilled before serving. Ifoundtwo cans of white beans in my pantry and decided to make awhite beandip.Iwas guided bya recipe from America’sTest Kitchen that simply blended thebeanswith olive oil, lemon juice andspices. I hadafennel bulb in the refrigerator and decided to

Guinness Mac and Cheese

Serves 6. Recipe is from marydisomma.com. This flavorful super-easy stovetop mac and cheeseis made with Guinness stout, sharp Irish cheddar and atouch of Dijon mustard. It’s creamy and cheesy with an optional crunchy breadcrumb topping.Best part: It takes only about 20minutes. FOR TOPPING:

4tablespoons unsalted butter

4garlic cloves, minced ¾cup breadcrumbs

1tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley FOR MACAND CHEESE:

2¼ teaspoons salt,divided 1pound elbow macaroni 2tablespoons unsalted

of

1tablespoon Dijon mustard

3ounces cream cheese, cut intopieces

3¾ cups grated Irish cheddar cheese

1. Begin by making the topping: In a medium skillet, melt 1tablespoon of butter

2. Add minced garlic andcook, stirringconstantly,for 30 seconds. Do not brown the garlic! Add breadcrumbsand cookonlow heat until theyturn agolden brown. Next, add the Italian parsley. That’sit—transfer the topping from theskillet into abowland set aside.

Should guests help cleanup?

Dear Miss Manners: My husband and Ihosted abrunch gathering of about 10 people at our home. We offered awide spread of food and drinks, and we used paper plates and napkins to makecleaning up alittle easier —and also because I’min my third trimester and frankly,the idea of cleaning that many dishes had me feelingexhausted. It was awonderful time and agreat opportunity to spend time with friends before thebaby arrives. Butthroughout theparty, there was something that bothered me. People ate and moved freely throughout the house, and as they went, they left behind dirtyglasses, paper plates, wadded-up napkins and empty (or half-empty) cans of seltzer Whenever I’m aguest in someone else’sspace, Idomybest to clean up after myself. Ithrow away

the breadcrumbs to help you form the bean patties.

5. Form the bean patties, add each pattyinto the breadcrumbmix, coat both sides, and thenplace all the formed patties on aplatewhile you prepare the pan to fry them.

6. In alarge panover medium-high heat, add1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil, then carefully add thepatties. Cookthe bean cakes until golden brownonboth sides, or for about 2minutes per side.

7. OPTIONAL: Serve theblack bean cakes with lime and sour cream, or your choice of avocadoorguacamole. I sprinkled tajinespiceblend over them for an extra bright flavor

add fennel and lemon zest to thetop of the dip to add taste and texture. Ilove fennel because it has amild refreshing taste. Fennel is also thought to help with digestion. For this reason, fennel is an ideal herb to pair withbean dishes.

Black bean patties can be madesmall andserved as an appetizer or snack. They also can be madea bit larger and served on a hamburger bun as atasty alternative to meat. It can be trickytoblend thebeans to theright texture to form patties that hold together To add extra flavor,try blending nacho chips in a food processor until they are the texture of breadcrumbs. The nacho crumbs serve to bind thebean cakes together and they add atoasted corn taste. It helps to chill the bean mixture in the refrigerator before forming thepatties.

Black bean cakes taste great withsour cream,lime and sliced avocado. These bean cakes are packed with fiber and protein, but more importantly,they taste good.

3. Bring apot of water to aboil. When thewater is boiling, add 2teaspoons of salt. Cook the elbow macaroni until it’s al dente.

4. Remove 1cup of the pastawater andset itaside(you’ll need this later when you’re making the sauce). Drain and rinse the pasta,then set it aside while you prepare thesauce.

5. In alarge saucepan over medium heat, melt 2tablespoons of butter

Once it’smelted, whisk in flour.Whisk for 1minute to create arouxfor the sauce.

6. Continue to whiskasyou slowly add Guinness stout, followed by milk, half andhalf, remaining ¼teaspoon salt, black pepper and Dijon mustard.

7. Bring to asimmerand cook, whisking now and then, until the sauce thickens. This willtakeabout 2minutes.

8. Addcream cheese and 2½ cups of grated cheese. Stirthe mixture until the cheeses are incorporated.

9. Add cooked pastafollowed by theremaining 1¼ cup grated cheese. Stir gently until the remaining cheese is melted and the pastaisheated through. Sincethe mac andcheese does not go in the oven, it is essential that thepasta is reheated in the sauce.

If thesauce seems too thick,drizzle in alittle bitofthe reserved pastawater

10.Place the hot mac and cheese in a serving bowl, sprinkle on thetopping and serve.

trash, recycle what Ican and take any dishware in need of washing to the sink. By the endof the party,Iwas frustrated andalso questioning myself. Whatare the expectations for cleaning up after oneselfasa guest? Were my guests right, or am Iright to be frustratedbywhat Iperceive as their lack of consideration?

Gentle reader: Technically, your guests are correct, because they have no business barging uninvited into private family spaces such as akitchen. That would, of course, be modified by your situation, though, since no well-mannered guest would watch apregnant womanstruggling under aload of plates without intervening.

