Gov.Jeff Landry showed no interest Friday in NewOrleans Mayor Helena Moreno’s request thenight before to have the two of them hashout their escalating differencesovermoney and politics.
Landry jabbed her in atweet Friday for having soughtstate approval to hold abond sale for thecashstrapped city
Landry
It confirmed to him, he wrote, thatthe city is treatingthe state “as an ATM” to balance its budget.
He added, “Please remember the State andits citizens arenot an ATMonBourbon Street!”
Moreno responded several hourslater with a digital media post where she once again asked to sit down with him.
“Governor,let’sfind away forNew Orleans to be successful so that the state can be successfulaswell,” she said from her City Hall office. “As goes the city of New Orleans, so goes the state of Louisiana.” Moreno ended by jabbing him back.
Armstrong NewOrleans International Airportofficials are preparing to knockdownbig portions of the
south terminal, asignificant step in abroader plantoupgrade infrastructure, expand parking,add hangar spaceand eventually build another newterminal. Demolition of the south concourses Aand Bisexpected to begin in the next three months
Demolitionplans move forward at oldairport’s southterminal
New Orleans airportofficials arepreparing to knock down big portions of thevacant south terminal, asignificant step in the broaderplan to upgrade infrastructure, expand parking, add hangar space and eventually build another newterminal over the next 20 years.
“Happy to meet you anywhere, even on BourbonStreet, and youcan show me yourfavorite ATMmachine,” she
Moreno ä See BARBS, page 3A
Governor callsfor audit of Decatur construction
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer
Gov.Jeff Landry on Friday requested astate audit of aSewerage &Water Board construction project thathas left several blocks of DecaturStreet tornup for months.
In aletter,Landry called on LouisianaSenate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier,R-Eunice, to requestthat the Louisiana legislative auditor conduct a review of the “economy,efficiency,and effectiveness” of the 10-month construction project.
“The people of New Orleans deserve an accounting of what has been spent, what has been delivered, and why this project has brought athriving commercial corridor to its knees,” Landry wrote. The request topped offatense week following the recent indictment of Attorney General Liz Murrill by an Orleans Parish grand jury,setting off awar of words between Landry and Mayor Helena Moreno, who on Thursday retracted a$110 million bond sale request before the State BondCommission,fearing retribution
The federallyfunded project to
ä See AUDIT, page 3A
Demolitionofthe concourses of south terminals Aand B, where passengers caught their planes for decades before thenorth terminal of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport opened in 2019, is expected to begin in the next three months,according to airport spokesperson Tara Letort.
Letort noted that aspecific start date and cost estimate will come outafter thedemo contract is awarded.
The McDonnel Group, thegeneral contractor on theproject, is currently seeking bids for the work, withresponses due later in July
Portions of the southterminal will remain standing and will be used for servicing and repairing aircraft.The demolitionwill create space foranew hangar.AtaMarch news conference, Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole said cargo and private aviation terminals,
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
Leaders of acompany charged with plugging orphaned oil wells in Louisiana have been fined $5,000 each afterthe state Ethics Board found they violated the law by giving a$780,000 loan to atop official in thedepartment that oversaw their work. Thefinesfrom theLouisiana Board of Ethics add to intense scrutiny of the now-shuttered Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, whichalreadyis
ä See FINE, page 3A
along with aschool for aircraftmechanics, are also planned forthe site.
The demolition is among the more noticeable signsthatthe airport’slarger masterplan is being put into motion. It’saneffort that airport officials, parish and city leaders began working on nearly threeyearsago and presented updates on earlier this year.
Several other infrastructure projects are being completed at the airport, including an $84.5 million project to pave aconnector road for shuttles.
The south terminal,originally known as the Moisant International Airport terminal, opened in 1959 and was built for
Travelers waitin lineatthe new north terminal at LouisArmstrong International AirportinKenner in March. The terminal opened in 2019.
$7.5 million. Twoadditional concourses wereadded to the terminalin1974 and allowed the airport to expand to 42 gates. When the $1.3 billion north terminal opened in 2019, the airport relocated passenger service and other operations previously housed on the south campus to the new terminal.
Parts of the south terminal remained in usefor administrative andpublic safety purposes. Occasionally,movie and television crews used the space as aset for filming. It’salso been used as askate park.
provided to former OfficeofConservation attorneyJohnnyAdams $5,000 Theamount manager Andrew Berthelot,Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its subsidiaryChromos were fined 2.6%
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
About 20 rescued after building collapse in Mo.
REYNOLDS COUNTY Mo. Emergency crews rescued about 20 people in Missouri on Friday after a building collapsed in a campground following widespread flooding and heavy rainfall in the state
The campers were on top of a building at the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, about 85 miles south of St. Louis, when it collapsed and were later rescued from the water, said Sgt. Eddie Young with the Missouri State Highway Patrol at a news conference.
The Reynolds County sheriff’s office said emergency responders had more than 90 water rescues of campers and people in cars after several inches of rain fell overnight into the morning across a long swath of central and eastern Missouri.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which got between 6 and 12 inches as thunderstorms piled on the area one after another, said Matt Beitscher, a lead meteorologist with the weather service office in St. Louis.
“It’s very, very popular place for recreation,” said Beitscher of the affected counties. “So there are campgrounds there. There are float trip locations there. A lot of vulnerable populations that would be susceptible to flash flooding.”
Islandwide blackout strikes Cuba again
HAVANA An islandwide blackout struck Cuba on Friday for the second time this week as the nation of nearly 10 million people grapples with a crumbling power grid and fuel shortages stemming from a U.S. energy blockade.
While total blackouts have become increasingly common in the Caribbean country, it’s unusual for back-to-back ones to hit just days apart. Cuba’s Electric Union confirmed the outage on X.
Officials had also confirmed the first total power outage which happened on Monday, although it wasn’t clear what caused it. Authorities at the time said an investigation was underway Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.
Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs, while the 730,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker in late March ran out by the end of April. The government also has been rationing power with intentional outages that can stretch to more than 24 consecutive hours.
A blackout in mid-May affected the island’s eastern provinces, while a blackout in mid-March struck the entire island.
Abducted students rescued in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state have been rescued, the government said Friday Government spokesperson Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.
Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.
The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.
“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular,” Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.
In the same week as the Oyo abduction, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno, the epicenter of Nigeria’s security crisis.
U.S. demands Iran say strait open
Officials want Tehran to say it won’t attack ships anymore
BY MICHELLE L PRICE, JON GAMBRELL and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
WASHINGTON The U.S is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won’t be attacked anymore, senior U.S. officials said Friday, adding that internal Tehran power struggles have made it difficult to reach and keep a deal.
The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran, said the resumption of strikes this week came after what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners trying to sabotage the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.
It comes as President Donald Trump reiterated on social media Friday that he views the interim ceasefire deal as “OVER!” But he said the U.S. would continue talks aimed at putting a permanent end to the war
The officials said Friday that Trump is giving U.S. negotiators limited time to reach a deal with Iran, but, in a sign of the challenges ahead, they underscored that the president had a wide range of options if talks fall apart. They also said a power struggle was playing out in real time in Iran after U.S and Israeli strikes at the start of the
war killed its longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Control of the strait
The U.S. is working on pressing Iran to make a public statement that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, is open and free to ships to transit, the officials said.
On a call with reporters, the officials suggested that leaders in Iran even told their U.S. counterparts that the ship strikes were a mistake and the country hoped to continue negotiations despite that.
Trump didn’t care that the firing on ships came from a hard-line faction and responded with more powerful counterattacks, showing Iran that there would be consequences no matter who was behind it, the officials said.
But moments before the U.S. officials spoke, Teh-
ran’s diplomat at the United Nations told reporters that any activity in the Strait of Hormuz, including its opening or demining operations, “rests exclusively with Iran.”
“Any attempt, by external actors, to interfere with or establish a power arrangement would violate the (interim deal), and undermine its implementation, delay the restoration of normal commercial navigation, jeopardize maritime safety, and increase regional tensions,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said outside the U.N. Security Council.
Iran has said the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began.
Iran’s grip on the strait during the conflict led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Nuclear deal
The U.S. officials said to reporters Friday that any deal on Iran’s nuclear program would require Tehran to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. If the U.S. does not reach a deal with Iran to turn over its nuclear material, it has military options to ensure that it remains buried underground forever, the officials said. They did not detail those options. The highly enriched material that could potentially be used to make a nuclear weapon is believed to be buried after strikes the U.S launched on Iran last summer. Iran says its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.
The officials said they would never reach a nuclear deal with Iran if it would not first abide by terms of the ceasefire deal and stop renewed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That struggle underscores the long-term challenges the Trump administration faces in the wake of the war it started and expected to wrap up months ago. Trump in late February broke off talks with Iran over its nuclear program and launched the military campaign, saying he was taking the action because Tehran was attempting to rebuild its program and develop long-range missiles. He faces political pressure in the U.S. to bring the conflict and its economic impact to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.
Unclaimed strikes
No one claimed responsibility Friday for airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks, leaving questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.
On Friday, Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee and a former commander in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent U.S. attacks. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said there were “no operational updates” after Trump’s pronouncement about the ceasefire.
Trump ousts election commission members
BY BILL BARROW Associated Press
President Donald Trump has ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.
The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration form.
conducted, and it’s the first test of his newly expanded presidential power after the Supreme Court ruled recently that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause.
“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so,” said a White House statement to AP
can commissioner Donald Palmer already had left his post voluntarily earlier this year The changes were first reported by VoteBeat, a news outlet that covers elections and voting across the U.S.
Trump has repeatedly tried to reshape voting regulations, even though the U.S Constitution grants control of elections to the states and not the president. Citing that separation of powers, courtshaveblocked most of Trump’s two executive orders that sought to reshape voting.
executive fiat and David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said his purge of the EAC wouldn’t alter that.
“This doesn’t really change anything about how our elections will be run, and how states are successfully ensuring secure, convenient, safe elections,” Becker wrote on the social media site BlueSky Friday morning. On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.
Though the move likely won’t have major effects on the November midterms, it’s the latest instance of the Republican president trying to exert White House influence over how U.S elections are
The president removed the four-seat commission’s two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland. The panel’s Republican member, Christy McCormick resigned. Former Republi-
Trump has also launched an investigation of his 2020 loss, which he continues to falsely insist was due to fraud, and this week his administration threatened states if they did not try to purge what federal officials believe are noncitizens from their voter rolls. Still, Trump has largely been powerless to change election processes through
Graham Platner withdraws from Maine U.S. Senate race
BY MEG KINNARD and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine Graham Platner on Friday submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, officially ending an upstart yet troubled campaign whose dissolution threatens Democrats’ pursuit of chamber control.
Platner’s paperwork was received by the Maine secretary of state’s office and reflected shortly thereafter in its online withdrawal list.
In a letter to the secretary of state’s office, which Platner also posted on social media, he wrote
that the Mainers who had nominated him “voted for a new kind of politics” that is “representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.” It was the same outsider chord that had been a trademark of his tumultuous campaign, in which Platner drew backing from progressive leaders including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, of California.
“I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” he went on, without detailing what that meant. Maine is considered a
key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The formal withdrawal comes two days after Platner said he would quit the race, facing an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied. Maine Democrats are seeking a new nominee, and several hopefuls have already begun jockeying for position.
State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election but the replacement must by named by July 27.
Trump
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY ALTAF QADRI
A man waves an Iranian flag on Sunday during funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran.
Continued from page1A
the subject of an investigation by the Attorney General’sOffice and adamning report by theLouisiana legislative auditor
In an opinion issued last week, the Ethics Board said LORA, its subsidiary Chromos and Andrew Berthelot —amanager for both companies —improperly gave the loan to former Office of Conservation attorney Johnny Adams in 2023.
As atop attorney in the state office at the time, Adams helped organize the state’sprogram involving LORA and personally drafted the agreement between theconservationoffice and thenew company,the board said.
The board fined Berthelot, LORA and Chromos $5,000 each.
Accordingtothe board’s findings, Berthelot served as LORA’s chief financial officer and was amanager of Chromos. Attempts to reach Berthelot and his attorney were not immediately successful Friday
Despite the board’sfindings, partial owner of LORA VanMayhallIII saidFriday that the company did not violate any ethics rules or laws but said the company’s leaders “have decided not to spend anymoretime or resources contesting the Board of Ethics’ actions.”
“LORA’s owners and directors are proud of the important workthat we did to clean up orphan wells in
AIRPORT
Continued from page1A
Louisiana as aprivate company with privatefunds,” Mayhall said LORA was formed in 2019 to work with the Louisiana Office of Conservationon plugging orphanedoil and gaswells, usingfees collected from industry operators thatpurchased financial security through the nonprofit. To manage that money, LORA hired Chromos, acompany run by many ofthe same people, including Berthelot, according to arecent report from the legislative auditor In 2022, after the partnership was active, investigators say LORA transferred $780,000 toChromos, which thenmade an identical loan to Adams whileheoversaw legal matters for the Office of Conservation.The board concluded themoney originatedwith LORA, despite passing through Chromos.
Adams and his wife —Baton Rouge Metro Council member Laurie Adams used thefunds to buy ahome and quickly paid off the loan in about six months, accordingtorecords.
“The loan was not abona fide loan made by aduly licensed lendinginstitution at thenormal rate of interest,” ethics officialssaidintheir opinion last week
Because of theunusually low 2.6% rate and LORA not being aproper lender, the loan was a“thing of economicvalue.”
Thetransaction violated multiple ethics laws, the board said.
Companyunder scrutiny
Last month, the legislative auditorreleasedascathingreport on LORA, which
detaileda scheme that officials say went on for several years and included numerous improprieties.
As part of thatreport investigators cited email chains sentbetween Mayhall, Berthelotand others while LORA was being formed. Adams, aLouisiana conservation official at the time, was included in the emails.
“(LORA) will basically just be ashell …”Mayhall wrote in September 2019.
In the same email, Mayhall said “when the DNRwants to look at ourbooks, we can show them the books of (LORA),”and thestate would not have access toChromos’ financial records.
On the day the report was released,Attorney General LizMurrill —whose office previously opened acivil case against LORA —said in astatementthat “we will be furtherreviewing thecase for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well.”
Adams’ attorney Steve Mooresaid thereport did not paint the whole picture, calling it “misleading” and “inaccurate.
Moore said Adams did not influence the selection of LORA to run thestate’sprogram as theauditor “cherry-picked” information to include in its findings.
Mayhall hadownership in both LORA andChromos
Like Adams’ attorney,Mayhall said theauditor’sreport left outkey facts, despite LORA’s cooperation with investigators.
Email PatrickSloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.
Demolishing the south terminal is only one partof the larger master plan to expand theairport.The plan also includes adding more gates, expanding the security checkpoint area, building anotherparking garage and asecondterminal. In July 2025, airport officials said they would need to open asecond terminal in the nextsix years to meet travel demands Airport passenger count grew from5.9 million to 6.6 million between 2022 and2024. Passenger trafficdipped nearly 9% in 2025, falling to 6.2 million passengers. Theairport expectstosee passenger growth reach 9.7 million“enplanements,” or the numberofpassengers boarding an aircraft,by2031, Dolliole said at the time.
BARBS
Continued from page1A
said, barely suppressing a smile.
Upperhand
Landry has the upper hand in this dispute with Moreno because she has inherited abudget shortfall from her predecessor, LaToya Cantrell, and the city needs authorization to borrow money or sell bonds from the State Bond Commission populatedbythe governor’s Republican legislative allies.
On Thursday,Moreno announced she was withdrawing the city’srequest to have the State Bond Commission approvea$110 million bond sale for New Orleans next week because she heard from Republican friends that the commission would reject it.
She also said that state leaders “seeking to defund New Orleans to punish, weaken or destroy it must face the harsh truth and consequences that, ultimately, doing so is self-harm to Louisiana.”
In her social media post Friday,she included avideo clip of Mike Waguespack, the Louisiana legislativeauditor, tellingLandrylastyearthat the city would need additional funds this year
In her letter to the governor Thursday night, she said that nothavingaccess to the additionalfunds for therest of 2026 would force city officials to delay infrastructure projects, institute $20million in budget cuts andcontinue furloughs of city employees.
“I commend the City for now taking the more fiscally responsible approach,” Landry responded, in his only positive comment to Moreno in histweet Friday aimed at her Waguespack, acertified publicaccountant and former sheriff, said in an interview Friday that the city’s requesttosellbonds would not cost state taxpayers anything unless, in aworst-case scenario, the city defaulted on the bonds. This would hurt the state’soverallbond
rating, he added. The city’s requestbefore theState BondCommission, Waguespack said, “is simply alegal and procedural authorization,it’snot financial backing.”
Landry letter
Landry also sent aletter to legislative leaders on Friday telling them that he has asked Waguespacktostudy why theSewerage &Water Board hasmoved so slowly to repair DecaturStreet in New Orleans. Three businesses there have said the delays have turned that stretch of the French Quarter into aghost town, forcing them to shutdown Moreno has also been criticizingthe S&WB for moving too slowly to finish the work. JayDardenne,a Republican who served in the state Senateand assecretary of state, lieutenant governor and as then-Gov.John Bel Edwards’ top budget official, lamented Landry’sunwillingness to meet withMoreno.
“Any time aparty is not willingtotalkwith an opposing side about an issue that couldbe resolved isnot a good thing,” Dardenne said.
“Weought to be abouttrying to work together for the common good for everybody in Louisiana. That speaks for people in New Orleans, for people who feel offended by Republicans andRepublicans who think the indictment is apolitically motivated attack on them.”
Dardenne was referring to theindictment of Attorney General Liz Murrill, handed down by an Orleans Parish grand jury last week. It has intensified tensions between NewOrleans officialsand Republicans elsewhere in thestate.
The grandjuryindicted Murrillon16felonycounts forwriting alettertoMoreno and other city officials that they called threatening. Landry trolled Moreno on this Friday.
“I understand your desire nottotradepublic letters, as thatseems to be an indictable offense in the City of New Orleans,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Murrill ap-
AUDIT
Continuedfrom page 1A
replace underground water infrastructure on Decatur betweenEsplanade Avenue and Dumaine Street has provoked outrage from French Quarter business owners who saythat the project hasharmed their businessesand damaged their property.Three businesses have shuttered in recent months. Business owners sued the S&WB over theproject in June, asking the court to force the utility to speed up work and remove barricades from areas where there’snoconstruction activity. Ahearing in the case scheduled forThursday was postponeduntil next week becauseofaprocedural issue, attorney RobertEllis of thefirm Bivalacqua, Gelé +Ellissaidon Thursday
repeatedly called forgreater accountability from the SWBNOand steppedinto directly assist businesses on Decatur.The Mayorwelcomes anyfurther reviews or audits of this project and any assistance the Governor can provide.”
Landry posted his letter on social media less than an hour after S&WB officialsannounced that they would pull downfencing on oneblock of thethree-block stretchofDecatur Street by the end of the dayafter utilityupgradeshad been completed.
“Weappreciate everyone’scontinued patience while we upgrade the aging infrastructure in the French Quarter,” officials said.
The moreeyes that are looking at this thing the faster it can go,” said Steve Smith, owner of Turtle Bay “But at the same time I’m notlooking to getinthe middle of ashoving match between the city and the state.”
Trey Monaghan, who operates Molly’satthe Market, said he supported a state audit of the project butthatitis“frustrating to watch politicians argue amongst themselves.”
“Just do the audit; you don’thavetosendletter(s) back andforth,” said Monaghan.
Email Grace Mayer at grace.mayer@ theadvocate.com.
pears to continuetofeelaggrieved by the grand jury indictment.
On Thursdaynight, she released astatement saying the citydidn’thave the means to pay back the$110 million in bonds over the 16year termperiod.
“That request was dead on arrival,” she said pointedly
The Attorney General’s Office on Thursday filed a public records request to thecityaskingfor documents related to thedecision by Moreno and the City Council to bolster their slim reserves by selling the next nine years of revenue from its lease with Caesars’ casino. In exchange, the city received $103 million.
On Friday night, asked why her office filed thepublic records request, Murrill texted, “I’d lovetodiscuss, but I’ve already been indicted for doing my job.”
On Thursday,Landry wrote Moreno that the deal cost thecity$50 millionin future lease payments, “a decision that is tantamount to the largest ‘pay day loan’ by amunicipality in recent times.”
JoeGiarrusso III, Moreno’s top budget official, pushed back on the governor’sstatement, saying the city is investing theCaesars proceeds at a3.75% interest rate.
“If thefunds stay in the account earning interest for the next 10 years, there is no difference betweenthe annual payments versus taking the lump sum payment,” he said in atext.
One Republican who voiced supportfor thecity andMorenowas Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser,who noted in hisrole as the state’schief tourism promoterthat millions of people visit New Orleans every year
“Mayor Moreno andher administration have worked hard to getNew Orleans moving in theright direction,”Nungessersaid in a statement Thursdaynight. “Weshould all be focused on buildingonthatmomentum by working together.Atthe end of the day,this is about doing what’sbestfor the people of Louisiana.
DeVillierdeclinedto comment on the governor’s request. Henry did not respond to arequest for comment. Aspokespersonfor theS&WBdid not respond to arequest for comment. AndrewTuozzolo, special counsel to Moreno, said in a statement that“theCity has
His letter also camehours after he said in asocial media post to Moreno thatthe state would notoperate as the city’sATM, and she responded with avideo explaining that the city has notborrowed money from the state. The two also exchangedletters about the city’sfinances on Thursday DecaturStreet business owners said Friday that theyweregladtosee officials paying attention to their plight, but expressed frustration at the political volleying match.
Business owners on the newly opened block of Decatur Street —between Ursulines Avenue andGovernor Nicholls Street —also said theywereskeptical of howmuchimpact taking down the fence on one block would have on their business.
“If the next block is still blocked off. people are still scared to drive, to walk past,” saidLilySoniat, coowner of Zhang Bistro. The usual summertime slump on topofthe decreaseinfoot traffic has torpedoed business, she said.
“It’skilling us. It’skilling me,” Soniat said.
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STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
Pedestrians cross DecaturStreet on Ursulines Avenue in the French Quarter on Friday after fences are removed in NewOrleans.
Housing bill to become law without Trump’s signature
President won’t ink his name to bipartisan effort in protest
BY MICHELLE L. PRICE and JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON President
Donald Trump will let the bipartisan housing bill approved by Congress become law without his signature, saying Friday that he was refusing to put his name on it because of the little progress made in passing a strict
voter ID bill that he has been pushing.
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.
Trump had 10 days until the Friday deadline to sign the bill, issue a veto, or allow the measure to take effect without his signature. He has chosen to let the measure become law without his express approval, undercutting his administration’s claims that
Landry embraces Trump Accounts for foster children
Survivor benefits will go to their funds, he says
BY ALYSE PFEIL
Staff writer
President Donald Trump officially launched Trump Accounts this week at an Oval Office news conference, and Gov. Jeff Landry quickly threw his support behind the program, announcing the state is taking steps to bolster it.
Louisiana will now put federal Social Security survivor benefits owed to foster children whose parents have died into Trump Accounts, Landry announced in a video posted to social media.
He had lunch this week with Trump in the White House Rose Garden to talk about the new savings accounts. They were joined by Arkansas Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a fellow Republican who said that state is also putting survivor benefits owed to foster kids into Trump Accounts.
“What the president’s done is absolutely genius,” Landry said in an interview with Newsmax. A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to questions about the initiative.
Trump Accounts
Trump Accounts are a new type of traditional individual retirement account, or IRA, that has special rules and can be set up by a legal guardian, parent, adult sibling or grandparent for children under age 18. Before the child turns 18, anyone can put money in the account, but there is generally a $5,000 annual limit on contributions, though that limit doesn’t apply to government contributions or rollovers from other accounts. The federal government will contribute $1,000 to Trump Accounts for children born from 2025 to 2028.
The money in the account can be invested in “certain exchange-traded funds and mutual funds tracking the value of stocks of U.S. companies,” according to a report from the Congressional Research Service
Once the child turns 18, Trump Accounts operate like any other traditional IRA, the report says
“Children can, at the age of 18 and after, become very wealthy people — come into the world with essentially no money and end up at a very young age, be very rich,” Trump said this week at a news conference about the accounts
Child welfare agency
Earlier this year Landry issued an executive order prohibiting the Department of Children and Family Services, the child welfare agency that administers foster care, from using federal survivor benefits to reimburse the state for caring for children in state custody
For decades, states routinely applied for Social Security survivor and disability benefits on behalf of foster children and used that money to help cover the costs of foster care services.
