Prospective deal would transform state’s coastal southwest
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL, ALEX LUBBEN and ADAM DAIGLE Staff writers
Louisiana is in the final stages of a deal to bring Elon Musk’s SpaceX to coastal Vermilion Parish, where the aerospace giant is planning to build a new spaceport that will launch rockets into orbit from an 18-mile stretch of marshland about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette.
The prospective deal, which has been rumored for months, would forever transform the remote area by bringing potentially thousands of jobs and a massive influx of aerospace and other commercial activity to the remote coastal community
The site for the planned facility, known as Pecan Island, is at the center of a complex settlement agreement resolving dozens of coastal lawsuits that blame ExxonMobil for pollution and land loss.
According to a source with firsthand knowledge of the agreement who was not at liberty to speak publicly, the settlement will in-
volve SpaceX receiving control of the land, some 130,000 acres in all, whether through a sale, long-term lease or other type of arrangement.
The deal, which is expected to be announced this month by Gov. Jeff Landry will be the latest economic development coup for an administration that has attracted
Bridge toll companies faced lawsuits, concerns
‘We’re learning from their mistakes,’ Lake Charles lawmaker says
The companies responsible for tolling once construction
BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN and MEGAN WYATT Staff writers
The companies responsible for tolling once construction
finishes on the new Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge have been mired in controversy over problems with their tolling infrastructure on another south Louisiana bridge, leading to lawsuits and questions from public officials about the state’s continued partnership with them. Public infrastructure company Plenary and tolling operator Kapsch’s work on the Belle Chasse Bridge in Plaquemines Parish prompted widespread complaints from residents after it opened
BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
A BRIDGE TOO STEEP
last year, who said the tolling system frequently malfunctioned and led to locals receiving fee bills as high as $7,000. Under pressure,
state officials suspended tolling last October on the Belle Chasse Bridge while the state and companies faced lawsuits from Plaquemines Par-
ish and a group of residents. In the meantime, Louisiana has moved forward with the same two companies as the lead developer and tolling operator for the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles, which broke ground in April and is expected to finish construction in 2031. The Lake Charles bridge’s toll would be the only required one on I-10 spanning the nation’s east to west coasts. Lake Charles bridge project
deals of unprecedented size and scale to the state, including one of the world’s largest AI data centers, some of its largest LNG export terminals and a major new steel mill. Those deals, touted by the Landry administration as badly needed job creators, are raising concerns from environmental advocates, who are questioning their impact on the state’s environment
ä See SPACEPORT, page 4A
LSU racing to raise millions in new sports era
From privatization to private equity deals, options abound
BY ALYSE PFEIL and JON BLAU Staff writers
LSU will convene its biggest sports donors this week in two closed-door meetings at the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion to discuss “the future of LSU athletics” and propose an “alternative revenuegenerating opportunity” that university leaders say could “change the future of college sports in America.”
What exactly that means isn’t clear because officials say their plan will be made public after getting feedback from donors. What the meeting portends for LSU and major college athletics, however, is better understood.
Division I schools have faced “absolute financial pressure” ever since a recent NCAA legal settlement allowed them to pay upward of $20.5 million to studentathletes each year, said Kathryn KisskaSchulze, a sports tax scholar and professor of business and law at Clemson University
“Major athletic departments have become so financially stressed that they are actively searching for revenue models that did not exist in college sports even just a couple of years ago,” she said. A range of solutions are being implemented. The University of Kentucky moved to privatize its athletic department in 2025 to break free of the revenue-generating strictures of public institutions. The University of Utah opted for a private equity deal to inject more cash into its athletic programs.
LSU, which is under tremendous financial pressure, is also looking for a fix. It’s rumored that LSU’s 2026 football roster, constructed by first-year coach
“I think that there’s something for everybody,” Kraemer said.
“Every program will be something that people will remember for many years to come.”
“Spectacular” is how Matthew Kraemer describes the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming 2026-27 season as he steps into a new role as conductor of the season. Filled with immersive performances and new efforts to bring in first-time concertgoers, Kraemer said Season 42 represents a broader shift in how the Acadiana Symphony hopes audiences experience what attending the orchestra looks and feels like
The season blends traditional performances such as Beethoven and the Bayou with popular performances including “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in concert, Sinatra and Beyond at Moncus Park and the world premiere of “A Cajun Night Before Christmas.”
Several concerts will also feature visual elements designed to create a more immersive
experience. Also, this is the first time the orchestra will introduce $10 balcony tickets for many performances, which is an effort aimed at making the symphony more accessible to audiences who may have never considered attending a symphony
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Chasse Bridge
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
The new bridge over the Industrial Canal in Belle Chasse is seen on May 6, 2025.
bridge
PROVIDED PHOTO By LSU ATHLETICS
was one of the first schools to line up a jersey sponsor, Woodside Energy.
10 confirmed dead in Pakistan avalanche
ISLAMABAD Renowned BritishNepali climber Nirmal Purja and nine other climbers swept away by an avalanche in Pakistan are confirmed to have died, and search teams are trying to recover their bodies, Purja’s expedition company said Saturday
“The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,” the company, Elite Exped, said in a statement. It stressed that it mourned all the lives lost, adding: “No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss.”
The 10-member expedition was swept away by an avalanche Thursday on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.
Rescuers found four bodies and recovered three of them Friday in harsh weather that hampered flights by search and rescue helicopters. Rescuers backed by military helicopters had resumed a search earlier on Saturday for the others.
Earlier Saturday, a local police official, Tahir Khan, said the remains of Omani climber Nathira Ahmed were being flown to the capital, Islamabad, while the bodies of American climber Mallory Geis and Nepalese climber Bahadur Gurung remained at a hospital in Skardu, the main city in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Anti-whaling ship
seized, crew detained
LONDON Icelandic coast guards and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation said Saturday
The Icelandic Coast Guard said the crew of whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance on Thursday evening because they believed their safety was under threat from the protest vessel Bandero. It said the Bandero ignored coast guards’ instructions to leave Icelandic waters, and later an order to stop its engines.
Coast guards and the police special forces Viking Squad boarded the vessel around midnight on Thursday and detained its crew Watson was not aboard.
The Captain Paul Watson Foundation confirmed in a statement that the vessel had been seized. It said the 21 crew members were being detained aboard the ship without their phones.
The ship arrived Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, and police have taken over the investigation, the coast guard agency said. Icelandic national broadcaster RUV reported that police will seek to deport the crew and ban them from returning to Iceland.
Canada-born Watson, 75, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities, featured in the reality television series “Whale Wars” and regularly landed him in jail. He left Sea Shepherd in 2022 to set up his foundation.
His hard-line tactics have split the movement he started, and marine firms have accused the anti-whaling activists of endangering vessels and lives Moscow officials: 3 killed, 21 injured in bombing
An improvised explosive device detonated at a restaurant Saturday in central Moscow killing at least three people, including the bomber, Russian state media said, citing local officials. At least 21 people were also injured when the IED detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in Moscow, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said, quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
An unidentified woman who attempted to carry the explosive device into the restaurant died in the blast as did a security guard and a patron, the news agency said.
Ria Novosti reported the woman attempted to smuggle the IED into the establishment but the security guard refused to let her in before the bomb exploded.
The attack was still being investigated the Moscow Investigative Committee told the news agency
President threatens more strikes on Iran
Tensions from Hormuz to Kuwait, Gaza lead to warnings
BY SAMY MAGDY and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
CAIRO U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran as the United States presses for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours later on Saturday, Kuwait said it responded to a new round of drone attacks from Iran while a tanker was struck in the strategic waterway Meanwhile, Israel carried out heavy strikes on the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to disarm.
Speaking to reporters Friday during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump said “we just want to win” in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S military action to continue for some time.
He said the U.S. will hit Iran “very hard” until they can’t take it anymore.
Later that day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department issued new security alerts for Americans in 10 countries in the region to exercise heightened caution due to the escalating tensions with Iran.
The warnings covering Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates — urged U.S. citizens to prepare for the possibility of flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
New attacks on Kuwait and on shipping
Kuwait’s military said Saturday that its forces were responding to drone attacks which were part of Iran’s
assaults on the country
In a statement, Maj Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, spokesperson for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, said the drones hit “a number of vital facilities,” including a government structure in the country’s north. He said there were no casualties.
The British Navy said Saturday that a tanker was struck and a separate explosion hit close to a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported in either incident, it said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said an unknown projectile hit the vessel on Friday 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman. The attack damaged the vessel’s engine room.
The group said that on Saturday a large splash and an explosion were reported close to another tanker while it was sailing 21 nautical miles northwest of Khasab city
Separately, crude oil appeared to be leaking and spreading in recent days from a sanctioned tanker grounded off the coast of Oman, close to a marine protected area, satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show
Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorization as part of its ongoing conflict with the U.S. Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas says it will disarm Intense Israeli strikes Friday night and Saturday killed at least four people in central and northern Gaza and wounded dozens more, according to local health officials.
The strikes overnight in Gaza followed evacuation warnings by Israel’s military, which said on Saturday that it had struck Hamas targets across the territory and dismantled five Hamas storage facilities.
The strikes came after Hamas confirmed Friday that it will disarm in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, though major obstacles remain.
Lawsuit claims agency has halted class complaints
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused of suspending federal claims
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press
NEW YORK A labor union and two female prison employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing a U.S civil rights agency of unlawfully halting their sexual harassment case as part of wider order to indefinitely suspend proceedings in all federal-sector class claims. The lawsuit claims that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ordered an indefinite suspension of federal-sector class complaints pending before the agency’s administrative judges, who handle discrimination complaints from federal workers in a process that is different than for private sector workers.
The two women, who are correctional officers at a Louisiana federal prison, have a pending certified class complaint against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, claiming that prison management failed to prevent and correct widespread sexual harassment by inmates against female workers, including rape threats, unwanted touching and nudity The women, Deanna Chelette and Alexzandria Boyd, were joined in their lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers.
It is not clear why the EEOC gave the suspension directive, which the agency had not publicly disclosed, or how many other cases are affected. The EEOC referred all questions to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment Under President Donald Trump, the
EEOC has drastically overhauled its civil rights enforcement priorities, including prioritizing cases aimed at stamping out diversity and inclusion policies, dropping cases on behalf of transgender workers and abandoning longstanding tools for investigating systemic discrimination.
The changes have prompted several lawsuits against EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, who says she is pursuing an “even-handed” and “colorblind” vision of workplace civil rights.
But it’s not apparent how the order to suspend federal-sector class claims fits into the EEOC’s new priorities. In the court filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the EEOC had provided “no reasoned explanation for a blanket policy that halts an entire category of discrimination cases.” The lawsuit seeks to have the suspension directive vacated.
“Without an explanation, it’s hard to infer what the EEOC’s intentions behind this were, but it’s hard to ignore that this is part of a broader campaign at the EEOC to undermine the ability of employees to protect rights that Congress has provided to them under the civil rights laws,” said Joseph Sellers, co-chair of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll’s civil rights and employment practice and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The pending class complaint claimed that management at Louisiana’s Federal Correctional Complex at Pollock failed to stop inmates from subjecting female workers to sexual harassment. The complaint included declarations from eight other women who also described the harassment and management’s response, and estimated that the class complaint would include least 182 women. The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to requests for comment.
Michigan Supreme Court rejects pipeline permit
Planned tunnel would run under Great Lakes
BY JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press
The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward.
The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-yearold pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for 4 miles along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.
Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.
The Michigan Public Service Commission granted a permit to build the tunnel in 2023. Four Michigan tribal nations along with several environmental groups sued.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday that when they granted the permit, regulators failed to consider if the tunnel project will extend the lifetime of the pipeline, resulting in more harm to the environment.
The ruling also said the Public Service Commission wasn’t consistent when it compared alternatives to the pipeline like using trucks or trains to move the oil and didn’t assess how the tunnel might impact fishing, boating and other public trust rights on the Great Lakes.
Opponents of the pipeline say this type of project has never been done anywhere else and would turn the Straits of Mackinac, which is a sacred site for the Indigenous Anishinaabe tribes, into a construction site for years.
A Palestinian woman inspects the scene of an Israeli airstrike near al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday.
and natural resources. Other critics contendthat the tax breaks companies are receiving are too large.
Landry has declined to commentonthe SpaceX deal, thoughhepreviously confirmed asettlementin the coastal suits. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois declinedtocomment.
SpaceX declined to comment for this storybut referred to aprevious statement the company posted on X, stating that it plans to expand its launch capacity.
“Weare constantly exploring to find viable sitestoexpand Starship operations in thefuture, both domestically and internationally,” the company said in itssocial media post.
Emerging picture
Speculation about the SpaceX deal has been building for months.
Earlier this spring, the Louisiana Legislature passed apackage of incentivesdesigned to attract aerospace companies to the state. The far-reaching bills, since signed into law by Landry,would shield aerospace companies from liability and would block local governments and individuals from suing for damages related to physicalor economic harm caused by launch operations.
Landry and his economic development officials have said the incentives are necessary to make Louisiana competitive for aerospace companies that create goodpaying jobs.
Then, in June, Landry announced asettlementof the coastal suits. Under the agreement, anotice of which has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, ExxonMobil is expected to turn over to the state land it has owned in Vermilion Parish since the1950s andleased out for recreational hunting and fishing. The terms have not been made public, as with the other coastal settlements.
SpaceXwill then take control of the site, according to the source familiar with the deal, which is expectedtoinclude provisionsfor coastal restoration and protection.
Earlier this year,SpaceX notified regulators that it intends to launch up to 1 million low-Earth-orbit satellitesintospace —anexponential increase in its capacity thatwill require more launchpads.
Experts say Pecan Island, with apermanent population of about100, would be attractive to SpaceX because it is sparsely populated, is close to the Gulf and the Intracoastal Waterway with deep-water accessthat could accommodate heavy rockets on barges, and is midway between SpaceX facilities in Texas and Florida. It also has an abundance of natural gas, aneeded fuel source It is unclearhow large theLouisianafacilitywould be.Aerospace experts have said the company would
The stateis finalizing adeal to bring SpaceXtoVermilion Parish,creatingthousandsofjobs and sparking debates overenvironmental impact and regulatorychanges.
likely use afractionofthe 130,000acres foralaunch site, reserving the rest for an acoustic barrier SpaceX’sBoca Chica, Texas, launch site is about 140 acres, andislicensed by the Federal Aviation Administration for 25 launches and landings ayear. It has some 3,400 employees.
Asource familiar withthe company’splans forLouisianasaid thetotal number of jobs createdbythe project will be in thethousands.
Waivingregulations?
Last week,the FAAproposed sweeping rule changes that would allow aerospace companies seeking to launchrocketstobypass more than adozen environmental protection laws. The changes, experts say,would help pave the way forthe SpaceX deal in Louisiana.
Theproposal filed Thursday by theFAA would waive 13 laws governing commercial rocketlaunch and reentry licenses, effectively doing away with protections underthe National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean WaterAct,Clean AirAct and the National Historic Preservation Act,aswell as coastal and marinemammal protections.
Secretary ofTransportation Sean Duffysaidthe move would eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and enhance thenation’scompetitiveness.
“America won thefirst space race, and we can do
This is a view from Freshwater City Road south of PecanIsland in Vermilion Parish, where at least one commercial space company is in talks with large landowners to purchase property
it again —but only if we get government redtape out of theway,” Duffysaidlast week.
If implemented, the changes, whichdonot require congressional approval, would enable SpaceX to build launchpads and blast its reusable Starshiprockets into orbit without having to undergo the kind of environmental reviews and scrutiny it has faced at its Boca Chica launch site in south Texas.
“SpaceX is obviously the largestbeneficiarybyan order of magnitude because SpaceX holds the most licenses and files the most applications—but the rule is writtenfor the whole industry,” said Kimberly SiversenBurke,directorof governmental affairswith the Florida consulting firm Quilty Space, which advises aerospace companies.
“I have no idea what is going to happenatPecan Island,”she said. “But Ido know there will never be a more favorable moment to build this for SpaceX.”
Environmentalconcerns
In recent weeks, as speculation in Vermilion Parish has built about the proposed aerospace facility,locals have respondedwithmuted reactions. Some have expressed concern over the project’senvironmental impacts, while elected officials have touted the potential economic benefits to an area that hascontinuedtolose jobsand young people in recent decades.
At aspeechtoanarea Rotary Club last monththat attractedmorethan200 localshungry for details about therumored spaceport, stateSen.Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, saidlocal leaders shouldprepare for the project because of itspotential economic impact, though he said he was not privy to details of the negotiations anddid notname the company
So far,officials have remained largely silent on the issue of what such afacility would mean foranenvironment thathas lost miles of coast to erosion over the years, andtothe abundant wildlife —fish, waterfowl and migratory birds that have madePecan Island a popular destination for sport fishing and seasonal hunting. The newrulesproposed by the FAAwould “waive requirements of laws of the U.S.for alicense or permit, after consultation with the head of the appropriate executive agency,when therequirement is not necessary to protect the public health andsafety,safety of property,and national security
andforeign policyinterests of the UnitedStates,” the text of the proposal reads, in part.
SiversenBurke said the changes are unprecedented, noting that “no administrationhas ever pulled this lever at scale that Iamaware of —13statutes at once.”
She said theenvironmental ramifications for aplace like Pecan Island could potentially be “tragic.”
Currently,a proposed spaceport on coastal marsh wouldtrigger an environmental-impact statement, wetlands dredge-and-fill review, consistency with Louisiana’s coastalprogram,
Gulf fisheries consultation, and an Endangered Species Act consultation “that would put the whooping crane up against Elon,” she said. Under the proposed rules, “itall goes away with an FAAlicense.”
As news of theproposed rule changestrickledout last week,environmental groupsaround the country began responding.
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for BiologicalDiversity told the trade publication FLYING that the White House “wants to gut even the most basic environmental safeguards to enrich someofthe world’swealthiest people.”
“We’ve seen real environmentaldamage from the exploding rocket toys of the super-rich,” he said.“You can be damnsure we’ll fight this obscene giveaway to special interests.”
A30-daypublic comment period on the proposed rules expires Aug. 31.
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) andthe FederalHighway Administration (FHWA) inviteall interested parties to attend an openhousepublic hearing on theproposedI-49 Lafayette Connector Project in LafayetteParish. The I-49 LafayetteConnector is a future5.5-mile segment of highway that will extendI-49fromI-10tothe LafayetteRegional Airport.Representatives of LADOTD and the project team will be present to provideinformation relativetothe general location and designfeatures of the roadway,the relocation assistanceprogram and the right-of-way acquisition process, the project’s purpose and need, its consistency with local urban planning goals and objectives, and reasonably foreseeable social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed project and the procedures forsubmitting comments. The date, time and location arelisted below.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Open House: 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Public CommentSession:6:00p.m.
Downtown Convention Center 124S Buchanan St,Lafayette,LA70501
The public hearing will consist of an open house from 4:30-6:00 pm,followed by apublic commentsession starting at 6:00 pm,until all comments are received.The public is invited to viewproject information at their convenienceand ask questions of theproject team during the open house. Comments will be accepted during the open houseatthe commentstation. Thoseinattendancewishing to provideoralstatements to the project team can do so in thepublic comment session. The DSEIS forthe project is also availablefor reviewatthe LADOTDDistrict Office in Lafayette(228 Rue des Voyages), theLafayettePublic Library (Main Library) and online at www.lafayetteconnector.com, on or beforethe public hearing date. Comments received at the hearing, or received on or before September 12, 2026, will be included in thehearing transcript.
If special assistanceisrequired duetoa disability or if atranslator is needed to participateinthis public hearing, pleasecontact Kara Occhipintiwith the I-49 PublicOutreach team by email at communications@lafayetteconnector.com, or by telephone at (337)233-1515, extension 106 at least fiveworking days
PHOTO By STEPHANIE RIEGEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID J. PHILLIP
Russia hits Ukrainiancapital with ballisticmissiles, drones
Overnightbarrage kills at leastnine
BY VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press
KYIV,Ukraine Russia launchedan intense barrage of ballistic missiles and drones overnightinto Saturday,killing at least nine people and wounding 33 civilians in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv,authoritiessaid.
The strikes follow amajor Russian attack two days earlier that killed at least 10 people and wounded morethan 50 others acrossUkraine, as Moscow apparently looks to exploit Kyiv’scritical shortage of Western-supplied anti-ballistic missile defenses. The relentless cycle of attacksdims the potential of reaching adiplomatic end to Russia’smore than 4-year-old invasion of its neighbor
Afive-story residentialbuilding in the city’sSolomianskyi District was damaged by falling debris and afire broke out. Rescue workers evacuated35people from theupper floors of the building and two people died, with eight reported injured,including two children, according to Ukraine’sstate emergencyservice.
In the Darnytskyi District of Kyiv,seven people were killed and another 14 injured after the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, an administrative and non-residential building, the
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREMLUKATSKy
Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire followingRussian missile attacks in Kyiv,Ukraine, on Saturday.
emergency services said. Elsewhere, emergency workers extinguished afire in anonresidential building in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyidistrict. There was no additional information about earlierreports by the district mayorthatpeople were trapped in another residentialbuilding.
Damage to commercial andresidential buildings was reportedin two other city districts
Lithuania’s foreign minister said the country’sembassy in Kyiv was damaged when missilesstruck nearby overnight.
Russia’sdefense ministry said
Saturday it had launched a“massive strike”against “Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and logistics centers in Kyiv.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed the United States andother Westernpartnersover Ukraine’sneed for morePatriot anti-ballisticmissile defense systems to counter missile attacks from Russia.
“Every packageofballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of ourpeople.And every night without them results in morecasualties,” he wrote on Xfollowing the latest attacks.
FBIinvestigatescyberattack reportsonwater systems
Michigan identifies nine attacks
BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press
Michigan on Saturday joined Minnesota in reporting cyberattacks on nine of the state’swater systems but an official said all systems were operating “safely.”
Earlier this week, authorities said cyberattacks targeted over 30 water systems in Minnesota. The source of the attacks is being investigated, but they came amid warnings that Iranian hackers have been focused on such systems.
The reports in Michigan surfaced afterthe state received afederal cyber alert Tuesday aboutattempts to tamper withoperational technology at water systems Soon after,the state received “a small numberof reports from Michigan communities indicating activity consistent withwhat federal agencies described,” said Dale George, the director of communications at the state’sDepartment of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.Helatersaid nine systemswere impacted.
“All systems continuedto operate safely,issues were addressed by local operators, and there are no known impacts that posed apublic health concern,”George said in an statement.
The FBI, which is investigating,has notpublicly identified aculprit and aspokesperson declined to say Thursday who the bureau thought might be responsible. The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other agencies warnedin an advisory last week that Iranian hackers have been targeting water and wastewater systems and the operational controls of other critical infrastructure sectors.
“The FBI is aware of recent public reporting around Waterand Wastewater (WWS)sectors,” theagency said in astatement Saturday. “The FBI andour interagency partners are fully engaged to protect critical infrastructure andweremain well-equipped to protect against cyber threats of all varieties.”
Digitalwarfare has becomeingrainedinmilitary conflict, andlocal water plants or healthcare facilitiesoften lack the funds and know-how to install the latest software patches or takeother security steps. That has made them afavorite target, both becauseofthe relative ease of penetrating them and because ofthe panicsuch disruptions can cause Iran’sinterest in the op-
erations of water systems inside the U.S. datesback years. In 2016, the Justice Department charged a group of Iranian hackers in connection with acyberattack targeting asmall dam near New York City.
Minnesota IT Services said thatasofThursday,there were no active requestsfrom Minnesotacommunities for residents to modify usage of theirdrinking water.The state agency said most of the confirmed attacksinvolved technology that water systems use to remotely monitor and control equipment. It said that being impacted meant investigators confirmed there was maliciousactivity involvingthe system’stechnology anddidn’tmean everyimpacted community had their water service disrupted.
Spaininstallssea barrier on Ceuta’sborderwith Moroccoafter rush
BY SERGIO RODRIGO RUÍZ, SUMANNAISHADHAM and AKRAM OUBACHIR AssociatedPress
CEUTA, Spain— Spain on Saturday installed a1,600-foot barrier on thesea borderbetween its North African territory of Ceuta and neighboringMorocco after tensof thousands of migrants breached the frontier earlierinthe week
At least 67 migrants died, including some who drowned andothers who were killed in astampede to cross abreakwater barrier,the Spanish government said Saturday. Thesudden arrival of 50,000 to 60,000 migrants in the territory on Thursdayand Fridaysparkeda humanitarian crisis and reignited the immigration debate in Europe and beyond, though most of the migrants soon went back. Critics of Spain’ssocialist government, notably right and farright politicians, seized upon the dramatic images of crowds stormingintoCeuta,whichsits on the StraitofGibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Seaand has been aSpanish possession since 1580. Spain’smigrationpolicyhas focused on granting legalstatus to workers lacking authorization who entered the country before 2026 to boost its economy,incontrast with the anti-migration and pro-depor-
tationpoliciespromoted across much of theEUand in theU.S Spanish PrimeMinister Pedro Sánchez slammed the reaction of someEUleaders to the events in Ceuta, sayingcalls forSpain to be suspended from the EU’s borderless Schengen zonewere “drivenbyprejudice, fake news, ignorance,orpolitical interest.” Despite the Ceuta crisis, Spain in recent years has had fewer illegal migrants cross into the country than Mediterranean neighbors Italy and Greece.
On Saturday,ahandful of migrants who swam to Ceuta’sTarajal beach were met by soldiers who escorted them across theborder
“Weare relentless against those whobreak the law,” Spanish Interior Minister Fernando GrandeMarlaska told journalists.
Asked how the breach could have happenedgiventhe heavy security on both sides of the border and whether Morocco posed athreat to Ceuta, Marlaska defended the government in Rabat.
“The events requireanevaluation by Spain and Morocco,” he said.But it wasthe cooperation with its neighbors that allowed Spain “to revert the situation in 24 hours.”
“Morocco is not athreat to Ceuta, or to therest of Spain. It is a reliable partner,” Marlaska said.
“Whether you love the great classics, moviesor popular selections, we’re designing aseason that has something to offer for traditionalists and newcomers,” Kraemer said.
After conducting orchestras across the country and internationally,Kraemer gradually became more involved with the Acadiana Symphony. In 2024, Kraemer served as the Acadiana Symphony artistic adviser and, this season, will serve as conductor for Season 42. He will also continue his role as musicdirectorof the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans.
“My schedule is typically planned 12 months in advance, and much of the administrative work, including season programming and operational logistics, can be managed remotely,” Kraemer said.
While in Lafayette or New Orleans for rehearsals and performances,Kraemer says, he makes it apriority to meet with patrons, board
LSU
Continued from page1A
Lane Kiffin, costs more than $40 million in combined revenue-sharingand thirdparty deals, including adozen athleteswho are being repped by Nike.
The university is also on the hook forapile of payouts dedicated to fired coaches, including$54 milliondue to ex-football coach Brian Kelly.
“The old fundraising question was more like, ‘How do we build abetter football facility?’ And today the new question is, ‘How do we permanentlyfund a$20 million annual payroll?”said Kisska-Schulze. “And that’s amuch bigger problem.”
Anovel plan?
When Tiger Athletic Foundation President and CEO Matt Borman invited the top 40 LSU boosters to a private event at the Governor’s Mansion to discuss the future of the university’s sports programs,he acknowledged LSU’s athletic department budget is “unsustainable.”
members and community leaders.
The orchestra’s expanded partnership with the LouisianaPhilharmonic Orchestra has also helpedshape thedirection of Season 42. Now entering its third year,the collaboration allows thetwo organizations to share resources, performances and educational opportunities.
The partnership has already resultedinshared productions, including last season’sperformance of Verdi’s“Requiem,”featuringa combined chorus from New Orleans, Baton Rouge andNicholls State University
Thepartnership has expanded access to guestartists, conductors, soloists, master classes and educational programming while allowingboth orchestras to share resources.
“The boards joinedforces to collaborate andbrainstorm how they could best shareresources and ideas to make the arts, and particularly orchestras, as strong as they could be in Southern Louisiana,” Kraemer said.
Board President Robert Gruner,aninstrumental person in bringing Krae-
Power Four athletics program has growna lotinthe last couple of years,” said Mit Winter,asportslaw attorney based in Kansas City “Even at the biggest schools, with this new expense they’reall lookingfor new sources of revenue.”
Winter said he’llbe watchingtosee ifthe LSU plan is atrulyinnovative concept that could serve as ablueprint forother schools
“If it’ssomethingnew and novel that we haven’tseen in collegeathletics yet, that could bepretty interesting,” he said.
“It’sdefinitely a copycat industry.”
Coming up with more cash
Thelow-hanging fruit of revenue-generating opportunities has already been picked by most Power Four schools.
The NCAA allowed corporatesponsorstopaint their logos on football fields startinglast season, and some schools are renaming entire venues.
LSU has declined to provide detailsaboutthe revenue proposal or comment on the athletic department’sfinancial challenges, but a university spokespersonnotedthat “athletic budgets across the country are all experiencing thesameunsustainable conditions as LSU.”
TheUniversity of Arizona now plays in Casino Del Sol Stadium,thanks to a 20-year,$60 million deal, and Texas Tech just inkeda15-year,$75 million contract to call its football venue GalaxyStadium.
Starting this season, NCAA schools havebeen allowed to mine an even more lucrative proposition, slapping brands directly on uniforms via a jersey patch.
Gov.Jeff Landry last week said he and othershave been working on anew revenue model over the last six months.
“Thecost of operating a Division Iand especiallya
mer in as theseason’s new conductor,said Kraemer’s visionmadehim the right person to help lead theorchestra into its next chapter “Matthewisanexceptional artist who hasareal grasp on what it takes to transform acurrent sym-
phony intoa21st-century orchestra,” Gruner said. Theorchestra opensin Octoberwith “America at 250,”celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial. Kraemer said several concerts will incorporate visual elementsalongside the music, including NASA
imagery projected during Holst’s“The Planets” and thefull film presentation during “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Other performances like “A CajunNight Before Christmas” arenewlycommissioned orchestral works based on thebelovedLouisianabook
“It really should be a multi-sensory experience,” he said. “The sense of sitting there surroundedbya thousandother peopleenjoyingthe orchestra, and thenhaving thingstolook at as well.”
The orchestra’s$10 balconytickets formany performances, Gruner said, are also intended to challenge common misconceptions about attending the symphony “Wewantedtoeliminate any barriers,” Gruner said. “Anykind of friction in terms of whatpeople have in their minds about all of the historical legacy paradigms thatpeople associate with the symphony.”
By the end of Season42, Gruner hopes audiences leave with anew perception of what their hometown orchestra can be “I wantpeople to say,‘If yougotoanAcadiana Symphony performance, it is equaltothe best of the best in the country,’ ”hesaid. “The realm of the possible hasshifted.”
Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.
LSU was oneofthe first schools to line up ajersey sponsor, Woodside Energy, which is building a$17.5 billion liquefied natural gas facility in Louisiana. The university didnot disclosethe value of its seven-year patch deal when it was announced in February
Brand deals are occurring at the conference level as well. Earlier this month, the Big 12 entered into an agreement with MonsterEnergy to put the company’slogo on schools’ football and basketball jerseys,fieldsand courts.
But colleges have had to consider even more optionstobalance theirathletic budgets, including holding concerts in athletic venues in the offseason, dynamicticket pricing for in-seasonevents, andreworkingagreementswith current sponsors to not only increase revenues but also funnel more dollars to NIL deals for athletes.
Nearly every lever has been pulled,but one has been buzzedabout as an option more than it hasbeen utilized: privateequity.
Privateequity wantsin
LSU could follow in the footsteps of the University of Kentucky,which moved itsathletic departmentinto alimited liability company called ChampionsBlue LLC so it couldexpandbusiness and revenue opportunities.
That strategycould alsoallow LSU to court investment from institutional capital.
“Aschool basically,inexchange for upfront capital, will provide an entitlement to itsshare of future revenues from asource,”Holden said.
It’s an arrangementthat raises questions about whether the firm then gets a say in managingthe athletic program itself or whether it effectively worksasa private credit lender,Holden said.
He acknowledgedthere are too few examples to say how it will play out broadly
“We’re still very much in the early days of exploring what private equity in college sports could mean,”he said.
The Big 12 entereda privateinvestmentdeal with RedBird Capital Partners, which will provide the conference $12.5 millionper
year in “revenue-generation opportunities” andwill work with the league on commercial development, according to Front Office Sports.
The arrangement isn’ta traditional private equity deal,however, sinceRedBird won’thaveanownership stake in the conference, the outlet reported.
The University of Utah’s private foundation created afor-profit LLC to handle “university brand building andcommercialization” with the private equity firm Otro Capital.
This year,Utahand Otro Capital launched the company CrimsonBrandPartners to handle“events at stadiumsand arenas, branding, licensing andsponsorships, ticketing, anddigital media,” according to aJune newsrelease about the deal.
But the University of Utah still owns its athletic facilities, and the athletic department still handlescoaching, recruiting, scheduling, private fundraising and “student-athletic support,” the release says. Winter,the sports law attorney,saidcreating a new entity separate from theuniversity allows athleticdepartmentstoavoid bureaucracy,move more quickly andoperate more like abusiness. So far,private equity firms investing in college sports aren’thandling day-to-day operations of athletic departments, Winter said, and he doesn’texpect firms will wind up runningteamsor sports programsdirectly “I think alot of those fears are alittleoverblown,” he said.
Notre Dame just announced ajersey patchsponsorship with SoFi Technologies that is worth $18 million to $20 million annually,according to multiple outlets. Ohio State did thesame with JPMorgan Chase in adeal reportedlyworth $17 million per year
“I wouldthink that nearly everyone in the Power Four has had aconversation about private equity,” said John Holden, asports law expert and professor at the Indiana UniversityKelley School of Business.
Private equity offers a benefit in the short-term, but there’sacost in the longterm.
Borman
Landry
Tim Food truckowner
Thomasina 2ndgrade teacher
Summer programs canbenefit children
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
Louisiana parents want to send their children to asummer learning program, but many can’tafford it.
That’saccording to arecent survey by the Afterschool Alliance, anational organization that seeks to expand children’saccess to after-school and summer programs. Released in May,the survey found that half of U.S. families who want to send their child to asummer program are unable to. In Louisiana, about60% of families can’taffordsummer programs, the survey found.
Jodi Grant has served as executive director of the Afterschool Alliance for more than two decades. During that time, she’s seen costsfor summer activities rise alongside rapid inflation making them less affordable to many families.
In Louisiana, the cost of sending achild to summer camp can range from acouple hundred dollarsper week for local and community day camps to several thousand dollars for privateor pre-college programs
At the same time, Louisiana ranks secondinthe nation for childhood poverty,with nearly aquarter of the state’schildren living below the federal poverty line.
The cost of summer programs puts them out of reach for many middle and lower-income fami-
ASKING
lies, depriving those children of theprograms’ social, developmentaland academic benefits, Grant said “It can impact achild’swhole sense of self-purpose and belonging,” she said, “which translates into better academic performancewhenthey go back to school.”
Grant spokewith The TimesPicayune |The Advocate about how summerprograms benefit childrenand communities, what barriers prevent families from enrolling, and how to increase accessibility
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity
Whyare summer programs beneficial to kids?
It’sasafe environment where kids have time for fun and educational activities. Where they’re away from screens, and where they haveachance to interact with their peers in ahealthy way
Summerprograms give kids opportunities to try new things, build confidence and can give them ahost of professional skills in amuchmore informal environment than traditional school.
Theimpact on communities is also huge, because kids aren’t being left at home on their own, whichisoften when they make bad decisions.Duringthe summeriswhenwesee crime goup and we see kidsgetting way too much screen time. In aprogram, they can makegood decisions in a healthyenvironment withcaring adults.
Do they help preventsummer learning loss?
Children in summer programs, even YMCA-typeprograms, are
less likely to need time when they get back to school tocatch back up and instead can get going where they left off.
In some cases, they may even be ahead of the curve because the enrichment that they had over the summer really made their school learning come to life.
Are summer programs accessibletoall families?
We did ahousehold survey in 2025 where we asked 30,000 parents across America what their kids were doing during theschool year for after-school and also what they were doing over the summer
We found that nationally,for parentswho want their student to be in asummer program,only half have access.
In Louisiana, thenumber is closer to 60%.
What are the biggest barriers for families?
Cost is thebiggest one.
We’ve done this studysince 2004, and it’snot just low-income families that are struggling, but middle-incomefamilies as well.
The average cost of specialty camps or programs is about $193 per week, while the average cost for non-mandatory learning and enrichment programs is $226 per week.
Other barriers include lack of transportation or afamily just doesn’tlive near where any summer programsare being offered.
Are they becoming less accessible?
Ithink yes. Affording summer programshas always been a struggle for low-incomeparents, but it’s increasingly astruggle for middle-incomeparents, too.
The reality is, if you want to
keep up program quality,costs are rising foreverything you need to produce aprogram.That meanscosts also rise forparents.
What is the impact on familieswho can’t afford to send their child to aprogram?
It’sa real burden on working families.
Most parents need to work, and if their kids aren’tbeing supervised in asafe place, if they’re worried about what their kids are doing, the parents are less productive at work. That means there’salso ahuge impact on employers.
When it comes to kids, there’s lots of evidence pointing to somethingcalled the “summer slide.”
For kids not engaged in summer activities, we see that they lose their academic progress over the summer
Are anygroups trying to makesummer programs more accessible?
Afterschool Alliance has partners in all 50 states working on this,and there’salso the National Summer Learning Association, which focuses on improving the
quality of summer programs. Somestates, like Oregon, have succeeded in getting additional funds to support students over the summer,and South Carolina has somescholarships to tech programsfor certain students. There are real attempts to make these kinds of programsmore accessible, but it’snowhere near enough.
To meet the needs of families, we need morepublic support. We did apoll of voters right after the 2024 elections, and 89% of parents nationally,regardless of political affiliation, believe we should be putting moreinto these programs. There’sahuge consensus, especially when people see what these programsare doing, to do more.
Hopefully we can get more voters and policy makers to do something so we can address this gap, particularly in places like Louisiana.
Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Aden Lewis,left, and Qutayba Alquaddoomi,11, ride the swings during the NORD Commission’s2026 summer camp culmination event in City Park in NewOrleans.
CONCERNS
officials have defended their decision to partnerwithPlenary Americas and Kapsch forthe $2.3 billion project despite the companies’ track recordinBelle Chasse. The state finalized its agreement for the companies to operate tolling on the Lake Charles bridge in August2024, before tolling began on the Belle Chasse project.
The bridge project’spublic information manager andPlenaryissued similar statements in responsetoquestions for this story
“The new I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge is aseparate project with its own contracts, operationalrequirements, and performance standards established by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD),” the company said.
Calcasieu Bridge Partners Public Information Manager Patricia Prebula reiterated the separate “performance standards, oversight, and contractual requirements” forthe I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge project.
“While Plenary servesas the lead developer on both projects, the bridge will operate under its own contractual framework, oversight, and accountability measures specific to this project,” Plenary added.
AKapsch spokesperson referred questions to Prebula, saying that “for contractual reasons we are not in apositiontoanswer your questions about the project.”
Prebula said the project team plans to roll out an awareness campaign about toll rates before they go into effect,expectedin2031.
Tentative toll rates listed in January 2024 in anews release from DOTD showed them starting at 25 cents for local vehicles with atoll tag and $3 75 for those without atoll tag, though Prebula said those were based on 2023 rates and are subject to change.
Some say that the problems with the Belle Chasse Bridge, which was delayed several times, should serve as awake-up callabout the potential perils awaiting Lake Charles. State Rep. Phillip Tarver,R-Lake Charles, said he’s trying to learn as many lessons as possible from Plaquemines Parish. He noted that he opposedthe bridge requiring a toll from the start.
“We’re learningfromtheir mistakes andare much more prepared for some things than they were prepared for,” Tarver said. He said he and other local officials will watch carefully “to make sure we don’tfall into the same kind of situation that they’ve fallen into,” describing thefeesonthe Belle Chasse Bridge as “outrageous and onerous.”
Plenary billed customers about $6.8 million in fees versus $5.2 million in tolls during the four months before Gov.Jeff Landry suspended tolls altogetherlast
October,according to state Rep. Jacob Braud, R-Belle Chasse. When thenew BelleChasse Bridgeopened last year over theIntracoastalWaterway southeast of NewOrleans, tolls for Plaquemines Parishresidents withaGeauxPass were advertised at 25 cents. Rates listed for drivers withoutGeauxPasses were $2.26. But basedon the actual bills customers received, around-trip visit to PlaqueminesParish cost motorists an averageof$57, accordingtoBraud.
“They wouldeven bill you for thebill that they sentinthe mail,”Braud said. “I can’tmake it up. It’s that bad.”
One difference that Lake Charles bridge project officials have pointed tocomparedtothe Belle Chasse Bridge is acustomer service center.Prebula said they have not chosena location forityet,but that alocal customerservice centerwill be available forthe Lake Charles bridge For theBelleChasse Bridge,the only customer service center wasin Golden Meadow,furthering the uproarfrom drivers. The drive between the two can take 90 miles, or afour-hour round trip. The state opened another customer service center in Belle Chasse after suspending the tolls.
“That’spretty crazy and prettyonerous,” Tarver said,notingthat thegovernor, Plenaryrepresentatives and legislators have assured him there will be acustomer service office in proximity to the Lake Charlesbridge.
“Sothat kind ofthing is what is coming outoftheir misfortunes over there.”
What will tollinglooklike?
Tolling andpublic-private partnershipshave become increasingly common to pay forinfrastructure projects across thenation, though they’restill relatively new in Louisiana.Plenary’spublicprivate partnership for the Belle Chasse Bridge was DOTD’sfirst.
“Weare seeing, you know, inflation andcosts increase over time,” Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster told TheAdvocate|The Times-Picayune atthe recentgroundbreakingfor the I-10bridge. “So, we wantto leverageprivate sector investment, leverage thestate investmentand leverage the federal investment to move faster so that these projects don’tcontinue to increase in cost. Thisisasignificant bridge project relative to similar ones around the country.”
With tolling still suspendedonthe Belle Chasse Bridge,the onlybridge currently tolling drivers in the state is the La. 1Bridge for Grand Isle and Port Fourchon. State officials have also said they expect to implement tolling onthe future Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge,though afinal location hasyet to beselected and construction isstill years away The new Lake Charles bridgeisexpected to in-
clude reconstruction of 5.5 miles of I-10, an additional travel lane in each directionand construction of an elevated Sampson Street interchange to eliminate the railroad crossing. It should also have accommodations for pedestrians andbikers on either side.
State officialshavesaid people who live in the parishes closest to the bridge Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Beauregardand Jefferson Davis —willpay thelowest ratesifthey haveaGeauxPassaccount and toll tag.
Previously,DOTD said toll rates wouldstart as low as 25 cents for local vehicles withatoll tag, and go as high as $12.36 for large trucks without atoll tag. High-occupancy vehicles may alsosee reduced toll rates.Prebula cautioned, though, that the rates are subject tochange.
Lake Charles Mayor Marshall Simien said he’spushing to lower toll rates.
“I am actively advocatingfor further reduced tolls, especially for local residents, and ultimately for the elimination of any and all adverse effectstolls would have on this bridge project,” he said in astatement.
projects in Calcasieu Parish.
“Every time acitizen of this state pays this particular toll, they’re paying for future infrastructure improvementsinImperial Calcasieu forever,” Landry said during the bridge’sgroundbreaking.
Acloserlook
Plenary has takenheat for other problems related to the Belle Chasse Bridge beyond the tolling.
The bridge’sconstruction andeventualopening was delayedbynearlya year after ground settlement —orthe movement of soil underground —forced contractors to replace some fully built approaches with anewer andlighterdesign.
Plenary incurred $10,000per day fines for thebridge notbeing readyon time,racking up over $3 million in fines.
Andformer Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach saidthe tolling issue hasprompted years of debate.
“At the end of the day, they hadtofigure outaway to getthe moneybecause that bridge grew in terms of costs,” he said. “It’sgoing to be anice bridge, and Ithink people will like it once it’s built, but the toll issue is, of course,alwayscontroversial.”
Kapsch plans to use an allelectric tolling system to bill drivers, and drivers without atoll tag can still cross with ahigher “pay-by-plate” rate that willuse license plate billing. The bridge won’t have traditional toll booths, and traffic will keep moving while overhead sensors detect vehicles andcharge tolls automatically,said CalcasieuBridge Partners Public Information Officer Jonathan Hill.
Thepublic-privatepartnership contract calls for tolls to be removed in 2081, saidDOTD Southwest Louisiana Areapublic information officer John Guidroz.
State officials have also said that every15centson the dollar thatthe bridge pays off with thetolls will go toward infrastructure
Once the Belle Chasse Bridge finally opened to traffic,state officials delayedthe implementation of tolling at least adozen times. APlenaryspokespersonblamed weather forthe delays. Customer complaints rolled in shortly after tollingbegan.Ashesuspended tolling, Landry sent Plenary aletteraccusing them of violatingtheir contract with thestate over anumber of
The new bridgeover the Industrial Canal in Belle Chasse is seen on May6 2025.
issues: failing to provide information, placing nonrenewal flags on licenses, disrupting utility services andmore.
“It was almost like Iwas acustomer service rep for this private company that was tolling people that couldn’tget it right,” Braudsaid. “It was just a mess. The complaints were through the roof. It was unbelievable.”
Braud said theground settlement issues were never fullyresolved,and Plenary hadtomakerepairs after thebridge was completed. He saidthe company’son the hook for the construction defects.
“They actually built the bridge, started using the bridge,and then they hadto shut down part of thebridge to redo the approaches,” he said.“And even after they redid them, DOTD is alleging that there’sstill asubsidenceissue.”
Bridge project officials did notrespondtoarequest for comment on the allegationsofongoing subsidence problems.
Braud attempted to pass abill in this year’s legislative session that would have raised enough money to reduce tolls or to buy out the contract with Plenary; the bill stalledinthe state’s Senate FinanceCommittee. Plaquemines Parish filed alawsuit againstthe DOTD,
Plenary and its tolling subcontractor,Kapsch, in the 25th Judicial District Court in December,seeking an injunction on bridge tolls and the return of all tolls and fees collected from May to October of last year.According to the parish, the lawsuit was filed because thestate andPlenary “were unable to reach an agreement”onhow to fix the toll system Three Plaquemines Parishresidents also fileda lawsuit last October against the state and operators of theBelle Chasse Bridge for charging motoristsexcessive tolls andfees.Theyare seeking class action status to represent anydriver charged an “excessive toll” and/or an “unreasonable fee” sincethe tolling system beganinMay 2025. Trial dates have not been setineither case.The defendants asked afederal court to hear thecases,but both cases were sent back to the 25th Judicial District CourtinPlaquemines.
Braud said elected officialsinsouthwest Louisiana shouldcarefully reviewthe state’scontract with Plenary and learn from Belle Chasse’sexperience.
“The devil’sinthe details,” Braud said. “The Belle Chasse contract —it’s almostasthickasaBible, so you know that would be the word to the wise men over there is to go through those details andmakesure it doesn’thave alot of the provisions we have here in Belle Chasse.” Tarversaidthat’swhat they plantodo.
“Over thenextfouryears, alot of conversations will probably come to the surface,” Tarver said. “So we’re in the early stages of those conversations, and we have radarupfor alot of the pitfalls that the other guys have experienced.”
Staff writer Lara Nicholson contributed to this report.
Email Courtney Pedersen at courtney.pedersen@ theadvocate.com.
Our
STAFFFILE
PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Simien
Braud
LOUISIANAPOLITICS
What Trump’selection-rulespushmeans forLouisiana
WASHINGTON –President Donald Trump and his Republican allies went “all in” last week on their theorythat American elections arefundamentally flawed and rigged against the Republicans who now control Congress andthe White House.
Mark Ballard
Trump’sSolicitor General, D. John Sauer,asked Monday that theU.S Supreme Court quickly endorse an executiveorder that would limit the use of “mailin” ballotsintime for theNov.3 midterms.
In November,voters will decide if Republicans will continue to hold all thereins of power or whether Democrats should control either the House or the Senateorboth. That’swhy Trump and his allies are pushingchanges to election protocols in Congress and now at the U.S. Supreme Court. Louisiana joined other Republican-run states Tuesday in making asimilar request of the Supreme Court in another case.
While this is amajor fighton the national level, it doesn’t particularly mean much in Louisiana, where congressional candidates from Wednesday throughFriday will pay their fees and signupto run for office.
That’sbecause the Louisiana Legislature, with its GOP supermajorities, already has approved much of what Trump wants: proof of citizenship when registering to vote; photoidentification to cast aballot; and,this is the controversial part, limits on when and how voters can mail their ballots —restrictionsabout whichevenSpeaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, has reservations, at least when it comes to counting
votesinthe U.S. House. Trumphas refused to sign any legislation until Congress passes the SAVEAmerica Act, which requires voters to prove their citizenship when registering and show their identification when castingballots. He wants the bill to include restrictions on mail ballots.
Johnson has dutifully attached the bill’swordingtojust about every instrument passed out of the House and sent to theSenate during thepast month. Buthehas used aversion without theabsentee limits for some of thesuccessfulHouse votes on theissue.
“The mail-in ballot,” Johnson
Cassidy leads panelto advance Schwartz to CDC U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy backed the confirmation of President Donald Trump’snominee to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in anarrow vote Thursday morning that forwarded Dr.Erica Schwartz’snomination to the full Senate. On a12-10, party-linevote, the SenateHealth EducationLabor & Pensions Committee, which Cassidy chairs, advanced Schwartz’snomination for the full Senatetoconsider herfinalconfirmation to the CDC post in Atlanta. The CDC tracks, researches, and addresses preventablehealth threats.
The panel then, also on narrow votes, approved the nominationsofSean Kaufman to be assistant secretary for preparedness and response for the Department of Healthand Human Services; and Keith Sonderling to be secretary of labor The backing of Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, was up in the air and considered necessary —particularly
after disagreements over thepolitical meddling of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr Last week, Cassidy said Schwartz’ssupport for vaccinations and herassurances that the alleged link between vaccines and autism would beremoved from CDC’swebsite allowedhim to back her nomination. The scientific consensusisthat vaccinations do not cause autism despite claims by Kennedy and hisMakeAmerica Healthy Again movement.
said, “is avery difficult thing to regulateatthe federal level, because different states do it differently.”
The U.S. Constitution and federal laws specifically give states authority to stage elections as they like.
Louisianaisone of 13 states that require an excuse to vote without personally showing up at the polls. There are adozen or so acceptable reasons, suchasbeing over the age of 65 or living in anursing home. Louisiana is the only state that requires amail ballot to be submitted theday before Election Day Thirty-seven other states and
Capitol Buzz STAFF REPORTS
The CDC webpage now says scientists “have not identifiedthe root causes” of autism.
“Wecan’thaveperfection.My wife learned that when we first began to date. Yousometimes don’t get the nominee you’dlike to have but you geta nominee you have to have if you’regoing to address serious issues,” Cassidy said.
Vaccine-skeptic Kennedy last year persuaded Cassidy,aphysician who has studied the efficacy of vaccines, to back his controversial nomination as secretary of the Department of Health &Human Services based, the senator says, on aseries of promises.
OneofKennedy’s vows, Cassidy says, included that Kennedy would notchange thenation’schildhood vaccine recommendations.Kennedy attempted to rewrite those
schedules anddrop anumber of required inoculations. Afederal judge blocked implementation. At the time of Kennedy’sconfirmation,Cassidy was seeking reelection andcounting on President Donald Trumpnot to get involved in that campaign effort, even though Cassidy voted to convictthe presidentonimpeachment charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.Capitol. Trump, however,endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge,and Cassidyeventually lost in May’s closed party primary
Since losing theprimary, Cassidy,who leaves office in January, has since become oneofTrump’s loudest critics among Republican senators.
Travis McIlwain to take over LASERS
TheLouisianaState Employees’ RetirementSystem, commonly known as LASERS,isgetting a new leader this fall after theretirement of currentExecutiveDirector Trey Boudreaux.
Travis McIlwain will take over as executive director of the pension fund beginning Nov.1,according to aThursday news release from LASERS.
McIlwain has been on theexecutive leadership team of theretire-
theDistrict of Columbia allow voters just to request, without making excuses, an absentee ballot.
Trumpcalled mailballots “inherentlycorrupt” as late as last week at apolitical rally in Michigan. Like about 30% of the electorate in 2024, Trumpvoted absentee, according to federal elections data.
Mail-in ballots have held aspot in his litany of election abuses since Joe Biden wonthe 2020 presidential election.Though Trumphas no reliable proof of widespread fraud, he repeatedly says that cheating is responsible for Democratic electoral wins.
ment system since 2021, first as chiefadministrative officer and mostrecently as chief of staff, and he’sworked closely with “nearly every department,” according to the release.
Before joining the retirement system, he was state budget director at the DivisionofAdministration and also held anumber of other roles across Louisiana state government. The retirement system is governed by a13-member board of trusteesand hasroughly 100,000 members, according to the LASERSwebsite.
As of June 2025, it holds $17.2 billioninmarket value of assets, the website says.
Landrysigns data-sharing, fraud-fighting order
Gov.JeffLandry signed an executive order last weekdirecting theLouisiana inspector general to work with abroad swath of federal andstate agencies to halt government inefficiencies and fraud by using up-to-date technologies, including artificialintelligence, and increasing data sharing across agencies.
The order,which Landryan-
Part of the debate is how long it takes to count the mailvotes. Generally,ballot counting can’t start until the polls are closed. While votes cast on election day are counted mechanically,mailin ballots have to be opened, checked foreligibility,signatures reviewed, then counted.
Reports and analysis show that Republicans and Democrats equally use mailballots, but in somerecent counts, early GOP leads of the votes cast in person evaporated when the absentee ballots weretallied.
“I’m not saying it’srigged. I’m saying it stinks to high heaven, and everybody knowsthat,” Johnson said of the lengthy count in California’sJune primaries.
Into this milieu comes Trump’s request that the SupremeCourt essentially ratifyhis March 31 “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.”
The executive order instructs the U.S. Postal Service to propose rules formail-in and absentee ballots, and it directs the DepartmentofHomeland Security to compile lists of U.S. citizens over the age of 18, then only deliver ballots to individuals on those “state citizenship” lists. The goal, Trumpsays, is to promote election integrity
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia argued to afederal district court in Massachusetts, where ballots are proactively mailed to voters, that the executive order violates the constitutional provisions giving states the power to organize elections. The justices are asking opponents to file their responses by close of business Monday
Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.
nounced in avideo on social media on Wednesday,establishes the Louisiana Taxpayer Protection Initiative, which will be helmed by state Inspector General Angele Davis. “Louisiana taxpayers deserve transparency andassurance that their money is spent wisely,” Landry said. “This executive orderstrengthens our ability to detect andeliminate lossescaused by fraud, waste and abuse in state government. We will continue to work with President Trump to protect all taxpayers.”
Under the order,the inspector generalmust collaborate with federal agencies to “make use of anti-fraud systems” as well as “data sharing and matching, joint or parallel investigations, civil or criminal referrals, and the joint recovery of federal and state funds.”
Among those listed: the U.S. Treasury Department, DepartmentofJustice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor,Department of Agriculture, the Social Security Administration and others. At the state level, at least 19 agencieshavetoappoint aliaison to work on the initiative.
Theeffortaimstostopfraud across government programs, improve the state’spayment systems and eligibility checks for grant awards, andrecover money that’s misspent or paid out incorrectly, among other goals.
McIlwain
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByRAHMATGUL
President Donald Trump’sSolicitor General, D. John Sauer,asked Monday that the U.S. Supreme Courtquickly endorseanexecutiveorder that would limit the use of ‘mail-in’ ballots in time for the Nov. 3midterms.
BY LILLIAN FOSTER
The Sun Herald
A storied building in the heart of downtown Biloxi, Mississippi,
is getting a new life this summer.
The Belvedere, a 1920s-themed boutique lodge on Water Street offering five short-term rental spaces, is set to open this month.
Gautier-native Meredith Matthews and her husband, David, are restoring the building, which has served as apartments or shortterm rental units since 1926.
The husband-and-wife duo bought the building in May 2024 and started renovations a few months later
As they lifted floorboards and peeled back wallpaper, they uncovered unexpected layers of local history — and a few issues that would take longer to fix than anticipated.
The grand opening
Buying a 100-year-old house was not the original plan.
After the Galveston, Texas, tinyhome market gained popularity in 2022, Matthews decided she wanted to bring that trend to the Mississippi Coast.
However when she returned to Biloxi after spending 10 years in Houston, she said she fell in love with something much larger — a two-story, 20th-century commercial property
“I was actually just in love with what this place could be, but it was a complete departure from what we originally intended,” Matthews
THE GULF COAST
said.
The couple planned to restore and open the short-term rental property within six months, but termite damage, run-down stairs and unexpected reframing stalled the project for years.
“You learn the hard way about what it takes to renovate something this old,” Matthews said. “We were very naive, but we had a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the job.”
Now, the grand opening is just weeks away
The property features five suites, each inspired by a 1920s icon. The four main units, based on Zelda Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Ernest Hemingway and Josephine Baker each include a full kitchen, in-unit laundry and a single bed-
room and bathroom, with the two upstairs suites boasting patio deck access.
A fifth, smaller suite honors Clara Bow, the iconic silent film star actress known for her expressive acting. The single bedroom and bathroom unit includes a kitchenette. Individual suites and the entire building are available to rent for stays of up to 29 days. The Belvedere has launched an early access waitlist for reservations.
“We’re going to be very proud of what we’ve done and proud of what we’ve brought to the city of Biloxi,” Matthews said.
A storied building
Two weeks before getting married to Susan Tharp in July 1969,
Dwayne Tharp rented an apartment in the building that is now
The Belvedere
“I just happened to go downtown in Biloxi and went to the USO and saw a note on the board there for an apartment for rent,” Dwayne Tharp said. “It was $70 a month, which was most of my paycheck.”
The newlywed couple spent less than a month in the apartment before Hurricane Camille devastated southern Mississippi on Aug. 17, 1969.
Dwayne Tharp recalled having the only gas refrigerator in the neighborhood and hosting barbecues in the backyard to feed the National Guard.
“It was a time of togetherness That’s how people survived then,” he said.
The pair left Biloxi after Dwayne Tharp was transferred to an Air Force base in Georgia. It would be more than five decades before the couple returned. On Sunday, July 12, Dwayne and Susan Tharp celebrated their anniversary at Mary Mahoney’s.
“We used to watch all the people in the Cadillacs drive up, and we would just sit there and look at them, because we couldn’t afford anything like that,” Dwayne Tharp said.
“But we said that one day we’re going to eat at Mary Mahoney’s, and so we went back.”
Just before their reservation, they spotted a familiar scene — their old apartment.
“It was nice because everything around it has changed, but the house is still there,” Dwayne Tharp said.
“It was just like walking in on that first day,” Susan Tharp said.
“It was very nostalgic.”
Ocean Springs native John Lindsay shared a similar memory, having rented an apartment in the building in 1993.
“It’s very cathartic to think that it’s going to be this really nice place,” Lindsay said. “I love the fact that it’s not being totally demolished It’s using the original structure, and they’re building that history.” Lindsay and his husband, in addition to Susan and Dwayne Tharp, are hoping to attend the grand opening in August, celebrating the building’s history while ushering in a new chapter
The Sun Herald, based in Biloxi, covers the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is a news partner with NOLA.com | The TimesPicayune. Read more at www sunherald.com.
As Amazon drones arrive,Ifeel that history is shifting
Iwas working from home the other day when aloud whirr from beyond the window got my attention. It sounded at first like agarden weeder in a nearby lawn, but brisker,and the noise seemed to trail from above.
Iwent to the patio for acloser look, which is how Igot my first look at adrone deliveryin progress.
Amazon recently rolled out its drone delivery service in part of Louisiana, and my neighborhood is in the mix. Above my fence, Icould see the company’sblue and white drone hovering in abackyard acouple of houses away. It lingered in midair for an instant, like an alien craft probing the planet for signs of life. But after dropping its parcel to the ground, the drone was on its way Amazon’sdrones are limited to small packages, but Iwas left to wonder if the advertising possibilities are alsopart of what the company sees in its fleet of autonomous aircraft. Just as the Goodyear blimp has become abrand ambassador for an iconic tire company, maybe Amazon aspires to make its familiar smile logo an equally vivid fixture of the national skyline.
Ihad beckoned my wifeoutside to see the drone, too,wanting afellow witness to mark the occasion. There are times in your life when you sense that history is about to change, and this felt like one of those moments I’ve now lived long enough to experience quite afew of them. There was an otherwise uneventful evening in themid1990s, for example, whenour then-landlord told me that he had just sent his firstemail, a brief message to his neighbor After getting aprimer on how email worked, Iwondered aloud why,instead of sending agreeting through acomputer,mylandlordhadn’t just knocked on his neighbor’s door.
The beauty of the technology, obviously,was that it could enable users to connect cheaply and easilyacross vast distances. That innovation, alongwith the related tools of digital life, has allowed me to grow in ways Icouldn’thave imagined.