The thinking is that everyone takes aturn being host, and the cleaning you do now will be balanced by your carefree timeas

Soundthe horn to

Dear Heloise: The key fob for my 4-year-old Toyota can be pressed to lock or unlock my car,and it can also be pressed to sound thehorn. If Ican’t find my car in a large lot, Ihold thekey fob over my head, press the horn button,and follow thesound. This is especially helpful because my car is white, which is apredominantcolor for vehicles —JoM.K., in Houston Lookingfor asign

aguest in the future. But Miss Manners realizes that dates to atimewhen people reciprocated hospitality —and did not do half of their entertaining in the kitchen. She hasnoobjection to youand your friends having adifferent understanding, so long as two fundamental points are preserved—points about which she believesyou to be in agreement. First, thatthe guests areconsiderateand grateful —even if thatdoes notmean taking outthe trash. And second, thatthe hostess’s primary concernisthat herguests enjoythemselves—not who is right or wrong.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners. com; to heremail, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

findthe car!

Dear Heloise: It’s impossible to get lostinan airport. Everywhere you go, there’ssignage. Even if you’ve never been to a

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, June 4, the 155th day of 2026. There are 210 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On June 4, 1989, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prodemocracy demonstrators and dozens of soldiers are estimatedtohave been killed when Chinese troops crushed aseven-week-long protest by demonstrators occupying Beijing’sTiananmenSquare.

Also on this date:

In 1919, Congress approvedthe 19th Amendment to theU.S. Constitution, which said that the right of Americanstovote “shallnot be denied or abridged by the United States or by anyState on account of sex.” (The amend-

Guinness Brownies

Makes 16-20 brownies. Recipe is from sallysbakingaddiction. com. These Guinness brownies are made from reduced Guinness stout.They’re fudgy,rich and topped withespresso-and Guinness-infused frosting.

FOR BROWNIES:

1(12-ounce) bottleGuinness

Draught Stout

¾cup unsalted butter

8ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1¼ cups granulated sugar

3largeeggs, at room temperature

1teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1cup all-purpose flour

½teaspoon salt

½teaspoon espresso powder

FOR FROSTING:

½cup unsalted butter,softened to room temperature

2cups confectioners’ sugar

2–3 tablespoons reduced Guinness

1teaspoon espresso powder

½teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼teaspoon salt

1. In asmall saucepan, bring theGuinness to aboil over medium-high heat.Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to 2⁄3 cup, about12–15 minutes. Set aside tocool for at least 10 minutes. Youwilluse ½ cupinthe brownies andthe rest

particularairport before, youwon’t getlostaslong as youcan read.Why don’thospitals followthis example?! Hospitals are mazes, and finding your waythrough most of themis alogisticsnightmare. Hospitals, geta clue! —Meg D., in St.Louis Microchipped pets

Dear Heloise: Anne M. recently wrote to you with asuggestion about calling animal control for stray cats. As ashelter volunteer,I must say that here in Tucson, Arizona, we and the Humane Society have insufficient resources to pick up healthy

TODAYINHISTORY

ment was thensenttothe statesfor ratification.)

Also in 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared in aspeech to the House of Commons: “Weshall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

In 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Midway began, which resulted in a decisive American victory against Japan and marked aturning point in the war in the Pacific.

In 1990, Dr.Jack Kevorkian carried out his first publicly assisted suicide, helping Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old Alzheimer’s patient from Portland, Oregon, end her lifein

in thefrosting.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F andgreasea9-inch square bakingpan or line with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finishedbrownies out(makes cutting easier). Setaside

3. Place butter and chopped chocolate in alarge microwavesafe bowl. Melt in 30-second increments, whisking after each, untilcompletely smooth.

4. Whisk in the sugar and ½ cup of reduced Guinness until completely combined. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.

5. Finally,whisk in the flour, salt andespresso powder (if using). The batter will be thick andshiny.Pour/spread evenly into prepared pan.

6. Bake for32minutes, then

cats. Instead, we recommendtaking afriendly stray to any vet clinic to check foramicrochip (which is free) and search forthe owner Also, apost online (such as on Nextdoor or Lost.PetcoLove.org) and/or flyers in the neighborhood might help reunite amissing cat with their family —Carol G., Pima Animal Care Centercat volunteer Carol, this is an excellent idea to return acat to its owner! And forthose whohave cats, have them microchipped the next timethey get their shots. —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Oakland County,Michigan. (Kevorkian died in 2011.)

In 1998, afederal judge sentenced Terry Nichols to lifeinprison without parole forhis role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in OklahomaCity,which killed 168 people.

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Bruce Dern is 90. Golf Hall of Famer Sandra Haynie is 83. Singer-actor Michelle Phillips is 82. Jazz musician Paquito D’Rivera is 78. Actor Parker Stevenson is 74. Actor Keith David is 70. Singer El DeBarge is 65. Opera singer Cecilia Bartoli is 60. R&B singer Al B. Sure! is 58. Actor Scott Wolf is 58. Comedian Horatio Sanz is 57. Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is 55. Actor Noah Wyle is 55. Actor Angelina Jolie is 51.

test the brownies witha toothpick. Insert it into the center of the pan. If it comes out coated with wetbatter, the brownies need moretime. If there are onlya few moist crumbs, the brownies are done.