But over the last several years, that practice has started to change across the country due to pressure from child advocates who say it’s immoral and detrimental to foster children, because it exhausts funds that could have helped them transition to adulthood.
Now, under Landry’s order, Louisiana’s child welfare agency must invest the benefits into a savings account on behalf of the child.
According to information provided by DCFS this week, up to $5,000 will be deposited into a Trump Account, and any remaining funds will be saved in a Louisiana START 529 education savings account, which can be used to pay for college expenses. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
he considers it a priority to combat inflation.
Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs. His post comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort
in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity
White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap. But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.
He surprised Republican lawmakers on June
24 when shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he would not approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.
That bill, the SAVE America Act, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said after submitting the housing bill to the White House that he told Trump he should get the “fattest black marker you have, and sign your name really big on that.”
“I hope he does sign it,” Johnson told reporters at the time. “If he doesn’t, it’s still law We’ll still celebrate it.”
He said he also understood Trump was trying to make a point that the elections bill is the top priority “And I think he’s making it very effectively,” Johnson said.
Still, Trump’s decision not to sign the bill gave Democrats an opening to criticize him on the issue of affordability “His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher cost for families and more power for himself,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on X.
The housing bill passed the Senate on an 85-5 vote and the House approved it with an 358-32 vote.
SpaceX among attendees at La. ‘summit’
Speculation over company’s plans swirls
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
Two SpaceX representatives attended a recent “summit” in Baton Rouge with senior officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Gov Jeff Landry’s administration, another potential signal of interest in a Louisiana expansion by Elon Musk’s rocket company
overcome bottlenecks in the federal regulatory process. Hare has previously worked in Washington and has specialized on mitigation issues.
“I just consider him a national expert on wetland policy,” Hare said of McDonough, who was involved in developing a wetlands policy in the first Trump administration known as the Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS.
“He just happens to work at SpaceX, and so that was the easy button I hit on inviting him there.”
broad immunity from lawsuits. Lawmakers also granted them exemptions from public records laws related to critical infrastructure.
The state’s recent deal with Exxon to settle long-standing coastal damages lawsuits also heightened speculation over whether SpaceX is interested in large tracts of coastal land in Vermilion Parish. Exxon owns the land, which it had initially intended to use for carbon capture, and removing legal liability connected with it could ease a sale.
along the coast, would likely require permits from the Corps. Rene Poche, a spokesperson for the Corps’ New Orleans district, said the agency has not received any permit applications from SpaceX and has not held discussions with the company on the topic.
The meeting on June 26 was primarily aimed at discussing ways to speed permitting and other regulatory steps for projects, which often require Corps involvement and approval. The meeting included a broad range of attendees from government agencies, ports, contractors, industry associations and relevant nonprofits.
Hare said the summit would help Louisiana projects, but that the issues discussed are relevant on a national level and that he organized the meeting with that in mind.
“This is really meant to help inform national policy,” he said.
Clearing the way
SpaceX’s attendance, however, comes as the state appears to be clearing a path for aerospace development in Louisiana. State legislators this past session approved incentives designed to attract such companies and another measure granting them
McDonough and Conroy did not respond to requests for comment, nor did SpaceX’s media affairs office. The Governor’s Office also did not respond to requests for comment.
Louisiana Economic Development, the state’s business promotion arm, declined to comment on any potential discussions with SpaceX.
“LED doesn’t comment on prospective projects,” said agency spokesperson Emma Wagner
Reducing red tape
Any potential SpaceX development, particularly
The June event, dubbed the “Summit at Sea Level,” was billed as a first-of-itskind between the Corps and local leaders. Corps leadership at both the national and local levels attended, including Army Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Adam Telle. The meeting concluded with a Q-and-A session between Telle and Landry The Corps and CPRA issued a joint statement on Thursday detailing areas targeted for improvements and describing a plan to address them.
“Attendees from across the public and private sectors together identified 19 priority actions designed to tear down administrative red tape, align complex permitting requirements and significantly shorten project delivery timelines,” it said.
Two SpaceX representatives involved in governmental and regulatory matters participated, including one, Owen McDonough, who specialized in water and wetlands issues for the Environmental Protection Agency during President Donald Trump’s first term Michael Hare, executive director of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said he invited McDonough because he knew him from previous work and believed he could provide valuable insight into regulations surrounding water and wetlands issues. The other SpaceX representative, Brandon Conroy, was involved in required environmental mitigation efforts related to the company’s “Starbase” industrial and launch facility near Brownsville, Texas.
Hare said there was no discussion of potential SpaceX projects in Louisiana at the event and that McDonough and Conroy came for the same reason as did other attendees: to provide insight and suggestions on how to
Detaineessay ICEofficer shot driver throughwindow
BY LEKAN OYEKANMI, JACK BROOK and RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press/Reportfor America
HOUSTON Threemen inside avan who witnessed the fatal shooting of thedriver by an immigrationofficer in Houston said the Mexican man was shot through apassenger window and that the officer was never threatened, alawyer who has spoken with them said Friday.
The shooting Tuesday duringan attempted traffic stop by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officersinHouston hasrevivedcritical voices deriding the Trump administration’simmigrationcrackdown and how ICE operates. Immigration arrests around the country recently surged to 10,000 over a five-day period, fueled in part by massive congressional funding.
The Department of Homeland Security,which overseesICE, has released no evidence to support the officer’sstory that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo ignored their commands and rammed into an ICE vehicle with hiswhite van, or that theofficer fired in self-defense.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia has said the acting director of ICE told her officers thought someone in the van, but notSalgado Araujo, had afinal order of removal but did not share aname.
The officers were notwearing body cameras and neither ICE nor DHS have released photos, videos or other evidence fromthe scene.
Salgado Araujo was a52-yearold homebuilder who was shot and killedashewas driving his crew to aconstructionsite.His family said he hadlived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed.
ICE detained theother threemen in the van and they all toldalawyer that no officer was in frontofthe vanoreven in danger
“After speakingwiththese men, Ihave no doubt that whatthey’re saying is the truth. Iknow that these agents —the agency —isgoing to try to cover it up,” attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarrasaidduring anews conference.
Images of the van after the shooting appeartoshow no damage, he said ICE has not released the names of thedetainedmen, butfamily members saidtheyhave been able to briefly talkwith them. Salgado Araujo’sbrother was amongthose arrested.
Garcia said at thesame newsconferenceitwas unsurprisingthat Salgado Araujo droveoff when ICE tried to stop hisvehicle, given that
their vehicleswere unmarkedand had no lights.
“Whatwould you do if you were being followed by someone and the cars were unmarked?” Garcia said.
Salgado Araujowas at least the eighth person to dieduring the Trump administration’simmigrationenforcement campaign. No immigration officershave been charged in the killings and video footage in several previous shootings has contradicted the accounts of federal officers.
ICE is pressuring themen to self-
deport, which would makeitharder forthem to sharetheir version of eventswith investigators or others, said Juana Degollado, who said her stepfatherDaniel Tirado Pantoja is among thedetained men.She said he has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but hasnocriminal record.
“It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation,”Balderas-Ibarra said “Thatwill all be outthe window if theyare deported.”
DHS said allegations that the men have been pressured to leave the
country are “categorically false.”
DHS saidThursday that officers investigating atip weeksearlier saw two white vans at the address of atarget. While heading to that address Tuesday,officers saw a white vanand someone inside who resembledthe person they were looking for,the department said in astatement.
“No one in that van had warrants or any legal problem,”Degollado told The Associated Press in atext message.
DHS said it will not release the officer’sname because they could face threats and violence and their family could be at risk.
DHS also hasnot respondedto requests forotherinformation, including how long the officer has worked for ICE or whether anyone involved in the shooting is on administrative leave.
Unlike some previous deaths involving federal immigration officers, fewphotos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since Salgado Araujo’sdeath.
The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a$5,000 reward forvideo or other evidence, but the positions of the vehicles means surveillancecameras in the area were blocked from recording theshooting, CEO Juan Proañosaid.
BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
WASHINGTON Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President DonaldTrump’s problem-plagued effort to revampthe waterway pushes well past his initial goal of having it ready by July4 to markthe nation’s250th birthday
The president at firstsug-
gested his renovations would last acentury.But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completionlast month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of thenew coatingappeared to bepeeling offthe bottom Trump has blamedthe peeling on vandals, though criticsallege it’sfromshoddy repair work.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency
overseesthe National Park Service, told conservative podcaster KatieMillerinan interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned. He also said that thewater might stillcontain debrisfroman extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.
“Drain the water,clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller,who is thewife of
deputyWhiteHousechief of staff Stephen Miller.“Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”
The workonthe reflecting pool is just one of anumber of projectsTrumphas spearheaded acrossthe nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a$400million ballroom and plans to build atowering arch between the Lincoln
Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery
He initially announced his intentions to beautify the reflecting pool this spring, sayinghewanted it completed before thenation’s 250th birthday celebrations. Water wasdrained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he called“American flagblue.”
But problems began quickly after the initial work was finished. Trump blamed vandals, andcourt documents later showed that the National Park Servicereported to the U.S. Park Police aJune 9incident in which asharp knife or razorcut the pool’s new liner
In May,the president posted on hissocial media site of the pool: “The goal is to have it done, at this higherlevel,prior to July 4th —Weare ahead of schedule!”
Family of Mississippiteenwho died aftertripseeks transparency,probe
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
NEW YORK Attorneys for the family of aMississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after aJuly 4boat trip with friendstoanisland off the Gulf Coast called for a deeper investigation and greater transparency at a news conference Friday with the Rev.AlSharpton, saying many of the details they’re discovering are “not adding up.”
Noted civil rightsattorney Ben Crump, who was retained by the family of Nolan Xavier Wellsearlier this week, has said the familyhas concernsabout the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy.Wells traveledby boat to Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 4with agroup of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Mondaymorning, more than aday later While Jackson County Sheriff’s Officeofficials said investigatorsdon’tsuspect foul play in the Black college student’sdeath, the sheriff hasasked for any
witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 10miles off thecoast of Mississippi to come forwardto help shed light on the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.
Family members have raised concerns, saying they’ve seen video of a fight allegedlyinvolving their son, and saying as an elite athlete he was able to swim. Wells, who would have turned19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on thefootball team.
At thenews conference Friday attorneyssaid the friends who left Wells on theisland, took his phone and keys when they departed. Crumpsaid Wells’ family used an app to track his phone, and afriend went to where it was on landto pick it up.
“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re goingtostay on this island? Whatteenager wouldn’ttake their phone?
It’snot adding up at all,” Crump said.
He added that the fam-
ilybelievestext messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they gotitback, and they plan to employ experts to try to receive all thedata they can.
Crump called for athorough investigation, saying to law enforcement, “They wanttoknow that youhave nottaken thepath of least resistance.”
Aphoto postedtosocial media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells withhis arms around threeWhite,male friends Speculation andsuspicion aboutthe teen’s deathhave been rampant online, as people grapplewiththe state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be aBlack personina majorityWhite space.
Wells’ mother,Christine Wonsley,looked to thesky severaltimes as lawyers spoke Friday,tohold back tears. Whenshe spoke,she said thiswas nothow she wanted the worldtoknow her son.
Wonsleysaidtheyhad taught him abouthistory but he was apeacemaker who didn’tlike division, and wanted everyone to be included.
“Wejustwanna know what happened,” shesaid, through tears. “And whyour baby didn’tcome home.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOBYANNIE MULLIGAN
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia speaks Friday during anewsbriefing regarding her conversation withActing ICEDirector David Venturella outsideher office in Houston.
Landlord sues to halt demolition
Legal, contract issues have stalled the DeGaulle Manor teardown
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer
Embattled New Orleans landlord Josh Bruno has sued to halt the long-awaited demolition of DeGaulle Manor claiming that the city’s work to tear down the crumbling complex violates his property rights.
In a filing this week, an attorney for Bruno’s company, Granaio LLC, alleged that the late June lawsuit in bankruptcy court forced a stay on the city’s efforts, but that demolition continued after that date.
the city would address the legal challenge “through the appropriate judicial proceedings.”
The case, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida in Miami, also identifies unnamed contractors and employees who have worked to carry out the city-ordered demolition, which resumed on June 23 after a monthslong pause. The lawsuit comes as yet another obstacle for city officials after legal, funding and contract issues have held up the project for years, frustrating community members and city officials who say the site is a danger and a nuisance.
Helena Moreno’s administration said that demolition work had been paused, just two weeks after officials celebrated their renewed effort to tackle the notorious eyesore once and for all using $3 million in new funding. The administration did not say whether the work had stopped after the suit was filed.
Under federal bankruptcy law, a bankruptcy lawsuit filing operates as an automatic stay against any effort to obtain possession of property of the estate. Government entities are excepted when enforcing “police or regulatory power.”
But the lawsuit claims that the stay should apply because the
On Friday, an official with Mayor
In a statement on Thursday, City Attorney Charline Gipson said that
Missy, an 8-year-old California sea lion, raises a flipper during a training session at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on Friday.
STAFF PHOTOS BY BRETT DUKE
FANTASTIC FLIPPERS
weekend
Liljeberg announces run for at-large council seat
Jefferson Parish spot opens in 2027
BY LARA NICHOLSON
when tempers seek to threaten and derail good ideas.”
“I am better trained and more dedicated than ever to bridging divides, governing with respect and leading with calm resolve, not just for District 5, but for all the people of Jefferson Parish,” Liljeberg said Liljeberg, 58, is the only ac-
tive candidate in the 2027 parish election cycle so far Walker had originally announced a run for parish president in 2024 but later bowed out so he could focus on his public relations firm and political consulting. Liljeberg was eligible to run for one additional term in District 5 but instead leaves his seat open for the taking. Walker opened Liljeberg’s event and offered his endorsement of his candidacy
DEMOLITION, page 2B
Man sues sheriff for wrongful arrest
He was accused in 6-year-old’s hit-and-run death
BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
A St. Tammany Parish man is suing former Sheriff Randy Smith and some of his deputies in federal court for allegedly wrongfully arresting and jailing him for 13 days last year in connection with a hit-and-run that killed a young boy Cody Beaudette was arrested on Aug. 13, 2025, by the Sheriff’s Office on counts of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run and reckless operation in connection with the death of 6-year-old Jeremiah Ramirez. After 13 days in jail, Beaudette was released on bond and then, two days later, with mounting pressure from family members and investigators who drew attention to exonerating evidence, the Sheriff’s Office announced on Aug. 29, 2025, that new evidence showed the vehicular homicide charge was “not supported” and Northshore District Attorney Collin Sims’ office announced it was refusing prosecution.
ä See ARREST, page 2B
BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
Liljeberg said that, if elected, he would work to strengthen the parish’s financial standing and restore its bond rating, attract business investment across the parish and unify the Parish Council after several years of heated conflicts. Prior to the council, Liljeberg served as a judge for Louisiana’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal from 2012 to 2023, and before that as a 24th Judicial District Court judge since 2002. He also served as a prosecutor for the Jefferson Parish Attorney’s Office.
“I can tell you this: Leaders like Hans don’t come along very often,” Walker said. “He brings steadiness, fairness, humility and a deep respect for the people he serves.”
Ex-Orleans sheriff had monthslong delays amid judge shuffle Hutson
Following several weeks of delays as her case cycled through judicial recusals, former Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson pleaded not guilty to the felony indictment in her public corruption case Friday morning. Hutson, 59, appeared before retired New Orleans criminal judge Dennis Waldron, an ad hoc judge appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court on June 30 to preside over the case against Hutson and her former chief financial officer, Bianka Brown. Hutson is represented by New Orleans defense attorney Gregory Carter
Elle Landry, 5, watches as Missy, the California sea lion, glides by at Audubon Zoo on Friday Missy recently joined the zoo’s sea lion colony, which also includes 14-year-old sea lions Roux and Zoey Keepers say she enjoys afternoon naps, basking in the sun, participating in training sessions and exploring her habitat. Visitors can watch the sea lions swim and train daily and meet with their keepers during
talks.
Liljeberg
ST. TAMMANY
Manfound notguiltyin2021 stripclubshooting
He said he acted in self-defense
BY MICHELLEHUNTER Staff writer
Jefferson Parish jurors on Wednesday voted to acquit aman who had been charged in adeadly 2021shooting outside of aMetairie strip club, according to court records.
Byron Franklin, 32, of Kenner, was found not guilty of manslaughter following athree-day trial.
Franklin had been charged with killing 33-year-old Michael Rivera, amarried father of four who
was shot after aconfrontation outside of Cabaret Nola during theearly morning hoursofOct 7, 2021.
While prosecutors argued that Franklincouldhave avoided shootingRivera, defense attorney Joseph Marino III countered, telling jurorsthat Rivera attacked unprovoked.
“I thought it was the definitionof self-defense,” Marino saidThursday.“My client was outsized, outmanned, alone and under attack.”
The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m., after closing time at the club, located at 3229 Lisa Drive. Franklin,a DJ at theclub, wasn’tworking that night but had stopped by and wastalking to co-
workersand friends. As he often did, Franklin offered to escort some of the female employees to their vehicles for safety reasons, Marino said.
Franklin was armed at the time because, according to Marino, closingcould be dangerous for dancers whousually carry large amountsofcashand must sometimes navigate parking lotswith inebriated patrons.
That night, Franklin noticed a man whoseemed to be following another female employee to her vehicle. Franklin stepped in, closing thewoman’scar door
The man, Rivera, and another one of the man’s friends angrily confronted Franklin, Marino said.
When Franklin triedtodefuse the situation, Rivera began waving his arms, threw downabeer bottle, tossed acigarette andtookoff his shirtinanaggressive manner.
The confrontation was recorded by anearby security camera.
Rivera was morethan 6feet talland about 100 pounds heavier than Franklin. An autopsy later revealed thatRivera’sblood alcoholcontent was more than twice the legal 0.08% limit, according to Marino.
“He was trying to provoke somebody to fight Byron,” Marino said.
At somepoint, Rivera threw a punchatthe back of Franklin’s head, knocking him into avehicle. Asecond punchwas thrown just
before Franklin reached for his gun andshotRivera three times.
“(Franklin) was thinking, ‘If this guy hitsmeagain,I might wake up in the hospital, or Imight not wake up at all, Marino said. “He hadseconds to react before he was going to be unable to defend himself.” Franklin stayed at thesceneand asked co-workers to call 911. He identifiedhimselfasthe shooter and told investigators he acted in self-defense Jurors deliberatedfor just over 40 minutesbefore voting to acquit Franklin, court records said. Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate.com.
claiming Baton Rouge’slibrary system unlawfully fired him after he refused to use someone’s preferred gender pronouns
The Rev.Luke Ash filed the suit Thursday alleging that theEast Baton Rouge Parish Library terminated his employment ayear ago because of his religious beliefs, which Ash said prevented
DEMOLITION
Continued from page1B
building is structurally sound, citing aJuly 2026 structural evaluation commissioned by Granaio.
“The concrete buildings remaining on this site are structurally sound and perfectly capableofbeing renovated back to operable conditions,” wrote Mandeville-basedengineer Thomas Dyer,ofKyle AssociatesLLC Accordingtothe lawsuit, “the city’sconduct is not a good-faith emergency response to agenuine threat to public health or safety; it is afunded,phased, multiyear program to clear and redevelop privately owned, structurally sound, and historically significant property.”
him from using aco-worker’s preferred gender pronouns. He is also thelead pastoratStevendale Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, per thechurch’swebsite Ash is represented by Liberty Counsel, aChristian civil liberties law firm, and saidthe library’sinclusivity policy violated his First Amendment rights, and his lawsuitseeks apermanent injunction declaringthe policy unconstitutional. Thelawsuit alsoasks the court to order thelibrary to reinstate Ash to his former position, restore hisbenefits andaward back pay and damages.
Liberty Counsel said in anews release that alibrary co-workerin
July 2025 askedthatAsh refer to them by their preferred pronouns. Ash toldthe co-worker he would notdosodue to his religious beliefs.
Shortly after this conversation, Ash’ssupervisors reiteratedthe library’spolicy,which states “all employeeshavethe righttobe addressed by their chosen name and pronouns.”Accordingtothe lawsuit, Ash said he would notlie The lawsuit said that after this encounter,Ash’semploymentwas terminatedand “the library made cleartoAsh that he was being terminated because of his refusalto use preferredpronouns andnothing more.”
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETTDUKE Rubble from the demolition of DeGaulle Manor is seen in AlgiersonJune 23. Embattled NewOrleans landlord Josh Bruno has sued to halt the long-awaited demolition of the building
In her statement Thursday, Gipson wrote that the “City of New Orleanshas aresponsibility to protect the health, safety,and welfare of our residents,” she said, adding that the property “has been determined by authorized City officials to pose an imminent danger to the surrounding community.”
“TheCity’sdemolitionof this property has been upheld by the Louisiana courts on severaloccasionsasa lawful exercise of its authority to protect public safety,” Gipson said.
Shutteredin2012, the site has racked up more than 100 code enforcement violations in recent years and has become ahot spotfor illegal dumping and crime. Several of Bruno’sother
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During his time on the council thus far,Liljeberg has led the overhaulof Bucktown’spark and ”living shoreline” projects, the revitalization of Fat Citywith the Metairie Business and Development District and the return of annual power-
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Another individual,Connie Estes, was booked that same day on hit-and-run and obstruction of justice counts and hasatrial scheduled to start Sept. 14 in connection with the death of Ramirez. The boy was ridinghis scooter on Northshore Lane near Slidell on Aug. 13 when he was struck and killed. Beaudetteand his family are now seeking damages for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. They are accusing Smith,who served as St. Tammany sheriff for nearly adecade until he resigned in June, and some of his employeesofdoing shoddy investigative work before Beaudette’sarrest and later ignoring exonerating evidence during his
boat racing tournaments in Lake Pontchartrain. He also pointed to infrastructure and economic improvementslike the North Causeway Boulevard widening project, the growth of Lakeside Shopping Center andthe transformation of the Clearviewmall.
Liljeberg also faced criticism earlierthisyear from Johnny Bright Playground families after he announced plans for aprivatecompany
imprisonment The complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana on June 18, accuses Smith of violating Beaudette’sconstitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, and accuses ahandfulofsheriff’s deputies, some named andsomeanonymized, of illegal seizure, excessive force, false arrest and imprisonment and malicious prosecution, among other allegations.
“He suffered alot of mental anguish, him and his family,overthe wholeordeal,” said Beaudette’s lawyer,Michael Raspanti, in an interview.
Suzanne Carboni, a spokespersonfor theSheriff’s Office, said she could not comment on pending litigation at this time. In August 2025,whenthe Sheriff’sOffice announced they
properties have also drawn the ire of tenant advocates and officials after theyfell into disrepair during the COVID-19 pandemic. An attorney for Bruno said at the time that Bruno purchased the properties in poor condition, further exacerbated by Hurricane Ida and amoratorium of evictions during the pandemic.
Bruno also lost several of his properties to auction in abankruptcy proceeding
to build atennis complex at theplayground. He later canceled that project, which Bright Playground booster clubmembers saidtheyappreciated.
He also raised concerns about the Jefferson Parish inspector general’shandling of the Gretna brewpub project,arguingthat her criticismsofthe plan werepolitically motivated. That’s alignedhim with other dis-
were no longerseeking the homicide and hit-and-run chargesagainst Beaudette, Smith said, “Webelieve in holding individuals accountable, but we also have aduty to correct course when the facts demand it.”
Beaudette’s complaint alleges thatthe affidavit in support of his arrest warrant was based on thin evidence and was missing multiple crucial pieces of information. For instance, the color of the vehicle wreckageatthe scene of thehitand-run was adifferent color from Baudette’svehicle, the complaintsstate, and thewreckage at the scene didn’tmatch damage to Beaudette’s vehicle It also alleges thateven after multiple people showed the Sheriff’s Office evidence that contradicted their earlier findings and showed Beaudette’sinno-
Ash was hired as alibrary technician in late March 2025, andhis terminationwas effective July 11, 2025,accordingtopersonnel recordsobtained by The Advocate.