Just the other day,tocitebut one example, Iwas able to chat online withauthorJulian Hoffman while he sat at his home in Greece —acommonplace exchange that, in my childhood, would have required acostly and unreliable long-distance phone call.
But Ioccasionallyfind myself haunted by the thought of my landlord emailing his neighbor
SCHOOL SPIRIT
Love OurSchools seeksvolunteersasLafayette students preparetoheadbacktoclass
BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer
As Lafayette Parishschools prepare to welcome students back this month, Love OurSchools is expanding its CAFÉ program and recruiting more community volunteerstosupport campuses across the district.
Love OurSchools launched the CAFÉ(Communityand Family Engagement) program fiveyears ago to build spaces where people andorganizationscan play asignificantrole in helping local schools achieve their goals
Twenty-fiveschoolsacrossthe district now host CAFÉ programs, partnerships among school staff,families and community volunteers that support campus needs ranging from greetingstudents in the morning to organizing teacher appreciation events.
Lafayettewater plant mitigateschlorineleak
No injures reported in Friday incident
Staff report
No injuries were reported from achlorine leak at aLafayette Utilities Systemwater treatmentplant Friday
The Lafayette Fire Department Hazmat Team responded to areport ofachlorine leak at the water treatment plantinthe 200 block of Commission Boulevard,according to AltonTrahan, the Fire Department’spublic information officer
Employeesatthe Commission Boulevardtreatment plant, he wrote, werealerted to the chlorineleak from an alarmactivation. LUS workers immediately enacted their safety protocol and called 911. Allemployees evacuated the area awaitingfirst responders’ arrival. The Lafayette Hazmat Team and additionalfirefighters assessed the hazard.
Employees reported that achlorine alarm activated in an enclosed room on the premises.
PROVIDED PHOTO Lafayette Fire DepartmentHazmat Team members suit up Friday to investigate achlorine leak at a Lafayette Utilities System water plant.
Officialsinvite public to offer input at meeting
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
Residents around Broussard soon will have an opportunity to help Lafayette Consolidated Government plan forfuture growth. LCGofficials arehosting a growth planning public meeting at 6p.m. Aug. 10 at the Broussard Event Center,406 E. Madison St., Building B, as part of an ongoing planning effort focused on the unincorporatedareas of Lafayette Parish.
Mayor-President Monique Boulet and LCG representatives met with Milton-area residents in Junetodiscuss optionsfor shapingfuturegrowthinruralareas, including minimum lotsizes, subdivision standards and land use regulations. Asubsequent meeting was held at the Carencro Community Center LCG representatives are gathering public input to help guide future recommendations on
housing, transportation,drainage, land use,infrastructure and preserving the character of local communities.
During the meeting, residents will learn about:
n Population and growth trends n Infrastructure impacts n Existing transportation, drainage and development challenges.
Participantswill also have opportunities to provide feedback on: n Traffic congestion and transportation needs n Flooding and drainage concerns n Utilities and public services n Infrastructure priorities and local “pain points” n Community character and future development.
Feedback gathered during the meeting will help inform the Lafayette Parish Growth Plan, which is intended to provide a long-term road map for managing growth, coordinating infrastructure investments andensuring future development reflects community priorities.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.
Attendees meet and greet during the Love Our Schools’annual CAFÉ kickoffevent.
STAFF PHOTOSByBRAD BOWIE
SuperintendentFrancis Touchet speaks Fridayduring the Love OurSchools’ annual CAFÉ kickoff at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette student union ballroom.The lunch brought together more than 300 educators, school
DannyHeitman AT RANDOM
OPINION
OUR VIEWS
Successfor thosegoing back to school takes avillage
At this time of year,communitiesacrossLouisiana band together for school supply drives, backpack giveaways and free haircuts, all furthering one goal —ensuring ouryoung people can start school on the best footing possible It’struly atime where we all can playarole in helping foster successinone student or one schoolata time. As schools across thestate welcome students back to theirclassrooms this month, we’d like to take amoment to share our wishes for afruitful year
First, to the state’s public educationleaders and district administrators whohaveled remarkable changeineducational outcomes for Louisiana studentsinrecentyears,we wish you supportfromlawmakers,teachers and parents as you continue to raise standardsacrossthe board. The achievements by noware knownto all. Louisiana students haveled thenation in growth in fourth grade reading scores. District andschool grades are the highest they’ve been in decades. And scores on the LEAP test this year were at all-time highs. We were chagrined to see thatdespitethis record, public schooldistrictsacross thestate faced alast-minute budget squeeze as Gov. Jeff Landry and lawmakers pushed aplanto cut $168 million from district budgetstopay forteacher stipends. Districtsare nowforced to scramble to close the funding gap. That’sno waytoencourage extra effort
We know that some privateand parochial schools werealso disappointed as the state decided not to expand funding of the LA GATOR scholarship program thatletspublic funds be used at those schools. We understandthatthese schools offer choices that areright forsome parents and students. If Louisiana truly wants to expand school choice, it needs to stopmaking educationfunding an afterthought anddevelop acomprehensive plan to fund education. That brings us to what should bethe No.1 priority: the teachers andsupport staffwho dedicate so much time andenergy to making sure students succeed. We wish youclassrooms full of open and willing minds ready to absorb knowledge. We know that you have many things to deal with in the course of your jobs, but schoolshould be aplace where youfeel supported andvalued.
Finally, to students in all grades and at all levels of proficiency,wewish you an excitingyear in which you can explorenew ideasand finda path that fires your imagination. We hope you fall in love with learning andcontinuetogrow. Know that everyone has been workinghardto make sureLouisiana studentshavethe strongest foundation to develop their talents. It is now up to you to seize opportunities presented to you. And when you do, you will help build a future our state can be proud of
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
Landry’s words, actionslineup
In one area at least, what Gov.Jeff Landry saysand what he does areabsolutely consistent
First, what he says: “Transparency is avery interesting word,” Landry toldaNew York Times reporter working on astory aboutthe massive Metadata center in Richland Parish. “Because what we’ve seen is people have used the word transparency to basically kill deals likethis.” Andwhat he does:Landry has signed, asked lawmakers to sign and required staff to sign astack of nondisclosure agreements that essentially prevent them from talking about economic development deals or theworkings of hisadministration
thelatter,the argument is that companies pursuing billion-dollar projects don’twant their dealings aired in public. On their face, those arguments are reasonable. Butthey have the effect of moving more and more of the public’sbusinessbehind acurtain of confidentiality
In adarkly geniusmove, the NDA that Landrysigned withaMeta subsidiaryincluded aclausethat made even the existence of an NDA confidential. So it’s fair to say that Landryisno fan of transparent government.Instead,heinsists on secrecy within his staff and he accedes to it when companies demand it. In the case of the former,Iamsurehewould insist that frank internal deliberations need to happen in private. Andinthe caseof
Youmay not know it,but if you are a subscribertoour print edition and put your paper on hold when you are on vacation, you are helping to fund an important program for Louisiana students.
Our News in Education program has, for years, given students and teachersinK-12 classrooms acrossthe state access to our content for free. Teachersuse it for civics lessons, to stay up to dateonthe news themselves or justfor fun. While the newspaper bears thecostofsubscriptions for participating schools,the cost savings it gets from vacation stops goes directly to that program. Even as subscribers still have full access to the newsonline, students gettoread the news online for free.
Landry is certainly notthe first politician to do these sorts of things. There hasalways been atension between the public’sright to knowand the internal cohesion anddiscipline required to govern effectively Officials who hide behind the veil of confidentiality demand trust from theirconstituents. “Trust us,we’re doing thebest job that can be done,” is often the message. Butthis is Louisiana. We have seen where such trust gets us. As my colleague Will Sutton notes, Louisiana was ranked as the 50th best state to live in by U.S. News &World Report for four years running. That’swhere it getsus.
In recentdays, however,the light of transparency has started to break through. Several legislators have asked the Landry administrationto release them from nondisclosure agreements theyhavepreviously signed.
“Ifyou send me to Baton Rouge to gain information, Ishould be able to tell the public what information I’ve gained,” said state Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville. “Togive me detailed information that Ican’ttell my public, it just doesn’tseem right to me.”
WhenHensgens refused to sign one NDA, he was told he had also signed a “blanketNDA,” he told reporter Sam Karlin. Hensgens then asked to be released from thatone as well. Amajority of Louisiana senators have signed “blanketNDAs,”Karlin found. One spokesperson for Louisiana EconomicDevelopment, which is a part of Landry’sadministration, told Karlin thatthe NDAs were for “confidentiality,whichisnot the same as secrecy.” The spokesperson declined to clarify the difference between the two Iknowwhatitmeans. Theywant secrecy,but don’twant to be seen as secretive. The “confidentiality” may be helping themdothe people’s business, but without muchrespect for the people
Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Ispoke to our director of consumer revenue Claudia Laws recently about the program and why it is important First, she said it is one of our most popular programs and she gets aton of feedback on it While the program would welcome
corporate or nonprofit support, the newspaper is committed to funding it. Schools just have to send in arequest to participate. If you’re ateacher and want to inquire about the News in Education program, please reach out to Claudia at claws@theadvocate.com. No one is everturned down. Teacherslove what it brings to the classroom, she said. Right now,1in3ofthe state’sK-12 classroomshas access to our content through NewsinEducation. And for anewspaper, it’spart of our mission, she noted “I want these people to know who we are, thatweare trustworthy.And as for media literacy,wewant to encourage that,”Laws said. Media literacy seems to be on the wane in some quarters, but we believe thatsupporting future generations of readerswho value good journalism isn’t only good for business, but also for our society Readerswho question the sources and methods of news gathering make
journalists better.Wewant readers to learn early how to spot the difference between news and opinion. While each has its place in abalanced media diet, they should never be confused for one another.AsAIand other forms of manipulation of media become more common, these skills become even more important. Our News in Education program aims to provide away for schools to teach them. And who knows? It just may light afire in some students to become future journalists. Iknow Ibecame interested in the field because we read newspapers in our household whenI was growing up.
Speaking of vacations, the letters tally will be on hiatus for awhile as we end the summer.But we will be back this fall as students return to school and political races heat up. Hope you are enjoying the last days of summer with family and friends.
Arnessa Garrett is managing editor for Opinions. Email her at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com
Arnessa Garrett
Faimon Roberts
COMMENTARY
Scalise, Carville both blastleftist Dems
House Majority LeaderSteveScalise andlongtime Democraticconsultant
James Carville agree on very little except for their mutual love of Louisiana, but in July they were singing similarpolitical tunes on one subject.
Namely,both Scalise, R-Jefferson, and Carville warned about the radicals and socialists who are makingbig inroads in the national Democratic Party
They both are correct
cratic primary for U.S. Senate.
“We’ve been talking about it for months, this move to the Marxist socialist left by theDemocrat Party,” Scalise said, in one of several sets of remarks, only slightly hyperbolic, on the topic. “They’ve become an unrecognizable party This is surely not your father or grandfather’sDemocrat Party.They’ve fully embraced socialism.” For his part, Carville said hard-left Democrats are a“part of the problem” withinthe party,calling himself a“proud liberal” but “not aleftist.” Carville added that “I don’tbelieve you ought tobreak (things) up.”
And: “These people are so f— ing stupid Idon’t know what to say about it.”
Specifically,both Carville and Scalise were referencing astring of Democratic primary wins by democratic socialists, including Brad Lander’svictory over Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Darializa Avila Chevalier’sdefeat of five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y and Melat Kiros’ surprise triumph over incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. —and also the strong run by radical Abdul El-Sayed leading up to the Aug. 4MichiganDemo-
Again, these are not people merely as far left as “social democrats” of the European variety, but instead they selfidentifynow (or very recently) with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which is an American organization much further leftward than thesupposedly anodyne social democrats.
They don’tjustwantamore “generous” government; they want to reject the U.S. Constitution and tear down ahost of cultural institutions and mores that most Americans see as essential parts of a healthy society
To Fox News’ Shannon Bream on July 26, DSA co-chair MeganRomer saidthe organization wants to abolish the U.S. Senate, replace the offices of the presidency and Supreme Court, completely abolish borders and offer blanket amnestytoillegal immigrants, abolish prisons (“as part of along-term program”) and have the government own most large corporations
TheDSA website calls for the creation of transgender sanctuary cities. Andof course they want to defund thepolice, adopt the financially and arithmetically impossible Green New Deal, provide Medicare for All, defund theDepartment of Defense (!) andeliminate“theentire global system of capital,” among many other radical (or even crazy) ideas.
TheDSA and indeed numerous left-wing Democrats also are outlandishly antiIsrael in waysnot easily distinguishable from dangerous anti-Semitism. It’snot justthat they opposepolicies of the current Netanyahu government;they all but call for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earththrough Palestinians’ supposed “right of return”to“afree Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Michigan candidateEl-Sayed, for his part, campaigned in Aprilwith wellknown terrorist-sympathizer Hasan Piker,who has justified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli citizens and said it “doesn’tmatter if f***ing rapes happened on Oct. 7,” praised the supposed “mujaheddin” whoattacked U.S. soldiers and said“America deserved 9/11,” among other vile statements.
In yet another ranking,the stateofLouisiana is last. Dead last. We can argue about whodoes therankings, why they select the criteria and howthe methodology must be flawed, but when this happens over and over and overagain,there must be something to it —and that’snot good.
The latest U.S. News &World Report state rankings are out, andwe top all 50 of the United States as the worst place to live. That would be bad enough, butthisisnot our first last-place ranking by themagazine. It’snot even athree-peat. This is the fourth consecutive year we’re in last place. In the last decade, we’ve been No.50 six times. We wereNo. 50 in 2018 and 2019 as well. Thank you, Mississippiand New Mexico, for saving us fromadditionaldisgrace by beating us to thebottom in 2017
Will Sutton Quin Hillyer
and2021, respectively.And thank you, U.S. News, for not ranking states during COVID in 2020 or in 2022. If states had been ranked those years, we might have been last then,too. Did Meta look at this data before deciding to move in with a$50 billion data center?
Other than El-Sayed, who is running neck and neck in Tuesday’sprimary,the other radicals mentioned above are likely to win their fall campaigns in relatively safe Democratic districts. In Congress, they will join fellow radicals Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib, Ayanna Pressley,Summer Lee and Delia Ramirez (Google them, please!), all of whom are outlandishly beyond the pale.
Worse,asthese candidates and elected officials gain traction, the rest of the party moves further leftward, so thateven El-Sayed’sopponent HaleyStevens, currently aU.S. representative,istreated as amoderatedespite left-wing interest group ratings consistently in the high 90s (of100) andconservative ratings in the lowsingle digits.
To saythe least, Stevens andplenty of otherDemocratsinCongress aren’tresponsible “moderate-liberals” in the traditionofLouisiana’s former Sens. Mary LandrieuorOhio’s former senator/astronaut JohnGlenn.
None of which is to saytoday’s Republicansdon’t have their own major problems with extremism andbad ethics —many of which this column has criticized at great length, andwill continue to do so
But Democrats should listentoCarville andget their ownhouse (small ‘h’) in order. This nationneedsboth its major parties to be somewhere within the responsible mainstream, ratherthan dens of malevolenceand lunacy
El-Sayed protested that Piker’sstatements were taken “out of context,” as if any context possibly could justify such expressions of hatredand solidarity with terrorists.
Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com
Louisianaranks dead last againfor liveable U.S. cities
only No. 45 in health care.
U.S. News used some pretty importantmeasures that many of us use when deciding where to live. Though we might not use them all when choosing astate, we certainly consider these things when looking at a parish, acommunity,aneighborhood and astreet.
Themagazine considered healthcare, infrastructure, education, theeconomy and crime.
Thanks to Missouri (No. 46), Montana (No. 47), Tennessee (No. 48), West Virginia (No. 49) and Mississippi (No. 50), we’re
We rank No. 46 by theinfrastructure measurement,thanks to Rhode Island (No. 47), Alaska (No. 48), Mississippi (No. 49) and West Virginia (No. 50).
Gov.Jeff Landry has been boasting about our improved economy and education since he becamegovernor,but U.S. News doesn’tsee it the same way he does.
Only West Virginia ranks worse than Louisianainthe economy metric. Only New Mexico ranks below Louisiana in education. Crime has been falling across the nation,inLouisiana and in New Orleans. But based on how U.S. News is keeping score, Louisianaranks last at No. 50.
We didn’tdowell in other metric categories either: We’reNo. 43 in fiscal stability, No. 45 in opportunity and No.49innatural environment. Idon’twant alot of you to start packing,
but the best states, according to U.S. News this year,are Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska, in that order I’ve been to Minnesota and Nebraska. They’re nice places to visit. And Utah can never be the real homeofThe Jazz. Speaking of jazz, obviously U.S. News & World Report did not consider culture. If it had, our state’sincredible food, diverse population and unmatched sports would have pushed us up to the tippy top of the rankings. Period. No doubt. Facts. For those reasons, and more, Ihave no intention to leave our Sportsman’sParadise —even if that meansclimbing over such states as Alaska (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), New Mexico (No. 47) and Michigan (No. 46) to rise from the bottom Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.
KickingoutHaitiansiswrong,and badfor theeconomy as well
Steve
Roberts
PresidentDonald Trump is kicking out about 350,000 Haitian immigrants who have lived here for many years, raising their children, paying their taxes and contributingtotheir communities. His actions are both morally indefensible and economically stupid. Even Gov.Mike DeWineof Ohio, aconservative Republican, told PBS: “The policy is wrong.” In 1990, Congress created aprogram called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. It provides a safe haven for refugees fleeing natural disasters or political upheavals in their home countries, and since amassive earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010, migrantsfrom that country have been allowed to live and work here.
It’strue, as the administration argues, that the program was designed to be “temporary,” and that’swhy the Supreme Court voted 6-3 last June to allowTrump to target Haitians for deportation The cancellation of their protected status took effect this week. But the reality is this: The nation needs these Haitian immigrants. As aNew York Times headline reported: “Employers FearLabor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status.”
“Ending TPSdoesn’tsave American money,” Commissioner Marleine Bastien of Miami-DadeCounty toldanews conference. “Ending TPScosts America money.” Trump, however,isnot motivated by fiscal facts, let alone morality. He has long exploitednativist fears, especially of non-White peoplefrom what he derides as “s***hole” countries like Haiti. Andnow,withwar raging and prices rising, demonizing foreigners isone of thefew ways he has
left to energize his supporters for the midterm elections less than 100 days away The administration’scase for ending TPS is based on threelies, andthe first is that it is safe for Haitians to return home. The country is so dangerous thatTrump’s own State Department warns travelers toavoid it andmajor U.S. airlines have suspendedflights there.
“Haiti is indeednear total state collapse,” Russel Honoré,the retiredgeneral who specializes in
disasterrelief, wrote in The New York Times. “Armed gangs have come to dominate an estimated 80% to 90% of the capital, Portau-Prince, and large areas of the country,controlling access to commerce and humanitarian aid, paralyzing basic government operationsand displacing more than amillion people.”
The second lie is that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, an oldmyth that every economicstudy refutes. DeWine cites theOhio town of Springfield, where about 15,000 Haitians have settled.
Trump falsely claimed during the campaign that those Haitians were eating local pets. In fact, says the governor,they are model citizens who have helped revitalize the city
“You’re seeing in Springfield a citythatiscoming back,” DeWine said on PBS. “And, frankly,one of the reasons it’scomeback is because of the Haitians who have been there to fill jobs that were simply not being filled at all.”
In fact, adds the governor, there’s“amultiplier effect.” The economicactivity generated by the Haitians helps create jobs for other local residents. Sending the settlers home, DeWine insists, “is ajob killer for Ohio. It’snot good forour state.”
The third lie is that deporting
Haitians can be done humanely, without dividing families. These migrants have an estimated 50,000 children who are United States citizens. Many of them have never even been to Haiti, and their parents face aterrible choice: take their children to adeeply dangerous place or separate the family In San Diego, NPR interviewed aHaitian named Josiane Valsaint, who has lived and worked legally in the U.S. since 2010 and now faces deportation. “The question,” reports NPR, “that sends tears streaming down Valsaint’sface is: If that happens, what will happen to her 10- and 12-year-old children, born in San Diego, who attend public school here?”
“Who’sgoing to take care of my kiddos?” cried Valsaint. “They’re not adults yet. They were born here.”
The Haitians are not alone; Trump wants to cancel TPS protections for more than 1million refugees from 16 other countries, and about 200,000 Salvadorans could be next.
In his increasingly desperate search for an issue that excites his base, Trump is backing apoisonous policy that will harm all Americans —including his own supporters.
Email Steve Roberts at sroberts@gwu.edu.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Steve Scalise, left, and James Carville in 2019
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL
AHaitian worker with TemporaryProtected Status cleans and busses tables at aKey West, Fla., restaurant.
Heat wave brings record-breakingtemps
BY TAMMYWEBBER and SARAH RAZA Associated Press
Aheat wave gripped large swaths of the Western U.S. on Saturday as temperatures hovered near record highs, heightening wildfire risks in areas that already are dry or burning andprompting warnings for peopletostay inside. Aridge of high pressure is holdingheat close to theground what’sknownasa heat dome from Arizona to Montana, though the good news is that it will be relatively short-lived, National Weather Service meteorologists said. Dangerousheat andwarnings were plaguing the region Saturday, and the National Weather Service on Saturday forecast ahighof115 degrees Fahrenheit in Las Vegas, the hottest temperature of the year Phoenix was expected to reach 116, while El Centro, California, was expected to hit arecord118. Even parts of Montana wereexpectedto broil, with arecord 104 forecast for Great Falls.
In Las Vegas, Saturday’sforecast high was 10 degrees abovenormal, with meteorologists warning of dangerous heatthroughSunday, when the highisexpected to be 114, said weather service meteorologist Morgan Stessman.
Overnight lows in the upper 80s to low 90s will make the situation especially dangerous because it doesn’tallow people’sbodies to recover.“There’sjust no relief overnight,” Stessman said. People were being urgedto stay indoors and hydrated.
At the Justa Center in Phoenix, which caters to seniors butopens to thepublic as acooling center in the afternoon, the biggest challenge is keeping up with the need for water and electrolytes, said operations director Rudy Soliz. He said about 200 people come in daily
“Anybody can come in, get ameal, sign up,get checkedinthrough the cooling center,sit down, relax, watch alittle TV,you know,catch themselves before they move on to another cooling center or their destination,” he said.
Severalcitiesnearing records
The August record for Las Vegas
is 116, while thehottest on record was 120 in July 2024, which also was thehottest summer on record, Stessman said
In Montana,the entire east side of thestate was under an extreme heat warning Saturday,though by Sunday,muchofthe state will be in the 70s, said weather service meteorologist Jeff Kitsmiller Great Falls was heading toward arecordhigh of 104, which would top its previousrecord of 101, while Helena was expected to match or surpass itsrecordof 102F,hesaid Still, it’snot as bad as the heat wave in mid-July,when someareas brokeall-time records, includingBillings, which reached 111 on July 12, Kitsmiller said.
“That was arare heat wave,” he said. “This onefits for this time of
year.”
The Montana RescueMission, ahomelessshelterinBillings, opened its doors earlier than usual on Saturday to provide relief from temperatures thatcould reach 106F.Dozensofpeople were expected throughout the day,and the shelter planned to provide dinner, beds and breakfast,areceptionist said. Great FallsParks andRecreation’sfour swimming pools and three splashpads werecrowded with people trying to beat theheat, said Katy Houseman, whoworks at one of the city’srecreation centers.
“They’re definitely hitting the pools and doing the splash pads outside andthentrying to hide inside where there’sair conditioning,” said Houseman. “It’ssuper,
super hot today.”
Exacerbating wildfire risks
Forecasters werewarning that this heat wave, combined with drying from past heat, will add to wildfire risks across the West.
“We’re definitely worriedabout that” in Montana, where firesalreadyare burning and high winds are forecast forthe weekend, said Kitsmiller,adding that mostofthe state was undera redflag warning.
In Nevada, “with this heat dome setting up, we’ve lost some of the moisture thatwedid have —like relative humidity in the afternoon bottoming outinthe single digits in quite afew places,” Stessman said. The U.S. Forest Service has said there is an enhanced wildfire risk through Sunday in mostofSouth-
ern California except for the coastline. Extremeheat and drought also havecreated dangerouswildfire conditions in the Pacific Northwest.
WashingtonGov.Bob Ferguson declared astate of emergency Saturday after unusually high temperatures and high winds exacerbated recordwildfiresacrossthe state.Healso bannedmostoutdoor and agricultural burning through the end of September Ferguson’sproclamation went into effectahead of an unprecedented“particularly dangerous situation” redflag alertbythe National Weather Service, which rated theweather risk as “extreme” across Eastern Washington. More than312 square miles arecurrently burningin12large fires.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJAE C. HONG
Daniel Aragonez leavesa cooling center in Los Angeles on Friday
Saints didn’t ease into cam
Upsand downscamein flurry over threedays
Buckle up, Saints fans.
This 2026 season, much like most years in the NFL, looks likeitmay take you on another roller coaster
There will be plenty of ups and downs, as we saw during thefirst three days of training camp.
The first 72 hours kept local media members busier than the feet of adancer in asecond-line parade. Fortunately,Saturday was an offday giving us achance to catch ourbreath before practiceresumes Sunday.Then the real football begins Monday when the
Saints put on the pads for thefirst time. Here’sa look back at the hectic firstthree days.
Theups
This time aweek ago, Iwrote about how good thevibes were heading into camp. Well, those vibes got even better Thursday when the Saints reached afour-year,$132 milliondeal with receiver Chris Olave. Noneofusknew how long Olave’scontractnegotiations would linger.All we knew was thatOlave wanted to be at practice
withhis teammates.Heeasily could stayedathome (and out of the brutal Louisiana heat) until adeal was reach Instead, he chose to attend practice a go throughindividualdrills but not ri an injurybyparticipating in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11sessions. His why on that sa lot about him.
“Wehave alot of momentum going on with the team,” Olavesaid Friday didn’twant to create any negativity anything surrounding me or the org tion.I’m ateam-first guy,and Iwant keep building themomentum going theyear and keep building that confi with the team.”
Cajuns must address obstacles when camp kicksoff
When practice starts Wednesday for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns, coach Michael Desormeaux and his staff will wantto start addressing many areas before the 2026 season begins.
LSUquarterback
Leavitthopes he found ‘home’ againin BatonRouge
The fifth-year head coach clearly has defined themakeupofthis year’ssquad entering the season. Is it talented enough to win the Sun Belt West? Absolutely.Isitexperienced enough to overcomenumerous obstacles and still win the Sun Belt West crown?That remains to be seen. Last season’s 6-7 campaign may not look good on paper,but youdon’t have to peel back many layers tosee how deep theleaders on last year’steam had to dig to keep the bowl streak alive. Ateam with lesser leadership probably wouldn’t have gotten to four wins. These are the obstacles enteringcamp that could derail the Cajuns’ loftygoals Quarterbackhealth
This one is pretty obvious. The shot in the arm quarterback Lunch Winfield provided the Cajuns last season —starting with the hugecomeback win over Marshall —can’tbeoverstated. It’s critical for Winfield to stay healthy,but he’sthe most physical quarterback UL hashad since Desormeaux himself played quarterback here.
Telling Winfield to slideisliketryingto convince ayoung childthat eating his favorite candy bar isn’tagood idea because it’ll rot his teeth. But somehow,it’sgot to happen way more than in the past. It is important because his backups are young andpossess different skill sets, so aWinfield injury could change the entire offesne. Newway of passing
It’snosecretWinfield isn’tthe kind of quarterback to sit in the pocket andthrow the ball 30 times. So achievingmore efficiency in the passing game is going to require more creativity
One potential solution is anew crop of
have ed nd sk ys a
“I with anizaed to into dence
age 3C Saints DE Chase young STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
TRAVELING MAN
Tania Leavitt remembers when her son Sam said, “This is theplace.”
ThecurrentLSU quarterback thought his footballhome wouldbeMichigan State. Tania, afitness trainer,and Jared Leavitt, aformer BYU linebacker who worked for Oracle, moved to East Lansingtobebytheir son’sside for ayear.They loved it there. Then there wasacoaching change. Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith, who didn’trecruit theOregon native Leavitt out of high school, was the hire and he was bringing his quarterback, Aidan Chiles, withhim to Michigan State. The writing was on thewall.
Leavitttraveled to Tempe, Arizona, and loved talking ball withArizona Statecoach Kenny Dillingham and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. Leavitt grewupstudying X’sand O’swith abrother 10 years his elder,NFL safetyDallin Leavitt By fourth grade, Sam was contesting his father’s play calls during games. “Dad, they are running blah, blah, blah. Like, why arewedoingthat?
That’s notgonna work,” Jared recalled Samsaying. “Hewas definitely looking at the game and try-
ing to figure out what was ourangle to win, howwerewegonna score and the why.”
Thelifelongfilm junkie clicked with Dillingham and Arroyo, and Arizona State became home.
“Anditwas phenomenal,” Tania said. “Itwas,like, thebestCinderella story ever.” The stands in Tempe filledasthe Sun Devils flipped from 3-9 to 11-3 with aCollege Football Playoff run in 2024. It was a“magical” two years, Taniasaid,even if the story ended with an injury-shortened 2025
season and consternation over Sam’s absencefrom ateam banquetbefore he entered the transfer portal.
As LSU coach Lane Kiffintried to explain after his exit from Ole Miss, two things can be true at once: An employee can love one job, then decide another job is better
Thequarterback he chose outof thetransfer portal madeasimilar decision.
“Everybody getsdownonthese kids. They didn’tcreate the system,”
STAFFPHOTO By BRAD KEMP
UL running back Darrell Smith, right,and StevenBlanco top the list of running backs counted on to keep the running game going this fall.
Rod Walker
Kevin Foote
BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS
6
Big Ten, SEC spar over who’s better
SEC points to its superior depth while Big Ten disputes its top-heavy reputation
BY STEVE MEGARGEE Associated Press
In the debate over which college football conference is strongest, the Southeastern Conference argues its superior depth makes up for the Big Ten winning the past three national titles
The Big Ten calls its reputation as a top-heavy conference unfair Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti considers those three College Football Playoff championships — from Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025 testaments to the league’s strength from top to bottom.
“You cannot send your top teams out into the CFP unless they’ve played and have them be successful, which we have been very successful — if they’re not going through a gauntlet in the regular season,” Petitti said last week. “This idea that the middle of our conference isn’t hard is just not right.”
The balance of power between college football’s heavyweight conferences has been a major talking point at the leagues’ media days.
Petitti spoke to reporters while standing beside the Big Ten’s three recent CFP trophies. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said the SEC was living in the past. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said “there’s no doubt” the Big Ten is best. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Cignetti said. “We don’t run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given. When we fall short, we say, ‘We fell short.’ We don’t cry a river, whine and complain. That’s why we’re the best.” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey argued his league’s case a week earlier
“When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said.