7. Remove from the oven and place on acooling rack to cool completely in the pan before frosting or cutting.

8. Make the frosting: In alarge bowl using ahandheld or stand mixer fitted with awhisk attachment,beat thebutter on high speed until completely smooth andcreamy, about2-3 minutes Add theconfectioners’ sugar, beating on low at first then increasing to high speed.

9. Once creamy and combined, beat in 2tablespoons of reduced Guinness, the espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. Taste. Add the remaining reduced Guinness if needed. If you want thefrosting alittle thinner, beat in asplash of milk.

10. When cool, lift the brownies out by gripping the parchment overhangs andtransfer to acutting board. Spread frosting over cooled brownies. Use a sharp knifetocut into squares. 11. Coverand store leftover brownies at room temperature forupto1week.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL

CowboyCaviar (aka TexasCaviar)

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/ TNS PHOTO By GRETCHENMcKAy Guinness Brownies

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Change thedialogue to reflect your needs. Ask questions, show interest and charm your way forward. Your input, dedication and creativitywillhelpyououtshineanyonewho wants to challenge you

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Be honest with yourself and others. It's easy to dwell on the negative, but it's far more productive to letgoofwhatisn't working for you and embrace something that is.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Put aplan together and participate in something that addresses issues of concern. Achange to howyou thinkand what youare willing to do will commence once you get your head wrapped around what's happening.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't feel pressuredtomakeamoveordecisionprematurely. Concentrate on howtohelp yourself first andthen parlay your findings into helping those less fortunate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You'll have decisions to make thatconflict with your time, schedule and what youwant to do. Don't commit to something to avoid opposition. Offerwhat's doable, affordable and within your capabilities

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Let your questions and responses be your ticket to a brighter future. Send outresumes,sign up for courses to update your qualifications and connect with people who can help you make your way forward.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Keep the momentum flowing, andyou'll do great Fixing up your space, vying fora new

position andhigher payorparticipating in something thatintrigues you will all lead to changes in howyou do things and whoyou associatewith.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) When opportunity knocks, open the door. Achance encounterwill makeyourheart skip a beat. Focus on home, family,love and romance, and lessonoutside influences trying to lead youastray.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Putthe past behind you, andstructure your scheduletoenhanceyourchancetouse your talents for something lucrative and constructive

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Hold on to what youhave, andmakesure youare doing what's bestfor you. Someone will lead you astray if you are gullible. Put more thought into making positive changesto your space.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Don't let confusion set in.Takea step back, ask questions andevaluate what's necessary. When in doubt, take apass and don't look back. Focus on how you earn your living.

TAURUS (April20-May 20) Pumpitup;work those muscles. Implement exercise into your routine or drum up entertaining activities you can do withfriends. Participatingingroupactivitieswillbroaden your vision.

Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by nEa, inc.,dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are createdfromquotationsbyfamous people, pastand present. Each letter in the cipherstands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: LEQUALS C

CeLebrItY CIpher

better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLYForth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains thesamenumber only once. The difficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZardoFid

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

U.S. Rep. George Miller, from California,said,“Thetrouble with eating Italian food is that fiveorsix days later, you’re hungry again.”

The trouble with 5-6 hands is deciding in which order to bidthe suits. Look at today’s South hand. Would you open one spade or one heart?

With arelativelyweak hand, it is better toopenonespadeanddescribeyourhand asa5-5.Butthishandhasveryfewlosers if partnerhas afit in one suit (or, even better, in both suits). So South should plan to bid hearts, spades and spades again to describe his 5-6. Note that his two-spade rebid is areverse because partner, to show preference for the firstbid suit(hearts), has to go to the threelevel. There are two otherpoints about the two-level reverse. It guarantees that the first-bid suitislongerthan the second-bid, and it showsextra strength, instigating agame-force.

So North quietly supports hearts before using the Grand-Slam Force, askingSouth to bid seven hearts with twoof the top three trumps.(RomanKey Card Blackwood wouldalso do the job.) Surely South has the spade king forhis threespade bid.

HowshouldSouthplayafterWestleads the diamond king to dummy’s ace?

wuzzles

Just in case the breaks are bad, declarer shouldplayalow trump to his ace.

When West discards, South leads a spade to dummy’s ace, returns aspade to hiskingand ruffs aspade withdummy’s heart queen.Thenheplays aheart to his nine, draws trumps and claims. ©2026 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrewsmcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: nOOngOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by theaddition 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 THunDER: THUN-der: Thesound thatfollows aflash of lightning.

Average mark 21 words

Timelimit 30 minutes Can you find29ormore words in THUNDER?

YEsTERDAY’s WoRD —MYTHIcAL

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add 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.