Library director Katrina Stokes saidFriday that the library does notcomment on employee and personnel matters
Thelawsuit also names the city of Baton Rouge,the Metro Counciland library board of control as defendants.
Aspokesperson for the Mayor’s Office declined to comment.
“The East Baton Rouge Parish Library violated the U.S. Constitution and Louisiana law for requiring Pastor Ash to refertoafemale
employee by masculine pronouns and then firing him for upholding his religious beliefs,”Liberty Counsel FounderMat Staver said. “The library also violated Title VIIfor notevenconsidering areligious accommodation forPastor Ash.”
Following Ash’stermination in July 2025, several of Louisiana’s top GOP leaders weighedinon the situation andcriticizedthe library’s decision Gov.Jeff Landry, in reference to Ash’sfiring, said on Xthat “Louisiana is the real world, and in the real world, preferred pronouns don’texist —only biological ones!”
in 2023 and was arrested twice in recent years after a dispute with aneighborand thenagain after he allegedly tried to run down atenant in avehicle.Ahearing was scheduledinSeptember 2025 in that case, but the outcomewas unclear on Friday Work to fully demolish the 450-unitcomplexresumed on June 23 when the Moreno administration announced thatitwas dedicating $3 million from the city’s Short Term Rental Fund to the project. Theprojectis expected to be completed within ayear,officials said. Theproject had come to a halt last year in light of the city’smultimillion-dollar budget crisis and after the city fell behind on paying the contractor by morethan $1 million.
In an emergencymotion filed Wednesday,Bruno requested that ajudge grant an injunction halting the demolition and awardcompensation for anyproperty destroyed.
The case is expected to be heard by Judge Corali Lopez-CastroonJuly 15 in Miami.
trict councilmembers and put them at odds with Jennifer VanVrancken, theother at-large council member for DivisionA,overthe past two years. While VanVrancken has not yet announced her plans for next year,she has indicated that she is “very interested” in running to replace ParishPresident Cynthia Lee Sheng, whocannotrun again due to termlimits.
cence, they continued to detain him
“Whatisstriking is that Beaudette’slittle sister,who is not acop, not aprivateinvestigator —she managed to acquire all the evidence to reallydeterminewho did this in amatteroftwo days by herself,”Raspantisaid.
The lawsuitaccuses Smith of encouraging acultureof “disregarding the constitutional rights of individuals,” pointing to Smith’soffice’s 2019 arrest of former federal agent Jerry Rogers, which afederal court found was illegal.
Thecomplaintwas filed less than aweek before Smithpleaded guiltytofelony batteryinanunrelated case andresignedfromhis post
Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@theadvocate. com.
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Records show Brown has retained Metairie lawyer JeffHufft. Theyare both expected back in court for adiscovery hearing Sept. 3. Hutson and Browntogether face a50-count indictment,accused of falsifying court filings about inmate transports and failing to address glaring security gaps at the OrleansJusticeCenter before last year’smass escape of 10 inmates from the NewOrleans jail. ProsecutorsfromAttorney General Liz Murrill’soffice secured the indictments April 29 in the final days of Hutson’sterm.The outgoing sheriff wasindicted on 30 criminal charges of conspiracy,obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office andfiling or maintaining false records. Brown was hit with 20 similar counts. Murrill launched the criminalprobelast year,days after10inmates crawled through theholecreated fromatoiletdislodgedina first-floor cell podand escaped theOrleansJustice Center
On their way out, the escapees scrawled “to easy Lol” above the hole, ataunting tagline forone of the mostdaring jailbreaks in Louisiana history
The ensuing fugitive manhunt spanned several states and lasted nearly five months until authorities found Derrick Groves, the allegedmastermind, hiding out in asouthwest Atlanta home.
Almostimmediately,Hutson claimed it was an “inside job,” suspecting theescaped inmates had help from Sheriff’s Office staff within the lockup.
Sterling Williams, aformer Sheriff’sOffice maintenance worker,was charged withmalfeasance and 10
counts of principal to simple escape. Investigators said he cut off the water supply in thejailcell,which allowed inmates to remove the toilet. Williams is scheduledfor trial later this month. But according to allegations in her charging affidavit, Hutson ignored warnings from federal consent decree monitors and let security lapses inside the Perdido Street jailhouse fester long before the May 16, 2025, escape. In addition to thejailconditions, prosecutors have filed motions signaling that 18 of the charges against Brownand Hutson stem from documents the two submitted to the court last July,during aclash with the criminalcourt judgesover inmate transfers. Eleven of the Criminal District Court’s12judges were on the bench then, and stand to be called as possible witnesses. Hutson claimed she lacked the money or manpower to resume the practice of bringing the newarrestees to the courthouse for weekend and holiday hearings. Tracey Flemings-Davillier,thenthe court’s chief judge,heldHutson in contempt of courtfollowing a fiery July16, 2025, hearing. Each of the other judges signed off on the contempt order Waldron’sappointment came afternearlyseven weeks of the case shuffling through each section of the trial court for all 12 judges to recuse themselves.
III (Susan); Charles Tomes Magee (Mimi); and Amy Magee Chalstrom (Harry) Two siblings, Maida Magee Riess and Marshall Brian Magee, preceded him in death. Agathering is planned on Jud's birthday, August 28th, to celebrate his life. Please contact family members for more information.
Many Americans are
through
paying dental billsout-of-pocket cancome as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care.
Simplyput —without dental insurance, there may be an important gap in your healthcare coverage.
Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1 That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection,you needto purchase individual insurance.
Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensiveones.
The best way to preventlargedental bills is preventive care.The American Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.
Previous dental work canwear out.
Even if you’vehad qualitydentalwork in the past,you shouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dental problem only go up as youage.2 Treatment is expensive— especiallythe servicespeople over 50 often need.
Consider these national averagecostsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethis canbeareal burden, especially if you’re on afixedincome.
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
China blocks exports of helium, key for chips HONGKONG China on Friday said it is temporarilyblocking theexport of helium, akey element for chipmaking, as the Iran war’sescalation adds to global supply disruptions.
China’scommerce ministry and its customs agency said in abrief statement that they are imposing atemporary export ban on helium, effective immediately,inaccordance with the relevant provisions of the ForeignTrade Law of the People’s Republic of China.
They didnot elaboratefurther on the reasons.
Helium is crucial for semiconductor manufacturing, and is also used in the medical sector such as in the coolingof MRI machines. Since the Iran war began in lateFebruary, global helium supply has been disrupted and prices have gone up substantially Chinaonlyproduces about 15% or less of its own helium, importing much of it from Qatar,which generates roughly one-third of the world’ssupply, according to estimates cited in aresearch note by the consultancy Trivium China.
China is looking to protect itsindustries as globalsupply of helium has become “very tight,” said Gary Ng, asenior economist at the French bank Natixis.
“Such an export control measure is intendedtoprotect the local industry,especiallyasit is critical to chipmaking,”he said. It is imposing the measure likely more to secure supply for local usage than for political reasons, Ng said.
The move comes at atime whenChina is stepping up its self-sufficiency capabilities in chipmaking and artificialintelligence as its technologyrace with the U.S. heats up.
It is notknown when global helium supply will return to normal, said Cameron Johnson, asenior partner at Shanghaibased consultancyTidalwave Solutions.
Kia launches newrecall for 463,000 Tellurides
NEW YORK Kia America has issued anew recall for nearly 463,000 of its Telluride SUVs, urging owners to againpark their vehicles outside and away from buildings afterseveral customers reported fires following previous repairs.
The recall, announced this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, replaces aprior one Kiainitiated in 2024. Certain Tellurides from the 2020-24 model years are affected, with the NHTSA warning that the front power seat motor of these vehicles may overheat due to astuck slide knob. That could result in afire while the car is parkedorbeing driven. And even after Kia rolled out aremedy in 2024, recall documents note several customers filedcomplaints of alleged fires underneath the passenger seat
The automaker investigated other vehicles that had received the prior repair and identified “sporadic dealer workmanship issues” —later deciding to initiate anew recall. Between October 2024 and April 2026, Kia North America’ssafety office identified 18 incidents involving eitherlocalizedseatfires or meltingof the seat motor, per recall documents. No associated injuries or crashes have been reported In astatement, Kia America noted that “an external impact with excessive force” to thevehicles’ frontpowerseat side coverorslide knob could cause their switch to become dislodged or otherwise damaged— resulting in overheating if the motor continuestobe used over time. To prevent this, Kia’snew fix willbefor dealers to install an electronic fuse assembly,free of charge. That remedy will be available in early August, according to an advanced dealer notice published by the NHTSA. And owner notification letters are set to be mailed starting Aug. 13.
EU demands Facebook design changes
BY KELVIN CHAN Associated Press
The EuropeanUnion accused Meta on Friday of breaching its social media lawbydesigning Facebook and Instagram to get users hooked,and demanded it disable “key addictive features” like infinite scrolling.
TheEU’sexecutivearm issueda fresh set of chargesagainst Meta Platforms as part of its investigation under the 27-nation bloc’s strictdigitalrulebookknown as the Digital ServicesAct. The sweeping setofregulations from Brusselsrequirestechplatforms to protect internet users under threat of heftyfines.
The European Commission said Metafailed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental healthof users, including minors. And while the company hastoolsand controls to help manageFacebook and Instagram use,itsaidtheywere easily overridden, dismissed, or technically challenging touse.
Meta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay of videos and infinite scroll so they’renot turnedonbydefault, the commission saidinits preliminaryfindings Meta now hasthe chance to respond and defend itself before the commission issues itsfinaldeci-
sion, which could result in afine worth up to 6% of the company’s global annual revenue.
Meta said Friday that the preliminary findings do not recognize thestepsthat the company has already taken to protect teens.
“Sincethis investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accountsthat automatically protectteensand put parents in control —allowing them to block access to Instagram at night andcap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Meta said in a prepared statement. Europe is committed to enforcing its legislation that holds platforms accountable foraddictive design features, saidHenna Virkkunen, an executive vice-president at the
commissionoverseeing tech. “Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be apriority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen said in astatement.
Facebook andInstagram design features, including personalized recommendationsand push notifications,serve up an endlessstream of content, putting users’ brains on “autopilot” and fueling compulsive use, the commissionsaid. Meanwhile, screen time controls that parents can impose on their teens’ devices can be “easily dismissed” anddon’t result in ameaningful reduction of use, the commission said. And the controls are undermined by the technical expertise,time andeffort that parents need to understand and use them,itsaid.
SK Hynixrises 13%indebut
BY DAMIAN J. TROISE Associated Press
NEWYORK— Shares of SouthKorean memory chipmaker SK Hynixrose13.1% as they made theirdebut on Wall Street,ata time whendemand for chips is surging thanks to the frenzy around artificial intelligence. Thecompanyisalready one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, andisamember of the Kospi index. Even with arecentpullback, the country’s Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled.
SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday. They opened Friday at $170 and closed at $168.49. Theoffering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it thebiggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by aforeign company.AnADR is issuedby abankorbroker and is asimplified way for U.S.investors toown foreign stocks through the U.S.markets.
SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds.There were 48 IPOs raising atotal of $104.8 billion during the second quarter,according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarterfor deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising $75 billion. Many of the companies goingpublic arecapitalizing on thedemandfor all thingsAI.
SK Hynixhas adominant position globally for high bandwidth memory,which is essential for the developmentofadvanced AI technology.The company recently entered apartnership with Wall Street’smostvaluable company,Nvidia, for advanced memory
chips as AI infrastructure expandsglobally Increasing demand for AI has been driving asurge in profitsfor chipmakers. Memorychips have become moreexpensiveas demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology.Technologygiant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs andiPads becauseofthe jumpinprice for memorychips.
The U.S. is SK Hynix’slargest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year.It is planning an expansion that includes build-
ing its first U.S. production facility,located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung andthe governmentinannouncing plans to invest acombined $518 billion in building anew computer chipmaking hub in SouthKorea’ssouthwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoulmetropolitanarea, the country’seconomic center and heart of its semiconductor sector
Wall Street showsit’shungryfor AI winners
BY STAN CHOE Associated Press
NEWYORK U.S.stocks ticked higher Fridayafter Wall Street showed its appetite is still big for winners of the artificial-intelligence boom
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to close out its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 149 points,or0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%. That’s ledtosharprecent
swingsfor AI stocks, which have grown intosome of Wall Street’s mostinfluential because of their huge sizes.
Nvidia was the strongestsingle force lifting the S&P 500 Friday after rising 4%.
Delta Air Lines said it was able to absorbhigher fuel prices from April through June because of strong demand from customers to fly,including awide range of corporate travelers. That helped it report profit andrevenue for the spring that topped analysts’
Appleaccuses ChatGPTmaker OpenAI of stealing tradesecrets
BY KAITLYNHUAMANI and MATT O’BRIEN AP technologywriters
Apple on Fridayaccused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets as it seeks to build its own hardware for ChatGPT,amajor rupture in apartnershipbetween theiPhone maker andthe artificial intelligence company
Apple said in the lawsuit filedin aCaliforniafederal court that the theft of its tradesecrets was part of a“coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutionallevel” by OpenAI.
“This case is about Apple’sformer employees stealing Apple’s trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI,” thefilingsays. “Apple brings this suit to putastop to it.”
Twoformer Apple employees who now work for OpenAI are also named as defendants. OneisTang Tan, whohelpeddesign the iPhone, Apple Watch andiPod andisnow OpenAI’schief hardware officer
Theother is ChangLiu, aformer electrical engineer Apple says it entrusted with someofits most sensitive product development effortsbeforeLiu left Apple to join OpenAI earlier this year OpenAI did notimmediately respond to requestsfor comment.
OpenAIhas never said exactly what type of device it is building but has described it as an effort to find anew way of interacting with AI thatgoesbeyond “traditional products and interfaces.” It’s part of abroader push to create aphysical embodiment of the latest AI
expectations, and it gave aforecasted range forupcoming profit in the summer whosemidpoint was above analysts’ expectations.Delta’sstock fell 1.8%, though, after coming into the day withastrong28.2% rise forthe year so far
Companies across industries will need to produce big growth in profits to justify thebig moves for their stock prices, which are broadly near records.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, CircleInternet Group rose 5%. The
company behind the USDC cryptocurrency,which is supposed to keep the value of $1, said it won U.S. regulatory approval to establish abank. It will operateunder thenameCircleNational Trust, and CEO JeremyAllaire said the move“marks adefining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.”
WD-40’sstock jumped10.6% after reporting muchstronger profit forthe latest quarter than analysts expected.
and
adecadeafter Amazon
Google introduced screen-free talking speakers into homes.
The lawsuit claimsthe effort wasbuilt partly on knowledge sto-
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOBYAHN YOUNG-JOON
Acurrency trader watches monitors near ascreen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung ElectronicsCo. stockprice at the foreign exchange dealingroom of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul,South Korea, on Thursday.
OPINION
ThenextAmerican revolution is already here
Recently,welooked back at the American Revolution Now it’stime to look ahead to the next revolution already taking shape. This new revolution won’t be fought with muskets and cannon, but withcode, models and automated workflows. Sparked by artificial intelligence, it will fuse technology,economics and government policy in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
tance for thedisadvantaged, higher taxes on therich and an array of free or subsidizedsocial services.These proposalswill appeal tothe left, especially newlyenergized DemocraticSocialists. They will also find support amongothers whoare less liberal, but who are losingjobsand careers due to AI.
Ron
Seen by many as mysterious and creepy,AIis imposing new demands on an unprepared government.
It’ssetting off alarms loud enough for both parties to hear AI should lift productivity. It will also bring fear and churn to the job market. It could dislocatemillions of workers, widen the wealth gap and furtherstrain our limping democracy
The size and speed of the AI transformation remain uncertain, but its scale will be revolutionary.Goldman Sachs says two-thirds of occupations could face significant AI exposurewithin adecade.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development finds higher-wage, knowledge workers to be most exposed McKinsey estimates nearly athird of U.S. workhours could be automated. Imagine the ripple effects.
Politicians aren’tdriving this change; technology is.
AI will force government to think and act differently. It will put apremium on competence, efficiency and nimbleness in publicagencies. Americans won’tneed a technical manual to protect themselves, but anew visionfor managing government and safeguarding the economy Many agenciescan’t untangle yesterday’sIT problems, much lessmaster today’ssurging computing power.That’s why we must ask: Does government federal, state and local have the capacity to handle what’scoming?
One challenge cannot be dodged: reform of civilservice,the systemgovernment usestohire, fireand compensate public employees. AI will eliminate the need for hundreds of thousandsof government jobs and create the need for new ones. Civil service must make sweeping changes to job descriptions, recruitmentefforts, training and pay scales to keep up.
AI rewards speed and flexibility; civil service, withits endless paperwork, doesn’t That will put Democrats in apolitical bind; do they support necessary reforms even if they offend their allies in public employee unions?
But Democrats have plenty off-the-shelf remedies to reduce AI’snegative effects: Medicare for All, cash assis-
Economic conservatives needtobeon guard; they have big fightsaheadofthem Voters will demand action,and that usually meansmore spending, taxes andbureaucracy.Democrats will becomfortable in that political environment; Republicans won’t.
So,what will Republicans offer? Economic growth and governmentreform couldbe popularsolutions.But conservatives must spell out exactly how these policies will directly help those in need; if they can’tdothat,Democrats will havethe edge.
Oneidea that may gain traction is “universal basic income” (UBI),which would giveall Americans amonthly check without theneed to perform work. Numerousentrepreneurs, investors andpunditshave floatedvarious formsofUBI to cushion against economic disruptions caused by AI. This includes Elon Musk, who says it will be“necessary” as AI automates work. UBI would appeal to politicianslooking forafast fix. ButUBI would cost a fortune to implement— as much as $4 trillion ayear making it an awfully bigbet.
That’swhy hard questions need to beasked about UBI and other new safety net proposals: Wouldthey changethe nation’swork ethic? Wouldtheyswell the national debt beyond what the economy and currency can stand?What other programscould becut to offset costs?
Expensivesocial welfare proposalswould likely face stiff opposition from the right, but an economic crisis could force Congress to get the ball rollingonone or some of them, even when many members are disinclined to doso. Remember how fiscalconservatives during thepandemicreluctantly voted for pumped-up unemployment benefits and rounds of cash giveaways that sentdeficits and debt into orbit?
They say never waste a crisis, butthey should also ask,how much will it really cost?
Thenext revolution has started. Whether it renews America or hardensits divisions depends on whether we can match the speed of technology with thelight of wisdom.
Ron Faucheuxisanonpartisanpoliticalanalyst,pollster and writer based in Louisiana.
YOUR VIEWS
Pay attentiontostorm surgeprotectionprojects
The Coastal Protection andRestoration Authority is currently stressing storm surge mitigation projects. Timely elevated structures are the only adequate method of accomplishing that goal. A10- to 15-foot storm surge event will cause severe damage to thespan of populated areas only protected by various low landforms.
The CPRA is trying to accomplish effective storm surge protection through the construction of adequate mitigation projects. Can that be achieved within the CPRA guidelines and budget?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can construct the necessary projects to accomplish that goal. They are currently not doing that based on the support of the many Mississippi River crevasses by not adequately clos-
ing them. The saltwater infusion issue will continue to harm the communities of the delta and possibly locationsfurther upriver The destruction of thousands of acres of east bank oyster and associated fisheries continues. The completed Neptune crevasse USACE structure wasnot designed to accomplish storm surge protection. That structure is said to be currently sinking. Timely mitigation by elevated temporary structures constructed utilizing sheet piling effectively solves theissue. The sheet piling can be easily removed at somepoint of that process or remain.Permanent sheet piling structures were constructed in Lafitte andLake Borne postKatrina projects.
KENNETH RAGAS NewOrleans
Hammondoverrides guidelines that made downtown unique
Iwritewith deep disappointmentabout theJune 9Hammond City Council decision to overturn theHistoric District Commission’sdenial of arequest to paint exposed brick and stone at 408410 W. Thomas St. The commission’sdenial followed theHammond Historic District guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior’sStandards for Rehabilitation, which discourage painting historic masonry The commission has applied these standards consistently for 48 years. We were appointed by themayor and confirmed by the council because we possess the training and experience to interpret preservation guidelines and protect downtown Hammond’s historic fabric.
Ourwork contributed to the district’s national recognition in 2022 with aGreat American Main Street Award. The commission has been acornerstone of downtown’s resurgence: Vacancies are under 5% and many properties have been responsibly rehabilitated using historic tax credits and established guidelines. Visitors, residents, businesses and film productions are drawn to downtown’sunique sense of place.
When councilmember Carlee Gonzales seconded council member Steve Leon’s motion to override thedenialfor Christopher Edwards, she remarked that the commission gives little consideration to economic development. That is incorrect. Since 1978, thecommission’spreservation standards have been grounded in economic development. Those standards are whydowntown is attractive, why investments worth millions align with them, and why altering historic features, such as painting masonry, would degrade materials and harm thecharacter that sustains commerce.
The council’sreversal disregards decades of policy and expert review andsubstitutes politics for preservation principles. Irespectfully request that Mayor Pete Panepinto veto this action.
If Hammond is serious about preserving downtown’scharacter and economic vitality,the council should respect thecommission’s role, consult the guidelines and base decisions on informed review rather than expedience. MICHAEL HOLLY commissioner Hammond Historic District Hammond
Endsaleof flavored tobaccoto protectLa. minors
In May,the Food and Drug Administration announced that it authorized four flavored e-cigarette products, including mango and blueberry flavors. This marks the first timethe FDAhas authorized a flavored e-cigarette product (other than menthol and tobacco flavors) and it’svery concerning forthe health of our kids.
After years of recognizing the dangers flavored e-cigarettes pose to youth, it is deeply troubling to see the FDAignore the scientific evidence and reverse course. According to the FDA’s own report, youth often start vaping because of flavored products, including fruit flavors. One in 10 middle school students and 1in5high school students in Louisiana currently use a tobacco product. More than 70% of youth initiate tobacco use by vaping. Proven policies like comprehensive flavored tobacco laws, high tobacco taxes, strong smokefree laws and public education campaigns work. We have done atremendous job in reducing smoking over the last 50 years and even saw a70% decrease in youth e-cigarette use from 2019 to 2024. But we cannot go backward.
With the FDAfailing to protect our kids from tobacco use, Louisiana lawmakers must take action to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products to protect the health and safety of our youngest residents.
ERICWEINZETTLE director of advocacy, American Lung Association
Comparing Confederates to Nazis beyond
thepale
As the descendant of three generations of NewOrleanians who served in the Armyofthe Tennessee —one of whom wasaprisoner of war at Meridian, Itake great exception to Michael Burnside’scomparison of Confederate soldiers to Nazi soldiers. Notonly is it historically inaccurate, it is also an ethnic slur on people whoemigrated from Ireland to NewOrleans in 1832 and becamerespectable businessmen. They served on the Confederate side because that wastheir home and their livelihood. And by the way, they never owned any slaves. BILL HUEY Baton Rouge
Faucheux
ROOM
MLB’s proposed changescould transform collegeball
Owners suggesteliminating high school playersfromdraft
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
If Major League Baseball goes into alockout, the ramifications would be obvious. Players would be outofwork. Team employees would likely be furloughed or,even worse, laid off. And fans wouldn’tbeable to enjoy the sport that they love. But the consequences of awork stoppage in MLB wouldn’tend there. Alockout and the effects of anew collective bargaining agreement—the current one expires in December —would also strike at the heart of how LSU baseball fills out its roster every year
That’sbecause this year’sMLB Draft couldbethe final oneunder itscurrentset of rules. “I thinkprobably thebiggest thingisit’s just abunchofquestionmarks foreverybody,” one MLB scout said. “I think at the end of the day,the samething that always kind of rings true is that theownersdon’t want to spend as much money,and the owners want amore efficient way for talent to get to MLB.”
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
Jay Johnson’sjob this summer was never going to be easy
LSU neededtoreplace itsstartingoutfield. It had to revitalize an infielddefense that struggled throughout2026, and changes were needed to apitchingstaff that finished last in the Southeastern Conference in ERA.