Five SEC schools combined to win 13 national titles from 200622, but no SEC team has reached any of the past three championship games.
Both can support their claims
In the first two years under a 12-team CFP format, seven SEC schools have made a combined eight playoff appearances. The Big Ten had four schools total seven playoff berths.
Certain metrics support the idea that the 16-team SEC is stronger than the 18-school Big Ten at the bottom. ESPN’s Bill Connelly produces the SP+ rankings, a predictive measure rating each team’s efficiency while adjusting for tempo and an opponent’s strength.
The Big Ten had three of the top four teams in the 2025 season-ending SP+ rankings, while the SEC had nobody in the top five But seven Big Ten programs ranked below the lowest SEC team on the list: No. 67 Kentucky
Recent results favor Big Ten
Over the past two seasons, the Big Ten went 10-7 against the SEC, including a 3-0 playoff record and a 5-2 mark in other bowl games.
The Big Ten won as an underdog in all five of those non-playoff victories.
Illinois produced two of those upsets, beating South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in 2024 and defeating Tennessee in the Music City Bowl last season. So Bielema had reason to feel good about him-
self and his conference last week when he commented that SEC backers “kind of want to live in 2005 forever.”
The 2005 reference was curious because Texas won the title that season when it was still a Big 12 member, a year before the SEC began a string of seven straight titles. Bielema said he chose 2005 because that’s the year before his head coaching career began at Wisconsin.
“The transfer portal and revenue share or NIL, however you want to describe it, when those two elements came into college football, the whole world changed,” said Bielema, who went 29-34 while coaching SEC school Arkansas from 2013-17. “I mean, it’s overly obvious to say that, but I think anything to predate that is just a different time in college football. It just is.”
Changing times
Fourteen of the 22 playoff games over the past two years have featured Big Ten teams, including two in which conference rivals faced off. No wonder even Big Ten coaches with SEC backgrounds claim bragging rights.
“I just look at what the stats are, you know and the last three years the national champion has come out of this conference,” said Pur-
due’s Barry Odom, who went 2525 at Missouri from 2016-19. “You also look at the number of playoff wins compared to any other conference, we’ve won twice as many as the next conference in the playoffs.” UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has experience playing in both conferences after reaching the playoff with Tennessee in 2024.
“I think it’s two great leagues — two great, physical leagues,” Iamaleava said “I think the SEC brings a lot of physicality, but over the years, it’s kind of leveled out in terms of the playing field.I think everybody is able to get high-level athletes. I think there’s definitely a lot of tough SEC teams, so that every week is going to be a game, but I feel the same way in the Big Ten.”
The intensity of the debate frustrates coaches eager to settle it on the field, perhaps with more headto-head matchups.
“You never hear in the NFL, ‘Wow, the NFC’s better than the AFC,’ ” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “You don’t ever hear, ’Check us out, we’ve won the Super Bowl the last few years.’
We’ve kind of made this some competition rather than just take a step back and say, ‘Who cares?’ Let’s play.”
Rulings grant 30 college basketball players 5th season
BY TERESA M. WALKER Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. A judge in Colorado and a Nashville chancellor issued rulings Friday that will give 30 basketball players a fifth season of eligibility and prevent the NCAA from keeping them out of the transfer portal
I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility
“Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 20262027 basketball season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination,” Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling A few hours later, U.S District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes from the high school Class of 2022 another year of eligibility for the upcoming school year Former Minnesota basketball player Cade Tyson was among the 12 athletes named in the Colorado case. Sweeney ruled that the injunction should cover the entire Class of 2022 high school graduates fac-
The NCAA referred The Associated Press to a statement from president Charlie Baker on X on proposed legislation to regulate college sports. Baker called the “chaos” from Friday’s rulings are why it’s “long past time” leaders in college sports call for the immediate passage of the Protect College Sports Act.
“Failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships,” Baker said.
inevitable judicial losses as evidence that Congress should grant it broader legal protections,” the Texas Trial Group said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Noh builds 3-shot lead at Women’s British Open LYTHAM ST ANNES, England Yealimi Noh took advantage of a surprising collapse by Haeran Ryu and found her rhythm at just the right time Saturday, with four birdies over the last 10 holes for a 2-under 69 that gave her a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Women’s British Open. Noh, the 25-year-old Californian with only one LPGA title, played bogey-free on the back nine at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and finished at 7-under 206 to lead over five players. One of them is Ryu, who is trying to become the first player since fellow South Korean Inbee Park to win three straight majors in the same year
Top-ranked Nelly Korda, who captured the first two majors of the year, had her round ruined by a pair of double bogeys.
Riley closes strong, takes one-shot lead in Detroit
DETROIT Davis Riley has put himself in a position to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in more than two years and to earn a postseason bid.
Riley shot a 7-under 63 to reach 15 under on Saturday and took a one-shot lead at Detroit Golf Club. He closed with consecutive birdies, making a 54-foot putt at No. 17 and a 10-footer at 18 to pull into a first-place tie with Michael Brennan.
Riley is aiming for his third career win and first since the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge — and to get into the postseason. Brennan (64) had a strong round with seven birdies, but missed a 9-foot putt to bogey 18 and lost a share of the lead.
Detroit signs Pro Bowl linebacker, ex-Tiger White
DETROIT The Detroit Lions signed free-agent linebacker and former LSU standout Devin White on Saturday, they announced on their X account. The 28-year-old White recorded a career-high 174 tackles for the Las Vegas Raiders last season. White, a first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 2019, was a Pro Bowl selection for the Buccaneers in 2021. White played five seasons for Tampa Bay before playing for Houston in 2024 and then enjoying a career revival with the Raiders. White has started in 93 of 100 career games in seven seasons. He started all 17 games for the Raiders last season and his 174 tackles ranked third in the NFL. He added 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.
Correa recovering, could return for Astros in 2026
HOUSTON Carlos Correa’s recovery from surgery to repair a torn ankle tendon is progressing quicker than expected, and on Saturday, the Houston Astros’ star infielder didn’t rule out a return this season. Correa was expected to miss the entire season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle on May 11. But he is already doing everything except hitting, sparking hope that he could be back on the field sooner than expected.
“We’ll see,” he said when asked if he could play again this year “I wouldn’t be doing all this work if I didn’t think there was a chance.”
ing similar circumstances. Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. Aug 10 for any player wanting to enter and schools wanting to reach out.
On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a fiveyear period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr Ole Miss; Jason Edwards, Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.
“On the eve of congressional consideration of the Protect College Sports Act, the NCAA points to its
“The timing is difficult to ignore First create the litigation. Then point to the litigation as the reason judicial oversight should be curtailed. No one should be surprised to learn that Mr Baker is a career politician paid millions of dollars a year to essentially running a lobbying campaign under the guise of a ‘voluntary association.’” Myles wrote in her ruling granting the injunction that “the NCAA has not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated student-athletes” with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to “certain groups of players.”
She noted a waiver for the 202526 season for those who played at least one season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended junior colleges.
The chancellor’s order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.
The 31-year-old Correa said he’s running between 80% and 90% and that he has a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Tuesday where he hopes to be cleared for hitting.
Mets’ Holmes prepares for his third rehab start
NEW YORK Clay Holmes is scheduled to make his third rehab start as he returns from a broken right fibula, and he thinks there is a chance that it could be his final start as a member of the New York Mets. Holmes broke his right fibula on May 15 and is expected to throw 70 to 75 pitches for the Mets’ DoubleA affiliate in Brooklyn on Sunday, a little more than 24 hours before Monday’s trade deadline.
The 33-year-old right-hander was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA before getting injured. He can opt out of the final year of his three-year deal following this season. Holmes says he believes that a trade is more likely than signing an extension with the Mets.
“I think the trade’s more likely,” Holmes said “Nothing’s really changed on that.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MARTA LAVANDIER
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti reacts during the College Football Playoff national championship against Miami on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Indiana is the third Big Ten team in three years to win the national title.
AP FILE PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER Vanderbilt forward Jalen Washington, left, shoots past Arkansas forward Malique Ewin, right, during the SEC Tournament championship game March 15 in Nashville, Tenn.
Winfield, left, hands the ball off to running back Darrell Smith during the UL spring game on April 25 at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.
FOOTE
Continued from page 1C
catch-and-run receivers in Trenton Chaney and Russell Babineaux, and perhaps even Rahji Dennis and Ja’Corian Norris.
Throwing out new names is one thing, but this requires a route tree this offense hasn’t utilized in almost a decade.
“We do have some things on the perimeter where we have opportunities,” Desormeaux said. “They’re the first, if no one goes to match it, we throw it. If not, there’s a throw on the backside, and a run, and all that stuff.”
Another option is throwing more to the running backs. Those are high-percentage passes, but UL hasn’t utilized them much in recent years
“The screen game hasn’t been good to us over the years,” Desormeaux said. “It’s timing, it’s design there’s a lot of things that go into it.”
The good news is Desormeaux said the top three backs — Steven Blanco, JJ Garner and Darrell Smith — all have good hands. In fact Desormeaux said he thinks Garner has the skill set to convert to wide receiver one day
But to make this transformation successful, it’ll require a major shift of emphasis from the coaching staff.
New running backs
Speaking of the running backs, some believe they could be a weakness for the Cajuns after Bill Davis and Zylan Perry transferred in the offseason.
The coaching staff won’t be surprised if there’s not a dropoff. Blanco knows how to get what he can get; Smith seems to be good at everything; and Garner has the ability to
become a highlight-reel back.
If the running game struggles, it’ll likely be due to more offensive line injuries.
The problem with the group is it lacks experience. That’s where new running backs coach Marquase Lovings comes in. In his second stint at UL, the veteran coach could be a huge behindthe-scenes factor
New leader on defense
When the Cajuns faced mustwin after must-win situations last season, it was impressive to see how hard senior leaders such as Jordan Lawson and Jaden Dugger played down the stretch.
Time will tell which leaders emerge on the defensive side this season. The most likely candidate is senior defensive lineman Fitzgerald West, who entered the transfer portal early in the offseason only to return.
“I do think Fitz is in position to be that guy,” Desormeaux said “He’s so active and he’s 300 pounds now.”
A sneaky option for that role is newcomer Tito Chikere on the edge. All reports are he’s done way more than just fit after transferring in the offseason.
Cornerbacks
It’s scary to think about how badly the UL secondary would have struggled last season if true freshman Brent Gordon wasn’t ready to play right away
The veterans around him didn’t come through and the transfer portal didn’t, either
That has to change this season. Certainly all areas of the defense played a role in last year’s shortcomings, but allowing conversions on third and long must be cleaned up.
The communication has to improve and so do the basic cornerback instincts.
LSU baseball ‘surprised’ to secure LHP Schmidt
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
LSU baseball left-handed pitcher
signee Logan Schmidt has decided to join the Tigers for the 2027 season, he announced on social media
Saturday Schmidt chose the Tigers over professional baseball and junior college, with the former option being his presumed destination after the Cleveland Guardians selected him with the No. 59 overall pick in the second round of last month’s MLB draft.
Schmidt, however, announced a day before the signing deadline that the two sides had not come to an agreement and he would not join the organization The decision whittled his future down to LSU and junior college, with the second path allowing him to re-enter the draft in 2027 At LSU, he won’t be eligible to be drafted again until 2029.
“We looked at it actually this morning, and the number of top five round draft picks that haven’t signed over the past decade is very small,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said in an interview with The Advocate on Saturday “And so (I’m) surprised, pleasantly surprised, and excited about Logan.” Schmidt never was expected to make it to Baton Rouge.
He was one of the top left-handed pitchers in the 2026 high school class, entering the draft as the No. 45 player in MLB.com’s draft rankings, the No. 56 prospect in ESPN’s rankings and the No. 53 player in The Athletic’s rankings.
At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Schmidt is known for his ability to consistently throw strikes. He also features a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can reach 98 mph, all while throwing a slider and a changeup.
“The standout quality is strike throwing,” Johnson said. “That’s what separates him. It’s a good arsenal of pitches.”
Schmidt is also young for his class. He reclassified from the 2027 class up to the 2026 class to be eligible for this year’s draft. He didn’t turn 18 until July 23. His size, age and ability made him an attractive option for MLB teams heading into the draft.
“Logan’s probably one of the better pitchers in that second tier of high school arms,” one scout told The Advocate on the condition of anonymity before the draft. “So, probably not a guy who’s a lock to be a true first-rounder, but easily a guy who could be a comp pick or maybe in the second round for an over-slot pay later.”
Schmidt’s decision to join the
Tigers balloons their roster to 40 players. NCAA roster rules allow LSU to have 34 players, but the program was set to have five players labeled as designated studentathletes heading into next year, meaning they can be on the roster without counting against the 34man limit.
It is unclear whether LSU will need to drop a player after adding Schmidt, and it’s not known which players count as designated student-athletes.
What Schmidt’s inclusion does mean is that the left-handed pitching corps just got a lot stronger The Tigers brought back four lefties — Danny Lachenmayer, Cooper Williams, Jonah Aase and Ethan Plog and added freshmen Braxton Beaty, Bradyn Cupit and Lucas Nawrocki this offseason. Cupit throws strikes; Beaty is known for his breaking ball; and Nawrocki is a two-way player who was the No. 91 player in ESPN’s draft rankings.
Bringing Schmidt into that equation provides Johnson with another potential starting pitcher for both the present and future.
“It’s a wide-open competition (this year), and he has the ability to contend for it, as I think a number of guys do,” Johnson said. “Like, we have to perform better there.”
Continued from page 1C
While Olave deserves credit for his unselfishness, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis should get his props for handling this business so soon. The longer it dragged out, the more it would have become a distraction. Turns out, it wasn’t a distraction at all. It’s the latest move in what has been a splendid offseason for Loomis, who nailed free agency and selected a promising draft class. Also listed in this category was Olave and first-round draft pick Jordyn Tyson teaming up Saturday morning for a back-to-school giveaway at the City of Love Church in New Orleans. On the field, Chase Young and Kool-Aid McKinstry have been two of the brightest stars in camp. McKinstry tweaked his ankle the second day but said it’s nothing serious. Before that, the third-year cornerback had a pair of pass breakups on the first day He and Young are in the early lead for camp MVP
The downs
We won’t include Taysom Hill’s announcement that he won’t return to the Saints here, although it no doubt left many fans feeling down. Most of us knew Hill’s time in New Orleans was over as soon as the clock struck zero on the 2025 season.
The first big blow for the Saints came on the first day of camp. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee suffered a knee injury that likely will cause him to miss the entire season. Bresee was entering his fourth season and was a key part of the pass rush. The Saints will count on second-year defensive tackle Vernon Broughton and rookie Christen Miller to fill the void.
“It’s sad and you feel so bad for a guy like that who has put in so much work and how great of a player he has been for us,” linebacker Pete Werner said.
“What he said to me is ‘go get it done, work hard for me, do this for me.’ When any great player goes down, they don’t want you to feel bad for them. They want you to see you win That’s what he expects out of us, so at the end of the day we’ve just got to return the favor.”
The offense also hasn’t been sharp, which isn’t uncommon early in camp. There have been dropped passes, miscommunication between Tyler Shough and his receivers and fumbles on snap exchanges.
“It comes with time,” Olave said. “Of course we’re going to have hiccups and things like that in the beginning. With time, we are building that chemistry together Once the time comes for the season, it’s going to be one of the top things to watch.”
Until then, expect more ups and downs along the way
said Tania, who tried her best not to doom-scroll social media after her son’s decision to transfer from Arizona State to LSU.
In this unwieldy portal era, Leavitt chose a path that satisfied his competitive instinct. He sees LSU as a place where he can train like a pro. He’s been chasing the NFL longer than most consider reasonable.
Ryan Paul, who trained both Leavitt brothers, remembers his first game of catch with sixth grader Sam, who spun the football with enough juice that it wasn’t boring. He was a natural “mover,” blessed with more agility than his run-through-a-wall older brother
He believed he was heading to the NFL, just like his brother
“I was like, ‘OK, you’re delusional,’ ” Paul said. “But the way things are looking, he’s not too delusional.”
Leavitt leaned into his obsession. He grew up with a whiteboard in his room with the words, “How great do you want to be?”
He asked Paul, constantly if he was working as hard as his older brother It took a few years for him to get there, mostly because Paul had to remind the younger Leavitt that working hard didn’t mean wildly “crashing out” in every exercise.
“You can be intense,” Paul said, “without going to a level where you’re gonna pop an aneurysm.”
His brain was worth preserving. Leavitt’s coach at West Linn High School, Jon Eagle, admired his quarterback’s unshakable confidence. He could follow frustrating interceptions with conducting 80-yard touchdown drives.
Leavitt once rocketed a pass 35 yards from one hash to the other, its flight path a steady 6 feet above the ground. No one was amazed because Leavitt did this all the time.
What sticks with Eagle more is how quickly Leavitt could count down from 100, subtracting seven every time: 100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65, 58, 51, 44, 37, 30, 23, 16, 9, 2.
“He can get that thing in under 10 seconds,” said Eagle, who has long believed the quickest thinkers are the best quarterbacks.
He absorbed Eagle’s playbook so quickly
“A lot of kids need several reps of doing something before they get it. You could sit down in a meeting room 30 minutes before practice, and by the time we got out there, he would do it,” said Eagle, who believes he was luckier to coach Leavitt than the other way around.
Leavitt became a state champion before his prep career ended, but he had to bounce between states to claim it. He played his first varsity season in Utah because Oregon shuttered sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was sacked a handful of times in one game by Lone Peak edge rusher John Henry Daley, who has transferred from BYU to Utah to Michigan.
“We had good players,” Jared said of his son’s 6-5 Pleasant Grove squad, “but it was tough to go out there and get hit in the mouth.” Leavitt returned to Westview High School humbled, but he still
had an itch to develop. He transferred to West Linn as a senior to play for former NFL quarterback Chris Miller
It just so happened Miller took a pro coaching job before Leavitt arrived. Eagle swooped in, synched up with Leavitt and even convinced the aggressive playmaker to not run the ball in the regular season to preserve his body When Leavitt was cut loose, West Linn went on a run and Eagle won his fourth state title.
“He’s an SEC quarterback,” Eagle said. “He might be an NFL quarterback.”
Eagle won’t disparage Oregon State for not realizing this because sometimes “you’re just not someone’s flavor of ice cream.” And Sometimes you are before circumstances change.
Leavitt thought he found a suitor in Washington State offensive coordinator Eric Morris. Then just after Leavitt’s visit to the Cougars, Morris took a head coaching job at North Texas. Morris is now at Oklahoma State.
Leavitt landed at Michigan State and loved it. Then Oregon State’s staff moved in.
“Sam’s been through the wringer, man,” Eagle said. “People say all this stuff about kids moving. But look, coaches do it. Why can’t players do the same thing? They’re just trying to make the situation for themselves better I don’t know how you can find fault in that.”
Leavitt tried to explain why he’s taken his passion elsewhere during a recent LSU football women’s clinic, calling Arizona State a “comfortable situation.” He just wanted to “do something a little bit different.”
“You talk about being a pro, trying to become the best version of yourself,” Leavitt said. “There’s no other place to do it.”
That touched off another round of bitter replies on social media, accusing him of “chasing a bag” of cash. He’s just one target of what’s bound to be a noisy LSU season,
considering the drama surrounding Lane Kiffin’s exit from and looming return to Ole Miss. Leavitt might be the perfect quarterback to handle it all. He’s often viewed as a bulldog competitor illustrated by how he aggressively chest-bumped Dallin after a Big 12 title win, screaming until he was red in the face.
He also offered his mom sage advice when she was worked up by online attacks. He asked her to picture them walking down the road, with Tania slightly behind him.
“You’re hearing everything people are saying about me. By the time we get to the end, you’re ready to fight. You’re angry,” he said. “You know what? I got AirPods in I got my Beats on. I don’t hear a word. I don’t care. So don’t listen.”
If Kiffin can turn Leavitt into a dual-threat star like he did with transfers Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss, the chatter should quiet. If LSU’s investment in the No. 1 transfer class in America correlates to a playoff run, Leavitt’s decision shouldn’t be that hard to understand.
“He was an integral piece of getting Arizona State back to relevancy, and he could have stayed and they probably would have been just as competitive,” Paul said, “but it wouldn’t be the same as this roster at LSU. There’s no way.” He made his own choice this time, and Tania believes her son found home again.
Leavitt has been deep sea fishing and duck hunting with LSU linebacker Whit Weeks. A local farmer has been providing Leavitt with fresh produce. He lives just around the corner from his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr LSU is just a little different, but it could be everything he wants and needs.
“He just wants to win,” Tania said. “He wants to be the best that he can be, for real.”
Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@theadvocate.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW HINTON
Saints coach Kellen Moore talks with defensive lineman Bryan Bresee during warm-ups at organized team activities on May 28 in Metairie. Bresee suffered what is feared to be a torn ACL on the first day of camp.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt reacts after a play during the first day of spring practice on March 24 at the team’s practice facility
2025:
PAST FIVE YEARS
PROJECTED STARTERS
Offense
WR Ryan Sealy (6-1, 160, Sr.)*
TE Jackson Zinger (6-2, 240, Jr.)
OL John Jackson (6-2, 280, Sr.)*
OL Ethan Trahan (6-3, 250, Sr.)*
OL Kollin Credeur (5-9, 240, Sr.)*
OL Percy Moultrie (6-2, 265, Jr.)
OL Admiral Patterson (6-3, 265, Jr.)
QB Parker Dies (5-10, 170, Sr.)*
RB Justin Williams (5-10, 200, Sr.)
RB Kollen Francois (5-9, 155, Sr.)*
RB Coby Broussard (5-10, 185, Sr.)*
Defense
DE Ethan Roque (6-0, 232, Sr.)*
DT Makyren Francois (5-10, 345, Sr.)*
DT Elijah Batiste (6-0, 280, Sr.)
DE Landry Kahler (6-3, 200, Sr.)*
LB Charles Cornier (5-8, 212, Sr.)
LB Ashtin Delaughter (5-9, 204, Sr.)
DB JonathanArmstrong (5-11,165,Sr.)*
DB yaylin Williams (5-10, 175, Sr.)*
DB Jack Jones (5-10, 181, Sr.)
DB Liam Armand (5-9, 170, Sr.)
DB Daniel Johnson (6-0,160, Sr.) * RETURNING STARTER
COACHES
Head coach: Jess Curtis (166-45)
Assistant coaches: Josh LaBorde, Brennpn Robicheaux,Zack Bertand, Dayten Richard,Josh Lierman,Taj Lopez. Mike Stelly,Andrew Constitine,Neil Lowery,Cully Holden,John Babineaux and Russell Pouchieu.ennet Boudreaux.
Southside
What we know
Southside’s potent flexbone offense returns eight starters, including the top five rushers, and tough offensive lineman John Jackson.
Fullback Justin Williams, quarterback Parker Dies and versatile Kollen Francois — who can play slotback, running back or receiver — combined for nearly 4,000 yards rushing with 56 touchdowns last season.
“We have a deep, very physical group, and the fact that they’re all back — and a lot of them started as sophomores that’s why a lot of people are excited around here,” Sharks coach Jess Curtis said. Curtis said the offensive line, which brings back three starters (Ethan Trahan, Kollin Credeur and Jackson), could be the best yet for the program, which has made back-to-back quarterfinal appearances with losses at Ruston.
“We have this whole offensive group coming back for their third year as starters,” Curtis said. “Playing Ruston tough, being up 14 points on the road at Ruston, that gives us a lot of confidence.”
Coby Broussard and Jovan Joya combined for another 800 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. Both should also get snaps on a defense that expects to rotate in as many as 22 players on each series.
“We’re talking about trying to play in December,” Curtis said. “We’re definitely going to have those two doing that in certain scenarios, because we want to put our best players on the field.”
What we don’t know
The defense is breaking in a new linebacker crew and also has to replace three of five starters in the secondary, including Cameron Allen (Nicholls State) and Emanual Collins (Louisiana Tech).
Curtis isn’t concerned about his new starters, in-
sisting the biggest question is which players will be on the field.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “We’re very deep defensively It’s a great problem to have. We have some great position battles.”
The defensive line is the strength of the unit, with ends Landry Kahler and Ethan Roque leading the way Tyler Bruce can move up and down coordinator Joshua LaBorde’s defensive front.
Linebacker Jaxon Chadwick and defensive backs Dylan Simon, Chayce Malveaux, Xavier Alexander and Jayden Moncrieffe will rotate with the starters. Curtis is high on Malveaux and Moncrieffe, who also can play slot or receiver on offense.”
How we see it
This could be the year the Sharks get past the quarterfinal hump. The offensive backfield will be difficult to stop, and while the Sharks have several new starters on defense, Curtis is banking on great depth to overcome inexperience.
Southside plays its first three games at home against Brother Martin, Westgate and Union Parish before diving into the District 3-5A grind, where its toughest games lurk against St. Thomas More and Acadiana in weeks 8-9.
The Cougars and Wreckin’ Rams figure to be in the hunt for the league title, along with the Sharks. Brother Martin will bring five-star receiver Easton Royal to test the Sharks. Westgate, a team with a bumper crop of juniors, should be in the hunt for the Division II nonselect title each of the next two years.
The Sharks didn’t have to throw the ball at all in some games last year, but there are instances where every team must move the chains through the air Dies has experienced receivers in Ryan Sealy and Moncrieffe On third and long, will Southside be able to convert a substantial percentage of throws? That could be a major factor
Mike Coppage
L.A.
Sunday’s Games Philadelphia (Wheeler 10-2) at Baltimore (Bradish 7-9), 12:35 p.m. St. Louis (Liberatore 5-8) at Toronto (Scherzer 1-4), 12:37 p.m. Arizona (Kelly 8-8) at Cleveland (Williams 10-6), 12:40 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Kay 7-5) at Tampa Bay (Jax 6-8), 12:40 p.m. Texas (Rocker 4-8) at Houston (TBD), 1:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Cole 4-5) at Chicago Cubs (Rea 8-7), 1:20 p.m. Kansas City (Lugo 4-6) at Colorado (Freeland 2-10), 2:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Misiorowski 11-4) at L.A. Angels (Ureña 6-7), 2:15 p.m Detroit (Montero 7-6) at Athletics (Jump 4-6), 3:05 p.m. Minnesota (Bradley 9-4) at Seattle (Kirby 8-9), 3:10 p.m. Boston (Bennett 6-4)
Angels, n Sunday’s Games Philadelphia (Wheeler 10-2) at Baltimore (Bradish 7-9), 12:35 p.m. Washington (Cavalli 8-4) at Atlanta (Pérez 6-6), 12:35 p.m. St. Louis (Liberatore 5-8) at Toronto (Scherzer 1-4), 12:37 p.m. Arizona (Kelly 8-8) at Cleveland (Williams 10-6), 12:40 p.m. Miami (Alcantara 11-6) at N.Y. Mets (TBD), 12:40 p.m. Pittsburgh (Keller 6-7) at Cincinnati (Burns 12-1), 12:40 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Cole 4-5) at Chicago Cubs (Rea 8-7), 1:20 p.m. Kansas City (Lugo 4-6) at Colorado (Freeland 2-10), 2:10 p.m Milwaukee (Misiorowski 11-4) at L.A. Angels (Ureña 6-7), 2:15 p.m. San Francisco (Roupp 7-9) at San Diego (King 6-7), 3:10 p.m. Boston (Bennett 6-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Sheehan 4-7), 6:20 p.m. Golf
Rocket Classic Saturday At North Course Detroit Purse: $10 million Yardage: 7,328; Par: 70 Third Round Davis Riley 68-64-63—195 15 Michael Brennan 65-67-64—196 14 Rickie Fowler
-12 Rasmus Højgaard
Justin Williams RB, 5-10, 200, Sr. The Sharks’leading rusher was the area’s No.3 ball carrier with nearly 1,700 yards and 26TDs on 250 carries.Nicholls State has offered the bulldozer who ran great times in the 40-yard dash at some offseason events and performed well in an abbreviated outdoor track and field season.
Parker Dies QB, 5-10, 170, Sr. A college baseball prospect as an outfielder, Dies shows off his arm strength as the closer for the Sharks. On the football field, he’s more likely to score using his legs, which produced the eighth-best rushing numbers in the area (130-1,238 yards, 18 TDs).The three-year starter averaged nearly 10 yards per carry
Kollen Francois RB, 5-9, 155, Sr. Francois is a dynamic player who led the team in yards per carry and was third in rushing The Sharks will get the ball in a variety of ways to the shifty senior,who could line up alongsideWilliams at times and play slotback.He also can play receiver,and there is the potential to get him reps at cornerback.
John Jackson OL, 6-2, 280, Sr. Edwards has terrific speed and top-tier shiftiness with the ability to make defenders miss in the open field.As a junior,he was a bigplay wideout who averaged a touchdown every fourth catch.“Has great changeof-direction skills,”Desormeaux said of Edwards,who could play football or soccer in college.
Ethan Roque DE, 6-0, 232, Sr. Coach Curtis points to his defensive line — and especially the ends, Landry Kahler and Roque — when asked about the unit’s strength.“
PHOTO By MIKE COPPAGE
Southside offensive standouts, from left, include Jayden Moncrieffe, Jovan Joya, Kollin Credeur, Coby Broussard and Ethan Trahan.
JanRisher
On Navajo land, this Louisiana womanlearned thework of ashepherd
Readers have not let me forget about Kristyn Carver
Since my column about her plan to spend aweek helping tend sheep with afamily on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, people have stopped me at grocery stores, called the office andemailed. How did it go?
LIVING
Some wanted an update before she had even made it hometoMandeville. She is home now,asisher lifelong friend Jennifer Nottingham, who flew in from Alaska to join her The short answer? Carver went to Arizonatohelp move sheep. She never moved asingle one. But that’snot what she came home talking about.
It turns out the story belongsas much to a27-year-oldnamed Timothy Benally as it doestoCarver Benally helped arrangeCarver’s trip. She teachesatNew Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent years wanting to better understand the Bible’smanyshepherd metaphors.
The morning she flew out, driving across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in adownpour,she prayed she’d be present towhoever crossed her path that day.Every seatmate she met and every stranger she encounteredaskedwhere she was headed. Then they wanted to know why
The plan was straightforward She would help Benally’suncle, Vince Benally,move the family’s sheep fromtheir winter campto higher summer grazing land Nature had other ideas
ä See SHEPHERD, page 6D
PROVIDED PHOTO
Jennifer Nottingham, of Alaska,from left, met her childhood friend Kristyn CarverinArizona fora week of assisting TimBenally and his family tend their sheep on thelandwhere his family has lived for generations, partofthe Navajo Nation in Arizona.