Puzzle Answer

info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit

kenken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each columnmust containthe numbers1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numberswithin theheavily outlined boxes, calledcages must combine using thegiven operation(in any order)to produce the target numbers in thetop-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages withthe number in the top-left corner

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

COMMENTSTOTHE

ADVANCEBYMAIL(1300 PERDIDOSTREET,7TH FLOOR,NEW ORLEANS, LA 70112) OR EMAIL CPCINFO@NOLA.GOV ALLWRITTEN COM‐MENTSMUSTBERE‐CEIVED BY CLOSEOF BUSINESS ON THEMON‐DAY, EIGHTDAYSPRIOR TO THEHEARING DATE June 4, June 11, andJune18, 2026 Robert Rivers ExecutiveDirector NOCP 9095 189898-jun4-11-18-3t $94.17 thePublicHearing will

June 4, 2026

PAGE 6

Footagetaken in Louisianaswamp for new‘Star Wars’adventure page 9

Festival at French Market turnsfabulous40 page 4

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

magnolia ball

Ogden Museum of SouthernArt blossoms after dark Saturday forits annual evening of music, martinis and marvelousart up forbid. Krewe des Fleurs and All3n Generation led by Shamarr Allen will perform;Jon Osborne will do alive painting;and asilent auction online features more than 100regionalartists, businesses, restauranteurs andcocktail crafters. The fun starts at Camp start

‘american celebration’

The Jefferson Chorale, an affiliate of the Jefferson Performing Arts Society,raises itsvoice in patriotictones for afree concert at 3p.m. Sunday at the Westwego Performing Arts Theater,117 Sala Ave. The ensemble is conducted by Louise La Bruyere. jpas.org.

quarter kaleidoscope

The Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents and Associates and the BK House partner for an evening of storytelling, which aims to show the FrenchQuarter as a community.Speakersinclude Liz Green,EnnisMcKenzie, Amzie Adams,GlennMiller andAlicia “Blue Eyes” Renee starting at 6p.m. Wednesday at the historic domicileat1113 Chartres St. Tickets start at $10. bkhouse.org.

lucy darling: simply darling

Carisa Hendrix dons the persona of acocktail enthusiast and charming socialite for her travels as a“vivacious vagabond,” and what better place for fun and frolic than the Crescent City? She’ll arrive at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Artsin Armstrong Park to bring her wit, advice and “signature charm and mischief.” Tickets startat $49. start at mahaliajacksontheater com. mahaliajacksontheater.com.

comedy takeover The Fillmore at Caesars Casino star of television’s“The Carbonaro Effect” putson as “magic is the superpower and laughter is the ckets start at $64. thefillmorenola.com.

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

queercomedy fest

More than 50 comedians from theLGBTQ community,includingRen Q. Dawe,Kalea andBailey Pope, will perform over four days on stages across the metro area.

me events Thursday through nday are free, includingthe come andopenmic at Really Really Nice

Winesand the wrap party at Urban South

Othersrequire tickets at prices. Venuesalso include Wolf, Sports Drink, Oz and BourbonPub. lgbtol.com.

operainthe piazza

At 7p.m. Friday,the sounds of opera, Broadway andmore will fill theair insidethe Piazza d’Italia, 377 Poydras St. Hear local andnational operatic voices while enjoying food and drinkfrom local vendors. Folding chairs suggested.VIP ticketholdershave seatingand refreshments in theRenaissance Room at the American Italian Cultural Center. Aseated dinner will be offered startingat6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $35. aiccnola.org.

BaileyPope, Kalea and Ren Q. Dawe

ABOUTLAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each ThursdaybyThe Times-Picayune |The NewOrleans Advocate. All inquiriesabout Lagniappe should be directed to theeditor. LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: LaurenWalck, lauren.walck@theadvocate.com

COVERDESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTINGWRITERS: Victor Andrews, Kasey Bubnash, Marco Cartolano, MarignyLanaux, Keith Spera, Molly Terrell

GETLISTEDINLAGNIAPPE

SubmiteventstoLagniappe at least twoweeksinadvance by sending an email to events@ theadvocate.com.

ON THECOVER

Patrons at Anna’s barinthe Marignyclink together Underberg, the 20-mililiter bottles of herbal bitters wrapped in straw-colored paper. PhotobyKasey Bubnash. The tiny drink is drawing widespread popularity. Story by Bubnash on Page 6.

shop @gaetanasnola

events events events

Just ripe

Creole Tomato Festival celebrates 40 years

BY MARIGNY LANAUX Staff writer

A BLT, bloody mary, bowl of gazpacho and caprese salad are just a few dishes available to try at the annual Creole Tomato Festival, which returns to the French Quarter for its 40th anniversary celebration Saturday and Sunday.

Created as a delicious way to welcome the warmer summer months, the two-day festival spans from the end of the French Market on Esplanade Avenue to Jackson Square, including Oscar Dunn Park, Dutch Alley, Dumaine Plaza and Latrobe Park.

The ongoing French Quarter road construction project shouldn’t affect festivalgoers much, said Shayd Coots, director of marketing and development for the French Market Corp., which puts on the festival. In addition to the standard banners, more signage and pavement decals will be placed throughout the area for easy navigation, she said.

“The Creole Tomato Festival began in 1986 as a celebration of southeast Louisiana’s rich agricultural heritage and the abundance of locally grown produce,” Coots said in a statement. “Held in the nation’s oldest continuously operating public market, the festival honors the region’s iconic Creole tomato and the farmers who cultivate it.”

The fest kicks off with a second-line at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, featuring the We Are One Brass Band and the New Orleans Baby Doll Ladies, beginning by Jackson Square and ending at the Bon Temps Music Stage in the French Market.