But, for the most part, thosequestions LSU entered the summer with have been answered. It’swhy Johnson headsintothisweekend’sMLB Draft —which begins on Saturday at noon with rounds 1-4and continues on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. with rounds 5-20 —feeling good about this offseason and where his team stands heading into next year
“Weretained just about everybody we wanted to retain,” Johnsonsaid. “And then with the portal, we’re excited about what we’ve added. And we’vegot athird layer of this with thedraftand the highschoolrecruits, and we’rejust kind oftrying to get prepared for alot of different scenarios with that.”
ä MLB Draft Rounds 1-4
NOON SATURDAY,MLB NETWORK, NBC
third round for teams to pay guys $2 millionormore. And we have anumberofguysthatI think arecapable of commanding that bonus.”
Last month, in the early stages of negotiationswiththe MLBplayersunion,owners laid outa varietyofproposedchanges to theMLB Draftand amateurdevelopment system. Theproposalincluded eliminating high school players from thedraft, forcing those players to stay in college foratleast twoyears, shrinkingthe draftto12rounds and slashing signing bonuses in half Forcontext, clubs have over $358 million to spend on players during this weekend’s MLBDraft, andhigh school players have been eligible forthe draft sinceitbegan in 1965. Changing the latter custom would not only addmore talenttothe college game but it would also save money for major league owners. “I think MajorLeague Baseball appreciates thefact that it has avery strongpipeline coming from college baseball,” ESPN MLBinsiderJeffPassantoldThe Advocate months before theowners’latest proposal. “A lot of
With only 17 signees, LSUlost eight players to thedraft last summer.
“It’sreally hard to forecast because Ithink we have maybe only onethat’s going to go in thefirst round (this year),but there’sa huge ‘but’ behind this:There’sgoing to be (more than) $350 million given away to players in this draft,” Johnson said.“So that’sa lotofwiggleroom when you talk about the second and
LSU has 22 high school signees whocould be swooped up by MLB teams in thecoming days. Johnson expects about14ofthem to make it to campus, but afteradding eight players from the transfer portal and bringing back numerous key pieces on both sides of the ball, LSU won’t have to rely on apositiveoutcome at the MLB Draft to finish off the lineup or startingrotation.
Rebuilding thelineup
LSUbrought back four of itsfive best hittersbythe end of last year, including OmarSerna, CadeArrambide, MasonBraun andSteven Milam. Convincing Milam, who was draft-eligible,toreturnwas arguably the best news Johnsongot all summer
Milamcaught Johnsonoff guard when he told him he’d be returning
LSUcoach JayJohnson walksout of the dugout before agameagainst OklahomaonMarch21atAlex BoxStadium.
JOHNSON
MPF
akDjokovic didn’tdwell on after getting dominated by annik Sinner in theWimbledon semifinals.
The39-year-old Djokovic enjoyed awarm, smilefilled embrace with his -year-old opponent at the e 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat Friday, up his tennis bags and then oisterous crowdasheheld chest to show hisappreciaaedoff.
Will the seven-time Wimbledon champion ever be back to play on these hallowed lawns again?
Onlytime —something that Djokovic is running out of —will tell.
It’sbeen nearly three years since Djokovic won his record-extending 24th Grand Slam singles title at the2023 U.S. Open. And despite reachingthe semifinals at all four Grand Slamslast year and reaching afinal and another semi in two of three Slamsthis year —heacknowledges that’snot enough.
“For 99% of the players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result,” Djokovic said. “For me, it’s good but not good enough, because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of ahighest degree in terms of resultsand achievements.
“I always have the highest expectations for myself,” Djokovic added. “So it’skind of
AP FILEPHOTO
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor
n swings at apitch during aspring training game on Feb.22. Under MLB’sproposed changes, LSUwouldhavehigh school players on itsroster fortwo years.
that internal battle really of what I’ve been through forthe 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be alittle morehumble in that sense.”
Still, Djokovic expressed interest in playing Wimbledon when he’s40: “I would like to, at least one moretime,” he said.
“I feel when I’m healthy,”Djokovic added, “I’m still able to play as atop-five player, still able to compete at the highest level.” For Sinner,itwas ameasure of revenge afterDjokovic wontheir last meeting in five sets in this year’sAustralianOpensemifinals.
“Playing against Novak,” Sinner said, “what he’sstill showing is true inspiration.” Aiming to defend histitle at thegrasscourt Grand Slam, the top-ranked Sinner
See
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL
ä See MLB, page 3C
ä See LSU, page 3C
Jannik Sinner AP PHOTO
2:30
5
McIlroy shares lead at Scottish Open
Scheffler misses cut for first time in nearly four years
BY DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland Rory
McIlroy took advantage of the scoring holes in windy conditions Friday and posted a 4-under 66 for a three-way share of the lead in a Scottish Open that no longer has Scottie Scheffler.
As comfortable as McIlroy looked, Scheffler struggled from the start and wound up with a 72 to miss the 36-hole cut for the first time in nearly four years. He had made 78 cuts in a row, the longest streak since Tiger Woods set the record (142) more than 20 years ago.
“Got off to a poor start and after that, I didn’t really it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks,” Scheffler said. “That’s how you shoot over par.”
Jordan Smith of England had the low score of the tournament with a 63 and was the first to post at 9-under 131, joined by the resurgent Tom Kim (66) and McIlroy, who has not won since going backto-back in the Masters in April.
“It would have been nice to be a couple better,” McIlroy said “But it’s obviously another good day and in good position.”
But the most surprising development at The Renaissance Club was Scheffler Instead of heading to the range after his round, he was making plans to head south earlier than he imagined for his title defense in the British Open at Royal Birkdale He had not missed the cut since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Scheffler had company that was equally surprising. Patrick Cantlay and Bernd Wiesberger became the first players since Jordan Spieth at the 2023 Sony Open to share the 18-hole lead and then miss the cut. Cantlay shot a 74, while Wiesberger shot 43 on the back nine for a 78.
Brooks Koepka, who was one shot off the lead going into Friday, also missed the cut.
McIlroy, who won the Scottish Open three years ago, found a new wedge to help him with firm turf at Renaissance and next week at Birkdale. He still faces a busy leaderboard going into the weekend
Smith ran off four straight birdies early on the back nine, all of them inside 10 feet. Kim, who tied for third in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, holed a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seven and finished with two birdies on his last five holes.
Kim fell out of the top 100 in the world before steadily climbing back up. The U.S. Open was a big step, and it eventually got him into the British Open next week.
“I think being under the radar was kind of nice, just be able to work on my game and keep get-
ting better,” Kim said. “Not being in the spotlight all the time, you don’t see everything, you don’t see all the good stuff. I knew I was really, really close And I’m still working towards trying to be the best I can be But all those little things kind of kept adding, kept adding, and I think it’s shown the last couple weeks.”
Matt Fitzpatrick had a 65 and was one shot out of the lead along with Min Woo Lee. The group at 133 included defending champion Chris Gotterup and Scotland’s own Robert MacIntyre who thrilled the gallery in the arena around the par-3 15th with a 30foot birdie putt. The cheer was so loud he raised his putter to salute them.
Gotterup, who played alongside McIlroy and MacIntyre, was one shot out of the lead playing the 18th when he drove right into high, wispy grass. With the wind
at his back, his iron bounced hard and rolled close to 100 yards, onto and through the green and against a television tower
He chipped beautifully from the drop area, but failed to convert the par Even so, he was only two back going for his fourth win of the year Gotterup is coming off a victory last week in the John Deere Classic. The British Open is offering three spots to the leading finishers not already qualified. Among those in position at the halfway point was Nicolai Von Dellingshausen of Germany, at No. 258 in the world who won his first European tour event last year in the Austrian Open.
“Honestly I was nervous,” he said. “This is the best player field I’ve played during the year There are a couple good names out there. Trying not to look too much into it and playing my own game.”
Dodgers’ Ohtani to miss All-Star Game due to knee Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will have his left knee drained on Sunday to relieve continued irritation, and the procedure will force him to miss next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
Ohtani will have fluid removed from his left knee following a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he will continue to start at designated hitter Ohtani had been scheduled to pitch on Friday night, but the Dodgers instead decided to make it a bullpen game to avoid further aggravating the ongoing discomfort in his left knee.
Ohtani has been dealing with discomfort in his left knee for at least a month. The right-hander had an outing cut short against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 11 because of inflammation in the knee.
Cardinals, Wetherholt agree to $112.5M deal
The St. Louis Cardinals and JJ Wetherholt have agreed to an eightyear, $112.5 million contract that starts next season and buys out the rookie second baseman’s first several years of potential free agency St. Louis selected Wetherholt seventh overall out of West Virginia in the 2024 amateur draft and he rocketed through their farm system. The 23-year-old made his major league debut on opening day and was hitting .267 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs and nine stolen bases going into Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Advanced metrics also have graded Wetherholt as one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball this season. He is earning the major league minimum $780,000 this year
Wembanyama’s extension with Spurs may top $250M
Victor Wembanyama has signed what will be the richest contract in San Antonio Spurs history, a fiveyear extension that could exceed $250 million if the player option in the final season is picked up, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Friday
The Spurs, who went to the NBA Finals this past season behind the All-NBA center and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, announced that Wembanyama had signed, simply saying the sides agreed on “a multi-year contract extension.”
The agreement comes at a discount; Wembanyama could have agreed to a deal that topped $300 million but chose a lesser amount to help give the Spurs flexibility going forward with their young core, the person said.
Top-ranked
Korda misses cut; Woad takes Evian lead
EVIAN-LES-BAINS France Topranked Nelly Korda’s bid for a third straight major and fifth overall ended early when she missed the cut after the second round of the Evian Championship on Friday As Korda scrapped to stay in the tournament, English golfer Lottie Woad carded a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead from overnight leader Aki Iwai of Japan.
will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
Zverev ended the “Ferytale” run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory earlier as the starstudded crowd on Centre Court witnessed two one-way contests.
Zverev will be playing for another major trophy a month after winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
If there were any lingering questions over Sinner’s physical status after his meltdown at the French Open, they should be answered now Sinner blasted his way past Djokovic and showed off the kind of dominance he displayed before that second-round defeat in Paris.
“I knew mentally,” Sinner said, “that today I had to raise my level, which I’ve done.” Andre Agassi attributed Sinner’s performance in part to Djokovic: “What these guys can do now is all because he has shown them what’s possible,” Agassi said on the BBC. No heat issues for Sinner It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature
rising to about 85 degrees. It was also breezy, though, and a bit cloudier than in recent days. Still, it felt nothing like the suffocating heat and humidity in Paris when Sinner wasted a big lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56, and had his 30-match winning streak ended.
Djokovic was coming off the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history when he outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime after 5 hours, 15 minutes on Tuesday Sinner, by contrast, hadn’t lost a set since he was pushed to five by Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.
From the start, Sinner pushed Djokovic back with his powerful groundstrokes and came up with big serves in big moments. When Sinner faced his only break point of the match early in the third set as late-afternoon shadows started creeping across the court, he produced an ace.
Sinner undefeated vs. Zverev Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.
Sinner has won his last nine meetingswithZverevand14straightsets
“I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that’s what I’m going to do,” Zverev said before he knew who his opponent would be.
The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001. Zverev did well not to let the proFery crowd get behind the local player too much, and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev in control.
Korda had a poor opening round of 74 on Thursday and, although she improved with 69 on Friday, her 1-over total left her tied for 67th and she missed the cut by one stroke. She last missed a cut at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship. Woad’s round featured eight birdies and a bogey and put her on 11 under overall at the midway point of the fourth of the five women’s majors this year
Percy shoots 66 at rainy Firestone to take lead AKRON, Ohio Cameron Percy shot a 4-under 66 on Friday at rainy Firestone Country Club to take a one-stroke lead in the Kaulig Companies Championship, the fourth of the five major tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions.
Percy had a 7-under 133 total. The 52-year-old Australian is winless on the senior tour “You can’t fake it around here. You’ve got to hit it solid,” Percy said. “The par 3s are hard, everything’s
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY BRIAN INGANGA
Jannik Sinner serves to Novak Djokovic in their singles semifinal match on Friday at Wimbledon in London.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY MALCOLM MACKENZIE
Rory McIlroy plays on the 14th fairway during the first round of the Scottish Open on Thursday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland McIlroy had a share of the lead after two rounds.
Cholowsky, Emersontop prospectsfor WhiteSox
BY DANGELSTON AP sportswriter
PHILADELPHIA The Chicago White Sox are done playing for first
In the standings? Of course not. Led by All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas, the White Sox have emerged as one of the top surprises and are in AL Centralcontention after enduring three straight 100-loss seasons. In the MLB draft? TheWhite Sox have the No.1pick in the draft for Saturday’sevent in Philadelphia as part of All-Star Game weekend festivities.
The No. 1pick belongs to Chicago —after it lost 102 games last seasonand wonthe draft lottery— and perhaps afuture starthatcan help the White Sox win their first World Series title since 2005 will get selected in the top spot.
There are no clear-cut No.1 picks in this year’sdraftmuch like current Philadelphia Phillies slugger and2026 All-Star Bryce Harper was in 2010
The White Sox willlikely pick one from the following threeplayers: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson or Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey
MLB saidFriday no amateur players are scheduled to attend the draft, which is the same as last year Here’salook at the mostenticing prospects for the White Sox and the rest of the teams drafting early in the first round.
n Cholowsky.A6-foot-2 righthanded hitter,hewas aGolden Spikes finalist at UCLA and hada 1.088 OPS with 21 homersand 60 RBIs in his junior season
n Lackey.The 21-year-old catcher didn’treceive any Division Ioffers until his senior year of high school and has since blossomed
MLB
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the baseball education that’sdone these dayshappens at thecollege level, and MLB teams essentially don’thave to pay for it.
“So farming out labor sounds good. Baseball organizations will sign up for that eight days a week.”
It’sunlikely that all ofMLB’s proposals will be implemented
The MLB players union hasalready decried the plans in astatement,sayingthat “MLB made another set of proposals that are flatout badfor baseball,ones that would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game.”
Before MLB’slatest proposal,
LSU
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to LSU for his senior season.The possibility of him coming back was brought to JohnsoninApril, but LSU’scoach didn’tbelieve it because he thought MLB would prioritize Milam as aslick-fielding shortstop who was coming offhis best season at the plate against SEC competition.
“I’m probably his biggest fan as a player.I think(he has) tremendous value for aMajor League Baseball team,” Johnson said. “He went out and did his research about where he felt he would be anddecided that he wanted to come back “I think that’sthe cool side of this. This is more about (the fact that) he wasn’tready to leave yet.I think that’spretty awesome.”
With Milam, Braun, Arrambide and Serna providing LSU astrong core for the lineup,Johnsonwas aggressive in the transferportal to supplement what he already had LSU added outfieldersAngel Laya (Oregon), Jason Wachs (Tulane) and Bino Watters (Notre Dame) to replace its starting outfield from the past two seasons. Laya, Wachs and Watters were all in the top-60 of ESPN’sportal rankings.
Theonly question surrounding the trio is who plays center field Laya, Wachs and Watters were primarily corner outfielders at their past stops.
“I think they all are goodoutfielders,” Johnson said. “I need to, frankly,see more beforeI would comment on that, but we’ll probably play them all in center at some point during the fall and go from there.
“I think Jasoncoulddoit. Ithink Angel can do it, and Bino’sagood runner.Imean, he has like six or seven stolen basesupinthe (Cape Cod Baseball League).”
On the infield, the Tigers also brought in Texas State shortstop Dawson Park and Floridasecond baseman Cade Kurland.Park is expected to shift to third base
UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky reacts after hitting ahomerun during agameagainst TexasChristian on Feb.20inLos Angeles. Cholowsky is one of several prospects for be selected at No.1 in the MLB Draft.
into one of the top catchingprospects in the draftout of Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder showed some versatility by also playing third base. n Emerson. Just 18 years old, the 6-3, 185-pound shortstop bats left, throws right and is widely considered thebestall-aroundplayerin thedraft.
TheWhiteSox areinwin-now mode after years ofrebuilding and couldleantowarda college player such as Cholowsky.Cholowsky is a provenprospectwith plentyofseasoning at amajor college program
two scouts had speculated in interviews with The Advocate that MLBwas intentonremoving high school players fromthe draft. Last month’soffer from theowners only confirmed their suspicions.
“MLB wants to have areally good working relationshipwith thecollegeteams,” one scout said.
“Owners want more assurance with drafting college players. Just look at the amount of money that’s spentonhighschoolplayers. The dataisjustnot very good. It’sa lot of wasted money.”
If MLB’sproposalshad been in place over thepastfew seasons, LSU would have had thelikes of Konnor Griffin, Justin Crawford and Robby Snelling wearing the purpleand gold for two years.
All three players were LSU signeeswho were drafted out of high school, became top prospects and
andcould help the White Soxfaster, even maybe this season —except for the pitchers they maydraft.
“Most of theguys we take, even if they played in college versus ahigh school pick, theyhaven’t thrown competitively in awhile,” WhiteSox director of player development Paul Janish said. “You have thedraft in July,the minorleague seasonisoverinearly September.There’s notahuge window.You take all those things in consideration, really the motive is health. We’regoing to get you as readyasyou can be for next spring
have since debuted in themajor leagues Having players of Griffin’scaliber on LSU’sroster would transform not just theTigers, but every program in college baseball. There’dbeasignificant trickledown effect that would raise the level of talent at mid-major schools and junior college programs.
That’s, in part, because not every top signee is ready tocontribute in aleague suchasthe Southeastern Conference right away
“In theSEC, there’ssomuch pressuretowin right now,” ascout said. “You go through the starting lineups; it’s almostananomaly now when you see afreshman playing every day.”
Ultimately,high school players may not get boxed out of the draft Passan didn’tbelieve that would be the caseinhis conversation
with Milam returning to shortstop —and Kurland will likely play second baseafterstarting there for fouryears at Florida.
Park is coming off abig season, hitting13home runs and posting a .962 on-base plus slugging percentage last year at Texas State. But hiscampaignwas cut short in early May after he gotintoanon-field altercation with ateammate and left the program for theremainder of theseason theday after “Relative to the situation, Idid what Ineeded to do to findout everythingaboutthat,”Johnsonsaid.“And I’mcomfortablewithit,andfeelvery good about Dawson. And Ihavezero concerns about him fitting intoour team andadding to our team.”
Pitching stafftakingshape
LSUwas aggressive in the portal in addinghitters, but the same wasn’t true for the Tigers’ portal strategy with pitchers. They were more timidinthe market, only adding three arms, none of whom
are left-handed. That,inpart,was because the market for pitchers wasn’t strong in Johnson’seyes. LSU aggressively pursued only one left-handed pitcher in theportal, he said, and Gonzaga right-hander Landon Hood —one of the Tigers’ three pitching additions —was among thefew pitcherswith the profile they were seeking.
“Early on, as we wereevaluating what was in the portal, Ididn’t think there would be manyguys like him entering,” Johnson said about Hood. “And we were right about that.”
Johnson’sexcitement about Hood, therefore, can’tbeunderstated. The rising sophomore was theWest Coast Conference Freshman of the Year after posting a2.48 ERA in 541/3 innings. He struckout 78 batters while only walking21.
“He’sa really good pitcher and areally good competitor,” Johnson said. Along withHood,LSU also add-
theperception of the Phillies from long-time losers to championship contenders whenheleft Cleveland andsigneda six-year,$85 million contract ahead of the 2003 season. Thome hit 47 homers in his first season, his 400th career homer the next in Citizens Bank Park’sfirst season andnowcanenjoyanothermilestone in the city —his 18-year-old son, Landon, is alikely first-round pick.
The Nazareth Academy(Illinois) infielder,who is committed to Florida State, is ranked among the top 50 prospects.
“Allthe hard work, which at the end of the day,they do it all. As adad, you sit back, you watch the journey,” the elder Thome told MLB Network. There aremorefamiliar names thatcould be calledduring the draft. Rutgers outfielder Peyton Bonds is MLB’scareer home run leader Barry Bonds’ nephew.Houston first baseman Carsten Sabathia III is the son of Hall of Famepitcher CC Sabathia.Gulliver Prep (Florida)shortstop Jacob Lombard is considered one of the top five available prospects andisthe son of Detroit Tigers bench coach and formermajorleaguer George Lombard.
Cooperstowncalls
training to have agood first full pro season.”
Thedraft order
Here’sthe rest of the top 10 following Chicago forthe start of the draft Saturday Tampa Baypicks secondand Minnesota is third.San Francisco is fourth and Pittsburgh fifth. KansasCity,Baltimore, theAthletics, Atlanta and Colorado round outthe top10.
Like father,like son JimThome helped changed
with The AdvocatebeforeMLB’s latest proposal, and the MLB players union has already taken ahard stance on theissue.
But even if high school players are still allowed to be selected under the next CBA, other changes could arise. The draft could be shortened further,the bonus pools for players may shrink or the ability for teams to sign players to over-orunder-slot deals could be eliminated.
Whatever happens, the owners seem intentonmaking sweeping changes, notjust withthe draft but with the entire sport —the introduction of asalary cap being the most notable proposal.
The owners are so motivated to makechanges that onescout told TheAdvocate he expects there to be alockout that would last through all of next year,which
ed right-handers Diego Velazquez (SouthernCal) and Kaden Smith (South Florida). Velazquez, atwo-wayplayer,is another rising sophomore who was atop recruit from California in the 2025 class, postinga4.26ERA on the mound as afreshman and playing 26 games as aposition player Johnson wouldn’t close the door on his future as ahitter,but he views Velazquezasapitcher first moving forward.
“The focus is pitching,” Johnson said. “He’sgoing to be an excellent draft pick outofhereintwo yearsas apitcher.I thinkhe’sgoodenoughto be aposition player forus. We may investigate that, but Ithink he’sgot theability to be asignificantcontributor to the pitching staff.”
Smithwas alater addition to LSU’sportal class. He posted a4.24 ERA over 462/3 innings, working as both astarter anda relieverfor theBulls aftertransferring from TCU, where he spenthis freshman year.Johnson believes he is good enough to get outs in the SEC. With Casan Evans, Cooper Moore andWilliam Schmidt already set to return, LSU didn’tneed to remake thetop of its staff. Hood hasa chancetocrack thatrotation, and Velazquezand Smith could contribute as important relievers, but therest of the staff will likely be madeupoffreshmen and returning arms LSUisset to bringback righthanders Zion Theophilus and Reagan Rickenand left-handers DannyLachenmayer,Jonah Aase, EthanPlogand Cooper Williams.
The Tigers also have one junior college commit (right-hander Major Osbolt) and 11 high school signees they could add depending on the outcome of the MLB Draft. One of those signees, left-hander Braxton Beaty,has alreadywithdrawn his namefrom the draft.
“There are afew targeted playersthatwefeelwillhelpusget to another level next year,” Johnson said. “And, obviously,for the long-term success of the program Ithink getting someofthis young
Since the draftbegan in 1965, morethan 50 Hall of Famers have been selected by theteam that eventually signed them.The Hall of Fame class of 2026 features two former draft picks: Jeff Kent was taken in the 20thround in 1989 by theToronto Blue Jays; andCarlos Beltrán was asecond-round pick by theRoyalsin1995. The1989 draft has now produced five future Hall of Famers, the mostof anysingledraftinhistory,with Frank Thomas,JeffBagwell,Trevor Hoffman, Jim Thomeand Kent having been selected.
would mean there would be no MLB games in 2027. And nobody wholoves the game would wantthat scenario.
“Ownershipisinsuch adifferentposition than it waswhen we were coming offofCOVID that I think they’re going to draw ahuge line in the sand: ‘Hey,we’regoing to stick to this, and we wanta(salary) cap,’ ”the scout said. “And I think theplayers havejustfought it forsolongthatIdon’t seethem going downwithout afight as well.
“Both sidesjust seem to be so dug in right now that it’s hard for me to see apath to them playing in 2027.”
Email Koki Rileyatkoki.riley@ theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates,signupfor our newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter
pitching talent through will be important.”
Howthe freshman classfits in LSU’s freshman class enters this year’s draft as the No.2class in the nation, according to Perfect Game.
Butask Johnson which signees makeitthrough the draft, and he can’tpretend to give astraight answer
“All I’mdoing right nowis (thinking about) what’sgoing to happen with the draftthis week, Johnson said. “Like it’s1000% my focus. Having conversationswith players andtheir advisers, and those types of things.