Anew placefor
news and content
Beginning today,stories that appeared in the Louisiana Inspired section are moving to the Sunday Living section:
n JANRISHER: Her Sunday column will now appear each week on the front of Living, as well as her regular Tuesday column in Metro.
n LOUISIANAINSPIRED: Each Sundaywe'll spotlight astory about an inspiring person or event in the Living section.
n FAITH: We’re also relaunching apage about faith, beliefs and spirituality.Itwill appearevery other Sunday
Kathryn Stockett’slongawaited second novel, ‘The Calamity Club,’ is set in Oxford, Mississippi
PROVIDED PHOTO|
STAFFILLUSTRATION By CHRISTOPHER
MARTIN
BY JANRISHER Staff writer
Editor’snote: Kathryn Stockett’s2009 debut novel, “The Help,”sold more than 15 million copies, spent more than 100 weeks atop The New York Times bestseller list and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film Her second novel, “The CalamityClub,” was released in May
Stockettwill speak about her writing and new book, including alive conversation with the newspaper’s Jan Risher,at5:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 at TheFreyhan Center,4727 La. 426, St. Francisville —presented by TheConundrum bookshop. Admission is free. Seating is first come, first served.
Kathryn Stockett can write almost anywhere. But only forso long. When thewords stop coming, she goes home to Mississippi Church Hill, to be exact, about30
minutes outside Natchez, where cell service is unreliable and interruptions are few.
“I don’tknow what it is about being away from here,” she said. “I’ll write until the words run out. Andwhentheydo, I’ll go back and sort of fill my tank.”
Stockett splits her timebetween the DeepSouth andan apartmentinNew York’sEast Village, but Mississippi remains theplace that fuels herwriting. Her relationship withhome has shaped both of her novels —“The Help,” the 2009 debut that made hera literary star, and “The Calamity Club,” which arrived nearly 17 years later
Stockett remembers thefirst timeshe saw astranger reading “The Help.” Shewas walking on abeach.
ä See STOCKETT, page 6D
BYDEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press
NEW YORK It wasimportant enough to the framers of the U.S. Constitution to be includedin the first 10 amendments known as theBill of Rights —that no person“shall be compelled in any criminal case to be awitness against himself.” As part of the Fifth Amendment, theright against self-incrimination is well known to the
general public thanks to years of legal and police procedural shows on television as well as instances of high-profile use in real life. The amendment also includes aright to due process and protectsagainst being prosecuted twice forthe sameoffense. It hasseeped into theculture, too. “Pleading the Fifth” has become an idiominthe United States,usedjokingly in casual
Stockett
BETWEEN THEPAGES WITH NATHANIEL RICH
‘the real world youcan play with’
In newbook, author detailsthe challenges in turningrealdataheistsinto fiction
BY RIEN FERTEL
Contributing writer
“Cloudthief” by Nathaniel Rich, MCD/ Farrar,Straus andGiroux, 304 pages
Last month, the newspaper reported that Meta, the parentcompany of Facebook and Instagram, signed off on plans to double the sizeoftheir Richland Parish data center.Once completed, the$50 billion project, named Hyperion, will be more than four times the sizeofNew York’sCentral Park, making it one of the world’slargest data centers.
“If data was the lifeblood of modern society,our currency,our chronicle, our neural network, our godhead —its corpus was the data center,” the New Orleans author Nathaniel Rich writes in his new novel, “Cloudthief.”
For Tim, the novel’s protagonist, that data is also worth stealing In this Crichton-esque technothriller,Tim, alongside hisfemme fatale girlfriend, Virginia, attempts to pull off anesting doll trio of heists, as he crisscrosses the country’soverlooked outskirts, fromQueens to Oklahoma to Kenner
Set in the years just before the emergenceoflarge language model AI, “Cloudthief” becomes apage-turning commentary on love in the ruins of hyperscale data and what exactlymakes us human.
This interview was edited for length and clarity
In regards to Meta’sHyperion data center,can you help me understand what is happening here in Louisiana?
The most interesting thingfor me about the Meta data center is that it seems to have shifted, for
thefirst time in acentury,the balance of power in Louisiana politics. Despite this factory requiringthe construction of abunch of gasplants,the oil andgas industry in Louisiana has been dead set against it, outoffear that its energyusagewill require utility ratestorise.
The net cost will be gargantuan.
So you had this bizarre alliance between the oil and gas industry in Louisiana and environmental groups, like the Alliance for Affordable Energy, joining together to opposethe Meta plant.Landry basically told them to take ahike. And Ithink theoil and gas industry was shocked, because for the first timeinacentury,they didn’t getwhatthey wanted.That’sbeen dramatic to me, to see big tech come in and basically push aside thepetrochemical empire.
The other thingthat’s going on, and this is true nationally,isthat people hatedata centers.
In arecent New York Times Magazine piece, you write about a2007 Verizon data center heist in London.What are the challenges and advantages of turning fact into fiction?
The Verizon heist is one of the models Iused for “Cloudthief. There’sseveral others like it, particularly in that period. Data centers have been with us for a long time, and these massive centralized data centers have been with us for about 20 years.
The subject of the heist is in Pryor,Oklahoma, Google’sbiggest datacenter.When Isearched for it on Google Maps, it wouldn’t show up. They were clearly shielding it.That’s no longer the case. Butduring theyears Iwas writing the novel, that was true.
They lied about even having data centers for the first couple years once they started constructing them. Essentially, they’ve always been there, always been gargantuan energy-sucking, greenhouse-gas-devouring facilities
Butthe tech industry has been very clever at disguising these facts and concealing it from the public.
Buttoyour question, thestories that interest me are anchored heavily in reality—real historical fact, real scientific fact, technical detail. It’s very important for me to get those things right. I did alot of research for the novel. Ihave alist of 20 data heists that I drew from,essentially reported it before Iwroteit. Itried to figure out how Icould break into adata center.And Ithink Isucceeded.
Reading your work over the years, Ifound
it amusing,the sort of meta-narrative, that the data Timand Virginia unknowingly steal are your own journalistic interests: UFOs, gene editing.This is all to ask,what would you steal? Iwould probably steal what they steal. Exploitable information —either exploitable journalistically,orthrough somekind of prediction markets. When Iwas writing, Ikept thinking about “Back tothe Future Part II,”in which he brings back the sports book and can makebets because he knows allthe outcomes of the games. AndIwanted them to discover secrets, things that were secret in 2014-15, that wereleaked since. Ideally,stuff that was leaked that we don’treally know wholeaked it. In other words, Virginia might have leaked the first Pentagon UAP video, or the first Panama Papersfile. All the secrets they discover were really secrets that have since been revealed. That’sthe funofwriting anovel in the contemporary mode, the
real world you can play with.
“Cloudthief”ispartially set in Kenner, not New Orleans.This is no doubt aconscious choice? It suited the character; [Tim]is an underdog character whofeels alittle bit outside of the world. Kenner wasthe right homefor him.His whole journey is to figure out his own sense of purpose, his mission. He lives in Queens, and he lives in Kenner.There’sa similar cultural identity there. People whoare striving and working hard, but maybe are not getting the samelevel of visibility as Manhattan and New Orleans. The book is set entirely in places that are places people don’t think about, but are right in front of our noses: data centers, mini storage, Oklahoma. What Itried to do with the book is makevisible things that people don’tsee, don’tnotice, and yet are central to lifeasit’slived today
Rien Fertel is the author of four books. He can be reached at rienfertel@gmail.com
Oralhistory detailsPinkFloyd’s legacy
Y MATTHEWMCCARTY
ookTrib.com (TNS)
Music is an integral part of modrnculture. Musical genres such as ock-n-roll define generations and ive hope and excitement to listeners fortunate enough to be apartofthe musical experience. Groups suchasBlack Sabbath, AC/DC and Pink Floyd ave stamped theirmarkaround the world and on pop culturefor decades
In “Pink Floyd: Shine On: The Denitive OralHistory,” author Mark Blake uses theband’sown backround as well as the words of othrswho directed the band and were ssentialparts of its groundbreaking musical style and legacy
The music surrounding Pink Floyd s the music of the ages.Each memerofthe band plays an important ole in “Pink Floyd: Shine On” with heir words and their memories
The music of this innovative and influential band is described by Blake as the history of an era. Blake benefitsfrombeing aband insider and someone with aspecial relationship witheach individual band member. Blake givesequal attention to the band’smusical catalogue and to the accomplishments of each member. He alsosheds light on the world of the 1970s through interviews with producers, friends, and romantic interests of the band.
“Pink Floyd: Shine On” is an excellent oral history
The fresh perspective on this iconic band is much needed. Many of the musical acts that rose to prominence during the heyday of Pink Floyd did not survive thechanging musical tastesofthe 1980s. Pink Floyd, along with the acts mentioned above and others, not only survivedthe change in musical tastesbut also stayed true to their success. The 1980s witnessed amove
towards keyboard and synthesizer stylings, and Pink Floyd were able to harness that change and make it their own. Blake’swriting style provides a description of how these changes in musical tastes and style ensured the continued success of Pink Floyd.
“Pink Floyd: Shine On” is awellwrittenand enjoyable read.
The narrative flows well and leads the reader towards agreater understanding of Pink Floyd. Blake takes advantage of his reporters’ wit and style in order to craft an engaging and sympathetic work. Fans of the golden age of rock-n-roll will do well to add “Pink Floyd: Shine On” to their nighttime reading.
This chronicle will take awelcome place alongside oral histories such as “Denim and Leather: The Rise and Fall of the NewWave of British Heavy Metal” by Michael Hann.
“Pink Floyd: Shine On” is an excellent look into the world of the music that makes the world go round.
Museums, nature and more greet visitors
BY ELIZABETHDEAL Staff writer
“What’sthere to see in Shreveport-Bossier?” is acommonly asked question. But there are quite afew uniqueattractions, events and more that people may not know about in the area. Some popular stops worth visitingare theShreveportAquarium, Sci-Port science museum and IMAX theater; shopping at Kings Antiques in Shreveport; and listening to live music outside in the East Bank District of Bossier City. Here are 10 more interesting sights, plus famous food spots and annual events in the area.
n TheMunicipalAuditorium, 705 Elvis Presley Ave.,Shreveport, is consideredtobe thefinest example of art deco architecture in Louisiana, and it houses the original stagewhere ElvisPresley got hisstart on the “Louisiana Hayride” radio program. Outside, an Elvis statue stands tall, and inside, tours are by appointment by calling (318) 841-4000. Fees vary based on how many people are in agroup.
n Shreveport boasts the largest single trunk crape myrtle in the nation, called Bayou View,a species imported from Japanin the 1950s. Visitors can seeitduring the operating hours of Akins Nursery,5901 E. Kings Highway Shreveport, from 8:30a.m. to 5p.m. Monday through Saturday
n Bakowski Bridge of Lights over Red River,also known as the Texas Streetbridge and the LongAllen bridge, connects downtown Shreveport and the Bossier Boardwalk, lighting up the skyline daily from dusk to midnight. Thebridge has 13,000 interactive LEDlights that are programmable, changing colors and animations.
TRAVEL
1887 andretiredin1980. Museum hoursare 10 a.m. to 4p.m.Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4p.m. Sunday
n The largest chimpanzee sanctuary in the world, Chimp Haven, is just outside ShreveportinKeithville. It’s only open to the public on certain dates, which youcan find on their website.
n Stroll the botanical gardens at R.W.NortonArt Gallery and Botanical Gardens, 4747 CreswellAve.,Shreveport, andsee the large-scale painting “Captain Henry Miller Shreve Clearing theGreatRaft,” where his finger will point at you wherever you move. The museum is open 1p.m. to 5p.m. Thursday through Sunday,while thegardens are open from sunrise to sunset Wednesday through Sunday
n See the B-17 and B-24 bombers of World WarII, the P-51 Mustang, the B-52D andB-52G Stratofortress, and thehighest andfastest flying jet aircraft ever —the MACH 3+ SR-71 Blackbird —at the Barksdale Global Power Museum.Visitors must complete an application, found online, to visit. The application must be completednoless than 30 days before your arrival date. The museumis located at the Barksdale Air Force Base, 88 Shreveport Road, Bossier Hours are 9a.m. to 3p.m. Monday through Friday Eatlike alocal
Enjoying a“Humphrey Yogart” from one of the manyCounter CulturelocationsinShreveportBossierisa tradition in this area. It’sa tangy,plain frozen yogurt topped with fresh fruit, honey and granola.
people raveabout the strawberry.The originallocationisat125 Kings Highway,Shreveport. Find Strawn’sEat Shop Tooat7803 Youree Drive and Strawn’sEat Shop Also at 2335 Airline Drive, Bossier Shreveport is home to several outstanding and award-winning chefsand locally owned restaurants and breweries. Somefavorite places are Ki’Mexico, Fat Calf Brasserie,Zuzul Coastal Cuisine El Cabo Verde, Great Raft Brewing Co., 2Johns Steakhouse, BeauxJax Crafhouse and Seventh Tap Brewing Project.
Wheretostay
Remington Hotel, 220 Travis St., Shreveport, is ahistoric boutique hotel in downtown Shreveport with arelaxing lobby and bar,full-service spa and fitness center FairfieldPlace andFairfieldManor are bed-and-breakfasts owned by Shreveport caterer chef John Cariere. Full of Southern décor and hospitality,theyare in thehistoric Highland district at 2221 and2300 Fairfield Ave., Shreveport. Live! Casino and Hotel, 711 Live Casino Blvd., Bossier City,isthe newest and only land-based casino in Shreveport-Bossier withrestaurants, an outdoor pool and fitness center
Events
The Red River Revel, ajuried art show with local food booths and a full music lineup, is Oct. 8-11 and Oct. 15-18 at Festival Plaza, 101 Crockett St., Shreveport.
n Shreveport is home to 23 world-renowned dioramas depicting oil drilling, cattle farming and sulfur mining in the 1940s before the transition from manual labor to machines, with the people handsculpted from beeswax. Visitors can view thedioramas at the LouisianaState Exhibit Museum, 3015 Greenwood Road, Shreveport. Hours are 9a.m.to4 p.m. Monday through Friday
TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER
By ChristopherElliott
n Take ashortdrive down Fairfield Avenue inShreveport, beginning at Pierremont Road, to view someof Shreveport’soldestturnof-the-century mansions, many of which are on the NationalRegister of Historic Places. Then turn
southonKings Highway and head to 2911 Centenary Blvd. to see the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River, Centenary College,which celebrated 200 years in 2025.
n Walk through thelaststeampowered water pumping station in theUnited States at Shreveport Water Works Museum, 142 N. Common St. The McNeill Street Pumping Station was opened in
Connecting flight change meansovernight
Ibooked around-trip flight with Aeromexico from Washington, D.C., to Oaxaca, Mexico. Recently,the airline informed me it had changed my connecting flight to the next day.
to the case, tellingmethat because their contract says flightsare subject to change, my request wasdenied.
Can you help me getmy$1,360 back?
Allison Turpen,Linden,Va
those clauses to hold your money hostage when they completely rewriteyour itinerary
SouthernMaidDonutsisa Shreveport favorite since1941. Elvis Presleymadeonly one product endorsement —acommercial for Southern Maid in 1954. The original location is at 3505 Hearne Ave., with several other locations.
Strawn’sEat Shop is an 80-plusyear-old diner by Centenary College known for its burgers, hot lunch plates and famous icebox pies —and hasbeenfeatured in Southern Living magazine. A favorite is chocolate, but most
The State Fair of Louisiana with acarnival, state rodeofinals, livestock showand live music is Oct. 29-Nov.15atthe Louisiana State Fairgrounds, 3701 Hudson Ave., Shreveport. The 50thannualIndependence Bowl will host theBig 12 Conference vs. Conference USAat 7:30 p.m. Dec.22atIndependence Stadium, 3301 Pershing Blvd., Shreveport. TheBarksdaleAir ForceBase biennial air show is April 3-4, 2027, at U.S. 70, Barksdale.
Email Elizabeth Deal at elizabeth.deal@theadvocate. com.
The new itineraryleft me with alayover of more than eight hours in Mexico City.My flight would arrive at 9:30 p.m., but the connecting flightwouldn’t leave until 6:15 a.m. the following morning.
Christopher Elliott
Iwillbetraveling with anewborn.This schedule will not work for me because Ican’tstayovernight in the airport with ababy.
Irequested acancellation and refund for the flight, but the airline is refusing
I’ve called nearly adozen times to speak to different people.They finally responded
Aeromexico should have refunded your ticket themoment youpointed outthe schedule change. In fact, it should have offered you afullrefund automatically when it revised your schedule.
Airlines love to tell passengers that schedules are subject to change. It’swritten into their contracts of carriage —the legal agreements betweenyou and the airline— to protect them from liability when weather or mechanical issues cause delays. Butthey shouldn’tbeable to use
Youwere holding aticket for a flight departing from theUnited States. That meansyou are protected by theU.S. Department of Transportation. According to thegovernment, you are entitled to arefund if the airline makes a “significant schedule change and/ or significantly delays aflight and the consumer chooses not to travel.” The DOT defines it as 3hours for domestic itineraries and 6hours for international itineraries.
Aeromexico’sresponse to you was disappointing.
“Our transportation contract stipulates that all our flights are subject tochanges or cancella-
tions,”a representative wrote to you. “For this reason, although we would like to help you, the request is denied.”
That’snonsense. The airline’s internal policies do not supersede federal regulations.
When you run into astone wall like this, you have afew options. Youcan file acomplaint directly with the Department of Transportation.That usually gets an airline’sattention because it affects their performance statistics.
Youcould have also appealed to amanager. Ipublish the names, numbers, andemail addresses of theAeromexico executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott. org.
Youdecided to ask me for help.
My advocacy team contacted the
airline on your behalf,pointing out that because your itinerary included aflight from the U.S., DOT regulations require the airline to provide arefund.
Aeromexico reviewed your case again and processed afull refund of $1,360.
“This is ahuge relief!” you told me. I’ll bet. If this ever happens to you again, remind the agent of federal regulations. And if they don’tlisten, you know where to find me.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.
STAFF PHOTOSByJILLPICKETT
Alarge crape myrtle, called BayouView, bloomsatAkins Nurseryand Landscaping in Shreveport.
‘The color comes from the people’
As it settles into its spiritual life, university’s serene chapel is gathering
BY BOB WARREN Staff writer
Brad McWhirter an architect says there’s an anxiety-choked moment when the client gazes for the first time upon the project. He’s designed and collaborated on projects ranging from schools to office buildings to churches, but it always comes down to that first real showing. Especially when it’s not just any client, and it’s meant to be a sacred space. When Gayle Benson stepped inside the Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center in the heart of Loyola University’s Uptown campus as the work neared completion two summers ago, it was hold-your-breath time.
“It gets stunningly quiet,” recalled McWhirter, a partner with Trahan Architects of New Orleans. “I’m thinking, ‘Is this bad or good?’ And?
“It just took my breath away ” said Benson, the owner of the Saints and Pelicans and several other businesses. “It’s so different.” Indeed, the chapel is different. The design drew varying opinions around Loyola when it opened in 2024. But as the campus community celebrates daily and weekly Masses in it and adjusts to the building’s unique and unadorned mood and its calm, spiritual sense of reflection, the chapel’s popularity has grown, some students and administrators say The architecture world has certainly noticed it — most recently with the American Institute of Architects’ “Small Project Award,” given to buildings less than 5,000 square feet.
“Constructed of mass timber and clad in handmade brick, the Chapel is simultaneously contemporary and innovative in its approach to simple and sustainable construction while harmonizing with the surrounding Tudor-Gothic buildings on campus in its permanence and stability,” the AIA said about the building.
Earlier this year, the Partners for Sacred Places, a national nonprofit that works to recognize and preserve religious properties, named the $8 million project as one of its 2026 Faith & Form Award winners, noting the chapel integrates both “Catholic worship and broader interfaith programming, reflecting Loyola’s commitment to inclusivity and community engagement.”
McWhirter and company founder and CEO Trey Trahan say there are other ways their design will be measured.
Will people remember it? Trahan asked. “These are spaces that feel sa-
cred, but don’t feel threatening. That don’t feel judgmental,” he said. Is it consequential? McWhirter added. “We are trying to create architecture that is consequential and will be here for a long time.”
‘It’s more intimate’
Chapel of St. Ignatius is round, inside and out, and not particularly large at 4,620 square feet.
On the 24-acre campus, it sits on the east side of a quad near the university’s traditional, red-brick buildings The chapel occupies a space where Loyola’s old library stood for decades, near a court of palm trees.
Its off-white terracotta bricks and round design stand out.
Inside, the floor is polished concrete; the walls are nearly bare and, along the perimeter, simple plates on the floor denote the Stations of the Cross. Chairs and kneelers can accommodate up to 200 people, forming a semicircle around the altar
“It’s more intimate,” one woman said as she strode out of the chapel’s 12:30 p.m daily Mass on a recent Monday “I like it.”
For a more traditional church experience, Catholics can look no further than Holy Name of Jesus Church, the Gothic Revival-style 1918 landmark at the campus entrance that faces St Charles Avenue and Audubon Park, and seats around 1,600. The contrast between the two places of worship is intentional, evoking different expressions of faith.
The Rev Eddie Gros, who works at Holy Name parish, said the
chapel’s design serves a purpose because it puts much of the focus on churchgoers. He noted the offwhite walls and ceiling and lack of liturgical art on the walls.
“Many times people will say the color comes from the people who are here,” Gros said.
One of the focuses of Vatican II reforms of the 1960s, he said, was to “bring people together with God among us,” as opposed to God looking down on the Mass participants.
“This place does that.”
The altar, made by Joseph Walsh of Ireland, is a simple, tablelike design of white ash. The carved wood statues, by Italian artist Bruno Walpath, depict Jesus on the cross, St. Ignatius of Loyola walking with a crutch, and, in a smaller room off to the side, Mary
St. Ignatius is significant to the university, of course, as the founder of the Society of Jesus Loyola is a Jesuit university Test of time
Initially, at least, campus reaction to the new chapel was mixed, said Pharrell Every, an English literature major who will start his senior year this month.
In an October 2024 opinion piece in The Maroon, the campus newspaper, a Catholic Studies major wrote that when alone in the chapel he felt a sense of “abandonment,” and the “simplistic approach” was “more distracting” for him than worshipping in a more ornate, traditional space. The building, Every said, “raised some eyebrows.”
national acclaim
“I do like the chapel. (But) I’ve heard some people say that it doesn’t feel, quote unquote, chapel-y,” said Every who is a campus tour guide.
But Every says he’s noted that over time more students are embracing it.
“Now I think it’s growing on people. I think the unique look is a draw People want to look at it.” In addition to weekday Mass, the chapel is the site of a Sunday Mass at 5 p.m. that is geared to students. For decades, the Chapel of St. Ignatius was located on the first floor of nearby Bobet Hall, which also houses classrooms and offices. Early on, said Ken Weber, Loyola’s associate director of ministry and resident minister, “The challenge was ‘This is not what we’re used to.’”
Weber said students don’t typically look at the building “through an architectural lens. They’re looking at it, like, ‘How am I going to use this building?’”
To that end, he said, the university pushed to get the chapel in front of students more. For instance, Weber said, asking a student choir to practice there.
“We’re introducing as many student populations as possible to the chapel,” he said.
The Trahan firm has designed other churches, but Trahan, who describes himself as a devout Catholic, said Chapel of St. Ignatius is different.
“This is very emotional,” he said. “We wanted contemporary and traditional in the same plan. Embedded in the round church is a traditional church.”
In addition to the sanctuary’s circular design, the rooms inside the chapel are also round, and those interlocking circles make reference to the ichthys symbol of Christ.
“You feel a sense of access,” Trahan said of the circular design.
That’s intended to imply a sense that the chapel is “accessible to all faiths,” which is important to the university’s desire to be inclusive, said McWhirter, who is Presbyterian.
Benson, the major donor for the new building, said she likes how it stands out among the campus buildings. She only wishes her husband, Tom Benson, who died in 2018, had lived to enjoy it. The project was first announced in 2010, the Clarion Herald reported. Weber, meanwhile, predicts the chapel’s popularity will continue to grow and that it will stand the test of time.
“Ten years from now, we’ll be having a different conversation,” he said.
Reporter Bob Warren writes about faith and spirituality in Louisiana. Contact him at bwarren@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTOS By ENAN CHEDIAK
The interior of the Chapel of St Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center on Loyola University’s campus in New Orleans has a polished floor with nearly bare walls.
A statue of St. Ignatius overlooks the Chapel of St. Ignatius.
Architects Trey Trahan and Brad McWhirter designed the Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center at Loyola University in New Orleans.
LOUISIANA INSPIRED
Vacant store has vibrant afterlife as a community hub
Family
nights,
music and more offered
BY VIOLET BUCARO Staff writer
On a summertime Wednesday in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, girls and boys zip around on lightup roller skates past their mothers and grandmothers, who are plating hot dogs and nachos. At the door, Dan Bingler lugs donation bags into the storage closet. They expect 200 people tonight.
A navy curtain splits the big room into two. On one side is a stage with a silver dance pole; the other side is lined with clothing racks, shelves of household goods, bookshelves and stacks of CDs. From puzzles to furniture, Bingler said it’s not like Goodwill.
It’s free.
The New Orleans Free Store (which has also been called the Fred Hampton Free Store) is anything but conventional, or bound by hard definitions: it’s a place for whatever its community needs.
Tonight: family skate night. Friday: a punk show Monday: a health clinic And several days a week, there’s a line of people at the door at 5523 St. Claude Ave. before 4 p.m.
It’s a mutual-aid hub, providing harm-reduction, hurricane relief, community meals, activism meetups, roller skating.
“People are getting good stuff — stuff for their families, stuff for their friends and neighbors,” Bingler said. And when the sky goes dark, it’s a packed, underground punk club.
Alongside residents of the Lower 9th, Bingler directs what goes on at the 9,000-square-foot building he revitalized. He was inspired by the initiatives of the late political activist Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party. Bingler, 42, who was raised in Florida and Louisiana, founded the Greater New Orleans Caring Collective and Southern Solidarity at the start of COVID-19, distributing food out of churches
standing Communities and Food
Share New Orleans, among others, provided basic medical triage and hot meals on Mondays — and still do.
Each afternoon, Bingler said, “There are 50 people there when I open the door.”
With help from the women in the neighborhood, the free store basically runs itself, he added.
and schools. His service programs found this brick-and-mortar home three years ago after a business management firm, Henry Consulting, gave him permission to use their property: a vandalized, vacant building the empty husk of a former Family Dollar
“No rent,” Bingler said. “Just utilities.”
‘We try to help everybody’
But the community was there before he got the building. Before Bingler’s effort, the store parking lot was already a place for mutual aid, where volunteers from LSU Medical School, Trystereo, Free-
Powering Progress
“We try to help everybody, especially in this Lower 9th Ward, because, really in truth, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know that there were so many homeless people down here,” said Phyllis Matthews, 75, a retired social worker and volunteer everyone calls Queen.
She stood next to a large, old fan: “We need air conditioning,” she chuckled. “And a big truck.”
On this particular Wednesday afternoon, she said, “We just got another shipment of 29 big bags of stuff.”
Matthews recalled three girls from Harmony High School in search of prom dresses. She said she grabbed as many dresses as she could. All the girls found one that fit.
Joretta Foxx, 76, visited the store on a Thursday in search of
new gym clothes. A friend had recommended the store, so she took the bus from the West Bank, nearly an hour’s ride, to see it for herself.
“When I got here,” she said, “Well, I thought it was abandoned, but people were waiting in line.”
There’s no sign. And the old Family Dollar sign is decorated in graffiti. The building’s brick exterior is also brushed in artful tags, neon ink and bubbly signatures, like several of the decayed buildings on the street. Foxx said she plans to come back on Monday for the hot meals.
On the other side of the curtain, Destinnee Davis, 8, glides in big circles across the smooth pavement on her skates.
“I paint and roller skate,” she said. “We play tag. Race. And I’m not scared of going up the ramp,” she said before skating off to do a trick.
Her grandmother, Erin Sims, 64, helps cook for Family Skate Night and used to roller blade on St. Claude at the now-shuttered Skateland in the 1990s. She said she’s glad her granddaughter still has a place to skate in the neighborhood.
‘A part of everything’
The neighborhood knew about the Free Store, but once the punk rock scene found it, the nighttime concerts “launched it into the stratosphere,” said Andre Charitat, 35, a metal fabricator who organizes the shows.
Charitat founded Belly Up, a “do-it-yourself” booking organization, and hosted bands out of his metal shop in the Garden District. In 2023, he inquired about putting on shows at the Free Store.
Promotion was both modern (Instagram) and old-school (flyers at coffee shops and stapled on phone poles), but word spread, and now there’s a map of the world on the Free Store wall that’s covered in spiky red push pins left by travelers who were drawn to see it for themselves.
The concerts help the Free
Store keep the lights on; benefit shows have also raised money for migrant aid, transgender support, Palestine solidarity and harm-reduction groups. After the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown, Charitat said the store hosted a show for Union Migrante.
Some who turn out for the concerts also discover that the Free Store has essentials they otherwise couldn’t afford.
“I’ve had people come to shows at the Free Store and come give me a hug in tears because they didn’t have enough money to get a rain jacket,” Charitat said.
Since most club venues are 21 and over many young punks have found it too.
“They can just go and still be a part of everything entirely,” said Rodrigo Delgado Jr., 21, who discovered the Free Store at 18 and whose hardcore band, Gall, played their first show here.
“I think it’s like if anyone wants to experience what the punk community and the local punk scene has to offer, I feel like the Free Store is where you should be anyway,” he said.
No one is turned away for lack of funds (known as “NOTAFLOF”) to see a show
“If you don’t have $10, maybe you got like $5, you can still go. If you don’t have anything, you can still go,” Delgado said. “It’s less about money, and it’s less about music and it’s more about a message.”
Though the owners could sell the building to another dollar store at any moment, Bingler said the community will always have a free store.
“It just continued to grow out of like the organizing principles of seeking marginalized leadership,” he said, tears welling. “In my mind, I’ll be doing this the rest of my life.”
For a schedule of events, assistance and community services offered at the Free Store, visit gnocc.net.
STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK Zandaya Shield, left, and Destinee Davis skate at the New Orleans Free Store.
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Dan Bingler, at the New Orleans Free Store in New Orleans, says he was inspired by the initiatives of the late political activist Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party
For the first time in Tim’s memory, the pond at the summer camp went dry The sheep weren’t moving. Vince spent his days hauling water barrel by barrel, to the winter camp
He didn’t need another shepherd. He needed extra hands. Carver and Nottingham helped prepare camp instead. It wasn’t the week she’d imagined. She spent an hour wrestling with that. She could chase the story she’d planned or pay attention to the one unfolding. She chose the second. Later she told me the week was the closest she has come in a long time to feeling exactly where she was supposed to be.