ä See TOMATO, page 5

Visitors look at Creole tomatoes grown by Matt Ranatza Farms during the 2025 Creole Tomato Festival at the French Market. A delicious way to welcome the warmer summer months, the two-day festival kicks off its 40th year on Saturday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

food food food

Gendusa’s reopening Kenner cottage location

BY MARCO CARTOLANO

Staff writer

Gendusa’s Italian Eatery will once again serve its pizzas and pastas out of a cottage in Kenner’s Rivertown District.

Owner Troy Gendusa posted to social media last week that he would reopen at 325 Williams Blvd. as a second location of Gendusa’s Pizzeria after customers expressed that they missed the former spot.

Gendusa said he will start with limited openings from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday An official opening date has not yet been announced. In January, the restaurant closed

TOMATO

Continued from page 4

Local artists Amanda Shaw, BrassA-Holics, Jamie Lynn Vessels, Rusty Metoyer & The Zydeco Crush and more will take the stage throughout the weekend.

Back for the festival’s 40th anniversary will be cultural performances by the Black Masking Indians and tomatoeating contests for both adults and children, which haven’t happened in several years.

Also new is the Blue Plate Mayo Café, which has food, drinks, a live DJ and waterfront views across the street from Jackson Square.

Food vendors include Ruby Slipper, Lillie’s Cajun Kitchen, Numada, LaDelyo’s Creole Catering, Pupuseria La Milpa, Lil Dustin’s Italian Ice, Paula’s Taste of Soul, Riley’s Foods, Messinas, Da Grill Masters and Uncle Mikey’s Creole & Cajun Cuisine, Lil Nawlins Creole & Cajun Cuisine and Squeezy Street along with the permanent market eateries with tomato dishes.

They’ll offer options like a pickled bacon bloody mary, spiked watermelon lemonade, caprese salad or a classic tomato sandwich. Plus, you can get a 6-pound box of Creole tomatoes for $20 from Squeezy Street.

Besides the plethora of tomato-

its Rivertown location and moved to a larger space at 2717 Williams Blvd. in Kenner Gendusa said the change was made to add more space for large parties and avoid occasional long waiting times.

The cottage will reopen with a simple menu of pizzas, calzones, pasta dishes and appetizers, as well as cannolis

“I’m going back to my roots with a simple menu and truly going old school with no alcohol and no corkage fee if you bring any,” Gendusa said in his post.

“I’m going to see how things go and build from here. I hope to see a lot of my old customers and get a chance to say hi.”

Gendusa’s Italian Eatery is acquiescing to its regulars and reopening its location in Rivertown, which it left for a bigger space across Kenner.

centric dishes, festivalgoers can also enjoy interactive activities, such as free dance lessons with the KWL Steppers and cooking demonstrations by local chefs.

Artwork by Cubs The Poet, alligator petting, a Miss Creole Tomato Pageant and the chance to bring home plenty of fresh Creole tomatoes round out the fest.

Free and open to the public, the festival is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Red and tomato-themed attire is encouraged.

Find a map and more information at frenchmarket.org/creoletomatofest.

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW PERSCHALL Revelers in tomato costumes dance into the French Market during the 2024 Creole Tomato Festival in the French Quarter

drinks drinks drinks

New

Orleans bartenders are obsessed with a tiny, bitter digestif

last-call The shot sh

BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer

At best, New Orleans bartenders will tell you the bitter burn of Underberg is an acquired taste, one you learn to appreciate after years behind the bar. At worst?

“It tastes like the absence of your mother’s love,” Pal’s Lounge bartender Laura Walch said.

It was almost 10 years ago now that Walch and Flour Moon Bagels coowner Jeff Hinson peeled the paper off two tiny brown bottles that a liquor rep left for them to try and tossed back the herbal alcoholic concoction inside. “Underberg,” the label read, something Hinson had only seen in Brooklyn, New York.

The flavor was intense, reminiscent of amaro, fernet or Jägermeister, and Walch wondered if anyone would buy the stuff. But in the years that followed, Hinson said the little unassuming bottles started to pop up everywhere, lining the shelves at local bars, restaurants and coffee shops.

Despite the 175-year-old German digestif’s formidable flavor and roots in a world far, far away from the South,

STAFF PHOTO By KASEy BUBNASH

Pal’s Lounge bartender Laura Walch shows off her Underberg tattoo.

Underberg has been embraced by New Orleans’ service industry as the ultimate hangover cure and, with just over half an ounce of liquid per bottle, a great way to drink on the job without getting hammered. It’s become a signifier of a good bar — or at least a bar with good bartenders — and a closing time ritual that helps to ease the pains of a busy shift.

“It’s kind of become a little secret bartender’s handshake,” Hinson said.

Underberg is loved even by those who don’t really enjoy the drink itself. Walch winced at closing time one Saturday in May as she sipped up a bottle of it through a straw and followed it with a chaser of root beer, a Pal’s original technique that makes the drink significantly more palatable.

She hates it, she said. She takes several of these shots each day.

Part of the motivation lies in the company’s loyalty program, through which Underberg bottle caps can be returned and exchanged for highly sought-after prizes, like branded playing cards and pens.