“We’llsee. Iwish Icould be abetterprognosticator of howit’sgoing to go, but nobody really gives anybody astraight answer in regards to these things.”
It’shardtodeny the impact some of LSU’stop signees could make if they made it to school. Dominic Santarelli has one of the most powerful highschool bats in the draft. Malachi Washington is a power-hitting centerfielder with top-tier athleticism. Will Adamsis afirst baseman who’d be ready to contribute as ahitter on Day 1.
But if none of themmakeitto school, Johnson has madesure to cover his potential losses with top hitters in the transfer portal, such as Laya, Watters and Park.
LSU may be more reliant on its tophigh school signees to make it through the draft on the pitching side —including left-handerLucas Nawrocki and right-hander Cooper Sides —but Johnson still has most of histop arms returning and has added three morefrom the portal. According to Johnson, LSU landed eight of the 10 players it coveted in the portal. “I think, forthe mostpart, we met the needs for this team that were maybe lacking with some of the returning players in the portal,” Johnson said, “probably about as good as you can.”
Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate.com.
FILEPHOTO BY MICHAEL BACIGALUPI
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO BY KYUSUNGGONG
WORLDCUP 2026
Merino starsagain as Spainedges Belgium
BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter
INGLEWOOD,Calif. Mikel Merino
scored in the 88th minute on arebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper SenneLammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a2-1 victoryon Friday Merino was the late hero for the secondstraight match for Spain, which will face tournament favorite Franceinthe semifinals on Tuesday in the Dallas area.
“It will be aclash of giants,” Spain coachLuis De La Fuente saidthrough atranslator
Merino came on in the 86thminute and scored on his secondtouch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled arebound of Pau Cubarsí’s long shot.
The Arsenal forward also scored as asubstitute early in injurytime to secure Spain’s1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of 16. This second clutch goal against anupset-minded Belgium sent La Roja to the semifinals for the first time since they won the World Cup in 2010.
eluLukaku leading the effort, but AymericLaporte acrobatically volleyed the best chance out of the box in thesecond minute of injury time.
Fabián Ruiz scored in the 30th minute for Spain, but Belgium forward CharlesDeKetelaere notched the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the41st minute. Spain remained unbeaten since March 2023 in astreakof37 matches,while Belgium’s streak of 18 straight unbeaten matches ended.
QUARTERFINAL Thursday’s game France2,Morocco 0 Friday’s game Spain2,Belgium1 Saturday’s games Norway vs.England, 4p.m. Argentina vs.Switzerland, 8p.m. SEMIFINAL Tuesday Francevs. Spain, 2p.m. Wednesday TBD,2p.m. 3RD PLACE PLAYOFF July18 TBD, 4p.m.
FINAL July19 TBD, 2p.m
“I’ve done thisagain, andit’s happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists,” asmiling Merino said. “If you’re readyand youtry,itcan happen for you. I’m very,very pleased.”
It’s Englandvs. Norway in thequarterfinals, with alleyeson Haaland
BY TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriter
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla Everyone knows that England’smasterplan coming intothe World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday will revolve around stopping Norway striker Erling Haaland.
As they would say in Norway, “Lykke til.” Translated: Good luck.
“Has anyone ever stopped Erling Haaland?” England midfielder Morgan Rogers asked, probably only somewhat rhetorically.“I’m not sure they have, but we’re going to try.You’re going to have to try.” Stopping Haaland —who has seven goalsinthis year’s World Cup, one behind France’sKylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the most at the tournament —will be the primary subplot of the Norway-England match at Hard Rock Stadium.
Among theothers: Haaland versus England’sHarry Kane in a striker showdown, aNorway team with no pressure versus an England team with enormous expectations, even British Airways versus Norwegian Air in asocial media chirping battle. At stake for the teams is aberth in Wednesday’s semifinals, with the winner to face either Argentina or Switzerland.
“I think it’sNorway vs. England,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said Friday,afterhis teamwentthrough itsfinalwalk-throughbeforeperhaps thebiggest matchinthe nation’ssoccer history.“But Idon’t think it’s asecret that Kane is matchleader No. 1for England andHaaland is match-leader No. 1for us.” Indeed, there are twoelite strikers in this game—not justone. England coach Thomas Tuchel raved aboutKane on Friday, and rightly so. Kane has six goals so far in this year’sWorld Cup.
“He’sinthe shape of hislife and in the highest peak of his career,” Tuchel said.
When Haaland —who stands nearly 6-foot-5 —gets the ball in his preferred spots, opponents realizethatstopping himisalmost out of the question. He’stoo big, too strong, too skilled, and the ball is almost certainly going to find its way into the back of the net.
England’sNico O’Reilly—Haaland’steammate at Manchester City —has seen it happen time and again. And if there is asolution to the Haaland problem, O’Reilly might have the closest possible thing to an answer His plan: Don’tlet the ball get
to him.
“Weall knowwhathe’slike,” O’Reillysaid. “He can score goals,he’sdangerous in thebox, he’s areal threat. They need to gethim theballthere first.”
Haaland —who didn’tplay for Norway in its loss to France in the group stage —has gotten his goals in bunchesinthis tournament.Against Iraq, his two goals came 14 minutes apart. Against Senegal, his two goals were 10 minutes apart. AgainstBrazil, his two goalswere 11 minutes apart.
He was born in England; his fatherwas playing for Leeds at that time. AndHaaland certainly sees thesignificance.
“It’saspecialgame, definitely,” Haalandsaid. “I think, for me, it’ssuper special because Iplay in England and I’m borninEnglandand I’llbeplaying against (Manchester City)teammates andeverything.”
It’snot just Haaland in that friends-turned-foes spot.There are nine players for Norway who play for clubsinEngland, so there will obviously be familiarity between thesides on Saturday
“Everything is on the line,” O’Reilly said. “Everything is at stake.”
Both teamsridinghigh
The teams got to Saturday’s match in dramaticfashions, with Norway holding off perennialpower and five-time World Cup champion Brazil 2-1 and England going into Mexico City and stunning previously unbeaten —and unscoredupon— co-hostMexico 3-2.
Both sides have acknowledged that coming down from thehigh of such wins took alittle extra time.
“Wediscussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of theMexico game behind us,” England forward Bukayo Saka said.
“Now we needtofocus on Norway, which is goingtobeanothertough challenge, adifferent challenge, and we’re fully focused.”
Theymight be close to fully loaded, too.
Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Reece James, allsidelined in recent days,trained Friday and Tuchelsaid he anticipates having a“full choice” awaiting him when the lineup for Saturday gets decided. England will be without defenderJarell Quansah as he begins serving histwo-match suspension that was handed down after hegot red-carded against Mexico in the round of 16.
Only Germany’sManuelNeuer has played more WorldCup matches than Courtois,while Lammens hadnot yetplayed at this year’s World Cup.
Belgiumdesperatelypressed for an equalizer in thefinal minutes withsubstituteforward Rom-
Lammens, thecapable Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minuteafter longtimeBelgium keeper Thibaut Courtoisleft withanapparent thighinjury Courtois madefour saves, but the Real Madrid keeper went down to the grass four minutes before hissubstitution.Hereceived treatment during the hydrationbreak, but he left the match in tears.
After acautiousstart fromboth teams in the WorldCup’ssecond quarterfinal match, Spain broke through when Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro moved the the ball down theright side andgot it to Dani Olmo, whoseshotwas stoppedbyCourtois. Therebound wentstraight to Ruiz, who hammeredhomehis firstgoalofthe tournament. Ruiz was making his first start since Spain’sWorld Cup opener, replacingPedri in thelineupina mildly surprising tactical decision by De La Fuente —whose later substitute decisions paid off even more.
Spaindidn’tallow agoal in its first five matchesatthisyear’s tournament, and goalkeeper Unai Simón hadn’tconceded in aWorld Cup-record 650 minutes dating to Qatar.The streaks
abruptly ended when De Ketelaere muscled past Cubarsí and headed home across fromTimothyCastagnefor Belgium’stying goal.
Belgium hadn’tgenerated anything close to astrong scoring chance before the latest big moment for De Ketelaere, the Atalanta forward who scored twogoals in Belgium’s 4-1 rout of the co-host U.S. on Monday Belgiumcaptain YouriTielemans wasremovedfromthe starting lineup after getting injured during warmups. He joined injured defender Amadou Onana on thesidelines, although Kevin De Bruyne returned for Belgium andstarted thematch.
KANSAS CITY,Mo. On one side of the field will be Argentina, the defending WorldCup champions, boasting aroster that features thelikes of Lautaro Martinez, Julián Alvarez and, of course, Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of his generation. On theother side, Switzerland. Yes, the finalquarterfinal match Saturday night could hardly seem abigger mismatch. Argentina hasthe glitzand the glamor,tosay nothing of the starsand thetrophies, whilethe Swiss have never even reached the World Cupsemifinals; in fact, they haven’tbeen to thequarterfinals since1954, when theylost to Austria in atournament they hosted.
Butanythingcan happen on the field as Argentina and the rest of the world learned when the three-time championsstruggled to beat Cape Verde, and whenLaAlbicelestehad to rally from a2-0 deficit in thefinal 11 minutes to beat Egypt on Tuesday.And that hasgiven hope to aSwitzerlandteam thatbeat Colombia on penalty kicks to earn adatewiththe ArgentinesatArrowhead Stadium.
“Weknow Argentina has many fine qualities. Few talk about the Swiss qualities,” defensive midfielder and team captain Granit Xhaka said Friday.“Tomorrow we will talkonthe pitch, andwewill show what we can do, andeverythingelse doesn’tmatter.”
The winner will play either Norway or England on Wednesday in Atlanta for aspot in theWorld Cup final.
“It’s obviously averytough challenge,” Switzerland defender ManuelAkanji said, “but Ithink we’re ready.Ithink we canplayagainst anyopponent and make it hard for them. We know it’s going to be difficult but we’re going to give our best.”
Everything starts on defense for Switzerland, whichhas allowed only three goals in five matches, andwhich shut outLuisDíazand Colombia for 120 minutesinthe roundof16. Thejob of stopping Messi’s charmed WorldCup will fall on theshoulders of Xhaka and Akanji, along with Remo Freuler,Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Meanwhile,LaAlbiceleste is riding an 11-match World Cup unbeaten streakdating to 2022 in Qatar,and they’vescored multi-
plegoals in each of those games, which ties them with Uruguayfor thelongest such streak in tournament history Messi, who had ahat trick against Algeria in agroup match at Arrowhead Stadium, is even with France forward Kylian Mbappe with eight goals apiece in their race for the Golden Boot.
The 39-year-old Argentina captain hasscored arecord 21 goals in hisWorld Cup career,and that includesatleast one in arecord sixconsecutive knockout matches.
Messi’sgoal against Egypt leveled the game in the 83rd minute before Enzo Fernández delivered thewinner in stoppage time.
“Especially forthose players on the bench, the players who watch LionelMessi play and can’tbelieve what they’rewatching —heshould be arole modelfor them,” Argentinacoach Lionel Scaloni said. “He tries again and again, and Iget goosebumps.” He might give goosebumps to hisown side, but Messi sends a different kind of chill through the opposition.
“I don’tknowthatwecan stop him over 90 minutes. It’s going to be difficult,” Xhakasaid. “Butwe have to be smart, compact, close thegapsand notgive himtoo many spaces. We just try to play our game.”
Injury outlookfor Switzerland Argentina appearstobehealthy
going into thematch,but Switzerland will once againbewithout midfielder Johan Manzabi because of aknee injury.The SC Freiburg star scored two goals in a4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the group stage.
“Wetried everything we couldto gethim back in peak form,”Switzerland coach MuratYakin said. “Momentum was on his side,and there was so muchjoy when he plays, andhehas his teammates by his side. Everything worked out so wellfor him until now.”
Reprieve from weatherinK.C
One of the big concerns for games in Kansas City had been the weather,not only because of severe storms in the Heartland but also heat indexesthatfrequently top triple digits in the summer.But temps should be in the upper 80s Fahrenheit(30 degrees Celsius) for the start of the match with only aslight chance of precipitation. Eyes on thereferees
Several games throughout the World Cuphave found thespotlight cast on the referee, but FIFAdecided to turnattention there before this match began. Usually,FIFAtriestoappoint referees from different confederations to avoid any potential bias.But it will be João Pinheiro of Portugal —like Switzerland, aUEFAnation —who will be monitoring theaction Saturday night.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY MARK J. TERRILL Spain midfielder Mikel Merino celebrates scoring agoal during aWorld Cupquarterfinal match against Belgium on FridayinInglewood,Calif.
Once again, someofthe samescattered showers and thunderstorms that we experienced yesterdaywill returntoday. So expectapartlytomostly cloudy, hot and humid daywith scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms.Someofthe thunderstorms couldbeverystrong and result in excessiverainfall that couldlead to flash flooding.Temperatures thisafternoon will be about where theyshould be, rising intothe lowtomid-90s.The humidity willremainhigh, so temperatures will feel likethe triple digits.
LeBron to Warriors? Curryshareshis pitch
BY JOSEPH DYCUS
BayArea News Group
(TNS)
As he prepares for the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, Warriors star Steph Curry fielded questions Thursday about theWarriors’ offseason. The most notable topic of conversation at Edgewood Tahoe was amove the Warriors have notyet made.
Golden State is acandidate to sign longtime nemesis LeBron James as an unrestricted free agent.
Steph Curry,38, said he did not have an exact percentage that he could ascribe to the Warriors’ chances of signing James,but he already had his reasoningfor why the Bay Area would be theperfect landingspot for the league’salltime leading scorer
“The pitch is we want to play good basketballand be around people that know how to play the game,” Curry said, sitting next to the past two ACC tournament champions, tennisplayerMardy Fish and former Sharkscaptain Joe Pavelski. “Hopefully,raise our floor on our competitiveness this year.We’reanorganization that’s been there and he knows that. It’s self-explanatory.It’sjust amatter of where he sees himself fitting, and at the end of the day,that’sup to him.” He also noted that the Bay Area has plenty of great golf, Curry’s top pastime and one Jameshas been taking up more.
On arecent podcast by James’ agent, Rich Paul, the Warriors were listed among 10 teams witha realistic shot at signing his client.
The Warriors have run most of last season’sroster back this offseason after going 37-45 and being bounced in the play-in tournament. They re-signed Kristaps Porzingis, De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford on two-year deals and agreed to terms with backup center Charles Bassey on aone-year deal Thursday,just afterlosing Quentin Post to Memphis. Aside from drafting Yaxel Lendeborg No. 11 overall, have notbrought
in any outsidetalent. Curry is fine with the steadyapproach.
“It’sgreat to get KP back, it’s greattoget Melton back,”the twotime MVPsaid. “We’re in avery unique situation because Jimmy’s hurt and Moses is hurt, and they’re goingtomiss agood amount of the season. You’ve got to try to hold the fort downuntil those guys get back because we do have an idea of whowecould bewith them.”
Curryand James met in four consecutiveNBA Finals from 2015-18, with the Warriors winning three series and the Cavaliers coming back from a3-1 deficit in the other
After so many legendary battles —and athrilling stretch as teammates at the 2024 Paris Olympics —Curry sawthe appeal in ending their careers on thesameteam.
“Until probably two, three years ago, it was likeapipe dream question or even athought.That is part of the allure,” Curry said, “For him going into his24thseason, and me going to my 18th, and the battles that we’ve had, that would be such aunique story in NBA history.But it’s alittlepremature right now to talk aboutit.”
As for the work on the Edgewood resort course, Curry said he’d love to play around with James in Tahoe, where he won the tournament in 2023 and finished fifthlast season.
“I missed it during theOlympics in ’24, but coming back, you just have higher expectations now ’causeyou’ve actually won it,”Curry said. “I think that’sgood and it’s also dangerousbecause youkind of want to stay composed in the first roundand just enjoy yourself andlet it come to you.
“I have so muchfun in competitionwith these guys —theybring thebest out of you. Butmoreso thanjust the golf, it’sjustthe camaraderie out here.You know the guys who have alegitimate shot at it and you just want to be there on Sunday just to have achance.
Wednesday and Thursday were the celebritypro-am, with the three-day tournament scored in a modified Stableford format beginning Friday
Clark’sphysicalplaycontinues to stokedebateabout fair officiating
BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS
Conversations
about whether Caitlin Clarkisgetting officiated fairly in the WNBA can be polarizing as fans, players, coaches and even lawmakers have opinions about whether the league needs to takesome action about the physical play Congress is looking for answers by July 24.
“Millionsofcasualfansnow tune in to watch her play,” 11 members of the House Republican Study Committee wrote in aletter senttoWNBACommissioner Cathy Englebert. “Unfortunately,what they too often witnessisnot simply aggressive competition,but repeated acts of physical hostilityand violence. Clark has been hip-checked, poked in theeye and struck in the throat during games.
“Theseincidents go farbeyond routine physical play,yet the WNBAand itsofficiating have too often failedtoaddress these unacceptableincidents and hold players accountable.”
It’sthe latestchapterinthe Clark saga about whether league officials must do moretoprotect oneofthe WNBA’stop players from unnecessarily aggressive physical contact
The letterwas sent two weeks after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’sthroat in aJune 24 game.Thomas was not called for afoulonthe play during the game, but theleague subsequently upgraded the play to aflagrant foul and suspended her one game for “recklessly making contact with her fist.” League officials have not yet issued astatementinresponse.
Thomas has called theplay a “complete accident,” adding that shehas received death threats since theincident.Clark and her coach, Stephanie White, an ardent defender of Clark, have condemned threatslevied at Thomas.
The24-year-old Iowa alum has helped increase WNBA ticket sales and driven women’sbasket-
ball television ratings to unprecedented heights with her play
However,many conversations around her tap into avariety of combustiblehot-buttontopics, including race, officiating, money andpolitics. Clarkhas largely managed to thrive, but can’tcompletely escapethe noise. “I think sometimes people think I’m arobot. I’m not arobot,” she said. “Itcan be really frustrating to me at times. I’m24years old trying to navigate alot. I’ve been in thisworld forfouryears now— and you would never change any of it —but thereare timesthatit is hard. And there are times when it affects me alittle bit morethan Idoput on.I thinkit’simportant that people remember that part of it, too.”
Lawmakersalsosuggested in their letter thatgovernment agencies such as the Department of Justice should investigate if discrimination or retaliation are creating ahostile work environmentinthe WNBA.
Fever officialssaidina statement that neither Clarknor team officials have been in contact with theCongressionalgroup and that they wereunaware of the letter before its release.
Clark is one of the league’smost popularplayers, but she’salso one of the mostpolarizing —even amongst her peers.
Fans made herthe No.2 votegetter fornextweek’sAll-Star Game while Clark’sfellow players ranked her 11th among league guards —something three-time WNBA champand Hall of Famer Candace Parker took exception with.
“If you’re sitting down andputting Caitlin Clark as the 11th best guard y’allneed to go to atherapist and figure out what childhood issues you have,” Parker wrote on social media.
Clark instantly becamethe face of the league from the moment she wasdrafted first overall in 2024, before ever playing apro gameand even though she had not won an NCAA championship. To accommodate her fan base, opponents moved games from home arenas to larger venues, which generated more revenue. Fever games quickly became a regular feature on national television even though Indiana missed the playoffs from 2016-23. Clark supporterssay herimmediate notoriety created resentmentamongWNBAveterans and has led to the hard fouls that cross the line.
Opponentscounter that because of Clark’sability to shoot the ball and beat opponents with her ballhandling, players defending her try to be as physical as areferee will allow to slow her down.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO BY MICHAEL CONROY Indiana Feverguard CaitlinClark, right, drivesonAtlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao during agame on June 18 in Indianapolis.
cAncER (June 21-July22) Opportunity requiresdoing your part to investigate what'spossible. Waiting forsomeone to do the work for youleads to unfulfilled dreamsand disappointment. Be your ownbestie
LEo (July 23-Aug.22) Test the water, focus on what'sfavorable and head in adirection thatmakes you feel content andhappytobealive. Surround yourself with people who makeyou think.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take asecond look at what's available to you before youtakealeap of faith. You may want to redirect your energy into something more stable andreassuringregarding your lifestyle.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Takingadvantage of opportunities thatlead to interesting partnerships or encounters with those doing something thatyou see yourselfparticipating in will encourageyou to go the distance.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) An observant attitude will prompt you to improve your standards, qualifications and prospects. Diginto what's trending, and applyyour skills and experience to ensure youstayahead of challenges.
sAGIttARIus (nov.23-Dec. 21) Confront what isn't working for you. Concentrate on your lifestyle, andensure youfind peaceofmind fromyour surroundings andthose youhangout with.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take bettercareofyourself.Don'tfollow the crowdorgive in to temptation.Impul-
sive actionswill lead to regret.Whenin doubt, take apass. Pay attention AQuARIus (Jan.20-Feb. 19) Achange of scenery will give youback your spark andreunite youwith your dreams. Don't be tooquicktolet outside influences step in and take over. You must satisfy your needs.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Takeabreak, venture out, find your circle andenjoy your day. Focus on health and your emotionalwell-being. Aspa dayoran activitythatbrings outthe best in you will help youput your life in perspective
ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Dream it, believe it and follow through. Actions speak louder than words. Putyour plans in motion, and stop worrying aboutwhatothers think, say or do tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Stickclose to home, and turn your place into acomfort zonewhere you can relax, formulate your next move and feel free from the stress and tension that outside influences have on you.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Send amessage to those you want to back away from and those you want to spend more time with. Howyou use your time is instrumentalingetting whatyou want outof life.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, pastand present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy's cLuE: HEQuALsR
CeLebrItY CIpher
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
Sudoku
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases frommonday to sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Jimmy Carter, in his farewell presidential address, said, “Our American values are notluxuries, but necessities —not the saltinour bread, but the bread itself.” Bridge is full of rules that needtobe taken with alarge pinchofsalt. Always treat each deal on its own merits;donot thoughtlesslyassumethatthe“textbook” playwill be right. How does that applytothis deal? South is in three no-trump. West leads his fourth-highest heart. Southtakes East’s 10 with his king and runs the diamond 10. What should happen after that? South did notlike to open one no-trump with two unstoppedsuits, but he had no more accurate sequence available. The books recommendreturning partner’ssuitinno-trump—anditistruethat that will be right muchmore often than not. (In asuit contract, shifting will be better alot of thetime.) But if East does that here, South will take the trick with his heart ace and drive outWest’s diamond ace. West mayshift to aclub, but declarer plays low from thedummy and loses only two diamonds and two clubs. Instead,East should pause for thought at trick three. Surely Westhas thediamondace,becauseifSouthhadthatcard, hewouldhavecasheditbeforetryingthe diamondfinesse. And if West is about to gain the lead, East should see how to defeat thecontract. At trick three, he leads hisclubthree.
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffourormoreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” suchas“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 notallowed.
toDAy’sWoRD conVERsE: kun-VERSE: Talk.
Averagemark31words
Time limit 55 minutes
Can you find48ormore words in CONVERSE?
yEstERDAy’s WoRD—MAtRons
profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness deliversfrom death.” Proverbs 11:4
wuzzles
loCKhorNs
Whatdoyou value? Thinkitover. G.E. Dean
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the lettersineach row. add points of each word, using scoring directionsat right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value. all the words are in theOfficial sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition. For more information on tournaments and clubs, email naspa –north american sCraBBlE playersassociation:info@scrabbleplayers.org. Visitour website: www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE associated
kenken
InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each columnmust contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
WiShinG Well
HErE is aplEasanTliTTlEgamEthat will give
numericalpuzzledesigned to spell out
thenumberoflettersis6ormore,
is yourkey number. start at the upper left-hand corner and
bers, left to right. Thenread the
Scrabble GramS
Get fuzzy
jump Start
roSe iS roSe animal crackerS
24th JDC, JeffersonParish, Louisiana. NOTICE IS GIVENthat LindaH Brown, Administratrix has filedanAmended FinalTableau of Distribu‐tion andPetitionfor Ho‐mologation.Nocashdis‐tributions areproposed. Property at 2093 Benedict Drive, Marrero, LA 70072 to be sold by judicial sale.The Tableaumay be homologatedafter 7 days from publication. Oppositionsmustbe filedbeforehomologa‐tion.Hearing:August18, 2026, 10:00 a.m.,Division “G,” 200 Derbigny Street Gretna,LA. Contact: Con‐nieP.Trieu,Trieu Law LLC, (504) 301-4525. 193473 July 9-15,7t $98.50
INSIDE SOURCES
Terrazzo floorcreation and care. PAGE 4
INSIDE STORY
Longue Vue’srecovery effortspost-tornado. PAGE 6
GREENTHUMB
Entertain kids with gardening. PAGE 8
GARDEN ADVICE
Insectshave damaged my citrus trees. PAGE 9
INSIDE INFO
Home and garden happenings. PAGE 11
COVERSTORY
An art-filled French Quarterapartment. PAGE 12
ONEIN AMILLION
Historic Queen Anne with nine bedrooms. PAGE 16
REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
Recent transactions in the metroarea. PAGE 18
The InsideOut home and gardensection is published everySaturdayby The Times-Picayune. Questions about InsideOut should be directed to the editor.