She realized she did the same thing at home wanting her children or her days to unfold in certain ways. On the mountain, she caught herself.
Tim understands something about adjusting expectations. After high school, he left for Penn State, near his mother’s Pennsylvania Mennonite family
He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, where he works in government and legislative affairs for the Navajo Nation — preparing officials from Washington to visit the reservation and preparing the reservation for visitors from Washington.
In some ways, bringing Carver to his family’s land was an extension of that work.
He grew up on family land with an overlook where he could see multiple states spread out below, with no light from anywhere else at night As a boy, he often went to his favorite place, an overlook on the mountain, with his closest friend, who is half Navajo and half Guatemalan. Both boys felt different in a place where most classmates were full Navajo.
Suicide touched people Tim knew The overlook was where he went when life felt heavy or when things were just right. Last June, he married his wife there. They are expecting their first child, a son, in August.
On Carver’s final day with the Benally family Tim led her and Nottingham to the overlook, hiking to what he described as the second-highest point in Navajo
territory, 10 feet shorter than the highest.
There was no trail.
Later, Carver told me there was a point when she became fairly certain she was going to die.
She did not.
The Benally family still lives with the legacy of the federal livestock reduction program that dramatically reduced Navajo flocks nearly a century ago.
Hosting visitors, he believes, helps people understand life on the land and creates connections that may help preserve it for future generations.
Tim said he hopes Carver’s visit is the first of many. He wants more strangers to come, work alongside his people and leave understanding more about life on Navajo land.
He is already thinking about bringing his son home
Readers have asked if Carver came home with a better understanding of shepherds. She did.
She learned that Vince was going to do whatever was best for the sheep, whether that meant leading them up a mountain or hauling water one barrel at a time.
Vince learned shepherding from his mother, Ruth Benally — Tim’s grandmother Ruth lived on the land until 2020. Tim remembers her sitting near the corral watching the sheep. She could tell, just by looking, which animals were sick and which were carrying lambs.
Carver came home carrying something, too not from the hike or the sheep, but from the corral. Vince repaired it with whatever was available: an old box spring, delivery pallets, worn-out shirts twisted around posts to hold everything together
Nothing wasted. Everything useful.
She hasn’t stopped thinking about the possibility that the discarded parts of life might still be doing important work might still be holding something up.
She and Nottingham are already talking about going back.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Navajo Nation can reach Tim directly at timothy.benally10@gmail.com.
Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.
For a week, Kristyn Carver, of Mandeville, went to assist the Benally family, who are shepherds in Arizona. The Benally family has lived on this stretch of land, part of the Navaho Nation, for generations.
STOCKETT
Continued from page 1D
“It kind of struck me that something that I had to say was actually reaching beyond my very small circle,” she said. “In a strange way, I think the success of ‘The Help’ made me a more empathetic person.”
Paired with the backlash she received for “The Help” that the book offered a White perspective on Black experiences — Stockett said she began to write more carefully, sometimes fearfully, for years.
That caution nearly cost her the new book.
Stockett said she spent years scaling back what she wanted to write in “The Calamity Club,” particularly the part of the story that features prostitutes, worrying that she would draw more backlash. However she said, when she finally stopped writing for what she thought readers wanted to hear and wrote what she believed instead, the writing process felt liberating. Anything else, she said, came out “bland and kind of milky.”
She’s a tire kicker
Stockett spent three years living in Bali after her daughter’s school in Atlanta grew cliquish in ways that didn’t sit right with the family The move gave her daughter a wider view of the world, Stockett said — something she’d wished for in her own upbringing — but it also slowed work on “The Calamity Club.”
Bali moves at a different pace, and every chapter took longer
Another reason the second book took so long is that she doesn’t follow a strict writing routine. Instead, she explores every plot turn from multiple angles before deciding which direction the story should take.
“I’m a tire kicker,” she said. “If I have one idea, I’ve got to look at it from eight different ways to decide if it’s a good one.”
That habit explains much of what followed — why nearly 17 years passed between novels, why she discarded an entire narrator, why a historical discovery reshaped the new book and why she kept revisiting what she wanted to say after the success, and criticism, of “The Help.”
At roughly 650 pages, the novel’s well-developed characters reflect that painstaking approach a time-consuming approach that played a role in her original publisher, Penguin, dropping her contract in 2019. This created even more hurdles before she could finish and publish the second book. Readers, including The Conun-
drum’s Missy Couhig, say the book was worth the wait.
Couhig said she was hooked after the first few pages and was willing to carry the more than 2-pound book under her arm through multiple airports because she literally couldn’t put it down.
“I loved this book so much when I read it that I have been recommending it consistently in our bookshop ever since,” Couhig said.
Home is complicated
Mississippi is, for Stockett, a place she loves and argues with in the same breath.
“There were Christian people and there were good people, but the two didn’t necessarily always overlap,” she writes in “The Calamity Club.”
She said she figured that out when she was young.
Stockett attended a Christian school in Jackson, Mississippi, through sixth grade She said the teachers were some of the kindest people she knew, but the belief system underneath their kindness is not one she can square with these days.
Mississippi has been an easy target for a long time, and at this point, Stockett thinks it takes more courage to talk about what’s good in the state than what’s wrong with it. She wants readers to see the state’s sense of community, the hospitality the food and the beauty
But she also writes because certain things about home keep her up at night — and she has to get them out.
“I saw the hypocrisy around me,” she said. “For many, many years I did nothing to either stop it or at least to point it out. When I started writing books, that was my effort to make a change.”
She hasn’t given up on home.
She points to Jackson, where the arts have endured through hard years. She still talks about the wonders of its downtown art museum and the planetarium she loved as a child. She sees the city’s restaurant scene as another sign of hope and wonders whether her hometown could experience a revival akin to Detroit’s. Whatever happens, she said she wants to support her hometown and state however she can.
Why Oxford?
Stockett’s complicated relationship with home also shaped the setting of “The Calamity Club.”
For the novel, she needed a town built around a university she said. Jackson was too spread out to give her the kind of community she wanted So she picked Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi.
“It always felt like there were two Oxfords,” she said. “There was the Ole Miss Oxford — and
AMENDMENT
Continued from page 1D
conversation as a way to get out of answering a possibly uncomfortable question.
Not a uniquely American principle
The general principle is not a uniquely American one. Its roots include English common law dating back to the 17th century At the time the Constitution was being written it was enshrined along with other amendments to put limits on the newly created federal government. The Fifth Amendment and a handful of others were focused on criminal justice issues, with other amendments including things like the right to a lawyer and a speedy jury trial, and a prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
One of the core tenets of the U.S criminal justice system is that
people are innocent until proven guilty, and that it’s up to the prosecuting power to prove guilt. Without a right to avoid self-incrimination, people could be put in the position of having to prove their own innocence rather than being shown as guilty
A number of uses
Over the course of U.S. history, the Fifth Amendment has expanded beyond federal criminal cases to the state court level, and to civil cases as well. There’s a difference, though.
In criminal cases, if someone on trial invokes the amendment and refuses to testify, the jurors must be told that they can’t assume that silence equals guilt. In civil cases, drawing a negative inference from a refusal to testify can be allowed. Of course, even in criminal cases, if jurors are told it doesn’t mean a defendant is guilty they could still believe that not testifying cor-
relates to having done what they are accused of. Witnesses can also plead the Fifth, but they can answer other questions — as opposed to defendants, for whom it’s all or nothing in regards to testifying.
The Fifth Amendment’s use has also shown up in hearings before Congress, when those who have been subpoenaed to testify under oath reference it out of concerns that something they say could
then there was The Square and the townspeople that would remain there after four years.”
She wanted those two groups to collide on the page. Oxford also happened to be a place she already knew Her brother lives there, and she counts the mayor among her friends.
Stockett had been writing the novel, on and off, for seven or eight years before history changed the story
Digging into the era, she came across America’s sterilization laws — state statutes that allowed authorities to sterilize people judged unfit to reproduce, often unmarried women and those displaced, especially after New Orleans closed its Storyville red-light district — a detail that plays into “The Calamity Club.”
“I was able to build that fear into these women’s psyches, that this was a real threat,” Stockett said. “This could happen to them.”
She said the eugenics discovery reframed the stakes for “The Calamity Club” characters, taking them from Southern women navigating a difficult world to women whose bodies were, quite literally, not fully their own.
In the author’s note at the end of the book, Stockett explains that California, not Mississippi, led the eugenics movement in the early 1900s.
Meg and Birdie
“The Calamity Club” features two memorable narrators — 11-year-old Meg Lafleur and 24-year-old Birdie Calhoun. Originally, Stockett explained that there were three.
She ended up cutting the third narrator, Charlie Lafleur, because the young mother’s single-minded drive — to get her daughter back — didn’t hold up across an entire narrative arc.
“Anytime (Charlie) was thinking about anything other than that, it just felt kind of ancillary and beside the point,” Stockett said.
“The Calamity Club” hits a different register than “The Help,” which is often remembered as a book about race told through domestic service. “The Calamity Club” is built around women closing ranks.
Asked what she wants “The Calamity Club” to be remembered for, Stockett landed on one word: sisterhood.
“When we come together as a group, we can solve problems so much better,” she said. “It’s also more fun, more interesting — and a little bit less frightening when women try to join the forces and tackle something.”
Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.
then be used in some kind of criminal proceeding.
Invoked by high-profile figures
In a hearing before a Republican-led Senate committee about how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci turned to the Fifth in declining to answer questions. It drew scorn from Republicans, while Democrats supported him.
In 2022, when he was out of the White House after his first term as president, Donald Trump used the Fifth repeatedly in a deposition for a civil case against the Trump Organization in New York. In the 1950s, when Sen. Joe McCarthy held anticommunist hearings, some witnesses used the amendment when being questioned. Even though they had the right, McCarthy condemned them for it, and they faced consequences that included public censure and blacklisting.
PROVIDED PHOTO
PROVIDED PHOTO
The Conundrum’s Aug. 5 Kathryn Stockett event will take place at The Freyhan Center, located at 4727 Cr-426 in St. Francisville. Originally a school built in the early 1900s, the 15,000 square-foot building reopened in September 2025 after being restored by The Freyhan Foundation.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON People wait to look at the original Declaration of Independence and U.S Constitution at the National Archives Museum on July 3 in Washington.
Tactfullyavoidinganendorsement
Dear Miss Manners: As we are in an election year,help me figure out what to say when afriendasks for your politicalendorsement, but you think she wouldbeterrible in that elected position.I love this friend dearly, butshe absolutely does not have the temperament for the job.
Gentle reader: Maybe,for the sake of the friendship, do not tell her that. Miss Mannerssuggests instead something noncommittal such as, “I am so proud of you. Whata worthy endeavor!” And when sheinevitably presses for your support,“I’m not sure what I’m doing yet, but Ithink it’s so great that you are trying to makethe world better.” If she does win, perhaps she will surprise you. Fortunately forthe friendship, voting is stillprivate.
taken theplunge.
By The Associated Press
Dear Miss Manners: My husband and Ihad abeautiful in-ground pool installed on our property this year.Weliveina very rural area with alot of land between us and the neighbors.
We have some close friends in the neighborhood and have invitedthemto swim. Although they have visited and enjoyed sitting by the pool, nonehave
Anew couple moved into the neighborhood and invited us, alongwitha couple of other neighbors, to dinner.Upon leaving, Isaid we would have them over in return sometime.
The husband responded with “Can we swim in your pool?” in a somewhat joking manner.Since Ifelt that these very respectable peoplewould not takeadvantage, Isaid “Sure, anytime.”
Our summer has been busy,sowe have not had achance to invite them back. Do we need to hurry before the cooler temperatures set in, so that the invitation can include the swim that he mentioned? Or areweonly obligated to honor thepromisewemade to have them over for dinner?
Gentle reader:: Youwill be relieved to hearthat “Sure, anytime” is not binding. Frankly,Miss Manners is relieved that this question was not about the neighbors takingyour words literally andusingthe pool without your consent.
Youindeedare obligated only to invite the neighborsback over eventually But if it is not before theweather cools,
it would be gracious to add your apologies for not doing so during pool season
Then tryharder next year
Dear Miss Manners: Inotice moreand morethat in rural/suburban areas, pedestrians, bicycle riders and other people on the road areoutright ignoring cars as theypass. Thatisn’ttosay they’re wandering willy-nilly everywhere, just that they’renot acknowledging awave from the driver in the vehicle.
Iwas raised to waveatfolks on the side of the road, including road workers, bikers and anyone else using the shared space. Iaminadevice that is larger,faster and could potentially hurt them. By providing aberth and a friendly wave, I’m acknowledging their existence, their right to use thespace and respect for their peace. To at least let me know they’re aware, can’tawave be returned? It’s asilly thing, perhaps, but it makes me wonder if people know about this tradition on the road.
Gentlereader: Yes, but maybe we allow thebicyclists areprieve. So that they can keep both hands on the handlebars. Send questions to dearmissmanners@ gmail.com.
Draining awater heater helpsextendits life
Today is Sunday,Aug. 2, the 214th day of 2026. There are 151 days leftinthe year
Todayinhistory: On Aug. 2, 1921, ajury in Chicago acquitted seven former members of the Chicago White Sox baseball team and two others of conspiring to defraud the public in the notorious “Black Sox” scandal (though they would later be banned from Major League Baseball forlifebyCommissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis).
Also on this date: In 1790, the first United States Census began under the supervision of Thomas Jefferson; atotal of 3,929,214 people were counted in the census, nearly 700,000 of whom wereenslaved.
In 1873, inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested acable car he had designed forthe city of San Francisco.
In 1876, frontiersman “Wild Bill” Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at asaloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory,byJack McCall, whowas later hanged.
In 1923, the 29th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding, died in San Francisco; Vice PresidentCalvin Coolidge became president In 1934, German PresidentPaulvon Hindenburg died, paving the way forAdolf Hitler’scomplete takeover
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and Britain’snew primeminister,Clement Attlee, concluded the Potsdam conference.
In 1974, former White House counsel John W. DeanIII wassentenced to one to four years in prison forobstruction of justice in the Watergate cover-up. (Dean ended up serving four months.)
Hints from Heloise
Dear Heloise: Ijust bought my first house, and Ineed to learnhow to take care of it now.DoIstill need to drain my water heater? The former owners said that the heater was 4 years old, and they never drained thesedimentin all this time. —Ashly W.,in New Castle, Pennsylvania Ashly,it’sagood idea to drain off the sediment and mineral deposits about once or twice a year.This helps protect the heating elements and efficiency of your water heater.Bytaking care of these things, you’ll also extend the life of your heater. —Heloise Forthe birdsand squirrels
Dear Heloise: Idon’tunderstand people who fight with squirrels over birdseed. I have two 40-by-9.5-inch bencheswhere Iput two different bags of birdseedon —one containing fruitand nuts and one with sunflower seeds. Ieven put some seed on the bricks around the benches. Everyone eats together.Ialso put out some raw peanuts in theirshells forblue
jays —Tim P.,inLafayette Storinggingerroot
Dear Heloise: Iuse ginger root all the time in anumber of dishes that Iprepare formyfamily.Unfortunately,this slightly expensive item tends to dryout very easily.How do Istoreginger to keep it fresh for longer? —Courtney S.,in
Peoria,Illinois
Courtney,here’smyfavorite method for storing ginger root: First, peel and slice the ginger root,place it in aglass jar,and cover it with sherry or mild vinegar.(Rice vinegar always works well to seal off the air from reaching the ginger.) If you can manage toslice the ginger rootthin enough, you can use aspoon to remove as much as you’dlike or need for your recipe. —Heloise
Sink stains
Dear Heloise: My lovely white kitchen sink has stains that Ican’tseem to get out. Do you have any hints for this annoying problem? —Judy E., in Tucson,Arizona Judy, fillyour sink with warm (not hot) water.Pour in about 2cups of bleach and let it sit for 15-20 minutes,
after which you can drain thewater out. If you have astubborn stain, you may need to use full-strengthbleach on a paper towel and place thepaper towel on the stain for 10 minutes. Be sure to rinse after toremove leftover bleach.
—Heloise
Refillingawater dish
Dear Heloise: Ihave awater dish for my furry pets, which features abig gallonsized glass jar that sits on top of the water dish and automatically fills thedish up when it getslow.Ihave the dish in alocation that doesn’tget alot of light, so it was hard to see thewater level in thejar.Mysolution to the problem was to buy anontoxic yellow ping-pong ball and put theball in the jar when Ifill the jar up withwater.When Iput thejar back on the water dish, theball floats on top of the water,and Ican see theball from any place in theroom. When Isee theball at the bottom of the jar,Iknow that it’stime to refill the jar so that my furry friends have enough water to drink! —Jim C., in Yucaipa, California Send ahinttoheloise@heloise.com.
In 1985, 137 people werekilled when Delta Air Lines Flight 191, aLockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis weredriven out of Kuwaitmonths later in 1991 by aU.S.-led military coalition in Operation Desert Storm.)
In 2014, asuspected dust explosion at an auto parts factory in eastern China that supplies General Motors killed 146 people in the country’s worst industrial accident in years. The blast happened at Zhongrong Metal Products Co. Ltd. in Kunshan.
In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri waskilled in a drone strike in Afghanistan twodays earlier.AlZawahri and Osama bin Laden, whowas killed by U.S. forces in 2011, had plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.
Today’sBirthdays: Author Isabel Allende is 84. Actor Butch Patrick (TV:“The Munsters”) is 73. Rock music producer/drummer Butch Vigis71. Actor Mary-Louise Parker is 62. Filmmaker Kevin Smith is 56. Actor Sam Worthington is 50. Actor Edward Furlong is 49. U.S. Vice President JD Vance is 42. Actor Lily Gladstone is 40. Singer Charli XCXis34. Olympic swimming gold medalist Simone Manuel is 30. Actor Ayden Mekus is 21.
Dear Harriette: For the Fourth of July,anextended family member invited my family over for acookout. We were willing to make the 90-minute drive there and back to see everyone and spend July Fourth with them. When my grandmother was on the phone with the host, her sister,she was informed that we needed to bring our own meat and buns if we wanted to eat anything grilled. My grandmother was furious and told her we were no longer coming, arguing that if you host a party and invite people to come over,you are responsible for providing the meat or main course. Whenever my grandma hosts aparty, she doesn’texpect anyone to bring anything and expects thesame from others. Was my grandma overreacting?
—Explosive Family Fireworks
Dear ExplosiveFamily Fireworks: People are often asked to bring something to acookout, dinner or gathering. If they aren’t, they sometimes take it upon themselves to ask the hosts what they can bring. However,it’snot usually the main course, unless it is apotluck where everyone is contributing. It sounds like the host wasn’t graceful in her request. It’s understandable that your grandmother was upset.
Dear Harriette: During July Fourth weekend, my 16-year-old daughter went up to her best friend’scabin. Iwas under the impression that her parents were going to drive my daughter and her friend there since it’s afour-hour drive and both girls have had their licenses for only afew months.Instead, my daughter’sfriend drove her up to the cabin.
My husband and Iweren’t ever asked if this was OK; my daughterliedtoher friend’sparents andsaidwe agreed to this plan.
Ididn’tfind out about the drive until after they hadalready arrived safely. WhenIcalledtocheck in, my daughtercasually mentioned thather friend had driventhe entire way.Iwas shocked andimmediately called theother parents, who were just as surprised as me. Am Ioverreacting or is this abreach of my trust?
—Teenagers
Dear Teenagers: In some states, it is illegalfor teenagerstodrive other teenagers without an adultinthe car.There are also restrictionsondriving at night. Checkthe ruleswhere you live.It’sodd to me that this friend’sparents didn’t check in with you about the trip, and,more,thattheyallowed their daughter to make that long drive.You are not wronginbeing alarmed.
Dear Harriette: My roommate recently gota puppy,but shenever checked in with me to see if it wasOK. I am not afan of dogs —especially having one living in my house. Heisn’tpotty trained, so feces is being left all over the house. He also barks all the time,evenin the middle of the night. Whenwefirst moved in together, my roommate and Iagreedthatany major decisions involving the apartment would be discussed beforehand. Iconsiderbringing apet into asharedliving space to be one of those decisions, especially since both ofuspay equal rent. Instead, shesurprised me by walkingthrough the front doorwith apuppy and acted like it wasn’tabig deal. She told me Iwould “fallin love with him eventually,” but that hasn’thappened. Beyond the barking and accidents, Ifeel likeI’ve lost the peaceful home Isigned
up for.The apartment constantly smells like pet odor, and Ifind myself cleaning up messesthat aren’tmine. Ialso work from homeseveral days aweek, and the barking has made it difficult to concentrate. Do you think thatI could ask her to get rid of the dog or move out?
—NoPuppies Allowed Dear No Puppies Allowed: Check your lease to seewhether you can push back legally againstthe dog. Give your roommateanultimatum:attend to the dog much more, give the dog away or move. Ask your landlord to back you up if needed. Youcan point to theunhealthy conditions as evidence. Dear Harriette: Ihave been struggling with anxiety for years now.Asthose who experience anxiety know,it ebbs and flows depending on aplethora of factors both in and out of my control. My anxious thoughtsstem from achildhood withmany unexpected and uncontrollable changes. As aresult, feeling unsure or not being able to predict what’s next aretriggers for me. Well, life is, by nature, unpredictable. Although everything is fine, I’m still experiencing strong waves of anxious feelings. I’m not sure howto fix something when there’s nothing wrong. I’ve been told it’snormal to have these typesofemotional waves, even when things areOK. I understand it will take time to adjustand that Iamnot a machine. How do you think Ishould begin the healing process? —Anxiousness
DEAR ANXIOUSNESS: Work with your care provider on coping strategies, including breathwork, exercise and establishing aroutine to help balance theanxious thoughts. If you see apsychiatrist,discuss medications dosages to help regulateyour system,and be consistent in taking the medication.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Harriette
DININGSCENE
Chef FrankBrigstencalls hisnew cookbook ‘mylegacy’
It took a community
to produce it,hesays
sion forLouisiana food into the work.
Kitchen, soon to become knownaround the world.
The result is abook of equal parts rigor and affection, as much narrative as instructional as Brigtsen shares the tradition, history and the people behind the food and his own journey in cuisine.
In time, Prudhomme urged Brigtsen to follow his dream and open his own restaurant, and he gave his protégé cash, business resources and other help to open Brigtsen’sRestaurant in 1986.
People have been coming to the little white cottage in the Riverbend neighborhood that’shome to Brigtsen’s Restaurant for four decades, in search of meals that embody the soul of Louisiana flavor,asinterpreted by amaster of the style, Frank Brigtsen himself.
It’sarestaurant of relationships, cultivated in the familial style of hospitality practiced in the small dining rooms and in the way the food carries through generations and transmitsa sharedsense of place.
Over the past few weeks, many regulars have also been arriving at the restaurant for copies of Brigtsen’s new book, “Color of Flavor,” adistillation of those relationships in print.
When the restaurant opens at 5p.m., some of the first customers walk straight down the side hallway that leads to the small table in back, the one the chef calls his office. The wall is decorated with past culinary awards and pictures of family; the table is stackedwith books. As the chef inscribes them, his face beams witha mix of pride and gratitude. “I didn’tapproach this as acookbook, Iviewed it as my life story,” Brigtsen said between autographs. “I wanted to chronicle my life experience and the knowledge I’ve gained working in kitchens overmore than 50 years.”
How the book came to be is also atribute to that life and career.Itwas essential-
Town’s
BY SARAH RAZA Associated Press
at Brigtsen’sRestaurant.
‘COLOR OF FLAVOR’ n Available at Brigtsen’s Restaurant (723 DanteSt.) duringbusinesshour or order throughbluerunnerfoods.com
ly willed into being by others, driven bythe respect and admiration thechefhas built in hiscommunity.
Redbeans andwriting
RickyThomasisowner of BlueRunner Foods, the Gonzales-based company best known for its canned red beans brand. He’sbeen aBrigtsen’sregular since it opened. One night during dinneratthe restaurant, Thomas asked Brigtsen if he was ready to finally write acookbook.Blue Runner,hetold him, would financeitand produce it. They hada deal
“This all comes from a love of Creole andCajun cuisine,” Thomas said “Frank is just agreat ambassador for the culture andthe cuisine, andthat’s
NewOrleans
our common thread.”
They began to build a creative team, including Thomas’daughter Laine Starr as project manager local photographer Romney Caruso and art director GageBurke of Brand Society. Brigtsen’schef de cuisine and protégé Nick Cooke and pastry chef James Pierce would prepare all the dishes. It was up to Brigtsen to fill the
pages withhis words.
The milestonebook project arrived as the chef has been navigating anew chapter of his life.
He is 71, and contending with health issues, including severe arthritis that has reduced his mobility.He can’trun thekitchen as he once did (those duties are now overseen by Cooke)
Buthecould write, and, at his desk, he poured his pas-
Recipes are precise, both in measurement and in sequence, which is one of the ways the chef’s treatment of even canonical dishes stands apart.
First you makearoux?
Notfor Brigtsen’schicken and andouille gumbo, in which the roux goes in last, atechnique to coax more flavor from the caramelized vegetables. And that gets to the book’stitle.
‘Frankisms’build flavor
“Color of Flavor” is an abbreviation of one of the chef’s manykitchen adages: “brownisthe color of flavor.”
Anyone whospends timewith Brigtsen will inevitably pick up more such “Frankisms,” as the chef calls his maxims. His book is an annotated guide to them
One classic: “Frank’s ‘three T’s’ are orchestrating temperature, taste and timing.”
“Fire creates flavor,” is another,and as ingredients are added (in the proscribed sequence, of course) cooks are “chasing flavor.”
Brigtsen did not learn to cook in culinary school. He learned on the job, and credits “the best Creole chefs you’ve never heard of.” Many of them were line cooks whointurn learned from earlier generations of cooks. They first showed Brigtsen the waywhen he started working at Commander’sPalace in his 20s. Paul Prudhomme, then Commander’sexecutive chef, becamethe young cook’smentor.Brigtsen joined Prudhomme when he opened K-Paul’sLouisiana
That relationship with Prudhomme established a circle of learning, sharing and generosity that Brigtsen has perpetuated in his own work to preserve the food traditions of southeast Louisiana.
Chef,educator, author
It’s his calling, his life work, and it took on new urgency when Hurricane Katrina put the survival of much of Louisiana culture in doubt. While running his restaurant, he also threw himself into culinary education. He wanted to reach up-andcoming local talent, pass on what he’d learned, and inspire them to keep it vibrant.
He spent 17 years as an instructor in aspecially designed culinary course on Creole and Acadian food at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, and he was the first chef-in-residence at the New Orleans Center forCreative Arts when the high school created its culinary arts program in 2011. Brigtsen has retired from his formal teaching positions. But his students keep joining the staffathis restaurant. They’re building careers and continuing their education in Creole flavor,the Brigtsen way. “Color of Flavor” can be read as amanual forhome cooks and amemoir of a lifeinfood. It’s also aguide forNew Orleans chefs yet to come. “This book has been a dream come true,” Brigtsen said. “This is my legacy for the future.”
Email IanMcNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com
claimtofameisthe world’stallest nutcracker
LUVERNE, Minn —Crossing the open farmland of southwestern Minnesota, you’ll encounter an otherworldly sight: amassive head with abeard, mustache and redstriped top hat looming over the horizon Pull into the small townof Luverneand the figure— a nearly 66-foot tall nutcracker,decked out like Uncle Sam —comes into full view Luverne, which thanks to alocal collector claimsto have more of the decorative figurines than people, now boasts the world’stallest nutcracker too.And yes, the star-spangled behemoth has aworking jaw Outside aquirky rock shop in the town’scenter, hundreds of people gathered recently for aweekend ribbon-cutting where the nutcracker’sname and exact height were revealed to acrowd that was later served red, white and blue cookies and slushies.
“Please welcome our newest Luverne resident, Verne the Patriot,” Katie Walgrave announced to cheers.
It stands 65 feet and 71/2 inches tall, with the pedestal pushing Verne an additional 9feet over the surrounding prairie, according to Walgrave. That’s almost twice the height of a33-foot-tall nutcrackerin Neuhausen, Germany,that Guinness WorldRecords currently has ranked as the largest. Walgrave, who runs the rock shop called Those Blasted Things with her family,said that since the
nutcracker was completed in mid-June, customers have quadrupled. Other local businesses have reported more traffic too.
“Our goal is to have something that’sdifferent and that you won’tsee anywhere else. And so that’swhat we have here,” she said.
Given theassociation betweennutcrackers and Tchaikovsky’snamesake holidayballet, the July unveiling seemed abit outof season.
But nutcrackers are a year-round obsession in Luverne, which also hosts a“Nutcracker Fest” every summer
It all traces back to Betty Mann, 96,and atripthatshe made to aCracker Barrel in January 2001after her daughter and husband had
recentlydied. “I said to my daughter-inlaw,‘Ihad ahard Christmas andI’vealwayswanted a wooden nutcracker.I’m buying myselfabelated Christmas present,’” she recalled.
She got her first in the Cracker Barrel gift shop. She kept buying them, and Mann’scollection eventually ballooned to morethan 2,500 nutcrackers. In 2016, shedonated them to the town’s historical society, where she was president, hoping to drawmore visitors to itsmuseum.
Others also started donating and today,Luverne’s 7,554 nutcrackers outnumberits roughly 5,000residents. No two are the same. Afew yearsago,whenthe city brought in atourism
expert to figure outhow to lure more visitors,heconcluded “we’recrazy if we don’tutilize the nutcracker collection,” Mayor Patrick Baustian said.
Acity committeecame up with the idea of building the world’stallest nutcracker,and so Verne was conceived. It was timed perfectly to arrive as the
nation celebrates its 250th anniversary
Thenutcracker wasseveral yearsinthe making, withthe pieces crafted in Utah andassembled in Luverne. The head and hat had to be lifted on with acrane threeweeksago,completing the structure. It costaround $600,000 and was fundedbydonations andgrants, Walgrave said. John Hawkinson of Lakeville, Minnesota, surprised his wife, Francine, with a triptoLuverne (nearly 200 milesaway) after ahouse fire last month destroyed her collection of nearly 300 nutcrackers.
Many represented times from their life together— anutcracker resemblinga sailorfor John’stime in the Navy,and matchingbride and groom nutcrackers for their marriage “Betty started her collection as away of dealing with grief,” John Hawkinson said Saturday.“We camedown here out of loss as well Ithought thatwas kind of a full circle moment.” Luverne is about30miles from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and about 200 miles from Minneapolis. One of its otherclaims to fame is being asetting for the secondseason of the TV show“Fargo.”