The more caps, the better the prize, and this seems to be a

source of both fierce camaraderie and competition among bars and restaurants in New Orleans. Ninety-six caps will get you a ball cap that features a whimsical loop just big enough to hold a bottle of Underberg, if you for some reason need one on the go. Turn in 168 caps, and you can get a handblown, long-stem shot glass engraved with your name, though these are rumored to have a short life span upon entering the rowdy New Orleans bar scene.

Bartenders around town are avid cap collectors, and Walch on Saturday showed off the goods at Pal’s, dozens of gallon Ziplock bags stuffed with tiny green caps. Pal’s and a few other Underbergers, Flour Moon included, recently pooled a whopping 25,000 caps and exchanged them for the ultimate, mack daddy of Underberg prizes, a 3-foot long “Underberg Giant Herb Mobile XXL.”

Smaller versions can be found on display at bars across the city. When they obtained this white whale of merch, several bartenders celebrated with matching tattoos of an anthropomorphic baby bottle of Underberg. This includes Walch, who proudly showed off her Baby Berg tat.

At Anna’s in the Bywater, bar manager Jacob Rickert is saving

up for a three-piece Underberg china set that costs 384 caps per dish. He wants 12 settings, so they need about 14,000 caps. They’ve got about 2,000 caps to go, and it shouldn’t be too hard to get the rest of the way

“They’re just the perfect quick pick-me-up to share with friends while at work,” he said.

Julian Lutz, another bartender at Pal’s, said Underberg has gained a cult following in the U.S. thanks in part to its treatment by the Food and Drug Administration as a food product or digestive aid rather than a liquor. While Underberg is just as potent as other liquors with 44% alcohol by volume, each teensy bottle contains about as much booze as half a typical shot.

Underberg is uniquely available for purchase on Amazon in Louisiana, and it’s often found in establishments that are permitted to sell beer and wine but lack full liquor licenses.

Besides, Lutz said, the flavor doesn’t exactly leave you craving more.

“You’d have to have a very serious problem to get f***** up on these,” he said.

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey. bubnash@theadvocate.com.

Pal’s Lounge in New Orleans displays the Underberg Giant Herb Mobile, worth 25,000 Underberg caps.

STAFF PHOTO By KASEy BUBNASH

stages stages stages

PUTTINGINTHE HOURS

Northshore’s Evangeline TheatergetstoworkwithDolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’

The drudgery of working for despicable boss in a soulless company sounds like adreadful concept fora movie, muchlessa musical.

But when its got the magic touchof Dolly Parton, it can’thelpbut be alot likeMiss Dolly herself —brash,blingy and lotsof fun

Evangeline Theater Co. in Mandeville is producing the 2009 Broadway show “9 to 5,” based on the 1980 movie,startingFriday.

Both the movie and stage show were written by Patricia Reznick, so there’s lots of cohesion, butParton added loads of music to thedoubleGrammy-winning theme songshe wrotefor the movie. The musical also takesa deeperlookatsome of the characters and their lives.

The premise is threeemployeesofafaceless behemoth corporation (Doralee, Violet and Judy) must put up with the chauvinistic,dictatorial boss(Franklin Hart) and his manipulative ways

But things get crazy when adaydream turnsinto reality,opening the door to either abrighter future or adeadend. Gordon and Emily Carmadelle direct the fun. Reagan Hightower is the musical director.

Taking the roles of threefemalecompatriots are EmilyCarmadelle as Doralee, NicoleHebertBarwick as Violet and Brandi LopezasJudy.MichaelD. Graves is Mr.Hart. Alsotakingroles areCat SchullyWilliams, Patty Blanchard, Bella Rusche,Casey Lipscomb, Barrett Baumgartner,AndrewNiemann, Jayna Young, Allen Bryant, Ken Richard, Alyssa Scallanand Julia Freas.

The show runs at 7:30p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2p.m. Sundays through June 21 at 2635 N. Causeway Blvd. Tickets startat$32. Visit evangelinetheater.com.

NOLA Projectintogas?

Wrap up those togas and head overtothe Broadside Pavilion,600 N. BroadSt., for NOLAProject’s announcement of its upcoming seasonat7 p.m. Friday.

“Weare so proud and excitedtoreveal our next season of shows with afun themedevent like atoga party,anapt goodbye to this season’scloser, ‘Medea,’” said Rebecca Duckert, board president. “Weencouragegueststodon their mostcreativetogas fora chance to win premier-levelseasontickets and come readytohave agood time.Wemight do serioustheater,but we don’t take ourselves too seriously ”

In addition to the announcement and contest, there will be aperformance, cocktails, discounts on tickets andmore.

Tickets are $22. Visit nolaproject.com.

PROVIDED PHOTOByGORDON CARMADELLE

Emily Carmadelle, Nicole HebertBarwick and BrandiLopez taketheirwork seriously in Evangeline Theater Co.’s ‘9 to 5,’openingFridayatthe Mandeville theater.

In production

“KING LEAR”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday; Lupin Theatre, 150 Dixon Hall Annex, 69 NewcombCircle. John Neisler takes the title role of the king who divides his country between three daughters. This setsinmotion adisastrous landslide of calamities, ending with adescent into madness and mortality. Tickets startat$27. neworleansshakespeare.org.