InsideOut’s missionistogive readerspeeksinside themanydifferent ways thatpeople in the New Orleans area live.Weprofile spaces that areopulent, or just offbeat;sophisticated or simple; functionalorlight-hearted; historic or brand-spanking new.And anything in between.
Please help us by sending information andJPEG photos of your home, or specific spaces inside it,toinsideout@theadvocate.com. We love gardens and outdoor spaces, too. And we’re waiting to hear fromyou
INSIDEOUT EDITOR: MarignyLanaux, marigny.lanaux@theadvocate.com CONTRIBUTINGWRITERS: Victor Andrews, Jyl Benson, Dan Gill
COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel COVER PHOTO: Jeff Strout TO BE FEATURED: Sendinformation and photos to insideout@ theadvocate.com
6831 West EndBoulevard •Lakeview$729,000
Historic 100+ year-old estate on araretriplelot,blending timeless craftsmanship withmodernupdates.Include 5bedrooms, 3baths,elegantarchitectural details, achef’skitchen and readyfor customization. New HVAC systems. Just blocks from Lake Pontchartrain &HarrisonAvenue’sshops &dining. MichaelBain504-452-4677 Crescent Sotheby’sInternational Realty504-944-3605
Compass• Historic District
Exquisitely restored circa-1880sFrenchCreoleresidence with soaring ceilings, original heart-pine floors,ornatemoldings,exposed brick, decorative mantels,and classicdoubleparlors.Modernupdates blendseamlesslywith historiccharm.Private guestsuiteswithseparategated access offer excellent income potential, making this an exceptionalinvestmentopportunity Team Right Side
700MagazineSt, Unit 204•Warehouse District $1,150,000
This uniqueresidence, recently featured in Elle Décor, is asophisticated 1Bed,1.5 Bath Condowithahuge398 SqFt garden terrace, fully landscaped overlookingGirod Street withview of theriver.Luxury PrimarySuite w/ en-suite,top-of-the-line appliances in gourmet kitchen, whiteoak hardwoodflooringplus1 interior parking space. Toni VanZandt 504-913-8665 Reve Realtors 504-300-0700 TRULY,
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Entertaininstyle in this stunningModernGeorgianRevival,one block from Lake Pontchartrain.Behindgated ivy-coveredwalls,enjoy a resort-style backyard w/ multiple courtyards,chef’skitchen,elegant living spaces,luxuriousprimary suite, solarpanels, &extensiverecent upgrades,including anew roof,windows.4Beds, 4.5Baths,5,022 SqFt Dawnne Keeney 504-650-3912 Crescent Sotheby’sInternational Realty504-944-3605
25065Hemphill Road •Bush$449,000
Charmingretreat locatedon10acres of land overlooking aLake, main househas 3beds, 2baths,kitchen &diningroomw/a wood deck, 2car detached garage w/ office space(could be used forbusiness purposes -buyerstoconfirmuse/separateelectricmeter)totaling 1292 sq ft living &has ashower&toiletlocated inside.Peace& quiet!
Bonnie J. Morel504-912-9997 Compass•Algier/ Westbank 504-362-1823
BY JYL BENSON Contributing writer
The resurgence of midcentury modern architecture and the clean aesthetic it entails has resulted in a renewed interest in terrazzo flooring. This is a welcome trend for businesses that install, service and care for the flooring material that was all but defunct in new home construction just a few years ago.
Terrazzo evolved from centuries-old Venetian marble mosaics used in the mid-15th century It was created when resourceful Venetian mosaic workers discovered a way to reuse marble remnants. With odd-sized chips, they
began to build terraces around their living quarters.
Techniques for leveling these surfaces progressed from rubbing with a stone by hand to the development of a long-handled, weighted grinding stone called a “galera.” The first sealer for terrazzo was discovered when workers noticed that a coating of goat milk brought out the rich colors and sheen of the marble.
Today, this environmentally friendly material offers exceptional design versatility, durability and is low maintenance. Thanks to its long life cycle, terrazzo is among the most costeffective flooring options available.
PROVIDED PHOTOS BY TERRAZZO MASTERS Terrazzo flooring leans into the clean, midcentury modern aesthetic.
INSIDESOURCES
InsideOut recently sat down with Clyde Martin III, president of Terrazzo Masters. The company was established as American Tile and Terrazzo Co. Inc. in 1957 by Giuseppe “Joe” Lovisa and three other Northern Italian immigrants who understood the terrazzo craft.
There is no formal schooling for this technique — through mentorship, one can learn how to create attractive and durable walkways, floors, patios, panels and specialty installations by exposing stone chips and other fine aggregates on the surface of finished concrete or epoxy resin.
In 2016, the company rebranded as Terrazzo Masters to better express the passion and skill required to produce the uniquely beautiful surfaces its craftspeople create, install and refurbish. The company now has third-generation family members engaged and has seen a pronounced increase in business during the past five years.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To what do you attribute the reemergence of terrazzo as a residential building material?
Terrazzo naturally follows
the midcentury modern design themes of indoor-outdoor flow, large glass doors and windows, and connecting living areas to patios and yards, bringing nature directly inside.
In addition to renovation and restoration work, we have seen a very large increase in
new residential construction using terrazzo. We offer a full “Terrazzo Design Studio” to respond to the resurgence in the residential and retail markets. It is available to architects and designers who may be unfamiliar with the product and the processes of creating
and caring for it.
How should homeowners care for their terrazzo on a routine basis?
Simply dust mop or vacuum, damp mop, buff, (and) burnish or polish for a higher sheen.
When is it time to call a professional?
To perform a biannual or annual deep clean, reapply sealer
Terrazzo is a low-cost flooring option with a long life cycle. There is no formal schooling for creating, installing and refurbishing terrazzo flooring. The craft is taught through mentorship.
and buff.
What is the average cost per square foot to restore terrazzo?
Full restoration would be in the $3 to $5 range.
Jyl Benson writes about homes and gardens. Email her at jylbenson@gmail.com.
INSIDESTORY
BY MARIGNY LANAUX Staff writer
After Tropical Storm Arthur brought 14 tornadoes to south Louisiana and Mississippi last month, one of New Orleans’ National Historic Landmarks was hit hard and is still picking up the pieces.
Early on June 18, a tornado raked across Longue Vue House and Gardens, which sits on the edge of the Lakewood neighborhood near Old Metairie.
It caused damage to over 175 cubic yards of the property, including the Wild Garden, Canal Garden, Overlook, East Lawn, Pine Drive and Oak Allée.
Five mature and 15 young trees were lost, along with over 200 shrubs and plants, and 14 pots. Around 20 to 40 trees also lost significant foliage, and there was damage to fencing, a fountain and a set of historic shutters.
Executive Director Stella “Baty” Landis said the destruction was far worse than any recent major storm, including Hurricane Ida.
“I was present during Ida, and while the city as a whole took a substantial hit, resulting in a site closure, Longue Vue specifically fared worse on June 18,” Landis said.
As the first person on-site at Longue Vue each day, head gardener Leigh Gradiz said she pulled up to 7 Bamboo Road that morning to find tons of scattered debris. She quickly realized a tornado had hit, and the true scale of the cleanup ahead sank in.
“Most of the smaller plants that had things fall on top of them will bounce back,” Gradiz said. “The trees will take longer to recover.”
She plans to work closely with curators on garden restoration planning, ensuring historic appropriateness to all new plantings, including tree replace-
Gradiz says while many of the smaller plants will bounce back quickly at Longue Vue, ‘the trees will take longer to recover.’
ments.
“We’ll also be paying attention to the plants on the ground because, with some of the canopy gone, certain areas are going to get a lot more sunlight,” Gradiz said. “Some plants will do better with those changes, while others may struggle, so we will need to adapt as we try to find the right balance to keep those landscapes healthy.”
The historic home’s HVAC system was also damaged. The staff was initially worried that
high humidity levels could impact art and archival collections. As branches continue to break off from large trees, they’re monitoring structures and the main house roof.
In the first two weeks after the tornado, Longue Vue raised $75,000 and saw an influx of volunteers. The team is awaiting insurance proceeds but is preparing for $200,000 in storm-related costs beyond what insurance will cover.
So far, the donated funds have helped Longue Vue remove nine storm-battered trees and rescue dozens of additional trees through pruning and stabilization. Three industrial dehumidifiers were purchased to preserve the home’s interior.
Longue Vue is a prime example of 20th-century landscape design and architecture. Its lush gardens were designed by one of America’s first female landscape designers, Ellen Shipman. Visitors can enjoy specialty tours, a plant-based cafe and community workshops and events.
Longue Vue is still raising money to help cover expenses at longuevue.com/tornado. Another way to support recovery efforts is to visit Longue Vue, which is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
STAFF PHOTOS BY CHRIS GRANGER Longue Vue House and Gardens head gardener Leigh Gradiz sits next to the remains of a magnolia tree that fell during Tropical Storm Arthur
As GibbsConstructionturns 50,it’sready to invest in talent,technologyand thefutureofNew Orleans
By Amanda McElfresh| amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
This articleisbrought to youbyGibbs Construction.
SinceJuly4,1976, GibbsConstructionhas helped shapeNew Orleans’ skylinewithinvolvement in some of itsmostrecognizable landmarks–the CaesarsSuperdome,the Smoothie King Center,Audubon Institute’sCoolZoo,Louis ArmstrongNew Orleans InternationalAirport,among others
Thefive-decademilestone isn’t atimefor thecompany to rest on itslaurels,though. Instead, Ownerand Chief Executive OfficerLaurenGibbsisfocused on the future of thefamily-ownedbusiness– one centered on developing talent,embracing technology andbringingprojectstolife that will shape theregionfor decades to come.
“The construction industry is dynamic. Things arechangingall thetime. We’ve foundthe waytonot just survivebut thrive is to stay nimbleand adaptive whileholding to effective processes,” Gibbs said.“It’s also ahardbusiness, with alot of competinginterests andpriorities. Throughall of it,wecommittomakingthe decision that’s rightfor theproject,even when that decision isn’tthe easy oneor theone in ourfavor.”
Beingnimbleand adaptive is increasinglyimportant as artificialintelligence hasbecome more widespread, with new applications constantly emerging.Gibbs said that as recently as twoyears ago, she wascautiousabout usingAIinconstruction.But,she learnedmoreabout it and foundthatthe benefitsoutweighthe potentialdisadvantages.Now,Gibbs Construction is increasingly incorporating AI into itswork.
As itsembraces technology,Gibbssaidthe approximately65 employeeswhomakeuptheGibbsConstructionteamremainits greatestasset.Thecompanylargelyhiresrecentcollegegraduates or early-career professionals,thenworks with them closelyto developtheir skills,abilities andconfidence.
“I want GibbsConstructiontobethe builderofchoicebecause we arethe employerofchoice. It’s easy for owners anddeveloperstochooseuswhentheyknowwehavea greatteam,”Gibbs said.“We want to maintain aculture wherepeoplefeellikethey canask questionsand grow as part of ateam.”
In addition,the newBonella A. St.Ville School is under construction in Harvey “Schools aremyfavoritetypeofconstruction. Ilovethem from both thetechnical side andthe communityimpactside,” Gibbssaid. “Froma construction standpoint,you gettobuild somethingthathas acommercialkitchen,art spaces,gyms andclassrooms. Youdon’t gettodoall of thosethingsinone building very often, so that’s afun challenge. Asidefromthat, Ibelieve schoolstruly transformlives.I’m grateful anytime we areinvolvedinone.”
“We’re trying to approach AI intelligently, with intentional trainingand taking advantageofits biggeststrengths,” shesaid. “I thinkthatwiththe righttraining,AIcan sharpenyourmind, providecontext andgiveyou clarityaroundwhatisimportant Idon’t want to seepeopleuse AI to cutcorners or ignore steps humans need to take.But,I’m really excitedabout thecoaching we’redoing around it andIthink AI willultimatelymovethe company in apositivedirection.”
That same long-termmindset is appliedtosomeofthe company’s currentand upcoming projects.Groundbreaking willtake placethisyearona multifamilyhousing projectinthe River District,aprojectGibbssaidwillbetransformationalforthatarea of thecity. Gibbsisalsoheavily involved in theredevelopment of theformerClearview Mall site in Metairie.AstandaloneZea Rotisserie&BarbuiltbyGibbsopensthissummer.Laterthisyear, planscallfor aredevelopment andrevitalizationofthe space.
Onekey principleatGibbsConstruction hasalwaysbeentoensureits projects become part of thesurrounding neighborhood. As arespected business leader, Gibbs encourages others to embracethat same philosophy.Thatmeans advocating for everythingfrombetternight lighting andalargertreecanopytomoreearly childhood developmentopportunities anda stronger ecosystemfor localsmall business owners
“Tostaycompetitive in economic development, Ithink NewOrleans needstofocus on qualityoflifefor its residents,”she said.“Forbusinessesto thrive,weneedtobeattractivetothe people whoworkfor thosebusinesses. We know we areina primelocation alongthe MississippiRiver with great history, culture, food andmusic.New Orleansisnot goingawayanytime soon. I’mexcited to be apartofthe newinitiativesand energy around thecityled by MayorHelenaMoreno. Ithink things aremovinginthe rightdirection andI know Gibbswillbea part of some great projects in thefuture.”
GibbsConstructionhas expertiseingeneral contracting, design-build,renovations andground-up construction,positioningittopartner with clientstobring projects from concept to completion. Knownfor skilledcraftsmanship,strongproject managementand acommitmenttosafety, qualityand on-time delivery,Gibbs serves awiderange of industries with reliable, results-driven solutions that arebuilt to last.Visit gibbsconstruction.comtolearn more.
HARVEST HERBS: Remember to harvest herbs such as mints, basil, rosemary, lemon balm and Mexican tarragon regularly to keep the plants shapely and under control. Some herbs, such as thyme, sage and lavender,tolerate heatand rain poorly andmay not be doing well nowasa result.
GROWING PAINS: Along growing season and rapid growth oftenlead to overgrown beds this time of year. Feelfree to trim bedding plants and tropicals to keep them undercontrol. Stakeorotherwise supportplants that need it.
WATCH FOR WEBWORMS:
Webworms are caterpillars that formtents of webbingatthe ends of the branches of varioustrees (especially pecans).Although webworms look terrible, theywill not significantly damagethe trees theyinfest.The trees willrecover evenifyou do not controlthe webworms. If controlisneeded, spraywith aproduct containing BT (Dipel,Thuricide), spinosad or other labeled insecticides. Makesure the caterpillars are still presentinthe webs before youspray.
LAWN CARE: If youhaven’t fertilized your lawn since last April, youmay do so again this month.Thisisespecially important for lawns that are weak, lowinvigor or need to grow to repair damage.
GET PRUNING: If youneedtoprune your hydrangeas or gardenias, now’s the time to getthis done. Old green hydrangea flower headscan be cut, hung upside down anddried.They makeattractiveadditions to dried flower arrangements anddecorations.
Introducing gardening to children is agreat summer project.
Seeds of
knowledge
To prepare agarden bed, remove any weeds or grass from the area. Next, dig the soil to adepth of 8 inches. For small children, this can be aphysically difficult task, and your assistance will be required. Trytofind tools designed forkids, Keep thekidsbusyduringthe
By midsummer, many adults are thinking of ways to entertain their children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews until school begins. Why not start agardening project? Youcan introduce your youngsters to the joys of gardening, and at the sametime, exercise their bodies and brains. Given the temperatures, do most of your work in the cooler early morning and lateafternoon. Don’t
summer with lessonsinthe garden
forget to takefrequent breaks, drink plentyofwater and use sunblock and mosquitorepellent. To be successful during thesummer months, focus on plants that will thrive in our hot, humid climate. There is agood selection of flowers, vegetables and herbs that can be grown now.Whatever you decide to grow,startwith awellprepared bed.
First, thebasics
See LESSONS, page 10
DanGill GREEN THUMB
GREENTHUMB
Trees damaged by citrus leaf miner insects will bounce back
BY DAN GILL
Contributing writer
The new growth of my satsuma and lemon trees (both planted two years ago) is all deformed, and it looks like silvery trails are running through them. Some of the leaves are curled and twisted. It’s really made a mess of the new growth. What is going on and is there anything I can do? — Bob
This damage is caused by citrus leaf miner insects. The adult citrus leaf miner is a tiny moth. The female moth lays her eggs on tender, new growth of citrus just as it emerges in mid- to late summer
After the larvae hatch, they enter the leaf and feed on the inside, creating a silver sheen, serpentine trails and twisted, deformed leaves. The larvae eventually emerge from the leaf and make a pupal chamber by folding the edge of the leaf down and securing it with silk.
Spraying may not be particularly effective by the time most home gardeners realize there is a problem and decide to do something.
Insecticides will not take away damage that has already occurred.
Fortunately, the damage looks a lot worse than it is. Affected trees generally recover very well and little or no reduction in harvest occurs on productive trees. Given that the damage is mostly cosmetic, most people choose not to spray
If you decide to reduce leaf miner damage, begin spraying the insecticide spinosad as soon as you notice new growth
Tropical Storm Arthur. The leaves are turning yellow and brown, and the fruit is getting wrinkly In your opinion, is it waterlogged, attacked by a fungus or both? Thank you. — Nancy
All the rain produced by Tropical Storm Arthur is the major issue. Heavy rain over several days keeps the soil saturated, depriving the roots of the oxygen they need. This stresses the roots, affecting their ability to absorb water and making them susceptible to being attacked by organisms in the soil (water molds). These organisms kill the roots, causing a disease called root rot.
When the roots are oxygendeprived and killed by root rot, they no longer absorb water properly This leaves the plant thirsty (even though there is adequate moisture in the soil).
The resulting symptoms include wilting foliage, yellow and dropping leaves, brown leaves and leaf edges and shriveling fruit.
about 20 degrees) and is a smaller growing variety.
If you lose this tree and want to replace it, plant it in another location with better drainage or in a raised mound.
I’m seeing a fine webbing on the bark of my oak tree. Is this something I need to be concerned about? — Joe
The webbing you see is produced by tiny insects called psocids or bark lice. These insects are harmless to the tree, and there is no need for concern. Psocids eat bits of organic matter on the bark of
emerging. Continue to spray regularly following label directions until the new growth matures and turns dark green.
I have a 4-foot-tall U-La-La avocado plant I bought from Harold’s Plants in New Orleans. It looks bad after the recent heavy rains and flooding from
Unfortunately, there is nothing we can treat an infected plant with to control root rot, and it is often fatal.
U-La-La (also known as Super Hass) is a great avocado variety for home planting. It is relatively cold hardy (to
the tree. This helps clean the bark.
If you don’t like the webbing, you can use a broom or strong stream of water to remove it, but most of us just leave it alone.
Dan Gill is a retired consumer horticulture specialist with the LSU AgCenter. He hosts the “Garden Show” on WWL-AM Saturdays at 9 a.m. Email gardening questions to gnogardening@agcenter.lsu. edu.
Charlotte Dorion 504.237.8615
Charlotte@Char-Realty.com Char-Realty.com
Chris Dorion
504.451.4274
Chris@Char-Realty.com 4018 MagazineSt. NOLA 70115
504.799.1702
•Co-ownersof5offices
•YourLocal and Global LuxuryREALTORS!
GREENTHUMB
LESSONS
Continued from page 8
as it is safer and easier for them to use tools of the proper size.
After the soil is turned, sprinkle a light application of a complete fertilizer, such as 15-5-10, over the area following package directions. To do this properly, you must know the square footage of the bed, which is a great math exercise. To figure this out, multiply the length by the width. For example, a bed that is 5 feet long and 3 feet wide is 15 square feet. Check the label for how
much to apply in that size area. If the child is old enough, let them do the math. Then, spread a 2-to-4-inch layer of organic matter over the area, such as compost, bagged manure, chopped leaves or grass clippings. Thoroughly incorporate everything into the soil by turning it in with a shovel or tiller
Explain to the child why you need to add fertilizer and organic matter to the soil. A simple answer would be that the fertilizer provides the nutrients that plants need. You could compare fertilizer to vitamins. Just as getting enough vitamins is important to our growth, fertilizers make
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the plants healthier and more productive.
Mention that although we incorrectly call fertilizers “plant food,” plants make their own food through a remarkable process called photosynthesis. This is when plants absorb the energy of the sun and use it to create the food they need. A simple way to express this to a child is to say, “Plants eat light. They are solar powered.”
The organic matter also adds nutrients, but more importantly, it improves the soil so the roots will grow better Organic matter helps create air spaces and aids in the drainage of excess water The air spaces allow oxygen to be present at levels needed to maintain a healthy root system. Loose soil also helps the roots grow through it more easily
Most kids are familiar with the recycling of aluminum, paper and glass. Introduce them to the recycling of organic yard waste through composting. Compost is a valuable soil amendment that you can easily make yourself with grass clippings, leaves and vegetable and fruit peelings from the kitchen. The LSU AgCenter has excellent information covering composting online.
You may choose to grow the garden in a large container This is less labor-intensive in
How does your garden grow?
There is also the option of building a raised bed to create a garden. Although it takes effort and materials to construct it, the maintenance is easier than in-ground beds.
You can start your plants with seeds or purchase transplants from nurseries (try both ways). The plants marked with an asterisk (*) are easily grown from relatively large seeds which children can handle when planting. Those without an asterisk are best purchased as transplants. Flowers that will grow well in the summer include angelonia, marigold*, zinnia*, lantana, periwinkle, portulaca, verbena, sunflower*, gomphrena, wishbone flower, balsam*, pentas and cosmos* to name a few.
setup and care. Fill the container almost to the top with a commercial potting mix that is light and drains well. Make sure the containers you use have drainage holes. Choose larger containers as they will need watering less often, and you can grow a wider variety of plants in them.
A few weeks after you plant, you should begin to fertilize. Use your favorite watersoluble fertilizer or a slowrelease formulation. Follow label directions and repeat as indicated.
Vegetables you can plant now include Japanese eggplants, sweet peppers, okra*, peanuts*, basil, Southern peas*, yard-long beans* and luffa*. The last two need something to climb on. Make a teepee out of bamboo stakes for the vines to climb on, and the kids will love to sit inside.
Homework
For more resources on gardening with children, I recommend the Kids Garden website kidsgardening.org.
Two LSU AgCenter online publications that were developed for school gardens would also be useful for home gardens. These are “Steps to Growing a Successful School Garden” and “A Guide to Growing a School Butterfly Garden.” And don’t forget that there are likely great gardening books in the children’s section of your local bookstore. I talk to so many gardeners who say that an adult introduced them to gardening when they were children. Gardening is one of the best ways to put children in touch with nature, and planting a few vegetables will help kids realize that food doesn’t just appear on grocery shelves. Take some time and open a child’s eyes to the wonders of gardening.
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Let kids get their hands dirty in the garden with a lesson on composting
PRC offerstour of converted double
Preservation Resource Center’sbehind-the-scenes look at restoration projects heads to the Irish Channel.
Visit 2349 Laurel St. at 5:30 p.m.Thursday to see the work being done on an artsand-crafts double bay camelback shotgun being adapted for contemporaryliving.
Tickets for the tour are $10 and include abrew provided by Urban South Brewery Visit prcno.org.
Antiques Forum exploresfaith, spirit
The Historic New Orleans Collection is hosting itsannual Antiques Forum, a weekend-long “intersection of the spiritual and material worlds.”