STAFF PHOTO By IAN MCNULTy
Chef Frank Brigtsen speaks with acustomer as he signs copies of this newcookbook ‘Color of Flavor’
STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD
BBQ shrimp with shrimp calas (Creole rice fritter) is servedatBrigtsen’sRestaurant.
Thousands of nutcrackers are displayed at the Rock County HistoryCenter in Luverne, Minn ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By SARAH RAZA
Vernethe Patriot in Luverne, Minn.,last month.
‘Improving ... but I am certainly not satisfied’
carriers doing business in Louisiana went belly up amid catastrophic losses, others stopped writing policies, premiums soared and the number of homeowners forced to seek coverage from the state-funded insurer of last resort quadrupled.
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL
maxed in the early 2020s when a dozen
“Even just a year or two ago, many homeowners saw premiums double or even triple, forcing some to consider selling because their monthly escrow payments became unaffordable,” said real estate broker Craig Mirambelle “Today many buyers are able to obtain insurance premiums much closer to pre-spike levels.”
But there’s still a long way to go before the market could be considered healthy
Many of the companies newly li-
ä See INSURANCE, page 2E
On the upwing S
Louisiana’s indoor playroom industry is evolving
BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer
Toddlers zoomed by on scooter boards, gliding between tots running around in grippy socks. Their moms kept a watchful eye from the center of the room, in between conversations with other parents and sips of coffee
It was a summer weekday morning and Chee Chee’s Playroom in St George was buzzing. There aren’t many places like it, where parents can relax while their children play, said owner Kristine Valencia.
“Our goal is for Mom to come in and have a sigh of relief,” she said Valencia, a mother and former construction management professional, started Chee Chee’s in 2020 in her home base of Central after looking for a business she could run with her children in tow She opened a second location in St. George off Airline Highway in 2024 to expand the playroom into a more populated area.
Lucky for her, the appetite for the industry is there, with Chee Chee’s seeing 10,000 to 12,000 children each year across both locations.
Indoor playspaces have taken on a new form in the past decade, catering to infants, early elementary children and their parents with toddler-friendly playrooms and in-house coffeeshops. Indoor public playsets in fast-food restaurants and malls have become less common and other indoor activities like trampoline parks tend to be risky for little ones.
“More and more people don’t want children in public places,” said Michelle Brommer, who brings her 4-year-old daughter, Robin, to Chee Chee’s.
The indoor playroom model became popular in Europe in the 1970s, eventually spreading to the United States, with some taking on the European model like Sprout Play Cafe in Shreveport with a “minimalist Scan-
Kids run around and play together in the
taken on a new form in the past decade, catering to infants, early elementary
friendly playrooms and in-house coffeeshops.
dinavian vibe.” In 2023, investment in indoor playcenters in the United States reached $120 million, according to Worldmetrics, and it hasn’t stopped growing.
On Lee Drive in Baton Rouge, a Montessori-inspired playroom, Little Lennon Play Cafe, opened up last month, aiming to provide a space for children to use their imaginations in life-like playsets including a food
truck and a snack bar Toddler Town Imagination Station, a mock town made for imaginative play, plans to open its doors in Harahan in a few weeks.
Jerry Bologna CEO of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, which helped finance some indoor playrooms in the parish, said the child-focused businesses boost the local quality of life by offering
and their
more options for recreation, especially in the summer when the heat limits activities. As these businesses draw in families, they help drive traffic toward nearby businesses as well, he said.
Though play spaces have evolved over time, casting older models out, Bologna said business owners must
ä See PLAYROOM, page 2E
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
playground at Chee Chee’s Playroom in Baton Rouge. Indoor playspaces have
children
parents with toddler-
PROVIDED PHOTOS
NOLA Kidsground is an indoor playroom in Elmwood.
Little Lennon Play Cafe displays its snack and drink offerings.
LEFT: Beach Kids BR creates a ‘Beach Town.’
Temple
censed to do business — small carriers that do not have the industry’s gold standard AM Best rating, aren’t actually writing policies yet or have just a tiny fraction of market share. Some don’t cover wind damage. Others are staying away from high-risk areas along the coast or in New Orleans. And it’s been five years since Louisiana has been hit by a major hurricane raising questions, ahead of this season’s peak, about what happens if it does.
“Overall, it’s a little bit better,” Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said in a phone interview last week. “We can say things are improving, but I am certainly not satisfied where we are.”
‘Doing better’
Premiums vary widely depending on the property and location and overall, they’re continuing to increase, much as they always have, because of inflation. But the rate of increase is much smaller today, on average, than it has been this decade, statistics show According to Temple’s office, annual premium increases are essentially flat so far this year, after increasing 4.6% last year, 6.6% in 2024 and by double digits in 2023 and 2022.
Also significant is a drop in the number of carriers proposing rate increases, which has fallen from 50 in 2024 to 27 last year and just four so far this year At the same time, nine carriers this year have filed for decreases so far this year, while three are seeking no change.
The number of rate changes does not necessarily correlate to the number of companies doing business in the state because companies can file for multiple rate adjustments in a single year
“That tells you we’re doing better than we were,” Temple said.
Another encouraging data point, experts say, is an increase in the number of new carriers licensed to do business in Louisiana over the past three years, which total 21 altogether including seven this year.
Temple said the fact the companies do not carry the AM Best rating does not make them risky or financially unstable.
“No new carrier starts our with an AM Best rating,” said Temple of the new carriers licensed in the state. “And we’re looking closely at these companies and their finances to make sure they are healthy.”
Local brokers say more important than the new, small carriers is the return of larger well capitalized companies to parts of the mar-
Continued from page 1E
stay ahead of the curve for the industry to last in the long run.
“There’s no better barometer of our future than the educational opportunities now,” he said. Putting the iPad down
Little Lennon Play Cafe owner Savannah Lennon previously taught first grade at Brusly Elementary and brought her affinity for working with young children, who are in a critical stage of brain development, to the business. Montessori education trains children in independence and life skills, Lennon said, and her business aims to help youngsters learn how to socialize away from electronics.
“Playing and using those imaginary skills and creativity, it’ll strengthen your child’s brain as they get older,” Lennon said. Angela Galer, owner of Playtopia, an indoor playroom in Lafayette that opened in December, said her business focuses on “back to basics play” for a wide range of ages. Toddlers can mill around in Playtopia’s indoor sandbox while their older siblings zoom through a racecar track.
As a mother and a grandmother, Galer said she’s seen a lot more options for kids to burn off energy in Lafayette through her 17 years living there. Though there’s more indoor playrooms opening, she feels the businesses complement each other with varying offerings and different age ranges.
“It used to be very limited, but Lafayette is getting a lot more things for kids to do,” Galer said ‘A modern living room’
In the 1990s, McDonald’s PlayPlaces peaked in popularity as a place for children to roam under the watchful eyes of their parents on the other side of the glass, earning a spot at more than 3,000 locations of the fast-food chain. The structures closed during the
ket that they had shunned after the successive disasters of Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and Ida
“There are some large carriers that were staying out of vulnerable areas for a few years,” said Ben Albright, president and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Louisiana, which represents some 300 agencies. “They’ve started coming back. For new buyers, that’s a big deal.”
A few years ago, homeowners shopping for new policies would be lucky to get two or three quotes, he said. “Now, they can get six or seven.”
The availability of new options has helped reduce the number of homeowners forced to rely on the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. As of June, the rolls of the “insurer of last resort” had fallen to roughly 114,000, down from about 122,000 last November and nearly 20% from its peak of 140,000 in 2022.
Reinsurers still driving rates
Temple attributes part of the positive movement to a couple of key reforms passed by state lawmakers to address the insurance crisis and make Louisiana more competitive. Those changes made it harder to file excessive bad faith claims following catastrophic events and did
away with the “three-year rule,” which banned insurers from dropping policyholders who had been customers for three years.
A couple of other factors have played a more significant role
One is the adoption of more resilient building standards in the state and the increase in the number of fortified roofs which, though still small at some 14,000, is among the fastest growing in the country, according to the Department of Insurance.
“Homeowners are seeing decreases if they have a new roof or a fortified roof,” said Justin Thibodeaux an agent with Hartwig Moss, an independent brokerage in New Orleans.
Even more significant is the reinsurance market, which is flush with cash after recovering from the losses of 2020 and 2021. Reinsurers back the smaller, less-well capitalized insurance carriers that write the majority of policies in Louisiana. They’ve attracted major investors over the past couple of years, since they haven’t been hit with the volume of claims they experienced a few years ago.
As of June 30, global propertycatastrophe reinsurance prices were down 16% year over year, the steepest annual decline in 25 years, according to industry sources.
“The reinsurance market is recapitalized and has been profitable,” Albright said. “We haven’t had the storms that we had in 2020 and 2021, so investors who stayed in the insurance market have made good money these last few years and others have said, ‘I want a piece of that.’”
1 step forward, 2 steps back?
For the local real estate market, the availability of more options at better prices has helped jumpstart home sale activity, which was up 10% in the Greater New Orleans area in the first half of the year over the same period in 2025. In Baton Rouge and Lafayette it was up 4% and 5% respectively
“There are fewer restrictions on key metrics that were really onerous a couple of years ago, like age of a roof and water heaters,” said David Favret, regional vice president at Compass. “And there are more carriers.”
The commercial real estate market has experienced even greater easing, according to Albright. Rates for owners of apartment buildings and other commercial properties have come down about 30% on average due to rate decreases in the reinsurance market.
“Commercial coverage has gotten much better, but it also got
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Maegan Gauthier plays with her friend’s children at Chee Chee’s Playroom in Baton Rouge. The indoor playroom model became popular in Europe in the 1970s, eventually spreading to the United States. In 2023, investment in indoor playcenters in the United States reached $120 million, according to Worldmetrics, and it hasn’t stopped growing
pandemic to prevent the spread of illness, though many PlayPlaces never reopened — there are now about 15 in Louisiana.
Charles Yi who owns and runs NOLA Kidsground in Elmwood with his wife, Uyen, describes the indoor playroom as “a modern living room,” or a place for families to gather and build community It also acts as an alternative for families who may not feel comfortable hosting in their home.
The playroom opened eight years ago, inspired by Yi’s son, who was around 5 years old at the time, an age when children can not safely play at trampoline parks and other indoor entertainment centers because of the older kids running around. Their target audience is children ages 7 and under “It’s good to have these familyoriented spaces,” Yi said. “I know
for myself that when I go to places, I think, ‘Is my child also going to have a good time here as well?’”
Revenue diversity
Running any child-focused enterprise is risky business, indoor playroom owners say, with peak traffic occurring during summer when school is out and outdoor playgrounds are too hot to touch. The ebbs and flows of the business challenge them to create additional income streams by hosting birthday parties and serving coffee.
Lennon serves dirty sodas and coffee inside her play cafe, through her drive-thru and on DoorDash, a side of the business she named Parish Soda. She said it helps differentiate herself from competition. The drive-thru allows those who simply want a sweet drink to pur-
chase one without having to enter the play cafe, a convenience aspect that also prevents random people from going near the children, Lennon said. Her goal is to eventually host classes and story times at the play cafe.
“I love teaching, and I love working with kids,” she said. “My real focus is the playground, and then coffee and dirty sodas is a bonus.”
Other businesses like churches and gyms have wanted a bite of the indoor play center rise, adding on playrooms to supplement their main gigs.
The Beach Fitness Club, a 60,000-square-foot facility on Rhoda Drive with pools, weight rooms, tennis and basketball courts and a smoothie bar, added on Beach Kids BR a few years ago to provide a space for children at the fitness
worse much faster a few years ago,” he said. “It is always more volatile because it is more susceptible to changes in the reinsurance market.” Despite signs of hope, it is unclear how stable the state’s insurance market really is. If Louisiana is spared a major hit from a tropical system again this season and next, experts say the market will continue to improve.
If it doesn’t— or if neighboring states along the Gulf Coast sustain a major hit or multiple blows, as they did in 2020 and 2021 — the progress of the recent past could be all but wiped out.
What’s more, even if the Gulf is spared a major storm, increasingly frequent weather-related disasters elsewhere could destabilize the reinsurance market with repercussions felt around the globe.
“Whether a tropical system on the Gulf Coast, a forest fire in Europe or storms spinning up a lot more hail in the Midwest, losses continue to go up globally,” Albright said. “So that gets baked into the models and that drives rates.
“But the longer we can go without a storm, the better our rates look.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.
club. Complete with a summer camp and parties, Beach Kids BR boasts a “Beach Town” with kidsized recreations of businesses like Fresh Market and Wagyulicious, a pool and splash pad. Amy Agra, founder and director of Beach Kids BR, has worked at the fitness club for the past four years and wanted to open up the facility up for children. Beach Kids BR and the fitness club have attracted traffic to one another, she said.
“I think that it creates a household of memories and health, and just something that you can do with your family together in a safe place,” Agra said.
Challenges
Though the indoor play industry has seen success in the past decade, it’s seen its fair share of closures. Those who run childfocused businesses tend to come from education or caretaking backgrounds and need business acumen to sustain it. Valencia said she’s seen at least three playroom businesses open and close in Baton Rouge in the years she’s run Chee Chee’s. A key part of her success is her team, she said, ensuring her employees can keep the business running as her own children get older and her family continues to grow
Insuring indoor playrooms can be tricky too, she said, paying $27,000 to insure both Chee Chee’s locations last year
The industry is in a nascent stage, causing insurance companies to have to learn how to appropriately charge indoor play businesses, Lennon said. Another local playroom owner referred her to her insurer, who raised their premiums following market research, she said, since the industry’s development outpaced insurance companies’ knowledge of it.
“That right there tells you this is growing and it’s going to keep growing fast,” Lennon said.
Email Ianne Salvosa at ianne. salvosa@theadvocate.com.
STAFF
TALKING BUSINESS
ASK THE EXPERTS
Humble beginnings propel hospital CEO to the top
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
When Al Patin started as a car-
diac nurse at Lafayette General Hospital after he graduated from college in 1997, he was set for a career: He was going to be a heart nurse for the rest of his life. But then he started taking notice of things around him. The cost of healthcare and how to best manage it got his attention. It was enough to send him back to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to earn a master’s degree in business administration.
And that’s when hospital leadership took notice. Eighteen years later, in 2021, he was named CEO of Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center along with its surgery and orthopedic hospitals that now have 490 beds and 2,900 employees
“Somebody gave me an opportunity to be a leader, and I said yes — that’s the story,” Patin said.
“It’s as simple as that.”
Now, the massive hospital system has tapped Patin for a new position. Starting Monday, he will be CEO of Ochsner South Shore Community Hospitals and Bayou Region in New Orleans He’ll be over eight hospitals stretching from St. Mary Parish to St Bernard Parish as Ochsner will split its South Shore Region its largest in the state — into two regions to better serve the area.It comes at a good time for a career transition, he noted, since his three children are students at LSU with one set to pursue a medical career He and wife of 30 years, Nikie — Patin proposed the day they both graduated — are both Acadiana natives.
“It’s a role that’s going to require creating an identity, creating a team,” Patin said. “It’s got some great CEOs. I’m excited, and they’re eager to create something new.”
In this week’s edition of Talking Business, Patin discusses his five-year tenure with OLG and how it’s increased its footprint, the behavioral health clinic that recently opened and how his year as chair of One Acadiana shaped his career
This interview has been edited for clarity
What comes to mind first looking over the last five years? Does the construction and the expanded footprint of the main hospital come to mind first?
When we merged with Ochsner (in 2019), that was the first thing Ochsner helped us do financially but also strategically We were declining 40 to 50 patients a day that had a demand to come to
this hospital and we couldn’t take them. So with the six-story tower, in the past five years we’ve brought on 50-plus beds that are staffed. We’ve added a trauma ICU. We’ve recertified ourselves in Level 2 trauma and are on our third certification. That’s significant for the region, and I’m most proud of that.
Your graduate medical education program has also grown during that time on your campus. How has that changed the way you recruit and hire staff?
We’re now on our third year and we have what we call PGY 3s (senior residents). They will be leading our PGY 1s (firstyear residents) that just started. Eventually, we’ll have 15 general
Q&A WITH AL PATIN
surgery residents here in rotation that are living here for 5 years. So they start their family here. They get involved in the economy They want to live downtown. That just transfers so well to doctors that are wanting to make their future in Acadiana.
You talk highly about the culture here at the hospital.That’s something that doesn’t happen overnight. How did that come about?
The interesting part of main campus here is on any given day upward of 20% of the patients and our visitors we’re going to come in contact with aren’t from Lafayette. So I’m telling our team, “You have the incredible privilege of representing Lafayette and representing Ochsner to people who have chosen to come here.” So when we’re walking down the hallways and we have our phone in our hand because that’s the only break we have, we have to realize that’s a disconnect. We have this rule we call a 10-5 rule. At 10 feet, I want your eyes up. You make eye contact with someone. And at 5 feet, it’s a friendly greeting. I get passionate about that.
Is it hard to recruit physicians to this area? Do you have trouble getting them here?
Look, it’s not easy to recruit physicians to Louisiana. It just isn’t unless they have a connection here. If we’re recruiting someone that’s brand new to the state, we believe we need to get them on-site. Our success is always when we can get them for a site visit. We always connect them with a physician that they’re going to work with. We believe physicians recruiting physicians is key The second thing we do is connect them with One Acadiana, and One Acadiana does a site
tour with them. The third one is helping them understand we have eight locations across Acadiana. Some people may want a smaller rural location. We’re able to show them multiple options. Last month, Ochsner and Oceans Healthcare opened a 100-bed behavioral health clinic in south Lafayette. It’s the first of its kind. How did that come about?
This is a perfect example of a community data needs assessment that we’re required to do every three years. (Our Lady of) Lourdes (Regional Medical Center) and we do it together with the United Way. Our community needs assessment has consistently shown things that you would remember, but behavioral health, mental health and mental wellness was creeping up as a significant need in our community, partly because of the gap in accessible coverage. That sort of led to a strategy on, one, do we have enough inpatient capacity in our market? And, two, are we ever going to get to a point where we can have inpatient adolescent mental healthcare? Because any of our adolescents today are leaving our market.
What were some of the
We know what we know in healthcare. We know our little piece of the workforce and the economy, but starting to understand site development, regulations, what other industries are doing and why they’re choosing Acadiana, how many jobs we bring and where ultimately we would need to place healthcare is a beautiful thing to think about. I learned a new language. Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@ theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
Al Patin will start Monday in a new role with Ochsner Health as CEO of Ochsner South Shore Community Hospitals and Bayou Region in New Orleans.
ACROSS THE REGION
Shreveport’s Libbey Glass site
demolished
Warehouses, offices and more occupy 54 acres
BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer
Demolition work has started on the former Libbey Glass manufacturing center, once home to one of Shreveport’s major employers.
There is a lot to knock down. The 54-acre site has 850,000 square feet of warehouses, offices and manufacturing space. It is filled with basements, furnaces, an overhead crane and conveyor belts, much of it used over the roughly 100 years the facility was in business.
The owner, the North Louisiana Economic Partnership, is working to turn the former glass plant into a shovel-ready and certified “clean” site, said Sheena Bryant, the group’s vice president of business development. Once environmental remediation is finished, the site will also get a certificate of completion, which means no liability for past contamination will be passed on to the new owner “It makes the competitiveness of a brownfield so much more important because it reduces the risk associated for a future end user,” Bryant said.
Everything will go.
Bryant said the only things that could be saved are the Libbey-branded water tower or structures that a future user would want to keep. “We would be open to that,” she said.
Barring that, the demo is on.
“It’s starting from the north and moving south. That’s how they’re pursuing it They’re taking it one area at a time,” she said The demolition is expected to take from 12 to 18 months.
Get used to a new name
Bryant said the group is no longer calling the site the “former Libbey plant.” The
tions, its electrical infrastructure, water rail and natural gas on the site are what makes it so competitive.
How NLEP acquired the site
Based in Toledo, Ohio, the company opened as Libbey Owens Ford in Shreveport in 1922 and later became Libbey Glass.
The money was enough to purchase, complete environmental remediation, and for “other needs,” which could involve a big marketing effort to get the property into the right hands.
In the world of developable sites, Bryant said this one has a lot going for it.
“The interstate access, a rail spur, being in heavy industrial zoning, the utility infrastructure, the ability to easily access it, not just like the visibility off the interstate, but how you physically can enter it,” she said. All of that, along with the local workforce, said Bryant, should make it a highly soughtafter property and “extremely competitive.” Not all uses will be embraced
Not all potential developers will be right for the property, and Bryant said it won’t boil down to simply who is willing to pay the most for it.
name that will be used to reference it and in marketing outreach will be the “I-20 Legacy Site.”
“It’s so important to rebrand it We’re making such a concerted effort to provide an environmentally clean, modern site,” Bryant said.
She said no one is going to be shy about what it once was because Libbey’s opera-
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Libbey Glass was a 47-year mainstay in northwest Louisiana, producing a variety of clear consumer glass items. Because of a series of job cuts at the General Motors assembly plant, Libbey was the largest manufacturing employer in Shreveport by 2008, with 960 workers. But declining demand, which was exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, led to the closure of the plant and its retail outlet store at the end of 2020. At that time, the plant had 450 employees.
“The crux of our mission is bringing jobs and capital investment.”
SHEENA BRyANT, North Louisiana Economic Partnership vice president of business development
The plant was on the market for more than a year with no takers before it was purchased by the North Louisiana Economic Partnership, using $10 million from the state and a little over a million in local match from the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority
“The crux of our mission is bringing jobs and capital investment,” said Bryant, who stressed that the jobs will also need to be well-paying and sustainable, and the use of the property will have to be something that is right for neighborhoods around it and the city as a whole. It also doesn’t have to be a new industry Inquiries from local businesses looking to expand are welcome.
Bryant said all of the material is being put together for the big marketing push, but businesses interested in the site should contact NLEP now “Libbey had such a big impact in the past, and we think that it’ll have the same impact in the future,” she said.
Email Liz Swaine at liz.swaine@ theadvocate.com.
Louisiana’srealestatemarketisridinga wave of large-scale projects andshifting economic forces
Across thestate, infrastructure development remainsstrong,drivenbypetrochemical expansionand asurge in artificial intelligence (AI) projects —including Amazon’s datacentercampusesinCaddo andBossier parishes.Manufacturing is gainingmomentuminAscensionParish, with majorinvestments such as Hyundai Steel’s$5.8billion ultra-low-carbon steel plantand NEMO Industries’$3billion AI-drivenpig iron facility
Thestate is also deepening itsroleinglobaltrade: Port NOLA’splanned$1.8billion terminal will expand containercapacity, while NewOrleans’hospitality sector evolves throughnew mixed-usedevelopments Alternativefinancingand property insurancereform are keytosustainingthisgrowth.
STAFF PHOTO By JILL PICKETT
Demolition is underway at Libbey Glass in Shreveport The owner the North Louisiana Economic Partnership, is working to turn the former glass plant into a shovel-ready and certified ‘clean’
STAFF PHOTO By LIZ SWAINE
Furnace A is the largest of the three furnaces at the former Libbey plant in Shreveport.
STAFF PHOTO By LIZ SWAINE
A tall conveyor belt once moved sand for the glass into the furnace room of the former Libbey Glass plant in Shreveport.
BY DEE-ANNDURBIN, TERRYTANG, MAGGIE SCALES, SANDYGUATIBONZA and HIKARI MAE HIDA
Press,
Associated
The Lexington Observer, La Esquina and HonoluluCivilBeat
What’sfor dinner? Lately,at Apral Jack’shouse, it’swhatever is on sale.
Jack, 50, scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store,she looks in the weekly circular forcoupons she might have missed. If shelf prices look too high, she tries to find lower prices someplace else
“The apples went up here, the ones Ieat, so now I’m not going to get them here,” Jack said as she pushed acart into aStop &Shop near her home in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Couponing,comparison shopping and cutting back on favorite foods are new habits for her and millions of other Americans as they absorb the biggest jump in grocery prices in ahalf-century Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33% more expensive since the beginning of 2019,accordingto government figures With aconflict in the Middle East creating more pricepressures, the cost of filling refrigerators, freezers and pantries has made affordability acentral issue in the fall midterm elections.
Jack, acare provider andparttime Amazon worker,has fewer mouths to feed now that her three daughtersare adults.But she spends more cautiously than she once did.
Instead of shopping at Whole Foods, she builds her weekly menu around discounts anddigitalcoupons.
“Typically,I’lltry to pick the meals based on that. So like chicken fajitas: therewas athree-day sale on chicken” Jack said Beef epitomizes out-of-control grocerypricesfor many Americans. The price of apound of ground beefreached$6.82 in June which is 79% morethan at thebeginningof2019, according toBu-
Lien Chang feedsher 2-year-old grandson Cairo Miu abowlofrice next to his dad, Jack Chang,inher home on in San Francisco. Jack Chang,a barber withthree children,sayshesometimes has to rely on hismom for meals. ‘I look at my credit card everymonth and I’m like, “Wow,how am Igoing to paythis?” So I’malittle behind on bills, honestly,’ he said.
reau of Labor Statistics data. AdaTorres, 60,who lives45miles northeastof Houston in Cleveland, Texas, is one of the people no lon-
ger buying it. She does the grocery shoppingand cookingfor thehome she shareswith her daughter and three grandchildren.
“Prices are sky-high. One hundreddollars’ worth of groceries these days is nothing,” Torres said.
Chicken and cold cuts are the family’smainsource of animal proteinnow that freshmeatisa luxury,she said.Her grandchildren,ages 12,15and 16,misseating lasagna with ground beef,beef fajitas and steak with plantain chips.
Torres’ daughteristhe family’s main provider.Her workfor amobile car-washing service dwindles during the rainy season; the family only can afford one full meal aday, Torres said
San Francisco has areputation as foodie city.Food preoccupies 33-year-old Jack Chang for other reasons. Theself-employed barber has three young children and apartner whoisunemployed.
“Since Ihave five mouths Ihave
to feed, basically —and then sometimes my mom, too —it’salot on me financially,” Chang said.
Their family is not one that goes out forboba milk teas or artisanal icecream.Theyvisit aJapanese entertainment center with$1ice cream cones. Milkisthe only organic product they consume.
“I look at my credit cardevery month and I’mlike, ‘Wow,how am Igoing to pay this?’ So I’m alittle behind on bills, honestly,” Chang said.
When their 4-year-old daughter’s preschool hasleftover meat or bread,Chang’spartner,Tina Chhous,offers to takeit. Chhous also receives monthly food assistance through thefederal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,orSNAP.
“Without that, Idon’tknow what Iwould do,” Chang said.
Chang’s77-year-old mother, Lien, receives SNAP aid, too, and visits two food banks each week. She sharesthe canned food, eggs and produce she gets with the rest of the family
High grocery bills comewith living in Hawaii. The state gets nearly allits food from cargoships that have traveled thousands of miles, making prices vulnerable to oil market spikes. Local products also got costlier this year.The cost of shipping goodsbetween the HawaiianIslands skyrocketed amidrising fuel prices tied to the Iran conflict.
Amanda Tabadero, 28, apastry chef on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, remembers buying Mauigrown strawberries and blueberries for $7.99 per pound in 2024. Now that they cost $11, she buys berries from California or Mexico at Costco for$5when she bakes.
Tabadero also doubtsshe will buy lychee again anytime soon. Kaimana lychee, the variety grown in Hawaii, mostly comes fromthe Big Island. Tabadero said an iced coffeeand abag of fruit she recently purchased in Honolulu’s Chinatowncame to $30.
“It makes me sad,” Tabadero said. “I want to use local stuff.”
THELEXINGTON OBSERVER PHOTO By MAGGIE SCALES ApralJack orders deli meat at Stop&Shop in Lexington, Mass. At Jack’s home, dinner is decided by what’sonsale.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIANA yAMADA
Fenstermaker lands grant from Meta
Lafayette-based C.H.Fenstermaker &Associates was awarded a grant from Meta for organizations that utilize wearable technology
The Meta AI Glasses Impact Grant program announced the 30 recipientsofthe $2 million initiative to help people work safer,learn faster and live more independently, company officials announced.
Fenstermaker equips coastal field teams with glasses that use artificial intelligence to identify bird and vegetation species, record voice notes and document habitat conditions hands-free in wetlandenvironments, Meta officials said.Itreplaces slow,inconsistent manual data collection in challenging terrain.
Fenstermaker was the only Louisiana-based recipient.
Established in 1950, C.H. Fenstermaker &Associates specializes in surveying and mapping, engineering and environmental consulting. North Lafayette company to launch $40M expansion
Anorth Lafayette Parish company will launch a$40 million expansion that will add 38 jobs to its operations
NPK Access Solutions,2900 La. 93 in the Vatican community near Carencro, will installspecialized equipment andinfrastructureto support newmanufacturing capa-
Fool’sTake: Passive income from burgers
bilities, which would increase its production capacity by 50%.
Thecompany, whichproduces recyclable composite matting products thatare used in infrastructure projects, currently employs 124. Constructionisexpected to begin in September
“This investment by NPK Access Solutions reflectsthe confidence businesses have in Acadianaasa place to invest, grow,and compete,” President and CEO of One Acadiana Troy Wayman said. “Manufacturing remains oneofour region’s strongest economic drivers, and their expansion further reinforces Acadiana’sleadership in producing goods thatsupport critical industries across the country.”
To secure the project in Carencro, Louisiana offered an incentives package that includes its comprehensiveworkforcedevelopment program, LED FastStart. The company is also expectedtoparticipate in the state’sHigh Impact Jobs andIndustrialTax Exemption programs.
Opelousas downtown agency awards 11 grants
Eleven businesses and organizations in Opelousas were awarded grants from the Opelousas Downtown Development District.
The2026BuildingImprovement Grants includes $100,000 for exteriorbuilding improvementsthat
encourage continued investment in the city’s downtown area, downtown officials announced.
Recipients areBlochStreetSpace, Bottom’sUpArt Center,CASA St. Landry-Evangeline, Cleaning Chemical Solutions, Hope forOpelousas, LawOffice of Howard DeJean, Opelousas Pregnancy Center,Preston Castille Enterprises, Rainbowof Blessings Academy,Robin’s Supermarketand Totally MIE Boutique
The grant program is acompetitivereimbursement grant that provides dollar-for-dollar matching funds of up to $10,000 for eligible exterior improvements. Eligible projects include façadeimprovements, exterior painting, signage, windows and doors, lighting, landscaping, accessibilityenhancementsand other improvements.
Lafayette Trader Joe’s acceptingapplications
Trader Joe’sisadvertising for jobs at itssoon-to-openLafayette store
The popular specialtygrocer has jobs listed on various national websites for crew membersinanticipation of the store opening in the coming weeks at 1710 Camellia Blvd.
The job pays $15 to $18 perhour andoffers up to 38 hours week, the listing indicates. It is seeking people to offer customers are “warm and friendly shopping experience” by answering questions,offering
suggest and knowing customers arewelcomed. To apply,visit traderjoes.com/ careers.