“ONCE”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3p.m. Sundays through June 21, plus 2p.m. June 20; Le Petit Théâre du Vieux Carré, 616 St.Peter St.Stageshow based on the motion picture about an Irish musician and aCzech immigrant who orbit

each other in this tale of melodies and heartbreak with the cast playing various instruments. Tickets start at $40. lepetittheatre.com.

“SPAMALOT”: 7:30 p.m.Thursday through Saturday, plus 2p.m. Saturday,and 1p.m. and 6:30 p.m.Sunday; Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St. From the brilliant minds whobrought forth “Monty Python’sFlying Circus” comes the stage show about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in their quest for theHoly Grail that took three Tony Awards, including best musical, whenitdebuted in 2005. Tickets start at $39. saengernola.com.

Email Victor Andrewsatvandrews@theadvocate. com.

Victor Andrews

Caddo’s closeup

Louisiana, Texas swamphas acameo in new‘Star Wars’ flick

BY MOLLYTERRELL Staffwriter

The newest movie in the “Star Wars” franchise, “Star Wars: The Mandalorianand Grogu,” was partially filmedonCaddo Lake near Shreveport, and thecrew was brought out by alocalswamp tour company.

The lake, whichspans both Louisiana and Texas, is at its swampiest nearthe city of Uncertain, Texas, where Captain Ron’sSwamp Tours operates from theUncertainLodge andInn.

Captain Ron’sSwampTours wasable to announce theirinvolvement the daythe movie released, and posted to Facebook, writing, “The swamps of Caddo Lake were part of film magic. We were honoredtowork alongsideDisneyon the new Star Wars film,Mandalorian andGrogu! If you have ever glided through our ancient Cypress groves, youalready know why they came here. There is no placeonearth quite like it.Look outfor Caddo when you watchthe movie. Come andsee the lake that caught Hollywood’seye.”

Thecompanyisthe No. 1touroperatoronthe lake,according to co-partner Jean Rhodes-Werneke, who said theycould fill asecond boat for tours because ofhow busythey are.

They were contacted by DisneyinJuly 2024, Rhodes-Werneke said, to arrange fora scoutto visit Caddo Lake as apotential filming location for part of the newest “Star Wars” movie, released on May 22.

The film crewfor ‘Star Wars: The

By thatOctober,she said, the film’screw stayedinthe Uncertain Lodge and Inn andthe Shady Glade Resort for afew days of filming. But the pontoon boat they had wasn’tbig enough for the crew,soDisney had abarge moved from Miami for thecrew.

Rhodes-Werneke said thecrewhad pictures of the lake theywanted to be guided to, andshe immediately knew where each location was.

“I’ve been on this lake for 33 years, so we took them wherepictures were, and thenalso some moreareas thatweknew theymight be interestedin,” she said.

STAFFPHOTOSByJILL PICKETT

TOP: Bald cypress trees grow in Caddo Lake near Uncertain, Texas ABOVE: Agreat blue heron stands near shore.

One of the locations was Pine Island Pond, whereRhodes-Werneke had asked afriend if the crew could use her dock to film. She said the pond had calm water so that the crew’sequipment wouldn’tbejostled.

They even rebuilt Caddo Lake as aset in Los Angeles for the actors to use, she said.

Thetour company also served as apoint of contact forthe horror film “Caddo Lake,” and acouple of Japanese shows have also used the location to film. She said alot of people are attracted to the location because it’sbeautiful in everyseason.

“It’sjust magical and mystical,” RhodesWerneke said. “It’ssuch aunique place that some people find it very eerie, whichiswhy some horror films have been here.”

Email Molly Terrellatmolly.terrell@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By JEANRHODES-WERNEKE

Mandalorian and Grogu’ works on Caddo Lake

music music music

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

In arelatively quietsummer week fortouring acts,New Orleans stillhas awhole lotofquality live musicinthe clubs.

WILLISALANRAMSEY

THURSDAY,CHICKIE WAHWAH

Beforethere was Lyle Lovett, there was Willis Alan Ramsey Ramsey’sself-titled 1972 album is considered aclassic of Texas music and ablueprint forthe Americanagenre. Growing up, Lovett idolized Ramsey; years later,heand Ramsey would co-write “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas),” one of Lovett’ssignature songs.

Scores of other artists have covered Ramsey’ssongs, including Jimmy Buffett (“The Bal-

lad of Spider John”), Eric Clapton (“Positively”), Captain &Tennille (“Muskrat Candlelight,” which they renamed “Muskrat Love”), Waylon Jennings (“Satin Sheets”), Widespread Panic (“Geraldine & the Honey Bee”), Jerry Jeff Walker (“North Texas Women”) and Jimmie DaleGilmore (“Goodbye to Old Missoula”).

Ramsey never really got around to making afollow-up album, but he kept writing moresongs. He spent abunch of years lying low in London before returning to the United States. He’stoured very rarely over the years, preferring to stay at homeand write.

So his scheduled appearance at Chickie WahWah on Thursday is arare opportunity to hear his compositions performed by the sameperson whowrote them.

NewOrleans’ own Paul Sanchez,no slouch in the songwriting departmenteither,opens forRamsey at 8p.m. Tickets are $20 plus fees.

OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS

THURSDAY

Drawing on his classical training, his jazz instincts and the traditional sounds of his native Honduras, Oscar Rossignoli is one of the most articulate and versatile piano players on the New Orleansscene. For shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street,he’ll be joined by bassist Martin Masakowski and drummer Peter Varnado.Tickets are $30.

Accordionist Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie are featured for theweekly Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’ Bowl. Tickets are $17.

The Maple Leaf Bar is closed somenightsinJune as asummer slowdown, but is open on Thursdays for master drummer JohnnyVidacovich’s weekly gig. This week Vidacovich is joined by

Dave Jordan & the NIA

FRIDAY

Local Americanaguitarist, singer and songwriter Dave Jordan &the NIA headline this week’s installment of the summer-long “Free Fridays” series of free

weekly concerts at Tipitina’s. Cardboard Cowboy opens the show at 9p.m.

The outdoor venue The Broadside hosts a“Soulful Summer Night of Women-Led Music” featuring Jenn Howard, Kelli Baker, Beach Angel, DarcyMalone and Mikayla Braun.Tickets are $22.

Sam Kuslan and Grayson Brockamp at 8p.m. Tickets are $18.

Oscar Rossignoli

Willis Alan Ramsey

music music music

FRIDAY (continued)

Progressive bluegrass band Shadowgrass picks and strums at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets are $20 plus fees.

Drummer Jason Marsalis presents the music of his late father, pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr., at Snug Harbor with jazz vocalist Christien Bold, pianist Oscar Rossignoli and bassist Jason Stewart. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $40. Ever-popular cover band the Bucktown Allstars is at Rock ’N’ Bowl. Tickets are $17.

SATURDAY

Formed in Atlanta in 2016 by maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers, Orchestra Noir celebrates African American composers and performers from classical, jazz, blues, hip-hop, R&B and other genres through orchestral performances. Orchestra Noir makes its annual visit to New Orleans for a Saturday show at the Orpheum Theater. Tickets start at $80.

DJ Soul Sister, the longtime host of WWOZ-FM’s Saturday night “Soul Power” show, stages her ninth annual “Purple Takeover: A Prince Celebration” at Tipitina’s. She’ll spin Prince tracks, both hits and rarities, from her extensive vinyl

collection. The Lovesexy Dancers will also be in the house. Showtime is 9 p.m. General admission floor tickets are $20 plus fees; “premium balcony” tickets are $40 plus fees. A portion of proceeds benefits Project Ishmael, a pro bono immigration legal program serving children in New Orleans.

At Chickie Wah Wah, catch guitarist Papa Mali along with the Jeff Miller Band and the Rag Tag Misfits; tickets start at $20.

Dr. Michael White, the prolific traditional New Orleans jazz composer and clarinetist, leads the Original Liberty Jazz Band at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $45.

SUNDAY

Sunny Sweeney engages with country music from two directions. She’s an independent artist with a 20-year track record of touring and recording, including her wellreceived “Rhinestone Requiem” album. She’s also the host of two SiriusXM shows devoted to hardcore, old-school country music: “The Sunny Side of Life” on the Outlaw Country channel and “Sunny Side Up” on Willie’s Roadhouse. Sweeney shares a bill with Nashville, Tennessee, singer-songwriter Addison Johnson at Chickie Wah Wah on

Sunday. Tickets start at $20.

Vocal group the Pfister Sisters is at Snug Harbor for a free happy hour show at 4:30 p.m. Later, trombonist Charlie Halloran & the Tropicales synthesize Afro-Caribbean rhythms, classic Latin jazz, and modern New Orleans grooves at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $30.

MONDAY

Meters bassist George Porter Jr is at the Maple Leaf Bar at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18.

TUESDAY

Jazz drummer Gerald Watkins Jr leads his band at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; tickets are $30.

WEDNESDAY

Keyboardist Jon Cleary plays a solo show at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets are $20.

Trombonist Terrance Taplin swings out with the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $45.

The Runarounds bring the “Minivan Tour” to the Fillmore. Tickets start at $47.

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

Singer

Dua

Lipa says Preservation Hall is one of her favorite date night spots

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Pop star Dua Lipa is revealing her picks for the best date-night locations across the globe, and one of them is in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

The British singer’s lifestyle website Service95 partnered with Google Maps for 12 lists of some of Lipa’s favorite places in the world. They range from cityspecific guides to international recommendations for categories like food, drinks and date nights.

The legendary jazz venue Preservation Hall made the list for date nights, described as a “tried and tested” group of spots “where the room does the work.”

“Preservation Hall is the heartbeat of New Orleans jazz. It’s small, it’s loud, and the musicians are extraordinary There are no seats, no drinks, just pure live music in a space that has been doing this since 1961. You will not stand still,” Service95’s write-up states.

Preservation Hall was one of two American spots to make the date-night list. Nancy’s Hustle in Houston also made the list, along with other spots that span Europe and Jamaica.

Lipa visited Preservation Hall during a trip to the Crescent City with her then-fiancé Callum Turner last August. The now-married couple checked out the French Quarter, City Park and Café Du Monde, according to Lipa’s Instagram.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Preservation Hall is a no-frills music venue with wooden floors and no air conditioner in the French Quarter.

Lipa

Orchestra Noir