“Material Belief: Objectsof Faith, Spirit and Tradition” will feature sessions Aug. 7-9 at the Williams Research Center,410 Chartres St., on a range of sacred items —how they were made, used and kept and how they continue to function as powerful material expressions of belief throughout the region.
Experts and enthusiasts from avariety of disciplines willbeonhand to discuss such items as Catholic statuary, Judaica, Afro-Caribbean ritual objects, prayer samplers and more.
Anorthshore excursion is planned, as well as additional events slated for French Quarter restaurants. Cost is $225.
Visit hnoc.org.
Volunteerprojects abound at City Park
Avariety of cleanup days and initiatives are on tap at City Park to improve and maintain the extensive urban green space. Those coming up include:
INSIDEINFO
City Park is
its eight-week volunteer series on Tuesday.
n BigLakeNative Plant Trail Restoration Project: 9a.m. Friday. BigLake Native Trail near 7 Friedrichs Ave.
n Litter Abatement Campaign: 9a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday.Volunteer Center, 1031 Harrison Ave.
n Urban Forest SupportInitiative: 9a.m. Wednesday,Volunteer Center,1031 Harrison Ave.
n Graffiti Cleanup Krewe: 9a.m. Thursday, Volunteer Center, 1031 Harrison Ave.
n Pelican Greenhouse Summer Volunteer Series: 8a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 2Celebration Drive. An eight-week series for individualvolunteers to assist in greenhouse operations.
n Urban Forest SupportInitiative: 9a.m. Saturday,Volunteer Center,1031 Harrison Ave. Register for theprograms and find out about what to bring at friendsofcitypark. volunteerhub.com.
Have ahome and garden event coming up? Send it to events@theadvocate.com.
Impressive2story on large, tree-shadedcorner lot. Beautifulpine floors,high ceilings,and wonderful natural lightina demandlocation in theheartofUptown. Spacious formal rooms, den with fireplace, large,sunny kitchen with breakfast area, 5 bedrooms -1downstairs, 3full baths, very largeback yard,and driveway.3359 squarefeet living area.
STAFF FILEPHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD Pelican Greenhouse in
kickstarting
Life ullest TO THEf A
French Quarter home F maximizes its small space with fine art and textiles
BY JYL BENSON
Contributing
writer
Convivial and vaguely courtly, Ed Rhew is the epitome of a Southern gentleman As such, he has crafted a finely feathered nest within a 750-squarefoot apartment in a circa 1833 Creole townhouse in the French Quarter.
The corner building, where he has resided for the past seven years, has been blessedly spared any intrusion that might have altered its architectural gifts. Instead, it has been lovingly preserved since its construction for investor Pierre Urbain Forestier So
ä See MAXIMIZES, page 14
PHOTOS BY JEFF STROUT
Ed Rhew’s French Quarter apartment has all its original millwork, including the multipaned transoms above the interior doorways. The painting to the left (bottom) is by John Matla, the one above is by a friend, and the one on the wall to the right was purchased while traveling It was painted by an art student.
COVER STORY
ABOVE: Rhew is the self-appointed caretaker of the tropical courtyard, which is shared by five tenants between the main house and the rear dependency of the historic building. LEFT: He is not a minimalist. HIs French Quarter apartment is filled with custom-made upholstered furniture and fine art. The painting above the loveseat is by Kenneth Beck.
Ed Rhew relaxes in one of his many armchairs in his beloved French Quarter apartment.
ABOVE:
Ed Rhew’s apartment overlooks a tropical courtyard.
RIGHT: The spiral staircase is part of the original structure, which was built in 1833. It leads from the courtyard to an apartment upstairs.
PHOTOS BY JEFF STROUT
MAXIMIZES
Continued from page 12
much so that, according to The Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey, it even retains its “fine wooden cornice.”
The property’s arched openings — two across the front and five across the western side — have multilight operational French casement doors (with glass in the top threequarters and a solid wood panel in the bottom) topped by their original fanned transoms and protected by vertical-board shutters. An additional arched passageway
on the western side opens into a tropical courtyard, a space for which Rhew is the selfappointed caretaker.
“I have no idea what I am doing,” Rhew said. “If I kill something, I just replace it.”
Rhew likes to contemplate the lives that have been lived in the building before he arrived. He seemed titillated to share that his very apartment was once the meeting place for trysts between a former U.S. senator and the prostitute who ended his career
“I fell in love with this place the moment I saw it,” Rhew said. “I was about to give up and just stay in the place I had been renting for a year tempo-
a nice collection of glassware for his regular cocktail gatherings.
rarily, while I got to know New Orleans after I retired.
“This was the last place I was scheduled to look at. It feels like destiny.”
Without intending to, he chose Agreeable Beige (Benjamin Moore) for the kitchen and living rooms and Agreeable Gray (Sherwin-Williams)
for his bedroom and bathroom.
“I guess I’m just an agreeable guy,” he mused.
Rhew had a long career in the textile business beginning
Rhew’s small kitchen packs a mighty, stylish punch. Like every other room in his apartment, it has a Persian rug on the floor. The window is covered with a custom linen blind with an Asian theme. He is not much of a cook, but he has
A bibliophile, Rhew has stacks of books everywhere and comfortable armchairs for reading. The painting above the bed is by an artist from Greensboro, N.C. The piece to the left over the doorway is by John Olivas, and the one to the right was purchased in Mobile, Ala.
in his native Burlington, North Carolina, a place he calls “the textile center of the world.”
Over the years, Rhew sought to avoid the allure of fine fabrics, taking stints as an analyst in the law department of the New York City Transit Authority and later in the electrical department.
“When you work in government, you can get away with anything,” he said. But he just kept going back to the career that seems to be his birthright. His knowledge and passion for beautiful textiles are on full display in his diminutive sanctuary.
He has a thing for upholstered armchairs, fitting nine into his space. Most of them were custom-made in High Point, North Carolina, while he was living in New York. Each is upholstered in a different fine fabric, all of which merge harmoniously through Rhew’s love of color, a palette that trends to warm shades of orange, taupe, rich brown and ochre but leaves room for others.
Shown through the piles of books stacked so craftily as to become decor, he is a bibliophile.
“I want comfortable, stylish
chairs,” he said. “I also need a table for a book and a drink. Everywhere you sit in my apartment, there is such a setup at arm’s reach. I like to have people over for drinks. I don’t host many dinner parties. My dining table only seats two.”
Not a minimalist, his home is chock-a-block of art and objects collected during his travels to France and London and while living in New York and North Carolina. Artists represented in his extensive collection include John Malta, David McPherson and Isabelle Jacopin. Framed works are often stacked two or more atop
one another on the walls.
“I am also terribly overpillowed,” Rhew said, patting one of the six down-filled numbers fluffed atop his gold silk velvet-upholstered living room loveseat. He does not mention his affinity for quality Persian rugs, but it is definitely there, present in every room, including the tiny yet atmospheric kitchen that overlooks the courtyard and the spiral staircase leading to an apartment upstairs.
The textile, rug, armchair and art passions continue in Rhew’s bedroom, where his bed is artfully layered with
linen and hemp from Annie Selke’s luxury line, along with more down-filled pillows. Light streams in through the casement doors that open right onto the sidewalk. Rhew frequently reads from the armchair in the corner, where passersby greet him.
“I just love this city and the feel of my French Quarter neighborhood,” he said. “I only put about 100 miles a month on my car Why would I ever leave?”
Jyl Benson writes about homes and gardens. Email her at jylbenson@gmail.com.
Queen Anne near Loyola has ties to city’s past
Nine-bedroom home hasn’t been on market for 75 years
BY VICTOR ANDREWS Staff writer
The large Queen Anne home at 6226 St. Charles Ave. might not quite garner the attention of the average passerby. After all, there are plenty of prime examples of architectural excellence along the avenue near Audubon Park
But this dwelling has a unique lineage that runs from the storied past of Canal Street mercantile legend to the religious and academic tapestry of Loyola University and the Jesuits.
Built in 1903 for clothier and merchant Mayer Israel and later owned by Loyola, it’s now a community residence owned by the Society of Jesus. It sits on the corner of St. Charles Avenue and Calhoun Street, facing the university, and has nine bedrooms, more than nine baths and almost 8,000 square feet of space.
The dwelling is being sold as a single-family home for just under $3.2 million, the first time on the market in more than three-quarters of a century.
While there are aspects of the home designed for community living, conversion to a majestic family home is the goal.
Taking advantage of the corner position, the front porch and upper gallery wrap around the house and provide an expansive view of the surroundings. Neat landscaping frames the house, with old-growth oaks along the avenue adding to the ambiance.
A pair of glass doors open onto a broad foyer with coved ceilings and warm wood floors.
To the right, a formal living room is anchored by a working fireplace, with pocket doors to sequester the space. A trio of floor-length windows brings in the light from the front porch, with an additional large window by the fireplace. More pocket doors lead to the stairway
The stairs are a dominating feature of the reception hall, complete with a soaring stairwell and Tiffany-style stained glass windows at the landing
Contemporary styling and functionality are hallmarks of the many baths in the home.
ABOVE: Skillfully melding commercial and domestic needs and styles, the kitchen is a powerhouse room for food preparation. It offers casual in-room dining comfort at the island. LEFT: A corner lot Uptown on historic St. Charles Avenue and Calhoun Street is the spot for a home built by Mayer Israel of the Godchaux family
PROVIDED PHOTOS
Able to accommodate a variety of seating configurations, the dining room features a bowed wall of windows, wainscoting and an impressive fireplace.
Across the foyer, the sitting room features bowed windows over the front, complete with a window seat. An impressive fireplace, with a green-tile surround and an intricately carved mantel, is prominent. Additional pocket doors lead into the dining room.
A grand element unto itself, the staircase sits to the side of the foyer, complete with seating and a reading or conversation nook tucked under the landing. Soaring ceilings rise from the curved landing, providing a stellar view of the Tiffany-style windows.
Across the foyer is a fireplace with a red-tiled surround and a majestically arched carved mantel.
The large dining room, which opens off the sitting room, can easily accommodate
ONEINAMILLION
a host of diners and features another bayed configuration of windows. Wainscoting brings rich wood tones into the space, while the fireplace echoes many of the same elements of the one in the sitting room.
Just off the dining room is a butler’s pantry that functions as a staging area for food service, smartly outfitted with broad counters, plentiful cabinets and warming trays.
An ice maker, beverage storage and refrigerator are also located here.
The kitchen blends elements of commercial culinary practicality with handsome cabinets, a tiled backsplash, an island with seating and tile floors.
Large windows bring natural light into the space.
At the top of the stairs, a broad landing offers a seating
area with a prominent view of stained glass windows.
On the second and third floors of the house are nine en suite bedrooms, with all living levels accessible by the home’s elevator.
In the basement, storage is extensive, and a section of the space has been finished for recreation or entertainment purposes.
Throughout the home are additional rooms, including a library with access to a full bath. Also, a large space currently used for services is a window-filled room with exposed brick and gold-toned wood floors.
Parking for several vehicles is available in the back lot,
accessed via Calhoun Street. The property adjacent is also for sale.
The residence is offered by Shaun Talbot, of Talbot Realty Group, (504) 525-9763.
One in a Million is an occasional series featuring upscale homes for sale in the metro area
A library lined with shelves also features an adjacent full bath.
A seating area at the top of the stairs has a vantage point of the elegant stained-glass windows.
REALESTATETRANSFERS
NEW ORLEANS
n TRANSFERS FOR JULY 1-5
DISTRICT 1
ANNUNCIATION ST. 1200: $100 and other valuable consideration, 1200 Annunciation LLC to Riomar Holdings LLC.
CAMP ST. 1240: $1,350,000, NGH Property I LLC to 1240 Camp Street LLC.
CAMP ST. 5342: $335,900, Miriam Taylor Fair to Samantha Hoekstra.
MANASSES PLACE 415: $115,000, Mary Nealon Fairbanks to Fel Christine Abegail Ong Abreu.
PORT OF NEW ORLEANS PLACE
600, PHASE 12-A: $2,750,000, Melissa A. Gibbs Fitzpatrick and succession of Vaughan O. Fitzpatrick to Jeffery D. Porth.
ST. CHARLES AVE. 1205: $110,000, Jacob Frederick Bryan to Orca Enterprises LLC.
ST. CHARLES AVE. 3201, UNIT 313: $355,000, Patricia McKay Clotiaux to Loretta Kathleen Maley.
THALIA ST. 4323-25: $18,000, Katherine A. Mims Daley, Marion Hynson Mims, Terence C. Brown, Thomas Rayner Brown and Tina Brown to Knowingly Doing Better LLC.
DISTRICT 2
CONTI ST. 727: $180,000, Edmund Joseph Walker to Cara Larissa McMath and Zackery Joseph McMath.
DAUPHINE ST. 618: $215,000, Nola Investment Solutions LLC to Jamie Albrecht Lee and Sean Arthur Lee.
GENERAL HAIG ST. 6435: $300,000,
Patricia Culotta and Salvador P Culotta to Ashley Culotta Cuevas and Vincent Peyton Cuevas.
HIDALGO ST. 801: $485,000, Ame P. Duan to Nicole Walther Mayper and Stephen Daniel Mayper.
LOUISVILLE ST. 6942: $749,000, Sharon Shang Stanley and Thomas Michael Stanley to Ashley Hilsman and Youel Goodwin Hilsman.
N. DERBIGNY ST. 925: $330,000, Jerrol Larrieu to Safiyya Trepagnier Wrigh.
PARK ISLAND DRIVE 28: $100, Aristos Norman Petrou to Park Island LLC.
SOLOMON PLACE 918: $875,700, Lauren Elizabeth Hitt Hawf to Alexander Hovancik.
ST. PHILIP ST. 524: $370,000, Jarrett Scott Crum and Susan Amy Crum to Emile Louapre and Kelly Davis Louapre.
ST. PHILIP ST. 533: $382,000, Carla Cacavas Munoz and Jason A. Munoz to Melissa Sherbondy and
Paul S. Sherbondy
TOULOUSE ST. 930-932: $1,475,000, Charles J. Eagan II, Duane Eagan Couch, Jean Eagan Perrilliat, Lloyd E. Eagan Jr. and Mina Eagan Meric to Arthur Hale and Kathy MacKinlay.
DISTRICT 3
AGRICULTURE ST. 2360: $315,000, Brandon Francois to Rhea Blanks Alim.
ALFRED ST. 3501: donation, no value stated, Jimmie Davis Sr. and Kadenitta Davis to Jeda Sanders.
BANCROFT DRIVE 4644: $100, Aristos Norman Petrou to 4644 Bancroft LLC.
BARKLEY PLACE 7507: $50,000, Ruth E. Rentals LLC to Peter Alexander III and Yvonne Davis Alexander.
BUNDY ROAD 5400: $279,000, DJR Properties LLC to Ashely Ford.
BUNKER HILL ROAD 6970-72:
$13,000, Charles L. Jackson to Champagne Williams.
BURTON ROAD 4583: donation, no value stated, Edward G. White Jr. to Daniel E. White Phyfer.
CAMBERLEY DRIVE 7231: $279,000, KO Developers LLC to Ebony Armstead Lucien and Shon B. Lucien.
CAMERON BLVD. 5135: $364,000, Harry J. Johnson and Shannon Sherman Johnson to Derick Martin.
CLOUET ST. 2400-2402: $41,500, Dilenia Suazo Casildo and Jannie Xiomara Suazo to Keith Tahj Robinson.
CRESCENT ST. 1332: $100, Aristos Norman Petrou, Kellie Harrison Petrou and Pavlos Petrou to Crescent Studio LLC.
DAUPHINE ST. 4810: $295,000, Jack Rundell Lykins, Leah Rebecca Lykins and Phillippa X. Girling to Timothy C. Allen and William S Andrews.
DWYER BLVD. 13419: $66,000, Cascade Funding Mortgage Trust HB8 to Benjamin Tran.
EADS ST. 2508, 2510, FRANKLIN AVE. 5, 2504, 2510, 2508, 2535: $100, and other good and valuable consideration, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church to Rock of Ages Baptist Church of New Orleans.
EDGELAKE COURT 8000: $163,000, NOLA Funding LLC to Johana Blanco Lacayo and Johana Lacayo.
ELYSIAN FIELDS AVE. 1311: $285,000, Eric J. Steinberg to Meredith Bloedorn.
FORTIN ST. 2858: $378,000, JG2 Properties LLC to Elizabeth Normand.
FORUM BLVD. 7538: $115,000, Tara L. Houston and Tiffani Osbey to
Heather Belletto.
FRANKLIN AVE. 4200-4202: $273,384, Investnu LLC to Good Funds LLC.
FRANKLIN AVE. 6341: $53,000, 6341 Franklin Ave LLC to Lees Professional Properties LLC.
GALLIER DRIVE 4859: $40,000, Darnell Thomas to Thirty Four Acres Holdings LLC.
GALLIER ST. 814-816: $425,000, Barbara Kelly Krentel and John M. Kelly Jr. to Tyler Harmon.
GENTILLY BLVD. 1620-22: $550,000, Cody L. Hammock and George Leo V. Schilling to Abigail Gray Riche.
GORDON ST. 1216-18: $352,500, KWC Construction LLC to Brian Hernandez.
INDUSTRY ST. 1850: $151,650, Christina Ashley Foulon and Remi Jean Marc Foulon to Andrew Striker.
JEANNE MARIE PLACE 4409: $269,900, Jamiela Sekou to Lavell Wilson.
KNIGHT DRIVE 4926: $230,000, Roosevelt Ellis Nunnery to Deja Raychelle Stepter.
LESSEPS ST. 1316: $250,000, Bryan Chisesi to Jeffrey Sutton.
MAJESTIC OAKS DRIVE 4436: donation, no value stated, Quintin Mitchell to Desire Investments LLC.
MANCHESTER ST. 7020: $87,500, Myrnell Deloris Thomas and Sandra Thomas to La Trading LLC.
MASEFIELD ST. 7831: $214,500, 3 Bol Holdings LLC to Felicia Parish.
MITHRA ST. 1447: $282,500, Eric Barnes Bellard and Michele Amick Bellard to Christopher Michel Grammer, Elizabeth Bordelon Grammer and Nicholas Reagan Grammer.
NEW ORLEANS ST. 1706: $50,000, Yvonne Vallery Davis David to Jason B. Horne.
NEW ORLEANS ST. 2413: $60,000, Oscar Rodriguez, Wendy Martinez and Yojana Barahona to Eduin Cubas Hernandez.
N. ROCHEBLAVE ST. 2042-44 4044: $170,000, Register Holdings LLC to Erin Genovese.
N. ROCHEBLAVE ST. 3155: $165,000, Matthew James Thomas and Valentina Giovanna Luccardi Thomas to Carl Wayne Davis Beasley
PAUGER ST. 4432: $345,000, Angela Harrison Charles and Antonio Agostine Charles III to Hayward Simmons.
PINEDA ST. 4601: $355,000, Reina
SuyapaGonzalezPerez to Jenece L. Siverand.
PONCE DE LEON ST.2871: $460,000, Judith Tricheto Spring Airs 97 LLC.
PORTST. 1317-19: $24,000, Clifton Joseph Bosch III, EdwardErnest Bosch, LauraLorraine Bosch Ledoux and William Joseph Bosch to TJWInvestments LLC.
PRENTISS AVE. 1537: $585,000, Joseph D. Fertitta Jr. to Joseph Allen Fertitta.
RAPIDES DRIVE 1325: $450,000, Daniel J. Tierney to Carter Emmett Edmunds and Sydney Mordoh Edmunds.
RIDGEWAY BLVD.2978: $268,000, Christopher Joseph FrainoSr. to 504 Housing LLC.
SKYVIEW DRIVE 4529: $13,000, Constance Handy Banks and Dominick Banks to Emily Osorio.
ST.ANTHONYST. 1626: $235,000, Kathleen B. Eichert to Paula Larsen Fanshier and Robert M. Fanshier.
ST.ROCH AVE. 2619: $175,000, 2619 St. Roch AveLLC to St.Roch 2619 LLC.
SUMPTER ST.2163-65: $155,000, Bankplus to Alton Robertson and Rachel LyvetteHudson
TIMOLEON ST.2138: $399,999, Meredith Bancroft to Shadavia Jones.
TOURO ST.1809-11: donation,no value stated, Chloe AnnWashington Mhaimid to ZacFamily Trust.
TRIESTE ST.4440: $229,000, Tracy Simmons Delao to Robert J. Delaney III.
WESTERN ST.5217: donation,no value stated, RayOwens Sr. to Raynisha D. Owens.
WICKFIELD DRIVE5323: $385,000, Shane Rice to Louis Gray.
WINDWARD COURT7820: $136,000, Allen Joseph Powell II and Alma Catherine Bryan Powell to Omar TelloGonzalez
DISTRICT 4
CLARA ST.2514: $120,000, RCAF Acquisition Trust to Knightingale Enterprises LLC.
EIGHTH ST.1415: $100 andother good and valuable consideration, Trevor LindsayColhounto MassiveAction LivingTrust.
FOURTH ST.3945, S. BROAD ST. 2700: $1,500,000,2700Bohn Motor LLCtoHomer Foundation
REALESTATETRANSFERS
HARMONYST. 1415: $731,450, Shelley Wallace Kildayand William John Kilday to Catherine Frampton and SadeJ.Atkinson.
ST.MARYST. 1433: donation, no value stated, Julie Edmonds revocable trusttoJulieEdmonds.
SECOND ST.1731: $1,420,000, Connie Skaggs Powell, Ginger Elizabeth Powell and Michael Curtin McBride to Christopher McNair Nelson andSusan Patricia Raine Nelson.
SECOND ST.1904-06: $90,000, G&G Property Development LLC to Lawrence Tognetti &Andrea Tognetti Living Trust.
SECOND ST.2810: $178,500, Triangle LLCtoRealEstate Realness LLC.
SEVENTH ST.1304: $400,000, Pythia LLCtoJorge A. Pineda Living Trust.
SEVENTH ST.819: $630,000, Sally T. Buras to BarbaraOloughlin Manogue andKirk R. Manogue.
ST.CHARLES AVE. 2100: $195,000, Catharine Hill Brosman to Judith Hopper Gaharanand Warren D. Gaharan.
ST.THOMAS ST.2100: $230,000, Sarah Chanmi Jin Leeand Steven David Leeto ChaseMarshall and Christianne Burger Marshall.
S. TONTI ST.2514-16: $185,000, American BanktoFourteen Properties LLC.
DISTRICT 5
ATLANTIC AVE. 102: $427,000, Atlantic 102 LLCtoMichael Morgan Jr. and Morgan Fouss Morgan.
ATLANTIC AVE. 504, 508,512: $180,000, Melissa Warren,Tania Hahnand Thomas Crane to Malamphyand MoreLLC.
CUPID ST.2800: $290,000, Deysi
Edilid Alvarez Alvarez and Joel Isaias Amador Rodriguez to SamanthaElani BrookeSchneider and Zachary Wendell Schneider.
ENGLISH TURN DRIVE 113: $795,000, Thuy Nguyen Cung to Lyle Barthelemy.
GENERAL DE GAULLE DRIVE 2924: $100 and other valuable consideration, ARG DI51PCK001 LLCto Word Church of Algiers.
MORGAN ST.231: $554,500, MarjorieAnn PokornytoMax Velazquez Madison.
PAUL ST.8547001: $10,000, Debra Sue Senn, Jessica McCollum Burrowand John EarlMcCollum to Quiana Michelle Washington.
PELICAN AVE. 319-321: $355,000, Bradley James Martin to Daffin Family 2009 revocable trust.
RIVER OAKS DRIVE 311: $130,000, VictoriaAndrewsCocheran to Nakia Marie Rawles.
SUMNER ST.815-817: $260,000, Natasha N. Malone to DemontazeFleming
DISTRICT 6
ARABELLA ST.423-425: $870,000, Ryan Winsor Kostal and Tyler Ann MooreKostal to Thomas A. O’Dowd Trust of 2000 and VictoriaL.O’Dowd Trust of 2000.
AUDUBON ST.2825: $165,000, Annie S. Celestain and Christopher Johnson Jr. to Heather Matranga Lissarrague and Jeffrey Lissarrague.