AtypicalTraderJoe’sstore employs up to 80.
Millennial home ownership up in Lafayette area
The number of millennials in the Lafayette area whoowned ahome in 2023 instead of renting jumped by nearly 10,000 over afive-year span, data shows.
Thattotal increased from24,228 in 2018 to 33,005 five yearslater whilethe number of millennialsin rented household declined by over 5,000 in that same span, according to data released by RentCafe, anationwide apartment search website
The Lafayette metro area now has 60.9% of its millennials those born between 1981 and1996 —listed as homeowners, arate that is 11th-highest among U.S. markets surveyed regardless of size. Baton Rouge, whichhad an increaseof 18,000 millennialhomeowners, was sixth.
The share of millennials living in arented home declined by 20.2%, arate that was second-highest among markets surveyed. Nationwide, about 5.3 millionmillennials became homeowners in thatfive-year span, a74% increase, while millennial renters rose by 5%, the report indicated.
Issued July 22-28
Commercial alterations
RETAIL: 3222 Ambassador Caffery Parkway;description, work at Sam’s Wholesale; applicant, CESO; contractor, UHCUnited Heating and Cooling; $180,000.
RETAIL: 1920 Kaliste Saloom Road;description, work at CVS Pharmacy; applicant,Architectural Design Guild; contractor, Project Builders; $275,000.
RESIDENTIAL:102 VanBuren Drive 202A;description, apartment renovation; applicant and contractor, Boines Construction and Equipment Co.;$91,000.
RETAIL: 1800 N.E. Evangeline Thruway;description, none listed for The Hub; applicant and contractor, JL Construction; $2,500.
RESIDENTIAL: 265 Ridge Road; description, solar parking canopy project at Ridge and Loop Commons;applicant and contractor, Southern Spark; $2 million. OTHER: 410 Dugas
In late 2025, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) announced it had increased its dividend —for the 49th year in a row.You don’tcreate arecord like that by accident. The company is one of the world’slargest fast-food chains, operating at ascale hard to comprehend, with over 45,000 locations across more than 100 countries. The key to the story,however,is that 95% of McDonald’slocations are franchises. It basicallycollects rent and royalties from its franchisees, making it afairly stable business. Restaurant concepts go in and out of favor over time,but
McDonald’shas been along-term survivor.And despite arecent pullback in the stock —McDonald’swas recently trading near its 52-week low —the business is performing reasonably well, with firstquarter 2026 consolidated revenue up 9% (4% in constant currencies) and adjusted earnings per share up 6%. That’simpressive for such a largebusiness. McDonald’smay not be agrowth machine, but it’scertainly adependable and stable long-term investment. Andlet’snot forget the dividend income it can provide you, with its recent 2.8% dividend yield. (The MotleyFool recommends various options on McDonald’s.)
Fool’sSchool: Is a market crash coming?
Plenty of investors are worrying
about an imminent stock market correction or even acrash. (A correction is generally considered to be adropof10% to 20% or so Abear market is along decline of morethan20% from arecent high, while acrash is sudden, steep and often 20% or more.) Are theyright to worry? Well, we have long advised against tryingtotime the market or predict pullbacks, but it’snot unreasonable to at least consider apullback and toplan accordingly Afterall, thereare multiple concerning signs —valuations based on earnings areatornear levels thathave preceded past bear markets or crashes. Geopolitical and economic conditions aren’texactly reassuring, either;concerns include tariffs, the war with Iran and the threat of inflation. Rising inflation will
often lead the Federal Open Market Committee to raise interest rates, which is generally not great for business or the stock market, as borrowing money becomes costlier.
The stock market is volatile by nature. It has downturns every few years, such as 2022’scorrectionof18%, so you need to expect them. Ideally,plan to be alongterm investor,riding them out. (Downturns typically last afew months or years, but they could last longer.)
The next pullback might be years away, but it could certainly happen sooner.Sodon’tkeep any money that you’ll need within five, if not 10, years in stocks. And perhaps sell some investments now,soyou’ll have cash on hand to pounce on stock bargains that result from amarket downturn.
Motley Fool
Rising top to the
BY GRACE MAYER Staff writer
At first glance,FlyingDolly’s looks like any other ice cream and sno-ball stand. But the smallblue and red store off La. 22 in Mandeville belies amuch bigger —and growing —business operation.
Over the past three years, the 15-year-old business hasgrown from asingle storefront in Mandeville that Jeff Robertson opened with his wife, Corey,in2011 into a franchise operator withlocations acrossthe Gulf Coast.
Flying Dolly’s, known for its oneeyed pug mascot and ice cream, sno-balls andstuffed sno-balls made in-house, now has eight locations and counting. Revenues are on track to hit $5.6 million this year up between 5% and 10%over last year —and plans are in the works to begin packaging and selling to local grocers.
“We’ve had investment groups that have come to us and said, ‘Hey, we want to open up 10 stores in this area,’”CEO and co-owner Jeff Robertson said. “That’snot what we’re looking for.We’re looking for owneroperators.”
Expandingout of state
At the start, the Robertsons kept
their day jobs. He worked as a manufacturer representative for abuilding materials and manufacturing company; she. nowDolly’s chief financial officer,did human resources and payroll for apayroll processing company
“Weopened up at 2o’clock every day. Iprayedthatmybossnever caught me,” Jeff Robertson said.
“Weworked here until 8:30 or 9at night.Our kids did homework upstairs,and my wife and Iserviced customers.”
Robertsonsaidhewas drawn to opening an ice cream andsno-ball business becauseofthe range it would attract, from young children to grandparents.Healsofiguredit was recession-proof
“People are going to give up their $100 steak dinners, but chances are they can find$3 or $4 to spring for ice cream or sno-balls,” Robertson said.
Known as Just Chillin at the time, thestore initially outsourced icecream production to Blue Bell Creameries and New OrleansIce Cream.But sixmonths after launching, the Robertsons decided to move manufacturing in-house to have complete control over operations.
“I told mywife, ‘We can make ice cream,’”Robertson said. “I thought certainly we could do what other
small batch companies are doing nationwide. We started researchingmachines and recipes andwe jumped right intoit.”
Thepairdeveloped flavors and churned ice creaminthe back corner of their Mandeville store, a space thatwas about the size of a parking spot. In 2014, they relocated to alargerpropertyonLamarque Street in Old Mandeville andbuilt a1,100-square-foot manufacturing facility,costing some $350,000.
Fromthere, the Flying Dolly’s team distributesaround 1,200 gallons of productper week, shuttled via alargetrailer andfreezer van to stores in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
Jeff Robertson didn’t have plans to franchise until acustomer approached him in 2021 with theidea of opening astoreinJackson, Mississippi. The Robertsons walked thecustomerthrough thesteps and training —and that owner soon went on to open asecond location in Jackson.
“Another friendofourssaid, ‘You’vegot something that you can expand on. This is something you can franchise,’ ”Jeff Robertson said. “Wegot agood franchise attorney and started working with him.”
Around thattime, Robertsonrebranded from Just Chillin to Flying Dolly’stoexpand out of state.
Those early successes led Robertson to formalizealarger franchis-
ing strategy,which included hiring Shane Mutter as an owner andinvestor.Mutter brought seven years of experience in marketing and sales for ahemp startup in Colorado.
Mutter,now president, is focused on adding franchise locations within athree-hour drive of Mandeville, which has led to the recent openings of locations in Kenner and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He’sinconversations with partiesinterested in expanding into Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the long term, expansion plans include opening locations in Georgia and Florida.
TheFlyingDolly’s team is carefulinselecting franchise owners, who consist of families, motherdaughter duos, former employees and customers. That’sallowedFlying Dolly’stofeel more like afamily business than achain, according to Shannon Farrell, aco-owner and managing partner in Mandeville
She started scooping ice cream and sno-balls at Flying Dolly’sasahigh schooler and returned after college to workasamanager
“Wedon’t necessarily want to be that story where that business opened 50 units this year,and they have 100 units coming,” Mutter said.“We reallydon’t wanttogrow that fast.”
Growing.
Still, Flying Dolly’sisscaling up.
The business has 150 employees today,44ofwhom are based at the Mandeville store, and plans to add at least 12 franchise locations by next summer. In September, the business will also open asecond store in St. TammanyParish:afranchiselocationinAbita
Flying
Flying Dolly’ssells
WhyLouisiana? TheRiskand Reward Behind a$32 Billion Data Center Push
In lessthan 18months,Louisiana has transformedfromvirtually no hyperscale data center presence to hosting three of the largestprojects in the country,led by majordigital leaders.A$10billion campus in Richland Parish,1 a$12 billion investmentacrossCaddo and Bossier Parishes,2 and a $10billion River Bend facilityinWestFeliciana Parish1representacombined $32 billion commitment that placesLouisianaatthe center of the nationaldatacenterboom. Construction is nowunderway
Developers chose Louisiana forgood reasons. Thestate’s industrial contractorshavespent decades building refineries, chemical plants and LNG facilities —complex,high-stakes work at scale
This expertisetransfers directly to data center construction,and it’s ameaningful edge.Louisiana contractorsare already building data centersacrossthe countrybecause they’reamongthe best at this type of work. Siting aprojectinthe statekeepsthattalent close,resulting in faster projectdelivery andtightercostcontrol.
Siteselection also reflectsaclear-eyedinsurancecalculation.Two of the three major projects sit in North Louisiana, near the Arkansas border.Locating away from the Gulf Coasthurricane corridor materially changes the underwriting math.
With confirmed projects nowspreadacrossthe northwest,northeast and southeast of the state, underwritersare watching howthat geographic concentrationaccumulatesacrosstheir books
Powerand waterdraware legitimatecommunityconcerns. Data centersconsumeboth at ascale thatstrains local grids and utility capacity. Some Louisiana powercompanies arealready planning upgrades to support the newdemand. Longer term, on-site generation,including small modular reactors,may reducegrid dependency forfuturebuilds. These aren’t unsolvable problems. Buttheyneed to be part of the projectplan from dayone
Building success:Whatittakes to getitright
These facilities areinNorth Louisiana because it’s moreaffordable to secure the coverage and limits required —it’saninsurancedecision as much as alocation one
Louisiana’s broader property and casualtymarket,byWagener’s currentread, is stable. Theinsurancemarketisabsorbing an unprecedentedvolume of high-limit construction requests as data center buildsacceleratenationwide.Excessliability and commercial automobile liabilityfor contractor fleets —already under pressure in large construction programs —facegenuine capacityconstraints when asingle siteisworth $10billion to $15billion.
In Louisiana specifically,thosepressures aresharper: commercial automobile liabilityrates forconstruction rank among thehighest in the country,and excess liabilitycapacityfor large industrial programs is genuinelyconstrained. That friction shows up in pricing, deductibles and whatcarrierswill actually put on thetable
Climate perils compound thatscrutiny. North Louisiana avoidsthe worstofthe Gulf Coasthurricane corridor,but majorstorms still push wind and rain well inland. Inland flooding and severe convectivestorms areliveperils acrossall three projectlocations.
Done right, projects of this scale bring lasting returns. Thetax revenuewill flowintoLouisiana communities overdecades, into education, infrastructureand economic development, well beyond whatdirectemploymentfroma data center operation alone woulddeliver. Louisiana movedearly in this cycle and secured a strong position.
Gettingthatrightstarts beforefinancingcloses,with construction risk, supply chain exposures, powerstrategy and operational coverage all aligned from dayone.Thatincludesparametric triggers forbusiness interruption —coverage thatactivates without a physical loss —which matterswhen agrid failureorsupply chain delaycan cost millions beforeasingle claim is filed.
Troy Wagener Area ExecutiveVicePresident
Gallagher’s Data Center Solutions team workswith developers, contractorsand operatorsacrossthe full projectlifecycle.To connectwith ourLouisiana team, visit AJG.com/louisiana 1“Louisiana’s Growing Data Center Pipeline,” BIZ Magazine,3Mar
Scan the code to connectwith us.
Rawlin Cauthron tries out his newprosthetic legthat BlakeRobichaux,right, acertified VA orthotist prosthetist,designed and made for him at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in New Orleans.
FINDINGTHE PERFECTFIT
Prostheticsexperthelps VA patients regain mobility
BY RACHEL MIPRO
Contributingwriter
Rawlin Cauthron —“Doc” to hisfriends —has just gotten anewly fitted American flag leg, the latest in a line of prosthetics to match the one he lostina motorcycle wreck years ago.
When he had the accident in 2001, he underwenta lot of surgery to try to save his leg, but the extensive fractures complicated matters. His love of riding made his decision for him.
“The doctor finally toldme, ‘I could get you where you could hobble around, but it would alwaysswell up,’” Cauthron said. “I said,‘Can Iridemymotorcycle?’ He said no, Isaid, ‘Cutitoff.’”
Cauthron joined the Armyin1972, and was discharged in 1974 after he fractured hisspine falling down amine shaft while trying to rescue someone. Afterhis accident,his first prosthetic leg wasmadebyhis local Veterans Affairs clinic.
“It feltkind of strangenot walking on crutches anymore,” Cauthron said. “It was great, don’tget me wrong, Ilove not havingtowalk on them crutches, but other than that, Imean, it waskind of weird,but Igot used to it.”
Cauthron’sbeencomingtothe NewOrleans VA Medical Center for abouta decadefor leg care.
Hisfirstleg builtinthe Crescent Citywas made in 2014 by Blake Robichaux,a certified VA orthotist prosthetist.
Legs are changed out about every five yearstokeep up with body changes andshifting needs
BlakeRobichaux works on amold for aprosthetic in hislab.Hehas made countlessprosthetics since he started with the VA in 2013. ä See PROSTHETICS, page 2X
What to watch forin extremeheat, even if you’re ‘usedtoit’
This is acolumn in aseries from Dr.Olivia Ragusa, aprimary care physician at Baton Rouge General, sharing insight on avariety of health topics for patients of all ages, including prevention, wellness tips and everyday strategies to help individuals and families stay healthy
Living in south Louisiana, heat feels like part of our identity We mow the lawn in July,cheer at football games in August and tell ourselves, “It’ll be fine, I’mused to the heat!”
But being born and raised here or alongtime transplant —doesn’t makeyou immune to the potential forheat-related illness.
Yes, the human body can adapt to warmer temperatures over time. We call that heat acclimation; however,acclimation is not immunity.Even people who spend years working outdoors or exercising in the Louisiana heat can reach adangerous limit. That limit can change from day to day, which makes things trickier Something as simple as poor sleep, dehydration, stress, illness or even certain medications can lower your body’sability to handle heat. Youmay feel fine one day and struggle the next without realizing why.
What you really have to be careful about is that heat stress doesn’talways feel dramatic at first. It often builds slowly,and what feels normal foryou might actually be chronic strain. When you’re exposed to high temperatures fortoo long, your body works overtime to cool itself.Your heart pumps harder to moveblood toward the skin so heat canescape. That extra effort can raise your heart rate, affect blood pressure,reduce blood flowtovitalorgans, and place addedstrain on your kidneys and cardiovascularsystem. That’s especially risky for people with conditions like high blood pressure,diabetes, or heart disease. Ioften remind patients that heat illnessesrarelystart with collapse.
They usually start with subtle warning signs that can then turn into big red flags.
Dr.Olivia Ragusa DOCTOR SAyS ä See HEAT, page 2X
STAFF PHOTOSByCHRISGRANGER
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO The sun beamsdownona lifeguard while she watches over abeach at LakeHarriet in Minneapolis
HEALTH MAKER
N.O. surgeon has spent decades fixing kids’ hearts
BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer
Dr Benjamin Peeler has learned a lot during his career, especially from other doctors.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Dr Ken Jacobs taught him about the inner growth it would take to become a surgeon. Dr John Tarpley taught him the power of selflessness. In Virginia, Dr. Curt Tribble was the “ultimate surgical teacher” and “a hero to everyone,” Peeler said.
Dr Irv Kron, the former chief of cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiac surgery and chair of the department of surgery at the University of Virginia, made the difficult seem simple.
”He has elevated the careers of so many surgeons in the country,” Peeler said. “It has been the honor of my career to have Kron as a teacher, mentor and a colleague and friend over the last 30 years.” Peeler graduated medical school in 1991, completed his first residency in general surgery in 1998, his second residency in thoracic surgery in 2000 and his third residency in vascular surgery in 2001 at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Then, he completed a fellowship in congenital cardiac surgery in 2002 at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Now, Peeler is a leader in his own right as the chief of pediatric cardiac surgery and co-director of the Congenital Heart Center for Ochsner Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. This interview has been edited for length and clarity
What first drew you to medicine and specifically to surgery?
Certainly, at some level my interest in medicine is related to the fact that my dad was a physician. He was an adult cardiologist. Both of my parents instilled in me the concept of work as an avocation, not as a job. Ultimately, when it became clear that baseball was not going to be a career,
it was a natural turn towards medicine.
As far as surgery goes, that became very clear to me within the first weeks of medical school. The things that fascinated me about surgery were the complexity of the problems the acute serious illnesses that were treated and the relative immediacy of the results.
As a pitcher, I was used to having the ball in my hand, so it made sense.
What was the congenital heart program like when you first arrived in New Orleans, and what did you envision for the future?
When I first started at Ochsner, many of the foundational elements of an excellent congenital heart program were already present. Pediatric cardiology was excellent and growing, as was pediatric cardiac anesthesia.
We built a dedicated pediatric cardiac ICU shortly after my arrival, and that helped grow the quality of the program.
What are the unique challenges of oper-
ating on infants compared to adults?
Neonates, infants and children can have a wide range of heart defects and required operations, more than 150 different operations. The size of children as compared to adults can provide challenges. Pediatric patients also often have other problems that don’t involve the heart that can make surgery riskier and their recovery more difficult.
What is it like to meet families at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives?
I have a great deal of empathy for families that have children with congenital heart disease. In fact, often times when I first meet a family, I tell them that I’m sorry they have to meet me at all.
I try to not instill false hope into families, but I do try to make them feel confident in our ability to provide the best care possible. Additionally, our lead cardiac surgery physician’s assistant (who is also my wife) is a congenital heart patient. She has had three
surgeries and frankly she has more energy than any of us.
When she meets patients and families, it really is like a “whoa” moment for them to see someone with her history thriving. It’s really a good thing.
Over your career, how has the field of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery evolved?
When I started my training in the early ’90s at Vanderbilt, pediatric cardiac surgery was only several decades old. The pioneering work that went on in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s to establish the possibility of pediatric cardiac surgery was amazing but fraught with difficulty At Vanderbilt, they were still transitioning from earlier techniques, such as use of the hypothermia box, to the more refined techniques that we used today
Interventional cardiology has more techniques that are applicable and can keep kids from needing surgery One of the things that I like most about my specialty is
New
PROSTHETICS
Continued from page 1X
Cauthron had one built as a peg leg for a pirate costume, another for swimming, and another that could fit inside a cowboy boot. Robichaux has made countless prosthetics since he started with the VA in 2013, working on them inside a large workshop room filled with machines, locks, limbs and other pieces of the trade, including one or two realistic-looking feet models.
The process begins with a hollow socket fitting, finding the right size and fit for each amputee.
After a suitable socket is picked, the hollow socket is filled with plaster to create a cast before the plaster cast is laminated, creating
a lightweight and durable shell.
The process takes about two hours to complete, Robichaux estimated. He’s made them for a range of ages, from 29 to 86.
The technology’s improved over the decades. When Robichaux started, the first legs he made used a plaster and gauze system, where he’d smear the plaster on the side of the person’s leg, wrap gauze around the wet plaster and continue the process
New casting materials were introduced in the late 1990s, streamlining the process.
“We started using it, never looked back,” Robichaux said.
One problem remains the same over time: When leg prosthetics are used, the leg shrinks over time because of fluid level changes and pressure
“No matter what you build, when
they get fitted with prosthetics, that’s the last time it fits that good,” Robichaux said. “Because their limb is always changing, but the prosthetic is never changing. Educating them how to maintain the fit, when to check, how to look for problems, that’s the biggest thing.”
Prosthetics fashion evolves like other styles Cauthron favors an American flag print, but older veterans like the flesh-colored, unobtrusive limbs with a more realistic look, Robichaux said.
For these, he uses foam, fitting and shaping it to have the proportions of a leg before putting a cosmetic skin layer over the whole thing.
“The younger guys, if they have to wear a leg, they want it to be blinged out All shiny Silver showing. As fancy as possible,” Robichaux said.
that is exceptionally collaborative. The pediatric interventional cardiologists and I always try to find the best combination of therapies for each patient, and it takes a lot of different disciplines in the pediatric heart center to deliver the best results.
How has pediatric heart surgery changed survival rates and quality of life over the decades?
The improvement in survival from congenital heart defects is one of the greatest stories in modern medicine. If you were born with a congenital heart defect in the 1950s, your chance of surviving one year was 25%.
Currently that number is about 95%.
Additionally, approximately 90% of babies born with a congenital heart defect are expected to survive into adulthood. If you take for instance one of the most severe heart defects, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, there has been a vast improvement in outcomes.
Before 1980, 100% of these babies were expected to die before 1 month of age. Advances in all facets of care of these and other serious conditions have led to our current results.
Nationally, 87% of babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who undergo the Norwood operation are expected to survive. At Ochsner, our results are closer to 92% to 95% survival.
When you look back on your career, what are you most proud of?
I’m proud of growing three excellent programs in three states that needed the programs to grow to better serve the needs of the population. And, of course, I’m very happy to have provided service to each individual patient and family
Both things are extremely gratifying.
When I get follow-up pictures and information from families, it’s the best. I’m nowhere near finished, though. There’s a lot more to achieve.
Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.
HEAT
Continued from page 1X
Watch for symptoms like headaches or nausea, dizziness or confusion, and unusual fatigue or weakness. With heat-related illnesses, you might also experience rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath. You may stop sweating altogether despite being hot. That last one is especially concerning. If you stop sweating, that can be a signal that your cooling system is failing If you notice these symptoms, stop what you’re doing. Get into shade or air conditioning, drink fluids and cool down. If symptoms worsen or don’t improve quickly, seek medical care.
Being tough has its place, but this brutal heat doesn’t care how tough you are. Trade the tough-it-out method for smarter habits like hydrating before you feel thirsty, taking breaks during the hottest part of the day outside and listening to your body
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth,personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries,state and national health statistics and re-examining tried and true methods on ways to live well. Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana.
Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions,stories and more.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Dr Benjamin Peeler, the chief of pediatric cardiac surgery and co-director of the Congenital Heart Center, stands in the pediatric intensive care unit at Ochsner Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
Rawlin Cauthron straightens his new prosthetic leg at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in
Orleans.
Blake Robichaux looks at a prosthetic foot in his lab at the Veterans Affairs Hospital
In 2024, over 18 million U.S. households reported being food insecure at some time during the year
At thosetimes food-insecure households were unable to provide enoughfood to meet theneeds of alltheir members becausetheyhad insufficient moneyorresources, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Between 2021 and 2023, an average 16.2% of Louisianans were food insecure, defined as adults whoreported that the food that they bought always, usually or sometimes did not last— and theydidn’t have moneytoget more
Thestate has the third-highest percentageoffood insecure adults in the country.
Food insecurity is associated with chronic and acute health problems andhealthcare needs in children, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.Additionally, food-insecure adults are at ahigher risk of developing several chronic conditions,including coronaryheart disease, diabetes,obesity and cancer
Thesestates had the highest
percentageofhouseholds experiencing food insecurity between 2021 and 2023 because of lack of resources, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: n Arkansas with 18.9%, n Texas with 16.9%, n Louisiana and Mississippi tied with 16.2%, n Oklahoma with 15.4%, n Kentucky with 14.5%, n South Carolina with 14.4%, n West Virginia with 13.7%, n Wyoming with 13.1% n and Michigan with 13%. These states had the lowest percentageoffood insecure households: n NewHampshire with 7.4%, n North Dakota with 8.6%, n South Dakota with 9%, n Minnesota with 9.1%, n Vermont with 9.2%, n Massachusetts with 9.3%, n Washington with 9.5%, n Hawaii with 9.6%, n Rhode Island with 9.7%, n and Iowa and NewJerseywith 9.8%.
Bloodtestcan help identify Alzheimer’srisk, studyshows
BY LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press
WASHINGTON Abloodtest may predict if apparently healthy older adults are likelytodevelop Alzheimer’ssymptoms in the next five or 10 years,researchersreported Wednesday That information could be reassuringorterrifying, but for now it’s apotential tool to speed drug development by helpingtoidentify and enroll high-risk peopleintostudies of possible Alzheimer’streatments or preventive strategies Alreadylarge clinical trialsare testing if certain drugs could prevent or at least delay the disease
and if any ofthosepansout, doctors willneed an easy way to tellwho shouldtry them
The scientists behind the new study stress that it’stoo soon for healthy people toseek out the so-called p-tau217 test, which is currently usedtohelpdiagnose whether peopleexperiencing cognitive problems have Alzheimer’s or another disorder
“Wait and get testedwhen you can potentially do something about it,” stressed Dr.Reisa Sperlingof the Mass GeneralBrighamNeuroscienceInstitute, the study’ssenior author.“At this point it wouldn’t changewhat Iwould tell someone to do.I’d still tell them to eat well,
sleep well, exercise alot and stay engaged.”
The new findings showed that symptom-free older adults who harbored very high levels of ptau217 had a38% risk of developingcognitive impairment over five years. That risk grew to 78% by 10 years. The research was published in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer’sAssociation International Conference in London.
It’s not clear exactly what causes Alzheimer’s, but its telltalemarkersare brain-clogging amyloid plaques and neuron-killing tau tangles. Thep-tau217 test measures aform of tau that correlates with
how much plaque buildup someone hasand gives ahint about tangles, Sperling said.
The Mass General Brigham team analyzed data from2,684 older adults whowerehealthywhen they’d joined some long-running Alzheimer’sstudies, receiving the p-tau217 blood test at enrollment andyearly cognitive checkups. Between the earliest enrollment in 2004 and last year,about 478 had developed cognitive impairment.
Study participants with very low p-tau217 levels likewise had alow risk of developing cognitive impairmentoverthe five- to 10-year period. There’sa conundrum in predict-
ing Alzheimer’s: Lots of people harbor high levels of amyloid plaques yetnever getdementia. Aleading theory is that at somepoint amyloid buildup triggers an abnormal type of tau to form tangles, leading to symptoms.
Sperling said thebloodtestdata offers some new clues. Whiledifferentintermediate levelsofptau217 signaled progressive risk, only the very highest level seemed to correlate with other evidence about that tipping point.
“This is agradual process where amyloidand taubuild up in the brain and this blood-based biomarker is telling you how far you are in that process,” she said.
BRO UGH TT OY OU BY
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CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley
SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr
GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley
HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne
MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters
ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson
ROSEBUDS / by Supr Dee
ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis
grams
directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
word game
instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
todAY's Word — tAiLsPin: TALE-spin: A mental or emotional letdown or collapse.
Average mark 39 words Time limit 60 minutes
Can you find 55 or more words in TAILSPIN?
ken ken
instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner
instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday
directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally
Sudoku
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
super Quiz
Extra care
Today’s deal is from a recent club duplicate. All the NorthSouth pairs reached four spades and received the queen of hearts lead. Most declarers went down in this contract by assuming a favorable 3-2 split in trumps, which would happen about two thirds of the time. They cashed the two top trumps before ruffing a diamond in dummy. They had to lose two trump tricks, one diamond, and one club.
One declarer was more careful. Before touching trumps, he cashed the ace and king of diamonds and ruffed a diamond in dummy East over-ruffed and shifted to the jack of clubs. South won in dummy with the ace and cashed the king of trumps. He then ruffed a heart in his hand and ruffed his last diamond in dummy East also over-ruffed this but the defense could only get a club trick from here and South made his contract. He won the club continuation in hand with the king and cashed the ace of trumps, which was sure to draw the last trump no matter who had it. Nicely done! This line of play also gave South a slim chance for an overtrickprecious in a pairs game. If both opponents had followed suit to the third round of diamonds,
South would have ruffed his last diamond with a low trump in dummy. This would produce an overtrick if the trumps split 3-2 and the opponent with three trumps over-ruffed the fourth diamond.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Explore and expand your interests and plans. Choose to discover what’s available and to put the past behind you. Get your priorities straight and your plans in place.
SCORPIO (Oct 24-Nov 22) Speak up, offer suggestions and lead the way Social events will be entertaining and offer lively conversations that connect you to interesting people. Don’t hesitate to share your feelings.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) If you takeacloserlookatcontracts,investmentsandmedicalissues,you’llgain insight into how to enhance your life financially and physically Don’t let emotions and anger block personal growth.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Let your feelings determine your next move. Don’tallowanyonetoleadyouastray or preoccupy your time. Use your wisdom, experience and intuition to carve out what works best for you. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Hide out, be observant and assess your situation. Opportunities are present, but navigating your way to the best results will be difficult if you lack awareness regarding how your decisions affect others.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look inward. You’ll waste your time if you try to change others or dwell on situations you have no control over Find your bliss, and follow the path that makes you feel good about yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You’ve got more going for you than you realize. Shake off the negative, let go of the past and prepare to engage in positive ventures and activities. Financial gains are within reach.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Push anger aside and focus on truth, positive alternatives and being good to yourself and loved ones. Let common
sense lead the way, and you’ll send a message that others can understand and relate to.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Talk less and do more. Your actions will give onlookers a chance to see what you can do. Stretch your imagination, put your skills to work for you and flesh out your ideas.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Don’t broadcast what you plan to do. Keep your life simple, abide by the rules and regulations, and put a minimalist mindset to work for you. Too much of anything will lead to trouble.
GEMINI(May21-June20) Pushforward with optimism. Use your imagina-
tion, follow your heart and have fun Refuse to let your jealousy or emotional manipulation take precedence over kind words and offering a helping hand.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Put what’s happening in context. Recognize yourchoices.Reachouttothosewho share your sentiments, and build a strong alliance you can count on There is strength in numbers.
1. Lake Michigan.2."TheWindy City." 3. Chicago Cubs and Chicago WhiteSox. 4. Chicago Blackhawks. 5. The ChicagoTransit Authority 6. The Loop. 7. Theelevatedrapid transit system. 8. The Chicago Bulls. 9. Michael Jordan. 10. Chicago Bears.11. WrigleyField andRate Field. 12.The UnitedCenter.13. Soldier Field. 14.Daley Center.15. Navy Pier
SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?
Saturday's Cryptoquote: How quick time goes by now,compared towhenyou were akid. Summer used to last forever.Now it's twelve weeks. John Goodman
Answer
Crossword Answers sCrAbble
jeFF mACnelly’sshoe/ by Gary Brookins &Susie MacNelly