CALHOUN ST.428: $1,150,000, Amanda Merrick Seale to Lucille Rogers.
CARONDELET ST.3813-15: $1,125,000, Ignacio N. Alday Sanz and Margarita JoverBiboum Sanz to PSGC Properties LLC.
CHESTNUT ST.5515-17: $971,000,
MaryEllen Lenfant Wilson and Merlin Robert Wilson Jr. to Sabina Doescher and Thomas Doescher.
GENERAL TAYLOR ST.1020: $327,500, UHPLLC to Brett Bartels Molani and Mariam Molani Bartels.
HENRY CLAY304-306: $100 and other good and valuable consideration, Cristin Danielle Morneau to William Connor Nelson.
DERBIGNY ST.3732-34: MargaretH.Warren to Russell Heath, $261,598.
DERBIGNY ST.3732-34: Russell Heath to Onpath Federal Credit Union, $26,160.
FIFTH ST.3008: TMR Properties LLCtoLeBon Temps Holdings LLC, $123,500.
FOLSE DRIVE 4700: Natarjan Muthaiah to Josephine N. Sketchler, $690,000.
HADDON ST.3921: Thomas
ORLEANS
Continuedfrom page 19
PITT ST.5528: $800,000, Catherine Ann Gorman Kuuskraa, DorisAnn Gorman and Madeline Gorman Holbrook to Emily Held Babin and Ernest John Babin III. PRYTANIAST. 4310: $100, DavidY Zapletal to Jacqueline Katz. PRYTANIAST. 4713: $1,150,000, MoiezSaifudeen and Zubaida R. Saifudeen to Ahmade Rochod Chandlerand Brian Jamel Dixon
ST.CHARLES AVE. 4007: $270,000, Dianne Richey Bauer and Edward Frank BauerJr. to George O. Whatley and JenniferM.
T. Nguyen to Mary L. Berger, $320,000.
HESPER AVE. 465: Ellie L. SchurmanntoJoel A. Bonomolo, $316,500.
KENT AVE. 1401: Janet M. Kaleher to Dustin R. Mock,$255,000.
KENT AVE. 717: Colleen Tauzin to VilmaN.Perez, $250,000.
LAKEVISTADRIVE 4508: Steven ForettoFrancesca M. Giugno, $323,000.
MARTIN BEHRMANWALK 1024: Chris C. Cruthirds to MariaO. Cartozzo, $387,000.
ADMIRAL CRAIKDRIVE 379: Debra C. Laws to OMT LLC, $535,000. LA. 11811: BradyC.Wilsonto Marty J. Gisclair, $80,000.
GRETNA
ASHLAND PLACE N. 2437: Kevin C. Williams to Tracey D.W. Collins, $180,000.
CREAGAN AVE. 90: David A. Kalhoefer to Andrew J. Laborie Jr.,
ST.TAMMANY
n TRANSFERS FORJUNE 15-18 ABITASPRINGS
ABITANURSERYSUBDIVISION, LOT12, SQUARE 4: B4C4 Investments LLCtoAshley A. Cantrelle and Dasia D. Cantrelle, $163,000.
ATLAS SUBDIVISION, PORTION OF GROUND: Mark &Kasey LLCto Christina M. Creekmore, $70,000 FIFTH ST.22128: Lynnette H. Soules to Matthew D. Anderson and LindsayD.Anderson, $535,000.
GREATSOUTHERN DRIVE917: John J. Favaloroand Kimberly BowenFavalorotoMarshall P. Ratliffe and Freda Guillot Ratliffe, $749,000.
MARC COURT717: Nancy A. Vesper, LisaR.Vesper and Steven L. Vesper to Wayne J. Burasand Susan M. Buras, $265,000.
SIOUX DRIVE 369: Joel R. Forjet and Felix E. Forjet Jr. to Sarah C Akel Rutter and Justin A. Rutter, $315,000.
COVINGTON
ASPEN LANE 412: Mikal E. Belk and Shelley M. Belk to Matthew D. Ratliff and Tracy N. Miller Ratliff,$720,000.
AVE. DE BELLEVUE 633: William J. Lambertson to Sujith J. Kolady and Ria Roy, $440,000.
$192,500.
RUE ST.LOUIS 2408: Jodi H. ChatterstoTimothyM.Branch Jr., $274,000.
TERRYPARKWAY 224: Jacqueline WoodburnstoNichelle M. Thomas,$150,000.
HARVEY
DULANEY DRIVE 3805: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. to ZmmyLLC,$130,400.
FOSAVE. 611: Daniel P. Martin Jr. to KarenM.Hanzo,donation, no value stated.
MAPLE ST.545: Josephine M. Russo to Joan M. Jenkins, $185,929.
MARVIN COURT1060: KimT.T.N. Trinh to Tuong N. Vy,donation, no value stated.
N. VILLAGE GREENST. 2014: Stephanie D.P. Neese to Jessica L. Melton, $275,000.
PAILET AVE. 918: MBK Investment Group LLCtoJonata C. Morris,
Kevin L. Burnthorne to BrookeA. Voelkel, $338,000.
CALDEN COURT19669: DSLD HomesLLC to Cody Fecke, $274,505
DIVISION OF NEW COVINGTON SUBDIVISION,LOT 2: YIYALLC to Josh A. King and Amanda V. King, $350,000.
DIVISION OF NEW COVINGTON SUBDIVISION,LOTS4, 5, SQUARE 1815: Michael J. Wercholuk and Michelle B. Eiserloh to William M. Tharpe and SandraAnn Douglas, $110,000.
E. 35TH AVE. 522: Paul D. Tufaro to Ross D. Phillips,$111,000.
ELKRIDGE 669: DSLD Homes LLC to Eric Frances andMary Cath-
BAMBOO DRIVE 223: Eric J. Burnthorne Jr., Terri Tara B. Lopez and
$200,000.
RED CEDAR LANE 3816: Jerlyn R. Collins to Elegant Houses LLC, $65,000.
SIENNA DRIVE 3027: My L. VTang to Ngoc VTang, donation, no value stated.
S. VILLAGE GREEN ST.2228: Daysi C. FerreratoTanya E.N. Mejia, $275,000.
TALLOW TREE LANE 1017-1019: Carter Investments Nola LLCto Dacarink LLC, $310,000.
LAFITTE
CHURCH ST.5308: Emily Rodrigue to Virginia M. Kingery,$175,000.
MARRERO
ALEXANDER LANE 3865: NC Cooper ConstructionLLC to Louis T. Nguyen, $330,000.
AVE. D1559: Malcolm Faber Jr. to Holly B. Faber, donation, no value
erine Frances, $429,464.
ELK RIDGE705: DSLD Homes LLC to Jeffrey Kenney and Nancy Kenney,$386,441.
EMERALD FOREST BLVD.350, UNIT 19204: DannyL.Lubritz to Watson Southern Properties LLC, $40,000.
FLOWERS ESTATES,LOT 234: Succession of Leah Z. Garrison to Frederick P. Emanuel and Megan M. Emanuel, $392,500.
HEATHERSTONE SUBDIVISION, PHASEI,LOT 5: Melanie J. Tanner to Christopher W. Shock and JennyR.Puchot, $568,000. LST. 70325: DavidP.Musacchia and Rachel Anne E. Musacchia to Christopher J. Johnston and
LA. 59 74274: Merry S. Hulme and Roxanne S. Williams to Norris D. SimmonsJr.,donation, no value stated.
LA BRANCHEPLACE 461: Highland Homes Inc. to RobbieG Romaine, $655,926.
MELISSALANE 19448: John W. Swiger II to Tina E. Rogers, $560,000.
MILLIKENS BEND 630: Rockwell Builders LLCtoRichardMillerJr. and Jessica Miller, $1,265,000.
MILLION DOLLAR ROAD 16500: EsperanzaC.Lopez Tale to Erica M. Chivalan, donation, no value stated.
NEAR COVINGTON, PORTION
TERRYTOWN
LIVE OAKDRIVE 2821: NewOrleans Area Habitat ForHumanity Inc. to Valeria J. Munoz, $206,000.
WESTWEGO
10TH ST.644: Geraldine Coustaut to Donna M. Webb, $130,000. AVE. C862: AnthonyDillon to Mark Mire,$125,000. AVE. F832-834: Hogan Beach to Carlos Anaya,$222,333.
CELESTINE ST.436: Henry F. Merridth Jr. to Dionne R. Jones, donation, no value stated.
LAROUSSINIST. 159: Larry P. Cancienne to Jessica U. Doucet, $65,000.
WEST DRIVE 800: Jason J. Tabor to RNS InvestmentGroup LLC, $100,000.
OF GROUND: 36 Park Trace LLC to Covington Park Trace LLC, $750,000.
N. HARRISON AVE. 71482: Betty SueLoyd Thompson to Brandy G. Bene, $340,000.
PECANGROVE COURT 18: Alaina C. WischmeyertoRichardG. Gilly and Robbi G. Mercer Gilly, $276,000.
RANDOLPH COURT 331: Haaswood Development LLCto Brian R. Bartlett and Annette T. Bartlett, $750,000.
RIVER CHASE DRIVE 1125: Dan Lesem Medina and Dennise M. Medina to BR Rental Property One LLC, $383,000.
ä See TAMMANY, page 22
REALESTATETRANSFERS
TAMMANY
Continued frompage21
RIVER FORK DRIVE21817: DSLD Homes LLCtoJoshua Thomas and Mallory W. Thomas, $318,805.
ROSALIE COURT 1824: DSLD Homes LLCtoMichael A. Pigg, $294,328.
S. AMERICAST. 605: JohnW.Newman and Helen R. Newman to Andrew M. EdwardsII, $1,570,000.
SPRUCE DRIVE 10: Seymon S. Hartzog III and Pamela B. Hartzog to Dixie C. Hartzog,$160,000.
W. 25TH AVE. 405: Ryan C. Gravolet and Juliann D. Gravolet to Kenneth LeCompte andLaurie LeCompte, $649,000.
WATERCROSS ESTATES,PHASE 2, LOT74: Watercross Development LLCtoAdrienne Y. Jemison, $93,000.
LACOMBE
EAST ST.30167: ThomasW Murphyand Gloria H. Murphyto Elaine Cole, $277,000.
HELTEMES LANE 27200: Succession of Susan F. LancontoRonda Cairns, $290,000.
PERKINS ROAD,PORTION OF GROUND: Daystar Builders Inc. to Pamela S. Penton, donation,no value stated.
PONTCHARTRAIN DRIVE61259: Kyle B. Lovett to Brian Galloway and DestinyK.McCurdy, $215,000.
ST.LOUIS ROAD,PORTION OF GROUND: Daystar Builders Inc. to Pamela S. Penton, donation,no value stated.
ST.LOUIS ROAD,PORTION OF
GROUND: Daystar Builders Inc. to Pamela S. Penton,donation, no value stated.
TOWN OF LACOMBE,LOTS3,4, 9, 10, SQUARE 67: H3 Construction LA LLCtoPamela S. Penton, donation, no valuestated.
MADISONVILLE
AUDUBON PARKWAY 1412: Morgan P. Foretand Thomas K. Foret to Dylan P. Means and Courtney M. Means,$400,000.
BELLINGRATH PLACE 215: George A. Strain and Donna S. Strain to RobertP.Topel andChristine B. Topel,$445,000.
DEER PARK COURT1253: Charles J. Jeanfreau Jr. andSusan L. Jeanfreau to Matthew H. Jones and OliviaH.Jones,$355,000.
DEER PARK DRIVE 1032: Joseph W. Ensmingerand Diana L. Ensminger to LauraG.Willie Moore, $359,900.
GAINESWAY DRIVE 443: Nicole Larcombe to El Triple Properties LLC, $271,000.
KATIE COURT425: Stephen M. Looney to CynthiaH.Peed, $61,000.
MAIN ST.1124: Jason R. Altman and Jennifer T. Altman to Christopher J. Coniglio and Brandie F. Coniglio,$535,000.
MERION CIRCLE 204: Ryan R. Gallardo to Kyle J. Kingand Kylene L. King, $95,000.
NEAR MADISONVILLE, PORTION OF GROUND: All State Financial Co. to WillowGrove LLC, $5,000,000.
SECLUDED FOREST WAY108: James L. Briscoe andTammyB Briscoe to VanJohn GaljourIII and Katelyn N. Dubroc, $450,000.
SPIKEDRIVE 71704: DSLD Homes
LLCtoTanner Landry,$205,040.
SPIKEDRIVE 71732: DSLD Homes
LLCtoPatrick Frame, $215,165.
STILL COURT800: Paul M. Mastio and Katie B. Mastio to Brad Desselle and Melissa Desselle, $450,000.
SWEET CLOVER WAY1216: Darling DesignHomes Inc. to Darryl Gaudet Jr. and Trenton Nichols, $538,000.
CHATEAUANDELOT 616: William G. Wilmette and Aimee P. Wilmette to Robert J. Batherson and MaryB.Batherson, $585,000.
COLONY TRAIL DRIVE 53: Robertr G. Davisand Amber N. Davisto Brandon Young and PaigeYoung, $535,000.
DUPRE ST.1730: CoreyM.Matherne, Lonnie J. Matherne and others to JohnB.SpeyrerJr., donation, no value stated.
SANCTUARYBLVD. 143: Roy W. Boudreaux III and Shelley L. Boudreaux to ShawnTorres and ShannonR.Bunch Torres, $2,000,000.
TWIN OAKS SUBDIVISION,LOT 5: Rhett O. Abraham and Maria M. Abraham to Nicole K. Pinner, $645,000.
WOODCREST CONDOMINIUM, UNIT 255: Victory Hill Trustto Thomas V. Roan Jr., $460,000.
WOODLAWN LANE 106: IRA Innovations LLCtoAnna Loughridge, $410,000.
PEARLRIVER
LA. 36 36277: Ryan M. Leeto MichaelBlackwelland Molly Blackwell, $180,000.
SLIDELL
AUTUMN LAKES ROAD 373: RichardG.Davis and Rita M. Davis to Eugene Mitchell, $348,000.
CARA MAE ST.40547: D.R. Horton Inc.-Gulf CoasttoPhillip C. Montgomery and DelizaA.Montgomery,$244,900.
CENTRAL PARK SUBDIVISION, LOTS 40, 41, SQUARE 11: Norman Vance and Juneitte D. Vance to Nicholas Vance, Melissa Thonn and Brandi Terlingo, donation, no value stated.
CLEVELAND ST.38140: Brock Lawrence to Clarence Stewart Jr., $280,000.
CLIPPER ESTATES,PHASE 8, LOT 292: MichaelR.LaurenttoMandy C. Laurent, donation, no value stated.
COCI ROAD,LOT 5: Hickory Creek Developers LLCtoPamela S. Penton, donation, no value stated.
OF GROUND: Python Brownto Lori B. Krumm, donation, no value stated.
INDIAN VILLAGE CAMP SITES SUBDIVISION,LOT 26: Joey C. Lamarqueand Angela W. Lamarque to Mark C. Ellinwood,$9,000.
JEFFERSON DRIVE 413: Sandra Nell Graham L. Tillman to Kyle B. Lovett, donation, no value stated.
LEFLEUR DRIVE 203: ShirleyC. Carroll revocable living trustto George M. GloverJr. and Michelle L. Glover, $310,000.
MARAIS RIVER DRIVE 4697: D.R. Horton Inc.-GulfCoasttoRuthI. Ansari, $229,000.
MAYERS TRACE 304: Madeline L. Bryant to Cedric Angeles and MiaKaplan Angeles, $320,000.
N. MAGNOLIA ST.758: Adair Holdings LLCtoRichardC.BooverSr. and Gaylynn M. Boover, $45,000.
NEAR SLIDELL, LOTS 28-31: H3 Construction LA LLCtoPamela S. Penton, donation, no value stated.
NEAR SLIDELL, PORTION OF GROUND: GastonJ.Baptiste Gelis Estate to BayouLiberty DG LLC, $59,000.
NEAR SLIDELL, PORTION OF GROUND: Jax Investments LLCto BayouLiberty DG LLC, $93,334.
NEAR SLIDELL, PORTION OF GROUND: H3 Construction LA LLC to Pamela S. Penton, donation, no value stated.
ROOKS DRIVE 113: RobbinJ BrowntoWillie Mae D. Jones, donation, no value stated. S. PALM DRIVE 3004: MarcA. Kuchlerirrevocable trustIIto Thomas J. Berry and Dana L. Montgomery,$256,000.
GRANDE MAISON SUBDIVISION, PHASE3C, LOT222: Grande Maison Development LLCtoSean Bennett CustomHomes LLC, $80,000.
HAZEL DRIVE 1775: Thomas Lovell and Halee Dickinson-Lovell to MarcFrancl and LyndraFrancl, $797,000.
LIBBYLANE 799: Chongsheng Zhu and Lanjuan Zhao to Charles P. HollsteinIII, Melanie G. Hollstein, Charles P. Hollstein Jr. and Janice Hollstein, $549,000.
MONTGOMERYST. 1843: Louis K. Ogle Sr.and Margaret J. Berger Ogle to Gregory B. Whiteand Anna G. White, $309,000.
NEAR MANDEVILLE, PORTION OF GROUND: Dana M. Garvey to Lisa G. Garvey,$1,025,000.
RED OAKLANE 2001: Marcia C. Mayard to Kathleen B. Mumme, donation, no value stated.
RUELLE DRIVE 105: Burke E. Smith II to Patrick R. Bossetta and Marlene Bossetta, $752,000.
CROSS GATES BLVD.899: Rodney Ward and ErikaD.WardtoKeiko Y. Landry,donation, no value stated.
E. LAKESHORE VILLAGE DRIVE 436: KendraB.Gonzalesand George A. GonzalestoKarnola H. Foxand Lashan Fox, $345,000.
E. MARINA VILLA 4073: Samuel D. Sorensen and Lisa R. Sorensen to William J. Seal and Bobbi N. Seal, $779,000.
EIGHTH ST.1411: Kyle N. Jackson to Christopher CampbellJr. and Jayla Campbell, $166,160.
FRONTST. 1124, 1150,1184: Faye E. Fatima Lott, Legacy DevelopmentCo. LC,EronT.Lotttestamentary Trust and SHL Commercial Property Co.LCtoFirminb VetProperties LLC, $500,000.
GREENCREST DRIVE 156: Paul R. Tycer, LadyP.Pachi Hooker,Rex S. Houser and TiffanyT.Houser to Ryan D. Nguyen,$130,000. IDLEWILD PINES ROAD,PORTION
SHYLOCK DRIVE 1621: Lance T. Evans to Brandon Campbelland Ragine Campbell, $199,000.
SPRINGBRANCH DRIVE 621: Catherine G. Doyle Waguespack to Stephen M. Frey,donation, no value stated.
THATCHERDRIVE 133: JayE Badeauxand WendyD.Badeaux to Kyle Badeauxand Leighton Williams,$378,000.
U.S. 90 52620: Phyllis M. Divincenti Draughon to Cober Properties and Consulting LLC, $1,000,000. WINDWARD PASSAGEST. 222: Open BoxLLC to Jack V. Pertuit and Sonya G. Pertuit,$70,000.
SUN/BUSH
L. CRAWFORD ROAD 81081: Bonnie B. Ulvik to TerrellF.StuardJr. and Cherylin G. Stuard, $32,000. NEAR SUN,PORTION OF GROUND: Adrian G. Spelland Nancy Stein SpelltoJohnathan A. Spell, donation, no value stated.
Dear Annie: I’m writing for advice about adear friend, “Meg,” who we’ve known for more than40 years. She has a son, “Rodney,” who went to high school with our son and who has always been on the edge of being an outlaw.
Over the years, we’ve seen Rodney continuously depend on his parents to finance his escapades. We saw him wreck hiscar and then his parents’ so that, for atime, the family had no means of transportation.
We saw Meg pay for avery expensive college education where he only took onecourse: bowling. We saw Rodney join afraternity where he quickly became an alcoholic. Rodney
“worked” for his father’sbusiness and had achild out of wedlock. Themother of his child marriedaresponsible man and has raised their child, thankfully Today,Meg’shusband has asevere case of Alzheimer’s, and she cares for him in their home, though he really needs to be in afacility with 24-hour supervision.
Recently,the mother of Rodney’schild found him unconscious after drinking toomuch and took him to Meg’shouse. She then took him to arehab facility.He’sbeen there for twoweeks now,and the bill is up to $18,000. Thefacilitytold Megthat if she doesn’tpay for his continued care, he will be discharged.
My question is, should Meg continue tofinance Rodney’s outrageous behavior and
risk having no moneyfor her husband’scare and her retirement? Or should she allow the facilitytoput Rodney out on the street? —ChoosingBetween Husband and Son
Dear Choosing: Fromwhat you’ve described, Meg has spent years trying to save Rodney from the consequences of his choices. Unfortunately,no amount of money can make someone get sober.
Meg’sresponsibilityisnot only to her son but also to her husband and herself, especially given the realities of his Alzheimer’s. If Rodneyhas any chance of turning his life around, he must get sober,and resources are available to him beyond his mother’scheckbook.
Sometimes the most loving thing aparent can do is stop standing between an adult
child and the consequences of his actions. But as difficult as it is to watch afriend struggle, this decision isn’tyours to make. It’sMeg’s.
Dear Annie: Iwanted to thank you for cautioning “My OCD Nightmare”about their casual use of the term “OCD.”
Obsessive-compulsive disorder doesn’tjust run in my mother’sside of the family; it gallops at full speed and hands out partyfavors. My grandmother, her sister,mygreataunt,myown brother,my motherand Iall have it. Ilaugh about it withmyhusband at timesbecause on rare occasions, it can be funny (don’tget me startedonwrinkles in the sheets!). But other times, no,
By The Associated Press
Today is Saturday,July 11, the 192nd day of 2026. There are 173 days left in the year.
TodayinHistory:
On July 11, 1995, the U.N.designated “safe haven” of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina fell to Bosnian Serb forces, who subsequentlycarried out the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Also on this date:
In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally reestablished by acongressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.
In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton duringapistol duel in Weehawken, NewJersey. (Hamilton died the next day.)
In 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower,chimed forthe first time.
In 1864, Confederateforces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an abortive invasion of Washington, D.C.; the raid was turned back the next day.
In 1914, Babe Ruth made his
Major League baseball debut, pitching the BostonRed Sox to a4-3 victory over Cleveland.
In 1921, fighting in the Irish WarofIndependence ended with atruce.
In 1960, Harper Lee’snovel “ToKill aMockingbird” was published.
In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer, of the United States, and defending champion Boris Spassky,ofthe Soviet Union, began play in Reykjavik, Iceland.(Fischer won after 21 games.)
In 1979, the abandoned U.S space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
In 1991, aNigeria Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, international airport, killing all 261 people on board.
In 2006, eight bombs hit a commuter rail network during evening rush hour in Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people.
In 2022, PresidentJoe Biden revealed thefirst image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the farthest humanityhad ever seen in bothtime and distance, closer to the dawn of theuniverse and the edge of the cosmos.
Today’sbirthdays: Actor Susan Seaforth Hayes is 83. Actor Bruce McGill is 76. Actor Stephen Lang is 74. Actor Mindy Sterling is 73. Actor Sela Ward is 70. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru)is69. Singer Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) is 69. Actor MarkLester is 68. Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is 68. Singer Suzanne Vega is 67. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora(Bon Jovi) is 67. Actor Lisa Rinna is 63. Author Jhumpa Lahiri is 59. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 59. Actor Justin Chambers (TV:“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 56. Actor Michael Rosenbaum(TV:“Smallville”) is 54. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 52. Pro Football HallofFamer Andre Johnson is 45. Pop-jazz singermusician Peter Cincotti is 43. Actor SerindaSwan is 42. Actor David Henrieis37. Actor Connor Paolo is 36. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 30.
it’snot funny at all, and it can be very,very upsetting. So thank you for telling “My OCD Nightmare” to be careful. I’d add that if they really think they have OCD, help can be found, if necessary. —ItRuns in the Family
DearItRuns in the Family: Thank you for sharing your family’s experience. Your letter made me smile, but the point behind it is an important one. OCD is muchmore than being neat and organized, and I’m glad you reminded readers that help is available for those who are struggling.
Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators. com.
Annie Lane
DEAR ANNIE
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